“Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another. Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved. This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.” (Matthew 24:9-14 NASB1995)
There are multiple passages of Scripture, both in the Old
Testament, and the New Testament, which speak of the signs of the end of the
age. The entire chapter of Matthew 24 is dedicated to that subject. And I
personally believe that these verses 9-14 describe well where we are presently
in the world.
Although Christian persecution has been ongoing ever since
Jesus Christ was put to death on that cross, and rose from the dead, and
ascended back to the Father, and sent his Holy Spirit to indwell his followers,
I believe it is spreading more rapidly in our present age, and that we even
have people purposely giving a bad name to Christianity in order to increase
Christian persecution throughout the world (my observation).
And although many Christians throughout the world are
suffering tremendously for their walks of faith in Jesus Christ, more in
physical ways, often resulting in death, Christian persecution exists even in
nations that tout themselves as “Christian nations.” But this persecution is
less on a physical level, for now, and is primarily on the level of hate,
rejection, mockery, false accusations, and the casting aside of the unwanted.
For, a more diluted and altered and “user friendly” gospel
is now what is so popularized and widely accepted. So if you are a Christian
who still holds to the tenets of the faith, as Jesus taught them, and as his
New Testament apostles taught them, in the correct biblical context, you are likely
to be in the minority and among the persecuted who are largely being ignored,
cast aside, rejected, falsely accused, and treated as “not worth the time.”
And this includes the fact that many who profess faith in
Jesus Christ, or who used to profess faith in the Lord, are not living for the
Lord, many who never did, but they are still walking according to the flesh, in
sin, and many of them have yielded control of their lives to the flesh, and to
the devil, and they are deliberately hating and betraying those of genuine faith
in the Lord Jesus, often while pretending love, concern and care, which is a
lie.
And false prophets, teachers, preachers, and evangelists are
numerous in our day and age, some of them teaching very weird and outlandish
stuff, while others have just altered and diluted the gospel of Christ to make
it more appealing and acceptable to human flesh and less offensive to the
ungodly of this world. For so many are not teaching God’s requirements for
death to sin and obedience to God as necessary for faith which saves.
Therefore lawlessness has definitely increased, because so
many are not being taught that Jesus Christ put our sins to death with him so
we will now die to sin and live for God in walks of surrender to him in
obedience to his commands. And so many are being coddled in their sins, and
sinful rebellion abounds, even within the gatherings of “the church,” and even
in the lives of some pastors, because the sinners are being pampered, not
confronted.
And so the love of many has grown cold because they are not
in tune with the Holy Spirit, and their lives are not committed to Christ, but
they are still living to please the flesh. And then we live in a culture that
is entrenched in the media – television, the internet, social media, movies,
videos, the news, gaming, and the like. And those who indulge in these sources
of information and entertainment often will take on the character of what they
consume.
And I am not saying that all these things are all bad. I
look at news stories and some videos, and I get on social media and read people’s
posts, and I play Scrabble and cards with family members sometimes. But I am
not consumed by them, and my life and my values are not directed by them. And I
am not claiming that has always been the case, either. But by the grace of God
my life is being directed by God. But I am not perfect. Yet, to the best of my
understanding, I am walking in obedience to my Lord.
But the love of many has grown cold because their lives are
not dedicated to the Lord but they are still living worldly lives to please
their flesh. And this is why it is so critical that we be sharing the truth of
the gospel of Christ with the people of the world so that many will turn from
their sins, and they will now walk in obedience to the Lord, by the grace of
God, in the power of God, as being led by God and no longer by their human
flesh.
And when this says that those who endure to the end will be
saved, this is speaking about us continuing in Christ, in death to sin, and in
walks of surrender to God in obedience to his commands, in holy living, as what
we practice. For if sin is still what we practice, and not obedience to God and
to his commandments, then we don’t know God, we are not in fellowship with Christ,
and we will not have eternal life with God regardless of what we say.
[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John
6:44; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 2:6-8; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1
Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32;
Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 12:1-2;
1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10]
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.
Oh,
to be like Thee! full of compassion,
Loving,
forgiving, tender and kind,
Helping
the helpless, cheering the fainting,
Seeking
the wandering sinner to find.
O
to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,
Holy
and harmless, patient and brave;
Meekly
enduring cruel reproaches,
Willing
to suffer others to save.
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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They Will Betray One Another
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