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Article Archive |
2008
Imagine a World without FAITH
by Jim Morris
Imagine a world that is on the brink of destruction as in the days of Noah. “The LORD saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain. So the LORD said, 'I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth—men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air—for I am grieved that I have made them'” (Genesis 6:5-7).
Imagine a world that is slated for destruction by fire rather than flood. “By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men” (2 Peter 3:7). Each day we approach that day of destruction, the day of judgment, the day of the Lord. “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare” (3:10).
People were unaware of their doom in the days of Noah. People are unaware of their doom in the days of the Lord, too. “Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all” (Luke 17:26-27).
Imagine a world that has chosen to stand firm in its own selfish, human reason rather than in the holy faith of the Creator who made us. Jesus asked his disciples, “However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find FAITH on the earth?” (18:8).
It is the real faith of true believers that is preserving the world from destruction just as salt preserves meat. Jesus said to his disciples, “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men” (Matthew 5:13). How can salt become salty again? How can believers in Christ restore a vibrant, powerful faith?
We must trust the words of God given through Christ's apostles. Paul said he was “a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of God’s elect and the knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness—a faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time, and at his appointed season he brought his word to light through the preaching entrusted to me by the command of God our Savior” (Titus 1:1-3).
06-18-08
# 25
