 Do not be afraid!  The Layman Volume 39, Number 1, Posted January 23, 2006
Wherever the Lord breaks into our sinful world, crisis is inevitable. Evil cannot tolerate the good, and it will muster all of its powers to crush it. At the news of Jesus’ birth, Herod shivered and sought to destroy the cause of his distress. Church leaders – the very persons who should have welcomed Jesus – plotted his demise. At the cross, where Satan unleashed his ultimate weapon against the Son of God, the earth trembled and rocks cried out. But the last word came from a Lord who left his grave clothes behind: “Do not be afraid!” The year 2006 is a crisis year for Presbyterians. Having failed – and refused – to uphold Biblical standards, denominational officials are facing a meltdown of seismic proportions. For decades, false gospels have been welcomed into the camp. This apostasy can no longer be ignored. People are fleeing for their spiritual lives (more than 1.8 million since 1965, and continuing today at the rate of almost 50,000 a year). Our missionary force has been decimated and national programs are in ruins. Occupying a once-esteemed office, the stated clerk of our denomination delivers pronouncements without Biblical basis to Congress, the White House, the Supreme Court, the World Bank and corporate America, only to find that no one is listening. Why should anyone listen? The denomination’s moral authority is gone. The Lord is calling his church to account, and he is finding mainline denominations in America wanting. He speaks through our staggering losses and through the voice of the burgeoning world church whose millions are receiving the gospel, obeying its precepts and shunning those of us who don’t. He comes to judge the 2006 General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA), where leaders of a dying denomination will again attempt to resuscitate it with political compromise. An institution called the Presbyterian Church (USA) is fighting for its life. Its managers are meeting with Louisville lawyers this month to arm themselves for battle. But the Word of the Lord to those who speak the truth is clear: “Do not be afraid!” Have courage when committees of ministry accuse you of renouncing church jurisdiction because you distribute church offerings with integrity. Resist ecclesiastical bureaucrats who threaten to snatch your congregation’s property or your minister’s pension. Do not let the fear of institutional fragmentation drive you to support policies and programs that you know are wrong – from Scripture and in your heart. Do not accept the lie that truth and falsehood can coexist for the sake of unity. Do not call that which is evil good or, even worse, “not too bad,” or, worse still, “not bad enough to warrant division in the church.” Do not be afraid at the sound of truth’s trumpet when walls come tumbling down. Jesus warned that crises would come to his people. He said that on the earth there would be “the distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring, men’s hearts failing them from fear …” But that is not the end of his counsel: “Now when these things begin to happen,” he said, “look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near” (Luke 21: 25-28). When in the course of this 2006 the battle between truth and falsehood rages, hold fast to what the Word of God and the testimony of his people through the centuries are telling you is true. Do not allow yourself to be beguiled by empty words from short-term ecclesiastics. Listen to the Word of the Lord that has been implanted in your heart. Be faithful. Trust the Lord. And, whatever comes, do not be afraid! A column by Parker T. Williamson, editor emeritus and senior correspondent of The Layman. |
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