Disrespect for The Word of God

There is little respect for the word of God in America today. It is now common to hear the term post-Christian used to describe our society and the West in general. Of course, if we are post-Christian, it necessarily follows we have also become post-scriptural, people who no longer value the things of scripture, believe them, or abide in them.

The liberal secularists and progressives in America who have come to dominate much of the media, politics, academia, and the sports and entertainment industries see this as a positive thing. We are growing up, outgrowing silly myths and superstitions, becoming at last mature adults able to deal with reality. Their reality is that God is a myth. Man is king and is his own God.

With such a mindset, obedience or disobedience to the word of God as found in the Christian scriptures means nothing. The scriptures are not to be taken seriously. At best they teach good life lessons on how to order your own personal life, but if you follow them too meticulously they will lead you into intolerance and judgment. You will become a despicable, bigoted person, for after all, not everything the Bible calls sin is sin. Modern man is a better judge of actual sin than the scriptures.

Accordingly, modern man has, so he thinks, refuted outdated ideas like there being any sin in adultery (as scripture defines it), fornication, abortion, homosexuality, gay marriage, attempting to change one's sex, etc. Since discarding scripture is now in vogue, one must ask what we have in place of it to guide us through life? The answer is nothing other than whatever the latest fashion is. Our values and ethics change, it seems, like the passing seasons of the year. Anyone now living who can remember just fifty years ago can tell you we are no longer the same people we were then, not in the way we think and go about our lives.

In modern thought, what one needs to do is embrace everyone in whatever lifestyle they engage in, meaning you remain uncritical of it and accepting, and it will be okay with you. Be a good person as judged by society's standards, and it will go well with you in whatever life is to come—if there is a life to come—which, by the way, we don't believe. But even if there is a God, he thinks the same way we do, so don't worry, it will go well with you. So we think, so we live our lives.

Did Jesus teach any of this? No, he did not, none of it. First of all, he never believed nor taught it was going to go well with the majority of society based on being a good person in society. "Narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it." (Matt. 7:14 NKJV) The few is not the many. Do not be misled by those who seem to be teaching or implying that all is going to go well with the mass of humanity, those judged good by society's standards; unless Jesus is a liar, that will not be the case. A good Roman citizen in the first or second century was still lost unless he/she was also a Christian. The same can be said of citizens in all societies since then. "All have sinned." (Rom. 3:23 NKJV)

Secondly, Jesus never had the attitude that one could be indifferent about scripture; one cannot be indifferent about doing God's will. "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father in heaven." (Matt. 7:21 NKJV) If doing the will of the Father is necessary, as Jesus says, the will of the Father must be discerned. That necessarily implies that God's word is of utmost importance as it is the vehicle by which God's will is made known to man. Scripture matters.

Did Jesus respect scripture? If he did, how can we say we respect him while disrespecting what he honors? In John 5:45-47, Jesus rebukes the Jews he is speaking to for not believing the writings of Moses, "if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?" (John 5:47 NKJV) Earlier in John 5:39, he says the scriptures are "they which testify of me." In John 10:35, he says, "The scripture cannot be broken." (NKJV)

In just these three passages alone from the book of John, we see Jesus' respect for Moses' writings and the trustworthiness of scripture as it relates to the testimony of and about himself as well as the fact that scripture is rock solid; it cannot be broken. This is Jesus' view of scripture.

One is reminded of Jesus' comments about creation in the book of Matthew when he said, "Have you not read (read what?—scripture—DS) that he who made them at the beginning 'made them male and female,' and said, 'for this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'?" (Matt. 19:4-5 NKJV) Jesus quotes Genesis 1:27 and Genesis 2:24, Moses' writings, and in doing so is telling us he respects what was written and with the direct implication that we should too. Jesus destroys any thoughts about the evolution of man from lower life forms in this passage and establishes marriage as being between a man and a woman by accepting what Moses wrote.

Moses' writings are reliable, but our culture does not want to accept them or what Jesus said about them, for if Moses' writings are true, it means that marriage is between a man and a woman, and our culture is no longer willing to accept that kind of a restriction on God's institution. God institutes marriage, but he has no right, as we see it, to be exclusive about it. It is his institution, but we are determined to grasp it from him and rule it ourselves. God has no right in the matter.

We will not respect the scripture. Jesus did, but we won't, and many of us want nothing to do with a Jesus who will not endorse and celebrate gay marriages. God has no right to regulate sin. Thank you, but we can very well do that on our own (we think). If we don't want an act to be sin, we will not allow it to be. We have that much power? Wow! Impressive!

Jesus also spoke of Noah, the flood, and the ark as historical fact (Luke 17:27), of Moses and the burning bush (Mark 12:26, Luke 20:37), of Jonah being in the belly of the great fish for three days and three nights (Matt. 12:40), of Sodom and Gomorrah (Mark 6:11, Luke 17:29), of Daniel's "abomination of desolation" (Mark 13:14), and of David saying "have you not even read this, what David did when he was hungry?" (Luke 6:3 NKJV)

Jesus endorsed the scriptures as authentic, historical, and reliable. To cast aspersion upon the scriptures is to reflect upon the knowledge and wisdom of Jesus, to make him out a fool for accepting things we will not accept. Our society is no longer willing to believe and laughs at divine creation, a worldwide flood, Jonah (a fish story), Sodom and Gomorrah, homosexuality as a sin, etc.

Let me drive a point home here. We sometimes make a distinction between what we believe and what we know. We say we do not believe a thing—we know it. So the question arises, did Jesus believe the things he spoke of, that is, just have a strong opinion, or did he know them?

If he just believed them like you and I sometimes believe things, when we speak that way, then he was just a man and could not be God and man's savior. If, on the other hand, he knew as fact the things of which he spoke, then we admit his divinity. He spoke as one who knew. So where do we stand? What do we believe about Jesus? Did he speak as a man or as God? Will we believe Jesus? If so, it forces us to believe the scriptures. When we doubt the scriptures, we doubt Jesus, and doubt is not faith.

Jesus spoke of events in the Old Testament scripture, as the New Testament scriptures had not yet been written. But how important is not just Old Testament scripture but also New Testament scripture? What about it?

Jesus said, "He who rejects me, and does not receive my words, has that which judges him—the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day. For I have not spoken on my own authority; but the Father who sent me gave me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. And I know that his command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told me, so I speak." (John 12:48-50 NKJV)

Jesus spoke the word of God (John 12:48-50, 14:10, 24, 17:8, 14), but lest we think that means we need only a red-letter edition of the New Testament where we can pick Jesus' words out by the red print and can ignore the rest of the New Testament, we need to read further. Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit to the apostles. "I will pray the Father, and he will give you another helper…even the Spirit of truth…he dwells with you and will be in you…I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you." (John 14:16-18 NKJV) As Jesus and the Father are one, so are Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

When the Holy Spirit came upon the apostles, it was the same as if Jesus had come back to them in person. This is clarified in Jesus' own words in John 16:12-14, "I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when he, the Spirit of truth, has come, he will guide you into all truth; for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak; and he will tell you things to come. He will glorify me, for he will take of what is mine and declare it to you." (John 16:12-14 NKJV) Jesus still has many things to say. When is he going to say them and how? He will say them through the Holy Spirit when the Holy Spirit is sent to the apostles (and granted as a spiritual gift to others in the scriptures after Pentecost).

The apostle Peter spoke of Paul's writings as being twisted by some to their destruction, comparing Paul's writings to "the rest of the scriptures." (2 Peter 3:14-16 NKJV)

"All Scripture is given by inspiration of God." (2 Tim. 3:16 NKJV) Jesus is God (John 1:1, 1 Tim. 3:16, Heb. 1:8, Acts 20:28). Jesus is the one of whom John proclaimed, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." (John 1:1 NKJV) To disrespect scripture, to belittle passages, make light of scriptural teaching, etc., is showing disrespect for the author of those scriptures, the one who said, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'" (Matt. 4:4 NKJV)

This Jesus is the one Peter was referring to in Acts 3 when he quoted Moses saying, "For Moses truly said to the fathers, 'The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear in all things, whatever he says to you. And it shall come to pass that every soul who will not hear that prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.'" (Acts 3:22-23 NKJV) Jesus is a prophet, priest, and king, but above all he is a part of the Godhead. We can hear him, or we can be "utterly destroyed from among the people." (Acts 3:23 NKJV)

Jesus says many times, "if you love me, keep my commandments" (John 14:15 NKJV) or words to that end (see John 14:21, 23, 24, John 15:10, 14). He is "the author of eternal salvation to all who obey him." (Heb. 5:9 NKJV) How does one obey Jesus while disrespecting the scriptures that teach us his commandments that we are to obey? "For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments." (1 John 5:3 NKJV) Disrespecting the word of God is not an ingredient in the love of God, and it certainly does not show respect for Jesus, Jesus who is the Word.

America is truly becoming an anti-Christian nation, or should one say an anti-Christ nation? The America we once knew, where God-haters and Bible-haters were rare, is disappearing, and I think most Americans know that and would no longer disagree about it. We are becoming Europe, but we saved Europe twice from themselves last century. Who will save us from ourselves when we have to reap what we are now sowing?

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Willful Sin--Can Anyone Be Saved

The text for this article is Heb. 10:26-27, "For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins. But a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries." (NKJV)

These verses, when read in the King James and the New King James versions of the Bible, have probably caused Christians about as much anguish as any you will find in the pages of the New Testament. Make no mistake about it, the verses are directed at Christians as is the whole book of Hebrews. Each of us knows we are guilty of having committed willful sin, and this passage troubles us. When we read the verses in the larger context of verses 24 through 31 it is very easy to become fearful and feel it is hopeless, we are lost without remedy. We are sorry about our sins, but we feel it is too late.

However, there are things we ought to consider before reaching that conclusion. When we take a look at verse 26 in the New American Standard version we readily see that the verse is not talking about a single act of willful sin. It reads as follows, "For if we go on sinning willfully"; thus the sin of verse 26 is a way of life rather than an individual act of sin. (See also the NIV, which reads, "If we deliberately keep on sinning.")

All sin other than sins of ignorance is willful sin. One may struggle mightily before committing the sin that has enticed him/her, but nevertheless, it was their decision to take the leap and commit it. It was a willful sin in that sense, a sin of personal choice.

If a willful sin of that kind necessarily led to condemnation without hope, then who could be saved? Would it be Peter?

Peter, according to Paul, stood condemned (Gal. 2:11). Why? Because "he began to withdraw and hold himself aloof, fearing the party of the circumcision" (Gal. 2:12 NAS), refusing to eat with the Gentile Christians. Barnabas did the same thing. Do you think this was a sin of ignorance? Paul gives the cause, which was not ignorance but fear of the circumcision party. It was a willful sin in the sense that Peter knew what he was doing. It was a sin committed out of fear, weakness of the flesh, we might say weak knees.

How about the man in 1 Cor. 5:1, "It is actually reported that there is immorality among you, and immorality of such a kind as does not exist even among the Gentiles, that someone has his father's wife." (NAS) Did this man who was doing this not know it was a sin? You know he did. Yet, in 2 Cor. 2:7 Paul urges the Corinthians to forgive the man as he had repented. I remind the reader that Paul wrote and spoke by inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

2 Cor. 12:21 clinches the meaning of Heb. 10:26 for me. It reads as follows, "I am afraid that when I come again my God may humiliate me before you, and I may mourn over many of those who have sinned in the past and not repented of the impurity, immorality and sensuality which they have practiced." (NAS) What do we have here? Christians practicing sin. That implies certainly that we are not talking of one-time acts. Are they lost?

Yes, if they do not repent, but please note that is the very thing Paul is saying they can do. Why is Paul fearful that he may end up mourning? Because they have not repented, but that implies they could if they would, and thus could be forgiven. We also understand they knew what they were doing. The word translated "immorality" in this verse in the NAS is translated in the NKJV and others as "fornication." It is the Greek word "porneia." Do you really believe these people did not know fornication was sinful? They were committing willful sin, and yet we see they could be forgiven if they would but repent.

What then is the meaning of Heb. 10:26-27? Any sin you knowingly commit and continue is a willful sin as long as you continue in it and fail (refuse) to repent. While involved in that, there is no sacrifice for that sin that can save you as a willful practicing sinner. When you repent, that is another matter.

