Should This Matter?

Merriam-Webster defines apathy as follows:

Apathy: 1. “lack of feeling or emotion” or 2. “lack of interest or concern”

So, now I ask this: Can someone be an apathetic Christian?

Unfortunately, apathy is a trait one could ascribe to many Christians and churches today. So-called ‘Christians’ just don’t care all that much. Well, that is a problem. A big one!

Let’s take a look at Ezekiel 9, specifically verses 4 and 5:

“And the Lord said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof. And to the others he said in mine hearing, Go ye after him through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity.”

So here is the rundown on what Ezekiel 9 is talking about. Ezekiel, a Jewish captive in Babylon, is receiving a vision of the destruction of Jerusalem that is about 3 or so years away at the hands of the Babylonian army. This destruction is the result of years of Judah’s sin and idolatry. In chapters 8-11, Ezekiel witnesses the presence of God leaving the temple in Jerusalem before the destruction to come. In this passage, Ezekiel describes how he sees 7 men (angels): one has an inkhorn and 6 have axes. As God’s glory is leaving the mercy seat on the ark of the covenant from the Holy of Holies in the temple, God tells the man with the inkhorn to go through the city and mark the foreheads of the righteous. He then tells the 6 other men to follow the first and kill all those who do not possess the mark ensuring that no one is spared.

Note that the righteous are identified by one trait: they “sigh and cry for all the abominations” being done in the city of Jerusalem.

What abominations are being done? All forms of idolatry, even in the very temple of God, immoral rituals, oppression and violence, injustice, and even child sacrifice! The righteous saw what the chosen people were doing and they reacted to it!

This characteristic of the righteous struck me today. Do I cry out for the abominations occurring around me? Or do I sit by idly without any concern or emotional response?

When we follow God, we are all in. We love what God loves and we hate what God hates. And guess what. God HATES sin! So we should too. Sin should affect us and garner an emotional response. But so often, so-called ‘Christians’ today apathetically sit by and continue on in their lives. I would argue that these people are either not Christians as they claim or are severely backslid.

When we become Christians, we should be striving to be like God. After all, that is what Christians are: “little Christs”. We try to be holy and avoid sin. Although we are not ever going to be perfect at that until we receive our glorified bodies after Christ’s return, we still do our best and it should consume our lives.

How do you know that someone really loves something? They are PASSIONATE about it! For example, I know that my son likes drawing because he talks about it all the time. He even cries when his picture doesn’t turn out how he wants it do. He is proud and smiling when he succeeds in drawing the picture he envisioned.

The same should be true of us! We should be passionate about being Christians. We should respond with joy when we and the world around us honor God, and we should respond with sadness/anger when we and the world around us dishonor God.

It pains me to see non-Christians describe the church as fake and uncaring because that is not how it should be. Christians should be showing their passion for Christ. However, many of us are content to sit on the sidelines selfishly focusing on only us. We don’t want to ‘rock the boat’ by responding to sin.

When was the last time that you prayed to God regarding stopping abortion, genocide, political corrupt ness, murder, mass shootings, etc?

Revelation 3:15-16

“I know thy works, that thous are neither cold nor hot: I would that thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.”

Romans 12:9-13

“…Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good…fervent in spirit;…continuing in constant prayer…”

Let me draw your attention back to the passage in Ezekiel 9. The righteous that were spared from judgement were passionate. They actively cared that their fellow Jews were sinning against God. Only those sealed were spared.

We see this same scenario in John’s vision of the end times. Revelation 7 describes an angel sealing the servants of God during the tribulation so that they are not hurt. They will be spared from the judgement of God.

Even now, we have the opportunity to be sealed as a believer. Ephesians 1:13 says, “…in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise…”. To receive the seal of the righteousness of Jesus Christ is the only way to avoid judgement (Hell).

John 6:27

“Labour not for the meat which perish either, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.”

2 Timothy 2:19

“Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, the Lord knoweth them that are His. And let every one that Namath the name of Christ depart form iniquity.”

Jesus is coming again, and only those who have his mark will be spared. To receive this mark, you must follow Jesus. You must love what He loves and hate what He hates. You cannot be apathetic to sin.