"Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses. —1st Timothy 6:12
In 1st Timothy 6:12, when the Apostle Paul tells Timothy to “lay hold on eternal life,” Paul is not talking about getting saved here. This is clear from the phrase in verse 11, “But thou, oh man of God.” Paul is instructing God's man to LAY HOLD on the eternal life which he already possesses. The Greek word for “lay hold" here is epilambanomai, and means "to seize upon with the hands.”
Paul is telling Timothy, “Make the most of your salvation. Grab the bull by the horns Timothy. Don't waste the gift that God has given you. Life is short and you must give account to God for the life you live. Forget about making money. Rather, follow after the things of God and be a soulwinner. Do right. Live for the Lord Timothy.”
So many believers today are sitting on their blessed assurance, doing nothing for God. This is so tragic! It is hard to imagine that a believer, whose name is written in Heaven, whose sins have been washed away by the precious blood of Jesus, whose already a member of the heavenly family, would spend this earthly life worrying, doubting, and living in the miseries of sin.
Jesus never intended for
Christians to be idle, sitting on the sidelines while someone else does all
the work. Every Christian can do something for God to influence others
with the Gospel of Jesus Christ (Romans 1:16).
Standing for the Truth
Jesus never intended for
Christians to be wimps. Many professed Christians today think Jesus
was a pacifist, who shyd away from confrontation; but the Word of God tells
us differently. In John 2:15-16 we read concerning Jesus:
“And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers' money, and overthrew the tables; And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father's house an house of merchandise.”
Jesus was a man's man, and took a strong stand against sin. In John 2:15,16 Jesus was upset that greedy religious men had turned Christianity into a business. Can you imagine how angry Jesus must be today over the greedy and lying televangelists who bilk people out of billions of dollars by exploiting His holy name? Jesus is furious and their damnation is certain (2nd Peter 2:1-3).
Jesus ripped and scathed the hypocritical Pharisees of His time, preaching against their sins uncompromisingly...
“Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?” —Matthew 23:33
If Jesus were alive today, he would be reminiscent of Billy Sunday, preaching uncompromisingly against the woeful sins of our time. Jesus would preach against homosexuality. Jesus would preach against abortion. Jesus would preach against booze. Jesus would preach against gambling. Jesus would preach against fornication and adultery. Jesus would cry out for justice against the blatant government crimes being committed through The White House (Democrat and Republican alike). Jesus would preach against the Bible-corrupters. Jesus would preach against the lies of Evolution. Jesus would preach against the witchcraft of Harry Potter. Jesus would preach against the evils of Hollywood, Sin City, and Mardi Gras.
We read in Hebrews 1:9 concerning
Jesus, "Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity;
therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness
above thy fellows.” Jesus loved righteousness and HATED INIQUITY. Don't you tell me that Jesus remained silent concerning the sins of His day. John 2:15 plainly reveals that Jesus took action, and became angry over sin.
Psalm 97:10 commands every believer to HATE EVIL. Psalm 94:16 tells us
to RISE UP against the evildoers. Well America... rise up! If
you're a born-again believer, then you ought to be doing something to
fight the good fight of faith (1st Timothy 6:12). Ephesians 5:11
commands every believer to... have no fellowship with the unfruitful
works of darkness, but rather reprove (Greek, elencho,
meaning, “to expose”) them. Who are you exposing?
Satan's Attack On The Word of God
America is dying for men of God today. Preachers are dime-a-dozen; but few men truly walk with the God of the Bible. One of the biggest problems is that Satan has duped preachers out of their Bible, under the pretense of a “new” and “improved” bible, which is no Bible at all. The New International Bible (NIV) is by far the most popular Bible today; yet, it is saturated with damnable heresies.
