Saturday, March 19, 2011

Faith on Trial

James 1:2-4 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

There is an unspeakable, indescribable joy in the “good news” of the gospel truth that our loving Creator God sent His Son to save believing, repentant sinners from eternal damnation to eternal life in heaven as adopted son and daughters. But the honest truth is that this is not “good” news to non-believers that are willfully lost in sinful living; that love that which is evil in the eyes of the Lord, because the eternal “lake of fire” of hell is their destiny. Author Chuck Colson writes; “The prevalent characteristics of our culture today are rampant narcissism, materialism, and hedonism … it is dominated almost entirely by relativism. The ‘do your own thing’ mindset has ‘liberated’ us from the absolute of faith & belief and set us adrift in a sea of nothingness. We’ve done away with any sense of individual responsibility. What delusions!” Therefore, those who oppose sovereign God’s Word, Will and Way, also oppose His plan of Salvation in their darkness. It then, naturally follows without surprise, that Christians will experience opposite and persecution from those who desire no mention of or judgment on their sinful lawlessness and godless distractions from their unrighteousness today, and the eternal consequences thereof.

John 16:33 Jesus said, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

I received this message recently in response to a Facebook post, where I wrote about my friends comment on the radical secular sexualization of America and a Bible verse: “Don’t read my sh*t. You have your beliefs and I have mine. Keep your beliefs to yourself, holier than thou. Get off your horse.” This is quite a statement in the free marketplace of ideas, and a nation where freedom of speech and religion are foundational principles. As Ambassadors for the kingdom of Heaven, we have been given a “cultural mandate” and “great commission” to bring the light of Christ’s gospel (the bread of life, the light of the world, the good shepherd, the Way, the Truth and the Life) and the Word of God into the darkness of this lost & dying world to point the way to the foot of the Cross of Salvation, speaking the truth in love.

1 Corinthians 1:18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

Years ago, while talking with my goddaughter about the duty of the child of God in taking the whole truth of God to the whole world, she replied (thinking of those who love their sin), “But, you will be hated”. John 15:17-19 This is my command: Love each other. “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.” Christians are not looking for trouble in their compassion to bring a “saving” knowledge of Jesus Christ to the world that does not know the gospel. Though unity in our LORD God - our Heavenly Father, in eternal truth, is the goal, opposition will come. We love, trust and obey God and our love our fellow man, not valuing friendship with and acceptance by the God-rejecting world and detesting sin.
1 Peter 1:8Whom having not seen, you love; in whom, though now you see Him not, yet believing, you rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory."

America’s great intellect and theologian, Jonathon Edwards of the “Great Awakening’ of the eighteenth century, in his classic work “Religious Affections” states that even the trial of our faith has a three-fold benefit. First, they show what is “true” religion. Trials suggest that the authenticity of faith is tested. The faith of true Christians which is tried and proved to be true is found to praise and honor and glory. Secondly, not only do trials manifest the truth, but also enhances the genuine, beauty and love of the gospel with the divine excellency of real Christianity. Thirdly, these trials purify and increase faith. They not only show it to be true, they also free it from false admixtures (cheap grace, blended faiths and easy believism). Nothing is left but that which is true. Edwards goes on to state that suffering trials of faith reveals, first, ‘love to Christ” because the natural world cannot see anything to induce themselves to suffer like this or to support them under the carrying of such trials. Believers have a supernatural love for something that was unseen. They love Jesus Christ whom they see spiritually, but the unbelief of the world does not see. Secondly, trials reveal “joy in Christ”. Christians have inward spiritual joys which are greater than their sufferings. Christ, by faith, is the fountain of all joy. It is unspeakable joy, because it is very different from the worldly joys and carnal fleshly delights. No words can describe the sublimity and exquisite sweetness of joy in Christ because God liberally gives Christians this holy joy, and their joy is full of glory. God wishes none to perish, but all to come to a ‘saving” knowledge of and make a rational choice for Jesus Christ, the Savior and Lord of the world. Let’s get on our horse and tell the world.

John 3:16-21& 35-36 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God. The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.

Love and joy in Christ, Brian

2 comments:

child of God said...

Hi Brian,
Thank you for this. I love coming here and reading, I always leave full.
When we trust Jesus and do as He asks us He will fill us with this Holy Joy. I have experienced it many times. It is just that first step, this is always the hardest.

I believe that Satan covers our eyes with fear and when we earnstly seek God and ask Him to remove these blindfolds and fear He will and when He does we see that we were believing a lie and it is easy to step into the truth.

I had fear of man but once God removed this fear of man I saw that what I believe is truth and when I spread the truth of Jesus the lie falls away and others can see because the blindfold that Satan wraps on the eyes of the unbeliever cannot stay in place when the truth of Jesus is spoken. It is a powerful spiritual war and all we need is faith and the word of God to fight it.

I hope I made sense. Blessing Brian and thankyou for being so obedient to use your gift of writing to spread His message.

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RCUBEs said...

I was once like that, making fun of my Christian brother. Until I had gone through a spiritual battle and through that, the Lord truly had shown His grace, mercy and power.

I'm glad you're choosing to remain sharing about His truth. May God bless and protect you.