Good News Press - 8 Living for Christ in the End Times :: Dr . David R . Reagan
The Bible clearly teaches that society will degenerate in the end times , becoming as evil as it was in the days of Noah ( Matthew 24:37-39 ). The Apostle Paul , speaking as a prophet , says that society will descend into a black pit of immorality , violence , and paganism ( 2 Timothy 3:1-5 ). He asserts that men will be “ lovers of self , lovers of money , and lovers of pleasure .” People will be “ boastful , arrogant , and unholy ,” and children will be “ disobedient to parents .” Sounds like the evening news , doesn ’ t it ? In short , we have arrived . Signs of Coming Persecution We should be deeply concerned over these developments , not only because we are witnessing the destruction of our beloved America , but because both Jesus and Paul prophesied that when these things occur , the Church will come under attack and individual Christians will be persecuted . Jesus said that as lawlessness increases , “ most people ’ s love will grow cold ” ( Matthew 24:12 ). He stated that in this hostile atmosphere , many professing Christians will “ fall away ” and will proceed to cooperate in the persecution of their former brothers and sisters in Christ ( Matthew 24:10 ). Paul indicates the same thing when he says that people will be “ haters of good ” and that they will therefore be “ brutal ” and “ reckless ,” reviling those who stand for righteousness ( 2 Timothy 3:2-4 ). We are watching these prophecies come true today before our very eyes , both here in America and around the world . As our culture has secularized and paganized , Christianity , the Church , and Christians have come under increasing attack as “ intolerant bigots .” ( See Dennis Pollock ’ s editorial on page 9 .) The attacks are going to intensify , and it is going to become increasingly difficult for Christians to stand for righteousness . Jobs will be lost . Careers will be destroyed . Christians will even be sent to prison for speaking out against evils like homosexuality because such pronouncements will be labeled as “ hate crimes .” What then are those of us who love Jesus to do as we face a rising wave of ridicule , harassment , and persecution for our faith ? How shall we live for Christ in the end times ? Let me suggest a few guidelines .
1 ) Order Your Priorities — The starting point is to review your priorities and make certain that God is first in your life . Be honest with yourself . Don ’ t play games . Don ’ t kid yourself . Most Christians have allowed their priorities to get very mixed up . Usually , job or career is number one , family is second , and God is third or even fourth behind an obsession with sports or something similar . Ask yourself this question : If God were to give you the opportunity to make one request , what would it be ? Would you ask for money ? Power ? Fame ? Success ? Solomon asked for wisdom , but David asked for something ten thousand times more profound — he asked for intimacy with God ( Psalm 27:4 ). And , because he put God first , he states in Psalm 27 that he did not fear life ( verse 1 ) or death ( verse 13 ). It is also the reason that he is remembered as “ the man after God ’ s own heart ” ( Acts 13:22 ).
2 ) Stand on the Word — The Bible says that the end times will be an age of deception ( Matthew 24:24 , 1 Timothy 4:1 , and 2 Timothy 4 : 3- 4 ). In fulfillment of that prophecy , we are today being bombarded with false but alluring religious systems offered by the Christian cults , Eastern religions , and the New Age Movement . Most professing Christians are sitting ducks for spiritual deception because the average Christian is not certain what he believes . And even when he is able to articulate a belief , he usually does not know why he believes it . The result is that a Jehovah ’ s Witness can turn the average Christian into a theological pretzel in two minutes flat . Anyone can be deceived . If you are to guard yourself against deception , you must get into the Word and stay in it on a daily basis . Also , you must test everything by the Word ( 1 John 4:1 ). For Catholics this means discarding doctrines like purgatory that have no basis in the Word whatsoever . For Protestants it means being alert to the twisting of scriptures or the manipulation of verses out of context . On every doctrine , the Bible needs to be searched from Genesis to Revelation to see what is said about the particular topic .
