“Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.” (Matt. 6:2)
I want to bring something to your attention here today, and that something is evil, and I would like to relate it, in part to this verse. “And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.” (Romans 14:23)
Those of you who study the Scriptures to be able to give an account of your faith to all that ask you of it understand the importance of being able to recognize evil, and many of you have determined to take a stand against it solely for the glory of God. My hope is that you are not deceived by its subtleties, that you are able to differentiate between the actions of fallen men and the wiles of our adversary.
Evil intentionally subverts the will of God wherever it can, Satan intentionally modifies the Word of God so as to deceive as many as he can, or if you will, he is allowed to in an attempt so that the work of the Holy Spirit is hindered in the life of those who have been chosen by God, those who have been born-again. These subtle inflections of lies, of half-truths are not easily discerned by those who do not study the Scriptures, and so as such, although they are indeed on the path to the Kingdom of the Most High, their witness for Him is hindered by a lack of the knowledge of the truth.
We are in the last days, we have been in the last days since our Lord rose from the dead, but because of the evil that is so prevalent in the times that we find ourselves in, many have begun to call them the end of the end days, the last of the last days. Here you must ask yourself this question, is evil growing exponentially, or is it only more visible?
It isn’t difficult to look back in history and see that there have always been transgender individuals, that homosexual behavior has always been amongst us, that rulers in every place of authority have always served their own interests above those they have been set in authority over, that Genesis 6:5 has always been a truth in mankind since Adam sinned against the Lord. “And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”
Is evil growing? Can Satan increase in power, or is mankind simply attempting to free itself from the Almighty and what He would have for them, what He offers all who will come to the Lord Jesus Christ, freedom from the bondage of sin. Are more people living in accordance to Romans 3:18, “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” Has the Lord given more over to a reprobate mind, or is evil only more visible to us because of the advent of social media? Are you able to finally see just how few there are that have been crucified with Christ, is Matthew 7:14 becoming a truth to you. “Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”
I have witnessed many acts of great kindness by people towards others, people who do not profess faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, people who do what is called good in the eyes of man, yet who, if they do not repent, will spend eternity in pain and suffering. They have received their reward here. I have sat amongst those who profess to know the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior, yet their hearts are far from Him.
Is evil growing, or are we in this generation being blessed with the ability to see it in a clearer light, are the wicked being exposed to those of us who have prayed for and been blessed to see their heart of rebellion against the Almighty? Is the Lord our God lowering the hedges, is Satan being allowed more free reign, are we indeed in the end of days, or are those who have been blessed with eyes to see and ears to hear seeing finally the depravity of mankind in its fulness, unabated by a fear of God any longer?
“And the LORD said unto me, Arise, get thee down quickly from hence; for thy people which thou hast brought forth out of Egypt have corrupted themselves; they are quickly turned aside out of the way which I commanded them;” (Deut. 9:12a)
My friends, evil has always been here, Satan has always attempted to draw men away from the knowledge and truth of the living God, you should know this. The question then is this, if indeed you have been born-again, what are you doing about it, how are you standing in the gap, what are you doing to reach out to the lost, what actions are you performing in your life that brings glory to God in these days of great evil?
How are you showing the world who it is you serve?
