In (Romans 13:11) the apostle Paul appeals urgently to believers to wake up – to snap out of our stupor; those words were meant to shock his audience who like many of us were preoccupied more with the here and now than with the eternal. If the final salvation of believers was perceived to be nearer them then than when at first they believed, how much closer is it today- and how much further from being prepared for it are we than they were? I don’t mean to say that a believer can be MORE prepared to meet Jesus than to believe in Him rather, what I do mean is that believers have grown slack in the thing that we are to be MOST about today! Did not Jesus Christ Himself give a command to His followers to “occupy,” literally to “do business till (He) comes“? That is not a reference to the retail business but to HIS business! Today, many of us seem much more preoccupied with the world around us than with the kingdom of God today.
What one eternal concern ARE WE to be preoccupied with in these days?
Paul identified it in (v.8 of Romans 13) “Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law.” There is no caveat here. No – love them only if they agree with you or only if they love you back. Jesus said “love your neighbors” (Matt. 22:39), “love your enemies and those who spitefully use you” (Matt. 5:44) and “do good to those who hate you.” Today, division in our land is thicker than a 50oz T-bone steak; and love seems to be in short supply. In his prophetic warning concerning the last days, Jesus said, (Matthew 24:12) “And because lawlessness (or iniquity) will abound, the love of many will grow cold.” That is more than just a prophetic remark and indicator about the future, I believe its a warning to believers in every age and ESPECIALLY today! If we let our passions and zeal for what we love to get in front of our passion and zeal for God our love will not only grow cold toward our neighbor but by extension it will also grow cold toward God. Tell me that when God’s word clashes with your inclinations and passions that you DON’T shut out His words…
Right now, you may be thinking, “but, I DO love my neighbor!” And I would reply, “how do they know?”
Who have you been Christ to this week? Do they know that you love them from your attitude and words about current events or your angry posts on social media? My friends, the church is majoring on the temporal and frankly minoring or failing in the thing we were actually called to be passionate about – the souls of men! One hymn shouts, “Rescue the perishing!” In the process of doing that, Jude says, “And on some have compassion, making a distinction; but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.” (Jude 22–23) Jesus said, (Matt. 28:18-20) “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Believer, why are you here? To enjoy the freedom and rights you own as a citizen of the greatest country on earth or to share with others the only hope of freedom from bondage to sin and forgiveness with God through His Son Jesus Christ?! Even Paul said, that it was for the sake of the sinful man or woman that we remain here to reach (1 Cor. 5:9-10); otherwise there would be no reason for us as believers to continue in this life.
Many of us are so CONSUMED with temporal passions and zeal that we have forgotten the need of the souls among whom we live. Understanding that we live in a fallen world which will ALWAYS be HOSTILE towards God and recognizing that perhaps we have allowed passion for what we love to cloud our minds from the reason for our being here, we will go on in the last segment to address the question – what can we do about it?
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