Burn Your Bridges

Good morning to the Lord’s beloved!

Many people don’t know this, but Julius Caesar was once a rebellious Roman. He first became a champion of the people by leading the Roman military towards the conquest of great foreign lands. He advocated for reforms of an aging Senate and, fearing his uprising, they demanded that he relinquish his army.

But Caesar refused, which marked the beginning of his civil war against Pompey. On the way, he had to cross the Rubicon river. No army had crossed the Rubicon with the intention to invade Rome in centuries. The Rubicon was not a large river. It was a border. Crossing the border with his troops meant that Caesar was breaking the law. It meant treason. It meant war.

But Caesar and his army still walked through the river. After he crossed, Caesar told his generals to burn the bridge down immediately. There was no way out but forward. Caesar said, “Lacta alea Est, which means “the die is cast or there is no turning back. In other words, Caesar said “We are past the point of no return. Rome would be our next stop.”

When you burn a bridge, you also burn Plan B, Plan C, etc. – anything that opens the door for you to go back. When you a burn bridge, you have decided that only one thing matters, whatever that one thing is. When you a burn bridge, you are drawing a line in the sand that you will not cross. For a Christian, the line must be faith in God and in what His Word declares. “It is written” must be the beat of your heart.

In Hebrews 11, we read about the faith of Old Testament believers who burned bridges to their old life and, as a result, endured persecution and even death because they were unwilling to go back by renouncing their faith in God.

Hebrews 11: 32-39, 1-2, 6

(32) And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets:

(33) Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,

(34) Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.

(35) Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection:

(36) And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment:

(37) They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword:

they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented;

(38) (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.

(39) And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise:

I want to go back to verse 35 because there is a phrase that I want to draw your attention to.

“Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured … (The next phrase is what I want you to focus on and I want you to read it out loud.) …. NOT ACCEPTING DELIVERANCE; that they might obtain a better resurrection.“

Ladies and gentlemen, these people made a deliberate decision not to try to get out of what was coming. They made the choice to say I am going to go through this even though I can get out. I like the way the Amplified Bible renders this verse.

“[Some] women received again their dead by a resurrection. Others were tortured to death with clubs, refusing to accept release [offered on the terms of denying their faith], so that they might be resurrected to a better life.”

Ladies and gentlemen, there are many in the church today who have accepted an offer that is causing them to deny their faith based on what they say and what they do. And if you ask them are they denying their faith, they will tell you no. They don’t think that at all.

Verse 37 says, “They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted … [The Amplified says “they were lured with tempting offers (to renounce their faith)”… were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented.”

The life of a Christian only has two options: are you going to live for God or are you not going to live for God? Those are our only options. And when we chose to live for God, you have to know that some people are not going to be happy, including some Christians.