With the rise of evil and humankind's worsening bad behavior, an American minister suggested ways on how Christians can live in the world amidst darkness.
In his CBN News article, Dr. David Jeremiah, senior pastor of Shadow Mountain Community Church in California, observed that people have turned into "more callous, selfish, violent, and angry" individuals. Though he said that sin is innate to man due to Adam and Eve's rebellion in the Garden of Eden, the change in people's bad behavior has gone even worse, citing the story of 75-year-old Xiao Zhen Xie.
Unprovoked, Steven Jenkins punched Xie in the face while waiting to cross the street in San Francisco. But the elderly woman fought back by hitting her attacker with a wooden board, leaving Jenkins with a bloody mouth. He was then charged with assault and elder abuse.
Just minutes prior to the attack, Jenkins also reportedly assaulted an 83 year old Asian man.
Jeremiah pointed out that such outrageous behavior was already predicted by Apostle Paul in 2 Timothy 3:1-5. In the verses, Paul said that people in the last days "will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power."
The pastor continued with Paul's statement in 2 Timothy 3:13, saying that "evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived."
Jeremiah noted that the apostle's descriptions of people's character in the end times will destroy families, adding that the latter will eventually lead to society's destruction.
"The increasing selfishness of the last days will manifest itself in selfish people, and those selfish people will inevitably result in damaged families. People will focus less on loved ones. Their time, energy, and passion will be tied up in themselves. And the more broken families you find within a society, the more broken that society will become," he wrote.
In the middle of this negativity, the minister shared three ways on how believers should live, reflecting on the passage of Scripture in Ephesians 5:8.
First, people of God must remember the grace that they received. Man, he stressed, is "spiritually, morally, personally, and eternally in pitch blackness" but the moment he comes to Christ, He connects him to the throne of grace and turns on a great light inside of him.
Next, Christians must reflect the light that they have become. They must radiate the light of God to others, as the Bible said in Ephesians 5:8-10, wherein they should "walk as children of light" and find out "what is acceptable to the Lord."
Finally, believers must reveal the darkness that they see. As stated in Ephesians 5:11-14, God's people should never take part in the works of darkness "but rather expose them."
"Everyone is longing for some light. The world and its darkness are closing in on us. But when Jesus Christ comes into your life, He switches on the light that can never be turned off," the minister concluded.
Aside from being a pastor, Jeremiah is the host of "Turning Point for God," an international radio and television broadcast ministry. He is also a best-selling author and a sought-after speaker.
