The Source of Courage to Speak the Word of God
I. It’s Impossible to be a godly, obedient Christian, and at the same time have a casual relationship to God’s Truth (Josh 1:8).
A. In passages such as Deuteronomy 6 and Psalm 78; 119; and 145, it was evident that the role of the believer is that of a perpetual “truth speaker.” The obedient Christian must come to the point
where he can tell himself, “I am not loving the people around me properly unless I am willing to speak God’s truth to them!” When the truth of God is backed up by a godly life its proclamation heals, feeds, corrects, equips, preserves, builds up, and establishes the listener. The godly individual understands that the spiritual state of those in his or her sphere depends upon a willingness to speak God’s truth.
When we examine the example of the Old Testament Prophets and the example of Jesus and the Apostles, it is obvious that their truth speaking was pointed—it was not general, but filled with penetrating application for their listeners. It is at this juncture that our courage is most likely to fail. We fear being the “heavy,” a meddler, or regarded as judgmental, hypocritical, or as “holier than thou.”
What enabled men like Elihu, Elijah, Daniel, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Phinehas to fearlessly speak the truth when they were a minority of one? The answer lies in their zeal for God’s honor and glory. They knew that all of history is but a record of the honoring and dishonoring of God, and that only those who honor God will ultimately stand (1 Sam 2:30).
B. That man or woman who is willing to risk misunderstanding and rejection for the sake of the
truth also knows that the proclamation of God’s truth often involves a crossroads or turning point for the hearer. God commands repentance from those who hear His truth. There must be ongoing repentance through which our affections and will are repeatedly conformed to God’s truth. Our progress and spiritual well-being are bound up in the love of the truth and in ongoing repentance (1 Tim 4:14-16). The better we understand this, the more willing we will be to speak God’s truth without fear.
II. In order for a believer to excel at speaking the truth, he must first be accomplished at using the Sword of Truth on himself (1 Tim 4:14-16).
A. Those who are skilled at wielding the Sword of Truth are first of all animated by God’s truth;
they desire God’s truth in their innermost being (Ps 51:6). The godly individual rejects the notion that truth for the believer need not rise above mental assent. God’s truth has no power over a person unless the truth is loved. Where God’s truth is loved, it will be central in our conversations (Zech 8:16; Mal 3:16; Deut 6:4-9; 11:18 19). Only when God’s truth controls the affections can it dominate exceptionally in our lives so as to renew us and transform us (Rom 12:1-2). The faithful believer ultimately can only preach with conviction what he has first preached to his own heart. He can only call for repentance only where the truth has produced ongoing repentance in his own life. He can only communicate with passion the truth of God written on his own heart by the Spirit of God.
B. Truth in the inner man equips us to speak God’s truth (Ps 145). What must be uttered from the
mountain tops must begin as ‘conversations’ in the heart. We could refer to this as the principle of the enlarged sphere. There is a logical progression in the enlargement of a Christian’s sphere of spiritual influence. Each step of progression is stipulated on faithfulness in the previous step:
- The godly person speaks truth in his own heart. He loves the truth in the inner man. He applies the truth to himself in ongoing repentance. 2.) The man or woman of God speaks truth in the home, faithfully fulfilling the mandate to be a source of edification. The spiritual individual speaks truth in the Body of Christ. He or she exercises their respective spiritual gifts for the edification of the body. The obedient Christian is able to admonish his fellow believer by means of the Word (Rom 15:14). 4.) He speaks the truth of the gospel with boldness to a lost and dying generation. Power and boldness in evangelism and outreach must be built upon the principle of the enlarged sphere. For each step of faithful stewardship of the Word not only prepares a person for the next step, but reveals the person’s own relationship to the truth.
III. The godly individual will not have conflict avoidance as his controlling motive (2 Tim 3:12).
“Jesus promised those who would follow Him only three things. . .that they would be absurdly happy, entirely fearless, and always in trouble” (Gregg Levoy).
