obedience

The disciple learns obedience (Hebrews 5:8)

POST OVERVIEW. An article on how we as disciples can learn obedience and thus have victory over persistent sins. These ideas will be included in my future book on discipleship.

Obedience is one of the most fundamental characteristics of the disciple of Jesus. In fact, to profess to follow Jesus as His disciple and to be disobedient to His commands is impossible. The disciple cannot continue in sin (Romans 6:2). Jesus makes it clear that to be His disciple is to be obedient to His commands (John 15:14). And these are just the very tip of the iceberg. It is without question that a disciple of Jesus will be obedient to Jesus.

But regarding obedience we find that Jesus not only demands obedience from His disciples, but Jesus also learned obedience. “Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered” (Hebrews 5:8). Yes, the incarnate Son of God learned obedience. Of course, Jesus sinlessly and perfectly learned obedience. He obeyed without ever once uttering a word or having a thought that was not perfectly in accord with His Father’s will. At no moment was there ever the least element of disobedience from the Lord Jesus. But Jesus was called to fulfill His mission by “being obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Phil. 2:8), and so He had to learn perfect obedience to atone for our sin.

In this post, I want to show that the disciple of Jesus must likewise learn obedience.

FOUR GROWTH AREAS

Before the year is out, I hope to write a book on the subject of discipleship and obedience will certainly occupy a prominent place in that work. In discipleship, the goal is growth in Christlikeness, and that involves growth in four areas.

  • KNOWLEDGE. Obedience is only possible after knowledge of God’s commands is obtained, so knowledge is primary. The primary and authoritative source of the disciple’s knowledge is the word of God, the Bible.
  • OBEDIENCE. When man’s will joyfully does what God commands. When knowledge of God’s commands results in doing what God commands. When the Spirit-given desire to please God is fulfilled by willful, joyful acts.
  • HOLINESS. When persistent, ongoing obedience has begun to transform the heart and mind of the disciple such that their presence exudes godly behavior.
  • USEFULNESS. When the disciple performs good works (Eph. 2:10) which edify other believers and which bear fruit for the kingdom of God.

Here, we are going to focus on the area of obedience.

Obedience is usually measurable. “Here is the command. It applies to you. Are you doing what the command says? Yes or no.” Obedience grows as knowledge of God’s commands grows. The more commands you know, the more you can obey. Therefore, the disciple must spend much time in the Word learning what he is expected to obey.

But obedience also grows as we learn to obey. Let’s consider an example. In Matthew 6:25, the Lord gives the command, “Stop being worried.” Now let’s assume that a newly converted disciple who is in the habit of worrying and being anxious reads Matthew 6 and discovers this command. Now the disciple has gained the knowledge of this command from his King and now knows that worrying is a sin. Since worrying is a sin, the disciple should obey and stop worrying. But despite the knowledge of sin and despite the disciple’s desire to obey God, what may occur is that the disciple continues to experience worry and anxiety. That is, the professing disciple of Jesus continues in disobedience. What is going on here? For Paul says in Romans 6:2, “How will we who died to sin (were saved) still live in it?” It is a rhetorical question that demands the answer, “We cannot continue in sin if we are a disciple of Jesus!” So, how do we explain this situation where a professing disciple is not seeing victory over this sin of worry?

THE NEED TO LEARN HOW TO OBEY

First, ongoing sin is always a serious concern in the church of Jesus Christ and any situation of ongoing disobedience needs to be addressed. Also, we should acknowledge that there are several possible explanations for this, including the possibility that this person is not genuinely converted and therefore is unable to repent of their sin. But there is also the possibility that this is a genuine disciple of Jesus who has never learned obedience. That is, this disciple has not learned how to vanquish the sin so that he can obey. What I am suggesting is that, for sins that are deeply ingrained or that are difficult to identify by individual acts, obedience may be delayed because the disciple needs to be coached or discipled in their obedience.

To illustrate this, let’s go back to the person who is disobedient with regard to anxiety and worry, and this disciple knows that it is sinful. The first necessary ingredient is the disciple’s own desire for victory over the sin and his desire to walk in obedience. Assuming there is an earnest desire for obedience, the first step would be for the disciple to confess his sin and acknowledge his sin to God (Psalm 32:5) and to others (James 5:16) and thus bring the sin out into the light (1 John 1:7). “Yes, Lord, and yes, brothers, I know this is sin and I hate this sin.” Just this obedient confession of the sin will drain the sin of at least some of its power.

Next, the disciple learns from the Puritan, Thomas Watson, by reading his book Doctrine of Repentance and discovering the power of genuine repentance and putting that power to work against his worry. Additionally, the disciple develops a specific strategy for “fleeing” the sin of worry and anxiety when his “anxious thoughts multiply within him” (Psalm 94:19). So, when he begins to feel anxious or worried, he responds with his strategy. He consciously, willfully turns his mind until it is fixed either on an obedient action or on a God-breathed truth. For me, since I want to keep my strategy as simple as possible, my defense strategy consists in executing an obedient action. So I think, “Rejoice always” (1 Thess. 5:16). Then I spend the next five minutes reading Psalm 148, out loud if possible, and praising the Lord for all the good things He has given me and has done for me. And the sin that was trying to insinuate itself into my mind and cause me to disobey is expelled.

