“For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them” 2 Peter 2:21
Have you ever uttered these regretful words: “I should have known better!”? On Wednesday, July 18th, when an emergency message popped up on my laptop computer, I would soon anxiously speak these words. Maybe something like this has happened to you. The pop-up message looked official enough and the technician I spoke with on the phone swore that he was from Microsoft. As I discovered later, he was a con man who scammed me and locked me out of my computer. Oh, he said he could fix it for $299, which meant he could undo what he had done to lock me out. The Microsoft technician at the store in the Walden Galleria Mall said my computer was infected with “ramsomware”. The $299 was the ransom payment to pretend to fix my computer. Long and frustrating story short, the “real” Microsoft technicians are going to try to retrieve my data and files and then completely wipe out and restore my operating system. I will then have the joy of installing the programs back onto my computer. You got it, “I should have known better.”
Just imagine the eternal pain and regret for those who have known the Gospel of Jesus Christ and His gracious righteousness by faith, and have turned their back on it and walked away from the faith. That would be the ultimate “I should have known better!” I have thought of this precise situation often in my years of parish ministry. I’ve seen too many believers drift off into apathy, indifference and unbelief. While I can’t look into their hearts and judge their faith, the lack of fruit is reason for alarm. And, sadly, there are some who clearly declare that they don’t believe in God anymore. It can, and does, happen to fellow church members, family members, and friends. It’s about the most terrible tragedy imaginable. If you’re diagnosed with cancer, or have a sudden heart attack, what’s the worse outcome? Death, I suppose. But, at least that’s only physical death and not eternal spiritual death! Certainly many have felt that they should have known better when their health goes bad because of an unhealthy lifestyle. How tragic for those who knew of “the way of righteousness” but turned their back on it and stopped believing.
What can we do about it? We must pray that we never turn our back on the Holy Spirit and abandon our faith. We need to be in the Word and stay close to the fellowship of believers so that our faith is nurtured and supported. We also have a responsibility to pray for the faith of others and to build one another up in their faith. God will never abandon us, nor can anyone or anything separate us from Him. We can, however, turn our back on the Lord and abandon Him.
Lord, may that never happen! Keep us strong in the faith! May we and our loved ones never say, “I should have known better”, and have to face the eternal consequences of sin!
~ Pastor Dennis Krueger