A. How can a Christian develop enough courage and boldness to stand upon, and speak their
convictions without fear of consequences? An important part of the answer to this question deals with an inescapable reality taught in Scripture: the godly individual will be misunderstood. It is par for the course. It follows therefore that progress in our journey toward godly courage is bound up in accepting the reality that we will face misunderstanding and rejection because of the truth. The Scriptures make it clear that all those who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted (2 Tim 3:12). Jesus prepared His followers for persecution by imbuing them with the fact that they should expect the same mistreatment that He experienced (Jn 15:18-16:4). Though we live in a land that protects the rights of believers, obedient Christians who stand in the truth will frequently experience rejection, ostracism, and discrimination. Our perspective amidst this mistreatment must embrace the following truth: it is an inestimable privilege to have the antipathy meant for Christ fall upon us (Jn 7:7; Acts 5:41; Col 1:24). Yet we must make sure it is not the believer who offends; but the divine message.
B. The fear of man brings a snare (Prov 29:25). The fear of God and the fear of man have always
been, not only incompatible, but inversely proportional to one another. The greater fear of God a man has, the less he will fear men. When by God’s grace a man answers the call of true discipleship, his fear of man will be overtaken and ultimately consumed by the fear of God. During His earthly ministry, Jesus faced “wanna be” followers who remained in bondage to the fear of man. Christ’s words in John 12:42-43 provide an authoritative record of these double minded individuals. “Nevertheless many even of the rulers believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they were not confessing Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God.”
Some might be quick to excuse the desire for human approval as simply a natural tendency in men that is not a serious sin. Jesus places this illicit craving under the spotlight in John 5:44. In this passage He warns that the fear of man is so serious, it can keep a person from faith and from living to the glory of God. “How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another, and
do not seek the glory that is from the one and only God?”
Again, lest we excuse this sin, let us remember that Jesus reserved one of His “Woes” for the sin of man-pleasing. “Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for in the same way their fathers used to treat the false prophets” (Luke 6:26). Jesus puts this issue into sharp relief – if we live for the praise and approval of men, we are not living for the glory of God. APPLICATION: We must repent of our “addiction” to the approval of men. We must admit to God that we have placed the praise of men above the approval of our Heavenly Father. We need to confess that our narcissistic desire to be liked by all has often stolen our courage to speak the truth in love. Those who are true believers in Christ are radically identified with Him— they abide in Him, obey Him, do His will found in His Word. Jesus tells His own that they must be willing to suffer for the sake of righteousness. All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted (2 Tim 3:12). An unwillingness to suffer for Christ’s sake is an indicator of unbelief (Rom 8:16-18). According to Romans chapter eight, the willingness to suffer for Christ’s sake is a direct result of the spiritual sight or vision which is associated with hope—the hope of glory to come when we will be with Christ forever.
Are we willing to endure even the smallest insult for Christ’s sake? Jesus said to His disciples, “If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you” (Jn 15:20). We are not above our Master. We must be willing to be misunderstood for Christ’s sake. Our Lord indicated in John 15:18-16:4 that because His followers are not of the world, the world will not extend its acceptance to us. Jesus indicates that we need to know these things lest we stumble when we are treated poorly because of our testimony in Christ (Jn 16:1). In the parable of the soils, it was the temporary ‘believer’ who fell away when persecution was encountered. This is a serious thing—a more revealing litmus test than most professing believers are will to admit: Am I willing to suffer for Christ’s sake; for the sake of righteousness? Only true believers are willing to do so.
C. The way out of peer pressure is to find strong satisfaction in God. True salvation plants in the
believer a savor for spiritual things, for things above where Christ is (Col 3:1-4). At salvation we become God’s beloved possession (Titus 2:11-14). We are bought with a price—God has taken possession of us—from then on we are to glorify God in our bodies, in our speech, and in our thoughts (1 Cor 6:19-20). The change on a person wrought by the gospel is a work of sovereign power which produces joy in God. The gospel gives us God; it gives us His glory—it lets us ‘taste’ God’s goodness (Ps 34:8). To taste God’s goodness through the cross of Christ is to be delivered from the idolatrous love of the world.
The Apostle Paul states, “But may it never be that I should boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (Gal 6:14). Notice verse 15, for Paul, the ‘world’ (in its pull of peer pressure and its constant drumbeat of temporal values) was tantamount to the honor, reputation, and acceptance he sought by conforming his outer life to the dictates of Judaism—the very thing for which he was praised by his peers prior to his conversion.
