Each individual pastor centered on a particular area of the cost of following Christ, but they both came to the same ultimate conclusion. There are many people within our churches today who are just playing church. There are many who have bought into a false gospel, often referred to as “easy believism,” and have thus bought into a false hope of salvation and eternal life. They have surrounded themselves with preachers who say what their tickling (desiring) ears want to hear, and they have rejected the sound doctrine of the Christian faith, as taught in the New Testament. So, these preachers are committed to letting people know that it costs us our lives to follow Christ, and it means total commitment to Jesus Christ, and a walk of faith that lives out what we say we believe.
After I listened to the second sermon today, I spent some time in prayer. Actually, I have been praying for several days concerning God’s calling on my life, how he wants me to spend my time each day, and how best for me to be his witness and to show his love to others. The first pastor was asked the question concerning how he maintains his passion for Christ every day. He admitted that he does not always feel passionate for Christ. I identified with his statement. Lately I have been struggling to get motivated in ministry, so I have been praying about that. So, these two sermons were very timely for me. They helped inspire me and to spur me on toward love and good deeds. They helped motivate me and to encourage me to keep on keeping on. I had been praying for God to renew my passion, and after listening to the second sermon, I felt as though God was answering my prayer. I inquired of the Lord concerning how I could best apply to my life and witness the things I just heard these men say. And, then the Lord brought this song to mind:
Keep On! / An Original Work / December 15, 2011
Praise the Lord! Praise Him now!
Before Him humbly bow.
Repent of your sins now.
Turn to Him; obey now.
Walk in fellowship with Him daily,
And abide in His truth.
He will forgive you,
And He’ll cleanse you,
And He’ll give you new life.
Trust in Him. He is truth.
He will not forsake you.
Rest in Him. Let Him lead.
He will meet all your needs.
Obey His ev’ry word to you,
And listen to all He says.
He will be faithful
In all His promises,
So rest in Him.
Do not bow – gods of men.
Let Christ rule in your hearts.
Do not stop – share your faith.
Keep on: speak Jesus’ name.
Share His truth with all He leads you to
Be a witness for Him.
Never yield to sin
Against your God.
Obey Him in ev’ry way.
http://youtu.be/3DB0CKmC1Gc
I prayed and cried through these words of this song in a renewed commitment to follow Christ and to be his servant and witness. I was especially encouraged by the second verse of the song where it speaks about trusting and resting in Christ, and letting him lead. I was encouraged by the reminder, again, that he will never forsake me, and that he will meet all my needs. And, lastly I was encouraged by the urging of the Holy Spirit to keep on sharing my faith, and to keep on speaking in the name of Jesus, i.e. in sharing his gospel message.
Then, I opened my Bible to read where I had left off reading this morning, and I read 2 Timothy 4:9-18 (NIV 1984):
Do your best to come to me quickly, for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia. Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry. I sent Tychicus to Ephesus. When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, and my scrolls, especially the parchments.
Alexander the metalworker did me a great deal of harm. The Lord will repay him for what he has done. You too should be on your guard against him, because he strongly opposed our message.
At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them. But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was delivered from the lion’s mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
My Understanding: Paul knew all too well the cost of following Christ. For one, one of his helpers in ministry had deserted him because he loved this world. 1 John 2:15-17 says, “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.” This is obviously not speaking about the people in the world, for God said that he loved the world, meaning the people in the world, so much so that he sent his one and only Son to die on the cross for our sins so that we, through faith, could have eternal life. This love of the world spoken of in 1 John, though, has to do with loving sinful cravings and desires. If we love the world, the love of the Father is not in us, but the person who does the will of God lives forever. So, here we have an example of the cost of following Christ – leave the world and its desires behind and follow Christ by doing his will for our lives.
Another person did Paul a great deal of harm, because he strongly opposed the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ. If we don’t have an accurate understanding of the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and if we have bought into the watered-down version of easy believism, and/or if we are not really sharing our faith, we won’t know what it means to face much opposition to our message. The watered-down version serves as no threat to Satan, because it does not send people to the cross of Christ, and it does not require them to die to their sins, to be crucified with Christ, and to walk in faith and obedience to Christ and his commands. Yet, Paul preached the whole gospel message, which is why the message was opposed. And, the whole gospel message is still opposed today, and sad to say by many Christians and Christian leaders and even pastors in our evangelical churches who have bought into the watered-down gospel. So, another cost of following Christ is that we will be rejected and opposed, even by church leaders, if we teach the whole gospel of Jesus Christ, which calls for repentance and obedience and death to sin and our old way of life. Both of these preachers I heard preached the whole gospel.
Paul was severely persecuted for his faith and testimony for Jesus Christ. He was ridiculed, criticized, even by church people, falsely accused, flogged, beaten, stoned and left for dead, and imprisoned for his faith and witness. It appears then, that the reference Paul made to his “first defense” had to do with an arrest and a public hearing, and that this may also be connected with Alexander and his opposition to the gospel message. Paul said that, at his first defense (maybe a pre-trial), no one came to his support, but everyone deserted him. I find this an interesting parallel to Christ Jesus when he was arrested and was being questioned by the authorities. All his disciples initially deserted him, too, and one of them denied him three times and even once vehemently, while another betrayed him and handed him over to the authorities. Yet, we know that John was with Jesus’ mother at the cross, so at least one of his disciples stood with him at his crucifixion. Yet, Paul could definitely identify with Jesus’ sufferings on so many levels. Paul definitely knew the cost of following Christ Jesus, but he also knew the blessings and rewards of such a decision. And, God used him and still uses him and his writings (God-breathed words into him) greatly in the lives of people in sharing with them the truth of the gospel and in leading them to salvation.
Jesus said, “Forgive them, Father, for they know not what they do.” Paul said, “May it not be held against them.” Stephen said something similar when he was being stoned to death for his testimony for Christ. These men serve as great examples to us as to how we are to respond to unjust suffering and false accusations and rejections of men. Although Paul left the judgment of Alexander up to God, and he did not desire to get even with him, his forgiveness of him did not translate to full acceptance of the man. He warned Timothy about him, so that Timothy might not fall victim to him. So, forgiveness does not necessarily equate a restoring of trust, if the person is still acting in an untrustworthy manner, and/or if there is still concern about the person’s motivations and actions. So, forgive, but exercise wisdom and discernment, too.
Even though Paul was deserted by his co-workers in the gospel, and even though he faced strong opposition to the gospel message, and was harmed by false accusations, and suffered the disgrace of false imprisonment, he did not cave under the pressure of it all. The Lord, if no one else, stood by his side and gave him strength, so that he could keep on preaching the gospel message, and so it might be “fully” (the whole gospel) proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. The true lion is Satan, and the Lord delivers us from Satan’s accusations against us when he delivers us from the fear of man and what man says about us. The Lord will rescue us from every evil attack of Satan by giving us the strength we need to endure the opposition, and to remain strong in our faith and commitment to Christ despite what persecutions we may face. And, in the end, the Lord Jesus will bring us safely into his eternal kingdom and we will be with the Lord forever! Amen!! To God be the glory for all that he does and accomplishes in us and through us in spreading the truth of his gospel message despite strong opposition, so that we can keep on keeping on in the faith.
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