Be Aware of Scoffers

July 27

The Lord wants you to know right up front what are some of the pitfalls you will encounter if you sign on as one of His own. He makes it clear that being a Christian is not a bed of roses. Yes, there are roses along the way, but the thorns are a very real fact that will be encountered as you gather them.

He in no way negates the enormous advantage that comes to those who allow the veil to be lifted from their eyes that they might believe in Him. We are told over and over again that the Word of God brings life; that the life lived apart from Jesus ends in eternal destruction.

But His warning of the trials and tribulations that will accompany the life of surrender to Jesus is real. The enemy of God, the evil foe who has positioned himself against all the Lord stands for is a formidable opponent who will war against the man who ceases following the world to trod God’s good path.

In II Peter 3:3, the impetuous apostle warns that we must, “…be aware of the scoffers who will come in the last days to mock you, following their own lusts.” This may seem a minor aspect of persecution, but the thin-skinned need to know former friends will ridicule their decision to abandon the world to follow Jesus.