Jonathan Edwards had it right, true religion consists primarily in the affections. If you search your affections by means of Scripture; you will discover what you love most. The gospel applied to an individual causes our deepest yearnings to be met by Christ. Then and only then does your Creator become your Redeemer. His particular love for His people constrains them, animates them, makes them willing to live for their Lord instead of living selfishly (2 Cor 5:14-15). The gospel detaches us from the idolatrous relationship we had with the world and makes us a true child of God. At the moment of salvation, the Holy Spirit joins us to Another, to Christ that we might bear fruit for God (Rom 7:4-5).
IV. The greater our ambition to please Christ, the more courage we will have to speak the Word (2 Cor 5:9).
A. The ambition to please our Lord is filled with the eschatological hope of favorably greeting Him
at His imminent return. Courage is a byproduct of living to please Christ. When Christ’s approval towers over all other sources of approval, courage becomes second nature.
Those who live to please Christ have the reality of the coming judgment seat of Christ etched on their consciousness (2 Cor 5:9, 10).
B. Living to please Christ is a measure of our reverential fear of God. Those who live for Christ’s
approval are continually weighing the glory to come against temporal losses (2 Cor 4:17, 18). As a consequence, their value system is constantly adjusted to heaven’s standard. This fact alone enables us to see how impotent our fellow creatures are when they attempt to rightly appraise us
(1 Cor 4:3-4). Spurgeon hit the bull’s eye when he said, “Compared to what my heavenly Father thinks of me, the opinions of men are like so many chirping sparrows.”
APPLICATION: The one we strive most to please will necessarily be our primary evaluator. In other words, the one we seek to please will always wind up evaluating our efforts at pleasing them. In effect, we are somewhat suspended upon their approval or disapproval of us. God has an incredibly liberating solution to this problem. Not only are we to make sure that all we do is in done in love (1 Cor 16:14), but we are to do all to the glory of God (1 Cor 10:31). Paul argues that our pleasing of men must spring from the goal not of seeking our own profit, but from the motive of seeking the other person’s eternal welfare (1 Cor 10:32-33; Rom 15:1-7). This perspective places all of our relationships under the eye of Christ’s scrutiny. The point is we are most free and obedient when our actions are “as for the Lord rather than for men” (Col 3:22-24).
V. The more we regard Christ to be our “Source Person” for life, the more courage we will have to speak the Word (Col 3:4).
A. The more our hope and expectations are consolidated in Christ, the more we will be delivered
from the fear and worship of the creature. What is our source; which ‘well’ do we draw from? The love and approval of men is incredibly fickle. Christ alone loves us with immutable love. Frequently the love shown by our fellows seldom rises above self interest. Most commonly, the love of the creature is not a supernatural love that is mediated by Christ. Instead it is a natural love that goes no higher than the perceived virtue of its object. Our fellow creatures cannot answer or fill our deepest yearnings—we were created to find our all and all in the Lord. Fellow sinners do not carry our worth, security, and dignity.
When we mistakenly assume they do, our courage dries up. Christ alone is our “Source Person.” He alone deserves to be regarded as the unfailing channel of every resource we need. By union with Him, we have a status before God of favor, righteousness, security, and sonship (1 Cor 1:30). Our Lord is a jealous lover, when we attribute too much ability to the creature to serve as a source to us, God may allow us to experience deep disappointment. At times the Lord even orchestrates our disillusionment that we might understand that He alone is Source. We can all recall times in which the nurture, praise, and resources heaped upon us by a fellow creature proved in the end to flow from mercenary motives.
B. The more highly we esteem our justification in Christ, the more courage we will have to speak
the Word. Salvation involves “moral trust” in God. Saving faith involves the consent to cast the whole welfare of the soul upon Christ that He might be our hiding place, Protector, and Deliverer. To the degree that we make it a habit to look to Christ for our status, security, favor, and acceptance, our penchant for self-righteousness will be mortified. By these daily, fresh acts of faith toward our Savior, we affirm that all of our eligibility before God for blessing is carried by Christ. All future grace and every future installment of divine blessing and kindness have all been secured for us by our Savior’s Person and work.
