And
because I preach this Good News, I am suffering and have been chained like a
criminal. But the word of God cannot be chained. So I am willing to endure
anything if it will bring salvation and eternal glory in Christ Jesus to those
God has chosen. (NLT)
Suffering
But
the Lord said to him, "Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry
my name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; for I will show
him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name." (Acts 9:15-16
RSV)
Paul knew exactly what was going to happen to him after he
became a Christian. The Lord told Ananias Paul’s mission. How often are we told
either before or immediately after we surrender our lives to Jesus what is in
store for our future service? Most of us probably had no clue that suffering (1
Peter 4:16), persecution (Matt 5:10-12), ridicule (Luke 14:27-30), false
accusations (1 Peter 2:12), and being ostracized (Matt 10:34-39) would be in
our future because of our decision to follow Christ yet that is what the Bible
says we should expect.
Yet
if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify
God on this behalf. (1 Peter 4:16 KJV)
In today’s world, as it was when Peter wrote, people are
often ashamed when they suffer. They attribute the suffering to their own
failures or a lack of faith. The prosperity gospel and the positive thinking
gospel has permeated the Church to the extent that when hardships fall upon
believers, they can expect to find well-meaning people lined up at their door
to tell them why they are suffering. “You have a hidden sin and you must
confess it. Your suffering is a result of a generational sin that your parents
or grandparents have passed on to you. You need to have more faith, this
wouldn’t be happening if you had more faith. You haven’t been praying enough or
reading your Bible enough.”
While it is possible that any one of these may be true, few
attribute the trials to simply trying to follow Jesus in a fallen world which
is more likely the problem. Even fewer will recognize the final phrase in 1
Peter 4:16, to glorify God. While God certainly teaches us through hardships, too
many of us have a mindset that it is all about me. It isn’t all about us; it is
all about God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Suffering as a
Christian will bring glory to God. This is a reoccurring theme in the Bible.
The central message of the Bible, the redemption of mankind, is to bring glory
to God. We can’t forget that or we will be ashamed of our suffering and live
some very poor Christian lives.
Persecution
Blessed
are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is
the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when men cast insults at you, and
persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, on account of Me.
Rejoice, and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great, for so they
persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matt 5:10-12 NASB)
Jesus proclaimed in the Beatitudes that persecution is what
happens when we try to live a righteous life. If we are destined for heaven, to
be part of God’s glorious kingdom and we are living like it, we can expect
those who are not to hate us and persecute us for it. Our attitude during this
should be that we are blessed. It confirms that we are on the right path.
Unfortunately, many Christians have been told that blessings mean the absences
of pain and turmoil in their lives. They haven’t been told that the reason to
rejoice is what is waiting for them in heaven. Most likely, the majority of Christians
on this dust ball will not have the blessings of prosperity and good health.
Have you ever been part of a prayer chain? If you haven’t,
you can probably find some website that allows people to post their requests
and read them. My experience is that most prayers are for health issues,
followed by financial, then marriages and other family problems.
As you look through the Gospels, people came to Jesus mainly
to be healed. Our God is very gracious and Jesus does heal, but all the
miracles of the Gospels had one primary purpose, to demonstrate that Jesus is
the Messiah and that believing in Him we can have eternal life (John 20:30).
Yes, the miracles also demonstrated His compassion and care for us, but the
ultimate demonstration of His compassion was His own suffering and death on the
cross so that we could have eternal life with Him.
On the prayer lists, every once in a while you will see
someone asking for prayer to be a good witness through the difficulties and
glorify God in them. While they would like healing, they are not asking for an
exemption from the problems of life but to glorify God through them. We must
not forget that this life is temporary and that our eternal home is with Jesus.
Persecution now will bring glory to God in eternity especially when it results
in bringing people to Jesus.
Ridicule
Whoever
does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. For which
of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost,
whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation
and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him. (Luke 14:27-30
ESV)
Christians are often ridiculed because the unbelieving world
sees only an unfinished foundation. They see us making decisions that are not
politically correct because we have a foundation (1 Cor 3:11) that they don’t
understand. That foundation shouldn’t change from culture to culture or year to
year because we are following Jesus and He doesn’t change (Heb 13:8).
