Living as a Christian is not something meant to bring us riches, power, glory, or honor. In fact, the New Testament goes out of its way to let us know that living a life devoted to King Jesus will cost us, and cost us dearly… at least in this life.
Peter says it this way:
“Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.” (1 Peter 4:12 ESV).
Trials are the norm with Christians, at least it should be. Chances are, if we skate through our lives without fiery trials, we are not doing something right. It’s just not normal that someone who clings to the Kingdom of God will be compatible with the world.
We have, however, been fortunate to live in a rare time in history where we live in a country founded on principles of Christianity, and our suffering has been light. In fact, many of us have been surrounded by more people who acknowledge Jesus than those who deny Him. But times are rapidly changing.
Even the apostle Paul tells us what to expect when we become Christians. After talking about the persecutions he experienced for the cause of Jesus, he says,
“Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,” (2 Timothy 3:12 ESV).
Both of these apostles mention our impending persecutions as though they are a foregone conclusion. It’s what we sign up for when we join the Kingdom. We are all immediately enlisted into His army, where we will battle the forces of evil. When we do, the powers and principalities will fight back with a vengeance. Evil fights as though our battles are an existential threat to it.
Before ascending into heaven and taking the throne His father gave Him, Jesus tells His disciples,
“If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” (John 15:19 ESV).
The choice we make to serve Jesus is one that draws a distinct line in the sand. Who we choose to be loved by will have a lot to do with the type of suffering we will be exposed to. Jesus goes on to tell the disciples,
“Remember the word that I said to you: 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.” (John 15:20 ESV).
People will persecute us. Not everyone will keep the words of Jesus. When we present a binary, exclusive message, persecution will undoubtedly come. It’s the nature of being part of the kingdom of heaven.
I love the example of Peter and John when they are beaten for preaching Jesus and then released with a warning and a command to no longer speak in the name of Jesus. What did they do?
“Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name.” (Acts 5:41 ESV).
Isn’t that amazing? They rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer for Jesus. Wow! What an amazing disposition to have. How many times do we rejoice that we are counted worthy to suffer for the name of Jesus?
No, really. That’s a serious question. How many times?
I fear I have not suffered nearly as many times as I probably should have. When I see how Peter, Paul, and Jesus Himself tell me with crystal clarity that I will suffer for Jesus, I am uncomfortable with how comfortable my life as a Christian has been.
But times are changing. Evil is rising, and our sphere of influence is becoming more and more infiltrated by evil. Our society is growing hostile toward the Kingdom. People are committing acts of violence with impunity. Good is being punished in our courts.
We are increasingly being forced to acknowledge sinful practices as normal. Our livelihoods can be at stake if we do not embrace the “woke” agenda. Our businesses can be sued when we stand up for godly values. Trends are moving in the direction that it is no longer acceptable if we remain silent when evil exerts itself; now, we must openly and verbally accept evil or face the wrath of society.
We will find safety in numbers, and when we suffer, it is natural we do what the first-century Christians did… we go to our own for strength and encouragement. But when we do, what is it that we are rejoicing in? Perhaps a little more persecution will help us better see the value of His church in our lives.
Here is what I counsel we guard against. Let us find comfort in knowing we are following in the footsteps of Jesus when we experience the persecution that is coming. Let that give us a strength that only comes when we are tried in the fire. Let that be in what we rejoice.
It might be tempting to rejoice in the barbs we land that trigger the world to lash out with persecution. This is a subtle but important distinction that we must be conscious of as we invite persecution. It’s not how we trigger others that we rejoice in, but it’s the suffering that we endure because evil is triggered by our godly lives that we rejoice in.
Beware of the temptation to revel in the chaos we bring because of our faith. Our faith was never meant to bring chaos but peace. Chaos may be a by-product of our faith when people reject it, but chaos is never the purpose.
I challenge all of us to read the Word and try to find any place where the apostles and early Christians reveled in triggering people with the message of God. It is our hope that through our suffering, the lost are won over; through our persecution, Jesus is glorified, and that some may believe.
We must rejoice that we are counted worthy to suffer for His name, but we must love the very ones who relive us. We must pray for those who persecute us. We must not find it joyful that we used the Word of grace to trigger others. We serve those who hate us by laying ourselves down for them in the hope that they will be saved through our sacrifice.
Paul reminds us,
“For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake,” (Philippians 1:29 ESV).
