There is a tale told of a preacher in the 1600s who was preparing his bag to go into the country during the plague to escape possible death. His servant, after questioning him of what he was doing and receiving an answer, asked him, “Is not your God able to protect in the city as well as in the country?” The preacher began to unpack his bag.
Now, I am quite sure that you can make the analogy in the recent past in regard to churches locking their doors, masks and vaccinations, but that is not the subject matter of this short letter, nor is it whether you hid yourself because of fear or remained in the city, so to speak. It is about our reactions in how the wicked are behaving wickedly, as expected.
“Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things.” (Romans 2:1)
I am seeing more and more videos from those who may only be professing Christ with their lips as well as those I would consider brothers in Christ speaking about the wicked and not only their behavior in the last three years or so, but in the present, rarely though, save for perhaps the last few minutes of the video, lifting up the name of the Most High.
There is something else that is growing as well, videos and news accounts, some actually reliable, that speak of how the Christians, and that term by them encompasses many who are actually not, are the main cause of the world’s problems, because of their attachment to a strict set of ordinances within the Scriptures.
There is a verse that states this perfectly, “An unjust man is an abomination to the just: and he that is upright in the way is abomination to the wicked.” (Prov. 29:27)
While those who profess Christ reveal the wickedness of the wicked, the wicked reveal what they consider the intolerance of the Christians. And my friends, it reminds me of two children arguing on the playground.
“If a wise man contendeth with a foolish man, whether he rage or laugh, there is no rest.” (Prov. 29:9)
It has been said that if you are witnessing a debate between two individuals you can easily tell who is going to lose that debate, it will be the first one that begins to yell.
“But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.” (Matt. 5:39)
Anyone who understands boxing knows it is not just how hard you can hit, but how well you can take a punch. If you did not wear a mask or take the injection, you were ostracized from a certain group of people, if you did, you were accepted. Our responsibility as ambassadors of the Kingdom of God is not to join in with what the world is doing, it is not to continuously point out how wickedly the wicked are behaving, though there are times for that, it is to reach out to all we meet and ask them to join us in serving the Living God.
“How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!” (Isaiah 52:7)
If they wanted to wear a mask, let them, if they want to believe they are of a different sex than what they were born as, let them, if they want to steal and if the authorities do not prosecute them, so be it. What you must see is that if you are spending your time pointing out all the wickedness of this world, then you are doing the same thing that the wicked are doing in speaking against what they see as a bondage they will not submit to, the Word of God.
You cannot judge someone if you are doing what they are doing.
“Go ye into all the world and reveal how wicked the wicked are,” is not how the verse reads, is it?
You know their end if they refuse to repent, speak the truth in love and move on.
