“And many will turn away from Me and betray and hate each other. And many false prophets will appear and will deceive many people. Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it; and then the end will come.” (Matthew 24:10-14 NLT)
These familiar words from Jesus chill us and cause us to wonder if today, the times in which we now live, might be the very days about which He was speaking. Perhaps, but I believe a better way to view them is this: do these challenging words cement my heart to His, creating a hunger in my heart for Him that no sin can satisfy?
Implicit in His words in Matthew is an oft seen scenario where a brother or sister in Christ is “caught” in a sinful scenario – unfaithfulness in their marriage, a DUI, anger, mismanagement of their employer’s money, or a thousand other things, but their grief isn’t caused by their sin, but by being caught.
John Piper wrote: “Many people weep at the consequences of sin who still love the sin.” If we’re not vigilant in our love for Jesus, we can become the proverbial “wolves in sheep’s clothing.” And, honestly, that can happen with the best of intentions.
We stop to help a stranded driver, only to learn she’s a woman trying to escape an abusive husband. Or a man at work has just lost his wife and the cookies we bring him have no intention of drawing his affections to us. But…one thing leads to another and before we really stop to think of the consequences, we’re involved in an illicit relationship that is threatening, not only our marriage, but our witness as a believer.
But here’s where the plot thickens, the tears we shed at being discovered often aren’t tears of repentance, but tears of regret that we have to part from a relationship or situation that, at its core, was very satisfying and rewarding to us. We come to believe the “wrong” thing we did was actually sort of “right.” We end up having right feelings for wrong reasons.
We SHOULD be crying. We’ve let something that started with good intentions become something that is clearly wrong in God’s sight. And, unfortunately, that’s too often the source of our tears. The sin we so long to hold onto is being taken away, which well it should, but rather than rejoice that the Lord has delivered us, we weep with longing to hold onto the feelings we had in the beginning stages of our sin.
Here’s a word from the Lord. Be very careful when seeking to help someone of the opposite sex when you or they are married. We can’t always guard our heart from whom we will be attracted, so, proceed with extreme caution. A one-time favor or “kindness” is one thing, but when the option for a continued relationship is offered, please, for Christ’s sake, walk away.
Satan is no respecter of persons and will tempt anyone with anything he thinks will draw their attention away from Jesus. Endurance as a believer is developed in small things. Keeping our spouse aware of what we’re doing and why. If we’re stopping to help someone, whether we know them or not, let our spouse know, not only because it’s the right thing to do, but for our own safety.
We live in a crazy world, and we can’t be too careful, physically or spiritually. And the irony is, it’s not always just our credibility at stake, but Christ’s.
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 