Ezekiel 36:20-23 And when they entered unto the heathen, whither they went, they profaned my holy name, when they said to them, These are the people of the LORD, and are gone forth out of his land. But I had pity for mine holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the heathen, whither they went. Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for mine holy name’s sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen, whither ye went. And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, saith the Lord GOD, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes.
At work the other night, I tried to talk to this girl about the Lord. The conversation started off with me talking about how I got saved to see how she would react to it. She laughed and tried to hold back a smirk both times I mentioned it. I will be the first to admit that I am not very good at talking to people about The Lord Jesus Christ. I know a lot of people have problems with tracts, but there are a few that really seem to grab people's attention. They are also good lead-ins to have a conversation about salvation. So as we were standing there, I handed her a tract, and simply stated that it was about the Gospel. She handed it back to me very abruptly, smiled, and said, "I'm agnostic." The way I see agnostic is that you think something is "out there" but you're too unsure or even afraid to commit to any particular religion, claiming a lack of proof as an excuse, thus going on with your life. I was a little unprepared for her response, because from tiny bits of previous conversation, I was under the impression she was a catholic. Most of the people I encounter as I witness are people who simply just let it bounce off of them, due to a contentment in their own religion or denomination. The simply agree with me, and it can be very frustrating. What I rarely encounter are people who are either atheist or agnostic or other religions than mainline Christianity. But getting through some rough points in the conversation led us to the real crux of the situation.
"There are too many people who are mean spirited, and hurtful, and yet still go to Church and act like everything is OK." (Paraphrased.)
So the motive behind all of the "agnosticism" is the hypocrites within the churches who try to give our Lord a bad name among the unsaved in the world. Disillusionment and resentment towards the Truth is the tragic result, which leads to the questions like, "Can any religion be right?" or "Is there really a God?"
Shocking as this might sound, but I can see where she is coming from. Mainline denominational churches can disillusion anyone who sincerely seeks for truth. The stale, lukewarm, contentment and hypocrisy can really turn people in the opposite direction. We live in America, and unfortunately, we all have way too much time on our hands, to say the least. With all of the debates, envyings, wraths, strifes, backbitings and gossiping within what passes in the public eye as Christianity, it's not hard to get a little frustrated yourself. In the Old Testament, as read in the passages at the beginning, the Lord made it clear that His name was profaned, even blasphemed among the heathen by his people. One of the main things that Jesus addressed in his condemnations of the religous parties of His day was hypocrisy.
Matthew 23:13-1513 But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.
One of the simplest and most straight-forward lessons that Jesus taught was that an outward profession is not a sure-fire indication of an inward change. And we can try to look as good as we can on Sundays, but if our heart is not right before God, then the outward appearance of good is nothing but a whitewashed tomb. Looks nice on the outside, still has death on the inside.
Isaiah 29:13 Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:
Very plain statement and warning, but today it is the biggest problem in the churches. Professors of faith in Jesus Christ are staggering. Their lips may say His name, but their lives are totally showing something else, indicating that their hearts are far from Him. They've been taught by men to take the Gospel on their terms, never grasping the good news. Baptisms, confirmations, church attendance, and committee meetings are security blankets that comfort them. Since their lives have never been transformed, outside of that hour a week, it shows. And people watch. The unsaved are always looking to see if Jesus is as good as we say He is. But most professing Christians don't even realize it, and their "witness" becomes a stumbling block as their fruit reveals what kind of a tree they are. Sin is a casual thing to them, and the God of the Bible is just "there," as far as they are concerned. The unsaved sees no difference between the professor's life and their life, so they either get in on the act as well, or just keep heading further away from Christ period.
Romans 2:24 For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written.
Consider the Gentiles as the unsaved today and see what kind of a picture begins to develop.
Colossians 4:5 Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time.
People today don't want to take
God seriously because they see all of these professing Christians not taking
Him seriously. In Revelation 3:14-22, it talks about the Church of
Laodacia, which was in terrible shape because of this very thing.
They thought they had all they needed of God. In reality, it made
the Lord sick to His stomach to see the lukewarmness in the place. Should
we ask ourselves if we are being lukewarm? Should we examine our
profession in Christ, according to the word of God? (2 Timothy 2:19)
If there is one thing Jesus doesn't want us to be, it's deceived.
Luke 21:8 And he said, Take
heed that ye be not deceived: for many shall come in my name, saying,
I am Christ ; and the time draweth near: go ye not therefore after them.
1 Corinthians 6:9 Know
ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be
not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers,
nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,
1 Corinthians 15:33 Be
not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.
Galatians 6:7 Be not
deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall
he also reap.
Matthew 24:4 And Jesus
answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
Mark 13:5 And Jesus answering
them began to say, Take heed lest any man deceive you:
Romans 16:18 For they that
are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good
words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.
1 Corinthians 3:18 Let
no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in
this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise.
Ephesians 4:14 That we
henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with
every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness,
whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
Ephesians 5:6 Let no
man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh
the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.
2 Thessalonians 2:3 Let
no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except
there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son
of perdition;
1 John 1:8 If we say that
we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
1 John 3:7 Little children,
let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous,
even as he is righteous.
From these passages, it shows
that many will try to decieve us, and we can even be decieved by ourselves.
Which is why we are called to examine ourselves
(2 Corinthians 13:5) , and make our calling and election sure (2 Peter
2:10). Eternity is not something we should ever second guess or take
for granted. It does so much damage when we allow ourselves to be
deceived by vain words and fair speeches. Not only are you going
to be one of those people that Jesus says, "Depart from me," (Matt.
7:23) But there are also going to be people who can be negatively
affected by your lack of zeal and lack of love for the truth.
Here is one qualification of a
bishop:
1 Timothy 3:7 Moreover
he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into
reproach and the snare of the devil.
This is something we could all take a cue from, that we should all have a good report with them that are without Christ. The Devil constantly lays traps to bring us into reproach to give the heathen ample opportunity to blaspheme the Living God. As Keith Green, a famous Gospel singer, put it:
"The world is sleeping in the
dark,
that the Church just can't fight,
because it's asleep in the light."
1 Corinthians 15:34 Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.
Are you blaspheming the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, among the heathen? Are you giving them just one more reason to think that our hope is in vain? God is not mocked. He knows your heart already, so why not be honest with Him? It's long past overdue that those who would be part of the Church awake to the righteousness of God. Let he that names the name of Christ depart from iniquity.
