Luke 12:42-48 ESV
“And the Lord said, ‘Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom his master will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. But if that servant says to himself, “My master is delayed in coming,” and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and get drunk, the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and put him with the unfaithful. And that servant who knew his master's will but did not get ready or act according to his will, will receive a severe beating. But the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, will receive a light beating. Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.’”
The Scripture that is coming to mind here is, “For many are called, but few are chosen,” which is found in Matthew 22:14 ESV.
And this one, too, from Matthew 7:21-23 ESV:
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’”
Many people in this life are given the opportunity to believe in Jesus Christ and to do his will. Many of them have known that they were called of God and that God was calling them to his service. They even professed faith in Jesus Christ, claiming him as Lord. But he never was Lord of their lives, because they continued living for themselves and in sin, doing what their evil hearts desired, and not what God was requiring of them in service to him. And some of them are pastors of what are called “churches.”
They sin against God, and nothing really bad happens to them, so they feel empowered that they got away with it, this time. And then it continues, and again the judgment of God does not come crashing down over their heads, and so they feel as though they got away with that one, too. And now they are feeling pretty confident that they can keep on doing evil and sinning against God and other humans and that nothing bad is going to happen to them, especially since so much of the church today is telling them so.
And honestly this is where a lot of people are today in America who are professing faith in Jesus Christ, feeling confident that all their sins are forgiven, and heaven is now guaranteed them, and so their sins no longer matter to God and/or that God will not punish them for their sins. But that is because they are believing a lie and not the truth, and sometimes it is the lies others are telling them, and sometimes it is the lies that they create in their own minds so that they can continue to do what they know is evil.
They take it for granted that just because nothing bad has happened to them yet that it will not happen at all. And so they become liars and adulterers and abusers and those who take advantage of the trust of others, and who use cunning and craftiness and deceitful scheming to inflict misery on those who might expose their wrongdoing, and in order to deceive those they know will be convinced by their lies and their manipulative tactics. A psychological term for them is narcissistic. God calls it sin and evil.
And the Scriptures clearly teach that, although they profess faith in Jesus Christ with their lips, their hearts are far from God, and they will not inherit eternal life with God, but they will face the wrath of God. And this is because, although they knew the truth, and some of them even taught the truth, they refused to submit to God, to surrender their lives to him, to give up their lives of living in sin and for self, and to follow the Lord Jesus in obedience to his will.
Judged by God according to our works: [Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; 1 Co 6:9-10; 2 Co 5:10; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-11; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 10:23-31; 1 Co 10:1-22; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; 1 Pet 1:17-21; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]
Nonetheless, for those who are faithful servants of the Lord, who walk in obedience to his commands, who do what he says, and who live their lives to please the Lord, and not their flesh, they have the hope of eternal life with God in heaven, and they have no fear of punishment, for they know that they are doing the will of God as he requires. And they will be blessed in their doing because they took God seriously, and they honored him as Lord of their lives, and they followed him in doing what he says to do.
“Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.”
But this is not to say that we should give up all hope for those who are presently living far away from God, and who are sinning against him greatly, and who are not obeying his commands. I believe we should continue to pray for them and to hope, perhaps against all hope, that one day they will come to their senses and that they will bow their knee to God in humble submission to his will for their lives, and for whatever time is left for them on this earth, that it will be lived to the glory of God and not for self.
[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]
For Our Nation
An Original Work / September 11, 2012
Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Trust Him with your life today.
Make Him your Lord and your Savior.
Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.
He will forgive you of your sin;
Cleanse your heart, made new within.
Men betraying: Our trust fraying.
On our knees to God we’re praying,
Seeking God to give us answers
That are only found in Him.
God is sovereign over all things.
Nothing from His mind escaping.
He has all things under His command,
And will work all for good.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Men deceiving: We’re believing
In our Lord, and interceding
For our nation and its people
To obey their God today.
He is our hope for our future.
For our wounds He offers suture.
He is all we need for this life.
Trust Him with your life today.
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