I believe that God has been preparing his church and is calling us to a new level of even greater commitment. He has appointed each of us to be alive at this moment in time. We should be waking up every morning with anticipation and excitement at the thought of what He has in store for us. I like how the Puritans viewed the church and their Christian faith. It will sound radical to some ears, but it’s biblical.
The Puritans believed that there were two aspects to the church: the church militant and the church triumphant. The church militant engages the world, battles wickedness, and proclaims the gospel while shining the light and love and truth of Christ to a dark world. Church history is full of examples of men and women who wholeheartedly believed that they should engage their culture by taking a strong stand — believers like William Wilberforce, Samuel Adams, and William Carey.
The name William Wilberforce had largely been forgotten until its reintroduction to our generation through author Eric Metaxas’ Amazing Grace. As a member of the English Parliament, Wilberforce understood what it meant to have influence. But following his acceptance of Christ, his life took on a new purpose: using his position to affect change. “My walk is a public one,” he wrote in his diary. “My business is in the world, and I must mix in the assemblies of men or quit the post which Providence seems to have assigned me.”
Wilberforce became an ardent abolitionist. He campaigned tirelessly for 45 years to abolish slavery — many times standing alone in this pursuit. In an infamous speech to Parliament regarding the facts of the slave trade, Wilberforce closed with, “Having heard all this, you may choose to look the other way, but you can never again say that you did not know.” That speech changed history. He witnessed the slave trade’s abolishment at age 47, but it wasn’t until he was on his deathbed 30 years later that he learned of the final passage of the Slavery Abolition Act, allowing 700,000 slaves in the United Kingdom to be set free.
William Wilberforce’s efforts spurred on a group of abolitionists in the United States — men of tremendous influence: Dr. Benjamin Rush, the first surgeon general; John Adams, the second president; and the ringleader, whose name may surprise you: Thomas Jefferson.
The church militant is here on Earth, but the church triumphant is yet to come. We will have our ultimate triumph when we stand before the Lord, rejoicing in heaven. But the fact that we’re not there yet means we need to stand strong — to build a line of defense so that we can persevere. Now is not the time to give up.
Knowing that this day would come, Jesus prayed to His Father for us, “They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth” (John 17:16-19). The word “sent” implies equipment for a definite mission. We can go forth with great courage because of the magnitude of support that truth provides. In front, behind, and flanking us like an impregnable wall, the power of heaven itself is with us.
To be an effective believer today is as it has always been — it is to understand the deployment orders that have come to us from our King. He has commissioned us to go into this world of hostile arguments, sinister agendas, and demonic doctrines.
The Bible tells us that the eyes of the Lord are looking “to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him” (2 Chronicles 16:9). He is looking for men and women who refuse to look the other way and will not back down in fear. I believe they are here among us. I believe you are one of them.
In 2 Corinthians 6:7, Paul wrote that as we serve God, we are to do so “by the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left.”
This is how we engage. This is how we stand. This is how we fight.
Jack Hibbs joins James and Betty this Tuesday and Wednesday on LIFE TODAY. Excerpted from Living In The Daze Of Deception by Jack Hibbs. Copyright ©2024 by Jack Hibbs. Published by Harvest House Publishers. www.harvesthousepublishers.com. Used by permission.
