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The apostle Paul knew what it was like to have people detest and despise
him. Five times Paul received 39 stripes from the Jews, three times he was
beaten with rods, and once he was stoned and left for dead (2 Cor.
11:24-25; Acts 14:19). All these things happened to this faithful servant
of the Lord because he loved the souls of men. That's right — Paul loved
folks with a fervent, genuine and Biblical love. He knew that people would
lose their souls if they lived and died in sin.
Hatred of truth is an age-old problem. Do you remember Moses making those 10 special trips to tell Pharaoh Gods truth? Pharaoh stubbornly refused to accept the truth and finally said to Moses, "...Get the from me, take heed to thyself, see my face no more; for in the day thou seest my face thou shalt die. And Moses said, Thou hast spoken well. I will see thy face again no more" (Ex. 10:28-29). Many people today will do as Pharaoh and die rejecting the truth that can save them! King Herod and Herodias so despised God's truth that they had John the Baptizer beheaded for preaching it. What was the message that cost this great prophet his life? King Herod had decided to marry his brother's wife. If some of our well-educated and liberal-minded apostates today had been with John, they would have advised, John it is not adultery that Herod and Herodias have committed. It is only covenant-breaking. John then could have told this adulterous couple, 'Each of you needs to repent of covenant-breaking and then I will wish you well in your new marriage.' But John was loyal to the Master and he loved the souls of men. Thus John said the only thing he could say, "...It is not lawful for thee to have her" (Matt. 14:4). Now the truth did not set too well with Herodias and she was determined to have her new enemy put to death. Now notice this most important point: John told Herod it was not lawful to take Herodias for his wife. What law did Herod violate? It was surely not Roman law! In the very beginning, God taught, "Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh" (Gen. 2:24). The Hebrew word cleave means to stick to — like glue. John was simply teaching what he knew the Saviour would be teaching — the truth. When the Lord was asked if a man could divorce his wife for any cause, He answered, "So that they are no more two, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder ...And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and he that marrieth her when she is put away committeth adultery" (Matt. 19:6, 9). The cry being heard today was that heard in Isaiah's day. "The people said, to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits" (Isa. 30:10). Man's great problem has always been that he desires to change the Bible to accommodate his ungodly lifestyle. You have heard it said, Just preach the Bible and don't offend anyone. One can preach on Galatians 5:19, but he must not offend the fornicators, drunkards, idolaters, etc. Be sure and preach on First Corinthians 6:9-11, but whatever you do, don't condemn the abusers of themselves with mankind. These are what today's morally bankrupt people call gays, but God calls them sodom-ites (1 Ki. 14:24; cf. Gen. 19:5-13; Lev. 20:13; Rom. 1:27). Others loudly cry, Don't preach a negative gospel. Whats that? Don't?! I suppose it is well and good for one opposed to negative preaching to be negative. The best thing the devil has going today is the attitude that desires to please folks instead of to save folks. Godly standards are lowered to lure and draw folks — all in the name of love. The apostle Paul quite well described the attitude of most people toward truth in saying, "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but having itching ears, will heap to themselves teachers after their own lusts; and will turn away their ears from the truth, and turn aside unto fables" (2 Tim. 4:3-4). Nonetheless, young Timothy was told to "preach the word" (2 Tim. 4:2). The words of Paul rang loud and clear: "For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? or am I striving to please men? If I were still pleasing men, I should not be a servant of Christ" (Gal. 1:10). Paul proclaimed the one and only gospel regardless of who it offended. Both he and John the Baptizer would rather go to heaven than be politically correct. The ACLU and all other morally bankrupt perverts of the truth must not go unchallenged. Let them become incensed! As Paul said, "So then am I become your enemy, by telling you the truth?" (Gal. 4:16). |