Stranger Danger

“He that is of God heareth God’s words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God”   “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me”.  John 8:47; 10:27

Because I am a simple-minded person yet have enough sense to know that being a follower of Jesus Christ requires certain standards by which to conduct my life, I cannot understand how folks who claim to be Christians can support and promote some of the most ungodly policies and ideas that are prevalent today.  It is understandable, not in an approving sense of the word, but as a general truth, that folks who do not know Christ as Lord and Savior, are going to sin and have sinful thoughts and ideas as a pattern of life.  Sinners aren’t sinners because they sin; they sin because they are sinners.

There are plenty of politicians and leaders who fall into this category of folks who say they believe in God yet show no evidence that they even have the slightest idea of what God requires from those who are born again.  Celebrities also fall into this category.  There are a few who claim to be Christians yet in some of their roles, they act in ways that are not pleasing to the Lord.  They use profanity, and some dress very provocatively.  “So what?” one might ask.  “They are just actors portraying roles.  They are not really like that in real life”.  I don’t think that I could do things in a movie that I wouldn’t do in real life, no matter how much money that I was being paid, but that’s just me.  I have heard of a small number of actors who became Christians and had to leave the entertainment industry because they did not want to compromise their faith and did not feel comfortable in that atmosphere of ungodliness.  They valued their relationship with the Lord more than the fame of Hollywood.  Those who stay in the entertainment industry and maintain their integrity as a Christian are to be applauded for bringing Christian values into an industry controlled by Satan.

Jesus was in a discussion with some of the religious leaders in Jerusalem as He did many times.  He told them that He spoke words which were influenced by His Father, and they did that which they saw their father do.  They said that Abraham was their father, to which Jesus replied, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham (John 8:39).  Their desire to kill Him, Jesus said, was not from Abraham, thus Abraham could not be their father, and that they were obeying their real father, implying Satan.  They insisted that their Father was God, but Jesus said that couldn’t be because if God was their Father, then they would know that He came from the Father, and they would love Him.  Jesus then asked why they could not understand what He was saying, and then He answered His own question, “…because you cannot hear My word”.  I can picture the anger rising up in these self-righteous religious leaders when He told them that their father was the devil, and that’s why they wanted to kill Him.  Jesus then continued with the “piece de resistance”:  “He that is of God hears God’s words: you therefore hear them not, because you are not of God.”  There is nothing like the truth to shake folks up.  After more discussion, the leaders took up stones to throw at Jesus, but He evaded them.

Returning to our current day, we have seen riots and protests breaking out in many places, and by their signs and their shouts, these folks have let us know the extent of their hatred for God.  They are unable to hear His voice because they do not know Him.  They are like those religious leaders of Jesus’ day who wanted to kill Him because He pointed out their sin, their hypocrisy, and their lack of love for God and for their fellow man.  These modern-day protesters act as if they would just as soon kill all those who disagree with their ideology.  Their consciences have been “seared with a hot iron” (I Timothy 4:2) which has made their hearts hard and impenetrable to God’s love.  How dangerous it is to be in a place where one cannot hear God.  How dangerous it is to be a stranger to God and to His word.  I can’t look into the heart of anyone other than myself, but if a person follows a pattern of speaking and behaving in ways that are ungodly and offensive toward God, even if they claim to be a Christian, then it’s a pretty good indication that they do not really know Him.  The greatest proof that folks know Christ is to hear Him and follow Him, as He claims them as His own.  What a difference that Christ makes in one’s life.