Prophecy
When the Egyptian pharaoh ordered the Hebrew midwives Shiphrah and Puah, to kill all the male Israelite babies, they defied his order and kept alive the Hebrew baby boys. They did this because they feared God and obeyed Him instead of the Egyptian king. (Exodus 1:15-22) The Hebrew midwives did not commit sin when they defied the human authority which commanded them to do acts contrary to God's commands.
When Daniel and his friends Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego were served the food and delicacies from King Nebuchanezzar's provisions, they chose not to defile themselves with the food and wine, and instead ate vegetables and drank water. (Daniel 1: 3-21) The next time Daniel and his friends disobeyed the king's orders was when they refused to worship other gods. (Daniel 3: 14-20)
Daniel's friends spoke up boldly and told the king they would not bow down and worship the Babylonian god because they worship the true God of Israel. Because of this they were thrown into the blazing furnace, but they were not burned.
Daniel himself stood his ground and refused to worship King Darius even when the king issued a decree ordering all his subjects to worship him, in accordance with the law of the Medes and Persians (Daniel 6: 8-10) When it was discovered that Daniel did not obey the decree, he was put in the lion's den but he was saved by the true God. (Daniel 6: 21-22)
Daniel and his friends held on to their faith in God even if it meant losing their lives. To stand against evil, we must be ready to put our own lives on the line for God, and stand for what is right.
John the Baptist rebuked Herod Antipas, the tetrarch of Galilee, because of his marriage to Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, and because of all the other evil things he has done. Herod put John in prison and later ordered him to be beheaded. (Luke 3:19-20 and Matthew 14:9-10).
John the Baptist spoke up - it was a time he had to speak up against a leader who was in a sinful lifestyle. Was John judging Herod? Yes. What was John's purpose in his rebuke of Herod, was it not to awaken him to his sin so he would repent? It was a bold move and it cost John his head.
The same was true for Nathan the prophet who rebuked King David after his affair with Bathsheba and the murder of Uriah, the Hittite. Nathan could have lost his head too, after all he was scolding the king. (2 Samuel 12: 7-12)
To speak up against evil in our midst today is to JUDGE people and DECLARE God's Word regarding sin. If we keep silent because we feel we are "judging" then that is worst because we tolerate evil by our silence and allow it to flourish because people remain blind and deaf to God's TRUTH that we failed to declare.
James 4:17 says "Therefore, to him who knows the good he must do and does not do it, to him it is SIN."
When evil and corruption, homosexuality, falsehood and the impunity of vicious leaders abound in our midst, to remain silent and not to speak up is a far greater evil. To close our eyes on the wickedness around us and to not declare the TRUTH about what God says, is for me, COWARDICE and a denial of our God.
Perhaps that is why abortion became so unstoppable as to be "acceptable" - not enough Christians spoke up against it. Perhaps that is why same-sex marriage became legal in many countries - not enough Christians WERE BOLD to speak up against it. We allowed evil to prosper by our silence.
We are not judging people, the Word judges them. To 'judge' is to condemn them to hell. To declare what is FACTUAL and true is required from us as Christians. John the Baptist told Herod he was doing wrong, and to do that today that would cost us our own lives too.
When our Almighty God is being mocked and ridiculed in speech and jokes even by our very own leaders - then the time to speak up is NOW. Failure to do so is SIN.
"To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven... a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to speak up and a time to be silent." (Ecclesiastes 3: 1, 7)
"Get yourself ready! Stand up and say to them whatever I command you. Do not be terrified of them, or I will terrify you before them." (Jeremiah 1: 17)
Even today God uses ordinary people as His prophets. God pours out His Spirit in these last days and His menservants and maidservants will prophesy (Joel 2:28-29), that is, if they are not cowered by the forces of evil against them.
"But if they stood in My council, they would have proclaimed My Word to My people and would have turned them from their evil ways and from their evil deeds." (Jeremiah 23:22) People will always feel 'judged' by the Word of God, because His Word is Spirit and Life. (John 6:63) a double-edged sword (Hebrews 4:12)
We rebuke and prophesy to turn people towards REPENTANCE and towards God. Are we doing it?
Copyright @Cynthia Buhain-Baello ~~~03.10.19
PLEASE ENCOURAGE AUTHOR BELOW LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE
This article has been read 390 times < Previous | Next >
Free Reprints
Main Site Articles
Most Read Articles
Highly Acclaimed Challenge Articles.
New Release Christian Books for Free for a Simple Review.
NEW - Surprise Me With an Article - Click here for a random URL
God is Not Against You - He Came on an All Out Rescue Mission to Save You
...in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them... 2 Cor 5:19
Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Acts 13:38
LEARN & TRUST JESUS HERE
FaithWriters offers Christian reading material for Christian readers. We offer Christian articles, Christian fiction, Christian non-fiction, Christian Bible studies, Christian poems, Christian articles for sale, free use Christian articles, Christian living articles, New Covenant Christian Bible Studies, Christian magazine articles and new Christian articles. We write for Jesus about God, the Bible, salvation, prayer and the word of God.