The point that I am making is that the local church should be aware of the need to instruct especially newer believers in the path of repentance so that they can see victory and learn obedience.

It is extremely discouraging, even depressing, and even eventually faith-threatening for the disciple of Jesus to continue long in “unwilful disobedience,” to long engage in what the disciple knows to be sin while his earnest longing with heart and soul is to be rid of the sin and to be obedient. The ideas presented in this article should help in training disciples how to learn obedience.

Soli Deo gloria            rmb                 3/17/2023                   #632

The obedient disciple: Rejoice always (1 Thess. 5:16)

POST OVERVIEW. A series of posts based on 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 describing how simple obedience to basic commands in Scripture can overcome persistent disobedience. This second post explains how rejoicing can deliver us from temptations to sin. (The previous related post was #608 on 1/6/2023.)

Our aim in this series of posts is to meditate on these verses (1 Thess. 5:16-18) until we have them ready for use, “on the (very) tip of our brain,” so to speak. If we do this well, as soon as we sense our thoughts drifting into temptation territory, we can fix our minds on a replacement verse. The replacement verse we will be considering is “Rejoice always” (5:16).

“REJOICE” IS A COMMAND

So, first, the disciple must recognize that “Rejoice always” is a command from the living God through the apostle Paul. In the original Greek, “rejoice” is a “present imperative” verb. The imperative means it is a command and the present imperative means it is a command we are to obey continually. Thus, the literal translation could be “Keep on rejoice!” Paul then adds, “Always,” just to remove all possible ambiguity. The disciple is commanded to have a rejoicing mindset.

The person receiving any command of Scripture has two choices: OBEDIENCE or DISOBEDIENCE. There simply is no third option. And it is easy to assess a person’s response to this command: “Are you actively REJOICING?” If your answer is, “Yes,” then you are being obedient, but if your answer is, “No,” then you are being disobedient.

The beauty of this particular command is that it is not at all vague or ambiguous. The command is clear and calls for immediate action. If you are not rejoicing now, then you are to BEGIN IMMEDIATELY. If you are rejoicing now, then you are to continue. There is nothing subjective here. The command does not ask how you feel right now; it does not take into account your current circumstances; it ignores all excuses and protests that might be offered to justify disobedience. Through His Holy Spirit-inspired Word, the Lord of the universe has commanded all His people, all His disciples to REJOICE ALWAYS, and the command demands obedience. Are you obeying this command to rejoice? Is your rejoicing evident to others?

THE POWER AND PURPOSE OF REJOICING

Before we go on, we should pause and appreciate the power of rejoicing. Rejoicing is commanded by the Lord because rejoicing expresses the heart set free. There is fullness of joy for the soul who has been forgiven and that joy must be released and expressed. In the physical world, when you expend something, you are left with less of it, but when you rejoice and pour out the joy of the Lord, more joy immediately rushes in to take its place. The more you rejoice, the more joy you have.

The Lord commands us to rejoice because we need to display the joy of the Lord to a dying world. The world is dying in its miserable pursuit of wealth and pleasure and power, and the world’s misery is expressed in their growling like bears and their moaning like doves (Isaiah 59:11). Men of the world stumble at midday and grope along like blind men (59:10), unaware that there is any other way to go through life. When these perishing souls see the overflowing joy of the Lord expressed in a life that manifests rejoicing, some may “see and fear and trust in the LORD” (Psalm 40:3). When the world sees a countenance that rejoices in the Lord, some of the dying may wonder why they are “spending their money for what is not bread and their wages for what does not satisfy” (Isaiah 55:2).

POSSIBLE WRONG RESPONSES TO THIS COMMAND

While the genuine disciple of Jesus would never openly refuse to rejoice, it is still possible for true, redeemed disciples of the Lord to be disobedient to this command. Let’s look at some causes of this disobedience.

“I AM NOT ABLE TO REJOICE RIGHT NOW.”

  • Not true. It is a doctrinal truth that all genuine disciples of Jesus are able at all times to obey the commands of Scripture. “God’s commandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3). So, the disciple is always able to rejoice. Obedience to God’s commands is never a matter of ability but is always a matter of the will. Therefore, the question is not, “Can I obey?” but, “Will I obey?” Rejoicing is an obedient choice and not rejoicing is defiance and rebellion.
  • The command is to “rejoice ALWAYS.” If I only rejoice sometimes, and the rest of the time I stoically go through the motions or worse, moan and groan, then clearly, I have disobeyed the command and need to repent. To declare, “I am not able to rejoice RIGHT NOW,” is simply to admit my disobedience.

“I DO NOT KNOW HOW TO REJOICE.”

