For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but it is God’s power to us who are being saved. For it is written: 'I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and I will set aside the understanding of the experts.' - 1 Corinthians 1:18-19 (ESV) Even living in a nation that, for the most part, protects its citizens from religiously-driven persecution, a Christian needs thick skin to live joyfully in the center of God's will. As secular, worldly philosophy permeates our society and shakes the moral core of America, the church here is becoming more and more prone to snark, ridicule, and even accusation from those around us. Let's face it - the unbelieving world loves to label the Bible's teachings and Christians as "antiquated," "irrelevant," and "unreliable." Many even blame Christians directly for society's problems, claiming that we spread hatred, violence, and terrorism by our exclusive and intolerant beliefs.
Those accusations could not be farther from the truth. God "desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth." (1 Timothy 2:4, ESV) Jesus commands us, "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." (Matthew 5:44, ESV). Paul instructs us, "If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men." (Romans 12:18, NASB). Peter writes, "Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king." (1 Peter 2, NASB). James commands, "Let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God." - James 1:19b-20, ESV). These aren't teachings of hatred and violence. These are the teachings of a God Who, out of His own love for us, wishes to have an active relationship with His created people and wants His children to carry the hope, peace, and love of Christ in all they do in this life. Anyone who uses the Holy Scripture to justify hatred, violence, prejudice, or terrorism towards others is grossly misled and lives in a state of apostasy. But this is not what the world wants to hear. It's quick to blame Christianity because Christ is fundamentally opposed to the selfishness of man. Man seeks spiritual enlightenment in, as I see it, three distinct ways - in believing that they can appease God, in believing that they do not need God, and in believing that they are or can become God. Almost all monotheistic and polytheistic belief systems throughout history are works-based - requiring that their followers do something or do many things to gain favor with a god or with many gods. They believe they can appease God and earn salvation. Agnostics and atheists alike follow a belief system that either suspends their belief in a deity or else denies that a deity exists altogether. They believe they do not need God and therefore require no salvation. Mystics and universalists either follow someone else's way to spiritual enlightenment or determine themselves what criteria are necessary to reach a state of enlightenment. These people believe that they are or can become God and therefore are their own salvation. In all of these scenarios, man is at the center. Man is perceived to be sovereign over his spiritual state and eternal destiny. The understanding Christian knows that God is completely and totally sovereign. We are not justified by the works of man; we are justified by the grace of God. We are not sanctified by the works of man; we are sanctified by the works of the Holy Spirit. We are not glorified by the works of man; we are glorified by the saving blood of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God. God saves us. We do not carry, or even share in, the responsibility of salvation. We are utterly incapable of saving ourselves. "None is righteous, no, not one," (Romans 3:10, ESV) says Paul, and "the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 6:23, ESV) "But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)." (Ephesians 2:4, NASB). This is, by all the world's accounts, complete and utter foolishness. By nature, mankind is proud. Mankind does not naturally desire to be saved from itself. And even when mankind desires to submit to a deity, it tries to do so under it's own authority. So when Christians subvert this pride by preaching that others repent of sin and confess Jesus Christ - born, crucified, resurrected, coming again - as Lord, Savior, and Sovereign God of all, it should be no surprise that the world counteracts with ridicule, attack, and even persecution. But we need not fear or become discouraged. Acts 4 recounts a story: the apostles John and Peter were arrested and were threatened with their lives. The prideful, legalistic Jewish leaders loathed the teachings and the followers of Jesus, and sought to make an example of these apostles through persecution. They were afraid of the crowds, who had just witnessed them performing an incredible miracle, and released them, threatening them further. When they had gathered together again with other brothers and sisters in Christ, they began to pray - not for less ridicule or threat or persecution, but for boldness: "And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness."(Acts 4:29, ESV). The result? God granting them exactly that: "And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness." (Acts 4:31, ESV). God wants to give us boldness and courage in preaching the Word of God. He has given us the Holy Spirit in such a measure to His church that we are guaranteed His assistance in carrying His Word to others. After all, this is exactly the purpose for which we have been given the Holy Spirit. "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8, ESV). We are not called with a spirit of timidity, but with one of power and of authority. The Holy Spirit gives us the boldness and courage and faith to be His witnesses to the world. When the world surrounds us - jeering, scoffing, sneering, mocking - then the Holy Spirit will give us strength and faith to stand amidst it all. If we are to be labeled as fools, then we shall be bold and courageous fools who carry with them the awesome and powerful message of Christ. Whether we are to suffer to death or merely to endure ridicule, the Holy Spirit will give us in that moment the faith to continue on - not barely so, but overwhelmingly so. Incoming persecution will not weaken us; it will instead strengthen us. It is a great blessing to live in a country still so protective of our right to live openly as Christians, but it is equally a privilege to suffer for Christ's sake and endure as a testament to the overcoming power of the Holy Spirit. Pray today that we do not face ridicule with fear or timidity, but that we approach it with faith and steadfastness. Pray that the Holy Spirit strengthens us and emboldens us to take the Word of God to the world despite its unwillingness. Pray that we never think ourselves wiser than we are or seek to dilute the pure truth of Scripture with mankind's selfish philosophies when we are derided as foolish, intolerant, and irrelevant. Most of all, seek that God give us the utmost joy in serving Him, no matter the personal cost we face.
