| (Copyright 2023) by John Reiss (Charlotte, North Carolina) |
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 I confess that I have a problem. Perhaps you have the same one. » When I see a retired police chief shot and killed while protecting a friend’s business from looters, I get angry. » When I see people rioting, burning, and looting businesses in my hometown, I get angry. » When I see people trespassing onto a private street and threatening homeowners with harm and violence, I get angry. » When I see people chanting and screaming at diners as they are merely trying to enjoy their dinners, I get angry. » When I see people stupidly and blindly calling for the defunding of the police, even as rioters are throwing numerous projectiles at their vehicles, I get angry. » When I see protestors blocking the entrance to an emergency room, where emergency personnel brought two ambushed, critically injured police officers, cowardly shouting, “We hope they die!” I get very angry! In Matthew 24:3, the disciples ask Jesus Christ: “Tell us, when shall these things be? And what shall be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” In the course of His answer, in verse 7, Jesus speaks of nation rising against nation. “Nation” is a translation of ethnos (Strong’s #1484), which means “a tribe, nation, people, group.” We can understand Jesus’ words to mean one ethnic group fighting another. It can describe national wars or cultural or racial strife. It is different from “kingdom against kingdom,” where our Savior uses the word basileia (Strong’s #992), which means “the region or country governed by a king.” Over the past few years, cultural and racial strife has rocked this nation, especially its cities. We have seen the very foundations of our society attacked, and they are tottering. How much more additional stress can they take? Love Among Chaos If we read just a bit further, Jesus prophesies, “And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold” (Matthew 24:12). In some areas of the nation, chaos and anarchy already approach the level of “lawlessness,” and the exasperation of many Americans is putting them on the verge of fulfilling the second half of this prophecy. “Lawlessness” is from the Greek word anomia, which denotes a condition of contempt and violation of law. With all the uprisings, crimes, and hostility continuously populating our newsfeeds, we are witnessing an abundance of this prophesied lawlessness nearly every day. In this verse, the Greek word for love is agapē, godly love, the kind of love God expresses toward us and which we are to learn to express toward both Him and each other. Jesus is warning us that many of His called people—the only humans who can possess the love of God in their hearts because of the Holy Spirit in them (Romans 5:5)—are passively letting love grow stone-cold through feelings of frustration and hopelessness! The Contemporary English Version translates this verse, “Evil will spread and cause many people to stop loving others.” Despite how we may feel, we cannot let anger at sin and sinners get in the way of our responsibility to continue loving our fellow man. Doing so is a sign of returning to the carnality of our pre-conversion lives when we allowed our emotions to cause us to react to difficult circumstances in ungodly ways. Our Savior set the proper example by loving His potential brothers and sisters so much that He gave His life for every one of us “while we were still sinners” (Romans 5:8)! We must overcome these feelings of resentment and not let the pervasive spread of hatred and evil in this world derail us from our divinely assigned responsibilities. Jesus states in the next verse, “But he who endures to the end shall be saved” (Matthew 24:13). Only those who patiently continue to live according to Christ’s teachings even amidst the most troubling times will enter God’s Kingdom. But enduring through chaos is not something God’s people can do alone. This prophecy is a message to the church at the time of the end, to those who have the love of God because He has chosen to bestow His grace upon them. A Christian’s responsibility is to reciprocate this love back to Him in obedience and out to others in acts of service. In this way, we strengthen our bonds between God and our brethren, giving us extra faith and unity to weather the stormy times. Job One: Preparation We do not need to be too concerned with the fulfillment of prophecy, particularly about the when of Christ’s return. We will never figure out the correct dates since they are under the Father’s control (Matthew 24:36). We may not even be able to determine the right players beforehand! Trying to know these things beforehand is futile and time-wasting. Instead, what the Bible teaches is to be ready. Jesus counsels His disciples in Matthew 24:44, “Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” Being ready entails, in part, meeting life’s daily challenges now to overcome our faults and grow in righteous character. That is job one: preparing ourselves to live like God in His Kingdom. We need to consider some scriptures that tell us what we can do to equip and prepare ourselves (see Revelation 19:7), no matter what befalls in our rapidly decaying society. First, we must be in constant contact with our heavenly Father and Elder Brother. The New International Version of Jude 21 states this clearly: “. . . keep yourselves in God’s love [agapē] as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.” Romans 12:9-11 in the English Standard Version (ESV) expands the admonition to live in love: Let love be genuine. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in Spirit, serve the Lord. The Greek word underlying “fervent” is zeō, which at its root means “to boil; seeth.” The apostle Paul instructs us in this passage to “run hot” in using God’s Spirit to serve God and others at all times—even when the spiritual climate around us has gone cold. Fervent application of God’s way of life, lived through following the urgings of the Holy Spirit, will help us to prepare and endure. Jesus tells the disciples in John 15:13, “Greater love [agapē] has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” To God, that is how far our loving service should go for our brethren. It does not have to mean that we literally die for them, though it could. The idea here is similar to what Paul writes in Romans 12:1 about being “a living sacrifice.” That is, we lay aside what we may want to do at a given time to help a brother or sister in his or her time of need. What if we lack that kind of selflessness? The apostle John writes in I John 4:8 that “God is love [agapē].” He is its Source, and we must study Him and go to Him for help in growing in it. Additional Aspects of Godly Love Second, Jesus commands us in Matthew 5:16, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” Many people think of good works only as giving to charity or doing some sort of free public service like working in a soup kitchen. However, one of the most overlooked good works is submitting to and obeying God and His law. We should do so, not to try to earn salvation—that is through God’s grace—but to align ourselves with God and His righteousness (see Matthew 6:33). There are other benefits to obedience that most never consider. For instance, when we faithfully obey God out of love for Him, we set a good example for others, modeling for them the right way to live. John writes in I John 5:3, “For this is the love [agapē] of God, that we keep His commandments.” Obeying His commandments shows both our love for Him and others. Third, we will show love toward others if we act with patience and forbearance when confronted. Wise Solomon counsels, “A soft answer turns away wrath” (Proverbs 15:1). In the New Testament, Paul instructs us in simple terms on this point: “Repay no one evil for evil” (Romans 12:17). He gives a fuller explanation in verses 18-19: If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. Study the Gospels with a focus on how our Savior reacted—or did not—when His adversaries attacked Him. The apostle Peter records that He did not seek to defend Himself even under unjust suffering (I Peter 2:21-23). What can we do if we come under attack? In a couple of places in his epistles, Paul advises God’s people to sing hymns (see Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16; Paul and Silas sang hymns when falsely imprisoned: Acts 16:25). It is such a simple thing, but it works! We can use them when verbally assaulted to keep us in the right, godly frame of mind. Choose a simple, memorable one with appropriate words for such a situation, perhaps the first song in our hymnal, “Blessed and Happy Is the Man,” from Psalm 1. It reminds us of our blessed position as God’s elect and points us toward righteous behavior. Finally, go the extra mile when faced with opposition or even persecution. Jesus commands us to do so in His Sermon on the Mount, advising us “not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. . .. And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two” (Matthew 5:39, 41). Such humble compliance is not easy to do, but our Savior recommends it to diffuse the adverse situations Christians are likely to face, especially as the end nears. In Romans 12:14, Paul advises the same: “Bless those who persecute you. Bless and do not curse.” He picks up this thought in verses 20-21: Therefore “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good. Peter makes a similar statement in I Peter 3:9-12 (New Living Translation): Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to do, and He will grant you His blessing. For the Scriptures say, “If you want to enjoy life and see many happy days, keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from telling lies. Turn away from evil and do good. Search for peace, and work to maintain it. The eyes of the LORD watch over those who do right, and His ears are open to their prayers. But the LORD turns His face against those who do evil.” Acting in kind will do nothing to help the situation. Applying “tough love” to our adversaries rarely reproduces Christ’s example. Instead, behave with the love of God and do good. If we work toward a peaceful solution and display Christian virtue, God will hear our prayers and act on our behalf. Foundations Being Destroyed It is almost as if King David was reading the opening verses of Matthew 24 when He mused in Psalm 11:3, “If the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?” The answer is that we must do the same thing that the righteous have always done: Be righteous. Obey God’s commandments. When adversity comes, we cannot allow ourselves to abandon all we have learned as Christians and fight back with the carnality we worked so hard to overcome. As the apostle Paul writes in Ephesians 4:26, we can “be angry, [but] not sin.” We cannot let exterior turmoil derail our progress toward the Kingdom of God. Despite its seeming pessimism, Matthew 24:12 actually provides some hope. It reads, “. . . the love of many will grow cold” (emphasis ours). Jesus says “many,” not “all.” Some people’s love will not grow cold; some will remain faithful. What can we do to be part of the lesser number, keeping our godly love alive? Most of all, we must keep our focus on Jesus Christ and His example of loving behavior and strive to imitate it. In this way, as Paul writes in II Timothy 1:6 (ESV), we will “fan into flame the gift of God” and keep it boiling hot. If we do these things, the pervasive spread of evil will not cause us to stop loving others. ——————————————————————————————————————— See John Reiss’ other articles at: Reiss, John – The “New” Church of God Messenger (church-of-god-bismarck.org) Reprinted with permission from: Church of the Great God https://www.cgg.org/ ——————————————————————————————————————— ********************************************************************************************************************** Issue #181 – The “New” Church of God Messenger — July 20, 2024 Our Email Addresses: church-of-god-bismarck@hotmail.com the-church-of-god-messenger@hotmail.com Important Website Links: Our Website: https://church-of-god-bismarck.org/ This Week’s Newsletter: Issue #181 – The “New” Church of God Messenger — July 20, 2024 Articles Playing with Fire by John O. Reid Waxing Cold by John Reiss Abide in God’s Word by Rod Reynolds A Truth About Revelation 2 and 3 by John W. Ritenbaugh Letters James Steinle (July 11, 2024) ********************************************************************************************************************** |
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