Christians are also ridiculed because many people start well
but don’t finish. They are dragged away by the cares of the world and end up no
better or even worse than they started (2 Peter 2:20). While some may argue
that they weren’t really Christians if they fall away (1 John 2:19), the point
is lost on the unbelieving world.
We may be ridiculed but it shouldn’t change our commitment
to follow Jesus and prove to be His disciple.
False Accusations
Live
such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong,
they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us. (1
Peter 2:12 NIV)
If you want to find out what many people think of
Christianity, go to the internet and search for “dangerous radical Christianity”
or some other variation of the topic. You may be surprised at the number of
people who have formed their opinions based on various things including
personal experience, history (distorted or not), crazy preachers, or biblical
preachers.
A common thread is that they perceive that Christianity is
out to change the world, country, or their personal freedoms. They are right!
Our goal is to change all these things, just think about the implications of
Matt 28:19-20. If we follow Jesus’ command then our goal is to teach everyone to
obey Jesus. That is downright frightening to people who want to do their own
thing. It is very threatening to them. They will always accuse us of something,
right or wrong, to protect what is important to them.
However, Peter clarifies that we should live godly lives
among them so that when Jesus comes back He will be glorified. When we teach,
we should do it with gentleness and respect so that they will be ashamed of
their slander (1 Peter 3:15-16). Unfortunately, many will not be ashamed until
they see Jesus come back. In the mean time, we keep on teaching and expecting
false accusations. Rather than focusing on the false accusations, we should
live godly lives and stick to the Gospel message.
Ostracized
Think
not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a
sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the
daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.
And a man's foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or
mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter
more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and
followeth after me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose
it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it. (Matt 10:34-39
KJV)
These are really tough words. Many people have come to
Christ and started to follow Jesus only to find out that members of their own
family have turned against them. In some parts of the world, it means death
either at the hands of family members or when they are reported to authorities.
For them, the sword is a real physical consequence of following Jesus. More
often, the result is divorce or alienation from family members who want nothing
to do with Jesus or Jesus followers.
For some who are considering surrender to Jesus, this is a
huge obstacle. They know their family well enough to know that there will be
problems. They wisely count the cost of becoming a Christian, but they don’t
always understand the consequence of not following Jesus.
Jesus summed it up in verse 39. Whoever decides to have a
life that doesn’t risk losing everything for Jesus will end up actually losing
that life. Whoever is willing to give up everything to follow Jesus will find real
life now and in eternity (Luke 18:29-30).
It boils down to surrendering your will to Jesus. Who or
what do you love the most? God made it very clear in the first commandment that
He is to be first (Ex 20:3). He commanded His people to love Him so completely
(Deut 6:5) that any other love naturally has to take a second place. This is
what Jesus was reiterating.
Not all are called to lose family members over Jesus. Many
come to Jesus after one family member is brave enough to follow Jesus.
Sometimes there is a single holdout. Not all people are persecuted, ridiculed,
or accused. Sometimes neighbor, friends, and co-workers come to Christ as a
result of one person’s conversion. We don’t know what will happen, but the
point is that we need to make the decision to follow Jesus regardless of the
consequences. Are you willing?
Bound or Not
Paul was willing to suffer the consequences of preaching the
Gospel. He took the next step in following Jesus to urge others to do the same.
So here’s Paul sitting in prison with chains on him so that he couldn’t escape.
Does he get all depressed and want to die? Not at all. He looks at his bonds
and sees them in contrast to the Word of God.
So
shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me
void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the
thing whereto I sent it. (Isa 55:11 KJV)
Why can’t God’s Word be chained? It is because of Him who
sends it. God is Sovereign. When He wants something done, all He needs to do is
declare it. Look at the first chapter Genesis. Look at the first chapter of
John. Jesus is the Word. Jesus is God and He created all things (Col 1:16).
Whether we are talking about Jesus or the Bible when we speak of the Word of
God, it doesn’t make a whole lot of difference because God is accomplishing His
purpose.
People in all parts of the earth have tried to destroy the
Bible. One of the earliest recorded events is in Jeremiah 36. The Lord told
Jeremiah to have his servant, Baruch, write on a scroll then read it in public.
