Do you remember the old saying, ‘What you don’t know wont hurt you?’ I was one of those kids that asked questions all the time. If I wanted an answer I would plague the person that knew until I was satisfied with the forthcoming answer. In life, I applied it to almost everything,
Michael Martin except things about Christianity. It never crossed my mind to question the topic of eternal life, or even the simple questions about what Christmas anc* Easter was about. I thought I already knew. Those days were about presents and candy!
Since I’ve gotten older and (I hope) much wiser, I have found out that ‘what you don’t know WILL hurt you.’ The Apostle John wrote in his epistle this following sentence: 1 John 5:19 “And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.” It was written to Christians. The epistle begins with something we as Christians all need to hear, ljohn 1:3-4 “That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.”
If we puzzle over this a little it, we will read that John does not think the World is your friend. And the more I see of World events, I know that he is correct…the whole world lieth in wickedness! We live in a world that is all about itself and cares nothing about who they hurt to get what they want. Enough is never enough. We read about drug cartels that have so much money they weigh it instead of count it. Yet, they rob, kidnap, and murder to get more and more of what they cannot even spend, they have so much.
When I was a kid I never thought about the crazy things that go on today. They might have, but it was on a much smaller scale. I never worried about hitching a ride, or even thought about being kidnapped or murdered while on the streets. I never had to think about the distress of little girls being sold as simple property to be transferred from one wicked man to another wicked man.
Today’s world is outwardly what the Apostle John described of the world inwardly. Some idiot allowed them to open the closet door and flaunt their perverseness in the face of the innocent. It was a shock to some of us to openly see the wickedness of the world on full display.
Now the Apostle John spoke of our ‘joy being full’. I don’t think I have ever seen such unhappy people as those who labeled themselves ‘gay’. They fought for acceptance, but they didn’t realize that every single perversion would climb out from under the rock they lived under. We used to call what people advertize themselves as a mental illness. Today they demand that we celebrate their mental illness as if it is their right to be accepted into society. Do you ever look at the face jewelry, the wicked tatoos, the crazy hair and believe for a moment they are a happy, joyful people?
Let’s go back to our first scripture for a minute. 1 John 5:19 “And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.” The Apostle John knew Jesus personally. He followed Him, ate with him, watched as he healed men women and children. Through it all it was evident that Jesus loved people, even those that hated Him. Seeing all this, the Apostle wrote with confidence, “We Know.” He did not need to think, wonder, or pause to watch the events of the day. We Know! Now we often think of the time of Christ as a simply a time in history when religion tells us a Savior came to save us from our sins. Hardly do we really understand that the world was just as wicked then as it is now.
The world, in its wickedness, killed men, women and children for daring to believe that Jesus was the very Christ spoken of in Old Testament prophesy. Jews killed people. Romans killed people. Other nations killed people, not for being subversive but for simply believing in Jesus as their Savior.
John tells us with authority that Jesus was whom He claimed to be. History has proven that this religion could not and cannot be stamped out. Men and women today believe and plead with people to come to the saving knowledge of Jesus’s sacrifice for mankind.
Revelation 20:11-15 “And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”
How do you get your name to appear in the Book of Life? That is a question you will need to answer in your limited lifetime. You see, ‘What you don’t know can hurt you!’