Like the Publican who saw his only hope to be God’s mercy, the man who treasures his justification in Christ will define himself primarily as an object of divine love and compassion. This mindset has a powerful impact upon our work and service.
APPLICATION: Since our lower natures always tend to pull us in the direction of legal working and performance, we need a daily diet of the gospel to remind us that our status, favor, acceptance, and security are all carried by Christ. Our labor, our fruit-bearing, and even our integrity must be to the glory of Christ and not to ourselves. He must have all the credit, for we are His workmanship (Eph 2:10).
When we drift away from overflowing gratitude for our justification in Christ, we will slide imperceptibly onto the foundation of our own performance. If we keep moving in that direction, we will find ourselves burning incense to our own achievements. A legal motive will raise its specter, deepening our craving for the approbation of men. When beholden to men for the praise of our works, we will lack courage to speak the whole counsel of God. When utterly beholden to Christ who carries our justification, we will be liberated unto the exercise of courage for the good of our neighbor. Paul asserts that Christ is the believer’s life (Gal 2:20; Col 3:4). As we have seen in this section, to the degree that we cast our entire lot in with Christ so that He is regarded as the entire support of the soul we will have courage. If our persons are propped up upon corruptible, mutable supports, we will lack courage. When our well being is leveraged upon the creature, we shy away from taking the risk of boldly declaring the truth of God’s Word.
C. Courage is the result of habitual dependency upon the Lord. The less dependent I am upon the
creature, the more courage I will have to speak the truth to my fellow man. By way of example, Daniel was ostensibly dependent upon Belshazzar for employment and political freedom. Yet due to Daniel’s conviction that God was the sole, sovereign source of his care, provision, and protection, the prophet was not afraid to reprove the profane monarch (Dan 5:22, 23).
VI. The more reverence we have for God entrusting us with His Word, the greater our courage will be to speak it (Jer 23:28, 29).
A. God has made us His ambassadors. Knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men (2 Cor
5:11). The Apostle Paul saw his role as a proclaimer of the Word of God to be a sacred trust that carried massive accountability. What is striking about Paul’s testimony in Acts 20 is that his faithfulness was joined to the fact that he was never mute when God required him to speak the Word. “Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God” (Acts 20:26, 27).
B. Man’s need is beyond human agency. As redeemed men, we carry in our hearts and hands
the divine solution to man’s ruinous problem. We are armed with the living and abiding Word of God (Heb 4:12). Paul solemnly charged Timothy in the presence of God to “Preach the Word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction” (2 Tim 4:1, 2). Timothy was to see his task of proclaiming the Word as nothing less than the very means of insuring the salvation of his listeners (1 Tim 4:16). Paul repeatedly warned Timothy against the error of allowing timidity and neglect to interfere with his sacred charge of teaching, preaching, and exhorting.
APPLICATION: As followers of Christ, we have been entrusted by God with His almighty, living, sword of truth. We’ve seen from Paul’s letters to Timothy that this sword of truth must not be allowed to remain unused like a stainless steel blade stuck in a rusty scabbard. Those in our sphere; family, neighbors, co-workers, friends, are in need of hearing the Word of truth from us. As with Timothy’s congregation, God has strategically placed us in a position to speak the truth to those around us. The means God intends to use in their salvation and sanctification is tied to our faithfulness in speaking the Word with courage.
When considering how God had entrusted him with the Gospel, Paul saw himself as a debtor to both Jews and Greeks (Rom 1:14). This same principle of obligation applies to us. The Lord has called us to courageously use the “sword” issued to us in order to encourage, reprove, exhort, instruct, equip and admonish. It will take courage to swing the sword in each of these arcs and orbs of application, but God expects nothing less from us as Christian men.
VII. The clear conscience of the believer who abides in Christ will show itself in courage (Acts 24:15, 16).
A. We cannot make a penetrating application of God’s Word to those around us unless we
ourselves welcome personal examination by God’s Word (Ps 139: 23-24; Heb 4:12). Courage in speaking the Word is dependent upon a clear conscience before God and men (Acts 24:15, 16). Even one sin or lust “banging around” in the conscience is enough to dull the edge of our courage. Timothy’s success in proclaiming the Word with courage depended upon his maintaining a clear conscience (1 Tim 1:5, 19; 3:9).
