We live in a world that hates God.

We live in a world that hates God. There is no one that is immune to this. Either you are a son of God and are therefore his ambassador representing him on earth, or you are a hostile opponent of God-hating him in your heart of hearts and bent toward dishonouring him.

There are no in-betweens. 

Because of this reality, the whole world is on a sprint running towards hell. (Eph. 2:1-3)

I don’t know about you, but I need to be reminded of this from time to time. 2 Timothy 2:26 is so clear about this read it carefully!

…and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.

This verse tells us a couple things about unbelievers. 

The first is that all non-Christians are ensnared by the devil. 

This includes your sweet Jesus-rejecting grandma. It includes your waiter who brings you refills very quickly. And it includes every Jesus-rejecting politician and king in human history.

This means that they are unable to see the beauty of Christ. They are unable to understand the things of God. This blinds them and causes them to be in a prison. They are unable to please God (Rom. 8:8) and therefore only seeking after their own interests. 

The second thing we remember is that the world is actively doing the devils will.

This means that most people around you are not neutral but rather are actively engaged in pleasing their father the devil. Whether they know it or not.

They seek not only their own interests but the interests of the prince of demons. They serve their father and are bent towards pleasing him. Again, whether they know it or not.

Of course, God in his kindness has given people a moral compass (Rom. 2:15). Through common grace, He holds down sinfulness. Believers also play a part in keeping down sinfulness (Matt. 5:13). 

But we must understand that every human being on earth is wicked and will stand before God in judgement one day meriting fully the eternal damnation that they will receive.

One point that must be made here is that this reminder does not justify nastiness on the part of the Christian. Rather the opposite. This reminder leads the Christian toward compassion. In fact, two verses prior Paul encourages Timothy to not be quarrelsome, but rather to be gentle. Christians must always remember that if it were not for the grace of God we would still be in our sin. Blinded to the beauty of Christ. 

Another reason for our gentleness is our compassion for those captured by the devil. As you picture the soul’s God places around you, you are seeing people who are in a desperate condition. They are dying. In fact, they are already dead. Every time you watch a movie or read a news clip, you have to remember that the person who wrote that movie or wrote that article, is a hell-bound, devil serving person. Of course use discernment, not everything is fully depraved, but for Heaven’s sake don’t be naïve. The Devil hates you and wants you to suffer.

From time to time we are in need of this reminder because we are prone to put our hope in this world. We put our trust in the world. We consume what it has to offer. And we believe the worlds lies. Obviously, I’m not saying that everything in the world is bad we clearly are in need of discernment, but overall the world is rotten and running towards hell.

So what do we do with this reminder?

I pray that today you’ll look at unbelievers a little differently. I pray that as you look at your neighbour, as you look at family members, that you beg them to believe the gospel. That you quit playing games with their souls and give them the only truth that can save them. I also pray that we stop believing the lies of those around us who seek to put our trust in this life rather than the next. Politicians who are unsaved whether you agree with their policies or not are also captured by Satan and doing his will. 

I also pray that you look at believers a little differently. That this reminder about the condition of the world would drive you to love your brothers and sisters in Christ more fervently. That you would cast aside petty issues and put on forgiveness and love for those you will spend eternity with. 

As the world rots, you need the reminder that the church has been given to you to cause you to be reinvigorated each Sunday. I pray that the church would be an oasis for you and that you could not wait to join with your brothers and sisters as you sing to your Lord together and learn more about Him through the faithful preaching of His word.

We need this reminder about the condition of the souls of men to cause us to put our priorities in order. We must share the Gospel and we must gather with our brother and sisters in Christ. 

Don’t lose hope! The God who was able to grant you salvation and cause you to be born again, can save anyone. If it is His will He will cause them to come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil. Preach the word, trust the Lord and never forget to love and cherish your time with your brothers and sisters in Christ!

from Blogger https://ift.tt/2D9kZO9
via IFTTT