  • In a sense, this response is hard to understand. The disciple’s joy in Jesus cannot be contained but must be expressed. We look forward to Sundays because we can publicly express our joy in worship of our great King. It is almost impossible for the disciple of Jesus NOT to express their joy. Rejoicing is a spontaneous act that simply bursts forth from the redeemed soul. As a fish knows how to swim because of its nature, so the disciple of Jesus knows how to rejoice because of his new nature.
  • But if you sincerely do not know how to rejoice, then learn how! Watch how the people in your church rejoice in worship and rejoice in like manner. You are commanded to rejoice, so you should learn to express outwardly the joy you feel inwardly. Also, the entire Bible is filled with examples of rejoicing. David rejoiced before the LORD, and the psalms are filled with rejoicing. Miriam rejoiced. Jesus rejoiced. Paul rejoiced from prison. Throughout the Scriptures, God’s people rejoice. Part of growing in maturity in your walk with the Lord is learning to rejoice more loudly and more often.  

“I HAVE NO REASON TO REJOICE.”

  • I shudder even to write these words! The one who has been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb (Rev. 5:9) has every reason to rejoice and to praise the One who has rescued them from God’s terrible wrath. The person who suggests that there is no reason to rejoice should dig deep into the doctrinal teaching of the Bible to understand the glory and the power of our great God and, in so doing, fan their joy into a flame. 

SUMMARY

Remember that our purpose in this post was to understand more about the command to “Rejoice always,” so that we would be ready to rejoice obediently when we found our minds wandering into disobedient waters. So, when I am drifting into depression or discouragement, I will choose to obediently rejoice. When I feel fear, by an act of my will I will shout joyfully to the LORD of all His goodness to me. If anger begins to burn within me, I will quench that anger by rejoicing about the Lord’s power and glory and mercy. When tempted to sin, rejoice instead!

Soli Deo gloria            rmb                 1/9/2023                     #609

The obedient disciple: Rejoice, pray, give thanks (1 Thess. 5:16-18)

POST OVERVIEW. A series of posts based on 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 describing how simple obedience to basic commands in Scripture can overcome persistent disobedience. This first post gives an overview of the principle of simple obedience.

16 Rejoice always; 

17 pray without ceasing; 

18 in everything give thanks;

for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

  • 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

How does the disciple of Jesus get into trouble?

The disciple gets into trouble when he is DOING what he is commanded NOT TO DO or he is NOT DOING what he is commanded TO DO.

This includes not only what the disciple is doing in their external behavior, but more importantly includes where he allows his thoughts to roam. The truth is that it is very possible for a disciple’s external obedience to disguise a heart that is contaminated by disobedient thoughts. It is “taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ” (2 Cor. 10:5) that marks the truly mature disciple.

THE “TROUBLE” STATEMENT CONSIDERED

A moment’s reflection will reveal that the above “trouble” statement is not terribly profound. It is, in fact, pretty obvious, for this is basically the definition of sin. But until the truth of this statement is manifested in a disciple’s life, the disciple will regularly be in a place of disobedience. In my own walk with the Lord, I experienced an immense breakthrough when I decided to conform my thoughts to this message. In other words, I began to be intentionally aware of my thoughts and made an effort to evaluate my thoughts to increase my obedience. And here is the reason we are looking at 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18: these three verses are simple and straightforward, so whenever I found myself in places where Scripture commands me not to go, I could quickly turn to 1 Thess. 5:16-18 to get back onto the path of obedience.

SOME EXAMPLES FOR ILLUSTRATION

Let me give a couple of examples to help clarify what I have in mind. I am a person who is prone to judge others. By that I mean that I will quickly assess (“judge”) someone based on the most threadbare of information and mentally place them in a particular box with a nice, neat label. I do this, by the way, because I feel that people are safer when they are in boxes and have been assigned a label. The problem with this behavior is that the Lord Jesus (among others) has expressly condemned this behavior in Matthew 7:1-5. Our Lord commands His disciples not to judge in this way. So, what do I do? First, I become aware when I am judging someone, and I am taking something they have done or said as a reason to put them in a particular box with their own label. I realize this judging is sinful (doing what I am commanded not to do) and then consciously decide that I need to discontinue this sinful behavior. But instead of saying to myself, “I will not judge people; I will not judge people,” I say to myself, per 1 Thess. 5:16, “I will begin to rejoice.” So, I was unconsciously doing something that was disobedient, and I replaced that by consciously doing something that is obedient. I realized I was judging others, so I decided to rejoice.

Another example might be when I fret about the things that our government is doing and get concerned that they are intentionally ruining our country. Perhaps this concern is understandable at some level, but it is also explicitly disobedient to the commands of Scripture. Psalm 37 begins with, “Do not fret because of evildoers and be not envious of wrongdoers,” and I am fretting and being “envious.” This disobedience is sin, but to stop this sinful behavior, I decide to consciously turn my mind to 1 Thess. 5:17 (“Pray without ceasing”) and I begin to pray. In a short time, my sinful fretting is turned to prayer.

A third example could be that there are disciples of Jesus who are anxious and fearful about many things, but our anxious and fearful thoughts become a problem when one of the most common commands in the entire Scripture, Old Testament and New, is the command, “Fear not,” and Jesus Himself, in the Sermon on the Mount, gave a long teaching about the sin of anxiety (Matt. 6:25-34). Scripture is clear that anxiety and being fearful are disobedient and therefore sinful. What is the anxious disciple to do? First, acknowledge that you are anxious, then confess the anxiety as sin (doing what you are commanded not to do), and then, in obedience, begin to give thanks in everything (1 Thess. 5:18). The obedient behavior of giving thanks in everything will stop the disobedient behavior of worry and fear.