B. God’s answer to our fear and weakness is found in the mandate to abide in Christ. “But if we
walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). In order for us to exercise courage, the blood of the Son of God must be the loudest voice in our conscience. In order for God’s justice at the cross to be believed and reckoned so as to silence the Accuser, we must habitually be mortifying sin by the power of the Holy Spirit (Rom 8:12-14).
In the final analysis, God is the source of our courage. We are to allow our hearts to take courage (Ps 27:14; 31:24). The ability to act in courage is a function of waiting on the Lord. Faith’s object is the goodness of the Lord and the confident expectation that He will preserve the faithful, and empower them to bear witness to the truth (Jn 15:26, 27).
APPLICATION: The same man (Simon Peter) who turned coward when questioned by a servant girl preached the Pentecost sermon less than two months later. The Apostle Peter’s radical move from fear to courage, according to the book of Acts, was the result of two factors. First, he had been with Jesus. “Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John, and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were marveling, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13). Second, Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit. “Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, ‘Rulers and elders of the people. . .’” (Acts 4:8). Those around us need our courage in speaking the Word of God. It was a penitent King David who prayed, “Restore to me the joy of Thy salvation, and sustain me with a willing spirit. Then I will teach transgressors Thy ways, and sinners will be converted to Thee” (Ps 51:11, 12). The next generation is depending upon our courage. They are waiting for our faithfulness. They will not put their confidence in God unless they see the faith of their fathers and hear from their dads the joy of God, the works of God, and commands of God (Ps 78:3-8).
VIII. The power of a holy life is beyond calculation: we must challenge those in our sphere with the biblical standard for honoring God.
A. The true believer is Christ’s representative and ambassador. The Christian is radically identified
with Christ—meaning that the believer’s identity, calling, purpose, conduct, and values are determined by his Lord. Wherever he goes the believer is aware of this role. Therefore we cannot be ashamed of Christ and His words no matter what the people around us might say (Mark 8:35-38). The true believer must choose speech which communicates that he is God’s servant (Ps 37:30; Eph 4:15, 29; Rom 15:14).
The true believer must see him or herself as ‘salt and light’ in every situation (Matt 5:12-16). This means that because you belong to God and have tasted the goodness of the Lord, you are to be a source of spiritual influence to those around you. Young believers often shy away from this role fearing that they will appear to be the heavy; the wet blanket on someone’s fun (and thus receive scorn for speaking up). The child of God is required by the Lord to choose words which bring grace and edification to those around them (Eph 4:29). In a sense the Christian does not have ‘free speech’—he or she is not at liberty to say anything they might feel like saying. We are to carefully choose words which build up those around us and demonstrate our love of the truth.
B. Pleasing the Lord first allows us to exercise spiritual discernment—we need to realize that
everyone bears a relationship to the ancient lie uttered in the Garden of Eden. There are dupes of the lie; there are promoters of the lie; and there are escapees from the lie. An ‘escapee’ is the language used in 2 Peter 1:4. There is no neutrality in the war for eternal souls. Our young people often have more willingness to warn a pet that is dangerously near traffic than to speak up when a friend is about to enter a self-destructive sinful behavior.
IX. So often the pressure to be silent regarding the truth of Scripture involves the social enforcement of unbiblical ‘scorecards’.
A. Jesus indicated that what men highly esteem is detestable in the sight of God (Luke 16:15).
That is equivalent to choosing the wrong scorecard in life. Gaining the whole world and losing one’s soul in the process is ultimate failure in the eyes of Jesus (Mk 8:36).
Are you certain you are using the correct life ‘scorecard’? If you brought a bowling scorecard to a baseball game you would not have a place to record runs, hits, and errors. The scorecard analogy is a way of describing that for which a person is living—is he living for the right or wrong meaning of life?