3 ) Believe in the Power of God — I am convinced that most professing Christians are deists . A deist is a person who believes in an impersonal god who never intervenes in human affairs . According to Deism , we are supposed to cope with our god-given reason , our talents , and the wisdom of the Scriptures . As far as the deist is concerned , at the end of the First Century , God retired , the supernatural ceased , and the age of miracles came to an end . But the Hebrew Scriptures teach that God never changes ( Malachi 3:6 ). And the New Testament specifically states that “ Jesus Christ is the same yesterday , and today , yes and forever ” ( Hebrews 13:8 ). There is no way we can cope with the evil of end time society in our own strength . Anyone who tries to do so will be defeated . Our only hope is to turn to a God who is alive and well , who is still on the throne , who hears prayer and answers prayer , and who still performs miracles . We must realize that the Bible teaches that we can limit God by our unbelief . This a great paradox . Think about it — although God is all-powerful ( Luke 1 : 37 ), we who are powerless in comparison can nonetheless limit His power by our unbelief ( Mark 6:1-6 ). That ’ s because God is a gentleman . He does not force Himself upon us . If we want to try to cope on our own , He will let us . He responds when we reach out to Him in faith ( James 1:6 ).
4 ) Persist in Prayer — One of the greatest blessings God has given believers is supernatural communication . God cares for us personally ( 1 Peter 5:7 ), and He desires to communicate with us ( James 4:8 ). Because He loves us , He earnestly desires our fellowship ( John 4:23 ). The tragedy is that most professing Christians seem to be inclined to turn to prayer as a last resort — only when all else has failed and the situation has become desperate . Some of this reluctance to seek God in prayer is due to pride , and thus the Scriptures continually exhort us to humble ourselves ( 1 Peter 5:6 ). Others fail to depend on prayer because of unbelief . They either think God doesn ’ t care , or else they think He is no longer active in history . But the Bible says “ we do not have because we do not ask ” ( James 4:2 ). How many blessings of God have you left on the table because you tried to handle your problems yourself ? The Bible also says that “ the prayers of a righteous man can accomplish much ” ( James 5:16 ). Do you interpret this to mean that the power of your prayers depends on your righteousness ? That is not what it means . If you are truly born again , then you are a righteous person because you are clothed in the righteousness of Jesus ( Isaiah 61:10 ).
5 ) Rely on the Holy Spirit — Most professing Christians seem to be afraid of the Holy Spirit . This is usually due to a lack of knowledge concerning the Spirit . For example , there is a tendency to write off the Holy Spirit as some sort of impersonal force — like “ The Force ” in Star Wars . We need to understand that the Holy Spirit is a person . He is the supernatural presence of God in the world today . He performs a dual role . For the unbeliever , He is God ’ s Evangelist . He is the one who works on human hearts to draw them to the Cross in repentance . No one is saved apart from the testimony of the Spirit ( John 6:44 & 65 ). With regard to the believer , the Holy Spirit is God ’ s indwelling presence to provide us with power and guidance . He is our Enabler . He is also God ’ s Potter , for one of His basic responsibilities is to daily shape believers more fully into the image of Jesus ( 2 Corinthians 3:17- 18 ). One of the ironies of the Christian life is that we cannot serve God in our own power . Rather , the only way we can effectively serve the Lord is by relying on the power of His Holy Spirit who resides within us . It is possible to quench and grieve the Spirit ( 1 Thessalonians 5:19 and Ephesians 4:30 ). The Word calls on us to be filled with the Spirit ( Ephesians 5:18 ). This can happen only if we are willing to release the Spirit to become the Lord of our lives . Most of us are content to let the Spirit be resident in our lives . He does not want to be simply a resident ; He desires to be president . Is that the case in your life ? Is the Holy Spirit on the throne of your life ? Or is He being treated as an unwelcome guest ? There is no way you will be able to withstand the pressures of end time society without relying daily on the power of God ’ s Spirit .
6 ) Practice Tough Faith — Faith comes easy when everything is going smoothly . When there is good health and prosperity , it is easy to praise the Lord . The test of faith comes when all the circumstances of life turn sour . God has not promised believers a rose garden . We live in a fallen world . The rain falls on the just and the unjust . The wicked prosper . Justice seldom prevails . It is easy for the righteous to grow discouraged . This calls