THE PRINCIPLE STATED

The principle is very simple yet profound: consciously replace disobedient thoughts and behaviors with obedient ones. I have chosen 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 because these three verses are easy to memorize and thus, they are easy to have at the ready when needed. When I find myself involved in some thought pattern that the Bible condemns as sinful, then I immediately reach for one of these three commands and put it into effect. Rejoice or Pray or Give thanks. The Lord has ordained things such that any act of conscious obedience will thwart disobedience. I have found that, if I am at a place where I am being plagued by a particular sin, I can reach for one of these simple verses and see victory.

With that as a background, I want to spend the next several blog posts thinking through these three verses so that the disciple of Jesus can have these cocked and ready when he finds himself wrestling with sin. The next post will be about 1 Thess. 5:16 – “Rejoice always.”

Soli Deo gloria            rmb                 1/6/2024                     #608

The disciple’s job description (or “What is Discipleship?”)

INTRODUCTION. This post provides a link to what I am calling a disciple’s job description. This “job description” document attempts to describe the disciple of Jesus Christ in terms of the tasks and activities that the New Testament gives the disciple to perform. My upcoming book on Discipleship (targeted for completion some time in 2023) will include the finished version of this job description.

The job description is broken down into three categories: “Discipline and obedience,” which is what we might call “formal discipleship;” “Holiness,” which is the disciple’s conscious striving for practical righteousness as he wars against sin; and “Evangelism and witness,” addressing every disciple’s responsibility to proclaim the gospel and testify to the glory of Christ.

Here is the link to the current version of the list:

https://roysreflections.com/the-disciples-job-description-or-what-is-discipleship/(opens in a new tab)

SDG                 rmb                 6/8/2022                     #541

When I am discouraged, obedience is difficult

INTRODUCTION. Another post (see #530 on May 13, 2022) on the subject of discouragement and how the believer can and should fight to be free of this condition.

I have posted two articles recently on this idea of fighting discouragement. My purpose has been to help believers see that, of all people, we have the most reasons to be encouraged, and that discouragement should be a place where we spend very little time.

The first article (post #528 on May 11, 2022) was on changing our mental diet. The idea is that the main contributor to being a discouraged Christian is not being careful about your mental diet. Therefore, starve your mind of dwelling on discouraging thoughts. Do not allow your mind to eat any mental food that discourages, but rather train your mind to remain fixed on God’s goodness, on the blessings He has bestowed on you and promised you, and spend large amounts of time in God’s Word, the Bible.

The second article (post #530 on May 13) was about how many of the ideas that would lead to discouragement for the unbeliever should not affect the believer because of the promises given to the believer in the Bible.

In this article, my main idea will be to show that it is difficult for the discouraged Christian to be an obedient Christian. Now, this may sound strange at first. How would discouragement make me less obedient as a believer? What is the connection between obedience and encouragement? Well, consider the following situations.

  • The Scripture commands us in many places to be thankful and the believer has uncountable reasons to thank God no matter what the circumstances, but when you are discouraged, how can you be thankful to God? Are you going to thank God for the things that discourage you? No, you are not. So, the discouraged person is not a thankful person. But the believer knows that not being thankful is a sin. It is disobedient to not be thankful. The fact is that discouragement hinders or stops thankfulness, so discouragement must go! So, when you are discouraged, even for a moment, begin thanking God for all His goodness and provision to you. Soon you will not be discouraged!
  • Jesus Himself gives His disciples a “new commandment” in John 13:34, that we are to love one another. This is a direct command from the Lord Jesus. The believer is to focus on loving others and not focus on himself. But when a person is discouraged, they are usually focusing on self, not on others. Being self-centered and selfish is a sin (Phil. 2:3-4).  Instead of being focused on self and feeling sorry for yourself, immediately begin praying for someone you know and consider how you can do a better job of giving yourself away for others (2 Cor. 12:15).
  • The Bible gives us many commands to rejoice, but how can you obey those commands when you are discouraged? Rejoice always. (1 Thess. 5:16). Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord (Phil. 3:1). Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I will say rejoice (Phil. 4:4). It is difficult to obey the command to rejoice if your heart is heavy and you are discouraged. On the other hand, it is hard to be discouraged if you are rejoicing in the Lord! Will you be obedient and rejoice, or will you be discouraged and disobedient? Sing! Rejoice! Praise the Lord!
  • The obedient believer is content in all circumstances (Phil. 4:12), and the believer’s contentment testifies to God’s generosity toward His children. But when the believer is discouraged, it is very easy also to be discontent. Your discouragement will poison your contentment and will often lead to grumbling about what God has not provided or to coveting what others have and you want. Discouragement endangers your contentment. So, deliver yourself from your discouraging thoughts and you will see contentment return. The Lord provides!
  • We have been “created in Christ Jesus for good works” (Eph. 2:10). We are to be a “people for Christ’s own possession, zealous for good deeds” (Titus 2:14). The believer is “to be obedient, to be ready for every good deed” (Titus 3:1), and “to be careful to engage in good deeds” (Titus 3:8). Every believer has been created in Christ Jesus (born again, saved, converted, redeemed, etc.) to be a witness for Christ (Acts 1:8) and to accomplish the work God has given us to do (John 17:4). But when we are discouraged, we are not available for good works. The discouraged believer lacks the joy or the energy to accomplish the work they have been given to do. The discouraged believer is not a zealous believer. So, to engage in good deeds the believer must shed the clothes of discouragement and be filled with the Spirit (Eph. 5:18) and press toward the goal (Phil. 3:14).
  • The believer is to let their light shine before men so that God is glorified (Matthew 5:16), but the discouraged believer has a dim, flickering light that does not shine before men. The encouraged believer shines forth a bold, pure light which attracts people to the light and hopefully to the Light of the world, but the discouraged believer’s light is not attractive. People are attracted by vigor and joy and life and light, and so the encouraged believer gives them a reason to draw near. On the other hand, the discouraged believer seems to feel the same heaviness the rest of the world feels, and so the world passes by. The obedient believer will let their light shine, and that means discouragement must go.
  • The believer is to “proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9). Although this verse is worded as a declarative statement (i.e., a fact, not a command), it is certainly intended to be an expectation for all believers, and thus has the force of a command. The obedient believer is to proclaim God’s excellencies. But once again, we find that the discouraged believer has no voice for proclaiming the gospel and has no courage for telling of God’s excellencies. Thus, the discouraged believer is not able to obey the Lord’s command, and the primary reason they cannot obey is that they remain in a state of discouragement. Christian! Get rid of discouragement! Sing praises to the Lord. Give thanks to the Lord. Rejoice!

