The Sin of Christian Cowardice In the New Age - Newage-christian ...

NEW AGE CHRISTIAN SURVIVAL SKILLS, INC
E. James Schilling
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Email: ejschilling@newage-christian.com
ISSUE #57: September 2006
The Sin of Christian Cowardice in the New Age
Introduction
This article focuses upon the growing fear of the Lord's Elect to openly express the
totality of their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ in a Pluralistic Politically Correct environment.
The temptation to cowardice is not new. Each generation of genuine believers must seek victory
over whatever present or future threats appear for their faithful witness to the resurrection of our
Lord Jesus Christ.
"But for the cowardly..."
(Revelation 21:8 NASB)
"For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who
believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed
from faith to faith; as it is written, "BUT THE RIGHTEOUS MAN SHALL LIVE BY FAITH."
(Romans 1:16-17 NASB)
"For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline."
(2 Timothy 1:7 NASB)
"But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the
preserving of the soul."
(Hebrews 10:39 NASB)
"...and accepted joyfully the seizure of your property..."
(Hebrews 10:34 NASB)
"But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ,
More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ
Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and cont them but rubbish so that
I may gain Christ..."
(Philippians 3:7-8 NASB)

"For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son
of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy
angels."
(Mark 8:38 NASB)
"Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father but
through Me."
(John 14::6 NASB)
"And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been
given among men by which we must be saved."
(Acts 4:12 NASB)
"...The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away, Blessed be the name of the Lord."
(Job 1:22 NASB)
Are you a potential Christian coward?
Must Christians apologize for their Exclusivist beliefs in order to secure their physical
safety in the global village and be positive participants in the global ecumenical dialogue?
In the midst of the ongoing debate between Dispensationalists and Preterists over the
right interpretation of the Book of Revelation both sides have missed an extremely important
reference to one single word-that word is coward (Revelation 21:8). It is time, for a moment, to
ignore the question as to whether everything in Revelation concerns the future or was fulfilled by
A.D. 70. Future events alone will apparently settle this disheartening conflict which cannot be
settled by all the verses or references to Greek words each side can muster. Let us consider the
times and pray for the Lord's grace to answer what may be one of the vital questions facing the
Lord's Elect now and in the future.
Pope Benedict XVI has apparently stirred up a global hornets nest by making reference to
a medieval text, attributed to a Byzantine emperor, critical of Islam. According to some reports
the Vatican has expressed "regrets" that the reference has been responded to very negatively by
large portions of the Muslim world. Other reports claim the reference does not accurately
describe the Pope's personal beliefs about the subject in question because the Pope only means to
say what Vatican II documents state to be the Roman Catholic position toward Islam.
Reportedly before being elected to the papacy, the former Cardinal Ratzinger, questioned
whether Turkey (predominantly Muslim) is a proper candidate for membership in the European
Union currently struggling to draft a constitution and unable to decide upon how much or how
little an admission there should be to the Christian heritage of Europe.
Recently this writer listened to a radio preacher ask the question why the Quran has not
been subjected to the kind of Higher Criticism heaped upon the Christian Bible for the last two
centuries. Why the literati is so fearful of investigating alleged contradictions in the Sacred
literature of one major world religion while aiming endless criticism at the Holy Bible? The

preacher went on to cite what he believed were contradictions to be investigated. He has also
made reference to the hate mail he has received of late for the current direction of his remarks.
Now, most of you watching what is happening in the global village are awakening ever
so slowly from a "new age" slumber to a new reality. It would appear the Pluralist opponents of
Exclusivist Christianity are thinking about stoking the fires of the old "hot seat" if we don't
maintain a quiet, low profile, apologetic manner that in essence demands we forsake two
thousand years of our rich Christian history.
Let's admit that most of us don't know if we are potential cowards or not! After all, the
Apostle Peter denied the Lord Jesus three times didn't he? If we take inventory most of us don't
seem to be in any real position to "get serious" about discipleship having been nurtured on
"discipleship lite." We've been caught off guard! We're weak as water! All we know for sure at
the moment is that we say we love the Lord and are willing to do whatever or endure whatever.
But are we potential cowards? Let's pray we're not!
From time to time this writer reads the early church fathers and cannot help but notice
how different conditions were for believers in the first three centuries of the Christian era. The
horrible tortures, torments, and sufferings inflicted upon those courageous martyrs are beyond
our present level of comprehension. Being placed on the "hot seat" is an expression we use even
today. Back then it was more than a trite expression of difficulty! In those days informers were
promised the property of those they alleged were Christians. If you have the stomach to research
in this area you might want to avoid such reading before retiring for the night!
There is an existing body of Catholic literature containing anathemas against Protestants.
There is an existing body of Protestant literature containing very negative references to the
Papacy. There is an existing body of Catholic and Protestant literature with negative references
to Islam. One can even find a few negative references to the Hindoos as they were called in
former times. It is going to take a lot more revisionist dialogue to dialogue away the major
difference between the major world religions. That ultimate difference is the Lord Jesus Christ!
Should we place self preservation or political expediency before The Truth and begin
purging all of the Christian literature of the past of any references now considered offensive to
the angry followers of other major world religions?