One formerly evangelical leader complains that orthodox, conservative Christianity has "shown a pervasive disdain for other religions of the world," whose members we should view "not as enemies but as beloved neighbors, and whenever possible, as dialogue partners and even collaborators."

Although Jesus was a master at listening and asking questions to get to people's real needs, He never compromised the Truth. 

When I see speakers and authors working so hard to force God's Word to say what it clearly does not say, I hear the apostle Paul whispering in my ear, "The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits" (1 Timothy 4:1). In Jesus' high priestly prayer before going to the cross, He prayed, "Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth" (John 17:17). All too often, however, we have polluted God's Truth with borrowings from the false religions and philosophies of our culture. No one is sanctified by adulterated "truth."

If we as individuals reject or distort God's Truth, we rob the Truth of its power to set us free. The result: We become morally and spiritually enslaved. And when an entire culture rejects God's Truth? That culture opens itself up to bondage.

Prayer: Lord, thank You for the power of Your Truth to set me free—to set free every soul who calls on the name of Jesus. Help me to proclaim salvation to my community through the unadulterated Gospel—boldly and without fear. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.

"The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners" (Isaiah 61:1-2).

*This devotional adapted from The Hidden Enemy by Michael Youssef © 2018. Published by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, IL. Used by permission.

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