We are called as Christians to fight the good fight, to be a soldier for the Gospel! I have recently had thoughts about what makes up the good soldier...
The good soldier is one who knows, and loves, and cherishes that which he is fighting for so dearly that there is no shred of doubt left in him.
Doubt has a way of creating in us half heartedness, for to pursue that which we do yet doubt is to fight for something we may not always hold to. Therefore we pursue it with caution, not giving it our whole heart, but holding back a piece of our heart for fear of defection. This fear is precisely the doubt that what we fight for is truly worth the sacrifice.
This is absolutely detrimental to the state of a soldier. The half hearted soldier, upon entrance to the ugliness of the battle field, does not have the courage to stand. He will not be of great gain for those he fights with, rather he will be a distraction, a lump of dead weight, or even a discouragement to his fellow soldiers. The soldier who is not more in love with that which he fights for than he is with his own life will not see the joy of victory but rather the battle will leave him beaten and torn, doubting more than ever before.
Isn't this the way we often live? Because of our doubt about the Christian faith, about God's existence, and our own deceitfulness we cannot give our whole heart to the Gospel battle! Therefore we throw our self into the battle half heatedly hoping that victory will confirm our faith. We believe in Christ the way Pascal did with his famous wager (if you don't accept Christianity and die and find out you are wrong there is much to fear, if you do accept Christianity and die and find out that you were wrong, you have nothing to fear for there is then nothing, so it is more sensible to accept Christianity.). That is no faith at all. Let us all become great gospel warriors who are so ravished by the Gospel, and so deeply we dive into the word of God, that we can set aside our doubts on the solid ground of faith!
May God guide your paths!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
While I agree that joining Jesus means joining him 100%, I've always thought God gave us doubt as a gift. You see there have been many people who have not doubted that they were fighting the good fight:
- Pharisees
- Crusaders
- southern racists
- manifest destiny pioneers
- suicide bombers
Your right, just believing that you are fighting the good fight in no way means that you truly are fighting for the Gospel.
In fact Proverbs 14:12 tells us that there are ways that seem right to people, but they really lead to death.
I also realize that if this one post of mine were looked at by itself and made to stand alone it would appear that all we need is to be fully convinced of something and think it is good. That is why I included the word Gospel in it! The problem with Pharisees and crusaders and southern racists and manifest destiny pioneers and suicide bombers is that they are not, and cannot be, contending for the true Gospel. That point I shall leave there for now unless you would like my deeper clarification on the specifics of the term Gospel.
The thing I find hard to understand about your comment is where you call doubt a gift. In my biblical reading, though my eyes are often blind, I have found no evidence to that end. In fact I have a few questions for you...
If doubt is a gift from God, why are we to have mercy on those who are doubting like Jude 22 commands us to? It seems odd that someone who is exercising a gift from God would need our mercy.
Why would God give us a gift which makes us like a wave in the sea, blown and tossed by the wind? James 1:6 tells us that doubt does precisely that. Also in the very next verse James says that a doubting man should not expect to get anything from God! Why would God give us a gift which keeps us from receiving from Him?
In John 20:27 Jesus says "stop doubting and believe" to his disciples after He was raised from the dead. It seems to me that this phrase implies that doubting and believing are opposite things, and if we are to accept Jesus' claim that belief in him is the way to not die in our sins (John 8:24) how can we then call belief a gift of God?
Finally, if doubt is a gift from God how can we then draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith as Hebrews 10:22 tells us to? Or why then is faith "Being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see" as Hebrews 11:1 tells us it is?
I appreciate the comment! I do agree with the fact that being convinced of something does not make it right, and have tried to do my response to the part of your comment which I disagree with in a through manor. I do so mainly for my building up, for I know you to be one of the most thoughtful men I've ever spoken to and therefore I know that you have great reasons for saying that doubt is a gift from God! I have now stated why I find that claim to be unbiblical and I look forward to your response and explanation... In that why it will be to my benefit to have been so through on my side of things! Also I do admit that I have not taken long amounts of time to study the context of these passages, and as such, some could possibly be someone off target with the original meaning.
In utmost respect, and deep love!
The Yellow Dart
Post a Comment