Holiness Becomes Grounds For A Declaration Of War

The Gospel of grace is not an 'anti' message. It does not debate or refute. It is a proclamation.

"When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing before him with his drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, 'Are you for us, or for our adversaries?' And he said, 'No; but I am the commander of the army of the LORD. Now I have come.' And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped and said to him, 'What does my lord say to his servant?' And the commander of the LORD's army said to Joshua, 'Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.' And Joshua did so." - Joshua 5:13-15 ESV

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God." - John 3:16-18 ESV

It is not anti-religion, anti-sin or anti-legalism. It declares something as holy and gives access to what is holy. If we remove our shoe in recognition our feet touch that holiness.

Once the person declares and holds to the realization of that new-found holiness there is going to be a conflict. That is going to incite a war because darkness hates the light. But the message is a message of peace.

God makes your family holy and then says, 'Take it. It is yours. I have given it to you' ... our job... our life... our call... our Church... our physical body... It is holy now that the Gospel has come in. We claim these things by faith and become salt and light in the middle of them.

There will be a contest. People will have choices to make. God won't override our will or theirs. But through it all God will be glorified.

The victory has already been won in the finished work of Christ. We walk in that victory.

Light dispels darkness. God used Stephen to plant and water the Gospel in the life of Paul the Apostle. Stephen never argued with Paul. He died as a blazing light in front of Paul's eyes.

If the Gospel is 'anti' anything... It is anti-death.

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