THE LOVE OF MANY SHALL WAX COLD
The Bible says that during the End Times, as we see evil increasing in the world, that “the love of many shall wax cold.”
Matthew 24:12: “And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.”
& there are 3 things that I want to focus on today:
(1) #1 is refuting a false teaching coming out of a sect of hateful Baptist churches who teach that “LOVE HATES” …
& they’re teaching their followers to hate certain groups of people.
(2) #2, I’m also going to look at some of the IMPRECATORY PSALMS (which are prayers for the punishment of evildoers & explain them within their proper context).
(3) #3, I’m also going to focus on Christ’s words in the New Testament on how we are to love our neighbors as ourselves.
Let’s start w/ the context of Matthew 24:
[In Matthew 24, Jesus is revealing the signs to look for prior to the tribulation, & ultimately, His return].
4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. 5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
[I believe this is where we are now, as we constantly hear about impending wars & future calamities.]
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.
10 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
So we see several things happening during this time:
War, famines, disease, natural disasters, persecution, betrayal, hating increasing, false prophets deceiving many, evil abounding, & people becoming loveless.
13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
And many people get confused on the last part of this passage.
People wonder: hasn’t the Gospel already been preached in all the world many times over?
We have missionaries right now in the far reaches of Africa and in the remotest parts of the jungle …
… the Gospel has been preached in every nation to date.
So why hasn’t the End come?
But when you look @ the whole passage in its context, there are a series of events that must happen first …
& so all of these factors have to be present in conjunction with one another, before Christ returns.
There’s a certain chronology of events …
Wars and rumors of wars
famines
earthquakes
persecution & betrayals
the rise of false prophets
& love waxing cold …
In other words, this is talking about the TRIBULATION PERIOD.
AND THEN …
Once we enter the tribulation & see all these things fulfilled …
AT THAT POINT …
There will be 1 final, major worldwide push to preach the Gospel to ALL NATIONS …
& THEN … once that has been done … then the END WILL COME.
& I believe that will include the preaching of the TWO WITNESSES from REVELATION 11 …
… & the 144,000 are who sealed in Rev. 7.
… who will be witnessing & preaching in all the earth …
So it’s not just a matter of the Gospel being preached globally in & of itself …
BUT these historical events will synchronize with End Times prophecy …
And the Bible teaches that during this time of great upheaval & betrayal & persecution …
THAT THE LOVE OF MANY SHALL WAX COLD.
We see this paralleled earlier in Matthew 10:21-22
21 And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death.
22 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake [that’s talking about the end times, because there will be great persecution of the Saints during that time]: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.
So a time is coming when great masses will become devoid of love for their fellow man …
… even to the point of betraying one another unto death.
And this will be the global outlook …
Those who are here during that time will witness a world devoid of love.
& So 3 things must happen:
(1) in v. 10 of Matthew 24: because of immense persecution, “many shall be offended & betray one another”.
(2) In v. 11 of Matthew 24 it says: “… many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.”
As false prophets arise, they will bring with them false doctrines & heresies …
… leading many away from true Christian faith & Biblical teaching.
This will lead to GREAT APOSTASY & the FALLING AWAY …
(3) & In v. 12 of Matthew 24, because of the ominous, spiritual climate of this time, “iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold”.
& WE ARE NOW BEGINNING TO SEE the seeds of this future end-times scenario begin to germinate …
We’re seeing an unprecedented COLD-HEARTEDNESS infiltrate society …
… and it’s even beginning to infect Christians & the church.
This is only the beginning.
We’re seeing an increase in loveless & prideful attitudes among God’s people.
We see Christians belittling one another & mocking one another in debate or over doctrine, especially online.
Even over minor disagreements.
We see apathy & a narcissistic mindset present among God’s people in watered-down churches.
The Gospel is hardly being preached to the lost.
& While Jesus’ admonishment to “Love Thy Neighbor as Thyself” is among Jesus’ most historically prominent & challenging words …
… modern Christians behave as though this is an outdated maxim not to be taken seriously.
… others are looking for LOOPHOLES in Jesus’ words, to find any excuse to hate and to fulfill the lusts of the flesh.
Pastors are feeding the itching ears of their congregations.
And this isn’t limited only to the prosperity teachers like Joel Osteen …
… but to loveless railing pastors on the other end of the spectrum …
…. who feed their flock’s carnal desire to hate & rail against those they deem enemies of the Cross.
