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Marlinton Church Of God, 114 Beard Lane, Marlinton, WV (2026)

07/04/2021

Today’s Sermon by Rev. Fred Goldizen

SUDDENLY!

“And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed.”
‭‭Acts‬ ‭16:25-26‬ ‭KJV‬‬

07/03/2021

Sunday School Lesson For 07/04/21
Christ’s High Priestly Prayer
Jesus Christ’s prayer details His desire for His followers.

The glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one. (kjv) John 17:22
In His role as our High Priest, Christ continually makes intercession for us (Romans 8:34). In this lesson, we review the high priestly prayer of intercession Jesus offered to God on the evening before His crucifixion. The passage of Scripture for this lesson, John 17, is viewed with deep reverence by Christians, because it reveals Jesus’ innermost thoughts about His mission and His lofty aspirations for those who believe in Him. By its structure, the prayer divides naturally into three parts: first, Jesus prayed for Himself (vv. 1-5); second, Jesus prayed for His immediate disciples (vv. 6-19); and third, Jesus prayed for all believers in Him (vv. 20-26).
On the evening before His crucifixion, Jesus met with the Twelve Apostles to observe the Jewish Passover (Matthew 26:20; Mark 14:17; Luke 22:14). At the conclusion of the Passover meal, Jesus washed the feet of the Twelve (John 13) and, after Judas the betrayer had departed, Jesus taught the Eleven (John 14-16). Following this teaching, Jesus spoke the prayer found in John 17. Finally, Jesus and the Eleven went to the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus prayed alone, and was, during that night, arrested and taken to the house of the high priest of the Jews in Jerusalem. These events occurred at the time of the Passover, in the spring of AD 30.
The Greatest Prayer in the Bible. Great Prayers the Bible.” Why would the prayer by Jesus in John 17 be regarded as the greatest prayer in the Bible? This prayer, identified by this lesson as “Christ’s High Priestly prayer, is also called “Christ’s Great Intercessory Prayer.” Because of who prayed it, and because of its content, this prayer can rightly be called “the greatest prayer in the Bible.” This prayer deserves our reverent attention.
Jesus prayed that He and God the Father would be glorified. Some people take offense at God, or Jesus Christ, asking to receive glory. Obviously, these individuals do not know, or do not believe, who God the Father is, and who Jesus Christ is. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are worthy of all glory and praise because God is the ultimate reality, who is also the source of the entire universe He created for His own glory. It is absolutely right that we should give all glory, honor, and praise to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. From a practical standpoint, the glorification of Jesus by the Father means “every knee should bow… and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord” (Philippians 2:10-11).
Before Jesus asked in this prayer that God would keep His disciples from evil, He had taught them to pray, “Lead us not into [Lead us away from] temptation, and deliver us from evil” (Matthew 6:13). Only God, for Christ’s sake, can save us from sin, deliver us from evil, and keep us from evil, and there is much evil from which we need to be kept secure by God. We need to be kept from the Evil One, who is Satan. But he is not the only evil in this world. We need to be kept from evil lurking in ourselves that gives rise to temptation and sin. We need to be kept from the evil in other people, and in various organizations, institutions, and godless ideologies. We need to be kept from the evil we see, and often do not see, in the world all around us. As believers in Christ, we must depend on God to keep us from all evil, whatever its source.
Jesus’ great intercessory prayer in John 17 accentuates the fact that, Jesus Christ the ascended Lord, is always making intercession for those who believe in Him. It is good we can pray for ourselves, and that we can ask others to pray for us, as needed. But let us never forget that Jesus Christ is always praying for us. And in unison with Christ’s intercession for us, the Holy Spirit (the Spirit of Christ and of God) dwelling in us, “makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered… because He makes intercession for the saints [believers in Christ] according to the will of God” (Romans 8:26-27). Our response to Christ’s intercession for us should be that we pray without ceasing (continually, daily), and that we also pray for others.
Jesus is the supreme example for all who will be His disciples. Jesus was a man of prayer, and we, to be His followers, must be people of prayer. It is, in fact, impossible to be a true believer in Christ, and not pray. Believers in Christ pray with their thoughts, words, and deeds. Jesus prayed for the unity of all believers in Him. With this in mind, pray for the unity of believers in your local church, your community, your denomination, across denominational lines, and that believers of every kindred, tongue, tribe, nation will be united in Christ.

