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APATHY- THE FINAL DEATH BLOW
section 9

ARISE AND SHINE
 

When God’s prophets rebuked Israel, God addressed the only "believers" available during ancient times. He indicated that there would be a future of redeemed people, or a remnant:

Isa. 59: 20-21 and 60:1-2 "The Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who repent of their sins," declares the LORD. "As for me, this is my covenant with them," says the LORD. "My Spirit, who is on you, and my words that I have put in your mouth will not depart from your mouth, or from the mouths of your children, or from the mouths of their descendants from this time on and forever," says the LORD. "Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the LORD rises upon you and his glory appears over you." Much later, Paul warns of the terrible times: 2 Tim 3:1 "But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days…" Paul follows this with many descriptions of worthlessness in character. These character traits include pride, greed, pleasure-seeking self-centeredness, dishonesty, deceptiveness, disrespectfulness, incapacity to love and abusiveness, and a violent disposition. This sounds like the very worst of characters God might have found in the fallen, apostate, Israel He judged back in the Old Testament, right? This sounds like unbelievers who have totally given themselves over to the lusts of the flesh, right? But wait. Paul is not talking about unbelievers, but about believers. False believers, to be exact, or those whom we might call the religious. To be even more specific, those who have an empty religion. We know this because Paul follows up his list of many rotten character traits with the final warning: They will have a form of godliness while denying the power (life) thereof! And, he tells us to "have nothing to do with them"! (vs. 5)

Obviously, the Apostle Paul is hoping to warn believers from being deceived into the 'darkness' of an empty, outside of the cup, religion that has no power to transform us into worthy, productive citizens of the Kingdom. The only way to really protect ourselves from their poison is certainly not to hang around them, and not even to talk to them (as a well-known axiom says: bad company corrupts good morals). See also one of Paul's exhortations to believers here:

Eph. 5:8 - 13 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said: "Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you." When we read about darkness and "great darkness" that covers the whole earth, we often think of evil times, perhaps times like it was in the days of Noah. On this we are correct (Matt. 24:37-39). We might also think of this darkness as sin, and as those who multiply evil and unclean deeds in secret, under the cover of darkness. On this we are correct, too. What is easy to forget, though, is the fact that the letters of the Apostles are addressed to believers and not unbelievers. In this Scripture above in Ephesians, for instance, believers are told to have nothing to do with sin and evil, and to expose rather than hide sin and evil. Unbelievers are expected to walk in darkness because they do not have the Light of Jesus, but believers are expected to no more. Indeed, they have the power to overcome that sin and darkness, by exposing it.

Any "believer" who refuses/denies God's power and love, will show it by walking in the darkness. We are not to be fooled by their outward, superficial "form" of godly talk and ritual, regular church attendance, tithe giving or what have you. Instead, we are clearly instructed to shun these false believers (1 Corinth. 5:11-13), while likewise not judging the unbeliever. I dare say that if we ever followed the Scriptures on this, we would have already done one of two things. Either, we would have already shunned these false believers who are lost in their recalcitrant sins, and by doing so, we would have made it real to them that they are not real Christians and they could be brought to true repentance and therefore, true conversion for the first time in their lives. OR, we would have left our corrupt churches behind already and found fellowship elsewhere, even if it is not in your typical setting.

Tragically though, our churches convince unbelievers that the Gospel is an irrelevant hoax, since unrepentant religious people are as bad or worse than the average unbeliever. Our churches by and large keep the worst of the nominal believers in them, even honor them, while expelling other believers over minor, often extra-Biblical and man-made traditions or 'infractions'. Our churches automatically shun those who are not fake and who by confession of their weaknesses, sincerely seek help and restoration. These religious people probably shun their weaker brothers because they do not know how to deal with such honesty, or because in their heart of hearts they do not really believe the power of the Gospel to transform. Instead, they erroneously think that our own strength and merit accomplishes our own healing, and that restoration can be done without confession and appeal to the wise (Romans 15:1-7).

This is what happens when a form of outward godliness is upheld while honesty and power is despised. This is indeed the darkness we have come to over our land in America, even in the churches that believe in the gifts of the Spirit (lest we think "power" only means gifts, and that if we have gifts, we have wisdom).

These are the results of apathy over the things and priorities of God, and zeal without wisdom. But as for those of us who desire the Life of Christ, the Walk is not that hard to find except for the ignorance of the religious, if we were to submit ourselves to their teachings or discipleship (Matt. 23:13). As for us, we are not to slumber in sin and darkness, but instead to rise up and walk in the light of truth and confession (1 John 1:5-10), and let the Lord shine upon us.