We opened with Peter’s encouragement not to think it strange when fiery trials come to us. Perhaps it’s appropriate to end with the rest of his admonition on this to us:
“But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.
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 4:13-16 ESV).
I am in the book of Jeremiah in my daily Bible reading. This book is starting to have a very special place in my heart because it talks about the judgment of a nation that had fully walked away from God. I see many similarities between that nation and my nation.
Jeremiah gives us insights into what happens when we spurn God after His patience has been exhausted and His longsuffering finally comes to an end.
In the call of Jeremiah as a prophet, we see something we all need to keep in mind. Notice these two verses:
“But the LORD said to me, “Do not say, 'I am only a youth'; for to all to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak.
Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, declares the LORD.” (Jeremiah 1:7-8 ESV).
And,
“They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you, declares the LORD, to deliver you.” (Jeremiah 1:19 ESV).
In God's call to Jeremiah, He tells the prophet not to fear, for He will deliver him from the hands of those who are against the prophet.
That can be a comforting message, can't it? We all want the assurance that God will deliver us. But to first be delivered, there must be a capture or an attack.
While we cling to the promises of God, let us not think God has forsaken us when we endure trials for His name.
Indeed, before there is deliverance, there first needs to be opposition.
Before there is healing, there must first be sickness.
Before there is comfort, there must first be adversity.
Before there is peace, there must first be chaos.
For us to rely on God's goodness in our lives, we must first experience the need for His goodness. Are we quick to blame God when we experience His need rather than reach out to Him in our need?
Is our faith shaken too quickly because we experience His need rather than wait for His deliverance?
It is not in our needs that we should focus, but we should rather focus on the steadfastness of our faithful Lord when our needs cause us to reach out to Him.
Let us not be too quick to despise our needs because they are the very thing that causes us to experience the blessings in our lives.
Without needs, we may be tempted to think we have no need for God, and that is a most pitiable place to be.
I am in the book of Jeremiah in my daily Bible reading. This book deals with Judah right before God brings judgment upon her.
We learn a lot about God in this book. He is a just God who cannot let sin continue with impunity. He is true to His promises. But He is also a merciful God.
He pleads with them to repent. Though they have crossed the point where the judgment was imminent, He offered to dull the harshness of His judgment.
Jeremiah tells the people to accept the judgment and submit to Babylon, and God would let them live and keep Jerusalem from burning. But if they run and fight the judgment, God would allow utter destruction to sweep over them.
If they cry out, He will not hear. There will be no place for repentance to avoid the coming judgment.
But the people refused this offer of grace. They continued in their obstinance and disobedience to God until the bitter end. And so, they suffered the ultimate curse spoken to them by Moses and Joshua.
Why do we ignore God's warnings? Why do we cling to our sins to the bitter end, even when we know where it will lead?
God pleads with a tremendous offer of grace while judgment is in our path. Will we follow the path of the people Jeremiah prophesied to, or will we reach out to our loving God, submit to Him, and avoid the judgment to come?
Do not believe the lie that there is no day of reckoning. Now is the time to hear before there remains no place for repentance.
“Though they fast, I will not hear their cry, and though they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I will not accept them. But I will consume them by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence.”
Then I said: “Ah, Lord GOD, behold, the prophets say to them, 'You shall not see the sword, nor shall you have famine, but I will give you assured peace in this place.'“
And the LORD said to me: “The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I did not send them, nor did I command them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a lying vision, worthless divination, and the deceit of their own minds.” (Jeremiah 14:12-14 ESV).
I am going through the study again that I went through when I wrote the book, 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐨𝐝.
It is still as difficult of a subject now as it was when I wrote the book. I remember halfway through writing the book asking myself, “Why did I decide to do this?”
But the overwhelming awe that I got about God then is the same overwhelming awe that I have about Him now, and it reminded me just how glad I am that I finished writing the book.
The one thing I noticed now that I kept saying in the book is this:
“No matter how much we study the sovereignty of God, there is only so much that limited man will be able to understand about a limitless God.”
After going through this study again, that conclusion is even more poignant to me today.
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I am in Jeremiah in my daily Bible reading. In the days when God was about to uproot the people and send them into a foreign land, God spoke to the heart of man.
“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?
“I the LORD search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.” (Jeremiah 17:9-10 ESV).
Evil is all around us. No longer do we need to work hard to hide the sins of our hearts. It has never been easier to live the life of a hypocrite than in our time.