06/27/2021

Today’s Sermon by Rev. Fred Goldizen

God Is Backing You Up

“What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭8:31-39‬ ‭KJV‬‬

06/26/2021

Sunday School Lesson For 06/27/21

A Pattern For Prayer
Jesus Christ modeled the best way to pray.

Lord, teach us to pray, (kjv) Luke 11:1:1

Jesus was a man of prayer. When we read closely through the Gospels, we see how often the disciples noticed Jesus praying. Jesus often would step away from the crowds to find a solitary place to pray. What would it be like to hear God the Son pray? Some of Jesus’ disciples had this opportunity from time to time. They saw the authority and power of Jesus’ ministry. It seems they knew His prayers had something to do with His authority and power, so they wanted to know how they could pray as Jesus prayed. May we all have a similar desire as we look more closely our Lord’s model prayer, along with His additional teaching on prayer, in Luke 11.
Luke 9:51 tells of Jesus’ beginning of His final trip from Galilee to Jerusalem to be crucified. Luke 10:38 tells of Jesus and the Twelve arriving at the home of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus in Bethany, about two miles southeast of Jerusalem. Shortly after this, only days before His crucifixion, Jesus’ praying, and His teaching about prayer, as told in Luke 11:1-13, occurred somewhere in the vicinity of Jerusalem. This request by a disciple to be taught how to pray by Jesus, came near the end of His earthly ministry. However, early in His ministry, Jesus had made the model prayer part of His teaching in “The Sermon on the Mount” (see Matthew 6:9-13).
Why did Jesus, being God the Son need to pray? Jesus needed to pray because, although He was God the Son, He became human for our sakes. He needed to pray because prayer is communion with God. He also needed to pray to set for us an example, that we, His disciples need to continue daily in prayer. Think about another question: If Jesus, the Son of God, needed to pray, how much more do we, mere mortals, need to pray? This lesson emphasizes essential nature of prayer for believers in Christ, that we may live in fellowship with God and Christ (1 John 1:3).
Regarding The Lord’s Prayer, consider the following: First, Jesus taught this prayer to His disciples, effectively giving it to them. So, we could rightly call this prayer “The Disciples’ Prayer,” as much as it is “The Lord’s Prayer.” We can take ownership of what is given us by Christ, making it our prayer too. Second, we must not miss the fact that in every petition of The Lord’s prayer, Jesus used the plural pronouns “our,” “us,” and “we.” This is a prayer for individual believers in the community of faith. Prayer can never be only about me. God wants us to pray not only for our own needs to be supplied, but also for the needs of others to be supplied.
Jesus gave a pattern for prayer, and then encouraged persistence in prayer. Except for the fact that, in The Lord’s prayer, the preface to all the petitions is that God’s kingdom may come, and His will may be done (v. 2), nothing else is said in Luke 11:1-13 about praying for things outside of God’s will. However, elsewhere the Bible informs, “Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye consume it upon your lusts” (James 4:3). And the Bible instructs, “If we ask anything according to His [God’s] will, He heareth us… [and] we have the petitions that we desired of Him” (1 John 4:14-15). Praying for things we know cannot be God’s will, even with persistence, will get us nowhere. Successful prayer must always be within God’s will.
The good father will not give his child who asks for a fish a venomous snake, but neither will he give his child a venomous snake because he asks for one. Implicit in the principle that God our Father gives only good gifts, is the reality that God will not give us things that will harm us, when we either ignorantly or unwisely ask for things that will be harmful to us. We are blessed more than we can ever know, that God does not give to us everything we ask for in prayer. However, looking back over our lives, we may see that God did not give us some things we asked for. And thank Him for being so good to us.
Do not get caught up with ideas that there are certain methods, formulas, or words we must employ to pray effectively. As disciples of Jesus Christ, let us accept with simplicity what Jesus taught regarding prayer, and then understand that the best way to pray effectively is to make praying a vital part of our daily living. Prayer is not optional. It is a necessity for every true follower of Jesus Christ.

