Page 20 - September 2023 - Truth & Tidings

he unsaved person is referred to human willfulness and disobedience, have
by many descriptive terms in the steadily marched humanity away from
TWord of God. Lost. Blind. Dead. God. And every one of us truly deserves
Sinner. The children of wrath. The chil- the wrath of God of which Nahum writes.
dren of disobedience. Alien. Stranger. However, into this dark morass of hu-
Ungodly. Unrighteous. In one way or manity came a Savior. The very Son and
another, these describe the hopeless con- expression of God came here in perfect
dition of mankind without Christ. Thank human form to bear our sins and volun-
God that His marvelous salvation changes tarily take our place in judgment, endur-
all of these. Found. Can now see. Alive in ing it all for us. How would He describe
Him. Forgiven. A child of God. Brought us as He came amongst us? Knowing the
nigh. Sanctified. Righteous. No wonder despicable evil of our hearts, what terms
Paul could say, “Anyone who belongs to (above) would He use for us?
Christ is a new person” (2Co 5:17 CEV). In John 15, He first talks of His love for
But one of the truly stark terms to de- us. We, who essentially hated Him, were
scribe the relationship of lost men and loved by Him long before He came to save
women with their Creator is this one: us. But then He goes a bit further and calls
enemy. This term is used a number of us friends! “Greater love hath no man than
times (e.g., Rom 5:10; 8:7; Col 1:21), and the this, that a man lay down his life for his
Bible is very clear as to what the enemies friends. Ye are my friends …. I have called
of God deserve and how they should be you friends” (vv13-15).
treated by the Holy. “God is jealous, and Friends? How can anyone refer to
the LORD revengeth; the LORD reven- his enemies as his friends? Such is the
geth, and is furious; the LORD will take indescribable love of this Savior. As He
vengeance on his adversaries, and he re- was teaching His disciples the truths in
serveth wrath for his enemies” (Nah 1:2). that upper room, He made much of His
1
This is not a pleasant situation in which love and care for them. He had shown
to be. The terrible effects of our sin against them humble servanthood by washing
Him, originating with our first parents their dirty feet, even ministering to the
and cascading through the millennia of man who would betray Him. In John 11,
¹ Bible quotations in this article are from the KJV He was “troubled” in body as He wept –
unless otherwise noted. sobbed – at the grave of His friend Laza-

276 TRUTH kTidings September 2023