The World is Truly a Hostile Environment for Christians. We are comforted by the Holy Spirit

[Truly1999]

As Christians we can sometimes find ourselves myred in the world, dragged down by profane discussions and approaches to life, where Jesus can seem a million miles away from our heart. We want to be accepted by the world - our non-Christian neighbours, our work colleagues, our college friends - as someone who is willing to fit in, someone who can be entertaining, someone who is a team player. We try our hardest and we are successful on the whole. But our friendship with the world can only ever be superficial - pleasant enough on a day-to-day basis, and there are some non-Christians who are very good, lifelong friends.

So, my point for discussion is: we can only successfully navigate our way in the world by clinging on for dear life to the Holy Spirit, to Christ's teaching and the Bible, which is the true Word of God. However, we can find ourselves drawn away from the straight and narrow path by worldly teachings and methods, which appear compatible but can only ever lead us away from the Christian path.

 

[Truly1999]

Furthermore, I think it would be good to explore how heresy and apostasy can infiltrate our lives on a daily intimate basis, sneaking up on us like a thief in the night. It is often disguised and difficult to recognize - if it wasn't the case, churches would be full.

I should stress that I'm not against television or cinema, or drinking alcohol or dancing. But non-Christians are guided by a different set of rules and walk a different path to Christians. The popular philosophy of "you cannot know what it is like for me unless you have walked in my shoes" is everywhere and often used to rebutt "do-gooders". Our retort should be "We might not know what it is like, but Jesus knows". Yet, so often Christians want to play a game of Risk or Russian Roulette with our faith in order to fit in, instead of making a stand. I do not blame because when the pressure is on, when your peers goad you again and again, we are often on our own and we stumble and fall.

In the UK Church, pastors have largely stopped preaching about the dangers of temptation, and when they do it is not followed up in small groups or other gatherings. We do not build each other up as we should to put on the armour of God. Is there any wonder that many people - young and old - fall time and again, and fail to get back up on our feet, instead always on our knees, not in prayer but in submission to the world?