This world is rapidly changing and not for the better, unfortunately. The depth of man’s depravity is the worst it has been in all of history. Violence and greed have become the fastest-growing religion in the world. Crime is rapidly reaching all-time highs, causing general morale to plummet to record lows. The world’s extreme moral decay is evidence that the final hour is upon us. Hope is dying and justice is on the fast-track to non-existence. Evil is coming on like a flood and will lay claim to many inhabitants of this world before the coming of the Lord. Do not be deceived, things will get exponentially worse before this world goes up in smoke!
How did it come to this? The answer is simple: We the people have denounced the God of all creation and turned to serve what is created. This is idolatry. We the people have spurned the love of God and ignited His wrath, fueled by jealousy. We the people have rejected God and have removed Him from our midst. We people have kindled God’s wrath as never before in the history of mankind. We the people have denied God’s sovereignty, and we the people rejected His righteousness. We people have brought condemnation down on our own heads. We the people have attempted to escape His justice. We the people have chosen the path to our own destruction. We the people have refused God’s love. We the people have determined our own fate.
Without God’s divine love there is only demonic hatred.
● As the bonds of trust have been whittled away, friends become enemies; husbands and wives become adulterers. The innocent become guilty; Life turns to death.
● There are few people if any upon whom one could depend. It seems that there is no one today who won’t smile in your face while betraying your trust. In today’s world, these moral degenerates are called friends. There is not much left in the way of camaraderie. Increasingly, it has become every man for himself.
Without God’s authority and justice, evil is free to reign.
● Taking prayer out of the public arena, the removal of Christian symbols or memorials, and the forced acceptance of all that God proclaimed were abominations, are all products of man’s fallacy.
● Forging an alliance with the evil one is futile. God’s sovereignty cannot be stripped, nor can it be diminished to any degree. On the day of judgment, there will be no immunity; there will be no deals for a reduced sentence to cop a plea and all judgments are final. There will be no appeal and there will be no pardons.
Without God’s mercy and grace, there is only condemnation in hell.
● Mercy - not getting what we rightly deserve. The fall of man in the garden of Eden brought a curse of sin on all mankind. The wage for sin is death, and from birth, it is what we rightly deserve. There is death to the flesh (the physical body), and there is the death of the spirit (the soul), which is eternal pain and suffering.
● Grace - is getting what we do not deserve. The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ brought forgiveness to all who will accept it. It is true, we are in no way, shape, or form deserving of God’s forgiveness, much less His love. But God created us for His good pleasure. God’s love made it possible through His Son Jesus, for us to dwell with Him forever.
● Hell is a real place created by God as an eternal prison for the angel formerly known as Lucifer and a third of all the angels in heaven. He did not design it or any other place for us that would separate us from Him.
God’s love is extravagant and not easily understood by the creation toward whom He demonstrates His love. God's love compels Him to offer His creation, for free because His creation is not deserving. Since Adam and Eve’s fall from grace, all of mankind has been destitute and lacked that means to satisfy the debt that was incurred. Therefore, God took it upon Himself to foot the bill in our stead. Man was created to have intimate fellowship with Him. All He requires of us is our love. He knows that we cannot give that which we do not possess so, it was necessary for Jesus to step out into the world to personally, provide His creation with His love and personally deliver the necessary instructions for practical application, thereby leaving man with only two commandments:
37 And He said to him, “‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’
38 “This is the great and foremost commandment.
39 “The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’
40 “On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 22:37–40 (NASB95)
"If you love me, you will keep my commandments" (John 14:15).
Do you profess your love for God? Do you live as one who loves God? Do you love your neighbor as you love yourself? Do you demonstrate love toward your enemies? What kind of love have you got?
What Kind of Love?
This world is rapidly changing and not for the better, unfortunately. The depth of man’s depravity is the worst it has been in all of history. Violence and greed have become the fastest-growing religion in the world. Crime is rapidly reaching all-time highs, causing general morale to plummet to record lows. The world’s extreme moral decay is evidence that the final hour is upon us. Hope is dying and justice is on the fast-track to non-existence. Evil is coming on like a flood and will lay claim to many inhabitants of this world before the coming of the Lord. Do not be deceived, things will get exponentially worse before this world goes up in smoke!
How did it come to this? The answer is simple: We the people have denounced the God of all creation and turned to serve what is created. This is idolatry. We the people have spurned the love of God and ignited His wrath, fueled by jealousy. We the people have rejected God and have removed Him from our midst. We people have kindled God’s wrath as never before in the history of mankind. We the people have denied God’s sovereignty, and we the people rejected His righteousness. We people have brought condemnation down on our own heads. We the people have attempted to escape His justice. We the people have chosen the path to our own destruction. We the people have refused God’s love. We the people have determined our own fate.
Without God’s divine love there is only demonic hatred.
● As the bonds of trust have been whittled away, friends become enemies; husbands and wives become adulterers. The innocent become guilty; Life turns to death.
● There are few people if any upon whom one could depend. It seems that there is no one today who won’t smile in your face while betraying your trust. In today’s world, these moral degenerates are called friends. There is not much left in the way of camaraderie. Increasingly, it has become every man for himself.
Without God’s authority and justice, evil is free to reign.
● Taking prayer out of the public arena, the removal of Christian symbols or memorials, and the forced acceptance of all that God proclaimed were abominations, are all products of man’s fallacy.
● Forging an alliance with the evil one is futile. God’s sovereignty cannot be stripped, nor can it be diminished to any degree. On the day of judgment, there will be no immunity; there will be no deals for a reduced sentence to cop a plea and all judgments are final. There will be no appeal and there will be no pardons.
Without God’s mercy and grace, there is only condemnation in hell.
● Mercy - not getting what we rightly deserve. The fall of man in the garden of Eden brought a curse of sin on all mankind. The wage for sin is death, and from birth, it is what we rightly deserve. There is death to the flesh (the physical body), and there is the death of the spirit (the soul), which is eternal pain and suffering.
● Grace - is getting what we do not deserve. The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ brought forgiveness to all who will accept it. It is true, we are in no way, shape, or form deserving of God’s forgiveness, much less His love. But God created us for His good pleasure. God’s love made it possible through His Son Jesus, for us to dwell with Him forever.
● Hell is a real place created by God as an eternal prison for the angel formerly known as Lucifer and a third of all the angels in heaven. He did not design it or any other place for us that would separate us from Him.
God’s love is extravagant and not easily understood by the creation toward whom He demonstrates His love. God's love compels Him to offer His creation, for free because His creation is not deserving. Since Adam and Eve’s fall from grace, all of mankind has been destitute and lacked that means to satisfy the debt that was incurred. Therefore, God took it upon Himself to foot the bill in our stead. Man was created to have intimate fellowship with Him. All He requires of us is our love. He knows that we cannot give that which we do not possess so, it was necessary for Jesus to step out into the world to personally, provide His creation with His love and personally deliver the necessary instructions for practical application, thereby leaving man with only two commandments:
37 And He said to him, “‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’
38 “This is the great and foremost commandment.
39 “The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’
40 “On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 22:37–40 (NASB95)
"If you love me, you will keep my commandments" (John 14:15).
Do you profess your love for God? Do you live as one who loves God? Do you love your neighbor as you love yourself? Do you demonstrate love toward your enemies? What kind of love have you got?