In the Last Days Difficult Times Will Come— Irreconcilable
March 6, 2006
Dear Friends
As we continue our study of the list of characteristics of the ecclesia in the Last Days as found in 2 Timothy 3, the next trait found is that these men will be irreconcilable. This is the Greek word aspondos coming from the root word sponde meaning truce or agreement. According to Barclay, it can mean “a man is so bitter in his hatred that he will never come to terms with the man with whom he has quarreled.â€
In the Last Days, there will be brethren, who despite recognizing each other as brethren, will refuse to be reconciled with them. What is genuinely frightening is that this word is used only one other place. In Romans 1:31, it uses the same Greek word aspondos but then goes on to say “Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them. Therefore thou art inexcusable.â€
What excuses do we use to be irreconcilable with our brethren? Probably one of the most commonly used is one we will call the “earnestly contending for the faith†excuse. As contending for the faith is Biblical (taken from Jude 3), we must distinguish between reconciliation between brethren and concord between Christ and “Belial†(2 Cor. 6:15). There is no doubt that all brethren should stand fast against false brethren (Gr. pseudadelphos). However, we need to be sure that in the process of so doing; we do not confuse Christ’s brethren (Gr. christosadelphos) for false brethren. If we conclude someone is our brother for whom Christ died, we have no alternative but to reconcile with them. If we chose not to do so, we are inexcusable.
The next excuse is crowd mentality. It is a known fact that people react differently in groups than as individuals. People in groups are much less likely to take appropriate action in a group than if they are alone. For example, people on a crowded beach are far less likely to stop someone from rifling through a woman’s purse than on a less crowded beach. The reason given is that people in a crowd tend to look for someone else to step up and do the right thing. French sociologist Gustave Le Bon suggested that when in a crowd, individuals are given a degree of anonymity and therefore abandon personal responsibility. We see this in the crowds crying for the crucifixion of Jesus. Do we see this in crowds of brethren? I was recently a first-hand witness to such an event. I was visiting an ecclesia and approached the secretary about the breaking of bread. He said it would be fine to participate. He then left and discussed it with his fellow serving brethren. He then informed me that I could not participate based on the group’s decision. The irony is that after memorial service almost every one of the members of the group came up and apologized to me because they personally would have been fine with me participating in the breaking of bread. The fact is that God is going to judge us individually and the excuse that a lot of other people are guilty of the same sin will do us no good.
The last prevalent excuse brethren have is that “it is not my problem.†Reconciliation takes effort and willingness to compromise. Again, this is not a compromise of truth for error or morality for immorality; it is a willingness for the love of your brethren to allow for their perspective and way of doing things. Jesus gives a parable about such “do- nothingness“.
Jesus said “For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.†(Matt. 23:42-45)
Have a great week!
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