Enmity with God

We all have masters. Every one of us. Even people who claim to be liberated by “faith” have masters. I heard an expression that has been floating around for a hundred or so years that if you stand for nothing, you’ll fall for anything. And a lot of people don’t want to stand for anything, so, fleeing from the truth that they see with their own eyes and all accountability, they back weak, emotionally driven arguments, and attack anyone who stands up for what is true. They claim to want peace, but sow division, they claim to be tolerant, but call for (at best) ostracizing someone or, worse, violence against opposing viewpoints (violence comes when you have no other arguments).

And this is the world we’ve always lived in. Since God attempted to reason with Cain to master his sin, but instead he killed his brother, mankind has wanted self-justification over accountability for their own actions. So, we rewrite history, words, and definitions and point to the other side as foolish, weak, enemies, and more. Friends, we are warned against dealing with the world. Friendship with the world is enmity with God. And when we compromise our values and, indeed, the truth, to placate the world, we make ourselves enemies of God.

So, what do we do? Where is our hope? We stand on God’s word. We stand for His truth. We trust in Him completely, even if they imprison, torture or kills us, as they have with all the Righteous since Abel and through today. We do not compromise or make concessions, but understand that Jesus is THE Way, THE Truth, and THE Life, and no one comes to the Father except through Him (His words, not mine). We understand that the blood of Jesus is what covers our sin, and before God there is no self-justification, and that all will be judge according to the Law, or the Righteousness of Christ. This is our only hope. We are either covered in the blood of Christ, or we are enemies of God. There is no middle ground. Choose wisely.

 James 4:1-12

What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?

1 John 2:15-17

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

2 Timothy 3

But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men corrupted in mind and disqualified regarding the faith. But they will not get very far, for their folly will be plain to all, as was that of those two men.

You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra—which persecutions I endured; yet from them all the Lord rescued me. Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.