Are You in the Fight?


REV. PATRICK MALPHRUS Moderator


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re you in the fight? Are you in the battle for the Lord? Are you against anything, and do


people know what you’re against? To that end, is what you’re against of real importance, or are you part of that great, striving machine that pumps out distraction after distrac- tion that causes people to get upset at symptoms of the sickness, but not the sickness itself? The sickness, of course, is sin and all of its dark and disastrous results. There’s nothing wrong in this world that doesn’t ul- timately come from sin. I know these are hard questions that I’m asking. They force us to evaluate who we are and how we operate. Even so, I’ve just got to ask them. The theme I chose for this year’s General Synod was taken from Luke 9:62, in which Jesus said, “He who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is not fit for the kingdom of God.” A preacher can make lots of applications with this verse, but what I’ve tried to com- municate is the need to keep moving forward, not to shy away from the work before us, and to remember that we’re working for the Lord and His Kingdom. Part of this work in- cludes being in battle for the Lord. Though they are difficult, I hope


that the Holy Spirit uses these ques- tions to produce a sense of urgency and intentionality in you. There’s


too little time to further deceive ourselves and thus withhold the light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ from a world that is groping in darkness and misery. That is the world we’re living in. Please understand that I’m not saying there is no beauty in this life or wonders left to behold, but there are people ev- erywhere, all around you, that exist in a perpetual state of wondering and wandering. They do their best to buy every solution the world wants to sell them, but are left lost and hurting. The world never delivers on its promises and never provides real fulfillment, hence there is always some new cause to embrace, some new product to buy, some new community to join, and some new mindset that is supposed to bring health and happiness but never really does. Does it break your heart that the world is living this way? I hope so. I hope your heart is absolutely breaking over the world around you and


the way it lives. I hope this because the sad reality is that if your heart doesn’t break over the way the world is living, it won’t break over the way the world is dying. And just so there’s no confusion, those who die without Christ go to hell. Forever. This is why I began this article by asking if you’re in the fight. Every day the Lord gives us opportunities to take part in the battle. We have opportunities to fight in the Lord’s battle through our interactions with others, whether Christians or not. If you interact with Christians, encourage them to be about the Lord’s business and bear their burdens with them. If you interact with non-Christians, show them the love of Christ and tell them the truth of what Christ has done for you. Remember that the best way to evangelize others is to bear witness to what the Lord has done in your life. Do not fear. And do not shy away. Point them to the cross and share the hope of the gospel with them. And if you are not interacting with others, engage in your own spiritual warfare. Pursue holiness and commit yourself to knowing God’s Word. And pray. Then pray again. And then pray some more. Don’t stop. You can be in the fight wherever you are, and it’s a fight worth fighting because eternity is at stake. I know that some of what I’ve written may be controversial. It may even


be counter-intuitive. We like getting along. We like peace. But peace without truth is no peace at all. In his great sermon titled “Fundamentalism vs. Apos- tacy,” Iain Paisley said, “You know, some people say, ‘We don’t like churches that there’s wars in, like these fighting people. Why can’t we have peace and everything be nice?’ I had a woman come to me some time ago. She said to me, ‘I don’t like your church. You are always battling. There is always a scrap, a fight on. You are always fighting.’ She said, ‘In our church, we have perfect peace.’ I said, ‘Madam, I have been in many a graveyard. There’s plenty of peace there, the peace of the dead. You can have that. We don’t want the peace of the dead. We want to be in the battle for the Lord.’” Again, I ask, are you in the fight??


Rev. Patrick Malphrus can be reached at 540-480-6474 or by email at patrickmalphrus@ hotmail.com.


Luke 9:62 March/April 2022 3


Moderator’s Challenge


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