If you do not adopt such a determined resolute stance, I can tell you with assurance that you will have no part in the first resurrection or in the army that will follow the Lord Jesus Christ in the attack of Armageddon. You are unwilling to submit to discipline now and you will be unwilling to submit to discipline in the Day of the Lord.

You are unprepared for the age of moral horrors we are entering and may very well turn away from Christ. Many of us have not been prepared for what is ahead and it is time for our pastors and teachers to start preaching the Bible instead of our unexamined traditions!

There is a wonderful promise to the faithful believer who is a parent.

All your sons will be taught by the LORD, and great will be your children's peace. (Isaiah 54:13—NIV)

If you have wayward children take this verse and hold onto it. God will hear you. It is His Word.

Other promises follow, addressed to those whom God brings through the waters and fires of chastening.

In righteousness you will be established: tyranny will be far from you; you will have nothing to fear. Terror will be far removed; it will not come near you. (Isaiah 54:14—NIV)

It appears certain persecution is ahead for the fervent saints, for those who are submitted to God and not following the popular crowd. They will be persecuted both by the world and by believers who do not know the Lord, I think.

God has promised to assist those who have changed their strength for His. He will help them against their enemies, particularly against those "Christians" who would seek to destroy them with accusations and slander.

If anyone does attack you, it will not be my doing; whoever attacks you will surrender to you. See, it is I who created the blacksmith who fans the coals into flame and forges a weapon fit for its work. And it is I who have created the destroyer to work havoc; no weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and this is their vindication from me, declares the LORD. (Isaiah 54:16,17—NIV)

It is God who creates the destroyer and it is God who controls the destroyer. We are to submit ourselves to God, not avenging ourselves. God has promised to avenge us.

Sometimes believers slander other believers. This is the work of the great dragon, the accuser of the brothers. The Book of Romans classifies those who gossip and slander with the worst kind of sinners, saying they are worthy of death. Their mouths are set on fire by Hell. There is no end to the destruction they cause. I am speaking of gossiping Christians!

When they or anyone else attacks us we are to look to the Lord to remove the flaming arrows. We then will be able to refute the tongue that accuses us. God will vindicate us if we do not attempt to fight the devil's fire with fire of our own making.

In some circumstances we are to go to the offending believer and confront him with what he is doing. If he will repent we have gained a brother or sister. It seems however that in many instances it is best to keep our mouth shut and wait for God to bring forth our righteousness as the light and our judgment as the noonday.

To be continued.