06/21/2021

Today’s Sermon by Rev. Fred Goldizen

From Spirituality To Carnality

“And Noah builded an altar unto the Lord; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.”
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭8:20‬ ‭KJV‬‬

“And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard: And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent.”
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭9:20-21‬ ‭KJV‬‬

06/20/2021

Sunday School Lesson For 06/20/21

Prayer For Restoration
Prayer is essential for spiritual awakening.

My people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. (kjv) 2 Chronicles 7:14
The Jew, Nehemiah, as cupbearer to the king of Persia, was a high official in the Persian government. When he learned that the wall of Jerusalem had not been rebuilt, 90 years after the first Jews had settled in Jerusalem after the Captivity, he became burdened to go to Jerusalem and supervise the rebuilding of the wall himself. He fasted and prayed earnestly that God would intervene providentially to allow him to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem. As this lesson reveals, God heard Nehemiah and granted his petition. This lesson examines Nehemiah’s desire to help his people, the Jews in Jerusalem; his prayer for that purpose; and the results of his prayer.
The Captivity of the Jews in Babylon (606 to 536 BC) came to an end when the Persians absorbed the Babylonian Empire. Cyrus, the Persian king, released the Jews to return to their homeland, and appointed Zerubbabel, a royal descendant of King David, to serve as governor of the new Persian province called Judea. Seventy-nine years later, in 457 BC, another Persian king appointed Ezra the priest to serve as governor of the Jews in Judea. Then, in 444 BC, the Persian king appointed Nehemiah to serve as governor of the Jews in Judea, while Ezra remained there, serving as a priest and spiritual leader to the Jews in Judea.
Learning about prayer; and learning to pray. We can learn about prayer by reading about it and talking about it, but we actually learn to pray only by engaging in prayer and making it a continual part of our daily living. What is some important truth you have learned about praying by engaging in prayer?
The Book of Nehemiah reveals he was a man of action and firm conviction. He seemed overwhelmed by the enormity of the need of the Jews in Jerusalem and Judea, but soon afterwards he found the strength to lead the Jews in deliverance from their sad plight. Nehemiah’s strength of character resided not in himself, but was firmly fixed in the God he served. Likewise, when we are faced with situations beyond our ability to overcome, we can and should turn to our Lord in prayer. He will hear and help.
Learning from Nehemiah’s example of prayer can be helpful to us in prayer. First, Nehemiah sat down to pray. Assuming a comfortable position for prayer will keep us from tiring too quickly. Second, Nehemiah reviewed past examples of God’s faithfulness. Doing this strengthens our faith. Third, Nehemiah prayed the words of Scripture. God’s Word is always consistent with God’s will. Finally, Nehemiah did not offer his prayer alone. According to Nehemiah 1:11, he was accompanied in prayer by others, likely those mentioned in verse 2. There is a time for secret prayer (Matthew 6:6), but there are also times when it is best for us to be accompanied in prayer by others who share the same concerns we have (Acts 4:23-24).
One of the striking aspects of Nehemiah’s requests to the king was his thoroughness and specificity. Obviously, Nehemiah had given much prayerful thought to exactly what he would say to the king when the opportunity came. He was wisely prepared to do all he could to be allowed to fulfill God’s calling on his life to rebuild Jerusalem. When God calls us to do something praying, planning, and preparing to fulfill His calling should never be considered a waste of time. God will do His part to help us fulfill His purpose, but we must also do our part. When God’s part and our part come together, good things are accomplished.
Nehemiah knew God wanted him to rebuild Jerusalem, and he also knew he was dependent on God for getting that good work done. As disciples of Jesus Christ, it is likely we know generally and specifically what He would have us do. However, to be successful disciples, we must live with a sincere appreciation of the fact that, as Jesus said, “Without Me, ye [everyone of you] can do nothing” (John 15:5). We must depend on the help of our Lord Jesus, to fulfill His calling on our lives, both generally and specifically. Nehemiah had a burden from God for the welfare of his nation, the Jews. Are you concerned for the well-being of your nation?