We are entering the FALLING AWAY and as we do …
… we have to take conscious steps not to allow our love to wax cold.
• So let’s begin by defining what LOVE is from the Bible.
Since the NT is our ultimate authority, let’s turn to 1 John 4:10: “Herein is love [so the Bible is about to tell us what love is, it’s about to define Biblical love], not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”
So the NT defines love as the self-sacrificial act of God’s Son on our behalf.
• & We see the same definition of LOVE in the OT.
BECAUSE THE FIRST TIME “LOVE” appears in the OT is in Genesis 22:2, where God says to Abraham: “… Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.”
So the NT defines love as Jesus dying on the Cross for us …
& THE FIRST TIME the word, “LOVE” appears in the OT …
… it foreshadows the same sacrificial act of Christ’s love through Abraham’s offering his only son.
So the Bible clearly prominently defines love as a self-sacrificial act for others.
We see Love defined again in John 15:13: “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”
That is exactly what Jesus did for us.
Ephesians 5:25 says: “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;”
So even within marriage, LOVE is defined as self-sacrifice.
• But there is a modern loveless sect of Christians gaining popularity, especially online …
… who are teaching the paradoxical false doctrine that “LOVE HATES”.
… & they define LOVE & HATE as two sides of the same coin.
They claim that if you love something, you will hate something else.
For example, if you LOVE RIGHTEOUSNESS, you will HATE WICKEDNESS.
If you LOVE PURITY & CHASTITY, you will HATE FORNICATION & ADULTERY.
& THERE IS SOME TRUTH TO THAT.
Every false teaching is rooted in a modicum of truth.
But they don’t stop there.
They believe this LOVE-HATE doctrine also extends to people.
And so they use this as an excuse to rail on and hate people that they deem unworthy of God’s grace.
And that leaven of hate then extends to their own brothers & sisters in Christ whom they have doctrinal differences with.
& They go as far as saying that the Bible commands us to hate the wicked, because they are God’s enemies.
They’re too far gone and they can’t be saved.
But I’m going to refute that today.
THE FIRST TIME “LOVE” appears in the NT is in Matthew 5:43-44:
43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
But these haters actually say that this means that we’re supposed to love our own personal enemies, but not the enemies of God …
Who they then begin to define as certain segments of our population and certain sinners that they deem too sinful to be saved.
BUT THIS IS SUCH A CRAZY TWISTING OF GOD’S WORD.
& it can easily be answered by ROMANS 5:10 which says that WE WERE ALL GOD’S ENEMIES before we got saved.
Romans 5:10: “For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.”
If this false LOVE-HATE teaching is correct, the logical conclusion would be that we have to hate all non-believers …
… because the unbelieving mind, is by nature, at constant enmity with God.
Romans 8:7 says: “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.”
& there are many verses that make the point.
Colossians 1:21: “And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled”
James 4:4: “Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.”
So are we now supposed to hate worldly Christians too?
• Even speaking of false teachers who Paul called ENEMIES OF THE CROSS …
… Paul didn’t have a GLOATING, PRIDEFUL, HATEFUL, ANGRY attitude towards them, but instead wept over them.
Phil 3:18-19:
18 (For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ:
19 Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)
Do the pastors who preach this hate doctrine WEEP AT THE DESCRUCTION OF THE WICKED?
If you’ve seen them, they revel in it, they take joy in it …
Romans 5:8. A very important verse: “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
& if we keep reading in Matthew 5, v. 45, the Bible says that we should love our enemies, because God even loves His enemies.
Verse 45: “That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.”
In other words, in this lifetime, because of His infinite mercy, God blesses both the righteous & the wicked together!
He has compassion & mercy on both the evil and on the good!
God does this because he wants the wicked to repent & be saved.
In Ezekiel 33:11, God says: “Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways …”
Luke 6:35-36 is a parallel of the same passage & says that we should love our enemies, because God is:
35 … kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.
36 Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.
And so in this life, the mission of the church is to preach the Gospel to the lost, in the hopes of saving some.
• But HATEFUL CHRISTIANS cite the so-called IMPRECATORY PSALMS (psalms for judgment to befall the wicked) to justify their carnal behavior.
They cite Psalm 139:21-22:
21 Do not I hate them, O LORD, that hate thee? and am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee?
22 I hate them with perfect hatred: I count them mine enemies.
So they use this to say that it’s OK to hate those who hate God.
