"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour" (1 Pet. 5:8)! As I said yesterday, accepting Christ guarantees an attack from the forces of evil, led by Satan and his minions. Although we usually think of his "minions" as being demons, in this case, the Antichrist, the False Prophet, and a large proportion of non-believers must be included. The Antichrist, the counterfeit prince of peace, will come in "peace" and deceive Israel during the Tribulation (Dan. 9:24-27). And remember, it was a man, Judas, who was used by Satan to betray Jesus (Jn. 13:2), and it was a crowd of human beings that yelled, "Crucify Him!"
The Apostle Paul wrote about the believer's enemies. In Ephesians 6:12, we read, "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." In 2 Corinthians 4:4, Paul calls Satan "the god of this world."
Jesus warned His disciples of what it would cost them to follow Him. Luke wrote, "And ye shall be hated of all men for My name's sake" (Lk. 21:17). John's Gospel echoes the warning, "If the world hate you, ye know that it hated Me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his Lord. If they have persecuted Me, they will also persecute you" (Jn. 15:18-20). That is why born again believers are to daily take up our crosses and follow Jesus; the believer's life is one of persecution. Matthew, writing right after he, himself, was called "Satan" (Mt. 16:23), "Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any [man] will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it (Mt. 16:24-25).
Salvation is a free gift, but it is not a "free pass!"
No comments:
Post a Comment