Notice one of the signs of His pending return: “Many will be offended….” Not a
few, not some, but many.
First, we must ask, “Who are these offended?” Are they Christians or just
society in general? We find the answer as we continue to read: “And because
lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.” The Greek word for
love in this verse is agape. There are several Greek words for love in the New
Testament, but the two most common are agape and phileo.
Phileo defines a love found among friends. It is an affectionate love that is conditional. Phileo says, “You scratch my back, and I’ll scratch yours,” or “You treat me kindly, and I’ll do the same.”
On the other hand, agape is the love God sheds abroad in the hearts of His children. It is the same love Jesus gives freely to us. It is unconditional. It is not based on performance or even whether it is returned. It is a love that gives even when rejected.
Without God we can only love with a selfish love -- one that cannot be given if
it is not received and returned. However, agape loves regardless of the
response. This agape is the love Jesus shed when He forgave from the cross. So
“the many” Jesus refers to are Christians whose agape has grown cold.
There was a time when I did everything I could to show my love to a certain
person. But it seemed that every time I reached out to love, the person slapped
me back with criticism and harsh treatment. This went on for months. One day I
was fed up.
I complained to God. “I have had it. Now You are going to have to talk to me about this. Every time I show Your love to this person, I get anger thrown back in my face!” The Lord began to speak to me. “John, you need to develop faith in the love of God!” “What do You mean?” I asked. “He who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption,” He explained, “But he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart” (see Gal. 6:8-9).
You need to realize that when you sow the love of God, you will reap the love of God. You need to develop faith in this spiritual law -- even though you may not harvest it from the field in which you sowed, or as quickly as you would like.
The Lord continued, “In My greatest hour of need, My closest friends deserted Me. Judas betrayed Me, Peter denied Me and the rest fled for their lives. Only John followed from afar. I had cared for them for over three years, feeding them and teaching them. Yet as I died for the sins of the world, I forgave. I released all of them -- from My friends who had deserted Me to the Roman guard who had crucified Me. They didn’t ask for forgiveness, yet I freely gave it. I had faith in the Father’s love.
“I knew that because I had sown love I would reap love from many sons and
daughters of the kingdom. Because of My sacrifice of love, they would love Me.
“I said to ‘love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who
hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you
may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and
on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
“For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax
collectors do the same? And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more
than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so?’” (Matt. 5:44-47).
I realized that the love I was giving was being sown to the Spirit, and
eventually I would reap those seeds of love. I didn’t know from where, but I
knew the harvest would come. No longer did I see it as a failure when love
wasn’t returned from the person I was giving it to. It freed me to love that
person even more!
If more Christians recognized this, they wouldn’t give up and become offended.
Usually this is not the type of love we walk in. We walk in a selfish love that
is easily disappointed when our expectations are not met.
brother offended is harder to win than a strong city, and contentions are like
the bars of a castle. ~ Proverbs 18:19
An offended brother or sister is harder to win than a fortified city. The strong
cities had walls around them. These walls were the city’s assurance of
protection. They kept unwelcome inhabitants and invaders out. All entrants were
screened. Those who owed taxes were not allowed in until they had paid. Those
considered a threat to the city’s health or safety were kept out.
We construct walls when we are hurt to safeguard our hearts and prevent any future wounds. We become selective, denying entry to all we fear will hurt us. We filter out anyone we think owes us something. We withhold access until these people have paid their debts in full. We open our lives only to those we believe are on our side.
Yet often these people who are “on our side” are offended as well. So, instead of helping, we stack additional stones on our existing walls. Without our knowing when it happens, these walls of protection become a prison. At that point, we are not only cautious about who comes in but in terror we cannot venture outside our fortress.
The focus of offended Christians is inward and introspective. We guard our
rights and personal relationships carefully. Our energy is consumed with making
sure no future injuries will occur. If we don’t risk being hurt, we cannot give
unconditional love. Unconditional love gives others the right to hurt us.
Love does not seek its own, but hurt people become more and more self-seeking
and self-contained. In this climate the love of God waxes cold. A natural
example of this is the two seas in the Holy Land. The Sea of Galilee freely
receives and gives out water. It has an abundance of life, nurturing many
different kinds of fish and plant life. The water of the Sea of Galilee is
carried by way of the Jordan River to the Dead Sea. But the Dead Sea only takes
water in and does not give it out. There are no living plants or fish in it. The
living waters from the Sea of Galilee become dead when mixed with the hoarded
waters of the Dead Sea. Life cannot be sustained if held onto: It must be given
freely.
So an offended Christian is one who takes in life but because of fear, cannot release life. As a result, even the life that does come in becomes stagnant within the wall or prison of offense. The New Testament describes these walls as strongholds.
“For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.” ~ 2 Corinthians 10:4-5
These strongholds create set patterns of reasoning through which all incoming information is processed. Although they were originally erected for protection, they become a source of torment and distortion because they war against the knowing or knowledge of God.
When we filter everything through past hurts, rejections, and experiences, we find it impossible to believe God. We cannot believe He means what He says. We doubt His goodness and faithfulness since we judge Him by the standards set by man in our lives. But God is not a man! He cannot lie (Numbers 23:19). His ways are not like ours, and His thoughts are not ours (Isaiah 55:8-9).
