TODAY'S CHALLENGES TO THE FAITH
In a sense, the problems and challenges we face today as members of Christ’s body (Ephesians 1:22-23; Colossians 1:24; Romans 12:4-5; 1 Corinthians 12:12-27) are similar to the ones that were encountered by brethren in the distant and recent past. Truly, there is nothing new under the sun (Ecclesiastes 1:9-11). After all, our Lord’s marching orders remain the same until He comes again; they are summarized in the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) and the Great Commandment in two parts (Matthew 22:36-40). At the heart of every issue or difficulty we face is human refusal to obey God’s will as recorded in revealed scripture (2 Timothy 3:16-17) either because the Bible has not been handled correctly (2 Timothy 2:15) to determine what God wants us to do (as in how to worship Him, John 4:23-24) or men have chosen not to obey God’s commandments which are clear to them (James 4:17; Romans 1:18-21; 10:21).
So, the primary challenge is to evangelise so that sinners can know their Maker and what He desires of them. For this, the gospel of Jesus needs to be correctly, clearly and convincingly taught to all (Mark 16:15-16) who need to obey it (2 Thessalonians 1:8; 1 Peter 4:17-18). That action of a sinner of obedience to God’s plan of salvation from the dire and eternal consequences of sin makes him a Christian,- a disciple of Jesus Christ (Acts 11:26).
The work of evangelising is every Christian’s and not only the responsibility of professional evangelists. Anyone who has himself obeyed the plan of salvation has understood it well enough to teach it to others, bringing about a similar effect of conversion. Often, all that is required to begin a “gospel conversation” is for us to confess (in the sense of “affirm”) to others that we are Christians (Matthew 10:32). Of course, the presumption is every Christian will consciously find occasions to do so and declare his identity as a Christian to others he meets in day-to-day interactions, instead of being tight-lipped about his faith in Christ.
The second challenge we face is of encouraging every Christian to learn of the pattern (or “form”) of sound teaching contained in scripture to guide them through their life “under the sun” and obey the commandments found therein (Romans 6:17-18). A “working knowledge” of God’s word and its application to our lives must eventually cover all of scripture as the sum of God’s word is truth (Psalm 119:160). Of course, along with scriptural knowledge acquired comes the responsibility to obey it (James 4:17) as well as to teach it to others (2 Timothy 2:2) so that a body of sound doctrine will be preserved, unadulterated, throughout the generations.
The totality of the doctrinal content of our faith is not unduly massive. Our Lord Himself, upon calling us to learn from Him, insisted that His yoke was easy and His burden light (Matthew 11:28-30). And, the apostle John tells us God’s commandments are not burdensome (1 John 5:3). Ultimately, the greatest challenge is to put God’s things,- all things that pertain to life and godliness which He has given us, 2 Peter 1:3,- ahead of other life-concerns. We are to seek the kingdom of God above all (Matthew 6:33) and to fear Him above others (Matthew 10:28). Admittedly, these are not easy tasks in a world full of distractions and earthly concerns but we should learn to put God first and depend on His help to handle wisely other matters.
On his part, every child of God must face the ultimate challenge of taking heed so that he himself does not fall (1 Corinthians 10:12) and constantly checking himself to see whether he is still in the faith (2 Corinthians 13:5). The tendency to assume all is well with our personal belief if we are regularly in the assembly of the Lord’s people may deceive us into thinking we are invulnerable to the snares of Satan and other men. There is also the challenge of not going beyond what is written in God’s word (1 Corinthians 4:6-7), not innovating with the best intentions instead of following the pattern of sound words and preserving it for posterity (2 Timothy 1:13-14). The work of restoring the church of the New Testament and reserving it in its restored state must continue until the Lord comes again.
2 Timothy 1:13-14 13 Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. 14That good thing which was committed to you, keep by the Holy Spirit who dwells in us.