Matthew 7:21-23 can be some of the Bible's most disturbing verses. Jesus is telling us of those who will die confidently believing that they will receive eternal life with Christ, and yet never really knew Him! How can such a thing be? Hopefully it is enough to bring some to the point of FEAR (Matt. 10:28): and the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Ps. 111:10).
How have we come to these last days? How can the churches be full, and yet this falling away has still happened? The time of delusion spoken of (Is. 66:4; II Thess. 2:11) has come- but where have we gone wrong, to bring this about?
We live in the age of the microwave, and all the reasoning behind it. No, I'm not really talking about the device used for cooking/heating food. We want what we want right now, fast and without delay. To an extent, mankind has always been this way. "Then Jesus said unto them, My time is not yet come: but your time is alway ready." -John 7:6. Yet today, technology has given us many devices that can provide us with the "quick fix" for many tasks.
This type of thinking has invaded the organized churches; we have been polluted by the fallen world around us. Today, many individuals could boast of a general repentance for sin, without a specific confession of sins. This is where the problem really shows up! Of course, I need to explain...
It is possible to cry out, "Lord, forgive me- I am a sinner." without actually being sorry for our sins, or at least certain sins. Like if you get caught for speeding. It is a law, and you knew that it was wrong, but you did it anyway! You give the officer a sob story about why you needed to break this law right then, or how you weren't paying attention, etc. Chances are, no matter what happens in this instance, in the future you will continue to violate the posted speed limit whenever you feel justified in doing so.
When each person stands before God in judgment, I can pretty much guarantee that everyone will readily admit to sinning, or being a sinner! It just didn't matter to them when they were alive. Have you ever been acquainted with someone who is chronically late? Maybe they show up and say, "Sorry that I'm late!" Yet it never changes, does it? Perhaps others close to them have even sunk into the sin of lying to accomodate them. Like in giving them a time to be ready by which is far earlier than really necessary. Such lies are a rotten spiritual fruit, and do not reflect a true Christian life. Jesus tells us to rebuke a brother that has sinned against us, not coddle him and counter-act it with our own sin!
Have you ever told a lie, and then only acknowledged it in kind of a pseudo-repentance? In other words, you admit that it was wrong and sinful, but you still believe that it was the "right thing" to do in a given situation. All the while within youself, you know that you would readily do it again under similar circumstances. This is when saying, "I'm sorry", or "Lord, forgive me" are not real repentance.
The Lord has shown me that I have often been guilty of FALSE repentance. I thought that I was sincere. He showed me directly that I should not be so quick to repent! I was repenting out of fear, but the genuine acknowledgement and understanding of the specific sin were far from me.
You see, God Hates Sin- He hates all sin; and as His children, we ought to hate sin, too. When we sin in ignorance, the Lord won't hold us accountable; UNTIL the thing is brought to our attention! At that point, it is the same as any other sin. We should be grieved to have hurt God by sinning, and repentance should be accompanied by sorrow (II Cor. 7:10); with a resolve not to sin so again.
Sometimes, I think we cut ourselves some slack. Our inward feeling is, "Well, I didn't know that it was wrong. I know that God loves me, and forgives me." We think that it isn't really a "big deal" in God's eyes, and that since we didn't really know any better, He just sort of winks at the episode. God does love us, but this doesn't take away from His hatred over sin.
We are all most likely familiar with the parable of the sower, found in Matt. 13:18-23, Mark 4:14-20, and Luke 8:11-15. We see the different types of "soil" that the seed of the Word gets sown into. What we need to recognize, however, is that soil can be prepared. This is alluded to strongly in scriptures like Luke 8:18, 11:35, 13:6-9, I Cor. 3:10,11. Renowned saints like David Brainerd knew the importance of spiritual soil preparation, and he was in no hurry to seek a "quick" decision for Christ!
Brethren, these things take time; will you give to them the time they require? It could take days. Write things down! How do you react to the sins you are exposed to in others? Are they "no big deal", or are they offensive? Do you ever think, "That's OK; I used to do that, too!" Perhaps you have never fully acknowledged such behavior in your own life as actual SIN. Ask the Lord to show you the inconsistencies in your testimony, and your inner attitudes. We all need the transforming work of the Holy Spirit in order to gain the "mind of Christ." This takes more & more prayer, hungering and thirsting after righteousness, as shown in Matt. 5:6.
You may well have to go back over sins that you were sure had been forgiven. Don't try to rationalize your behavior, or justify it before men! God wants to give you the right attitude toward sin, so that you will cry out in that way which pleases Him, "God, have mercy on me, a sinner." Unfortuneately, you will seldom find specific kinds of sin spoken of in churches today. Pastors dance around those matters which they feel might be offensive to someone, and I know that this happens! The result of this is that sinful behavior seldom changes, because it hasn't been pointed out as such from the spiritual "shepherd" within your church!We wind up getting general repentances, without specific confessions (confess sin to God).
Take the time to give your life fully to Christ; in the end, nothing else will matter. For more info along these lines, read the article Dear John, from our website.
"There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death." -Prov. 14:12.
"Therfore to him that knoweth to do good, and does it not, to him it is sin." -James 4:17.
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