Day 66: Don’t Give Up

Galatians 6:9 :

Let us not be weary in doing good, for we will reap in due season, if we don’t give up.

One of the most difficult things to deal with as a Christian is when a fellow Christian falls into a lifestyle of sin. When Jesus asked us to love our brothers and sisters, he included the idea that we love them when they aren’t very lovely. This definitely doesn’t mean that we accept their sin! It means that we are to make an effort to restore them and to patiently deal with their faults until they come back. It is assumed that this is done in God’s power.

When a brother falls into a lifestyle of sin, it is easy to get discouraged just because it happened. Rather than following them, or ignoring them, God is asking us to gently rebuke them and work to can get them back. We are to keep sowing the seeds that encourage the sinning ones to return to faith.

This is a big problem for Christians today and it isn’t a surprise that God repeats this topic in the Bible.

In the “western world,” many Christians have fallen into the sin of naturalism, and attempt to describe Christianity in non-supernatural terms. They often exclude miracles from the Bible and include man’s naturalistic ideas, instead. This is not a option in Christianity. The Bible clearly says that Jesus is God and that he was born of a virgin and resurrected from the dead. These problems are not confined to the western world either.

In China, under a great deal of pressure, many Christians there have accepted abortion. Some have even paid for abortions for their members. This is clearly against God’s will. God refers to children in the womb as people and the Bible tells us that murder is wrong.

One of the biggest problems we have now is the sin of compromise. Some actually believe that we can accept all religions and still be a Christian ourselves. Jesus clearly said that we are either with Him or against Him. A person cannot agree with all religions and be a Christian. Jesus said that He is the only way.

God’s word is the final authority for all Christians. If we find someone who claims to be a Christian and is choosing to oppose God’s word, it is our responsibility to show them they are wrong and help them come back to faith in God’s word. This may take a lot of time and effort. Even if we cannot speak to them, God wants us to stay in prayer for them.

We must keep sharing their load and help them come back to where they belong. God wants to use us to bring these people back. Can you imagine how it could change our world? Let’s keep doing good and not give up.