The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
“They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption. For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved. For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them.” 2 Peter 2:19-21 (ESV)
I was three years old when this movie came out but “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly” has remained a classic movie for me to watch. The movie gives a view of what will be considered The Ugly first, The Bad second and lastly The Good. Its back drop is the tail end of the American Civil War and the main theme is the quest for $200,000 in gold coin. The three characters that are after this money all display their defects but at times we can see some internal struggle within them…just not with the Ugly one. Today I am going to apply two parts of the title to this movie to a wave of attitude that we need to take notice of and one part that should re-assure us.
The Supreme Court of these United States made a judgment call that I think is U.G.L.Y, it ain’t got no alibi, it’s just ugly. They voted 8-1 in favor of allowing the Westboro Baptist Church to continue with their hateful protest’s at the funerals of fallen soldiers. I do not say that ugly means they should have voted against their privilege of freedom of speech, I mean ugly as what it says about Gods church now in the minds of most Americans. The statements made by this church after the Court agreed that they can exercise their rights just cut the Body. They claim the Pentagon has declared war on them and by doing so they have declared war on God Almighty and that the Supreme Court justices, as well as the President (who they have deemed “The Anti-Christ”) would all be going to hell. So…I guess there will NOT be a sound preaching from Romans 13 from their pulpit anytime soon.
Here is what I think is the bad thing most Americans are seeing about Gods church these days. We have T.V. preachers using the media available to them to preach a bad message about how God provides. If their viewers sow their financial seeds into their ministries their viewers will be blessed with prosperity. They also con their viewers into thinking there is a feel good Gospel message for them if they can just get off their butts and wiggle. What even makes this all the more bad (my terrible use of grammar excluded) is the way they use Bible verses. They seem to take a part of one verse from one book and with a few …’s they pair it up with another verse from another book. They don’t give us a true sense of God’s message of prosperity for our lives. We can run all these messages through the cross of man but we cannot run any of these messages through the Cross of Christ. So…I guess there will NOT be a sound preaching from Mark 10:17-25 from the T.V. pulpit anytime soon.
But here is Good News, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him.” Then we have more Good News, “Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with His stripes we are healed.” And yet still more Good News, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die.” This is sound preaching that needs no pulpit.
With the coming of Resurrection Sunday it always seems to be the habit of Mass Media to portray Christianity as a belief system that is double-minded (sometimes we are letting them by being silent). They exploit what is ugly, allow what is bad but rarely will they give any credence to what is good about Christendom. It will be to us to continue to go along our daily path and announce (even if we use words) that Jesus Christ still sits at the right hand of the Father and that the Father will one day right this attitude for His glory and to His glory alone. Then the whole world will be His pulpit. – Chris Hughes is a regular Freedom Fighter contributor and is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy
Compass Pointers: “Faithful shepherds protect their sheep. They work hard, day after day, to instruct, reprove, correct, and train God’s people—leading their flocks on the path of truth. Like the Good Shepherd Himself, they stand guard even when spiritual enemies threaten. Cowardice is not a consideration for them; neither is compromise. After all, they have received a divine commission, to “shepherd the flock of God [until] the Chief Shepherd appears” (1 Peter 5:2, 4).” – John MacArthur
Anchored to the Rock: It is foolish to pray against sin and then sin against prayer. John Trapp
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