By way of introducing yesterday’s message I said, I recently noticed an announcement saying that a pastor was starting a new series of messages entitled, “Making A Difference”. I like that–as Christians we should make a difference! However, we can’t make a difference unless we are different. That’s where the rub comes in. Most professing Christians today are no different than the world. While their beliefs differ, their behavior is the same. And, being like the world we have no means of changing it.

Indeed we should make a difference— we are salt and light in this corrupt and confused sin darkened world. But if we are no different than those around us we can’t have a positive influence in their lives. We must be different to make a difference. I’m not talking about being different just for the sake of being different. I’m talking about being different because we are conforming our ways to the Word of God. That’s the only thing that will make a difference in the world.

John Stott wrote: “– when society” goes “bad, we Christians tend to throw up our hands in pious horror and reproach the non-Christian world; but should we not rather reproach ourselves? One can hardly blame unsalted meat for going bad. It cannot do anything else. The real question to ask is: where is the salt?” That is right on target! We need to stop blaming the world and start blaming ourselves. We’re salt, they’re not. We need some folks like Daniel who dared to make a difference by being different. It would do us good to remember the little chorus that says, “Dare to be a Daniel. Dare to stand alone”. Think about it!

There are many things that could be said about love, but there is one thing that seldom gets mentioned—love hurts. When we care deeply for another person we want what’s best for them and it hurts when we see them without it. This is especially true when it comes to their salvation. Our longing to see them saved is as a heavy burden. We can hardly bare the thought of thinking about their unsaved condition. And that ought to motivate us to witness to them and pray for them. But, as Christians we must be careful that our desire doesn’t lead to despair. While we should long greatly for our loved ones to be saved, we must not believe the devil’s lie that they never will. Our confidence in God ought to be greater than that. We need the same kind of attitude that J. C. Ryle had when he wrote these words—perhaps this will give you a different perspective:

“I never despair of anyone becoming a decided Christian, whatever he may have been in days gone by. I know how great the change is from death to life; I know the mountains of division which seem to stand between some men and heaven; I know the hardness, the prejudices, the desperate sinfulness of the natural heart.

But I remember that God the Father made the glorious world out of nothing. I remember that the voice of the Lord Jesus could reach Lazarus when, four days dead, and recall him even from the grave. I remember the amazing victories the Spirit of God has won in every nation under heaven. I remember all this—and feel that I never need despair.

The arm of the Spirit is not shortened! His power is not decayed! He is like the Lord Jesus—the same yesterday, today, and forever. He is still doing wonders, and will do to the very end. I shall not be surprised to hear, even in this life, that the hardest man I know has become softened, and the proudest has taken his place at the feet of Jesus as a weaned child. I shall not be surprised to meet many on the right hand in the day of judgment, whom I shall leave, when I die, traveling in the broad way.

I never despair, because I believe in the power of the Holy Spirit.” Think about it!

We often hear how the devil attacks new Christians and that is true, but it appears to me that he fights even more furiously against those who have already learned enough to make it their purpose in life to be transformed into the very image of Christ. When you aspire to be as much like Christ as possible Satan will launch every weapon in his arsenal against you. A. W. Tozer said it well:

“If Satan opposes the new convert he opposes still more bitterly the Christian who is pressing on toward a higher life in Christ. The Spirit-filled life is not, as many suppose, a life of peace and quiet pleasure. It is likely to be something quite the opposite. Viewed one way it is a pilgrimage through a robber-infested forest; viewed another, it is a grim warfare with the devil. Always there is struggle, and sometimes there is a pitched battle with our own nature where the lines are so confused that it is all but impossible to locate the enemy or to tell which impulse is of the Spirit and which of the flesh. There is complete victory for us if we will but take the way of the triumphant Christ, but that is not what we are considering now. My point here is that if we want to escape the struggle we have but to draw back and accept the currently accepted low-keyed Christian life as the normal one. That is all Satan wants. That will ground our power, stunt our growth and render us harmless to the kingdom of darkness. Compromise will take the pressure off. Satan will not bother a man who has quit fighting. But the cost of quitting will be a life of peaceful stagnation. We sons of eternity just cannot afford such a thing.”

We need the attitude of “Uncle” Bud Robinson who prayed this prayer everyday: “Oh Lord, give me a backbone as big as a sawlog, ribs like the sleepers under the church floor, put iron shoes on me and galvanized breeches, give me a rhinoceros hide for a skin, and hang a wagonload of determination up in the gable-end of my soul, and help me to sign the contract to fight the devil as long as I’ve got a fist and bite him as long as I have a tooth, then gum him till I die. All this I ask for Christ’s sake. Amen.” —Think about it!

Please don’t misunderstand. I am not discouraged. I am not going to resign. I have no plans to ever retire, so long as I am able to carry on. I’ve simply tried to be brutally honest about what I see, the way I feel, and what we need to do. I am sick and tired of talking about “fine lines”, “grey areas”, and questionable things. We should all get beyond that and live in such a way so as to not leave any room for doubt. If you want to make a fool of yourself I can’t stop you, but please consider the harm you do to the cause of Christ. It is shocking that you would call yourself a Christian and not be concerned about that. Think about it!

You can tell a lot, just about everything, about a person by what they like and dislike. That’s why I am so troubled by what I see on Facebook. I’ve noticed that a lot of people “Like” a lot of things that no Christian should like. And, I’m not just talking about kids– you can expect that from them. Although that is a serious problem, children aren’t the only ones who like things they shouldn’t. This is a common problem with adults, and some preachers, as well. I am amazed and saddened by what I see.

The next time you think about clicking on “Like” it might be good if you did a little research and learned a bit more about the subject or person. When you express that you like someone who is lacking in character or something that is unscriptural you are misleading others. This is especially dangerous when it is a pastor endorsing a preacher, or doctrine that should not be followed. I realize that sometimes you are merely expressing that you like a certain article or quote without endorsing the man  who wrote it, but even that can be dangerous. Some people might take it otherwise. I’ve read some great quotes from men who heretics, but that doesn’t mean that I should publicly indicate that I like what they say. Doing so will cause someone to think they are a creditable source of information. Think before you “Like”.