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formists, we are not to be mere non-conformists; but we are to be “ transformists” by the renewing of our minds. No true believer wants to be a Pharisee in spirit; however, he remembers that while publicans and sinners flocked to Jesus, it was the religionists of His time who gave Him the most trouble. Right here the Devil is exceptionally smart. He produces a kind, gracious imitation of Christianity that is tolerant of evil and is peacefully coexisting with this age; a variety that makes an old-fashioned Christian look puritanical and pessimistic. We may be in the Laodi cean age, but we are also in the Pergamos-Thyatira era in our church life today: under the shelter of ami able tolerance Balaam flourishes, and Jezebel sets up an altar to Baal alongside the altar to Jehovah. It is always easy to misjudge, to be Ephesians, ortho dox, and busy but without love. Because of that danger many Christians go along with the Mock Angel and try to believe the best about him. He knows that the world makes the most of it. We respect the sincerity and good intentions of such people but we also have an obligation before God to stand, and sometimes to stand alone, against evil in any guise. A man has to live with his contemporaries, and nobody likes to be ostracized, but he also has to live with his conscience and to meet his God. Micaiah was not interested in speaking for his age or for himself, he spoke for God. Paul conferred not with flesh and blood but with the Almighty in Arabia. W e confer with our contempor aries and try to get the “ drift” and to check the “ trends” and to set our sails thereto. It is easier to be prepared for the Roaring Lion than for the Mock Angel. We are not likely to be bowled over when Satan crashes into our lives in hideous reality. Everybody is more or less against the devil when he shows his teeth, but he is a thousand times more dangerous when he wears religious garb and carries a Bible. How to discern the voice of perdition and not be deceived by angel wings is a “must” for all saints today.
Let us be aware of the cunning devices of this clever foe. It is later than we think; may we walk soberly in the Light. speak that which is GOOD.” In other words, “ The clergy have agreed. This has religious sanction, and you will not want to spoil a lovely day by being an odd number.” That put the whole business under religious auspices and made Micaiah all the more unpopular by being non-cooperative. Where was his team-mindedness? He spoiled the beautiful sense of “ togetherness” that we hear so much about today. The same situation prevailed in Jeremiah’s time when false prophets preached peace, and the Weeping Prophet foresaw only calamity. So today the Mock Angel puts much of his program under religious auspices. Hollywood goes into portray ing the Bible, and pulpits endorse its portrayal. “ Christian” colleges argue that young people will dance anyway so let them do it under religious spon sorship right on the campus. Popular entertainers and rock-and-roll performers write or talk about God. If one Christian protests against their carryings-on he is ridiculed for having an unloving spirit. Even god less men put over projects by giving them a religious angle which puts Christians in an awkward position and silences many who are so confused that they do nothing. These are days that try men’s souls and only by the Spirit can we try the spirits and prove all things. How to fight the good fight with a tough hide and a tender heart, with the wisdom of a serpent and the harmlessness of a dove, is a major issue for every child of God today. Certainly, we are not to be con-
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