You hear about it on the news
almost every day. What is a pandemic? According to Merriam-Webster
Online Dictionary, the definition of a pandemic is: (a disease)
occurring over a wide geographic area and affecting an exceptionally
high proportion of the population.
What would you expect to happen
during a pandemic?
-people
buying hand sanitizer
-people
buying dust masks
-people
stocking up on medication
-isolation
(people staying home from work and school)
-hospitals
and clinics to be full
Breaking
News!
-Pandemic
responsible for 2,871 lives lost TODAY in the
United States
-20,149
lives lost in the LAST WEEK in the
United States
-87,312
lives lost in the LAST MONTH in the
United States
-1,047,745
lives lost in the LAST YEAR in the
United States
-The
current rate of lives lost is expected to continue with no end in
sight!
What if I told you that these are
numbers of a real pandemic?
A Pandemic of Sin is occurring
right now in the
United States
!
Breaking
News! This is REAL!
-Pandemic
of Sin responsible for minimum of 2,871 souls lost TODAY in the
United States
-Minimum
of 20,149 souls lost in the LAST WEEK in the
United States
-Minimum
of 87,312 souls lost in the LAST MONTH in the
United States
-Minimum
of 1,047,745 souls lost in the LAST YEAR in the
United States
-The
current rate of souls lost is expected to continue with no end in
sight!
-The
day Jesus returns – a minimum of 125,029,190 souls will be lost that
day in the
United States
alone!
I know what you are thinking. How
could I know this? Let’s look at the Bible.
“Enter
ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way,
that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto
life, and few there be that find it.”
(Matthew 7:13-14)
It is clear that Jesus is talking
about many will be lost and go to Hell, and few will be saved and go
to Heaven. Therefore, taking a minimum simple majority, at least 51%
will be lost. It could be and probably will be a much larger
percentage.
The current population of the
United States
is approximately 307,212,123 and 20.2% of these are age 14 and under.
(The World Factbook) Since the data I obtained gave a breakout of
those 14 and under, I will arbitrarily assume that those age 14 and
under are below the age of accountability. Therefore, we have
245,155,274 “adults” of the age of accountability. The death rate
in the
United States
is .838%. (The World Factbook) Therefore, 2,054,401 adults die in the
United States
each year. If just 51% of those that die are lost, 1,047,745 souls
are lost every year in the
United States
. When Jesus returns, 51% of the 245,155,274 will be lost or
125,029,190 lost souls.
If this were a disease pandemic
of this magnitude, I think we all know the panic that would be taking
place. What about the real pandemic of sin?
What would you expect to happen?
-Bibles
selling like crazy
-Churches
overflowing
-People
begging for personal Bible study
-People
concerned about salvation
-People
warning friends and family
-People
denying the pandemic is real
-People
saying it will not be that bad
The pandemic of sin is real. “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God:”
(Romans 3:23). For the lost the pandemic of sin is worse than
imaginable. “And hath given
him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.
Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are
in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that
have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done
evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.” (John 5:27-29)
What are you going to do?
-Make
certain of your own salvation
-Warn
friends, family, and loved ones
-Take
advantage of opportunities to reach the lost
-Debate
doctrine or do what the Bible says
Self examination is necessary. “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith: prove your
own selves. Know ye not your selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you,
except ye be reprobates?” (II Corinthians 13:5). “Let
us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his
rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.” (Hebrews 4:1)
Those in danger must be warned. “Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is
plenteous but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the
harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.”
(Matthew 9:37-38). “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in
the name of the Father, and of the Son, and the Holy Ghost.”
(Matthew 28:19)
The only cure for the pandemic of
sin is Jesus Christ. “I said
therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe
not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.” (John 8:24). “Neither
is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under
heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)
How does one obtain salvation in
Jesus Christ? By following what is written in the Bible, which will
judge all of us one day. Jesus said, “He
that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth
him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last
day.” (John 12:48)
One
must believe.
“I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if
ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.” (John 8:24)
One
must have faith.
“But without faith it is
impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that
he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”
(Hebrews 11:6)
One
must confess Jesus.
“And as they went on their
way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is
water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, If thou
believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said,
I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” (Acts 8:36-37).
Not just once - but throughout our life. “Whosoever
therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before
my Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 10:32)
One must repent. “And the times of this ignorance God
winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:” (Acts 17:30)
One
must be baptized.
“Then Peter said unto them,
Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ
for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy
Ghost.” (Acts 2:38). “And
he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to
every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but
he that believeth not shall be damned.” (Mark 16:15-16)
One
must remain faithful.
“But he that shall endure unto
the end, the same shall be saved.” (Matthew 24:13)
When we have done what the Lord
requires of us in His Word, He adds us to the church.
