Perseverance and Obedience

"Hear the word of the LORD, ye that tremble at his word; Your brethren that hated you, that cast you out for my name's sake, said, Let the LORD be glorified: but he shall appear to your joy, and they shall be ashamed" (Isa. 66:5). We are fast approaching the time that these words will be fulfilled like no other time in history. That is not to say that this malady has not continued from the beginning until now, just that it is going to be escalated in high fashion in the coming days and years. Since the time that Cain killed Abel, the disobedient among God's people have been the main persecutors of those who have truly walked with God. Jesus forewarned those who followed him closely that this would indeed be the case with them: "Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also" (Jn. 15:20). Who was it that persecuted Jesus? Was it 'the world' apart from the people who were in covenant with God? "He came unto his own, and his own received him not" (Jn. 1:11). It was his very own brethren of Israel, to whom he came, that rejected, persecuted, and forwarded his death. So why is it that they did this to Jesus, and in fact did the same to the prophets who came before him? As our text scripture shows, the reason is always the same, which is for the sake of "letting the Lord be glorified." Jesus said it like this: "They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service" (Jn. 16:2). Those who are in covenant with God but do not follow him wholeheartedly, have no choice but to betray their brethren who do follow God wholeheartedly. It's no mystery as to why this is the case, as the beloved apostle informed us: "For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous" (I Jn. 3:12). If we fail to "keep [our] hearts with all diligence" we will end up on the wrong end of this stick every time (Prov. 4:23).

Jesus, speaking of the time that is all but upon us, gave us this sobering message to consider: "And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved" (Mat. 24:10-13). The evident and fearful connotation here is that those whose love waxes cold and thereby betray their brethren, will not be saved. Do you feel the fear of God? I certainly hope so. The 'end' that Jesus spoke of here, that the righteous will endure faithfully unto, is in fact the second coming of Jesus to this world, and the resurrection of the just that takes place at that time. John gave us some fine detail on that first resurrection, and he let us know plainly what it will take to be in it: "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure" (I Jn. 3:2,3). There's nothing difficult to understand here, it's just a matter of whether we make this our life's objective or not. Those whose love waxes cold will NOT make pureness of heart their life's objective, and that is exactly why they will betray those who do, as they have always done. It is exactly what John told us about why Cain killed Abel. It is also the same reason why Joseph's brethren sold him into Egyptian slavery, to reference another prime example (Gen. 37:23-38). As I say so often in my writing and in my preaching, nothing ever changes. Ever. So as grievous as it is, if we are bound and determined to "make [our] calling and election sure," we may as well understand that these things will come; especially now at the end of the world when EVERYTHING is going to be escalated to a degree that the world has never seen (II Pet. 1:10). I don't look forward to it, but it's a heck of a lot better than looking forward to being ashamed at the Lord's coming and going to hell to boot.

Jesus put an exclamation point on this sobering reality with the parable of the wheat and the tares. And lest any think that the tares are the unbelieving 'world,' he left no doubt that they are in fact citizens of the kingdom of God, which kingdom one must be born again to be in: "As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather OUT OF HIS KINGDOM all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth" (Mat. 13:40-42; Jn. 3:5). The tares here are obviously the same ill fated brethren whom Jesus stated that their love would "wax cold," and that they would betray their fellow citizens of the kingdom of God. The apostle Peter did due diligence to directly inform us of these things, and also how to deal with it: "Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy" (I Pet. 4:12,13). And just how is it that we are "partakers of Christ's sufferings?" "He came unto his own, and his own received him not." He wasn't the first to incur this misalignment from those who should have understood, and he wasn't the last. If we keep this memorable saying of Jesus in mind, we should fare well: "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God" (Mat. 5:8). In closing let's go ahead and drive this point home really firm and secure: "Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord. Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled; Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears" (Heb. 12:14-17). That should be a healthy enough dose of the fear of God for the moment. I truly hope that you feel the same penetrating soberness that I feel right now. Amen.