Robert McLaughlin Bible Ministries
Arrogant, unhappy people become persecutors.
Friday, November 21, 2003
One of the first things that frustrated people always do is to persecute.
Arrogant, unhappy people become persecutors.
ROM 16:18 For such men are slaves, not of our Lord Christ but of their own lusts; and by their smooth and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the stupid.
In REV 12:13, who does the cruel act in a holocaust? Frustrated, arrogant, unhappy individuals.
If we follow the teachings of TLJC we can expect to be persecuted for our beliefs or for our lifestyle.
PSA 9:9 Jehovah will be a stronghold for the oppressed, A stronghold in times of trouble,
As soon as you take matters in your own hands and enter into some system of emotional sinning (like jealousy or revenge), you take the matter out of the Lord’s hands, and the Lord no longer acts on your behalf.
PSA 55:22 Cast your burden upon the Lord, and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken.
We must be very careful that we do not allow our conscience to become permeated with garbage when we are being persecuted.
EPH 6:12 Because our struggle is not against blood [people’s souls] and flesh [their old sin nature], but against the rulers [archons like Abaddon and Beelzebub], against the powers [demon officers who have phenomenal authority],
– against the world forces of this darkness [kosmokratoras – demons who specialize in possessing or influencing the cosmos or world rulers] against the spiritual forces of evil in the atmosphere around the earth, the stellar universe and in the presence of God.
Verse 16 – they will be put to shame without you ever trying to defend yourself or answer back.
Bless – pres-act-imp – eulogeo = to speak well of, to treat with honor and respect, to honor their privacy.
Pres-act-part – dioko = they habitually pursue after you, they normally persecute you; to drive away, to harass, trouble; to be maltreated, suffer persecution on account of something.
This refers to a desperate need that an individual has and the believer who operates in Christian integrity fulfills that need when possible.
“You will pile coals upon his head” = an ancient custom of giving coals to keep a fire going; or the mental pain and shame that takes place from being treated with integrity by another.
MAT 10:8b “freely you received, freely give.”