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You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. - Matthew 5:14-16 (ESV) "My beliefs are personal."
I've heard this phrase countless times before, and I completely understand why. It's tempting to say this when confronted with both conviction and opportunity - conviction from the light of the gospel exposing the darkness of our hearts, and opportunity to shine the light of the gospel into the darkness of the world. As fleshly, worldly creatures, it's easy for us to justify all of our actions when we make the light of the gospel about salvation for us instead of salvation for the world. If we're not careful, we can totally internalize the power of the gospel and prevent it from making any external changes to our lives. This leads to a shallow, fundamentally broken understanding of grace - that we believe, God saves, and that's it. There's no further action required of us. The problem is that the Holy Word of God was never meant to be strictly personal. Our command is not to merely know the gospel, but to act on it. In a sense, the gospel of Christ is interpersonal - it demands that we actively communicate it when we engage every person. Yes, Christ changes us from the inside, but like cleaning a dirty window in a dark room and setting a lamp behind it, those on the outside will unquestionably notice the change. The Scripture is abundantly clear on this. While many people love to endlessly - and rightly - quote Ephesians 2:8-9 ("For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast"), few quote verse 10 with the same enthusiasm ("For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works,which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them"). When Christ works His grace in us, He takes us off of the path of sinful works and places us on His path of righteous works. Salvation will undoubtedly produce good works in our lives. James takes this a step further in the second chapter of his book: "What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?... So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead." (James 2:14, 17, ESV) Works are the evidence of salvation; they are not evidence only to ourselves, but to the world around us. Notice the way that Jesus phrases His command in Matthew 5: "Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works." I believe the fact that He commands that we let our lights shine before others before He suggests that they will see our good works is completely intentional. The light comes before works, but the works inevitably follow. He does not say, "Do good works that others see, so that you may find the light," or, "Let your light shine before others, and if you do any good works, make sure others see them." When we have the true light of the gospel of Christ, we will take it with us in all of our endeavors, waving it as our banner, sharing it as our mission. When we submit to that call and mission, good works are absolutely sure to follow. Furthermore, we will not be doing these good works solely to be noticed; we will be doing them out of a sense of devotion to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ - and that's something people will certainly see. Note that there is a significant difference between "good works" and what I would call "not-bad works." Many Christians strive to simply live "not-bad" lifestyles: maybe they avoid swearing too often, they don't use the Lord's name in vain, they don't watch movies or listen to music or partake in activities that they would deem to be wrong or sinful. Taking care how we lead our lives and what we allow into our minds, our hearts, and our mouths is important, but to see that as the end-all, be-all of a holy Christian lifestyle is both short-sighted and dangerous. We are called to do so much more than avoid taking part in evil. We are not pacifists in spiritual warfare, knowing on which side we stand but refusing to take up arms with Christ. His call is clear: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you." (Matthew 28:19-20a, ESV) This is the most important and highest priority good work to which we've been called as believers. This is how we shine our light before men. If we take this command seriously and devote our entire lives to fulfilling it, we will certainly be presented with many opportunities to accomplish other good works (giving to the poor, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, loving the unloved and unlovable, etc.), but with the power of the Holy Spirit going with us, we will succeed in walking in the good works that Christ has laid out before us. Pray today that God would help us to shine our lights brightly before men. Pray that He would reveal to us the good works He would have us walk so that we would be effective in sharing the gospel with others and building His kingdom. Pray that we would strive for so much more than a "not-bad lifestyle" that avoids performing evil works but also evades the opportunity to perform good ones as well. Pray, most of all, that He would make us effective witnesses for Him that shine brightly with good works in the midst of this dark world. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. - Matthew 5:3 (ESV) I'm rich.
