06/04/2019
As Christians we are a people set aside, and endowed with a special and remarkable view of each other, authority, and the world. We live apart from the natural order of the world around us, and yet we are able to coexist with it, and function within it, until our savior Jesus Christ returns. We do this by taking on the Spirit, and character, of God, and Jesus Christ. Are you succeeding in remaining Christ-like in the midst of the world’s chaos?
“Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.”
Titus 3:1-2 ESV
Living a Christian existence in today’s world of selfishness, intolerance, and hatred seems nearly as impossible as walking between the raindrops in a thunderstorm. How can we possibly live a righteous life in the midst of all this sin and worldliness? It is easy for us to become disillusioned, and fall back into this societal cesspool, but if we keep our eye on the Lord, and lean on the understanding of God, then the spaces between those drops of rain open wider, and the ones that might hit us are shed as if from a shiny new rain slicker.
“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world."”
John 16:33 ESV
Jesus tells us He has conquered the world, and indeed He has, but for this to sink into us and allow us to live in His victory within a fallen world, we need to do a couple of things. First, we need to increase in our faith, and belief, that He is the Son of God, and capable through the Father of doing all things... even to walk between the raindrops. Secondly, we must allow Jesus to abide in us so that we take on his character and ability. If we can’t do these two things then the world will have defeated us, and absorbed us back into its vile and chaotic ways.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones.”
Proverbs 3:5-8 ESV
Every day we watch as good people, fellow Christians, get embroiled in the world about them, and fret over politics, crime, intolerance, and the like. They become so concerned with the state of the world that they forget the basic tenets of their faith... they drop their spiritual weapons and shield, losing sight of heaven’s light before them, and are drawn back into the world’s frothing turmoil. The argument is that if they don’t engage in these earthly things then they will be destroyed by them. I have two questions in return, and they are quite simple... what is the worst that the world can do to you... death? The second question is this “what is a martyr?
The answer to the first question is physically “Yes”, the worst thing the world can do is take your life, but spiritually it would be to rob us of our Salvation, and Faith. How we answer the second question requires us to understand what a martyr is, and what happens to Christians when martyred.
The word martyr comes from the Greek Word “Koine” which means witness or testimony. In the early church to be martyred meant to be persecuted or to face hardships for one’s faith, but eventually the definition was narrowed to identify a person who had been killed for their faith. In either case it means placing one’s faith before what happens to their physical selves, but I prefer the original definition which is much broader.
“If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name.”
1 Peter 4:14-16 ESV
If we allow ourselves to place the world, and what it can do to us, before God, and Jesus Christ, then there is no way we can be martyred in either sense of the word... and the answer to my first question becomes... we have been robbed of our salvation and our faith.
“What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”
Matthew 10:27-28 ESV
By our faith we are set apart from the world and all its vanity and self-centered frothing, so don’t get sucked back into it. Why do you suppose Jesus said to give unto Caesar what is Caesar’s? Was it because He was righteous or good? No, it was because we are meant to spend a different currency... we are transformed, and what occurs in the fallen world about us is of little concern as compared to our focus on God.
“Show me the coin for the tax." And they brought him a denarius. And Jesus said to them, "Whose likeness and inscription is this?" They said, "Caesar's." Then he said to them, "Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." When they heard it, they marveled. And they left him and went away.”
Matthew 22:19-22 ESV
Our focus isn’t on what this world requires of us in physical and emotional taxation, but on our God. Let’s read Psalm 29...
“Give unto the Lord, O ye mighty, give unto the Lord glory and strength. Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. The voice of the Lord is upon the waters: the God of glory thundereth: the Lord is upon many waters. The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty. The voice of the Lord breaketh the cedars; yea, the Lord breaketh the cedars of Lebanon. He maketh them also to skip like a calf; Lebanon and Sirion like a young unicorn. The voice of the Lord divideth the flames of fire. The voice of the Lord shaketh the wilderness; the Lord shaketh the wilderness of Kadesh. The voice of the Lord maketh the hinds to calve, and discovereth the forests: and in his temple doth every one speak of his glory. The Lord sitteth upon the flood; yea, the Lord sitteth King for ever. The Lord will give strength unto his people; the Lord will bless his people with peace.”
Psalms 29:1-11 KJV
So, are we living the life of someone holy; set aside for God? Are we prepared to live the life of a martyr; to suffer, be persecuted, or even die for our faith? Have we decided our worth is found in our faith, or that the roiling sea that is this sinful world will be our master? In the early moments of decision we were challenged to make a choice, and we chose Jesus... don’t allow the world, and the dark one who rules it, to lure you back from wince you came. Place your trust in God, and Jesus Christ... let the world have what belongs to it.
Prayer:
Father, thank you for sending your Son Jesus Christ to redeem us, and to buy us back from this world of sin that swirls about us. Thank you Holy Father for transforming us into new creations; new beings that trust entirely in you, and owe no allegiance to the world that surrounds us, and attempts to own us once again. Give us strength to bear the persecution and even bodily death as we serve you Father. Let martyrdom be to us an aspiration, and not something we fear, because in the end you will dry every tear we cry, and there will be no suffering for all eternity. Teach us to give the world its fare, because it is of no use to us... our journey is a new and righteous one that is separate from the way that the world finds itself on. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who leads us into His Holiness, and by whose Son we have been redeemed, and extracted, from the earthly world of turmoil and sin that surrounds us. Great are you, and greatly to be praised! Your mercy and grace abounds, and in you we find peace, and rest, forevermore.
“"Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. "Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
Matthew 5:10-12 ESV
Rich Forbes