The Hated Christian

A recent issue of Zion's Fire magazine begins with these words:

"Those who have accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior have a deep and intense love for their Redeemer, His Word (the Bible), and proclaiming to a lost and dying world its need for salvation." The Scriptures do an excellent job of succinctly pointing out the problem, the price, and the provision. The Problem: "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," Romans 3:23 (NKJV) The Price: "For the wages of sin is death..." Romans 6:23a (NKJV) The Provision: "but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 6:23b (NKJV) This is the gospel in a nut shell.

The apostle Paul succinctly presents the gospel using somewhat different words when writing to the church in Corinth.
¹ Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand,
² by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you--unless you believed in vain.
³ For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,
⁴ and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 (NKJV)

I have no intention of trying to repackage the gospel here. One could say that these few verses are the Cliff-notes version of what Christians have believed, by faith, which results in the forgiveness of their sins and being promised eternal life in heaven. There is nothing hateful about this message, yet it engenders hate from many who hear it. I wish to examine briefly a few reasons why some people hate those who bring such good news.

First, some Christians (both real and pretend) are just plain hateful. They can't seem to get off the band-wagon of things they are against long enough to ever catch anyone's attention with "..but the gift of God" part of Romans 6:23b. Yes - abortion is wrong and it's evil. Yes, homosexual practices and same-sex marriages are abominations to God. Yes, we need to take a stand against them, especially as powerful forces have succeeded in declaring such evils good, and cloaking them in legality. Yes, legal does not always equal moral. However, Christians must be known by what they are for as well as what they are against. I point to my friends in Operation Save America and Personhood USA as shining examples of people who take uncompromising stands against the popular sins of our day, and still proclaim the love of God through the person of Jesus the Christ.

Second, some professing Christians, while not portraying an attitude of hate towards others, have still stirred up hatred by putting hypocrisy on display. Whether it has been done by presenting Christianity as a side show and preachers as con-artists, or making promises to the masses which are never met, many have been left with bad tastes in their mouths because of the gospel being presented with impure motives. As the apostle Peter warned: "For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil." 1 Peter 3:17 (NKJV)

But what about those who present the gospel accurately with loving hearts and pure motives? Are they guaranteed that they will be received gladly, as bearers of good news? No! It is possible that all manner of preambles to the gospel will be accepted by many. Some conservatives even have a knack for paraphrasing Scripture without even knowing it. Many non-Christians are staunchly pro-life and others even believe in and practice the biblical model of marriage. But whether you are engaging a liberal or a conservative, an atheist or a pagan, you can proceed only so far with the gospel until you are compelled to deal with two issues which are potentially offensive: 1) universal and personal sin, and 2) Jesus as the only remedy.

Many people will tolerate the fact that you believe in God. After all, the Scriptures declare, "You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe--and tremble!" James 2:19 (NKJV) Some unbelievers will even tolerate the viewpoint that you believe Jesus is God, but once you say that Christ is the only way to Heaven, most will get angry. Very angry. So what is a believer to do? In keeping with the pattern of short answers: "Speak the truth in love." (Ephesians 4:15).

Jesus prepared His disciples, and through them He prepares us. He declared that men love darkness because their deeds are evil (John 3:19) and it is the gospel which is light and exposes the darkness (John 8:12, 12:46). Those who love truth will be convicted, will repent from their sins, and turn towards Jesus as Savior and Lord. That is why we continue to preach the truth in love. Those who love the lie (including the lie that darkness is better than light) will hate the message, and sometimes hate the messenger. Yet if our goal is just to not offend, we will back off from the truth, which is not an act of love at all, but one of self-preservation.

Jesus said:
¹⁸ "If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.
¹⁹ If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.
²⁰ 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 keep yours also.
²¹ But all these things they will do to you for My name's sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me. John 15:18-21 (NKJV)

So Christian, do what you have been called to do. Check your motives and be sure that love (both for God and for people) is at the center, and leave the results to the Holy Spirit. Some will hate you, but others will love you eternally, and your Heavenly Father will say, "Well done!"

The Gospel of the Kingdom - Part 22

 
 

¹⁴ And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come. Matthew 24:14 (NKJV)


Almost three years ago I embarked on a mission to share aspects of the "Gospel of the Kingdom" on this blog. I may come back to this subject, as God directs, but for now, this will be the 22nd and final installment on this subject. To do so, I want to touch briefly on two relevant sub-topics: 1) The Kingdom, Israel, and the Church, and 2) When Will the Kingdom Come?

