Love That Waxes Cold: A Prophetic Warning (Matthew 24:12)

For the past several months, I have been submitting messages based on Matthew's Gospel. After much prayer and thought, I have decided to bring these messages to a conclusion. Godly men such as the late John Walvoord, John MacArthur, James Boice, and others have written excellent messages and commentaries on Matthew that I highly recommend to any serious Bible-believing and Christ-loving believer. There are websites dedicated to God's Holy Word as well, such as "Study Light" that have many commentaries from a variety of scholars, pastors, and teachers who love the LORD and want to glorify Him by sharing what they have learned over the years with others. What I want to do is "shift gears" and specifically concentrate on a passage from Matthew 24, where the Lord Jesus is talking with His disciples about the last days and what to expect as the days draw nearer to His return. This will be my final message on Matthew unless the LORD has other plans for me later on.

One trait Jesus mentions about the last days is found in verse 12, where He says, "And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow (wax) cold." (NKJV). The Bible says that love for others will decrease to the point where no one cares about anyone but themselves. In a time like ours when it seems that everyone's face is glued to their phones while the world around them sinks into tragedy and terror, this verse is more relevant than ever. An online animated presentation illustrated this so clearly by showing how a suicide victim, instead of being helped, is instead the focus of attention for everyone's cell phone as the victim falls to his death. Afterwards, the crowd shares their pictures as the victim is left on the ground, forgotten and regulated to an obscure name in a graveyard. Loneliness is epidemic, yet no one bothers to take the steps to make a difference. We have become too self-absorbed in our own "problems" to concern ourselves with the needs of others. Indifference has turned into abject cruelty and selfishness. I live in a senior adult community where I know that many of the residents are here because their families see them as a burden that the Oklahoma Baptists can handle better than they can. My wife and I spend a lot of time visiting with them, and for many, it is the only company they have. Families, for the most part, are aligned only by last names and bloodlines, not intimacy and love.

Another verse that shows the increase of lovelessness and disdain towards others is found in 2 Timothy 3:2-5:

"For men will be lovers of THEMSLEVES, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, slanderers without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, naughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power, and from such people turn away." (NKJV). The apostle John writes, "But whoever has the world's goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in Him?" (1 John 3:17, NKJV). Look closer at these verses. While these characteristics are a part of the world's depraved nature (Isaiah 64:6; Romans 1:28-32, 3:10-20), the problem is that this same curse of love "growing cold" has crept into the church. I've heard it said that the church of the last days is good at two things, polishing their armor, and shooting their wounded. As a former pastor who has seen the worst of "church folks" behavior, I concur. But is this something that the bride of Christ has to contend with now, or can we change course and return to the task to which He has called us?

I'll grant that people have gotten meaner, more vicious, egotistical, wicked, stubborn, and fiercely resistant to the Gospel, but that is no excuse to just "throw in the towel" and mutter under our breaths, "Fine! Go to hell, then! See if I care!" Love for our brethren and for the lost has grown cold in our hearts. I have to face this reality, and so do you. Jesus' prophecy about the coldness of our hearts is just as much an issue with which to deal as the certainty of His return and the Gospel message that we are obliged to share. I want to present some ideas and concerns I have about "love growing gold":

1) We have grown cold because we have forgotten about the love of Jesus Christ that bound Him to the cross in order to rescue us from our sins and the hell each of us rightly deserve.

2) We have grown cold because we have forgotten about the state of our own wretched souls before a Holy God and the fact that we were headed to hell like the very people whom we now scorn and ignore.