06/13/2021

Today’s Sermon by: Rev. Fred Goldizen

What A Mighty God We Serve

“Ah Lord God! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee: Thou shewest lovingkindness unto thousands, and recompensest the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them: the Great, the Mighty God, the Lord of hosts, is his name, Great in counsel, and mighty in work: for thine eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of men: to give every one according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings:”
‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭32:17-19‬ ‭KJV‬‬

06/13/2021

Sunday School Lesson For 06/13/21

Prayer For Wisdom
God freely gives wisdom to those who ask.

The Lord giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. (KJV) Proverbs 2:6

Early in Solomon’s reign as king of Israel, God appeared to him in a dream and offered to grant whatever he might ask in prayer. Solomon asked for wisdom. God granted his request, and within a few years afterward, Solomon was known as the wisest man on earth (1 Kings 4:29-34). Sadly, in later years, Solomon forsook his God-given wisdom and became very foolish and sinful. Nevertheless, Solomon’s example of praying for wisdom, and receiving it in abundance from God, encourages us to act on this exhortation: “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all liberally, [and reproaches not], and it shall be given him” (James V.5).
David reigned as king of ancient Israel from about 1010 to 970 BC (1 Kings 2:10). Solomon began co-reigning as king with David, his father, probably a couple of years before David died. This gave David opportunity to prepare his son, Solomon, to serve as king of Israel, and to prepare to build a temple for the Lord at Jerusalem, as his father commanded him to do. In spite of a few terrible moral failures, David is regarded by the Jews as the greatest king of ancient Israel. Solomon, who was probably less than 20 years of age when he became king of Israel, sensed strongly his need of wisdom from God to succeed his father as the leader of Israel.
Many have heard various renditions of the “genie in a bottle” story. An ancient lamp is found, the finder rubs the lamp, and out of the lamp comes a genie offering to grant three wishes to the owner of the lamp—anything the owner’s heart desires. “What would you wish for?” What do your wishes reveal about the desires of your heart?” While we would never liken God to a genie, the Bible tells that God said to the young King Solomon, “Ask what I shall give you?” In this lesson, we examine Solomon’s reply to this generous offer, and see the result of his reply to God.
This story about Solomon seeking God at Gibeon brings into focus the difference between knowing about God and knowing God personally by faith. Solomon knew about God from his father David and his heritage as an Israelite, but Solomon sought a personal, life transforming encounter with God, that would enable him to come away saying, I know God.” Let us be forever thankful to God for the people who have told us about God and His will (His Word) for our lives. But nothing can take the place of knowing God personally, and knowing from Him, His will for our life. Knowing God and Christ is essential for life eternal (John 17:3).
A thousand years before Jesus spoke the words of Matthew 6:33, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you,” Solomon proved this principle to be true. When given the option to ask anything of God he might desire, Solomon asked for wisdom from God to serve as the king of God’s people. In doing this, Solomon was giving priority to the kingdom of God and the righteousness of God. We do well to remember this: it is for God’s glory and our own well-being to keep God’s kingdom and righteousness first in our desires, our prayers, and our living.
Solomon’s calling from God was to be the king of Israel, with all the responsibilities that implied. He was gifted with wisdom from God, and was given opportunities to use his gift to fulfill his calling. God works with us in the same way. As believers in Christ, our calling consists of two parts: first, a personal calling and then, a prevenient calling. Our personal calling is just that, and our prevenient calling consists of the opportunities God gives us to fulfill our calling by using the gifts He has given us. When God gives us a gift or an ability, we can expect God to give us opportunities to utilize that gift or ability. Let us not fail to use the opportunities we have to fulfill our calling and use our God-given gifts and abilities.
Young King Solomon wisely chose to seek first “the kingdom of God, and His righteousness” (Matthew 6:33), and was blessed of God. Tragically, much later in his life, he ceased to do this and brought severe consequences on himself and Israel. As disciples of Jesus Christ, we must never cease seeking first “the kingdom of God, and His righteousness.” There may be those you know who have a special need of wisdom from God at this time for some situation in their lives. Unite with these individuals in prayer for needed wisdom from God to be given to them.

