“Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot—they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, but on the day when Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all— so will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed. On that day, let the one who is on the housetop, with his goods in the house, not come down to take them away, and likewise let the one who is in the field not turn back. Remember Lot's wife. Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it.” (Luke 17:26-33 ESV)
It would appear that we are now living in these days mentioned here. For we live in an era, at least here in America, where the gospel message has largely been diluted and altered to appeal to human flesh and in order to not offend the ungodly, so that the ungodly will want to come to the gatherings of what are falsely called “churches,” but which are really human-based businesses being run by marketing schemes and goals and plans like would be used in most any other businesses.
But it isn’t just the gospel of Christ that has been altered in order to attract the ungodly, but it is the divine character and will and purpose of God Almighty – Father, Son (Jesus Christ), and Holy Spirit – which is being diluted and altered BIG TIME! And this is being accomplished on a large scale via the media, via movies, TV series, cartoons, memes, “Christian” song lyrics, ads, videos (especially the short ones), and certain preacher’s sermons, especially those of very large congregations (but not all).
And “the church” itself is also being altered and turned into businesses of men which are being marketed to the people of the world just like any other businesses. Instead of the church being the universal body of believers in Jesus Christ whose lives are surrendered to the Lord Jesus and who are walking in obedience to his commands in holy living, and who are taking the TRUE message of the gospel out to the world, and who are encouraging one another in their walks of faith, many are now houses of entertainment.
Now this does not describe everyone who professes faith in Jesus Christ nor does it describe every fellowship of believers in Jesus Christ, but it definitely describes the majority in our day and time. The church at large in America, anyway, has gone the way of the world and they have adopted the ways of the world in order to draw in large crowds of people from the world into their gatherings, because this is what their leaders are teaching them that they must do in order to “grow their churches.” And so they compromise with the world in order to win the world to their worldly gatherings.
And what that has resulted in are congregations full of worldly people, many of them claiming faith in Jesus Christ, but who are still walking according to the flesh, and not according to the Spirit. For they are still being given over to the lusts of the flesh, and the lusts of the eyes, and the pride of life. And they are, thus, going on as usual, pursuing their sinful pleasures, living in idolatry, adultery, sexual immorality, impurity, unfaithfulness, with lack of integrity, lying, cheating, stealing, and entertaining and being entertained.
God/Jesus is not their Lord (owner-master) for they are still their own masters. They are still the ones charting their own life courses, doing what they want to do, without or with little regard at all for what purpose God has for their lives and for what he wants them to be doing with their lives while they still live on the earth. And so many of them spend their whole lives chasing after whatever it is they think is missing from their lives, only to never be satisfied, to never be at peace, because they are not seeking God.
For our Lord is not interested in our “church attendance” on Saturdays or Sundays while we sit as spectators in seats or benches or pews and we sing songs others have chosen for us to sing, which may largely be very watered down, and then while we listen to the same man preach to us week after week, and then while we then leave and go home and go back to business as usual. What he wants from us is our entire beings on his altar laid as living sacrifices, holy unto him, which is our acceptable worship of him (see Romans 12:1-2).
For whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it.
In other words, if we hold on to our old lives of living in sin and for self, doing what our flesh desires, and not what God has designed for our lives, we will lose our lives for eternity, regardless of whether or not we have made a confession of Christ as Savior and Lord of our lives. But if for Jesus’ sake we deny self, die to sin daily, and walk in obedience to his commands in holy living, by his grace, and in his power and strength, then we have the hope of eternal life with God (see Luke 9:23-26; Romans 6:1-23).
So don’t let the worldly “Christian” culture suck you into believing that you can “believe” in Jesus, have all your sins forgiven, have heaven guaranteed you when you die, but regardless of how you live your life. For the Scriptures teach that if we walk (in conduct, in practice) according to the flesh, we will die in our sins, and if sin is what we practice, and if obedience to our Lord is not what we practice, we will not inherit eternal life with God. For not everyone who calls Jesus “Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING the will of God the Father in heaven (Matthew 7:21-23).
[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 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-24; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-11; Titus 2:11-14; 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; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]
Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer
Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897
Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897
Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,
This is my constant longing and prayer;
Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,
Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.
O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,
Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;
Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,
Fit me for life and Heaven above.
Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,
Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;
Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrYhiK2nQBg
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