May 22, 2011

If you sign up for the Marines you probably already know what you are in for. The first week, or so of boot camp is designed to break you down. You will be confused and disoriented. Complete obedience to the drill instructor is critical. Everything is ordered according to a specific regiment. You are sleep deprived and pushed to every physical and mental limit you have.

It helps to know what you are signing up for before you sign up. If you don’t like math, you won’t want to become an engineer. If you don’t like biology and chemistry, you will have a difficult time becoming a doctor.

Now what are the expectations involved in becoming a Christian? I mean, becoming a Christian is not like joining a fan club, where you register your name and get special advanced invitations for tickets and things. It’s not like buying life insurance where all you’ve got to do is pay the premiums.

Becoming a Christian involves entering in a life that is lived 24/7. You enter into the life of Jesus Christ. In Matthew 10 Jesus is instructing his disciples about the importance of reaching lost people. He doesn’t sugar coat it. In fact, believers who share the Gospel should expect to be mistreated for Christ.

 

I. BEWARE OF THE WORLD’S HOSTILITY TO THE GOSPEL. Mt.10:16-25

Let me make a couple of immediate observations. Jesus is the one who is setting us up to face the hostility of the world. In saying this I certainly do not mean to imply that there is anything deceptive in the way Jesus treats his followers. Jesus is very up front about what he is doing. He is the one who is sending his disciples into the world like sheep among wolves. Why is he doing this? He’s doing it because the world needs the gospel. Christians who live for Christ and who spread the gospel always run the risk of being like sheep among wolves in the world. Sheep are completely helpless when surrounded by wolves. Sheep have no offensive capabilities. They are like sitting ducks.

A second observation is that because Christians are not of this world, the world will always be antagonistic towards Christians. This world is not a friend to grace. The ways and systems of this world are rooted in a self-determining, independence from God. So anyone who knows God and loves God and lives for God in Jesus Christ, is at odds with the world

Here Jesus tries to prepare his disciples for engaging the world with the Gospel. Knowing that the world is hostile towards the gospel, Jesus says that his followers must be both shrewd and innocent. In other words we want to do our best to avoid conflicts and attacks, but not at the cost of integrity and righteous living. We must use caution and yet avoid being suspicious of anyone and everyone.

What can we expect from the world? Jesus tells us that as we take the gospel into the world we can expect to be turned over to the local governing authorities. In other words, we are not just talking about personal hostility between two people. We are talking about political hostility. But in v.21-22, we see that it certainly involves personal hostility as well. Family members will turn on one another. Jesus says that it could even be that all men will hate you.

Now the immediate context involved conflict between the Jewish community and followers of Christ. But in v.18 Jesus extends the horizon to include the whole world. His followers would be brought before Gentile governors and kings. In the first case, we see that Christianity does not square with the state religion of Israel. In the second case, we see that Christianity often does not square with autocratic rulers who demand complete loyalty. And we quickly see that Jesus is not just talking about that moment when he was sending out the twelve. Instead, Jesus is taking into view the events found in the book of Acts and beyond.

Those first Christians in Israel had to be willing to be thrown out of the synagogue and be excommunicated from Judaism for Christ’s sake. The Christians in Asia and Europe had to decide whether they would worship Caesar by offering incense to him, or worship God alone. These scenarios have been repeated over all the years of church history, including today. In some countries, just being a Christian is enough to land you in prison and worse, let alone sharing the gospel. But do not miss something important. When Jesus tells them that they would be handed over to the authorities, you notice in v.18 that Jesus views that as another opportunity for witness. Whatever happens to us, the goal is to stand as a witness to Jesus Christ.

So here we are in America or the west, and we face no persecution. O I realize that Christians are maligned on T.V. and there are organizations that are always ready to haul us into court over a constitutional right, but few of us have faced any real persecution. Is the problem that we are not strong enough in our witness? Well, that could be part of it. But my sense is that the west, and especially the United States, has been thoroughly Christianized over a long period of years, so that, even though much of that Christian influence has waned, we still enjoy significant freedom and acceptance.

