The Last Days Of The Church XXIX

 The difference between those who have obtained mercy and those who walk in the light must be discernable to the naked eye. It’s not something one has to guess at; it’s not something one has to wonder about; it should be as readily visible as the difference between day and night. Whether in words, actions, practices, or everyday life, those with whom you come in contact ought to be able to see you as different without needing to verbalize it. If, when everyone around you is frantic and fearful, you are at peace, it will be noticed. If, when everyone around you is angry and bitter, you have the joy of the Lord, it will be noticed. The natural environment a believer resides in differs from that of the world, and it will not go unnoticed.

Not far from where we live, there is a place called Wisconsin Dells. It’s sort of a discount Branson without the Osmonds, but every summer, hundreds of young people from all over the world come through a program called Work and Travel. This program is basically cheap labor for the business owners and a chance to see America for those who sign up for it. A good chunk of these young people are from Eastern Europe, whether Romania, Poland, Hungary, Moldova, Ukraine, or Bulgaria.

Since they have an abundance of water parks, and my girls are basically fish without gills, we try to go at least once every summer and let them enjoy themselves. We usually spend the whole day and end up eating out somewhere, and each time, I can spot the Romanian, if there is one, without them saying a word. My wife doubted my abilities until I proved it to her time and again. Once might be a fluke, even twice, but I’ve been consistent throughout the years, and we’re up to seven or eight instances where I’d nudge my wife and say, “They’re Romanian; just watch.”

Believers should stand out to the world just as Romanians stand out to me. I can’t explain how I know; I just do. Whether facial features, mannerisms, or how they carry themselves, I can spot a Romanian out of fifty other people who look similar but aren’t. It’s not as though they’re dressed differently than the other wait staff, and no one’s wearing the traditional sheepskin hat on their heads, but there’s something about them that gives them away every time.

Looks can be deceiving, and words can be lies, but a man's true nature stands out and is undeniable.

We go out of our way to assimilate into the current culture, not realizing we were never supposed to attempt it. If you are a true child of God, born again and sanctified, the truth is that even if you try to assimilate, you won’t be able to because you are a new creature and, therefore, unable to pretend otherwise. Those of the world will know you don’t belong. They will intuit that there is something different about you, something grating and disconcerting, so they will either distance themselves from you or attempt to make you into something more palatable to their fallen state.

Whether the pressure is subtle or more overt depends upon the kind of people you’re dealing with, but the bottom line is that you are considered an invasive species, something that does not belong and so must either be assimilated or done away with. The coexist stickers are a ruse. They are a lie because darkness has no desire to coexist with the light. Its only desire is to subjugate the light, isolate it, and do away with it altogether.

It is then that you must choose to either remain unspotted from the world or begin to make compromises in order to appease those of the world. It is a choice. The devil can’t make you sin, trick you into sinning, or force you to do it. His job is to tempt; yours is to resist temptation. His job is to present sin in such a way that the consequences thereof, whether in the short term or for all eternity, are minimized and the momentary pleasure magnified.

James 1:27, “Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.”

That’s the standard and plumbline James establishes in the first chapter of his epistle. By the fourth chapter, he is compelled to deliver a warning and one that the contemporary church should take to heart because of the implications couched therein.

James 4:4, “Adulerers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”

There’s not much wiggle room, is there? There aren’t a dozen ways we can interpret this verse or downplay the severity of what it implies. If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God. If, however, you want to be a friend of God, through no desire of your own, by the nature of your desire to walk in the light, the world becomes your enemy. It is the world that initiates the animosity. It is the world that initiates the hatred and vitriol because any amount of light is an offense to those wandering in the dark.

What becomes of a church filled with individuals who continue to think as those of the world? What becomes of a body that continues to practice the same sins and vices it did before it walked through the doors and up the aisle? I’m not trying to be needlessly cruel, but this is the situation the church finds itself in, and countless souls believe that all it took and all it will ever take is a prayer and the wave of a hand to be saved, reborn, and sanctified. Biblically, that is a lie. A comfortable lie, a popular lie, and oft trumpeted lie, but nevertheless, a lie.

I can’t tell you something contrary to what the Bible says just because it will make you more comfortable. I can’t omit the truth of scripture because it may hurt someone’s feelings or even make them dislike me. The truth will out, and the reckoning is here. It’s not something decades down the road; it’s just around the bend, and we’re already starting to see the disillusionment of many who’ve been holding their breath waiting for their breakthrough, wealth transfer, or thousandfold return. Even now, they’re still focused on the things of this earth; even with all that we are witnessing going on in the world, the desire of many hearts is just more of the world.

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr.  

Posted on 6 August 2024 | 10:43 am