Some of King Zedekiah’s officials heard it and were scared because of the
prophecy of destruction on Jerusalem. They knew it was God’s Word through
Jeremiah even though it was read by Baruch. King Zedekiah heard the words and
cut the scroll in pieces and burned it. Was the Word destroyed? Was that the
end of the matter? Not at all. God simply had Jeremiah dictate the same to
Baruch and added to the prophecy because of Zedekiah’s disdain for the Word.
It is important to see in this account that Zedekiah’s
officials recognized the authority of God’s Word even though it was not given
to them directly by the prophet. This is the same thing that we see in the
Bible. We don’t have the very original writings, but God’s imprint is on it. We
see His authority when we read the Bible.
It is also important to see that even though the original
was destroyed, God was able to provide another copy. The original wasn’t
diminished and in this case, more of the same was added to it (Jer 36:32). The
message didn’t change. God didn’t consider that Zedekiah didn’t like or ignored
what he heard and therefore decided to say something different. While the Bible
hasn’t changed, His servants continue to preach the Word from pulpits around
the world and in books. Faithful preachers don’t change what is written, but
use additional words to explain and proclaim the truth of what God has said. As
long as there are people who know the Lord, His Word can’t be destroyed, even
if it were possible to burn every Bible, take down every web server, and wipe
every memory device in the world. There would still be people who know God’s
Word and would be able to faithfully recreate the Bible.
Look at Paul’s words. He said he was willing to endure
everything so that the people God has chosen for salvation would be able to
hear it. He isn’t alone and most importantly, God is working through faithful
people today.
Jesus promised that nothing of the Law would pass away until
it was all fulfilled (Matt 5:18). Peter reiterated that God’s Word will remain
forever and that the Word is the good news (1 Peter 1:25). The heart of the
good news of the Bible is God redeeming His people from the slavery of sin
through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross and His resurrection to
prove that we can be reconciled to God through Jesus.
Endure for the Elect
“Before
I formed you in the womb I knew you, And before you were born I consecrated
you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations … Because everywhere I send
you, you shall go, And all that I command you, you shall speak. Do not be
afraid of them, For I am with you to deliver you," declares the Lord.
(Jer 1:5, 7-8) NASU
Jeremiah was a prophet who endured persecution to faithfully
bring the message of God to those God wanted to hear. There are only a handful
of people mentioned in the book who were attentive to God and sympathetic to
Jeremiah. He watched as Jerusalem was destroyed just as God said it would be.
He was rescued from those chained to be exiled to Babylon only to be forced to
go to Egypt by the remnant who were still disobeying God. Through it all, he
was obedient to proclaim the Word of God.
I wonder how many listened and put their faith in God. I
wonder the same about people today. It seems that there are fewer and fewer
Christian who are being heard. It used to be that if Billy Graham came to an
area for a crusade, people would come from all over the area to hear him.
People would even tune in on his television specials. I know because I was a
volunteer on the telephone banks talking to people who called wanting to know
how to be saved. There were many before him, some of whom would go from town to
town and spend a week preaching every evening. They were faithful to endure
whatever it took to reach those whom God had called.
Those days are gone, at least in the U.S. they are. But
there remains one thing and that is God’s elect. There are still people God has
called for salvation in Jesus Christ with eternal glory. However, as it was in
Jeremiah’s time, the remnant is smaller and smaller. How many of us are willing
to endure everything in order to bring the Gospel to a few people? I’m not
talking about going off to some small village in a remote area of the world,
though there are some who will go. I’m talking about going to those who are
practicing pagans right in our own neighborhoods.
They are people who grew up in homes that never went to
church or who rejected Christianity and were taught that whatever spirituality
or even no spirituality was fine and acceptable. They believe that whatever truth
you have is personal and the next person’s truth is just as valid even if it is
completely opposite. There are also many who have immigrated and brought their
religion with them.
Some worship other gods, some worship things, others worship
self. None worship the one true God. They are like the remnant of Judah that
asked Jeremiah to inquire of the Lord. They promised to do what God said, which
was not to go to Egypt. Instead, they went to Egypt and when they were there,
they heard from the Lord to turn from idols. They said they would continue to
worship the queen of heaven and whatever else they wanted (Jer 42-44).
People today are no different. Yet God want us to endure
everything because among them there are some people who will be saved. I pray
that I may reach a few that they may have eternal glory with Jesus.
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