B. The Apostle Paul gives us the correct ‘scorecard’—the only one based upon an eternal value
system in Philippians 3:8 where he states that “. . . I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Jesus Christ my Lord. . .” (By ‘scorecard’ we mean the standard by which one’s life is measured.) In this passage in Philippians, the Apostle is explaining to us that to have the knowledge of the Lord as our highest priority means that we will repudiate all other scorecards as counterfeits. Paul regards all the things that were formerly gain to him to be rubbish in comparison to the privilege of knowing Christ.
C. Popular culture has institutionalized the wrong scorecards and sold them to this generation
through entertainment and marketing—pop culture has helped make the ancient lie in Eden the mainstream belief system. The entertainment industry seems dead set on inducing infatuation with the world’s scorecards. The rejection of biblical values and widespread acceptance of temporal values by our society places our young people in a bind. In an effort to cope and strive for social acceptance, young believers often imagine that they are able to keep score on two conflicting scorecards. Christ Jesus tells us that no man can serve two masters (Luke 16:13). It is impossible to be devoted to the Lord and at the same time to live for the glory that men give.
The broad road that leads to destruction is lined with the world’s ‘scorecards’—what the world esteems. Our young people are in desperate need of hearing the truth that nothing positive survives beyond the grave except for one’s relationship with God and with the brethren. The very essence of eternal life is: knowing God (Jn 17:3). Faith working through love is what will survive eternally (Gal 5:6). The natural man has no faculty of soul to find ultimate value in eternal treasure; he cannot see above the horizon of this earth. Only by regeneration are we given eyes to see and ears to hear. Only by the new birth will we truly have an eternal value system. Therefore, we should not be surprised when the world derides our scorecard as pie in the sky. The Apostle John tells us why, “They speak as from the world and the world listens to them” (1 Jn 4:5). You will be misunderstood and your scorecard will be maligned. The question is Christian, have you prepared yourself to be misunderstood by the world—for what Jesus said would take place?
D. Faith in God’s Word lets us navigate by our biblical scorecard (eternal values). Faith is the
victory for the saint. Those without saving faith can only operate by natural sight and sense. No wonder unbelievers misrepresent the content of our scorecard with its eternal values (Col 3:1-4). Having an eternal value system does not mean that we should shy away from excelling in legitimate earthly pursuits. We still achieve in this world; we still strive for excellence; but it is for Christ’s sake. He is our boast, our glory. We do not boast in earthly achievements (Jer 9:23-24); for the knowledge of God is man’s only true glory. Victory is inseparable from the cross of Christ applied to our sin natures. Christ became of no reputation for our sakes. He asks us to be willing to bear His reproach (Heb 13:13). Praise God for the cross of Christ which makes us true disciples—the cross secures our loyalty to Christ and the cross produces our revolt against sin (2 Cor 5:14-15; Titus 2:11-14; Rom 6:1-18).
E. Only by a cross-centered life will the believer be able to escape the peer pressure trap to serve
God with freedom and effectiveness. To live for Christ’s approval is to be delivered from our addiction to the approval of man (2 Cor 5:9). To be controlled by Christ’s love is to not be controlled by the love of the world (2 Cor 5:14-17). Victory over peer pressure comes only by replacing the love of the temporal with the love of Christ, and by replacing the approval of man with the approval of God.
APPLICATION: Are we afraid to utter the ultimatum which came from the lips of Joshua? Do we fear calling for a crystal clear choice? “Now therefore, fear the Lord and serve Him in sincerity and truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. And if it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Josh 24:14-15). The words of Joshua set the choice into bold contrast—an antithesis or radical tension between the two options of idolatry or the worship of the Lord. Joshua is a realist. He does not assume that the Israelites will automatically follow the Lord. Therefore he calls for a decision; a turning point; a crossroad; just as we ought to do.
XII. As Christians who are following the Lord, we must be ever aware that those who need our witness and spiritual care are facing a constant choice between true worship and idolatry.
A. The evangelical church is in a state of spiritual crisis because of the advance of a cultural
Christianity which bears little resemblance to biblical Christianity. Countless professing believers have never counted the cost of following Christ and His righteousness. For the very reasons cited by John and James, to live righteously and godly in this present world will involve suffering for the sake of the truth. Many believers have never come to terms with this reality— that living a righteous life loyal to Christ in a fallen world held captive by the evil one will necessarily involve opposition, misunderstanding, rejection, and suffering (Jn 15:18-21ff.). We are told in 1 John 5:19, “We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.” James tells us something similar, “You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God” (James 4:4).
