24 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field;
25 but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way.
26 But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared.
27 So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’
28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’
29 But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them.
30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.”
At the time of Sodom and Gomorrah, there was only one family that was removed before the destruction of the cities of the plains. Many family members perished while the man of God was rescued.
At the time of Noah, there was only one family that was protected from the wrath of God when He destroyed the people of the world. Many family members perished in the flood except the man of God and his family were rescued.
There are many people who say they are Christians but who reject the word of God, claiming they are Bible believers. They follow the traditions of men in their culture and negate and minimize God's Word. Many are not members of our family in Christ but would assert they are. With discernment, we may be able to see who is who, but not perfectly.
Many family members around us say they are Christians but have no fruit of the Spirit, and hate the true Christians because they hate anyone who will not elevate them, and especially any believer who will address sinful attitudes and actions.
I am thankful God told me all of this so that when I see the inconsistencies and the rejection by those who say they are Christians, we will know what is happening and walk in peace and joy in spite of the arrows that the devil lobs at us through the false judgments of family members.
One of the biggest schemes of the devil is to attempt to make believers feel guilty about doing or saying what we are led to by the Holy Spirit. He is the accuser of the brethren and wants to silence us through guilt and insecurity. He uses people to manipulate us into silence, but those who are strong will not comply; they will remain strong and resolute no matter what people may do to us or say about us.
When we realize most people who say they are Christians not only do not follow the Bible but are likely not born again, we do not have to take their personal attacks as anything to be concerned about.
In fact, in recent years, I have developed a sense of humor about the assaults and ambushes of those who want me to fail because I see it as "boot camp" for learning to be stronger with each new strike.
Romans 5:3-4"3 And not only this, but we also celebrate in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; 4 and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope;"
James 1:12 "12 Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him."
The devil will use people to make us believe we have sinned in some way when we follow Christ and assert His truth. They will make up lies about our conduct and twist our words while passing on to others the lies they concoct in their heads.
Galatians 6:9 "9 Let’s not become discouraged in doing good, for in due time we will reap, if we do not become weary."
Hebrews 12:1-2 Jesus, the Example
12 Therefore, since we also have such a great cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let’s rid ourselves of every obstacle and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let’s run with endurance the race that is set before us,
2 looking only at Jesus, the originator and perfecter of the faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."
2 Timothy 2:12 "If we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us".
All born-again believers do endure to the end no question, but we can be harmed if we listen to the devil and the people he uses. Don't allow those in your life to demean and denigrate your walk with Christ. If you have to be in their presence because there is no escape, endure it as a lesson to strengthen you.
The devil wants us to respond to wicked people the way they treat us, we must resist and be the one who is not like them. No matter how mean they become, we refuse to be rude and mean like them. We must ignore their nonsense and be led by the Holy Spirit.
The more we refuse to be like them, the worse they will get, or perhaps, in God's mercy, they will repent because their own example becomes too ugly to face anymore when they don't have anything to point to that we did or said that was offensive.
This is why God said to bless those who curse us, so that if they accuse us, it is better they tell a lie than have a half-truth to share in their gossip.
Luke 6:28-30 "28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. 29 To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic[a] either. 30 Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back."
1 Corinthians 5:12-13 "…12 What business of mine is it to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? 13 God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked man from among you.”
We are to remove from our lives those who claim to be Christian but display none of the fruit of God's Spirit. The reason is to keep ourselves from becoming like them.
Proverbs 26:4-5 " 4 Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be like him. 5 Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he become wise in his own eyes."
Galatians 5:22-23 "22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law."
Just to be clear, a godly person never treats one person with contempt and another with kindness; they always treat everyone the same, because they cannot be on the outside something different from what is on the inside. The ungodly are pretenders who have two different personas, one they show to those they wish to impress and the other to those they despise.
A narcissist will treat special those they wish to impress and those they hold in hatred and contempt with rudeness. A born-again believer could never do this; their character is that of Christ, and He is not a respector of persons according to status or personal biases.
Yes, pretenders will misuse the Bible to find an excuse to be mean and rude to others out of jealousy, anger over silly things, and the desire to be superior to someone; they always choose those they think are weak, and they consider it weak to be loving, kind, and all the rest of the fruit of the Spirit.
Those who are narcissists must always feel superior to be happy; they are the saddest of all creatures because they cannot enjoy and appreciate life unless they feel loftier than others. They are jealous of those who succeed in a way they have not and can never share in the joy of those who love Christ.
Praise God that those who have been born again have no need to be condescending; they are full of the joy of the Lord because Christ lives in them, and He is all they need. Treating people disrespectfully is unthinkable to a born-again believer; they cannot do it, and if they fall from an emotional weakness, they confess it quickly because the sense of shame they feel over acting badly is too intense to ignore; they must confess to be cleansed. The idea of harming someone else is disgraceful; they cannot rest until they have admitted it and comforted the one they harmed.
I have met people who were confronted with their sin against someone else, who justify their sin and pass on a false story in gossip to gain supporters for their anger. These are not born-again believers; I am convinced of this because the Holy Spirit would convict them until they repent.
We are encountering in our day of apostasy many pretenders who have no sense of shame over their self-righteousness, they justify their disrespect with false stories.
Those who do this "self-exaltation" method of demeaning others are full of guilt and shame and must keep poking at those whom they hate with the hope their target will explode so they can accuse them of something. DO NOT REACT TO THOSE WHO TRY TO PUSH YOUR BUTTONS, IGNORE THEM, EVEN BETTER STAY AWAY FROM THEM ENTIRELY IF AT ALL POSSIBLE.
Proverbs 22:24-25 "24 Do not make friends with a person given to anger, Or go with a hot-tempered person, 25 Or you will learn his ways And find a snare for yourself."
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