Enemies of God

Who are God’s Enemies?

They are those who oppose the proclamation of the full gospel message, and who try to prevent others from believing the truth. They are also false teachers who twist the truths of scripture to their own advantage in order to gain followers after themselves, not followers of Christ. They are wolves in sheep’s clothing, pretending to be one thing while living another. Their teaching leaves their followers still living in sin, not in victory over sin, for they coddle sin while they reject righteousness (See: Ac. 13:1-12).

“But Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him and said, ‘You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord? And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and unable to see the sun for a time.’”

They are also believers in Jesus Christ who are living in spiritual adultery against God who are lovers of the world of sin rather than lovers of God. Although they claim to be followers of Christ, they live not much different from the ungodly, for they have similar thinking, attitudes, values, morals and behaviors as those who make no profession of Christ. Therefore, they are double-minded, like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. They are not one with Christ in mind, but they are having a love affair with themselves, doing what pleases their flesh, rather than living to please God (See: Jas. 4:1-10).

“You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”

And, they are those who oppose the Lord’s servants, including they will be members of our own households, i.e. of our own families. For, when we follow Jesus Christ with our lives, in full surrender to his will for our lives, we will be rejected and hated by many who disregard or hate what we believe and what we stand for.

We will be opposed by many who refuse to submit to Christ and his Lordship over their lives, who choose what they want over what God wants, and who are not willing to lay down their own selfish wills in order to follow Christ, to do his will, and to love others as Christ loves us. For, they choose to please their own fleshly lusts, instead (See: Matt. 10:34-39).

“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person's enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”

This is a sampling of who God’s enemies are, but simply put, they are those who reject the ways of God to follow after the ways of the flesh, who do not honor God with their lives, but who live to please themselves, i.e. their flesh. And, they are those who have not trusted in Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior of their lives. They have not died with Christ to sin in order that they might live with Christ to righteousness (See: Phil. 3:17-21; cf. Gal. 6:7-8).

“For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.”

Enemies Scattered

Psalm 68:1-2, 21, 28, 30 ESV

God shall arise, his enemies shall be scattered;    and those who hate him shall flee before him!As smoke is driven away, so you shall drive them away;    as wax melts before fire,    so the wicked shall perish before God! “But God will strike the heads of his enemies,    the hairy crown of him who walks in his guilty ways.” “Summon your power, O God,    the power, O God, by which you have worked for us…Rebuke the beasts that dwell among the reeds,    the herd of bulls with the calves of the peoples.Trample underfoot those who lust after tribute;    scatter the peoples who delight in war.”

One day God is going to judge his enemies. There will be a final judgment, at which time those who are enemies of God will face the punishment of their sin, which is eternity in the fires of hell (or the lake of fire). But, there will be a judgment on this earth prior to that, at which time God will pour out his wrath on the earth and many people will die.

Yet, I believe scripture teaches that, during this time, many will come to faith in Jesus Christ, and the church, the bride of Christ, will make herself pure (holy), i.e. she will be revived (Rev. 19:7). For, this judgment is first of all directed at the church living in adultery against her Lord. And, for those who overcome, there will be eternal rewards (See: Rev. 2-3).

During this time of judgment on the earth, there will be a separation of those who truly are following Jesus Christ with their lives, and those who are not, some of whom are pretending they are while they live secretive sinful lifestyles, some of which are sexually perverted. For, there will be no more middle of the road or double-mindedness. It will be abundantly clear who are on God’s side and who are enemies of the cross of Christ.

But, our Lord also disciplines, chastises, rebukes and reproves his children as a normal course of their lives in order that they might resist Satan, flee temptation, and draw near to God, that we might share in his holiness. So, this is for our good (See: Heb. 12:1-17).

God “disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”

The Righteous Be Glad

Psalm 68:3-6 ESV

But the righteous shall be glad;    they shall exult before God;    they shall be jubilant with joy!Sing to God, sing praises to his name;    lift up a song to him who rides through the deserts;his name is the Lord;    exult before him!Father of the fatherless and protector of widows    is God in his holy habitation.God settles the solitary in a home;    he leads out the prisoners to prosperity,    but the rebellious dwell in a parched land.

Who are the righteous? They are all those who have trusted in Jesus Christ to be Lord (owner-master) and Savior of their lives. They have been born again of the Spirit of God (spiritually), died with Christ to sin, and are now living with Christ to righteousness. They are those who are walking according to the Spirit, and no longer according to the flesh, who are not making sin their practice, but who are making righteousness their practice (See: Lu. 9:23-25; Rom. 6:1-23; 8:1-17; Eph. 4:17-24; 1 Jn. 1:5-9).

They are also the persecuted who are suffering for righteousness’ sake because of their walks of faith, their beliefs and their practices. They are those who are being opposed because they are sharing the truth of the gospel of our salvation, and because they are not diluting the gospel message to make it more appealing to human flesh.

They are not compromising with the world (or the worldly church), and thus they are being mistreated, rejected, and cast aside. Some of them are even being invited to leave the gatherings of “the church” to go someplace else where they will be a “better fit.”

The reason for this is that so much of today’s church has gone the way of the world, and they are following humans instead of God, and they are following humanistic philosophy and business marketing schemes, which are opposed to God and to the working of the Holy Spirit, so they are also opposed to those who are Christ’s faithful followers. So, those who are following Jesus Christ with their lives truly do not “fit” in these settings.

But, there is encouragement here for the righteous. Our hope and our security is not found in other humans or in human institutions. Our hope and our security is found in Jesus Christ alone. He is our source of strength, our hope, our foundation and our security.

So, even though our enemies pursue us to destroy us, we can still rejoice and be glad. For, our Lord looks after us, not to do us harm, but to do us good, even if he allows us to have enemies and to face their wrath. For, he will bring good out of it in our lives, and he will carry us through it all, and through it all we will mature in Christ.

Your Lord is with You

An Original Work / August 14, 2016

Based off Various Scriptures

Fear not for your Lord is with you.

He will not leave you, nor will He abandon you.

When you walk through valleys of life’s rough ways,

You must fear no evil, for God is near.

Be of courage, then, and be not dismayed,

For your Lord is with you throughout your days.

Fear not for your Lord is with you.

He will not leave you, nor will He abandon you.

Trust Him with your life and witness.

He’ll go before you, and He will prepare the way.

The Lord is our helper, so we’ll not fear.

He will strengthen us. He sees all our tears.

Do not be afraid, but to God do pray,

And the peace of God will be yours today.

Trust Him with your life and witness.

He’ll go before you, and He will prepare the way.

My God, He is my Rock and my Shield

And the Horn of my salvation, whom I praise.

He reached down from heaven and rescued me;

Drew me out of waters so deep I’d sink.

My God turned my darkness into His light;

Opened up my blinded eyes, gave me sight.

My God, He is my Rock and my Shield

And the Horn of my salvation, whom I praise.

https://vimeo.com/178977106

Sunday, June 17, 2018 – Thank you, Jesus, for these encouraging words.