STRONG'S EXHAUSTIVE CONCORDANCE
OF THE BIBLE shows that the SAME Greek word is used for the word
“worship” in Matthew 8:2 and 20:20, as in Revelation 13:12,15 and 14:11. Yet,
deceitfully, the translators of the NIV used the word “bowed” in Matthew 8:2
and 20:20; but kept the word “worship” to refer to Satan in
Revelation 13:12,15 and 14:11. So the NIV translators don't have a
problem with anyone worshipping Satan (i.e., the Beast); they only have a
problem with someone WORSHIPPING JESUS. Check for yourself and you'll
learn that the same Greek word for worship, proskuneo, is used
in both Matthew 8:2 and Matthew 20:20, as in Revelation 13:12,15 and
Revelation 14:11. So why did the NIV translators dishonestly remove
all New Testament references to anyone WORSHIPPING the Lord Jesus Christ?
In fact, the NIV removes the name above every other name (Philippians 2:9,10), Jesus, in 38 places. Why would any Christian remove the name of “Jesus” from the Word of God in 38 places? It is obvious to me that the people who produced the NIV were not Christians in any sense of the word. They are heretics.
What Bible are you using my
friend? I hope you'll use the King James Bible (not the
“New” King James Bible, because it is also corrupt). No other
Bible today uplifts the name of Jesus, His deity, and the Godhead as does
the precious King James Bible.
How About “Pitbull Christianity”?
Now
bulldogs are tough; but there's nothing like a pitbull. Pitbulls were
specially bred in World War I to fight on the battlefield. These killer dogs
would fearlessly dive into the pits (foxholes) occupied by the enemy and
attack (hence the title “Pitbull”).
Unlike other dogs, a Pitbull can LOCK it's jaws upon it's prey. In such a case, the Pitbull is unable to unlock it's jaw (which clamps down like a pair of Vise-grip pliers) and must be manually pried open with some type of pry bar. This is the type of Pitbull Christians we need today—who chomp down on the Devil by standing against sin, aggressive soulwinning, befriending sinners with God's unconditional love, contending for the Christian faith, earnestly praying without ceasing and doing their part to expose the evils of our time.
I thank God for those Christian who are zealous for the Lord—who go soulwinning, publish and distribute Gospel tracts, preach against sin, take a stand for the truth, reach out to the poor and homeless in Jesus' name, and contend for the faith. America is desperately crying out for pitbull Christianity.
People are tired of phonies. People are distrustful of televangelists, who greedily exploit people in the name of Jesus, and make a mockery of the things of God. Hell will be hot for those imposters who exploit Christianity to get rich. Religious con artists may have wealth in this life; but Hellfire awaits them in eternity (2nd Peter 2:1-3). False prophets abound nowadays and we are evermore reminded of the Words of Jesus in Luke 18:8... “Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?” Apostasy is everywhere today.
Get busy for God soulwinning! Get involved in your local New Testament church. Start a new ministry for the Lord. Publish a website. Write and publish your own Gospel tracts. Start a homeless ministry. One man wrote to me this week and asked what I thought about starting a 'Christian motorcycle club.' I wrote back and told him I think it's a great idea, just so long as he makes it a MINISTRY. We have enough Christian clubs that do nothing for God. The Lord is looking for believers who have a consuming desire to win souls by preaching the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ.
There was a Christian Steel Guitar Club back in the 1980s. On their magazine cover they advertised the slogan “Sharing the good news of the Gospel.” Well, I was saddened years later when they literally changed their slogan to “Sharing the good news of the Steel Guitar.” I'm not kidding. What a bunch of sellouts! So if you're going to start a Christian club, et cetera, please make sure that you honor the Lord by keeping soulwinning, the Word of God, and holy living at the forefront of what your doing. Ninety-five percent of what society calls “Christian” today is nothing of the such.
The needs are great; but the laborers are few. America could be saved if we had enough praying Christians today who were pitbull tough—possessing the unconditional love of God for lost sinners, having a consuming desire to win souls, and a burning fire to preach uncompromisingly against sin. Get on fire for God!
