We read the words of our Lord Jesus Christ speaking about the last days. We are left without any doubt – we are living in the last hour. We see all the signs around and all the prophecies being fulfilled right in front of our eyes. He is coming. Let us be ready brethren! Jesus is coming very soon to judge the inhabitants of the earth.
Today I want us to focus on verse 12: “And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.”
In this verse we find a warning. Lord Jesus speaks the love will become cold for so many. We have to be careful and not let it happen to us. Keep praying that we are firmly rooted in His divine love. “He that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.” First of all though, we need to define what this love is.
I want to give you an exposition of this verse. I will start with a narrower, humanistic definition which frames the love here to other people only. Then I will suggest a deeper meaning of what I believe Lord Jesus speaks here.
Let me start with the human-centred understanding. “The love of many shall wax cold.” Some may say, it must be the love towards others. It could well be so. The second commandment the Lord Jesus gives us is this: “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” Mk. 12:31
We read about all the tribulations and persecutions that are to come to the world. Surely, this will make people more selfish and less considerate about others. In fact, have we not witnessed this in the last weeks? People were rushing towards the supermarkets, just to make sure they have their own shelves stocked with goods. Very little consideration was given for those vulnerable in the society. Let us have our bellies filled first!
Apostle Paul is warning us about the last days in 2 Timothy:
“This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.” 2 Tim. 3:1-5
We can see how well these verses describe the state of humanity. “The love of many shall wax cold”. I have no doubt that the selfishness of people is part of what about Lord Jesus speaks here. But I think there must be more to it and let me explain why.
You see, people are capable of doing good for the wrong reasons. Just as we have seen people hoarding goods for their own advantage, we have also seen many acts of kindness and goodness. People were volunteering to help the elders, some were self-organising support groups. Of course, it is a great thing when people help their neighbours.
But did you know that one could do works which all the people in the world will call loving and caring, yet it would be an abomination to God? Why? Because it was done with wrong motives. Because it leads to my boasting and does not bring glory to Almighty God.
Let us not be deceived. We are living in the age of humanism. Putting people first misleads us so easily. We tend to forget how deceitful our hearts are. There is this natural tendency in all of us that we like to help others. We like to do good. We were created in God’s image after all!
But remember this: if we are without Jesus, all these “good deeds” do is just growing pride in our hearts. The only deeds that do matter, are those that are done in faith in Lord Jesus and in His name. “For without me ye can do nothing.”
Let us remind ourselves, what happened when Moses came to Pharaoh.
“And Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and they did so as the LORD had commanded: and Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh, and before his servants, and it became a serpent. Then Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers: now the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments.” Ex. 7:10-11
Moses is the servant of God. Pharaoh is the worldly king. Aaron does a miracle in the name of God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The sorcerers of the Pharaoh imitate the miracle by doing what appears to be the same miracle. The picture here is that the humanity has devices that can astonish people. We, human, can do what will appear as goodness. Our civilisation can provide many things. We have drugs to heal people, science and technology to make our lives better and easier. Many organisations concerned about welfare of the world are involved in charitable work. We have this inward desire to be seen as “good people”.
However, all the fruit we bring is totally worthless if we are not servants of the living God, submitted to His will. God tells us through prophet Isaiah that all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags. (Is. 64:6). “Without me you can do nothing.” Without faith in Christ and obedience to the gospel, we can do nothing.
Therefore, as you can see, the love to our neighbour can only provide a partial answer to the sense of verse 12. “The love of many shall wax cold.” There must be a deeper meaning behind these words of Lord Jesus. There must be an essence that He refers to.
I believe it is the love for the Word. It is the love for Jesus Christ. I suggest there are 3 key things that Lord Jesus means when he speaks about love in this passage: love for the truth, love for the Word of God and love for the gospel being preached. Let me resonate by expanding on them:
1) The Love for the Truth.
“I am the way, the truth, and the life” said Lord Jesus. To love the truth is to love Jesus Christ.
