The Warning is Clear

Luke 17: ²⁶ “When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah’s day. ²⁷ In those days, the people enjoyed banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat and the flood came and destroyed them all.

Party hearty, and everything is all right? Probably not! Sometimes we get so secure in our own accomplishments and our own pride about who we are and what we have done, but beware.... In the above verses, Jesus speaks of when He returns, it will be at a time when everything seems to be going well on the old earth, and there is more to come in the days ahead. Our true wealth is found in Jesus, and our pursuit of righteousness is an added part of my faith walk. My efforts in producing righteousness fall way short of the standard God has for us, thus the need for God's righteousness in our lives. The direction to that righteousness is found in God's Word as we immerse ourselves in His perfect direction or will.

The writer of Proverbs wrote the following in Proverbs 8:¹⁹ My gifts are better than gold, even the purest gold, my wages better than sterling silver! ²⁰ I walk in righteousness, in paths of justice. ²¹ Those who love me inherit wealth. I will fill their treasuries. Only God is righteous, and when we are born again, our lives take on a whole new form as we become new "creatures" that are recreated in God's righteousness. It is like putting on a new coat, and Paul speaks to this example in Galatians 3:²⁶ For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. ²⁷ And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. ²⁸ There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus.²⁹ And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you.

The promises of God to Abraham are clearly transferred to all who come to Christ by faith, and we are all one in Jesus. Just as surely as the Law of Moses separated people because of their race, we were all united into one form. through Christ Jesus. The separation was done away with, and all who come to Christ are united in our faith with one another. We are made one with one another in Jesus, and love for each other is a priority of the Lord.

The warning is clear. We do not reject certain people with whom we don't disagree, but pray for them to come to Jesus, and offer God's love to them, especially in these last days. Clear a path in your heart to love as God loves, and know that this love comes from the righteousness of God that He has put in each of us who know Jesus. As Jesus loved those who put in on the cross, so we are to love those who do not agree with us or persecute us. This is the Jesus way!

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David Warren