This Guy Had It In For Christians

303 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 2Ti 4:14-16, “Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm. May the Lord repay him according to his works. 15 You also must beware of him, for he has greatly resisted our words. 16 At my first defense no one stood with me, but all forsook me. May it not be charged against them. (2 Tim 4:14-16) Paul has asked Timothy to come to him, but warns him of one of the dangerous men he may face when he comes to Rome. We don't know much about this Alexander, except that he was a coppersmith who evidently had it in for Christians. He is the type we even see today, who go to great lengths to silence the Christian witness in the public square. The problem for Paul and other Christians is Alexander and his ilk had the ear of the governing authorities, and he evidently was a persuasive speaker who presented his case well to secular authorities who at the time were seeking to blame Christians for burning Rome. Remember, this was a time of intense persecution of the church. Nero had done such things as dressing Christians in wild animal skins and then allowing vicious dogs to hunt them to death! Still others were wrapped in robes of pitch and set on fire to illuminate Nero's gardens! To promote Christianity at this time in Rome was punishable by death! No wonder Paul was left alone at his first trial! We all must leave this world, but to leave in such a savage manner would not be my first choice! So Paul asks that the abandonment of others in the face of such persecution not be held against them! The late Frances Schaefer reminds us in his writings that Rome was very tolerant of all religions. Being a follower of Christ was not the problem, it was the Christian refusal to worship the emperor as they kept insisting to the death, that Jesus is the only way to salvation. One disturbing aspect of this portion of Scripture, is Paul seems to be asking the Lord to repay Alexander for the damage he had done to the spread of the gospel. Had Paul forgotten his own story of persecution and murder? No he hasn't. According to Adam Clark's commentary on this passage the sense of the phrase “may the Lord repay” is more accurately translated “the Lord will repay.” Do you see the difference. It is not written as a curse against Alexander but rather a warning for him and all others who resist the gospel, unless they repent, they will one day face the reward that God has in store for all evildoer's who die without Christ! VENGEANCE IS MINE SAYS THE LORD, I WILL REPAY!