THE FIGHT OF FAITH

INTRODUCTION
Within the organized society, diplomacy and compromise are essential ingredients. While compromise is necessary for treaties, agreements or contracts to be ratified, the each party has at the back of its mind the long-time interest and future of its unit. This is the rationale for finding within the church of today, which though has many formulas of systematized truth, each denomination has its own creed or expression of belief to which members must subscribe. Whatever each denomination may prescribe for its members, the believer’s standard of authority, however is the word of God. Concerning all doctrines, the rule of Ridley the Martyr must be our guide:“In these matters l am so fearful that I dare not speak further, yea almost none otherwise than the text doth as it were lead me by the hand”
We must only hold the truth agreeing with the law and the testimony. The importance of doctrinal purity cannot be over-emphasized. In these days of increasing apostasy and perverted doctrines, it is essential to ponder prayerfully on the beliefs of our church which unfortunately, is not in a vacuum.  The polluted nature of the Nigerian spiritual environment was brought graphically to the fore in the  early 1960s with the title adopted for the official journal of the Department of Religious Studies of the University of Ibadan. ORITA connotes a meeting point. Ibadan was and is still replete with many oritas including one that has as many as SIX – ORITA MEFA! The pre-Christian Nigerian environment which already was multi-coloured, had first, the Christian re-colouration from the Atlantic Ocean coast and later, through the Sahara Desert, the Muslim influence. The result is an environment as mixed as could be imagined. A word that has been found appropriate for the situation is syncretism.
Syncretism is the adoption by one religion of elements of another religion, or as is the case with Nigeria, other religions. For ‘peaceful’ co-existence, compromise and reconciliation of differences are grave dangers. Syncretism is perhaps one major danger Christians face in our world today. Syncretistic people have a dual religious allegiance. They are neither totally of one religion nor of another. This in itself suggests that people influenced by syncretism would be resistant to the Gospel. The reason for the resistance is quite simple; many syncretists perceive themselves as Christians with no need to be evangelized. Others have tuned the Gospel out because they consider that what they received is sufficient for their needs.
This year our theme is: Living to please God. Last month, we examined the futility of attempting to please God in our old, unregenerate lives. In today’s study, we will explore the lingering syncretic  traits in  us and how a syncretic life style cannot please God.QUESTION FOR DISCUSSION
1. From the vision of Ezekiel of 18th September 592 BC (chap 8), identify some of the syncretic practices/dangerous culture beliefs that have infiltrated our lifestyles and worship in the 21st Century.
2. ‘We serve the same God’. How true is this assertion? The Muslim man is encouraged to marry Christian ladies but forbidden from giving out his daughter to a Christian man. What can we learn from this? Does 2 Corinthians 6: 14 – 7:1  make sense even in business relationships?
3. How did the old life affect Simon’s perception of the new life Acts 8: 10? In what ways do we carry traits of our old life in to the new?
4. ‘In the Church, but not a child of God’ (John 8: 47).  What dangers lie ahead of this class of the members of our church?
REFLECTION
Our Creator is a very jealous God. As the creator and sustainer of all, He would not tolerate competition. If as a husband or wife you would not tolerate  your wife/husband hopping between you and a ‘competitor’, then you will begin to understand how God feels when you are unfaithful to Him. When He created us, we were very good (Gen. 1: 31) and in all His dealings with us, He has consistently been very faithful (2 Timothy 2: 13). In Isaiah 1:2, He cried out with pains in His heart on the unfaithfulness of His children and in chapter 5, He called on the people of Jerusalem to judge between Him and His garden that bore Him rotten fruits after all His investments on the garden. Finally, for the Laodicean church, He said firmly that He would spew them out of His mouth for being inconsistent. The Lord desires you and your worship but not on your own terms. He is the One in charge.
MEMORY VERSE:   Proverbs 15:8
The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord.  But the prayer of the upright is His delight.