“And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold”. Do we love the truth? Do we rejoice in it? Do we accept we are broken sinners that can do nothing without God’s grace and mercy? Paul speaks of love in the 1 Corinthians: “[Love] Rejoiceth not in inequity, but rejoiceth in the truth;” We are so prone to do exactly the opposite! We rather rejoice in inequity and dismiss the truth.
“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.” 2 Tim. 4:3-4
The love for the truth challenges us to preach all of the doctrines of the Bible. How many churches no longer preach sin or repentance? How many avoid talking about hell because it may “offend” someone? The truth of the gospel is offensive to the world, because it makes us human bare. It shows what a serious offence against God our sin is.
Do we love the truth? There can be no compromise to it. How many seek unity between Christians in the name of so called love, forgetting we can only be truly united to God and to each other in the name of truth, as revealed to us through our Lord?
I would argue this is where the age of humanism led us. As the apostle Paul writes, we “heap to ourselves teachers after own lusts”. We depart from the truth and follow fables that are easier to digest.
2) The Love for the Word of God.
It is only in the Bible we find the truth. If we have no love for the Word of God, we will not see and seek the deepest need of other human being. We will rather taper our morality providing our neighbour their physical needs so that we may feel good about it.
If we are truly lovers of the Word of God, we will see that the deepest need of everyone is to find peace with God. By the love of the Word, we understand that Lord Jesus is the answer to all the needs of our broken soul. It is only in Him we find this eternal comfort that none of the things of this world can give us.
“The love of many shall wax cold”. So many turn away the true Word of God. We rather turn to “easy to understand” translations, diluting the truths and doctrines. We can see the love waxing cold…
The translators of the Holy Bible dedicated their work to King James. I find it amazing how well they understood the need for continues preaching the divine truths and the joy it was giving them. They wrote the following in their dedicatory epistle: “But among all our joys, there was no one that more filled our hearts, than the blessed continuance of the preaching of God’s sacred Word among us;which is that inestimable treasure, which excelleth all the riches of the earth; because the fruit thereof extendeth itself, not only to the time spent in this transitory world, but directeth and disposeth men unto that eternal happiness which is above in heaven.”
We need to love the Word of God being preached. In fact, preaching the Word is the most important purpose of our short existence here on earth. There is no better way to glorify our God then to preach the gospel. Through preaching the gospel, God’s power is manifested and souls are won for Christ. It is a clear commandment of the Lord that we are to shine in this dark world and we can only shine when we speak the truth of the Word!
“I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.” 2 Tim. 4:1-2
There is power in the Word of God that can change people’s hearts. It can melt the icebergs. It is like a hammer that breaks the hardest stones.
What will happen when this love for the truth waxes cold? We will stop searching for it. We will backslide into the old Adam. Our old nature will dominate and we will fall. If we let this love turn cold, there is no hope for us. When the Word of God is not preached, there is no hope for this world.
We are God’s people. We live thanks to Jesus Christ and His cross! How could we hold this to ourselves and not preach the gospel? We need to live for Him who saved us and lives forever in eternal glory!
The Bible gives us so many examples of godly men who were living and dying for the Word of God. We read in the book of Acts, that the Apostles spake the word of God with boldness. Do we speak with this same authority today? Or do we rather make ourselves itching ears and pick up what we want to hear.
Rather then preaching and searching through people’s souls, we are pleased with appearances of conversion. We choose easy-believism over preaching the gospel of Christ, that very Word of God which is God’s power unto salvation!
We abandon the knowledge of the living God that we find in Jesus Christ. Instead we mould a god that we would prefer to have. We make a god in our image.
“The love of many shall wax cold.” It is a serious warning. How do we apply this to our lives? Seek and rejoice in the truth. Read the Word of God everyday and submit to it earnestly. Pray without ceasing that the gospel is preached and that we can boldly stand against this world and face whatever persecution we may face. Pray that the Word of God is magnified and glorified. Pray we are not found lukewarm. Pray that souls are saved and that thanks are given to our Everlasting Father for the abundance of His grace.
“Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.” Eph. 3:20-21