In conclusion, then, I offer these thoughts to encourage the discouraged to shake free of those thoughts and habits that are robbing you of the joy and vigor of the vibrant life in Christ. Change your diet to feast on the riches of Christ and the encouragement that every believer has in Him (Phil. 2:1). Give thanks! Rejoice! Proclaim! Give yourself away to others!

SDG                 rmb                 5/17/2022                   #531

Blessed are the persecuted (Matthew 5:10-12)

A few days ago, I wrote an article on the American disciple of Jesus and how he or she relates to persecution. The disadvantage for the American Christian is that their entire faith experience has encased them in a bubble that virtually excludes persecution as even a possibility. It is unconsciously accepted as a “fact” that real persecution for the follower of Jesus does not occur in America. “Yes, it certainly happens to believers in other countries, but it doesn’t happen to us here.” Such is the general mindset in the American church.

I do not share that confidence. It is my belief that real persecution is going to occur here in the not-too-distant future. There are simply too many warnings and teachings (and promises?) about persecution in the New Testament, and there is simply too much evil rising up on every side, for America to remain an island of refuge and safe from the heat. The Lord uses persecution as a way to test His saints, as a way to purify His church, and as a way to show His infinite worth when His saints choose to die rather than deny their Lord. The church in America and the saints in America are entitled to these benefits of persecution just as much as the believers in Nigeria or India. For these reasons, I am persuaded that the heat will soon rise.

So, as a result of this persuasion, I plan to post a series of articles on New Testament passages that address persecution so that believers in America can be prepared to stand firm rather than be surprised and shrink back.

But first, we need a definition for our topic so that we are talking about the same thing.

PERSECUTION – A DEFINITION: Significant suffering or loss intentionally inflicted on a follower of Jesus Christ by a person or group that opposes the Christian gospel and hates the person of Christ because the follower of Jesus has identified as a believer and/or has practiced their Christian faith.

OUR TEXT: MATTHEW 5:10-12

In this series of articles, we will discover that the New Testament is packed with verses that disclose the promised persecution that those who follow Jesus will experience, simply because they follow Him. In this post, we will begin near the beginning of the New Testament and cover two of the beatitudes from the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:10-12.

10 “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. – Matthew 5:10-12

THE BLESSINGS OF PERSECUTION

During His earthly ministry, Jesus made plain to all those who would follow Him that every disciple would need to pay a high cost. This cost was never in the small print, but always at the top of the contract, capitalized in bold type. Jesus is the King of kings, and anyone who would join themselves to His kingdom needs to be willing to surrender all for His name’s sake.

And so it is that after Jesus tells the listening crowd the characteristics of His disciples In Matthew 5:3-9, He tells that same crowd of the treatment that they will receive from those outside His kingdom.

The message of these verses is crystal clear: “Blessed are those who are persecuted.” What a strange message for the Son of God to proclaim! What a very unusual recruiting tool! Jesus has just begun His earthly ministry and, although there are large crowds of the curious, He has only a few real committed followers at this point. Then, with the crowd in the palm of His hand, on the edge of their seat, He delivers the thunderclap: “Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness.”    

