Early Warning Signs: ‘My Lord Delays His Coming’

One of the most sobering passages in the Bible can be found in Matthew 24: “But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My Lord delays His coming…[God] shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (vs. 48, 51).

No Christian wants to fall into this condition!

Over the years, some have wondered if they have done what is stated here, making them worthy of being cut asunder.

Yet notice that the evil servant here is far down a terrible trail. In verse 49 it states that this person “shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken.” Then verse 50 states that he is no longer watching for Christ’s Return.

Understand. Anyone worried about falling into this condition and receiving the horrible punishment detailed here has not fully committed to “my Lord delays His coming” thinking. In fact, most are far from it.

Despite this, Jesus Christ’s warning stands. We are to diligently guard ourselves from this mindset, something that can seem incredibly difficult at first.

Why is this? Because this phrase is not something people say out loud. No one comes to Sabbath services and bellows out, “My Lord delays His coming!” Rather, this sentiment is expressed in one’s heart (vs. 48). It is not immediately visible from the outside.

While Delay Syndrome, as it could be called, is an internal, spiritual condition, it does have outward symptoms. There are early warning signs we can each look out for to ensure we stay right with God.

Matthew 24:49 details the main conditions the evil servant fell into. It states he had begun “to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken.”

These are the end results of saying “My Lord delays” and describe a person who abandoned God’s truth!

Yet going from a righteous servant of God to an evil one is not a flip of a switch. It takes time for a person to fall away from the truth. Hebrews 2 helps explain this: “Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip” (vs. 1).

Thayer’s Lexicon defines the word slip as “drift away” and “neglect.”

The human mind is a sieve. Without regular reminders and reinforcement, God’s truths can slip from our minds like sand through an hourglass. If we neglect our Christian calling and election (II Pet. 1:10), we are in danger of starting to drift back into the world.

Yet the failed servant detailed in Matthew 24 and Luke 12:45-46 allowed this to happen. He had to let a lot of things slip and blow past many stop signs on his way out of God’s Church. Ultimately, he let this “present evil world” (Gal. 1:4) swallow him up.

How can we ensure we never face such a fate?

Proper Perspective

To “eat and drink with the drunken” means to have jumped headlong back into the world. The apostle John warned against this attitude: “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him” (I John 2:15).

Take this verse at face value. If we love the world, God’s love is not in us. We must avoid worldliness at all costs.

John continued: “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passes away, and the lust thereof: but he that does the will of God abides forever” (vs. 16-17).

Worldliness is this: “the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.”

Thayer’s defines lust as “craving,” “longing” and “desire for what is forbidden.”

This passage mirrors perfectly what Eve did in the Garden of Eden millennia ago. She desired the forbidden fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil: “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat” (Gen. 3:6).

While Eve made her own decision, Satan’s tactics to get her to eat were the same then as they are now. She was told: “You shall not surely die” (vs. 4).

Those alive today can feel the same. The consequences are usually not immediate if they allow a little worldliness to creep in. Then, they let more and more in.

King Solomon wrote about this tragic tendency: “Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil” (Ecc. 8:11).

Realize how human nature works. When people do what is wrong—seemingly without consequence—they will keep doing it until it “is fully set in them to do evil.”

Christians are not immune to this process.

To combat this, we must keep the right perspective: “Though a sinner do evil an hundred times, and his days be prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, which fear before Him: but it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he prolong his days, which are as a shadow; because he fears not before God” (vs. 12-13).

We must see beyond the here and now to all that God has promised for us: eternal life as a member of the God Family.

The early warning signs for Delay Syndrome are those places where worldliness has begun to creep in. It always starts small.

Ask yourself: “Have I begun to crave what is forbidden by God’s Law? Is there anywhere in my life that I have believed Satan’s lie of ‘you shall not surely die’? Am I starting to do such things?”

If we find the world creeping into our lives, we must root it out immediately!

Carnal Versus Spiritual

Paul defines worldliness another way. He labels it as following after “the flesh” and being “carnally minded.” In modern language, this is being overly focused on what is physical rather than spiritual.

Romans 8 states: “For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit” (vs. 5).

The end result for those who “mind the things of the flesh”? “For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace” (vs. 6).

Paul continues to drive the point home: “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God”—physical minds are the enemy of God!—“for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God” (vs. 7-8).

Thankfully, God has pulled us out of this world. His Spirit dwells in us. This means that we can please Him—if we keep ourselves focused on spiritual matters over the physical.

Keep reading: “But you are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His…For if you live after the flesh, you shall die: but if you through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, you shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God” (vs. 9, 13-14).

