I was at a bible study the other evening, and the subject came up of passing petitions around among the congregation of the church. It seems that this is frowned upon, because of the possibility that such a practice might destroy unity. There was not a great deal of discussion, and only one person besides myself voiced an opinion. This was the man who suggested that it was not a good thing.
Now, I may be all wrong, as I am frequently, but I have some things which I feel need saying about this.
First of all, I read in Philippians 2 : 2, that we should all be of one mind.To me, this is quite obvious, because if we are all of the same body, with Christ as the head, then surely we have to be of one mind, or something is very wrong. So, now you say if two of us disagree, how do we know who is right and who is wrong. Well my answer to that, is do we not have the truth in the Holy Scriptures. Let's look at some of the things which reasonable people could disagree on. I am not talking here about legalism, which says you must not wear long hair, or eat meat on Friday, or dance, and such like. I am talking about serious issues, which beset not only the society of today, but unfortunately also the church. We are told that in the last days perilous times will come. 2 Timothy 3 1 : 2.
1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
We can, of course see the truth in this all around us. Men, and women, are for the most part, all of these things. So, there is a truth which wasn't hard to find, Right?
How about Proverbs 6 : 16-19.
16 These six [things] doth the LORD hate: yea, seven [are] an abomination unto him:
17 A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,
18 An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,
19 A false witness [that] speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.
Let's look at one of my pet peeves first. "Hands that shed innocent blood". This would certainly mean abortion, wouldn't it. Surely, first of all, there can be no disagreement that in light of all that we know for sure, life begins at conception
Job 31 : 15. Did not he that made me in the womb make him? and did not one fashion us in the womb?
We also know that murder is wrong.
Exodus 20 : 13. Thou shalt not kill.
So, here is a truth we can all agree on right? On this, we can be of one mind. Right? So, what would be wrong with circulating a petition against this abomination.
Let's look at another one.
Genesis 13:13 But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly
Genesis 19. 4 But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter:
5 And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them.
So, here we have another truth from the scriptures, which is telling us that homosexuality is wrong, is wicked, and is a sin. So, if we find that our extremely perverse government is contemplating making homosexual marriage legal, then what is wrong with circulating a petition.
Here is another one.
Mathew 28. 19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, [even] unto the end of the world. Amen.
Luke 6 : 22.Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake.
Mathew. 24. 9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. 10 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
I think I could probable find many more verses of scripture with the same premise as these, in fact I am sure I could, but let's just go with these. The premise here is that we have a commandment to go into all the world and teach them all things which I, that is Jesus, have commanded you. As believers, we are to be witnesses of Him, and are to tell others the Good News. Now, He also says that we will be hated, delivered up, afflicted, and even killed for His names sake. There are a number of countries in the world where this happens today. Strangely enough, that is where the church is growing the fastest and strongest. However, that is another subject. What we are interested in here is that we, in North America may be hated, but are not yet being afflicted and or killed.
So, when the aforementioned perverse government says we must not pray, evangelize, or even mention the name of Jesus what would be wrong with circulating a petition.
Am I on my own out on a limb here, or are we all of one mind.