THE PARADOX OF PERSECUTION

Here is paradox! “Blessed are those who are persecuted.” Jesus Christ declares to His would-be followers a paradoxical truth. The very thing that causes our natural flesh to recoil in loathing is the source of the Lord’s blessing. How can this be? Persecution involves pain and loss as others vent their hatred on us simply because we follow Jesus. And yet Jesus promises us a blessing if we will be the recipient of persecution for His name’s sake.

THOUGHTS ON THIS PERSECUTION

You must boldly and intentionally raise the flag of Jesus if you will receive the blessing of persecution. Those who are timid and reluctant will go unnoticed by their would-be persecutors. These violent aggressors will overlook you or ignore you and thus you will miss out on the blessing. You must do a lot to be persecuted, especially in a relatively docile place like America. Let your reckless boldness for Jesus kindle the persecution.

In persecution, the believer is dependent on the hatred of others. Most of Christ’s promised blessings are dependent only on our activity, but the blessing of persecution is different. In persecution, the disciple of Jesus is passive and depends on the sinful behavior of Christ’s enemies to receive the promised blessing.

Persecution is received not for disobedient behavior but for boldly obedient behavior in a context that is known to be hostile to the gospel and hostile to Jesus. There is simply no other way to be persecuted. The disciple who would receive the blessing of persecution is the disciple who remains steadfast and immovable in the face of very real potential threats. This is the disciple who refuses to bow down even as they feel the heat of the fiery furnace. This is the disciple who prefers a context hostile to the gospel and has already decided that bold, visible obedience is not optional, but is just part of what it means to follow Jesus. This is the disciple who seeks the blessing of persecution.

“Blessed are those who are persecuted.” Those who have been persecuted declare that, not after death, but in the very experience of persecution, there is a sense of the Lord’s blessing. The blessing is in the persecution. All true believers will be glorified and will spend eternity in heaven with the Lord, but what will we experience in this life? The blessings of persecution can only be experienced here during this mortal life. Why not receive this blessing of persecution, also?

SDG                 rmb                 6/29/2021                   #418

Do we seek suffering? – Part 2 (Philippians 3:10)

“that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings.” – the apostle Paul in Philippians 3:10

It seems that the statement is made at some point in conversations about suffering, especially among American Christians. It is usually well intended and sounds like an appropriate thing to say in response to affliction for the name of Jesus. “Well, of course, the Christian is not called to seek out suffering. . .” But the more I think about that statement, the more uncomfortable I become. Is that true? Are we not to seek suffering? And if that is the case, then why do so many of my heroes in the Bible and so many Christians in history suffer for their faith? Is it normal to be a serious Christian and not suffer for my faith? And what do I do if God is calling me to a course of action that almost certainly includes suffering to some degree?

            Because of the importance of the topic of suffering for the believer, I am going to spend several posts exploring what I see to be problems with the statement, “Of course, the Christian is not called to seek out suffering.” The goal is to arrive at a solid perspective on suffering that makes me more useful to Jesus.

            Problem #1 (January 5) dealt with the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ effectively sought out His own suffering as the necessary means for accomplishing His mission of redemption and atonement. Since Jesus sought suffering, it seems hard to imagine that we do not. In this post we will look at Problem #2.

“Well, of course, the Christian is not called to seek out suffering . . .”

PROBLEM #2

            “That’s really a trivial statement.”

Upon examination, we realize that the declaration above (“Of course, we do not seek suffering”) is somewhat trivial. What I mean is this: Of course, Christians do not seek out suffering! No one in their right mind seeks out suffering as an end in itself, so saying that the Christian is not called to seek suffering is just stating the obvious. Jesus did not call His disciples to seek suffering for suffering’s sake, but He did call us to follow Him wherever He leads regardless of any real or imagined consequences. The consequences of my obedience are the Lord’s responsibility. He determines those, and one of those potential consequences may be suffering. Another consequence could be my physical death. As a disciple of Jesus, I choose to obey regardless. The duty of obedience is my responsibility. I obey because obedience to my Master is my highest aim. I long to hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant!”

When viewed in this light, the possibility of suffering is irrelevant. It is beside the point. Suffering is just one of the potential consequences of my obedience to the Lord. Why focus on one potential consequence instead of focusing on the goal or the prize of my obedience (Philippians 3:14)? Why highlight this one possible personal consequence instead of bringing all glory to Christ and focusing all my energy on proclaiming the gospel? Why think about a consequence of obedience that might cause me to shrink back from God’s appointed path (Hebrews 10:38-39), instead of running with endurance the race before me and fixing my eyes on Jesus (Hebrews 12:1-2), which will spur me on?

The bottom line is that the disciple of Jesus does not seek out a path just because it offers an opportunity to suffer, but neither does the disciple of Jesus shrink back from any God-appointed path that requires personal suffering. Suffering is not sought, nor is it required, but neither is it ever avoided.

SDG                 rmb                 1/9/2021

Do we seek suffering? – Part 1 (Phil. 3:10)

            It seems that the statement is made at some point in most conversations about suffering, especially among American Christians. It is usually well intended and sounds like an appropriate thing to say in response to suffering for the name of Jesus. “Well, of course, the Christian is not called to seek suffering. . .” But the more I think about that statement, the more uncomfortable I become. Is that true? Are we not to seek suffering? And if that is the case, then why do so many of my heroes in the Bible and in history suffer for their faith? Why does the Bible have so much to say about suffering if my experience of the Christian life can safely avoid it? Is it normal to be a serious Christian and not suffer? And what do I do if God is calling me to a course that will almost certainly result in my suffering to some degree?