The Kingdom, Israel, and the Church

There is no doubt about the fact that Jesus offered the Kingdom to Israel. When He sent the disciples on their preaching mission He told them to not go among the Gentiles, but to "go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel" (Mark 10:6) When Israel rejected the Kingdom, the blessings which should have been theirs were given to those who would accept them. They refused John the Baptist's  message of repentance in anticipation of the Kingdom and they rejected the blessings of the Kingdom offered by Jesus. They were like children, refusing to play either wedding or funeral (Matthew 11:16-17). Whereas under the Old Covenant God had dealt with Israel primarily as a family and a nation, under the New Covenant the Kingdom and its blessings are given to those who will accept it on an individual basis. The offer was not of a political or materialistic kingdom, offering instead a relationship with God Himself (grace) through a personal decision (faith). Just being the natural offspring of Abraham did not qualify one for the blessings of the new kingdom (Matthew 3:7-10; Romans 4).

Although the first Christian believers were almost exclusively Jews, the Jews as a whole refused this new relationship and the Gospel of the Kingdom was then taken to the Gentiles. Confession of Jesus as Messiah and confession of the Kingdom are in essence the same. Yet the primary expectation was that with the coming of the Messiah would mean the end of This Age and the appearance of the Kingdom in power. They did NOT expect the Kingdom to come in mystery form. In bringing the powers of the Age to Come into the midst of This Present Age, Messiah would die and three days later rise from the dead. Knowledge of this would and does come, only by divine revelation. Upon the rock of that divine revelation Christ would build His church (Matthew 16:16-19). The restoration of Israel would be at a future time, not yet disclosed (Acts 1:7).

So now the church has the keys of the Kingdom and it is in and through the church that the redemptive activity and rule of God among men is at work and where men experience the blessings of His rule. These keys open the door to the Age to Come aspect of the Kingdom of God. In the Present Age aspect of the Kingdom, God is dealing with a holy nation after the spirit and not a physical nation after the flesh (1 Peter 2:9). The church is not the Kingdom of God, God has created the church and works in the world through the church. Wherever the Gospel of the Kingdom is preached, some receive it and are loosed; delivered from the power of darkness and transferred into the Kingdom of the Son of God's love (Colossians 1:13). Others reject the Kingdom and remain in darkness.

Paul illustrates that there is, and always has been, but one people of God. Not an Old Testament people and a New Testament people. The natural olive tree (which was Israel) in Romans 11 is this people. Because of unbelief, some branches were broken off and then others from a wild olive tree (Gentiles) were grafted in. The tree remained one tree, the present state of which does not represent god's last work. Some of the natural branches which were broken off because of unbelief will yet believe and be grafted again into the olive tree (v. 23, 25). When God's purposes with the Gentiles is fulfilled, there will come the salvation of Israel. The church has not replaced Israel. And until Christ comes again, ushering in the Age to Come, we will be engaged in the struggle with evil in this world. The church will not usher in the Age to Come by overcoming all evil, but she will be an instrument of salt and light, shining like stars in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation (Matthew 5:13-16; Philippians 2:15).

When Will the Kingdom Come?

The Kingdom of God has come, is coming, and will come. It initially entered this present evil Age in the person and work of Christ, continuing through His church. It will come: 1) at the Second Coming of Christ which will include the Rapture/Resurrection; fulfillment of the Mystery of God in the salvation of Israel; as the Word of God battles and defeats the two beasts; and as the Millennium begins and the devil is chained in the bottomless pit, and 2) at the end of the Millennium when death and Satan and sin are totally and completely defeated and the Kingdom is realized in its ultimate perfection.

So when will it come? The answer is in the first Scripture cited above (Matthew 24:14). And the context in which this preaching of the Gospel of the Kingdom shall be accomplished is chaos: physical trauma like the world has never seen; persecution, betrayal and deception like the world has never seen. These will be days so bad that for the sake of the elect, they will be amputated (Matthew 24: 21-22). Jesus will be with the church, even in these times, for He said He would be with us, even to the end of the Present Age (Matthew 28:19-20). It will be just as it was at the birth of the church, with the Word being confirmed with signs and wonders (Mark 16:20). Daniel says of these dark days that those who know their God shall be strong and do exploits, shining like the brightness of the firmament (Daniel 11:32; 12:3). Through the technological wonders of today (Internet, social media, smart phones, satellite phones, TV, radio, etc.) the preaching of the Gospel of the Kingdom to all people groups may come sooner rather than later. With it shall come the Great Tribulation, but the Great Tribulation will be cut short by the return of our Blessed Lord.

