“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” (1 John 2:15)
In the first verse, the world is in reference to the people of the planet earth, it is who Christ shed His blood for, in the second verse, most would say that it is the system of the world, the evil of it. Yet where does that evil come from? I am afraid that you cannot lay the blame of all the evil of the world at Satan’s feet, that would not be a wise thought, so the world in both verses is speaking of the people of this planet.
The lost are in darkness, we are to bring them to the knowledge of the light of God’s love in Christ, this is true. Now, add this verse into the mix, “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?” (2 Cor. 6:14) And if you will, one more, at least for now, “And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.” (Matt. 18:17)
The lost are the wicked, we are to hold no friendship with them, no close, abiding loving relationships with any of them, just these two verses have made that quite clear. So, why do so many churches let them in their doors, why are those who at least profess Christ calling them their friends, their close companions, their confidants. Because they will not obey the Word of the Lord, it is that simple. The excuses will abound, “We need to be their friends first,” “If we do not let them in the church, how will they hear the words of truth,” I could spend many pages on the excuses that I have heard and still not cover them all, and few, if any, will admit that any of the verses mentioned here are relevant to how they behave in the “general public.”
The truth is they want to seem friendly all the time, never offend, not even with the Word of God. In part they will proclaim Matthew 22:39, “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” But they cannot, or will not understand Proverbs 6:23, “For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life.” They will say that we are to follow Matthew 5:44, “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.” Yet when pressed, they cannot, or again will not, be able to tell you just who those enemies are.
It is a sad state indeed, this age of Christianity, weak-willed individuals who have determined that sacrifice is more important than obedience. The sacrifice of an hour or so on Sunday morning, doing all they believe necessary to always portray only what they consider the “finest” attributes of Christ, offering excuses for everything else. And they will offer those excuses until they are blue in the face, as is said, and still never admit their shortcomings in this area.
Those who are willing to stand in the front lines, well, we are called contentious, too adamant, uncaring, and are not welcomed into the fold. The log, as I have said many times, will never be removed from their eyes, (Matt. 7:3) all judging, is seen as judgmental, the pointing out of sin in the life of another will garner one response most of the time, “That’s between them and God.”
Do you know this verse, “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.” (Matt. 5:6) I know it full well, I have been taught it for several years now, but I am not looking for the rapture to escape from the evil, I’m hoping that just one more will listen, that one more person would understand that the Lord desires obedience, no matter what it costs us.
If you want to know who your enemy is, it is every single person that denies that Jesus Christ is Lord, they are antichrists (1 John 2:22) they are to be anathema to us, (1 Cor. 16:22) not our friends. Stop treating them like they are. If you cannot understand the difference between loving someone and being their friend, then I have been of no help to you today.
