When did it become fun to hurt others by lies and detraction where only winning matters?
“Jesus predicted that the love of many would grow cold as part of His answer to the disciples’ question, “What will be the sign of your coming, and of the end of the age?” In Matthew 24, in the Olivet Discourse, Jesus describes the end of the age that will precede His second coming. He says that there will be false Christs (verse 5), wars (verse 6), and strife and natural disasters (verse 7).
Jesus also warned of the persecution of believers, some of whom would prove to be false disciples who would turn on one another (Matthew 24:9–10). “And,” Jesus said, “because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold” (verse 12, ESV). Whether it is because of the deluding influence of the false teachers or the persecution or the fear of death, the zeal of many false professors will diminish. Their love toward God and toward the church will “grow cold.” True Christians, even those whose faith is weak, will persevere to the end (verse 13). Theirs is the true love, which is the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22), and it cannot fail (1 Corinthians 13:7). True love cannot become cold because it is sustained by Christ who is able to keep us from falling (Jude 1:24).
For those without the Spirit, however, what love they do have will become colder and colder in the last days. Paul expands this idea in 2 Timothy 3:1–4 when he describes the last days. The love those people have is not a warm, living love for God and His truth and His people. Rather, it is the love of self and the love of money (verse 2). Paul describes those whose love for God, Christ, and the saints is only in pretense, not in reality. They do all they do in a religious way from self-love and to selfish ends. Their aim is to gain glory and applause from men or to use religion to gain something for themselves. They do nothing for the glory of God, the honor of Christ, or the good of others. — Source: Got Questions
Prominent English Scholar Says His Country’s Decline Began With the Reformation
Forgiveness: Justice and Mercy.
Jesus said, “Take heed to yourselves; if your brother sins against you, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him; 4 and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, and says, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”
— Luke 17:3-4
70×7.
Justice acknowledges that a wrong has been done. The very created universe is founded upon the Law(s) of God. Acknowledgement of a wrong committed cannot be sentimentally ignored in our personal lives or in our institutions. Forgiveness however must be offered to any who acknowledge they have done wrong in some serious degrees.
Sometimes guilt must be apportioned among or within a group. We can seek objective mediation for knowing where the primary fault lay if necessary on route to a Christian solution.
Updated 10/29 SH.
