What happens when God's people stray?

The condition of the churches today is so bad, that it is difficult even to have any hope for missions to unreached ethnic groups: what will happen when a church that doesn't keep the New Covenant, brings its false message and even badly mistranslated Bibles to a new society?

The condition of many churches (but hopefully not all churches) is to the point of their being incompetent. Now, the Holy Bible addresses this type of condition:

- The Lord Christ Jesus describes moral degradation to the point where "...many will be entrapped [into sin] and will hand each other over and hate each other. And there will be many false prophets and they will deceive many. And due to the increasing of the lawlessness, the love of many will be made cold." (Matthew 24:10-12, CFB)

- Similarly, the prophet Ezekiel is sent with this message to God's people of that time: "...‘You are a land that is not cleansed or rained on in the day of indignation.’ The conspiracy of her prophets in her midst is like a roaring lion tearing the prey; they have devoured people; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in her midst. Her priests have violated My law and profaned My holy things; they have not distinguished between the holy and unholy, nor have they made known the difference between the unclean and the clean; and they have hidden their eyes from My Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them. Her princes in her midst are like wolves tearing the prey, to shed blood, to destroy people, and to get dishonest gain. Her prophets plastered them with untempered mortar, seeing false visions, and divining lies for them, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord God,’ when the Lord had not spoken. The people of the land have used oppressions, committed robbery, and mistreated the poor and needy; and they wrongfully oppress the stranger." (Ezekiel 22:24-29, NKJV)

One of the key messages here is that when God's people have fallen into immorality, God sends catastrophes: to judge, to chastise, to purify a remnant, and to show that there is an ultimate judge to respect, Almighty God.

- "Because of this, among you are many weak and sickly and a considerable number sleep. Now, if were judging ourselves, we would not judge! Being judged, however, by the Lord, we are chastised, so that we not be condemned with the world." (1 Corinthians 11:30-32, CFB)

- "....the children of her I will kill with death, and all the churches will know that I am the searcher of kidneys* and of hearts, and I will give to you each according to the works of yours." (Revelation 2:23, CFB)

- "All flesh shall see that I, the Lord, have kindled it...." (Ezekiel 20:48, NKJV)

- "You shall defile yourself in the sight of the nations: then you shall know that I am the Lord." (Ezekiel 22:16, NKJV)

These catastrophes can never come through the actions of Christians, of course: Christians are commanded to love all people, to hate no one, and to put away all anger (Matthew 5:22, 43-48; Ephesians 4:31; Colossians 3:8).



Notes:
* Valuable discussions of what "kidneys" could signify (e.g. metaphorically) are provided by Brown Driver Briggs, Thayer's Greek Lexicon, and Liddell Scott Jones.

CFB: Scripture quoted from the Christ Family Bible. Copyright © 2019 by J.J. Thomas. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

NKJV: Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.