We can hide behind a keyboard and let loose an evil heart while receiving praise when face to face with others.
We can buy evil things online and discreetly ship them to our homes.
We can join in with the mob who says despicable things about others who are made in the image of God because they don't agree with our politics.
We can endure persecution with pride for standing with a politician but remain eerily silent when it comes to standing with our Lord and King.
We live in an age and in a land where Satan has served up an easy way to hide the evil of our hearts in a way that is totally acceptable to our society.
Satan has figured out how to let us have our evil hearts while receiving praise for the righteousness that we seek.
But Jeremiah reminds us that the Lord searches our hearts. While we may fool all those around us, nothing will fool the Lord.
He knows. He always will.
If we insist on keeping our evil heart in secret, we must understand that we have our reward. Let us enjoy it to its fullness if we refuse to ask the Lord to create in us a clean heart. It will be all we have when the Lord “give(s to) every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.”
May we all have hearts that seeks for the Lord's cleansing power.
I am in the book of Jeremiah in my daily Bible reading. The end for Judah is coming at the hand of Babylon. But the Lord is still reaching out to the people, looking for any mercy and grace He can show them if they only repent.
One word that comes to them is that they should release their slaves. God's law had a provision by which people could become indentured servants in time of need, but this was never meant to be a permanent situation. The law ensured liberty at certain times so that the servants' freedom would be restored.
However, slave owners no longer followed the law. They kept their slaves past the time when they should have restored their freedom, so God addresses this through Jeremiah.
“The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, after King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people in Jerusalem to make a proclamation of liberty to them,
that everyone should set free his Hebrew slaves, male and female, so that no one should enslave a Jew, his brother.
And they obeyed, all the officials and all the people who had entered into the covenant that everyone would set free his slave, male or female, so that they would not be enslaved again. They obeyed and set them free.” (Jeremiah 34:8-10 ESV).
This was one area where God could see their commitment to Him through their repentance. The problem with repentance is that there is always a consequence to it. When we turn away from our sins, we stop enjoying the pleasure of our sins.
Soon, reality smacked the people across the face, and they realized that life was much harder without their slaves. Instead of holding fast to their repentance and following the Law of God,
“But afterward they turned around and took back the male and female slaves they had set free, and brought them into subjection as slaves.” (Jeremiah 34:11 ESV).
God sees this and addresses it through the prophet. Repentance is pleasing in the Lord's eyes when we sacrifice the pleasures sins bring, but if we love our sins more, our momentary repentance is futile.
This is where we need to focus on our heart for God. Are we truly ready to lay down our lives for God, or are we secretly holding to the pleasures of sin? Are we unwilling to truly walk away from our sins?
Of course, we may stumble after we repent, but a penitent heart will turn to the Lord and continue to walk away from sin. But if we refuse to give up what God calls sin, then we are in the same position that the people of Judah were in when they refused to walk with the Lord.
Repentance is what our God seeks. He loves a penitent heart and honors those who walk away from sin and turn to Him. But we must expect that we will have to sacrifice what pleasures sins bring us. If those pleasures are too important to us, then sin will capture our hearts.
Let us all be people who truly walk away from our sins and turn to the Lord with all of our hearts.
“You recently repented and did what was right in my eyes by proclaiming liberty, each to his neighbor, and you made a covenant before me in the house that is called by my name,
but then you turned around and profaned my name when each of you took back his male and female slaves, whom you had set free according to their desire, and you brought them into subjection to be your slaves.
“Therefore, thus says the LORD: You have not obeyed me by proclaiming liberty, every one to his brother and to his neighbor; behold, I proclaim to you liberty to the sword, to pestilence, and to famine, declares the LORD. I will make you a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth.” (Jeremiah 34:15-17 ESV).
In my book, The Sovereignty of God, I spend time talking about the importance in not trying to put a Sovereign God on trial by demanding that He explain why He doesn't answer our prayers the way we want.
Another thing we must guard against is trying to put God on trial by demanding He explain why He commands or forbids what He reveals to us.
While sincere questions can help mature our faith in Him, those questions must be used to help us understand His will, not to question His wisdom or right to command and forbid what He does.
A sovereign God cannot be forced to explain His actions to an inferior, created creature. This is what Job learned, and this was one thing Nebuchadnezzar learned when he said that no one can say to God, “What have You done?”
Let us all be careful when questioning our sovereign God that we do so for understanding and not to put God on trial in our hearts.