Abiding in Death: Are You? Am I?

Abiding in Death: Are You? Am I?
Tuesday, February 3, 2026 by Dr. James W. Walraven

Categories: Apologetics / Contemporary issues / Hope in Christ / Spiritual deception / Spiritual warfare / Thought for Today / Truth telling

Lawlessness. We are once again seeing a massive uptick in lawlessness, of riots. For many, if there is even a hint of injustice, that provides justification to riot and cause havoc. How many posts have you seen on social media approving of, or even celebrating, lawless actions?

1 John 3:4 (NAU): “Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness.”

Biblically speaking, lawless actions are sin. Period. The increase in lawlessness should not surprise us. It is what the Scriptures foretell. Jesus describes the effects of that increase in lawlessness. Matthew 24:12 (NAU): “Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold.” We certainly see that happening, don’t we? In how many countries has hatred become the new “love”?

But what else comes with that increasing lawlessness? Death. How often are we seeing people proclaim that those who dare to disagree with their own self-righteous beliefs should be killed. Particularly if a person does not abide by society’s left-approved norms, that person should cease to exist.

History repeats. These cries justifying murder are no accident. Some examples: first, the one everyone cites: Hitler: 6 million Jews and somewhere between 5–11 million others, for a total somewhere between 11–17 million. Yet his murdering does not begin to compare to that of the communist left during roughly the same period.

Stalin: minimum of 9–15 million killed directly, but an estimated 60 million when his use of famine and other indirect techniques are included; Mao Tse Tung: estimates vary, but the most reliable figures range from 40–80 million; Pol Pot: “only” between 1.4–2.8 million, but on a percentage basis the most reliable estimate (2.8 million) came to about one quarter of Cambodia’s entire population at the time.

Together, Mao and Stalin likely murdered 140 million of their own citizens. Consider, the total deaths during World War II, both military and civilian, came to 70–80 million. Mao and Stalin doubled that slaughter, a slaughter of their own country’s civilians!

Then, historically, one thinks of Genghis Khan and the Mongol invasions: 40 million. During the Muslim invasions of the Indian subcontinent, at least 75 million Hindus were likely killed. While some hotly deny that last example, K. S. Lal’s methodology is thorough. And the total number of civilians killed by Islam increases daily: see current events in Iran and Nigeria.

Current calls for murder. Historical slaughter. Even greater carnage in the 20th and 21st centuries…

Consider 1 John 3:14 (NAU): “We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death.”

The last part of the verse is the key. “He who does not love abides in death.” Isn’t that what the above examples indicate? Abiding in death. Why should we be surprised when many rejoiced when Charlie Kirk was assassinated? Why should we be surprised by the historical records of slaughter? The reason: leaders abiding in death. Biblically, the division is that stark: one either embraces death or love. Biblically, we know that Satan is the god of this world, and that he was a liar and a murderer from the beginning (John 8:44). We should not be surprised that world leaders, both past and present, follow in his footsteps.

We have a choice to make: (1) accept Jesus’s death in payment for our wrongdoing and follow Christ, resulting in love for one another—love even for our enemies, or (2) revel in lawlessness, sin, murder, and an orgy of death.

One way leads to forgiveness of our wrongdoing and eternal life with God; the other way ultimately leads to eternal death and hell. We need to reflect on those options carefully. There is no third choice.

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