We Are Accounted As Sheep For The Slaughter
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I. Introduction:
A. For those in Christ, what course needs to have been left behind us (Ephesians 2:1-3)?
- Aren’t we expected to cease to love the world and the things of the world (I John 2:15-17)?
- Are we supposed to be friends [fond of; one who associates familiarly {well known from long or close association} with; Strong’s # 5384] of the world (James 4:4)?
- Aren’t we supposed to balance being a good neighbor (Luke 10:25-37) with not being “of the world” (John 17:11-17)?
- Think about how we are warned about being “after the rudiments [principles; elements] of the world” (Colossians 2:8; 2:20-21).
- Shouldn’t we hate our lives in this world (John 12:25)?
- Aren’t we strangers here (I Peter 2:11)?
II. Body: Romans 8:31-39
A. In an effort to understand this, Christians often think about the motives of the people who might mislead, harm, or persecute us. Stop! They often don’t think they’re doing anything wrong (John 16:1-3).
- We might think of how we’d never do this or that when thinking about motives. Stop! What you have done, do, or would do/not do is irrelevant (II Corinthians 10:12).
- Remember, sinners often don’t think they are sinners (Proverbs 16:2, Proverbs 16:25, and Proverbs 30:11-12).
- When Paul persecuted Christians, he thought he was doing the right thing (Galatians 1:13-14 and I Timothy 1:12-16).
- We’re taught of God not be enablers (II Thessalonians 3:6-15). The world however may think they’re doing something “nice” when enabling wrongdoing.
- Remember, the wisdom of this world and what is supposed to be our wisdom are not the same (I Corinthians 2:1-6 and I Corinthians 3:18-20).
- …He is not on the minds of those of the world (Psalms 10:4-14; cf. I John 5:19).
- …He is not the center of their world (II Corinthians 4:3-4).
- In this world, whether physical, mental, or spiritual; we [faithful saints] face the daily grind (John 16:33 and II Corinthians 7:5-6).
- We suffer carnal losses (Philippians 3:7-8).
- We get vilified for righteousness sake (Matthew 5:10-12).
- Through the will of Christ, we find ourselves separated from those we love in the flesh (Matthew 10:34-39).
- Similar to what Jesus said to the twelve then, we are the prey (Matthew 10:16)!!!!!!
III. Conclusion: We are the sheep of the Great Shepherd (Hebrews 13:20). Don’t become dinner for the wolves (Jeremiah 5:26).
© 1999-2021 Brian A. Yeager