It bears repeating: If we find the world starting to creep in, we must root it out. Paul says to mortify—kill—anything that is pulling our focus away from spiritual things.

Second Symptom

Another early warning sign for Delay Syndrome involves our relationships with brethren. Recall that the evil servant began “to smite his fellowservants.”

Again, this is the end result of this condition. It describes someone who harbors bitterness to the point of exhibiting extreme hatred and spite toward those with the Holy Spirit.

How does someone get to this horrible point?

One of the first signs is pulling back from fellowship with brethren. Spending time with fellow Christians is a crucial way to exercise and build God’s Spirit. Arriving just before Sabbath services and leaving just after, skipping socials and closing oneself off emotionally to others are all symptoms of “my Lord delays” thinking.

We will all have low points in our conversion. There will be times when we fall into wrong attitudes. The Bible has many examples of God’s servants being depressed, frustrated or angry. Yet these same men and women will receive eternal life.

If we have begun to drift away from our brethren, we must recognize it and make a change. Double down on godly fellowship. Make sure conversations on the Sabbath focus more on spiritual things rather than physical. During the week, reach out to like-minded brethren to encourage you.

For those of us who are more emotionally closed off, ask God to help you open up. Develop deep relationships with others. Share your triumphs and struggles. Counsel with your minister when needed. These will all steer you clear of Delay Syndrome.

Defining “Delays”

Let’s take a closer look at the phrase “my Lord delays His coming.” Delay implies more time—a lack of urgency.

Such a person lets down his guard instead of working on himself. This often presents itself in an “I’m fine the way I am” attitude. Rather than overcoming sin and striving to be perfect like the Father (Matt. 5:48), he rests on his laurels. He relaxes.

Think of Christianity as swimming upstream. You have to keep moving to make progress. If you stop, you will flow downriver with everyone else. Those who stop growing will fall into habitual sin, which is a dangerous place to be.

King David prayed: “Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression” (Psa. 19:13).

We should ask God to show us the places we need to change. All of us must root out and avoid any deliberate sins that have become part of our lives. If we do this, we can be found “innocent from the great transgression”—we will receive salvation!

Spiritual Antidotes

What other ways can we guard ourselves against Delay Syndrome? Psalm 103:2 provides one answer: “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits.”

While this verse shows that it is possible to forget the many benefits God gives us, it also reveals that God will help us remember all His blessings. Make it a habit to regularly review everything you are given.

We should always be thankful. If you ever see ingratitude creep into your life, quickly root it out! Paul wrote, “In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you” (I Thes. 5:18).

Keep your mind on God’s Kingdom—your place in it (Matt. 6:33)—and heed the warning of Luke 9:62: “No man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the Kingdom of God.”

The first hints of a delay mindset appear when a person begins to look back at this present world—and especially on their former life before being called into God’s Way.

Here are a number of scriptures that provide antidotes to the “my Lord delays” mindset…

Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; and lean not unto your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”

John 4:34: “Jesus said unto them, My meat is to do the will of Him that sent Me, and to finish His work.” Do not forget God is doing a Work now, which is planting seeds that can sprout when His Kingdom arrives.

Hebrews 4:15-16: “For we have not an high priest [Jesus Christ] which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” When we slip or fall, go boldly to God in prayer. He will give us mercy and forgiveness in time of need!

II Timothy 1:7: “For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” If we ever find ourselves confused or unmoored by anything in this life, go to God. Ask Him for more of His Holy Spirit and a sound mind.

These are just a few verses to keep our minds “on things above” (Col. 3:2). Create your own list to help you. Anytime you see yourself drifting away from brethren and toward the world, such passages can help get your mind straight.

Hastening the Day

The opposite of Delay Syndrome can be found in II Peter 3:12. We are to be “looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God,” which means yearning for Christ’s Return and God’s Kingdom. Notice this states we can hasten—urge on—coming prophetic events.

How do we do this?

God tells us to pray “Your Kingdom come.” We should ask for help to yearn for it more fervently. This world is falling to pieces. Never allow its seeming glitz and glamour to pull you away from God’s truths.

Luke 21:34 helps summarize the dangers of Delay Syndrome: “And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day [Christ’s Return] come upon you unawares.”

Instead, we must all work together to fulfill verse 36: “Watch you therefore, and pray always, that you may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.”

To “watch” here is an individual command, but it should be collective. We must actively look at our own lives—but we must also help one another. Together, we can hasten the coming of God’s Kingdom.

May it come soon!