The Christian In Modern Times – The Last Days, And How To Live In Them – Practical And Pesonal Teachings - Part 4 Series

THE CHRISTIAN IN MODERN TIMES – THE LAST DAYS, AND HOW TO LIVE IN THEM – PRACTICAL AND PESONAL TEACHINGS - PART 4

LIVING WITH THE FUNDAMENTALS – THE PILLARS OF THE LAST DAYS

“The last days” when used by people can be confusing. The term always needs defining. Let me attempt to do that now. There are two “last days” and they refer to the last days of the Church age and the last days of the present age.

Do you remember the disciples asked this of the Lord – {{Matthew 24:3 As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of Your coming and of THE END OF THE AGE?”}} The end of the age is the end of human government on the earth, and in Matthew 24 Jesus set out the signs of those last days leading up to the Second Coming. The Old Testament prophets often referred to the last days as in this example – {{Hosea 3:5 “Afterward the sons of Israel will return and seek the LORD their God and David their king, and they will come trembling to the LORD and to His goodness IN THE LAST DAYS.”}}

However in the last days of the Church age we speak of the time leading up to the Rapture. We are in those days right now, and 2Timothy 3 sheds light on the conditions of the last days. We are going to see more violence, more breakdown of society, more awful behaviour from arrogant and selfish people, more chaos in the world, more inability of nations to govern themselves properly, and more of evil men and women proceeding from bad to worse.

For the Christian believers, things will get worse in many fields. For those who live in some of the developed western nations, you might try to tell me things are not too bad but I would respond by saying, “You have not been following what is happening in the world and the awful legislation planned in our nations, and take a look at the Islamic nations, and India and China and other Communist nations, and parts of Africa such as Nigeria, and you will see how bad it is for Christians.

I wish to put to you some pointers applicable to Christians in these last days. They represent the battles we have and will have with increasing frequency. There is a dire need for Christians to nail their colours to the wall and be committed properly to Jesus Christ. Let us look at some areas we need to watch –

[1]. SATANIC LIBERALISM IN CHURCHES

Liberalism is killing churches. There is destruction of traditional doctrines, and a moving of the landmarks that were once established in the Christian church. Denominations that once were fundamentally strong and orthodox like the American Baptists, where some now are adopting all sorts of liberal theology and acceptance of homosexuality and Gender reassignment and WOKE philosophies and socialist policies and climate change agenda and just so many more. {{Proverbs 23:10-11 “DO NOT MOVE THE ANCIENT BOUNDARY or go into the fields of the fatherless for their Redeemer is strong. He will plead their case against you.”}}. Today all biblical boundaries set by God for thousands of years are being removed and abused.

[2]. IMPURITY IN DOCTRINE

Some might be thinking, “Why do some people get their nickers in a knot over this or that?” Well in most cases the ones accused, are defending biblical principles, biblical traditions, and these are not open to personal opinion. I speak of such matters like the creation of Adam and Eve, not evolution; the two genders God set – {{Genesis 1:27 “God created man in His own image. In the image of God He created him. MALE AND FEMALE He created them.”}} We speak of salvation by faith alone; that Jesus is the only way to salvation – {{John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but through Me”}}; that hell is a physical place, and just so many more where the boundary markers are being removed.

Correct doctrine and theology are the coat hangers on which faith rests. They are what secure faith. {{Romans 10:17 “Therefore faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.”}} It is not the church pastor who must study so that he can have something to deliver to his congregation. In fact the truth is that a true pastor will WANT to deliver WHAT the Lord has already given him. Churches often get the order wrong. The obligation to be established is for each of us, not merely for the church pastor. We ourselves must study, read, meditate, so that we know the faith we ought to confess.