Having said this, the tables could turn at any time. Pick up the recent biography on Bonhoeffer by Eric Metaxas and read about how Hitler’s government tried to circumvent and destroy the Christian church. Their tactics were not even all that subtle and yet many professing Christians compromised their faith in Christ. When severe economic conditions combine with nationalism and a need for safety and security, we are vulnerable to compromise our faith. So what are we to do? Let’s look at what else Jesus has to say.

 

II. DEPEND UPON THE HOLY SPIRIT. Mt.10:19-20

Every so often you hear a Christian brother or sister extolling the virtues of just teaching or preaching off the top of one’s head and letting the Holy Spirit provide the content. I have never been a fan of that kind of thinking. I’m not saying that the Holy Spirit can’t provide the content, but generally the Holy Spirit does not honor a lack of preparation. There are few legitimate excuses for sloppy preaching or teaching. Jesus is not talking about that. Rather Jesus is talking about a very specific situation of being brought to a trial of some sort for the cause of Christ.

These are situations in which one rarely knows how to prepare. One doesn’t have a clue about what is going to happen. Listen to how Paul described his feelings when attacked for the cause of Christ in 2Cor.1:8-9. “We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.” In situations like this, the mind doesn’t work as well.

So Jesus encourages his followers by telling them not to worry about what to say or how to say it. When the time comes, the Holy Spirit will give you the words to say. In fact, Jesus says that at that time, you will not be the one speaking. O your lips will be moving. Your voice will be heard. You mind will be engaged, but the content will come from the Holy Spirit of your Father in heaven. Well, how cool is this! Our heavenly Father cares so much about us that he gives us the very words to speak through his Holy Spirit.

I’m reminded of Peter and John in Acts 3-4. When they went to the temple, they healed a man crippled from birth who could not walk. The healing caused such a commotion that the Jewish authorities seized Peter and John and put them in jail. The next day the Jewish authorities met and had Peter and John brought before them. They asked, “...By what power or what name did you do this?’ Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed, then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. He is ’the stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone. Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” Clearly here is an example of what Jesus is talking about in Matthew 10. The Holy Spirit gave Peter the words to say. And notice that Peter boldly proclaimed Christ in front of the Jewish leaders.

Now I realize that we are probably not going to be hauled off to jail here in the United States. But that doesn’t mean we will not face difficult situations in front of unbelievers. Many Christian people have been harassed by employers, family members, and college professors. When we are put on the spot we trust the Holy Spirit to give us the words to say.

III. ENDURE TO THE END. Mt.10:22

Ray Pritchard, the former pastor of Calvary Memorial Church now leads a ministry called, Keep Believing Ministries. Ray has an extensive internet ministry. He also does a lot of speaking and he has a focus on encouraging the believers in China. The name, “Keep Believing,” came out of Ray’s desire to encourage believers to endure to the end; to keep believing in this time when Secularism and Atheism are the watch words of our society.

The fact is, there are any number of professing believers who stop believing. In the face of trial, sorrow, sickness, tragedy, etc, they turn away from Christ. They cease believing. One can only imagine that when facing persecution, seeds of doubt are sown into the heart of the believer. Questions like, “Why would a loving God allow me to go through this,” weigh down the heart. Jesus said that we need to be ready to be hated by all men.

If you become an evangelical Christian in Laos, the communist neighbor of Vietnam and Cambodia, you likely will be “asked” to sign a fill-in-the-blank form. And it’s not a membership card at your neighborhood church. The form reads, in part, “I, (name), who live in (location), believe in a foreign religion, which the imperialists have used for their own benefit to divide the united front and to build power for themselves against the local authorities. Now I and my family clearly see the intentions of the enemy and regret the deeds which we have committed. We have clearly seen the goodness of the Party and the Government. Therefore, I and my family voluntarily and unequivocally resign from believing in this foreign religion.” If you sign, you promise not to participate in this “foreign religion"-Christianity in every reported case-under punishment of law. If you don’t sign, you can expect humiliation, harassment, and persecution, including probable imprisonment and torture. The document’s widespread use by Laotian officials has been authenticated by the World Evangelical Fellowship’s Religious Liberty Commission and other sources. Hundreds of rural Christians reportedly have been forced to sign the form in public, then compelled to participate in animistic sacrifices.” Well, how would you and I fare if subjugated to such treatment? It’s only those who endure to the end who are saved. To endure is to remain loyal to Jesus Christ.