• But everyone hates God before they get saved, because their carnal mind is at enmity with God.
• & we’re supposed to INTERPRET THE OT by the NT, not the other way around.
There’s a reason why Jesus called it the NEW COVENANT.
If nothing had changed, then we would still be under the old covenant …
… & still be sacrificing animals & going to the High Priest every year for atonement!
The emphasis of the OT was to establish justice & judgment and the Law in order to convict the world of sin.
The emphasis of the NT is to reveal God’s grace and mercy and save those condemned by the Law.
Jesus even said that He is giving us a NEW COMMANDMENT.
Jesus said in John 13:34-35:
34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
& Jesus fulfilled the Law in Himself & summed up the entire Law, by teaching us that we ought to LOVE GOD & to LOVE ONE ANOTHER.
In 1 Timothy 1:5 Paul says: “Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned:”
That’s the new testament command.
• CAN YOU SHOW ME 1 place in the New Testament where either Jesus or Paul directly commands anyone to hate? Or to pray for the death of unbelievers?
THE NEXT THING TO UNDERSTAND ABOUT THE IMPRECATORY PSALMS is that David was pouring out his heart in prayer …
… & he was doing so in times of weakness & trouble, in times when he needed deliverance from physical enemies.
THE IMPRECATORY PSALMS were prayers of deliverance against the wicked …
In Psalm 55:15, David says: “Let death seize upon them, and let them go down quick into hell: for wickedness is in their dwellings, and among them.”
But in the same psalm, David literally said that he was making his complaint known to God in prayer.
In Psalm 55:2, he precedes his imprecatory prayer with: “Attend unto me, and hear me: I mourn in my complaint, and make a noise;”
& v. 22 he says: “Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.”
David was fighting for his life against his literal, physical enemies who were pursuing him in battle …
And he called out to God for deliverance.
That’s a far cry from using the Bible as an excuse to hate & rail on people today who have done nothing wrong to you directly, & whom you deem to be God’s enemies.
God died for that person that you’re praying death on.
Another example is Psalm 69:3, 13-14.
[Before the psalmist prays the imprecatory prayer, he first says:]
3 I am weary of my crying: my throat is dried: mine eyes fail while I wait for my God.
…
13 But as for me, my prayer is unto thee, O LORD, in an acceptable time: O God, in the multitude of thy mercy hear me, in the truth of thy salvation.
14 Deliver me out of the mire, and let me not sink: let me be delivered from them that hate me, and out of the deep waters.
These are ultimately PRAYERS for God’s people to triumph over their enemies when they are cast down …
• And we see that, ultimately, the “acceptable time” of judgment will come at Christ’s judgment seat, at the end of the world.
Luke 18:7: “And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?”
This reminds me of the martyrs in Revelation 6:10: “How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?”
God tells them to wait a little while longer until the wrath of God comes to the earth.
• THE IMPRECATORY PRAYERS were first & foremost prophetic of God’s JUDGMENT & WRATH …
… when GOD WILL judge the wicked, at the end of the world.
THAT is the heart of the imprecatory prayers, and the ultimately meaning.
Psalm 58:10 sums it up perfectly, ultimately speaking of the FUTURE JUDGMENT OF UNBELIEVERS: “The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance: he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.”
• As Christians, living in the world right now, we’re not even supposed to judge the behavior of outsiders …
… but we are supposed to judge ourselves.
In 1 Corinthians 5:12-13, Paul said:
12 For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within?
13 But them that are without God judgeth.
We’re supposed to judge OURSELVES within the church, and preach the Gospel to the lost outside the church.
• THE BOTTOM LINE IS THIS: Even if there was or is a time & a place for imprecatory prayers …
… we ought to be characterized by love, & not by hate.
Remember, Jesus said in Matthew 5:43-44:
43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
He was speaking about the imprecatory psalms, and revealing the depth of God’s love & grace …
Which extends even to our enemies & God’s enemies, since Christ died for them all!
I EVEN HAD SOMEONE TELL ME, because of the leaven of this hate doctrine, that we should literally HATE OUR FAMILY …
They cited Jesus’ words in Luke 14:26: “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.”
BUT THE CONTEXT of this passage is about COUNTING THE COST & FORSAKING ALL TO FOLLOW CHRIST.
It doesn’t mean that we’re supposed to literally have hate towards our family.
Because we see in the very next verse, in Luke 14:27: “And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.”
