Dedicated to those who think it's ok to tell another church member, " If you don't like it, leave..."
From the Introduction, page xxiv of The Truth War by Dr. John MacArthur:
"Controversy and conflict within the church are never to be relished or engaged in without sufficient cause. But in every generation the battle for the truth has proved ultimately unavoidable, because the enemies of truth are relentless. Truth is always under assault. And it is actually sin not to fight when the vital truths are under attack.
That is even true even though fighting sometimes results in conflict within the visible community of professing Christians. In fact, whenever the enemies of gospel truth succeed in infiltrating the church, faithful believers are obliged to take the battle to them, even there. That is certainly the case today, as it has been since apostolic times."
See related articles, Why Be Dogmatic and Devisive? , Why Fight for the Truth? , How Christ Builds His Church , Defining the Believer's Biblical Call to Judge , The Day of Doctrinal Relativism , Preaching The Book God Wrote
See more on contending for the faith here.
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When folks complain that contenders are troublemakers, it is their personal pathetic cop-out. It may be old hat to remind these folks that our very existence was begun through contending. The Boston Tea Party really wasn't a gala event, and a night out at Calvary was something more than some in the crowd had envisioned. We owe our freedom, our peace and our Eternal Salvation to contenders. Of course, I find it comforting that Jesus was labled a "troublemaker." He walked right into that confrontation with the legalists and the Pharisees of his day. People like our Hemet - San Jacinto Valley "Good Old Boys" were all over the place back then. Jesus chose to take the difficult path,....maybe offend some softer people who like to use "retractable tact"..... and quote flowery platitudes about "getting along," and "common causes," to stay out of the path of criticism. I believe that "ON THAT DAY," Christ will be asking a lot of church (small "c" intended) people why thay were so silent when the going got rough. The reason it seem that the same people always speak out when there is a problem in the family, is that the others are too mushy and contemplative to get involved. How'd we ever become the greatest nation in the World anyway ? Or,...........
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