That may sound immodest or even somewhat untruthful ("c'mon, Clifton, you drive a Toyota Camry and live in a house built in the 70s with numerous electrical issues and a basement that floods when it rains!" you might respond), but it's true. I look around this room, right at this moment, and I see four guitars on the wall, three amplifiers, a keyboard, two bookcases sagging with books, and three laptops and a desktop computer in addition to the one I'm typing on. There are drawers full of gadgets and gizmos collecting dust. There are shelves and stacks of music, movies, and games. And that's just the office. And one moment yesterday, while studying on the story of the rich young ruler (Luke 18:18-30), I came to a rather ugly and convicting realization: that person is me. It's not because I'm the wealthiest person in America. Indeed, most of the stuff I just mentioned was either acquired cheaply or secondhand. Three of my guitars were made in China. Two of those computers are over five years old and were bought at rock-bottom prices when new. Many of the movies and books were bought on clearance or used. I know many people who have much more money than I do, and what I have was acquired with money left over after my wonderful wife (who is infinitely better with handling finances than I am) has calculated and appropriated all of our monthly expenditures, including both giving and saving. But in comparison to the world, I certainly cannot make the argument that I am poor. In fact, a large majority of the world's population would see me as filthy rich. I have no idea what it's like to live without electricity, clean and running water, or go without food and shelter. Hundreds of millions (and possibly billions) of people live like this each day, every day of their lives. Yet, I barely know what to do with myself when the internet goes down. Jesus commanded the rich young ruler, after inquiring how to inherit eternal life, "One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." (Luke 18:22b, ESV). The instructions here are not to sell possessions to inherit eternal life, but to follow Christ. Jesus only wanted the rich man to purge himself of the inherent distraction of riches so that his heart could be fully set on following Him. He knew the man wanted to hold onto his wealth more than he wanted to taste spiritual restoration and guidance. Indeed, the Scriptures say that "he became very sad, for he was extremely rich." (Luke 18:23b, ESV) The problem here is not necessarily possessing things. The problem is prioritizing things over following Christ. If I were in the correct, Spirit-led mindset, I would see all these things I own, be thankful to God for them, but follow Him regardless of what it might cost me. As the book of Job eloquently states, "The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord." (Job 1:21b, ESV). Money, and the things money can buy, are not guaranteed to us in this lifetime. They are temporary; impermanent. It is a blessing to have plenty, but it is no less a blessing to suffer lack - while the former is infinitely more desirable and pleasurable than the latter, we can easily fall prey to "greed, which is idolatry" (Colossians 3:5, NIV) if we fail to have the right heart attitude towards God when we experience plenty. Sadly, like many fellow Americans, I tend to place my hope in things and can "become very sad" when I find myself needing to give up things to instead focus on following Christ. I'm not going to suggest that I or anyone else pray that God strip us of all material blessings and leave us with nothing. Sudden and abject humiliation would do nothing to feed the hungry or clothe the impoverished or spread the good news of Christ to the world. I'm also not going to suggest that every Christian go and sell every last belonging they own so they can move to a poverty-stricken nation and live among them (though that may, in fact, one day be your calling or my own). What I am going to suggest is that we carefully analyze the things we spend time thinking about, talking about, doing, and spending our money on. Are these things our idols? Do we place them ahead of God? How would we respond if God were to suddenly remove these things from our lives? Would we be willing to give these things up if God were to require it of us for His service? Would we respond with anger and sadness? Or would we be at peace and have joy in our hearts knowing that we can serve Christ both in plenty and in need? If a fellow believer, wanting to serve in some capacity, needed a computer, would I be willing to give them my own out of my excess? If a family suffered genuine need for money to put food on the table, would I be willing to sell off a guitar or two to assist them? And if God revealed to me that His plan was to move me and my wife far away from these things to serve in a totally different capacity than I do now, would I be willing to leave it all behind, boldly trusting that I will find true pleasure in serving Christ? Would I, too, be "poor in spirit," seeking out every opportunity to build the eternal Kingdom of God at any personal cost to me? Jesus says in Matthew 6: 19-21 (ESV): "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Jesus was asking the rich young ruler to give up what he valued above all - the treasure of this earth - in order to experience the lasting, eternal value of following Christ - the treasure of heaven. It was required of him that day to let go of all the materialistic things that he held dear so that his heart would be adequately prepared to fully follow Christ. It may be required of us someday, too - let us have hearts that are not burdened by the weight of things but are overjoyed at the opportunity to exercise faith when serving God. Pray that God would remove the psychological and emotional distractions of earthly things from our spiritual journey so that we can better follow Him. Be thankful for the many material blessings He has so richly provided to us, and pray that we never forget that they are temporary gifts given by an eternal, sovereign God. Pray that fully following Christ would be our highest priority by far and the ultimate source of our joy and happiness in this life. As Paul wrote in Phillipians 3:7-8a (ESV), "But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord." Pray most of all that we would value following and serving Christ above all else that this world has to offer. |
Clifton J. Gardner lives in Birmingham, Alabama with his wife, Courtney. He is a Registered Nurse, musician, and writer, as well as an active member of Ezra Baptist Church in Oak Grove, Alabama. Archives
January 2017
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