Where is the LOVE?

<SPAN class=postbody>Lots of people claim to know God. But where is the evidence, where is the love. We were warned that this day would come.

Matthew 24:12
And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.

So many people today believe you can sin all you want to sin, and there is no evidence at all that they have any kind of a relationship with God, because there is none of the love of God in them.

Rev. 2:4-5 Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. [5] Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place--unless you repent.

The Bible does not really say these people are not saved. But there is none of God's love in them, so God is not able to use them as a witness and a testimony to the world.

Rev. 3:16-17
So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. [17] Because you say, 'I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing'--and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked--

Here again are people that God is just not able to use. They maybe saved, but they do not represent God. They only speak for self, and out of the imagination of their own heart. They are not even aware of how miserable and wretched they are.

Matthew 7:22-23
Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' [23] And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'

Here is a group that thought they had it all. They though they could heal the sick, cast out demons and perform wonders in His name. If they actually did these things or not, there was so much lawlessness in their lives that they are not even saved. Jesus does not say there are a FEW in this group, He says there are MANY. As in many find the broad way that leadeth to destruction. Jesus tells us that there are many people who are deceived into thinking they are christians, when in fact they are not christians at all, in that they are not saved.

All I ask is, where is the love, where is the evidence that people know God. There are many who claim to know God, but what they claim to know does not really represent God at all.

2 Tim. 3:13 But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.

Paul calls them seducers or impostors. Their life is not getting better and better each and every day. Actually their life is getting worse. They are not drawing closer to God, they are getting further away from Him.

Peter calls them scoffers who walk according to their own lusts and according to the ways of this world. Having departed from the truth and having turned away from the love of God. This group of people even deny the coming of the lord.

Jude 1:18-19
How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts. [19] These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit.

Jude really puts it out on the line. They walk after their own ungodly lusts and they have NONE of the HOLY SPIRIT of God in them. They say they do, they claim they do, but in reality they have NONE of God in them. We are told they speak "great swelling words, flattering people to gain advantage." Yet these are "sensual persons, who cause divisions, not having the Spirit."

Counterfeit christianity is running amuck today. Do you see any real evidence of the Holy Spirit in peoples lives? Do you see any of God's love at work in people who call themselves christians? I just wonder, where is the love of Christ today? Thanks, JohnR7</SPAN>

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<SPAN class=postbody>Absolutely.</SPAN>

<SPAN class=postbody> </SPAN>

<SPAN class=postbody>Absolutely.</SPAN>

<SPAN class=postbody> Right where it's always been, with the Church.

God bless

__________________
"Apart from an acknowledgment of God's absolute, all encompassing sovereignty, there can be no true thanksgiving, praise, or childlike dependence upon Him. What a gracious thing that He has opened our eyes to behold with wonder His works. As John the Baptist said, a man can receive nothing except it be given him from heaven. How gracious He has been to us!" - One of my beloved brothers in the Lord Jesus

John,
Nice post. I am a Christian who sometimes gets caught in the "where is the evidence for God" trap that leads nowhere without an understanding of this God we are referring to...

All I see is the puny demand for "show me evidence and I'll believe!"

But this God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob we are referring to has made it pretty clear that the relationship begins with faith and He will reveal himself. The "evidence" is so clear through spiritual discernment, not empirical realities (though I believe they are hard to miss if you're honest).

Cornelius Van Til gave the greatest most profound lecture I've ever heard on this very thing. Mankind is not the proper judge of things. All we have to do to see that is read history. God has revealed himself, but you cannot initially see him without that one condition He requires, which is faith.

The nonbelievers on the forum refuse that condition and demand "evidence" on their terms. Even when I have pointed this out, they continue to cling to their own assumptions first. That leap of faith is the first requirement. It is difficult for someone to give up their illusion of autonomy. I know all about that!

Peace and Blessings

John,

P.S. The love is alive and well in the few "peasants" underneath all the pomp and "Constantinish" glitter!

I can't help but notice all throughout the Bible is the ordinary and humble God uses. Though David was far from ordinary, he beheld a true servant's heart.

I am surrounded by "Christians" very often and only once in awhile am I next to someone who is so filled with quiet reverence and love for our Lord that I can't miss it.