I believe verse 27 bears the truth of this interpretation. It says of such a person (a Christian involved in a sin on a continual basis willfully) that there is "a certain fearful expectation of judgment." (NKJV) Why would you fear judgment if you were a complete apostate who no longer believed? What you are is a man who believes but willingly persists in sin. Such a man fears judgment.

Do not despair because you knowingly did that which was wrong, even if you engaged in such a sin over a period of time. Do not despair, but rather repent and turn back to God. God is "not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance." (2 Peter 3:9 NKJV) "'For I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies,' says the Lord GOD. 'Therefore turn and live!'" (Ezek. 18:32 NKJV) God will always have the one who is truly penitent back if that one will only come back.

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Living In Grace Day By Day

Many years ago I got into a discussion with the editor of one of the religious periodicals over the topic of how a Christian is cleansed from sin that he may commit from time to time. He had taken the position that a Christian had to confess every single sin he committed or else he was lost. There was a general debate among brethren back then about this topic which they were calling "continual cleansing." I am not here to opine on that doctrine except in the case of sins of ignorance.

I think most Christians agree that when a Christian sins, he must repent of his sins and confess them to the Father in prayer, asking for forgiveness, and, depending on the particular sin and the circumstances surrounding it, there may be a need to confess to others as well, asking their forgiveness, even before the church in some instances. Some think that it is never necessary to publicly confess sins but I am not one of them. All sin is against God but some sin is against others as well (Matt. 18:21, 1 Cor. 8:12) and one can commit sin against the church (1 Cor. 10:32, 1 Cor. 11:22, Gal. 1:13). We need to confess to whomever we have sinned against and all sin is against God at a minimum.

The editor I am speaking of years ago was taking the confession of sin to an extreme so that any sin not confessed to the Father doomed one, including sins of ignorance. Now if it was hardness of heart and impenitence that prevented one from confessing a sin, that is one thing, but ignorance is quite another. Sins committed in ignorance cannot be repented of and confessed unless it is at a later date, when one knows more, and has learned better, and remembers his past.

However, remembering is part of the problem, a big part of it. We do not realize we have sinned, so the event or occasion when we sinned does not stick in our memory. There was no reason to remember what to us at the time was meaningless. We generally remember the evil we have done, but if we did not consider our action at the time we did it evil, we are not likely to remember it a few days down the road, to say nothing of years down the road.

Now do not get me wrong, ignorance is not an excuse for sin. If ignorance excuses sin, then all those living in lands where they have never had the opportunity to hear the gospel are saved and are better off if they never have an opportunity to hear it. If ignorance were an excuse for sin, we would all be better off remaining ignorant. If ignorance excuses sin, one can be saved without the gospel, and the Great Commission does more harm than good.

Nevertheless, there was a problem with my editor brother's position. It is impossible for the Christian to know every single sin he has committed, even as he attempts to live the Christian life in all sincerity and faithfulness. I am to obey the laws of the land, of the government under which I live, but as I drive down the highways and streets of this country, I do not see every speed limit sign. Am I eternally lost because I violated a traffic law I was unaware of? I am certainly guilty under the law, but am I guilty and condemned under grace?

There is no Christian security, no sense of peace, no freedom from fear of condemnation, no assurance of salvation, and no sense of living under grace versus law when we go that far afield. John said he wrote 1 John so "that your joy may be full" (1 John 1:4 NKJV), but where is the joy if I must live in fear of my ignorance? I wonder how many sins we have all committed in our lives when, at the time we committed them, we had no idea we were sinning?

Is the teenager who has just been baptized supposed to have the knowledge and understanding of the faithful Christian who has read and studied for 50 years? Is there no room under the grace system under which we live for growth in knowledge and understanding? "But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." (2 Peter 3:18 NKJV)

So what is my point? It is we live under grace, not law. We do not know every sin in our life or sin that has been there in the past. We repent of and confess what we know, which is all we can do. I think it likely that many, perhaps most, add in their prayers to God a request that they be forgiven for all those sins of which they are unaware or know not, even as they confess the sins they do know.

Do you know every commandment found in your New Testament and exactly how to apply each one of them in every possible scenario that arises in your life? Can you define every sin listed in the New Testament? Tell me the difference between a temptation which is not sin, according to the New Testament, and an evil thought which is (Mark 7:20-23); draw me a line in the sand and tell me exactly when one crosses over into the other. Is the thought only classified as evil when it is acted upon and thus becomes sin retrospectively only because it was acted on?

