A friend in East Africa summarized an encounter he had with an American university professor touring his country. The tour included a visit to a Christian church in context of sharing with the professor a bit about the nation’s major faith. The professor reportedly belittled the need for faith in our age of scientific awareness and intellectual prowess. My friend silently reflected on how, over a century ago, the US and other western nations had dispatched streams of fervent Christian missionaries to introduce African nations to The Lord God Jehovah. Now, today, the tables are turned. And so many in western nations have either lost, or never embraced this faith that has grown significantly across Africa – the fruits of western missionary works.
‘What to do when a person, family, people or nation loses all fear of /respect for God?’ I pondered this question while listening to my friend’s story. I remembered when this happened in ancient times, God had a bifurcated response, according to The Bible.
First, He dispatched teachers/prophets, in grace over extended periods of time, with instructions to warn and then teach people of His expectations and requirements.
Then, when there was no repentance (Godly sorrow leading to changes of mind, heart and lifestyles), His grace would expire, and punishing judgments would ensue. Those who survived the judgments would repent, live righteously, at least for a while, and then warn others of the consequences of ignoring God and His requirements.
And today?
In this post-Christ, Church Age of Grace, God essentially follows the same, exact pattern, with a major exception – The Church. This is the growing, worldwide body of baptized believers in Jesus Christ as Savior, Lord and soon-coming global King. To us, God extends eternal grace now by which we practice what He calls righteous living before Him and observing mankind. Since our sinfulness (past, present and future) was effectively judged in Christ’s suffering and death, we personally will never be judged. However, we are corrected (chastised) for our untoward actions, and our works will be judged. God’s grace to us shall never, ever expire, that is IF/AS we remain faithful in our public commitments made to Him, and to His righteous requirements. When we 'slide back' (or backslide) in these, and repent, He restores His fellowship within us. When we don't, He 'spews/vomits us out of His mouth', and strikes our names out of His Book of [Eternal] Life, as indicated in Revelation 3:14-22.
For every other human being, however, the above-noted pattern still applies. Grace extended to this group has an ‘un-disclosed expiration date’, per se. To them, He offers the free gift of salvation, in Jesus’ substitutionary suffering and death on their behalf. As they continue to reject His warnings and offers to teach them, they eventually lose all fear and respect of Him as Deity, The Almighty, and Creator of all things, including their very life and breath. When their Grace expires, watch out! Judgement is then certain, in one form or another, or perhaps several.
Jesus, The Lord God clearly summarized this strategic pattern to Jeremiah, for him to write it down for posterity, so we, today would understand it, and therefore, be without excuse. Further, since any strategy requires implementation tactics, He also clearly summarized His tactics to carry-out His strategy.
Strategic Pattern
He told Jeremiah: I am in all the Earth, doing these three (3) things:(Jeremiah 9:24 paraphrased)
1. Extending Grace to everyone, saint and sinner alike, for extended periods of time, during which they have ample opportunities to learn to (a) know Me, (b) understand what I require, (c) embrace My generous offer of eternal salvation, and (d) learn to walk in My acceptable ways.
2. Issuing Judgment, because I AM The Ultimate Judge of all flesh, ensuring eventual Godly Justice is served to all who abuse My Grace, and who refuse to change.
3. Ensuring Righteousness through remnant groups (a) who are spared the worst of My judgment, and (b) who survive to live righteously, teaching and demonstrating to others the risks of their sinful ways.
First to Moses (Deuteronomy 32), and much later to Ezekiel (Ezekiel 14:12-23), these four (4) judgment implementation tactics that He will apply to any people (person, family, society or nation) who persist in un-repented sinfulness:
1. Famine, whether caused by drought, floods, fires, wars, bad decisions, etc.;
2. Wild beasts who attack mankind; and also hegemon governments that He depicts as wild beasts (See: Daniel 8. NB: The USA is the current world hegemon government, and China is ‘the wanna be’ hegemon. For more on hegemony, see: God Rail-less (Series);
3. The sword/warfare, whether among a people, between nations or between nation groups; and
4. Pestilence, whether as destroying pests or disease-causing agents, such as viruses that trigger epidemics and pandemics.
An insightful review of these tactics quickly reveals a high degree of correlation between them. Pick any one, and you can easily see how it could trigger another or several others!
Any cursory review of human history, during the 2nd (post-flood) and 3rd ages (post-Pentecost), will so very clearly highlight these ‘strategic and tactical markers’. However, we are generally unable to correlate these markers, with factors that likely triggered and followed them. But what if we could??
Rather, The Lord simply expects us to understand and to know, by faith, that He remains active, performing this, His stated modus operandi in the affairs of human beings. The spiritually perceptive among us both practice, and promote this understanding.
Unfortunately, even many Christ-believers remain woefully uninformed and unaware of this basic knowledge of The Creator. As a result, they eventually become as carnally-minded as non-believers, unable to promote this understanding, or to demonstrate its inherent power to transform lives, families, societies and nations. Jesus called this ‘the loss of [spiritual] saltiness’, becoming useless to The Kingdom of God in Earth. Such Apostle Paul predicted to occur towards the end of this current, 3rd age of history, as apostasy or falling away from the faith, noted in 2 Thessalonians 2 and 1 Timothy 4. (See: Audacious Christians (Series)).
Friend,
In which of The Lord’s groups are you now assigned,
Those in His Church, or the 'not-yet-aligned'?
Those ‘salty-with-effect’, or to the group, non-saline?
Can you explain His game plan to those who contravene?
Christian,
God so loved the world, He sent Jesus - a Jew.
Jesus so loved the world, He sent them YoU!
What is your life ‘preaching’ to those you’re sent to?
As you preach, may it be Him they pursue.
Jesus so loved the world, He sent them YoU!
What is your life ‘preaching’ to those you’re sent to?
As you preach, may it be Him they pursue.
