Unequivocal Lord of All

Multiple things:

Those with no voice to defend themselves have been grievously treated. The unborn, specifically. Justice has fled from our shores, from amongst all the people. God, then, will stand and judge on their behalf, as He has ever said He would do...as He has ever done.
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Self-preservation is anti-Christ (...alternately, total reliance upon God for all direction is "more better."). The current trend toward thoughts along the line of, "It's fine to help people, but don't let them take advantage of you," is anti-Christ: He didn't trouble Himself over people's motives or dependency, when teaching, healing, and sacrificing Himself to provide salvation. Rather, He knew the wickedness of people's hearts, and loved us regardless. He saw our sinful, self-seeking natures, and our complete feebleness and incapacity and He--God Incarnate!--walked among us as a servant, regardless of our depravity, abject neediness, and absolute unworthiness. He relied upon God, the Father, completely for direction in where to go, who to help, and in what manner to sacrifice Himself (and when and where, and oh, but did our blessed hope then arise in glory!).

And for those who refuse to be served by Him...?...who believe they don't "need help"...?...believing they are "self-sufficient" and able to take care of and provide for themselves...?

Consider this:
...when Peter tried to refuse to allow Christ to wash His feet, He said those who refused His service--to be washed by Him--had no part, with Him or in Him. No one is capable of "taking care of and providing for themselves," in other words: salvation is our highest and greatest need, and if we can't do that, then what can we do, truly?--all else is vanity, even as only perpetuating life in this realm. 



Believing there is no need in oneself and resenting the "relative" neediness of others is thus a vast and significant sign of a great need--a vast lack--in one's heart. This, as having "everything" has led into a delusion of self-sufficiency--forgetting God except as perhaps an "accessory means to an end" equates to having, in truth, nothing at all...as having completely forsaken Him. As with the Laodicean church, of Revelation.

Continuing in belief that we, ourselves, are self-sufficient is a delusion which in-practice refutes God's sovereignty and immanence. Many times, Israel wandered into that delusion. God's graces and blessings went to their head in such a way they began to look to themselves, rather than Him: they sought and found satisfaction in their provisions, their prosperity, their well-being, and their social or familial solidarity. All, implicitly to the exclusion of God's glory, providential will, and sovereignty over their continued existence.

Every time it went that way, there was judgment. And every time judgment has been passed, there's been mercy shown: a remnant has always been preserved.

Even as the church is the remnant, now (not to say that Israel is no longer His people, however--we have been grafted in, is all). Yet, for those who profess His name, but don't obey His commands, now? Perhaps He will have mercy. Perhaps there'll be famine or fire, to help.

In instances of pervasive perceptions of "self-sufficiency," famines and fire come as an act of mercy: Loss of provision unto obvious inability to be self-sufficient unequivocally evidences to God's people their abject need of Him--requiring people turn wholeheartedly to God for even the most basic provisions reconciles them, unto salvation.

Mercy abounds even as His people are placed in a furnace of trials and tribulations, as mentioned in Ezekiel: God's people had become as dross, He said. Eaten up with idolatry. They were fit to be thrown in the furnace. To be tried by fire, in other words.

He does try by fire, though. He chooses us in the fire of our afflictions, moreover. And, He refines us like silver--melted down into a formless mass, dross separates out and floats to the top, to be removed. Then we can be recast into whatever shape the silversmith chooses.

Refined gold is also purified, tried by fire: Christ, Himself, said it was good to buy refined gold from Him. Peter equated it to faith which has endured great testing, per the trials and tribulations it has weathered...by the grace of God: Faith bearing the evidence of having suffered and overcome trials.

He is like refiner's fire and fuller's soap. And we must strive unto the fullness of Christ, so to be holy--to be pure, as He is pure. Even as to endure, in the days of trying and refinement.

All signs point to upcoming trials and tribulations, is all--whether personally, socially, nationally, or globally experienced (the first two, for sure--just part of being one of Christ's disciples: He said we'd endure trials, tribulation, and persecution in this life, for His name's sake...but don't be discouraged: He has overcome the world!).

Just...
Do you have oil sufficient for the night?: Are you abiding in Christ, as He abides in you?
Have you repented, and are you continuing to repent?
Are you being transformed, from glory to glory, as you continue to receive greater revelation of His majesty and wonder?
Do you put on the full armor of God, ever abiding in His Word?

We must strive.

And we must seek and continually pray that we will all continually be filled with the Holy Spirit--so to endure steadfastly, to bring glory to His name, to remain a living sacrifice as is our right service, taking up and bearing our crosses, daily. As to please Him, even. Out of ever-increasing love for Him: that His kingdom may come, in and through us: His will be done on earth, as it is in heaven--unobstructed by errancies of self-will.

Also, there is this:

The persistence of "Almost Christianity" has been a viable concern within the Church, over the entire course of her existence (read the New Testament, for evidence).

Along this line, certain modern philosophies argue that salvation which requires turning from sin is a type of "works-based faith," ignoring that the matter at stake is evidence of a heart brought to repentance through the pure love of God shed abroad, within, at the time of regeneration. Turning from sin is an evidence of regeneration (as is continued sanctification)--turning from sin, as such, is not a requirement of salvation, but a direct, concurrent result of salvation.

That distinction is VITAL.