At what exact point in time does self-esteem turn into pride, which is sin? Draw the line in the sand and tell us exactly when. My point is there are a lot of things that are black and white when we see them in the extremes, but who is so perfect in judgment as to be able to draw these lines when they are not so extreme? We can certainly be ignorant of crossing the line on occasion. These are only examples of many similar things that could be listed.

I want to make it clear I believe in strict commandment keeping. I could list verse after verse on the need to obey from the pages of the New Testament. Every reader of the New Testament knows that, but the bottom line is we are saved by grace and not by perfection in law-keeping.

"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast." (Eph. 2:8-9 NKJV) "I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain." (Gal. 2:21 NKJV) The word "the" that comes before the word "law" in Gal. 2:21 just quoted is an added word, added by the translators, which is not in the Greek, thus Young's Literal Translation of the Bible translates the passage, "I do not make void the grace of God, for if righteousness be through law--then Christ died in vain."

John tells the Christian how he is saved day by day in 1 John 1:7, "But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin." (NKJV) The word "cleanses" in this passage is in the present tense, meaning it is a constant process, a continual thing. Commentator Guy N. Woods says of the cleansing of this verse by the blood of Jesus that "it cleanses from sin, not merely or solely the conscience, but sin (amartias), all sin, whether of thought, word, or deed, rash sins, sins of ignorance, of malice, of omission or commission, sins of the flesh, sins of the disposition, sins of pleasure or of pain, sins of every type and kind committed at any time or place." (See his commentary on 1 John 1:7.) I quoted this only because Woods mentions "sins of ignorance."

E. M. Zerr in his commentary on 1 John 1:7 says, "If a man is a worker in the Lord's vineyard and his life as a whole is one of obedience to the law of Christ, he does not need to worry about the mistakes he might make which he does not realize, for the blood of Christ will take care of it and wash them away." I agree.

But what does it mean to "walk in the light?" (1 John 1:7) The Bible describes God's word as light. "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path." (Psalms 119:105 NKJV) "The entrance of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple." (Psalms 119:130 NKJV) To walk in the light is to walk in or by God's word. It is to be directed by God's word, which is the same as to be directed by God.

But it might be objected that would require perfection in the knowledge of the word, and anything short of that would not be truly walking in the word, in the light. I concede it does place a responsibility on a man to not be lazy or lukewarm in studying and learning God's word. If we fail to walk in God's word because we were too indifferent and uncaring to find a desire to read and study the word, how can we expect our sins committed in ignorance to be forgiven when it was willful ignorance we lived in? There comes a point in time when we are old enough in the faith to know better, as the saying goes, but even then we each have different God-given abilities to learn and retain knowledge.

Whatever subject a person sets out to learn, it takes time, and that goes for learning God's will as well. Peter said to those new in the faith, "As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby." (1 Peter 2:2 NKJV) God thus allows for growth, and no babe ever becomes an adult overnight. Elsewhere the writer of the book of Hebrews says, "Everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe." (Heb. 5:13 NKJV) If he is unskilled, it surely means he has a ways to go to maturity, and thus is prone to sins of ignorance.

Heb. 5:14 sums up the end goal of spiritual growth in knowledge, "But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil." (Heb. 5:14 NKJV) It thus takes time.

Yes, I believe we must repent of and confess every sin to God of which we are aware to be forgiven. John teaches, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9 NKJV) I also agree, as already stated, that those too indifferent to study and learn are not going to get a free pass because of ignorance. I would also include in that group those who through hardness of heart are unable to learn the truth (God will judge). But to say a Christian man or woman who has a good and honest heart yet sins in ignorance, and thus fails to repent of that sin and confess it, is condemned, is a thing I do not see the Bible teaching.

Walking in the light is the key (1 John 1:7), but the best any man can do is walk in the light he presently has. I have more light today than I had 30 years ago because I know more today than I did then. How about you? You surely know more today than you did 5 or 10 years ago.

I am satisfied I have taken the correct position on this subject, for the opposing position puts us back under a strict law-keeping system for salvation where one slip-up through ignorance condemns you. Furthermore, that position requires that one be fully mature from the moment he arises out of the waters of baptism in both knowledge and understanding. That just cannot be correct.