06/06/2021

Today’s Sermon by Rev. Fred Goldizen
The Cost Of Giving Up

“And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”
‭‭Luke‬ ‭9:62‬ KJV

06/05/2021

Sunday School Lesson For 6/6/21
Interceding for God’s Mercy
God readily hears the intercessory prayers of believers.

Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered, (kjv) Romans 8:26

Prayer is a spiritually powerful activity in which any Christian can engage. ln prayer we speak to God, and He hears and grants anything we ask in keeping with His will(1 John 5:15-16). At the moment of Jesus’ death, the curtain in the Temple, separating the Holy of Holies from the Holy Place, was torn in two from top to bottom (Matthew 27:50’51), signifying the access we have to God in prayer through the intercession of Jesus Christ. This lesson is about intercessory prayer, which is prayer offered for others, rather than for oneself. We study today the Biblical account of Abraham’s amazing intercession on behalf of the people in the exceedingly evil city of S***m.
The events told in this lesson, in Genesis chapters 18 and 19, occurred in the ninety-ninth year of Abraham’s life (2066 BC), in the 24th year after he and Sarah entered Canaan. The story told begins with Abraham extending hospitality to three passing strangers who turned out to be heavenly visitors. Orthodox Jews say Abraham was an evangelist, who welcomed passing strangers to accept his hospitality so he could be a witness to them of the one true and living God. We also know that extending hospitality to traveling strangers was a common practice of people in the ancient Near East, and still is a practice today in some Middle Eastern cultures.
Intercessory prayer. (Intercessory prayer is praying for others.) It is well-known by Christians that Jesus Christ makes intercession for us to God the Father. Also, as the Golden Text for this lesson tells, the Holy Spirit makes intercession for believers in Christ. While we have Christ and the Holy Spirit to make intercession for us the New Testament also teaches the priesthood of all believers in Christ (1 Peter 2:5), meaning we can intercede for one another.
No doubt, Abraham recognized the divine nature of his three visitors, and he was in no hurry to be separated from them. When they rose to go, Abraham went with them, prolonging his stay in their presence, and especially his stay in the presence of the Lord. We know as a fact that God is present everywhere all the time, but there are those blessed times when we recognize His presence with us in a very special way. We should value most highly such experiences of God’s presence, and we should let Him know how much we welcome the awareness of His presence with us. It is good for us to linger in the awareness of God’s presence, as Abraham did.
On the same day the Lord came to tell Abraham and Sarah the son promised to them would be born (Genesis 1 8:1 -i5), the Lord also disclosed to Abraham that S***m would likely be destroyed. This was for Abraham a good news/bad news kind of a day. Why did God combine the good news of Isaac’s forthcoming birth with the troubling news of S***m’s likely destruction? God wants us to see in this, that His plan of salvation through Christ, assured by the birth of Isaac, would be everlasting in its effects. Good triumphs over evil. S***m would be destroyed and vanish from the earth. The evil kingdoms of this world will pass away, but Christ’s kingdom is forever, and He gives everlasting life to all who trust in Him.
Abraham engaged in earnest intercessory prayer with the hope of saving an entire city. Although the city was destroyed, not all was lost. Lot and two of his daughters were spared. As we intercede for others, we must know that our prayers will not always be answered as we may desire, but they will always be heard by God, and He will answer in keeping with His will. This knowledge alone should be enough to keep us interceding in prayer for others.
As it relates to Christian discipleship, prayer is the preliminary, not simply in point of time, but in priority, to every other thing we do as Christians. A life without prayer leaves us completely unprepared for Christlike living and ministry. We must, of course, pray for ourselves. And, to be truly Christlike, we must also pray for others. God will bless us, not only for praying for ourselves, but also for praying for others. Pray, and what God will do.