I was one who got lost in that distinction, over course of my childhood, youth, and early adulthood: hearing of repentance, without any explanation of the regenerative work of the Holy Spirit, I believed it was necessary to turn myself from sin, completely unaware that salvation entailed being turned away from sin. Repentance is absolutely requisite, as a core component of salvation; however, it's a work of the Holy Spirit--not a work of man.

Notice Peter's entreaty to the people of Jerusalem, upon the arrival of the Holy Spirit: The Holy Spirit did the work of conviction--convicting the crowd of the truth of the Gospel, convicting them of their wickedness, bringing them to a point of desperate longing: they were crying out for a means of salvation--crying out for direction, as to HOW they might be saved..

...then, as Peter told them, "Repent, be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins:" the Holy Spirit had performed the work, unto their longing for repentance: The Holy Spirit convicted of sin, created a longing for salvation. Just as He regenerates and renews the spirits of those who are being saved unto true, Holy Spirit-led repentance--a turning away from sin as turning toward God.

This, as continuing knowingly and willfully in sin--as a regular, unconvicted practice--is contradictory to the very idea of loving God.

John outlined it very well: we are to conduct ourselves as Jesus conducted Himself--he specified that those who unconcernedly, unwaveringly engage in sinful lifestyles are not of God, but of the devil.

Because it's all a matter of the heart: loving God, desiring His fellowship, longing to please Him (all of which are intrinsic aspects of the transformation which comes upon a spirit regenerated by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit) simultaneously involve ever-increasing sensitivity and aversion to any sinful practices which separate from God, as transgressing against Him.

John's points were merely expositions upon what Jesus taught when He spoke of those who attempt to serve two masters: "either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other." Which is truth: Even if a person doesn't explicitly realize their heart is against God--even if they "believe" they have warm and loving feelings for God--if sinfulness persists unchallenged in their life, they delude themselves. Their heart is against God, if it is not crying out against sin.

Sin constitutes an act of direct opposition to the Creator. Sin is treason against God. Sin which isn't despised thus entails a sort of blasphemy, per such bold, unconcerned action against God, as completely without remorse.

Sin isn't a "mere" matter of self-indulgence, in other words: Sin always constitutes an evidence of flagrant irreverence, unto malicious disregard, for the nature and will of God--whether borne unto idolatry, profanity, covetousness, wrath, adultery, lust, or whatsoever other wickedness is perpetuated to any degree...sin is, foremost, acting against God. It is impossible to love Him, while unconcernedly continuing in sin.

Any turning toward God must explicitly include turning away from acts of blatant opposition to Him--as is the case with any two polar opposites: approaching one inherently entails departure from the other.

But, again--that is a work of the Holy Spirit. Since the fall of mankind, the heart of all men has naturally inclined toward sin (self-indulgence, as opposed to obedience to God), and remains so until the moment the Holy Spirit rebirths, regenerates, and renews the spirit--then, making it possible (in spirit and in truth) for a person to love God. According to Scripture (and experience), this rebirth will always be followed by continued cleansing and transformation of the heart and mind, unto further and further sanctification--unto more encompassing love for God, thus ever-increasing aversion to sin.

And all these processes entail a development and increase of unconditional love of others, over course of one's walk with Christ.

Love abounds, in other words: Love, which banishes darkness:
Love, such as makes service to God, in Christ Jesus, the greatest desire of one's heart; likewise, the greatest fulfillment is found in striving unto abject obedience of His will, as an expression of one's love of God and of others.

This, as opposed to any sort of refutation, denial, or resentment of Christ's Lordship in one's life--which, alternately, evidences the unregenerate sin-nature of man. The nature of an unregenerate spirit is to be self-satisfied within a perpetuated delusion of self-sovereignty unto continued, self-confident attempts at self-sufficiency, according to self-justified rationale, all of which equates to self-idolatry--a pervasive wickedness which blatantly opposes God, denigrating His sovereignty by practically denying its applicability in the realm of one's personal life (as though an individual were somehow exempt, when the entire remainder of the universe is subject to His will).

(Blasphemy = the act of insulting or showing contempt or lack of reverence for God; the act of claiming the attributes of deity, by the way. As is entailed in self-idolatry, moreover.)

Salvation begets love of God, is all: the greatest commandment is to love Him with one's ALL, which is only possible for a heart which isn't defiantly opposed to Him. Salvation reconciles a heart into right relationship with Him--even perhaps just initiating desire for His direction and guidance, (in all things, ultimately) unto ever-increasing revelations of His glory, thus continued surrender to desire for His will: so, from glory to glory, then being transformed...as His disciple.

Point being: Considering the Holy Spirit's work of salvation a known possibility, while simultaneously exempting the necessity of turning from sin (repentance) and/or exempting a heartfelt appreciation for Christ as one's Lord...isn't the salvation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, as presented in the New Testament.

Rather, a salvation which isn't evidenced by at least those two resultant characteristics of regeneration exists moreso along the lines of John Wesley's "Almost Christian:" which, moreover, is a salvation of works--dependent exclusively upon one's own beliefs, actions, and faith, rather than depending solely upon the finished work of Christ, as revealed by the Holy Spirit: faithfully depending upon the grace of God, as to be made manifest.

...just think--even the demons believe in God, and tremble at His name. How much more should those who profess and believe they are saved by Him revere and worship Him and His Holy Name?

Lord bless you and keep you.