HOLY VIOLENCE, NOT CARNAL/PHYSICAL VIOLENCE
Jesus said that since the time John the Baptizer had preached repentance and the kingdom of God, people were forcefully, violently pressing their way into the kingdom, or as it says, "the violent take it by force."
Wow, what a great picture. People so driven, so drawn, so devoted to enter the kingdom of God that they are like warriors taking a village by siege.
We often see people in the church with a violent demeanor. Unfortunately it is not a violence against sin, but an inflamed disdain and jealousy and suspicion and divisiveness against others in the body. Or we see no fire at all.
When there is no violent rush into the kingdom, when there is no total commitment to seize the kingdom, then the kingdom just suffers.
If the internal, the Christ focused zeal of the church is lacking, then the outside pressures of sin will cause collapse in the local church and in the people who are part of that church and there will be no rescue effort to reach those who are lost.
When there is no holy violence in the church, there is unholy corruption and cannibalism in the church.
