In his Prefatory remarks to the Institutes of the Christian Religion, John Calvin warned that in general the church will not be well received and if it were, this would not be a good sign.
"Here is, as it were, a certain characteristic of the Divine Word, that it never comes forth while Satan is at rest and sleeping. This is the surest and most trustworthy mark to distinguish it from lying doctrines, which readily present themselves, are received with attentive ears by all, and are listened to by an applauding world. . . With the violent hands of men he tries to uproot that true seed, and seeks (as much as lies in his power) to choke it with his weeds, to prevent it from growing and bearing fruit. But all that is vain, if we heed the Lord our monitor, who long since laid open Satan's wiles before us, that he might not catch us unawares; and armed us with defenses firm enough against all his devices."
"Fight the good fight of faith." "No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him" (1 Tim. 6:12; 2 Tim. 2:4).
And what of love, you ask? Fighting and love are not mutually exclusive. That were the ploy of Satan to get man to believe it. What greater love could there be than the preservation of the truth, even fighting for it, so that men may through a genuine gospel be saved. Indeed, it is the highest form of hatred to lead people into a false belief which not only CANNOT save them, but will even damn them. How many today have been deceived into soft-peddling the truth, mistaking love for selfishness. What a devilish scam to tempt man into betraying the truth while taking credit for love!!
Indeed, "fight the GOOD fight of faith."
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