Recently,
I received this question from a friend and will endeavour to provide an
answer. This was brought about by a rough time that person was having
because they were doing the Lord's work.
I don't understand how a true committed Christian person can act
that way towards their fellow Christians by killing them for no reason.
Jesus changes our heart when we surrender to him. This is a spiritual
occurrence that takes place in our hearts. Love replaces hate,
bitterness and violence. How can people say they worship and love God
and do these horrific acts? In the so called Christian churches
there are many people who have hearts of steel and yet they have said
the sinners prayer and asked for forgiveness, yet they act
like vigilantes.I
will start with why do so called Christians do these things. I believe
there are two good ways to answer that question and then I will add a
comment.
Firstly, we can ask why Judas Iscariot was happy to
betray Jesus. Here was a man who basically had the world at his feet;
one of the inner core of the followers and yet he turned and betrayed
Jesus.
Secondly, we must take the warning that Jesus, himself,
gave to His disciples when He told them that in the future days when
the devil came, the devil would would deceive even the chosen ones.
Let's
face it, the devil was prepared to try and deceive Jesus so we cannot
expect to be immune from the attack. The difference was that Jesus is
perfect and was able to resist. If you like, He was a further step up
the ladder and could come down on the devil from a higher position.
While we can call on the Holy Spirit to help us in the fight, the devil
often deceives us and we don't do that. Just look back on the horrendous
battles (for those who know of these) I have been through over the last 18 months and how harsh they
were. How often, but for you wonderful people who would not let go of
me, was I close to yielding to the devil and going the wrong way? I
have certainly lost count.
Now, we are people very conscious of
the fight we have and are on the alert. If we can fail, then so much
more is it likely that those who are only part hearted in their belief
are going to fail.
You mention that these people have all said
the sinners' prayer. But was it lip service or heart service? Only God
knows the truth to that answer. What I am saying is that people are
often caught up in the euphoria of an occasion (and sadly that spirit
is often found mingling in true Christian rallies as the devil tries to
snatch people away before they are truly saved - like the parable
of the sower) and, under those conditions, words are very easy to say
so as to "impress" those around and seem to do what is the right
thing. It must truly grieve God when that happens but He gives us free
will and so it is the choice of the individual.
Like the parable
of the sheep and the goats or the parable of the wheat and the tares,
true believers and pretend ones inhabit the system side by side. In
some occasions the good are dominant and then Jesus truly reigns. At
other times, sadly, the bad ones gain the upper hand and then evil
rules the system. Once either take full control, the other has very
little chance of overcoming (though it is certainly not impossible, because nothing is impossible for God).
Hopefully, that gives you an explanation of why this happens in our imperfect world.
You
have certainly been through a rough time these last couple of
weeks over the plans you and others are making for your future. Let me
say this: the devil does not want this to happen because, as you are
aware, each time a larger part of God's plan for the end times takes
place, the devil is made to realise how little time he has left.
You (as with others) are a big part in the next stage of the end,
so the devil will be
digging deep to upset this plan. As a result, he uses those who are
close to you to attack you. People laugh at me when I say that probably
only 5-10% of those who go to church are true Christians, but as time
goes by, you find people reveal their true colours. Now some of these
are not intentionally offside with God and become horrified when they
realise what they
have done, they repent and are brought back to a new relationship with
God. But, by then, some damage may have been done and there is a
temporary victory for the devil. He cannot hope to win, but that does
not stop him from continuing to try and to see how many he can drag
down with him. The latter is his biggest intention, I believe.
In
conclusion to all of that, what I am saying is that the devil deceives
them into believing that they are doing this for God and so they,
genuinely, believe that what they do is right. Here I have to say that
in parts of my life I have also been guilty of that.
As
an amplifier to all of what I have said so far, I have had a call
from another friend and she has brought news of further attacks by the
devil on
lives. She has taken steps to allow God to move in the life of herself
and her family but, as a result of that, the devil has begun an all out
attack on the health of her family, with all of them been stricken with
severe health problems since the decision was made.
You see, the devil does not want this to come together because it frightens him.
R. J. Burling
