I read a lot of articles, and one of my favorite writers is Jim McGuiggan. The following article was written by him, and because of it's length it will be finished on the insert inside -- please read this and let us "leave no doubt."

There are those who tell us that we should profess uncertainty always in all circumstances about all things. This is nonsense as well as impossible. G.K Chesterton protested against that spurious humility when he looked around him and surmised that one of these days we're going to be so humble that we'll doubt that two plus two equal four.

We can't be sure of everything but it's nonsense to say we can be sure of nothing! Caution and reserving judgment is healthy but too much "humility" is possible and saturating our speech on just about everything with phrases like, "of course, on the other hand"--that's a cultural/social disease.

A know-it-all is a bore and often arrogant but the mealy-mouthed is tedious and often gutless.

In a movie an American football coach is earnestly calling his team to wholehearted commitment to the game at hand and urges them to make it clear to their opponents that they had come out to do battle. His final word as they run to the point of conflict is this: "Leave no doubt!"

Not everything that Christians claim to be biblical is biblical and not every truth taught by the Bible is transparently clear--some things have to be wrestled over with a faithful and obedient heart. But some things are crystal and fundamental to the faith and in these matters Christians should leave no doubt!

"There is one true God and it is the God who has revealed himself to us in and as Jesus Christ and we're his followers!" Of that the Christian should leave no doubt. Others don't believe that and for one reason or another, or for many reasons, they cannot yet believe it; but that's not to the point. These people aren't Christians and they don't profess to be.

Christians are to leave no doubt!

They're not to apologize or to waver or to mumble; they're not to equivocate! They're not to suggest or imply or hint or guess or settle for "the preponderance of the evidence". In this matter they're not to act as if they're uncertain; they're not to dither or vacillate.

They're to leave no doubt!

They may be wrong but if they're wrong they're not a little wrong, they're profoundly wrong! They're not to have one eye on the biblical witness and one eye on the latest poll; on what a prominent entertainer thinks or what book's in the best-seller list. They're not to wring their hands or anguish in the night about what governments or courts will decide about how they can or must express their faith. They're not to have one foot in the door of the church and the other dragging just in case they feel the need to make a sheepish retreat; half-heartedness in this area is neither permissible nor honorable. They have no back doors to slip out of, no slick-lawyer-like covering of their tracks to fall back on and if they're wrong then of all the people in the world they're the most pathetic.
Christians are to leave no doubt!

If they discovered the Christian faith to be false their dismay should be written all over them! They should be horrified, devastated and red-faced. They should make it known that if Jesus Christ is a fraud or a myth or if he was demented or misunderstood--if anything like that is true, the Christians should make it known that their entire world has collapsed around them and that they've been hoodwinked in no uncertain manner.
Christians have no right to be insolent or scornful of others but neither do they have any right to beat around the bush or be evasive. We're not gingerly "testing the Christian waters". Our wholehearted confession is that Jesus is Lord and in him the one true God has unveiled himself and his eternal intentions regarding the human family.

This we believe and Christians should leave no doubt!

Christians are the light of the world and the salt of the earth. The more we realize that and the more we commit to living out that vocation the better we serve the world in Jesus name. Our gospel about Jesus Christ gives us the right and responsibility to speak even though at times our consciences can make cowards of us or, at least, so chastise us that we're too timid to say we love the Lord, too timid to speak with conviction or to engage in glorious projects. Like the fleeing Moses who feared that something about him would become public knowledge (and did--Exodus 2:14-15) our moral failures gut us and our fear of the curled lips of our critics intimidate us into a cowed spirit. We back away into virtual silence in self-protection, fearing the pain of exposure and by that we add failure to failure because God has spoken to us saying; "You're forgiven sinners; leave no doubt!"

The brave will remember that the Lord of our conscience is not the Church or the popular vote or the opinion of those with a reputation because there are some truths so deeply imbedded in them that they can do no other than say, "Flawed or not, here I stand. God help me!"

It isn't recorded in the NT but wouldn't you like to have been there when Peter showed up for the first time after his curses and outright denial that he was Jesus' friend? After his hot protest that he'd choose death before dishonor came the threefold denial and then the lonely bitter tears (Mark 14:72). He probably felt like smashing his head against a stone pillar! What do you suppose it took to open that door and walk into the room where the others (betrayers all!) sat in gloom and fear? They couldn't have treated him worse than he treated himself inwardly, but did he not feel the shame, knowing that he above all, one of the inner three and the one with the loudest voice in protest--under those circumstances was entering that room not a brave thing to do? Some of us would have had to be dragged into their presence. But it wasn't the other apostles who called him--it was Jesus and if he makes it right with Jesus and can gut it out, their opinion would come to mean nothing to him!

The gross ignorance of Paul, his persecuting spirit and his savage treatment of the disciples of Christ must have made it hard for him to enter the presence of Christians; it certainly made it hard for them to receive him (Acts 9:12-13,26-27) but he did it! With the help of Barnabas (God bless the man!) doors were opened but he had to walk through them into the light, eyed by those who were suspicious of him.
In light of his meeting with the resurrected Jesus, in light of the truth revealed to him, the commission thrust upon him and the experience of the gospel he had preached among the Gentiles, Paul told the Galatians, "You didn't call me!" He told the Jerusalem church and its esteemed leaders, "You didn't call me!" He told the whole big round teeming world, "You didn't call me!"

He said, "I may be the least of all saints and I may not be worthy to be called an apostle and I may be the chief of sinners but if it pleased Him to save me and call me to this place of service it doesn't matter to me or to Him what you think or say!"
If in deed and in truth we cling to that one true God what does it matter if the popular and the powerful curl their lips and whisper what they "know" or think they know about us? What does it matter how great the crowd that's joined the bandwagon? The crowd didn't save us, forgive us, sustain or bless us with our place of service; the esteemed leaders didn't hang on the cross for us or burst through the gates of Death into immortality for us and they didn't call us on to the stage of life to do service for the King. It's not about us but it's not about them either! It's all about Him!

You can't sing yourself--sing him! You can't praise yourself--praise him! You can't preach yourself--preach him (2 Corinthians 4:5).

Flawed or not, the Christian is to leave no doubt!
Jim McGuiggan http://www.jimmcguiggan.com/weekly2.asp?id_message=443