Doing Right in Their Own Eyes

“And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death.  And ye shall be hated of all men for My name’s sake; but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.”  Matthew 10:21-22

Every day that passes, it surely seems like we are getting very close to the final days of this world.  In Matthew 10, Jesus had been warning His disciples to beware of men, meaning men who were hateful, ungodly, selfish, and would bring them before councils for preaching the gospel.  They would face those who were already prejudiced against them, including judges, governors, and kings.  No way would the disciples receive a fair trial, not by men’s standards of fairness.  However, Jesus did comfort them with the promise of providing the words for them to use when brought before the courts.  They were not required to prepare a statement beforehand or rehearse their defense because God’s Spirit would provide what they were to say.

As Jesus comforted them with this promise of God’s intervention in their stead, He also laid out a grim scenario for them concerning their own relatives and the kin of any who name the name of Christ.  In effect, Jesus was warning them that they probably would not be supported by nor even accepted by their own families, and it would get worse than just being ostracized by their peers.  It was possible that a brother would turn in his own believing brother for execution, even fathers turning in their children, and children their parents.  Jesus wanted the twelve to know that following Him and preaching the gospel would not lead to any of them winning a popularity contest.  Just the opposite would happen–Jesus said that they would “be hated of all men for My namesake”.  In John 15:18, He had said, “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated Me before it hated you”.  Anyone who has studied God’s word is aware of the difficulties that the apostles, including Paul, faced as they traveled and preached the gospel.  Thank God that He warns His people to prepare for persecution.

It’s a difficult position to be in when you are hated by almost everyone and your real friends are few and far between.  For some Christians of our day, that has become a reality.  Even in our country, persecution of believers has been simmering on the back burner for some time, but now the flame has been turned up, and the persecution seems to be getting hotter by the day.  We are still not in the same place as believers in the Middle East where some have been executed because they refused to deny Christ, but who’s to say that is not too far over the horizon?  For anyone who is paying attention, Christians have become a group that is hated by more and more people.  The statistics are grim.  The numbers of those who say they are not affiliated with any church or religion is growing at a fast pace.  I read a statistic online in which a poll was done and the most disliked of any group are evangelical Christians.  It is rather ironic that the group of people who care most about other people’s lives and eternal destiny are the ones counted as the most unfavorable.  I know that there are some Christians who can be judgmental and, quite frankly, obnoxious, but the majority of true believers have a burden for lost people and attempt to lovingly give them the gospel, hoping that they will receive it.  That is the greatest thing that anyone can do for another.

Recently, we have had another school shooting.  This time it was a Christian school.  The killer was a woman who wanted to be a man.  She had written a lengthy manifesto which the police, as of this date, have declined to make public.  I suppose it may have been filled with horrible things about believers.  Perhaps some Christians had been very unkind to her, but, of course, that doesn’t excuse in the least her execution of three children and three adults.  The leftist news media is trying to make her out as the victim.  In other words, their implication is that the Christians deserved what they received.  I don’t know about you, but I consider this a display of what Jesus said about not being surprised if the world hates believers.  It is certainly becoming evident that there are many who are not afraid to voice their hatred of Christians.  I see this as a huge change from just a few years ago.  Things are changing so fast now that perhaps we can hear the trumpet blow any day now.  But then again, it may be years before Jesus returns.  If so, as bad as it is now, just imagine how bad it will be in a few years.

Let’s see what happens in one year from today, March 31, 2023.  Will things get better, or will they get worse?  I fear the latter.  Time will tell.  Prayer is the most effective thing that believers can do.  It seems that the countdown to Jesus’ second coming has begun.  Only God can help us.