            Because of these questions and because of the importance of the topic of suffering, I am going to spend the next several posts exploring what I see to be problems with this statement. The goal is to arrive at a solid perspective on suffering that makes me more useful to Jesus.

“Well, of course, the Christian is not called to seek out suffering . . .”

PROBLEM #1

“Can you support that statement with Scripture?”

The first reaction to this statement may be to agree with it and let the conversation move on, but as discerning followers of Jesus, we must respond to these types of statements with at least a small challenge.

“That’s an interesting idea. Can you support that statement with Scripture?” Scripture is the place where all disciples of Jesus find a common foundation. Does a given theological position, or a faith practice find solid support in the word of God?

When I think about the fact that Jesus Christ was acutely aware of His appointed suffering on the cross from the beginning of His ministry and had, in fact, been sent to earth for the express purpose of suffering and dying on the cross, I seriously wonder if I can support the statement above. My entire salvation depends upon Jesus seeking suffering. Jesus’ mission could only be accomplished if He suffered and died on the cross. Where does the Lord Jesus tell His disciples that they are not to seek out suffering? Chapter and verse, please.

What about Paul? Paul intentionally did things that provoked persecution and inevitably resulted in his suffering. In Philippi he cast out a demon that ended the merchants’ revenue with the slave girl. He must have known that this was going to result in his being punished and his suffering.

Paul continued his way to Jerusalem knowing that conflict awaited him there (Acts 20-21). His own people pleaded with him to turn back and to change his plans, but Paul steadfastly refused even though he knew that he would suffer. Would Paul agree with the statement that the Christian does not seek out suffering?

And then there is Peter. Peter was warned repeatedly that, if he continued with his preaching about Jesus in Jerusalem, he was going to be severely punished (Acts 4-5), and yet he never even slowed down. If the Jewish or Roman authorities needed to punish someone for preaching about Jesus, Peter was not hard to find. Also, his first epistle has as its central theme the perseverance of the believer in the face of suffering for Christ. Would Peter say that the believer does not seek suffering?

            In the Old Testament, evil kings and false prophets warned the true prophets that, if they did not silence their prophecy or change their message, they would be punished, and the true prophets remained true to the message the LORD had given them to proclaim. For example, more than once, Jeremiah suffered for the message that he preached, but he would rather be punished with the stripes of men than fail to obey the LORD and deliver His message.

            So, while these heroes from Scripture may not have sought suffering, the prospect of suffering was not a factor in their decision-making. They sought to be obedient to the LORD, regardless. That is the view that the Scripture supports.

SDG rmb 1/5/2021

But let’s take a step back for a minute. Maybe the problem with the statement is the statement itself. That is, maybe we are saying what we mean in a clumsy way. My next post will explore that possibility in PROBLEM #2. rmb

Fear not and go forward (Exodus 14:15)

What are we to do when we perceive a threat that is greater than our resources to resist? There is danger bearing down on us and there is no place to hide. We see what feels like the proverbial “death star” on the horizon. How should we as believers respond to these situations?

One of the blessings of the word of God, the Bible, is that it is filled with teaching and stories that give us guidance for every circumstance in life. Because we are weak people living in a fallen world and we frequently encounter frightening threats, one of the most common themes in the Bible is that of overcoming overwhelming and dangerous situations with the power of the Lord. In Exodus 14, the children of Israel were in a dangerous situation.

SETTING THE STAGE FOR EXODUS 14

            The people of Israel have just escaped from Egypt after the LORD killed all the first-born in the Passover, and now they are heading out into the wilderness. The LORD directs the people to encamp in front of the Red Sea, intentionally making them vulnerable to an attack from behind. The LORD then hardens Pharaoh’s heart so that he regrets letting the people go and decides to chase after them. So, the situation is that the people of Israel have murderous Egyptians closing in behind them and the Red Sea in front of them. The people of Israel became very frightened and cried out to the LORD (Exodus 14:10).

            Was this threat real? It most certainly was! In fact, the situation appeared hopeless. The Egyptian army with chariots and horses was bearing down on defenseless Israel and they had nowhere to run or to hide. This is the nature of our God, that the Lord will sometimes ordain situations which test our obedience and that tempt us to fear. In those circumstances, we are to continue to obey Him and to do those things He has commanded us to do.

A TIME TO ACT

            Moses tells the people, “Do not fear! Stand firm and see the salvation of the LORD. The LORD will fight for you (Exodus 14:13-14).” Moses reminds the people that the LORD is with them and therefore they need not fear. Even though the danger appears to be great, “the LORD will fight for you.” If the LORD is the one fighting for you, the danger has suddenly lost its threat.