Now we embrace the doctrine of eternal security. In other words we believe that when a person is truly saved, that person is saved forever. However we also believe that a person who is saved forever will endure to the end. I have met professing believers who made some kind of profession of faith when they were young and then as they grew older they grew further away from Christ. One person told me that her spiritual birthday took place in VBS when she was a girl on such and such a date. But to the best of my knowledge she was not a Christ follower. She does not appear to be enduring to the end. Is she saved? I wouldn’t say she isn’t saved, but nor would I give her any assurance of salvation. Praying a prayer doesn’t necessarily bring salvation. If a person does not endure when there is no persecution, what would make us think they would endure in persecution?

How do we endure to the end? We endure by daily surrendering ourselves to the Holy Spirit. We endure by regularly reading and reflecting on the Word of God, along with the practice of other spiritual disciplines such as prayer and fasting. We endure by being actively involved in the local church where we can encourage one another. We endure by sharing Christ with others. We endure by turning away from sin and living a holy life. These are not rules or laws. These are growth and survival activities.

 

IV. FIX YOUR EYES ON JESUS. Mt.10:24-25

Men and women, Jesus is not only a significant historical person whose influence continues to be felt in the world. Jesus is a contemporary, living person who dwells in us and who empowers us and guides us through the Holy Spirit. He is our living King. We must think of Jesus as our default or primary “go to” person in all situations of life. In other words talking with Jesus about the situations of our lives is the way we live. It’s how we roll. You need a job? Well, Jesus knows all the potential jobs available. He knows what you need and it may not be what you think. As John the Baptist said in Jn.3:30, “He [Jesus] must become greater; I must become less.” As we yield and surrender our lives to Jesus he becomes the dominant authority of our lives and we live according to his ways and thoughts.

Now with this in mind, look at v.24-25. The student is not above his teacher. The servant is not above his master. Rather the student and servant seek to be like the teacher and the master. The way the teacher and master are treated is the way that the student and servant should expect to be treated. So the question is, “Is Jesus your Teacher? Is Jesus your Master?” If he is your Teacher and Master then you should not be surprised if you are treated like Jesus was treated. It raises another question.  When you turned to Jesus Christ, is this what you signed up for? Or perhaps the question should be phrased like this: Now that you are a follower of Jesus Christ, does this information change anything? Are you still on board with Jesus?

In Acts 5 we read that the Apostles were put in prison because they were healing many people and the Jewish leaders were jealous. That night an angel of the Lord, opened the doors of the jail and brought them out. The next day they were back at it, preaching the message of Christ. Again they were hauled in before the Jewish leaders. They had the apostles flogged and warned them to stop preaching about Jesus. Verse 41 says, “The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing  because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.” They rejoiced in persecution. Why? Because they were counted worthy of suffering for Jesus. Their eyes were fixed on Jesus. They saw their suffering in relationship to Jesus. If Jesus suffered and we are following Jesus, then we should not be surprised if we suffer for Jesus.

The year was A.D. 155, and the persecution against Christians swept across the Roman Empire and came to the city of Smyrna. The proconsul of Symrna, swept up in this persecution, put out an order that the Bishop of Symrna, Polycarp, was to be found, arrested, and brought to the public arena for execution. They found Polycarp and brought him before thousands of spectators screaming for blood. But the proconsul had compassion on this man who was almost a hundred years old. He signaled the crowd to silence. To Polycarp he said, “Curse the Christ and live.” The crowd waited for the old man to answer. In an amazingly strong voice, he said, “Eighty and six years have I served him, and he has done me no wrong. How dare I blaspheme the name of my king and Lord!” With that Polycarp became a martyr.

Well, has knowing and following Christ been worth it enough for you that you would give your life for him? Believers who share the Gospel should expect to be mistreated for Christ. Amen