B. In Peter’s first epistle we learn that a willingness to suffer for Christ and righteousness is never
a haphazard decision—it involves a faith-based resolve coming from the whole soul of a man. A willingness to suffer for Christ and righteousness involves taking on the mindset of Christ as a form of personal spiritual armor. Peter summarizes this attitude of preparation in the following verse: “Therefore, since Christ has suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same purpose, because he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts of men, but for the will of God” (1 Pet 4:1-2). APPLICATION: Again we see a radical contrast, a tension, an antithesis set before us—it is the will of God set in contradistinction to the lusts of men. And, the power to keep choosing the will of God comes from Christ’s victory given to believers, “And He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross , that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed” (1 Pet 2:24). Peter attributes the ultimate cause of our victory over sin to Christ’s finished work of substitution at Calvary. We are to appropriate this victory by ongoing faith in the gospel. But Peter goes further in equipping the saints to suffer for Christ and righteousness by urging believers to adopt a particular insight. Christians are to make peace with the fact that their godly testimony in the world is tied to a willingness to suffer for the sake of righteousness: “For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men” (1 Pet 2:15).
C. Christ’s finished work gives us the power to live righteously (to die to sin and live to
righteousness) and also the example of suffering for righteousness sake. Living for Christ and righteousness will necessarily involve suffering in this evil and darkened world. “For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously” (1 Pet 2:21-23). Following Christ as His disciple entails imitating His example of meekness during suffering.
D. To yield to the fear of man is an attempt to get through this life without experiencing the
suffering that is the privilege and calling of every true believer. Christ warns that those who wish for the world’s approval will not have the Lord’s approval on judgment day. “For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits himself?” “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when He comes in His glory, and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels” (Luke 9:25-26). Jesus describes the love of one’s own life in the world and the love of the world as being ashamed of Christ and His words. The two lifestyles have values which are mutually exclusive.
APPLICATION: Christ’s reproach is only sweet and desirable to those who glory in their Savior and His blessed atoning work. It is finding life in the world; or finding life in Christ. The world despises the fact that we find life in Christ and not in its system. To be a true disciple of Christ is to be radically identified with Christ so that the negativity meant for Him actually has a chance to land on you. Paul understood this perfectly: “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I do my share on behalf of His body (which is the church) in filling up that which is lacking in Christ’s afflictions” (Col 1:24). Paul is saying that all true believers comprise Christ’s body on earth, and that the world is not done expressing its hostility to Christ. Therefore, since Christ is ascended in heaven, the world cannot reach Him with their hatred. So the world takes out its aggression toward the Savior on us—Christ’s followers. A willingness to take the mistreatment meant for Christ is to be the mindset of every true believer.
E. Our willingness to identify with Christ’s reproach is part of our courage as well as our worship
and devotion to Christ. There is no halfway house between Christ and the world. We are radically identified with one or the other. Scripture exhorts us to deepen our identification with Christ. “Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood, suffered outside the gate. Hence, let us go out to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach for here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come” (Heb 13:12-14). APPLICATION: This is a striking passage—it pictures individuals as either inside the camp (and thus NOT identified with Christ’s sufferings), or outside the camp gladly bearing Christ’s reproach. Our willingness to speak God’s truth turns upon this: either we are joining Christ outside the camp for the sake of the gospel, identifying with the suffering and reproach He bore on our behalf, OR, we are inside the city gates of this world, insulating ourselves from the reproach of Christ. Those who demand the acceptance of this world have their hearts set on the temporary ‘city of this world.’ Those who are radically identified with Christ have left what John Bunyan described as the City of Destruction (the love of this present world) and are pilgrims journeying to the Celestial City (the kingdom of heaven) promised in Hebrews 13:14. Praise be to God that Christ has given us ‘kingdom hope’—a hope motivates us to seek holiness (1 Jn 3:2-3), and a hope which gives us the courage to speak God’s truth in season and out of season.