²⁰ He who testifies to these things says, "Surely I am coming quickly." Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus! Revelation 22:20 (NKJV)

The Gospel of the Kingdom, Part 21

We may be tempted to disregard Jesus' encounter with the rich young ruler because..............

We are not rich.
We are not young.
We've never ruled anything longer than 12 inches.

But wait! The account in Matthew 19 is pertinent to each of us because it has to do with Jesus' invitation for us to enter His Kingdom (v.21), and the things that keep us from entering. In the case of the rich young ruler, his attachment to his wealth stood in the way. For others it's shame of Jesus that holds us back (Luke 9:26); not being willing to carry our cross (Luke 9:23); affinity for creature comforts (Matthew 8:20), or perceived family obligations (Matthew 8:22). If you put these all together, you can hear Jesus saying, "Your decision for the Kingdom of God must be unqualified." Poverty itself is no virtue. Jesus' demand is for a decision to submit to God and His Kingdom. All other affections must give way to this higher loyalty.

The question is, "Are all other claims and interests subservient  and secondary to the rule of God?" "Have we really been delivered from the dominion of all that is dark and transferred to the kingdom of the beloved Son?" (Colossians 1:13) "Have we learned the secret of being content in all situations, both want and plenty, so that I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength?" (Philippians 4:11-13) We must progress to the place where we can answer such questions with a resounding "Yes!" before we can know the blessings of God's Kingdom. We dare not trust anything or anyone more than God!

While God is certainly for the family, He warned us that such wholehearted acceptance of His Kingdom might cause rupture of normal family ties (Matthew 10:34-37). Family members need to be infused with the love of God before they can understand that loving God supremely in no way diminishes our love for one another. Without that divine impartation, love for God will be viewed as competing for human love, rather than enhancing human love. How wonderful it is when family members, especially spouses, join in pursuit of Kingdom priorities. But whether or not they do, the claims of God's Kingdom still have priority. Fortunate is the family that realizes that together.

When Jesus calls us to take up our cross daily, we must remember that the cross is not a burden; it is a place of death. It's not self denial, which is self-centered; but denial of self, which is Christ-centered. Obviously it does not mean that daily we go to the cross and experience physical death, but it does mean that every disciple of Christ must be prepared to die, especially if and when loyalty to the Kingdom is on the line. Not to negate the great sacrifices of martyrs over the ages, but often it is more challenging to daily present oneself as a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1-2). The problem with living sacrifices, as someone once said, is "they keep trying to crawl off the altar."

That said, once we finally cross the great divide when we can say, with the apostle Paul, "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." Galatians 2:20 (NKJV), the cross bearing has finally taken place in the depths of our spirits. Our relationship with Christ becomes settled, and He alone is ruler, lord, and king. Our mantra becomes, "nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done."

This is a kingdom decision, and the next is like unto it. It is one we must practice here and now, while it is yet relatively easy to do......while the stakes are yet relatively low. Jeremiah gives us the pattern when he says, "If you have run with the footmen, and they have wearied you, Then how can you contend with horses? And if in the land of peace, In which you trusted, they wearied you, Then how will you do in the floodplain of the Jordan?" Jeremiah 12:5 (NKJV) Our decisions for or against the Kingdom of God ultimately will determine our eternal destiny. Jesus said,  "Also I say to you, whoever confesses Me before men, him the Son of Man also will confess before the angels of God.
⁹ But he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God." Luke 12:8-9 (NKJV) We have probably all stumbled over this at times, but if you're able to read this, get up, dust yourself off, and get it right next time. The way things are going in this world, in terms of personal comfort and safety, it will become more and more costly to confess Christ. We must get this matter settled before the Lord returns. "For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels." Mark 8:38 (NKJV)

Christ one day (soon) will appear as the Lion of the tribe of Judah to bring (the completeness of) salvation to the sons of the Kingdom and a just condemnation to the sons of darkness. In His grace, at His first advent, He confronted us with the demands of the Kingdom. He shouted (and still does), "Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven has come near." Repent! Enter the Kingdom through the only door that is available - the shed blood of Jesus, the Passover Lamb. Repent! Quit counting on lesser things to bring you to glory. Repent! Surrender to the rule of the King, and thereby enter the Kingdom.

A Happy and Blessed Resurrection Sunday to all!

