(I tell you upfront, this could lead you to making major, heart wrenching changes in your own life and alignments).
ALL MY LIFE, as a believer, I have understood that commitment to Jesus means turning from that which is contrary to the will of God. This has been my reason for disobeying parents, employers, religious organizations and the State.
WE MUST OBEY GOD RATHER THAN MEN.
If this concept seems to be insignificant or unrelated to our own sphere of existence, then we are not paying close enough attention, either to the changing world (in which we live), or the eternal and unchanging word of God, or our own moral and social relationships.
Being comfortable in a Laodicean church setting comes about by sitting back, and accepting Satan's encroachment in our own personal church, religious and spiritual realm.
Our country has become a totally different world from the one I knew as a boy and as a young man. However, I did not expect the world to stand for righteousness. A decaying world is expected, especially when we understand the end times passages.
HOWEVER, Christians are expected to renounce and denounce evil. Not only are we to turn from open sin, but we are to abstain from the appearance of evil. While we are to love sinners, we are to hate sin. We are told to come out from among those who are are sinning, and be separate.
Often times people want to saddle me with taking a, "holier than thou," attitude, and snubbing sinners. WRONG. Rejecting sin is not the same as rejecting sinners. We must not accept or be soft on sin in order to show love to the sinner. In fact, we are betraying our calling when we allow sin to go unchecked and when we align ourselves with wickedness.
The Laodicean Church is the end times church, the last period of the presence of the Church in this failing world. Not only should we come out from wickedness for our own spiritual well being but for those who follow our example. The longer we stay involved with wickedness, the more we are leading our children, and grandchildren into a life that rejects the Lordship of Christ over His people.
* After I wrote this post I realized that it is not hard for people to rise up in opposition. In fact, most people are eager to rise up in opposition to something. Usually they take a stand when they believe someone is violating their rights or robbing them of their advantages.
HOWEVER, rising up in opposition for the sake of righteousness is a different story. It takes grace to stand for that which is right, when it cuts across the grain of society.