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Indifference -- The Great Destroyer

Indifference refers to an attitude held by a person indicating a lack of zeal, commitment, and concern regarding whatever that individual is indifferent toward.

I do not know of anything a person can succeed at long term with indifference dominating him or her. Natural talent will only take a person so far. There comes a time when to succeed you have to buckle down, get serious, and do the work. This is true of the great athletes of the world, the great musicians, of people who are highly successful in their fields, and even the Einsteins of the world, and so how much more so of you and me?

Of course, we are talking here about the significant things in life, things that matter and make a difference. If you want to get a degree or degrees, a good education, if you want to have a successful marriage, if you want to succeed in your job or vocation, and if you want to go to heaven, you cannot be indifferent. Yes, and if you want to go to heaven.

We are living in a time of a great falling away from spiritual matters, from Christianity. The percentage of what are called the “Nones” continues to grow. “Nones” are those who have abandoned faith in any kind of religion. More and more people are coming to the decision that they do not need God in their life and they are not searching for him.

From an article on the religionnews.com website published Aug. 5, 2019, I quote the title of an article found there, “‘Nones’ now as big as evangelicals, Catholics in the US.” The article itself was dated March 21, 2019, but put online August 5th. It may or may not be online by the time you read this and the numbers will no doubt change with time, becoming more or less, but that has been and remains the trend over the past several years.

Most churches I know about, living as I do in the rural Midwest, have declined drastically in membership over the last 50 years, some having closed their doors and others are on the verge of doing so. People have lost interest in Christianity which is another way of saying they have become indifferent. They are not seeking and thus they shall not find. “Seek, and you will find.” (Matt. 7:7 NKJV)

If God and his word are matters of no serious concern to me, if God is only going to make my top 100 list of the most important things to me in my life, if he gets that high, then realistically what kind of hope do I have of salvation, of going to heaven? To be indifferent is to not care. If you do not care about God, about his will, about going to heaven, if you are disinterested in living a Christian life, what joy do you bring to God? You bring grief and sorrow like Israel and Judah in the Old Testament before they went into exile, but joy, no.

But, there is a lot of indifference abounding in many who proclaim Christianity. It is not just the “Nones.” A lot has been made of the fact that salvation from sin is a free gift from God. This, while true, is seldom understood properly because seldom taught properly. People have gotten it into their minds that their soul’s salvation is solely dependent on God. This lends itself to indifference. There is nothing for me to do if God is going to do it all. No need to seek God, from their point of view, despite the fact he says in his word, “He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him.” (Heb. 11:6 NKJV)

The idea people seem to have is there is no need to study the Bible; God is love; God is grace; God is going to save everyone no matter what he or she believes or practices just as long as the person believes that Jesus is the Son of God and Savior of the world. That belief can be held in the most abstract sort of way, divorced from all action and commitment, and many doing so believe their salvation is secure. Put another way you can be indifferent and go to heaven.

Attend services wherever you so desire, no matter what they teach or practice, or don’t attend anywhere if you don’t want to, and it will make no difference just as long as you believe in Jesus seems to be the idea so many hold today. That is generally the Christian (?) world we live in, in America. False teaching along this line has led to a lot of the indifference we see.

Indifference is one natural byproduct of denominationalism. If it really does not matter what you believe or practice, just so you believe in Jesus, then certainly one can be indifferent about both doctrine and practice. What difference does it make about either if we are all going to be saved anyway? Why does the church matter? Thus many, perhaps most, could jump from one denominational church to another without qualms.

The scariest thing for me when it comes to one’s loved ones having indifference towards God and salvation, toward spiritual matters, is that indifference is one of those types of sins that are nearly impossible to get people to see and thus to own up to and repent of. They do not see themselves as being indifferent but are satisfied they are doing all that is necessary for salvation, even though it is nothing, and they believe they will be saved as they are. Nothing is necessary for salvation for God will take care of it all is the thinking. This is a perversion of Eph. 2:8-9, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” (NKJV)

The modern-day exegesis of this passage is that man has absolutely no obligations in any way toward God. There is no need to read his word, there is no need to worship, there is no need to obey the commandments. Just show up at Judgment Day and all will be fine. Heb. 5:9 thus becomes meaningless, “And having been perfected, he became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey him.” (NKJV)

Indifference is accompanied by satisfaction. The satisfied do not repent. The satisfied do not seek, knock, or search in any way for anything for satisfied is satisfied as is. It becomes, as a result of that, nearly impossible to get people who fit into that state of mind to a mindset of repentance. They are not interested in studying or searching the scriptures for they are indifferent and content.

