“I’m Not Listening!”

This morning as I was getting ready for church, I was thinking about how 99.9% of scholarship, including atheists and agnostics, believe that Christ is a real historical person, and most of those agree that history states he was crucified, and that his followers believed he rose from the grave. There’s a movement, though, popular among anarchists, socialists and those with communist leanings to say “There’s no proof that Jesus existed.” Their arguments are not based on any sort of facts; to the contrary, it’s based on their world view. If you bring up Flavius Josephus, Tacitus or Thallus, non-Christian historians who lived around the time frame of Jesus, and saw the effect His followers had on the Roman world, they say “that’s not good enough,” or they become angry and storm off. It’s the academic equivalent of a child closing his eyes and shutting his hears, and stomping off when he doesn’t want to lose an argument.

Why do they do it? Why do they boldly and unabashedly denounce what history says is true? Psalm 14:1 has the answer: “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is none who does good.” Loved ones, these are the people Jesus warned us about when He said “Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.” (Matthew 7:6). Does this mean we should not pray for them? Absolutely not. Does this mean we should not attempt to reason? Please try! But when it comes down to it, we need to understand when there is no reasoning with someone, and it’s time to pray and move on. We’re living in a society that is increasingly rebellious, and the light of the world, the Church (Jesus’ words, not mine) is a threat to those who love dwelling in darkness. I encourage you, keep fighting the good fight of faith! Continue seeking the will and word and work of Christ! Jesus died on the cross for our sins, He was buried, and rose again to bring us New Life. He is worth contending for!  

1 Timothy 4:1-5

I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

2 Timothy 3

But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men corrupted in mind and disqualified regarding the faith. But they will not get very far, for their folly will be plain to all, as was that of those two men.

You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra—which persecutions I endured; yet from them all the Lord rescued me. Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.