The Gospel of the Kingdom, Part 20

Matthew 24:14 (NKJV)
¹⁴ And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.

It's interesting to note that the last installment of this series was written seven months ago......evidence of a lack of commitment to the craft of blogging. I can assure you, though, that during that time my commitment to the Kingdom of God has only increased. I'm sure that in these troubled times, with the re-election of a pro-choice, pro-"gay rights", Constitution-side-stepping president, you like me have fervently prayed "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."

I have found myself, by the grace of God, being caught up in a concerted effort to see abortion on demand be remove from the legal fabric of our nation. Many, if not all, of our national problems can be linked to the unrighteous foundation of  genocide that forty years ago replaced the righteous foundation of the God-given right to life. Much of my time has been spent both speaking to congressmen about this issue, and trying to rally Christians across the land to do the same. Life at Conception Acts have been introduced to the House and the Senate for each session over the last 24 years, where they just languish in committee. Obviously the people, either out of ignorance, apathy, or discouragement, have failed to apply sufficient pressure to their elected representatives to force one of these bills out of committee for an up or down vote.

So what does this have to do with the Gospel of the Kingdom? It's this. There is both a "present age" and an "age to come" aspect of the Kingdom. Remember, the Kingdom of God is God's redemptive reign, where through Christ the enemies of sin, Satan, and death have been conquered. At the Second Coming of Christ, His Kingdom will appear in power and glory. But the Kingdom has already entered the present age without the outward glory. It would not be a demonstration of glory to see the killing of babies in the womb; it would just be a return to the respect for life that was common in our country a generation or two ago. I say that to make it clear that I am not a proponent of Kingdom Now, or a Dominion theology. I do not expect righteousness to fill the earth until Christ returns.

That does not keep me from being an advocate for life, and a voice for those who have no life. I pray that you, the reader, would be of the same opinion. I want to see every person, every family, every church, and perhaps even our nation (if it is not too late) taste the blessings of the Age to Come in this Present Age. On both a personal level and a national level, the way to do that is simple, yet involves a profound difficulty. The simplicity on a personal level is summed up in these few Scriptures:


Romans 10:9 (NKJV)
⁹ that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

John 3:16 (NKJV)
¹⁶ For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

John 20:31 (NKJV)
³¹ but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.

The simplicity is in the verbal confession - a decision for the moment, if you will. The profound difficulty is continuing to meet the Kingdom's demand for a decision throughout one's life. Repentance is a decision which produces more than just the right words, but, connected to the heart, the whole direction and destiny of one's life is changed.

Similarly, if there really are millions of people in this country who have accepted the Kingdom's demand for a decision, who have yielded to the King's rule in their hearts, then there should be millions of points of light and millions of grains of salt in the land. Reliable polls indicate that there are over 80,000,000 such people in the USA. If that is true, why has the inalienable, God-given, right to life been replaced by the right to kill the most vulnerable in our midst?

This bog is an attempt to reach those who have already entered the Kingdom. The standard for entrance is beyond our ability to achieve, so we believe in the merits of the One who has achieved it for us.......Jesus the Christ. Such belief involves repentance; turning from our old ways and deciding to follow Him. If you have resolutely and firmly made such a decision, then the Kingdom is in you. The power of that kingdom is in you. There is no excuse for not being salt and light. If the decision was made accompanied by qualifications, such as taking care of business or family needs first (Luke 9:57-62); then the one making such a decision is declared "unfit for the Kingdom of God."

Eighty million citizens of the Kingdom of God is a powerful force in a country of 320 million citizens. If even 25% of them would speak with one voice to those who represent us in the earthly kingdom, then there is strong hope that the earthly kingdom would again begin to reflect the light of the heavenly. Just as entrance to God's Kingdom requires a radical decision, followed by radical actions; so to radical action is required for the earthly to be impacted by the heavenly.

Matthew 11:12 (NKJV)
¹² And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.

Luke 16:16 (NKJV)
¹⁶ The law and the prophets were until John. Since that time the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is pressing into it.

Matthew 10:34 (NKJV)
³⁴ "Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword.

Luke 13:24 tells us to "strive to enter by the narrow door." Strive, in the Greek, means "to strain every nerve." A whole-hearted effort to defend life in a country where it is considered legal to kill will not necessarily make you the most popular person on the block. It may even cause members of your own family to hate you (Luke 14:26). But it is a righteous cause. It will give you an opportunity to shine as a light, to love your enemies, and to count it all joy when persecuted for the sake of the Gospel of the Kingdom.