What does the Bible say or teach about indifference?

One of the first passages that comes to mind is Rev. 3:15-16 where Jesus is directing a message to the members of the church at Laodicea and says, “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of my mouth.” (Rev. 3:15-16 NKJV)

Jesus is talking to Christians here. Does it sound like they are in a saved state? If you will read one verse further (verse 17) Jesus goes on explaining, “Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing.’” (Rev. 3:17 NKJV) They were perfectly satisfied. Please note carefully the words from this passage, “have need of nothing,” expressing their satisfaction. They were indifferent toward doing anything other than what they were doing.

“If you love me, keep my commandments.” (John 14:15 NKJV) Can one go to heaven who does not love God? “If anyone does not love the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be accursed.” (1 Cor. 16:22 NKJV) How do you keep the commandments if you are indifferent? Is love indifferent? Is love uncommitted?

In another statement, Jesus said, “Whoever does not bear his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:27 NKJV) What kind of cross does the indifferent person bear for Christ? Can such a person be a disciple of Jesus? What does the text say?

In the Old Testament God said with respect to the people of Israel through the prophet Hosea, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” (Hosea 4:6 NKJV) If it happened to them could it not happen to people today? The indifferent cannot gain knowledge of God for the attitude of indifference creates no desire to seek and learn. Mr. Indifference is also Mr. Satisfied with the way things are and with what little knowledge he already has.

Jesus said, “Seek, and you will find,” (Matt. 7:7 NKJV) but one’s indifference keeps him from seeking and thus from finding. We are to “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness” (Matt. 6:33 NKJV) but the indifferent have no will to seek let alone seek first.

The Bible teaches the love of God, or love for God, is keeping his commandments. “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments.” (1 John 5:3 NKJV) Jesus said, “He who has my commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves me.” (John 14:21 NKJV) “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word.” (John 14:23 NKJV) “He who does not love me does not keep my words.” (John 14:24 NKJV)

The indifferent cannot do that. Why? Because he/she is too indifferent to read, study, and learn the word that Jesus would have them keep. They are satisfied with what they have. They will never wear a Bible out from use. They do not know the truth from study of the truth. What they know is only what they have heard which may or may not be the truth and what they believe is that which has satisfied them whether it be truth or error (they know not the difference).

Many are going to die eternally simply because they did not care enough to be saved. Jesus taught a great deal about the idea of being ready, of making preparation, for his return and the Day of Judgment. The parable of the ten virgins comes immediately to mind. Another passage that comes to mind is found in Matt. 22:11, the account of the man who came into the wedding unprepared and as a result was cast out.

The indifferent, due to that indifference, are negligent and do not prepare and consequently, unless they can be brought to a change of heart cannot be saved. They live in a continual state of unpreparedness.

Indifference is a symptom of a spiritually diseased heart. The heart is not where it ought to be as it is concentrated on the self and this world. It is full of pride; I’m okay; I don’t need any more religion than I have. It is presumptuous and assumes God will save me as I am. It is rebellious against God (we will do it my way).

The question becomes, for those of us who care about people we fear may be in this state, is what can we do about it? Here I must stop. I cannot write any more, for how does one answer this question? If a person is indifferent, satisfied, does not care, then how do you get them to care? This is why this is one of the most fearful sins a person will ever run up against. How do you get a person to care that does not care? How do you move a satisfied person into a state of dissatisfaction where he can repent?

If a person has committed a sexually immoral sin or sins of many other kinds, sinful acts versus sinful attitudes, he/she probably knows what they did was wrong and feels some pang of guilt. There is hope there. You can get a person like that to repent but how do you get the indifferent, those who do not care, to repent? It is your turn now to write the next article and tell me the answer.

(Originally written in 2011, revised since then.)

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