davidbowerkingwood

The Ancient Spiritual War for Men’s Souls is Growing in Intensity!

The news today is filled with endless evidence of the perversity of the fallen sin nature that plagues humanity! As Christians, we are increasingly under attack as those who are under the influence of their fallen sin nature seek the destruction of all things holy and precious to the Lord Jesus Christ.

By God’s grace, Christians in the United States have been protected from the slaughter that is taking place in some countries around the world but the intensity of the battle is growing in the United States as the forces of Satan are aggressively attacking the people and institutions that have historically protected Christianity in this country.

God has set a precise date when the church shall be removed from this ancient conflict but only God knows the exact timing of the church’s removal. Until then, we, as Christians, are soldiers on the spiritual battlefield who are called upon to utilize the resources only God can provide. I have written more on this in a series of three essays that begins with “To the Soldiers in the Spiritual War.”

Toward the end of his ministry, the Lord Jesus Christ spoke of the end times and the signs that would be given to mankind; today we see many of those signs in place all over the world and ignore them at our own peril!

We are Told in Romans 1 of a Time of Judgment; has That Time Come?

Over the last few months I have observed a steadily increasing occurrence of news telling of the type of behavior described in Romans 1:18-32 where it is written:

“18 But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness. 19 They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. 20 For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.

21 Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. 22 Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. 23 And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles.

24 So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies. 25 They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen. 26 That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. 27 And the men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and as a result of this sin, they suffered within themselves the penalty they deserved.

28 Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done. 29 Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip. 30 They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents. 31 They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy. 32 They know God’s justice requires that those who do these things deserve to die, yet they do them anyway. Worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too.”

While this sort of thing has a history going back thousands of years; it seems there is a dramatic increase in the United States and other nations around the world in this type of behavior. Examine the verses above and reflect on the number of times you’ve seen news related to them.

Difficulties in the Days Ahead

In 2 Timothy 3:1-7 the Apostle Paul warns Timothy:

“3 You should know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times. ² For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. ³ They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good. ⁴ They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. ⁵ They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that!

⁶ They are the kind who work their way into people’s homes and win the confidence of vulnerable women who are burdened with the guilt of sin and controlled by various desires. ⁷ (Such women are forever following new teachings, but they are never able to understand the truth.)”

While the sinful actions cited above are easily noted by even casual observation of the media; it is vitally important to remember that every one of those sins was paid for by the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross at Calvary; paid for in full by his death, burial, and resurrection!

There is only one sin that remains unpaid for and that is the sin of rejecting Jesus Christ as Savior! Jesus spelled this out to his disciples in John 16:7-9 where it is written:

^“7 But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate won’t come. If I do go away, then I will send him to you. ⁸ And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment. ^{9 “}The world’s sin is that it refuses to believe in me.” I have written more on this in “Is There One Unforgivable Sin?”

Only God knows if these are the “last days” and it may be that times may get better and worse before the return of the Lord. One thing we can know is the Lord will bring this present age to a close precisely on the schedule he has foreordained. In the meantime, what is the mission of the church? I believe it is clear that there is one sure mission we have been given and that is to disciple, baptize and teach God’s commands.

Get to the Root of the Problem

The multitude of sinful acts we see today are nothing more than symptoms of a basic problem; the problem of spiritual death. We must not be distracted by the symptoms and overlook the reason for those symptoms, the dead human spirit!

Every human born of a human father was born spiritually dead! The only way to spiritual life is the new birth in Jesus Christ, you simply must be born again by faith in Jesus Christ as Savior. The only truly effective message to the world is:

Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be Saved!