The world system is the Antichrist system and it is the enemy of God and Christ. We simply are not to place our trust in the world system. It will let us down when we trust in it to keep us safe and happy.

I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. (John 17:14—NIV)

Our kingdom is not of this world. We have been empowered by the Holy Spirit to bear witness of the atoning death and triumphant resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are to command the world, in the name of Jesus, to repent because the Kingdom of God is soon to come from Heaven. We are to make disciples from the people of the world, as the Lord leads, and urge them to keep the commandments of Christ and His Apostles. We are to baptize in water all who are willing to believe in the Lord Jesus.

But there is a wall separating every true saint from the people of the world. It is the wall that surrounds the new Jerusalem. We are not to attempt to be acceptable to the world or to partake of its spirit.

The two witnesses torment those who live on the earth. The Divine testimony always rebukes the ways of the world. The Great Commission directs us to make disciples, teaching them to obey the words of Christ and His Apostles. We are not doing this. We are attempting to "save souls" and build churches.

There is a very great difference between bearing witness and "saving souls." To bear a true witness includes holding up God's demands for repentance and a godly life.

The minister who is seeking to "save souls" tends to approach the world as someone who is selling a program he believes in. Therefore he may not present the demands of Christ because he is afraid of driving people away.

We can give a true witness and yet have no one "saved."

On the other hand, we can get ten thousand people "saved" and not bear a true witness.

We need to return to the Bible and do what Christ has commanded, which is to make disciples and teach them to practice what He and His Apostles taught.

I suppose we have gotten in the moral decline we have with our doctrine of "unconditional grace" because we are trying to "save souls" instead of bearing witness.

The Lord did not empower us with His Spirit to "save souls" but to be His witnesses.

When we set out to "save souls" we tend to join the world and soft-pedal the demands of discipleship. We are trying to "win" as many people as we can, not to Christ, actually, but to our religion.

Elijah and Elisha were excellent examples of what God means by a witness.

Did they "save souls"? Not in the conventional sense. But to the present hour they are bearing an eternal witness of the holiness of God. God's true witnesses bear witness of His Person and will for eternity.

To be continued.