Offended people will be able to find Scripture passages to back their position, but it is not the correct division of God’s Word. The knowledge of God’s Word without love is a destructive force because it puffs us up with pride and legalism (1 Cor. 8:1-3). This causes us to justify ourselves rather than repent of the unforgiveness.
This creates an atmosphere in which we can be deceived, because knowledge
without the love of God will lead to deception.
Jesus warns of false prophets immediately after His statement of many being
offended: “Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many” (Matt 24:11).
Who are the many they will deceive? The answer: the offended whose love has
grown cold (Matt 24:12).
Wolves always go after the wounded and young sheep, not the healthy, strong
ones. These wolves will tell people what they want to hear, not what they need
to hear. These people don’t want sound doctrine; they want someone to tickle
their ears. Let’s look at what Paul says about the last days:
But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be…
unforgiving… having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such
people turn away!… For the time will come when they will not endure sound
doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears,
they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away
from the truth. ~ 2 Tim. 3:1-5; 4:3-4.
Notice that they will have a form of godliness or “Christianity,” but they will
deny its power. How will they deny its power? They deny that Christianity can
change them from being unforgiving to forgiving. They will boast of being
followers of Jesus and proclaim their “new birth” experience; but what they
boast of has not been allowed to pierce their hearts and bring forth the
character of Christ.
Paul could see prophetically that these deceived men and women would have a zeal
for knowledge but remain unchanged since they never apply it. He described them
as “always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” (2 Tim
3:7).
If Paul were alive today he would grieve to see what he foretold in operation.
He would see multitudes of men and women attending camp meetings, seminars, and
church services amassing a knowledge of the Scriptures. He would watch them hunt
for “new revelation” in order to live more selfish, successful lives. He’d see
ministers taking one another to court for “righteous causes.”
He would see Christian publications and radio broadcasts attacking men and women
of God by name. He would see charismatics running from church to church to
escape offense, all of them professing the lordship of Jesus while they cannot
forgive. Paul would cry out, “Repent and be free from your deception, you
self-seeking generation of hypocrites!”
It doesn’t matter how up to date you are in new revelations from the many books
you’ve read or even how many hours you pray and study. If you are offended and
in unforgiveness and refuse to repent of this sin, you have not come to the
knowledge of the truth. You are deceived, and you confuse others with your
hypocritical lifestyle. No matter what the revelation, your fruit tells a
different story. You’ll become a spring spewing out bitter waters that will
bring deception, not truth.
And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. ~ Matt. 24:10
Let’s examine this statement. If we look closely we can see a progression. An
offense leads to betrayal, and betrayal leads to hatred.
As stated earlier, offended people build walls for protection. Our focus becomes
self-preservation. We must be protected and safe at all costs. This makes us
capable of betrayal. When we betray, we seek our own protection or benefit at
the expense of someone else -- usually someone with whom we are in relationship.
Thus, a betrayal in the kingdom of God comes when a believer seeks his own
benefit or protection at the expense of another believer. The closer the
relation, the more severe the betrayal. To betray someone is the ultimate
abandonment of covenant. When betrayal occurs, the relationship cannot be
restored unless genuine repentance follows.
Betrayal then leads to hatred with serious consequences. The Bible states clearly that anyone who hates his brother is a murderer and that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him (1 John 3:15). How sad that we can find example after example of offense, betrayal, and hatred among believers today. It is so rampant in our homes and churches that it is considered normal behavior. We are too numb to grieve when we see minister taking minister to court. It no longer surprises us when Christian couples sue one another for divorce. Church splits are common and predictable. Ministry politics are played at an all-time high. It is disguised as being in the best interest of the kingdom or the church.
“Christians” are protecting their rights, making sure they are not mistreated or
taken advantage of by other Christians. Have we forgotten the exhortation of the
new covenant?
Why do you not rather accept wrong? Why do you not rather let yourselves be
cheated? ~ 1 Cor 6:7
Have we forgotten the words of Jesus?
But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those
who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you. ~
Matt. 5:44
Have we forgotten the command of God?
Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of
mind let each esteem others better than himself. ~ Philippians 2:3
Why don’t we live by these laws of love? Why are we so quick to betray rather
than lay down our lives for one another, even at the risk of being cheated? The
reason: Our love is cold, which results in our still seeking to protect
ourselves. We can no longer confidently commit our care to God when we are
trying to care for ourselves.
When Jesus was wronged, He did not wrong in return but committed His soul to
God, who would judge righteously. We are admonished to follow His steps.
For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an
example, that you should follow His steps: “Who committed no sin, nor was deceit
found in His mouth;” who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He
suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges
righteously. ~ 1 Peter 2:21-23
We must come to the place where we trust God and not flesh. Many give lip
service to God as their source, yet they live as orphans. They take their own
lives in their hands while they confess with their mouths, “He is my Lord and
God.”
By now you see how serious the sin of offense is. If it is not dealt with,
offense will eventually lead to death. But when you resist the temptation to be
offended, God brings great victory.
Next week: How could this happen to me?
**Used with permission from John Bevere Ministries all rights reserved.