& THEN THE NEXT VERSE is about a man who intended to build a tower, but first counted the cost.
v. 28: “For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost …”
Then about a king going to battle, considered first whether he could win.
In v. 31: “Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand?”
& then in v. 33, Jesus says: “So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.”
This passage is NOT about LITERALLY HATING YOUR PARENTS or your children or your family.
It’s about counting the cost & forsaking everything & everyone in order to follow Christ & be a disciple.
Jesus says the same thing in Matthew 19:29 to his disciples: “And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.”
And, again, we see the same passage paralleled in Matthew 10:37-39.
[This time Jesus comes out and says it: That it’s not about hating your parents, but about not loving them more than you love God.]
37 He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
38 And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.
39 He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.
• ANOTHER AREA where the leaven of this hate doctrine has extended to is hatred of the Jews.
Now, I believe that the only way to inherit God’s blessing is to be a child of God by receiving Christ as your Savior.
There’s no automatic blessing & salvation to the unsaved Jew who rejects Christ.
But there’s a hyper-anti-Zionist sentiment among these same preachers & their followers.
They go around hating the physical circumcision (the Jews), blame them for all the problems of all the world …
…. & indiscriminately call them things like the synagogue of Satan …
That’s no way to win the Jews to Christ.
What was Paul’s attitude towards unsaved Jews?
Romans 9:1-3:
1 I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost,
2 That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart.
3 For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh:
Paul wished that he himself was accursed and that the physical Jews, in the flesh, were saved instead of him!
That means he was willing to go to Hell, so that they could go to heaven!
• ULTIMATELY, the “HATE DOCTRINE” is a work of the flesh.
• When you look at the FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT vs. the WORK OF THE FLESH, it becomes apparent.
Ephesians 5:19-23:
[First the works of the flesh are listed.]
19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering [that means suffering someone long … being patient with them], gentleness, goodness, faith,
23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
Again, against such there is no law.
It’s saying that that is the END of the commandment.
The whole of the Law is fulfilled in this …
in walking in the Spirit, rather than the flesh …
… in loving God & your neighbor as yourself.
• But the MODERN PHARISEE LAWYERS will even go so far as questioning who their neighbor is.
They are LITERALLY doing the same thing that the Bible warned us against.
We see this in LUKE 10:25-29:
25 And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
26 He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou?
27 And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.
28 And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.
29 But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?
Jesus then tells the story of a man who was accosted by thieves …
… wounded & laying in the street, the Jews (who were God’s chosen people) do not help the man …
A PRIEST passes by and a LEVITE, neither of which help the wounded man.
THEIR LOVE HAD WAXED COLD.
But it was the Samaritan, who was despised by God’s Chosen people, and not considered a “neighbor” by the Jews …
… who Jesus considered the REAL NEIGHBOR.
It’s painfully obvious to the honest Christian, that NEIGHBOR = EVERYONE.
And so if we are to love our neighbor as ourself, that destroys the LOVE-HATE doctrine.
• I mean, these are among Jesus’ most famous words for a reason!
BUT THE LAWYER just wanted to find a LOOPHOLE in the Bible so that he could choose WHO TO LOVE & WHO TO HATE.
… Just like the Pharisees of today want to do.
IN THE END, we have a handful of verses in the OT about hating or prayers of hate, all of which are ultimately prophetic of God’s judgment (not ours) …
… and then we have an abundant numbers of verses in the NT, even from Jesus Himself & from Paul & others …
… about loving everyone, including our neighbor …
BUT CARNAL CHRISTIANS who’s love has waxed cold, cherrypick passages in the OT that they don’t fully understand …
& they blend the covenants together …
… in order to justify their sinful desires.
The “HATE DOCTRINE” is a Satanic doctrine, it’s from the devil, it’s from the flesh, it’s from the carnal mind, it’s NOT of God.
IN CONCLUSION, we were all enemies of God according to Romans 5:10 …
… but are now reconciled to God according to Colossians 1:21-22 …
… we were once hateful, but are now commanded to love our neighbors AND to pray for our enemies …
… according to Matthew 5:44 & Romans 12:14.
• We don’t even have time to look at 1 Corinthians 13 today.
That’s really a sermon in & of itself.
But let me close w/ Romans 12:9-21:
9 Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.
10 Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;
11 Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;
12 Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;
13 Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality.
14 Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.
15 Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.
16 Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits.
17 Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.
18 If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.
19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
20 Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.
21 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