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to Me? Tell the sons of Israel to go forward.” – Exodus 14:15

            There is a time to cry out to the LORD and there is a time to ACT. The LORD is making clear that now is the time to obey Him with action. “Go forward!” Huh? To obey the LORD’s command, the people need to begin walking out into the Red Sea.

            Of course, the LORD has a plan. “As for you . . . (14:16)” Moses will divide the sea with his staff and Israel will walk through the sea. All Israel must do is obey and go forward.

            “As for Me . . . (14:17)” For His part, the LORD will be honored through Pharaoh and his army as He destroys them in the Red Sea. “Then the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD (14:18).” Thus, the LORD delivers Israel, destroys the Egyptians, and receives honor for Himself as He displays His power.

LESSONS

“Be strong and courageous and act (1 Chronicles 28:20).”

“Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed (Joshua 1:9).”

“Tell the sons of Israel to go forward (Exodus 14:15).”

These commands in Scripture are all given because the Lord is with His people. That is, I can be strong and courageous not because I am competent and mighty, but because my Lord who guides me is all-powerful. Because the Lord is with us like a dread Champion (Jeremiah 20:11), the believer is to have these commands as a persistent attitude and is to be ready at any time to put this attitude into action.

            This world is filled with threats and dangers, and our fallen flesh fans the flames of fear, but we are called to fear not, stand firm, and courageously go forward with the Lord.     

SDG                 rmb                 12/29/2020

Walking a Darker Path (Mark 10:32-33)

My walk with Christ easily lends itself to the analogy of a path. That path began in late 1990 when I came to Christ from a very non-Christian worldview and found myself suddenly following Christ.

Much of my walk with the Lord has been pleasant and many days have been spent strolling through meadows or climbing through forest glades on well-marked, smooth paths. As the Lord effortlessly strides ahead, I struggle to keep up, occasionally stumbling over a rock or a root. When I lag too far behind, He stops and looks back waiting for me, always smiling, always patient, always encouraging. Thus He and I have spent many idyllic days in sweet fellowship, and thus over time He has taught me about His ways and has taught me how to walk, and thus I have gradually gotten stronger and better able to follow Him. I have seen His power and His faithfulness, and my trust in Him has become more sure.

This trust and increased strength are important, because the Lord knows, and I know, that my path will not always meander through pleasant meadows. There have been times in the past, and there will be times in the future, when the character of the path changes. There are times when, for His perfect purposes and for my deeper discipleship, the Lord needs to lead me into a darker, dangerous place.

I sense that I am now entering such a time and following Him toward such a place, and I feel that there are many others in this decaying world who are feeling the same thing. For the past two or three years or so, the Lord has led me past alpine lakes and through hardwood and hemlock forests, but now, as I peer up ahead, the landscape seems much more barren. Towering thunderhead clouds loom, billowing up to obscure the sun and rumbling their foreboding tune. The path is beginning to drop steeply and to narrow, becoming harder to follow. Rocks, prominent and jagged, threaten the sides of the trail. A gloomy dusk has cloaked the scene, making it harder to see where to walk. There in front of me is the Lord, still leading, still smiling and still patient, but His looks back to me are now more frequent, wanting to make sure that I am staying close. Does He sense my reluctance to follow Him into the darkness? Does He know my fear? And now it has become clear that the Lord is, in fact, leading me into a season of a darker path as He beckons me down into the foggy chasm.

What, then, is the believer to do when the path becomes treacherous and when the Lord leads us toward the edge of a murky chasm? As I walk with the Lord, there are some basic things to do to make sure I stay on the path.

  • Consider Jesus’ example of fearless obedience to His Father’s plan. Jesus’ entire life was one of suffering. He was “a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief (Isaiah 53:3).” He knew what it was to walk a dark path. In Mark 10:32-33, the Bible says:
    • And they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. And they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. And taking the twelve again, He began to tell them what was to happen to Him, saying, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him over to the Gentiles. And they will mock Him and spit on Him and flog Him and kill Him. And after three days He will rise.”

When I consider that I am going to walk a dark and difficult path, I need to remember and keep my eyes on the Lord Jesus (Hebrews 12:2). In Mark 10, as they go up to Jerusalem, He is the only one who knows EXACTLY what awaits Him there. The Lord is beginning the walk to the cross. He knows with certainty that mocking and scourging and crucifixion await Him and yet He is walking ahead of the crowd. Since my Lord accepted this darkest of all possible paths and persevered, so I need to accept whatever path the Lord leads me down and persevere to the end.

  • As Jesus trusted and obeyed His heavenly Father and accomplished His work (John 17:4), so I need to trust and obey the Lord and accomplish the work He has given me to do (Ephesians 2:10).
  • Regardless of the darkness of the path, the Lord is with me. He has sworn that He will never leave me of forsake me (Hebrews 13:5; Joshua 1:5).
  • Regardless of the darkness of the path, the Lord is the one leading me. The path on which I am traveling may seem dark and difficult, and I may not know the short-term destination, but I know and trust the One leading me. The Lord is trustworthy, and He has sovereignly chosen this path for me, and He is leading me along it. Regardless of the nature of the path, because of the One who has chosen this path for me, I can trust that this is the perfect path.

SDG                 rmb                 7/24/2020