The Church and Brutality

256 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 2Ti 3:1-3, “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal,” (2 Tim 3:1-3) Next on the list of strength sapping influences and behaviors in the church is brutality. This is shocking! The word means savage, fierce, no better than a wild animal! What's shocking about this trait is it will be found in the church! We all know how brutal godless men can be, but the church? The church is a Holy Spirit filled entity that exhibits the fruit of the Spirit, and that fruit is described in Ga 5:22,23, “ But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. Tell me, was there even a hint of brutality anywhere in this list? Yet, there will be times in church history from the time of the ascension of Jesus until the time when He returns, that the Holy Spirit will be pushed aside and the church will be marked by brutality! We cannot deny that the church has some terrible skeletons in their closet as it relates to brutality and savagery. Think of the crusades, the inquisition, the Thirty Years war in Europe which resulted in 8 million causalities, all in the name of religion. The horrific persecution of the Anabaptists, the Salem witch trials, the treatment of American Indians, and I'm sure I haven't mentioned them all! And lest we think that the church today is above this kind of savagery, need I remind you that many mainline denominations in America today are okay with legalized abortion, which has resulted in the death of around 60 million unborn children created in the image of God! Do not for a minute let your guard down against brutality in the church! Our history reeks of it, and even though we can't imagine it getting as bad as the Inquisition, it can and indeed will happen in all sorts of forms until our Lord returns! There really is only one cure, and that cure is to yield one's will to the Holy Spirit because as we have already pointed out, there is not one brutal bone in His person. Mt 12:19,20 reminds us of the gentle qualities of one filled with the Spirit: “He will not quarrel nor cry out, Nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets. 20 A bruised reed He will not break, And smoking flax He will not quench, Till He sends forth justice to victory; Brutality enters the church whenever the Holy Spirit is pushed aside! Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God! Constantly seek to be filled with Him and His fruit, lest your flesh rises up and leads you down to this horrific road of brutality!