05/30/2021

Today’s Sermon by Rev. Fred Goldizen

A Call To Remember

“All the commandments which I command thee this day shall ye observe to do, that ye may live, and multiply, and go in and possess the land which the Lord sware unto your fathers. And thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no.
Therefore thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, and to fear him.”
‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭8:1-2, 6‬ ‭KJV‬‬

05/29/2021

Sunday School Lesson for 05/30/21
A Discerning and Persevering People
Christians must adhere to and defend sound doctrine.

Earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints, (kjv) Jude 1:3

This lesson is about what our attitude and action should be toward false teachers who try to infiltrate the church. If left unchecked, deceitful teachings can spread like uncontrolled wildfire throughout the church, doing great harm. We must be on guard against this happening. Peter and Jude warned the Church of the need to reject teachings contrary to the Word of God preached by the Apostles, exhorted Christians to live holy in anticipation of Christ’s return, and to be active in contending for the faith. Successful recognition and rejection of false teachings is found in strict adherence to the Word of God, which will also lead us to enablement to persevere in the faith.
Both Second Peter and Jude were written to refute false doctrines being spread by teachers who twisted the Word of God to fit their own beliefs. Shortly before his death, Peter exhorted the churches in Asia Minor not to become entangled in false teachings, but to live in the power of the Word of God. Likewise, Jude, writing to all Christians, admonished them to defend themselves against ungodly teachers who had wormed their way into the church. One such teaching was that, we are saved by grace, not by doing good works, therefore grace is a license to commit sin without consequences. Of course, such teaching is contrary the Gospel (Romans 6:1-2).
Standing up for what is right? Recall a time when you chose to make a stance for something that was in opposition to what most everyone else was doing. How did you feel before and after your decision to follow what you thought was right. There are times when we must be willing to stand up for what we know is right, even when it is difficult. Peter and Jude exhorted their fellow Christians to stand up for their faith in Christ, by rightly discerning the Word of God and living holy lives according to what is commanded by Scripture.
Peter, knowing that he was nearing the end of his earthly life (2 Peter 1:14) had a strong desire for sound doctrine (Apostolic teaching) to continue in the churches. With this godly motivation, Peter warned all believers in Christ of the danger posed to the Church by false teachers inserting themselves in the midst of the churches. While we are almost 20 centuries removed from the time in which Peter lived, our concern for the perpetuation of sound doctrine in the Church should be like that expressed by Peter in this letter. False teachings generally fall into two categories: those that fall short of proclaiming the full Gospel, and those that distort the Gospel by adding to it man-made ideas and teachings. We will not be deceived or misled by false teachers if we remain committed to the proposition that the whole Bible is the Holy Spirit-inspired Word of God, and the New Testament is our only rule for faith and practice. Until Christ comes again, this must be our stance individually and corporately as believers in Christ.
Scoffers questioning the coming again of Christ was not a surprise to Peter or the other Apostles. They were aware that when Christ had not returned only 30 years after His ascension, people would become skeptical about whether He would ever come again. The Christians who lived during those first three decades after Jesus’ ascension, obviously wanted Him to come again during their lifetime. Christians today want Christ to come again during their lifetime. Christ may come in our lifetime; but if He does not, we must not cast aside our belief that He will come again—at the time appointed by God the Father. Let us rejoice in the fact that whether we be living or deceased when Christ comes again, as believers in Him, we will also live with Him.
Those who have defected from orthodox Christian faith, and seek to influence others to imitate their defection, are by definition heretics. The Apostle Paul instructed Titus, “A man [any person] that is an heretic after the first and second admonition [warning and rebuke] reject; knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself” (Titus 3:10-11). The church must be active in not allowing heretics to influence or infect others in the church. By focusing on what God wants from the church, believers in Christ will remain faithful be positioned to help others receive salvation by trust in Christ.
Faithful Christian discipleship requires that we reject false teachings, live in anticipation of Christ’s return, and eagerly contend for the faith set forth in the New Testament. In order to achieve these objectives, it is vital for us to know in we believe and what we believe. Call to mind someone know who has wandered from faith in Christ or embraced false doctrines. Pray for their return to faith in Christ, as opportunity affords, reach out to these individuals with the love of God.

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