In closing, whatever we are apathetic about, we are dead to. Whatever we are apathetic about, we are in danger of. It is a good thing to be dead to sin and alive to Love and Life, and the good deeds that should naturally overflow from our new life in Christ, if indeed we are real and we are His. To recap, let us go over the steps needed to rise from dead works in this life, and come alive to our new Life of Christ:

  1. Come to the knowledge of God’s love for us that He demonstrated by sending Christ for our redemption
  2. Abide in Christ by believing in Him as the Way, the Truth, and the Life
  3. Love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, and mind.
  4. Continue to abide in Christ by discarding the old life and putting on the new life; obey Christ’s commandment to love our neighbors as ourselves, and to love one another as He loves us.
  5. Relinquish any misplaced religious zeal for establishing our own righteousness. Instead, accept the fact that by grace alone we are given our new wedding garments, or our righteousness. Salvation and redemption are a free gift from God through Jesus Christ, and nothing we have done has earned it, or will earn it. As for the rest, we can depend on the Holy Spirit to guide us in right priorities and empower us to love and do the works we are destined to accomplish in our lives, and by this fulfill the commandment of Christ. This will please God and He will say, "Well done!… Come and share your master's happiness!" (Matt. 25:23)
  6. Remind ourselves of God’s love for us: Repent of any idolatry or falling away from Him as our first love, if we have done that
  7. Hate sin, evil, falsehood, injustice, and error. Stop nullifying Christ’s work and grace in us by further sinning; Stop tolerating or silently consenting to sin, wickedness, mercilessness and evil. Instead, repent and expose these "deeds of darkness," for the sake of our own spiritual health, beginning with ourselves. Rebuke and reprove others as necessary. Separate from false believers completely. Don't even talk to these unrepentant deceivers who hide their deeds and persist in their carnality, who are liars and hypocrites in regards to their sin and who deny their need for God's grace and power.
Some people have never completely accepted in their heart the grace and love of God. If they did, they would never be convinced by anyone that they must establish their own righteousness through empty religious exercises. Something or someone has lied to them. Exhausted from dead works and the emptiness it brings and abused by religious condemnations and false teachings, they become discouraged, depressed, and apathetic toward the real things of God.

Really believing God’s love and grace for us, really loving God, really hating sin and the old life, and really loving others: All of these things are so inter-related and interdependent, that they cannot be completely pulled apart. There are both passive steps and active ones, and the active ones complete or "seal" the process of God’s work in our lives. As it says in Scripture: "You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone," (James 2:24) and "he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit: for apart from Me you can do nothing" (John 15:5).

I am a survivor of the very worst kind of apathy: The kind that was done knowingly and the kind that involved multiple people. Worst of all, these tribulations by others did not come to me from an expected source, but from a wholly unexpected source: those who claimed to be Christians. Although I could say other important things were involved too, I can firmly say that apathy, or lack of compassion, was nearly my deathblow.

I urge you my fellow Christians, to not let it be your deathblow. Do not become dead to Christ by neglecting His heavenly gift in you, or by burying or refusing your part on this earth for the good deeds He would do through you. Loving God or man is not lipservice, but action. A proclamation of faith is not the end of your Life in Christ, but the beginning. So dear Christians, for the sake of your brothers and sisters in Christ, your neighbors, and even your country, speak up in the face of apathy with soberness, conviction, compassion, and hope. Ask not just for healing, but for the refining fire too. Reverse the tragic consequences of apathy by your own deeds wherever you can. Believe in Christ's redemption and power, love one another, and do good deeds as you abide in Christ's love.

2 Thess. 2:16-17 May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.

Blessings,

Teri Lee Earl

© Copyright 2002 by Teri Lee Earl (written from August, 2001- January, 2002)

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References:

The New American Standard Bible

"Happy Dependence Day" July 4, 2000 article by Joseph Farah, editor of WorldNetDaily.com, who quotes The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, by Edward Gibbon, printed in 1788.

Operation Drumbeat, The dramatic true story of Germany's first U-Boat attacks along the American coast in World War II,
by Michael Gannon, copyright 1990 by Harper & Row Publishers, see especially pp. 88-99, 170, 212, 240-241, 266-267, 338-339, 344-345, 388-391, and pp. 411-415

"FDR", Part II, written and produced by David Grubin, a documentary aired on the PBS channel, 1997

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by Teri Lee Earl, Copyright 2002, HarvestNETwork
(http://www.harvestnet.org)



 
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