“Praising
God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the
church daily such as should be saved.” (Acts 2:47)
Many times we worry about the
wrong things. Jesus said, “And
fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul:
but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in
hell.” (Matthew 10:28)
A disease pandemic may or may not
happen. As long as we are ready to met Jesus Christ in judgment, it
will not matter. However, the pandemic of sin is a reality that we
cannot escape from. Are you prepared to meet our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ in judgment? If not, why not make preparations today?
Question:
How do we as Christians respond to people that are difficult?
Answer:
Man was made to be a relational creature. This is due largely to the
fact that we are made in the image of God, and God is a relational
God. Before the world was, God existed in three persons. As three
independent persons in the God head existed, we presuppose that there
was a way in which each related to the other. We know by countless
passages that the relationship that existed was one of complete
harmony and cooperation. John tells us,
“In
the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word
was God.”(John
1:1)
It was a united relationship that
was expressed by the concept of being one. Jesus in His prayer in the
Garden referenced the relationship He had with the Father when He
said,
“I
do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in me
through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in
Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may
believe that You sent Me.”
(John 17:20-21)
From this passage we find that
our relationships are both vertical and horizontal. First we note that
we are to be one with one another. This is what we refer to as a
horizontal relationship. We also note that He asks that we be one in
God, so the world may believe. This is the vertical relationship that
we have as God’s people. We also should make note of the fact that
the vertical relationship began when God created man and the
horizontal relationship began with the creation of Eve.
Proper relationships in both
areas are designed to give God glory. By this we mean drawing
attention to the greatness, power, love, and all of the attributes
that make Him God. However, the beauty of relationships has been
seriously tainted.
When we think of sin we must make
the connection between sin and its negative impact upon our
relationships. Sin severed the relationship man had with Holy God, for
God cannot tolerate sin. It also impacted the relationship between
Adam and Eve. As we read the Genesis account we see the immediate
consequence of sin in these relationships.
We find Adam and Eve hiding from
the presence of God. We find that they had a need to hide from one
another. Where transparency existed now a tremendous desire to
“cover up” replaced it. In addition they began to shift blame and
accuse one another of the problems they were facing. Relationship
problems had begun.
However, we know that God had a
plan to deal with sin and its fallout. Through Jesus Christ we can be
reconciled with God and by our growth improve our relationship with
others.
While all experience relationship
problems from time to time, we do sometimes find ourselves dealing
with people who present for us chronic problems. Often we think only
of the difficult people in our lives but we must humbly remember that
we can also be another person’s difficulty!
Much has been written on
difficult people and the type of difficulties they create. One article
I read recently identified some common types. Note the following
types:
The Tank- This is someone who
runs all over you if you let them.
The Talker- They talk you to
death usually about themselves.
The Pin- They deflate
everyone’s enthusiasm.
The Volcano- Explosive temper.
The Baby- Chronically complains.
The Nit Picker- Always finding
problems with something.
The Know it all- Wisdom will
perish with them.
While there are other types,
these should suffice to give an example of the types we have. At this
point it would do us all well to stop and examine ourselves. Do any of
these descriptions describe me?
As with all things that sin has
wrought, God has a way to deal with them. So it is with difficult
people. All throughout scripture we are given directions for ways to
deal with relationship problems. We must remember that dealing with
difficult people depends on us. We are unable to change them. We can
help them change if it is their desire to do so. But the emphasis must
be placed on us and our response to them. As we have noted in previous
articles, God does not hold us responsible for another person’s
actions, but we are accountable to Him for our response to them.
The first principle for dealing
with difficult people is love. We are not talking about love the way
our culture defines it. Biblical love is not some warm fuzzy feeling
or attraction toward someone. Rather Biblical love is an action done
toward someone. Consider for example the command to love your enemies.
In Matthew 5:43-45, we read,
“You
have heard it said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your
enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse
you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully
use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in
heaven…”
As we examine this passage, Jesus
did not command us to feel a certain way. Rather He commanded us to
treat our enemies a certain way. Notice that we love by blessing those
who curse us, doing good to those who hate us, and praying for those
who trouble us. All of these are actions that are actions of love.
Compare these actions to the actions of love as described in I
Corinthians 13:4-7.
“Love
suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade
itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its
own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity,
but rejoices in truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes
all things, endures all things.”
The second principle in dealing
with difficult people is to practice forgiveness. Paul writes,
“And
be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as
God in Christ forgave you.”(Ephesians 4:32)
The third principle we mention is
that of seeking the way of peace. We are admonished in Romans 12:18,
“If
it is possible, as much as it depends on you, live peaceably with all
men.”
Note the focus here is your
response. As for your part of the situation, that which is under your
control, you live peaceably with all.
Because of the importance of this
subject we will continue our thoughts in the next article. At that
time we will look at the life of Jesus and examine His method of
dealing with the difficult people in His life.
THE
HARVESTER is a monthly publication intended to encourage all men
everywhere to become laborers into God’s harvest (Luke 10:2). This paper is
mailed free of charge to anyone who wishes to receive it. Please submit name,
address, address corrections and all correspondence to:
