By Francis Frangipane
"Then
shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate
one another. . . . And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many
shall wax cold" (Matt. 24:10-12 KJV).
The Sequence That Leads To Apostasy
In
our last teaching we looked at offenses and examined the lethal effect
an offended spirit could have upon our lives. We discussed how the only
way to not be permanently offended was to attain the unoffendable heart
of Jesus Christ.
Attaining Christ’s heart is not a
minor issue. Remember, Jesus warned that in the last days "many" would
be offended. A wounded spirit is not the same thing as an offended
spirit -- an offense occurs when we do not process our wounds in a
Christlike manner. Indeed, an offended spirit, left unattended and
brooding in our minds, will soon manifest as betrayal, hatred and cold
love. Jesus said offenses would be the ultimate cause that leads many to
fall from faith. Listen well: in the above verse, Jesus linked the real
cause of apostasy not only to wrong doctrines, but wrong reactions.
