Will You Die For Christ?
Last week, we celebrated our liberty mostly by consuming large quantities of BBQ, beans and assorted other standard fare. A few of us may have reflected on our founding fathers and what the holiday was supposed to be about. Most just saw it as a day off from work and another chance to see fireworks. They may not have even thought about how fortunate they were to see fake bombs bursting in air versus the real ones like they experience in Kosovo, Israel and other less fortunate places. The biggest sacrifice that was made was staying up too late for the displays and dragging into work the next day.
We forget that our forefathers sacrificed everything to start us off in a free republic and many have sacrificed greatly to keep it. We enjoy freedom, but are we as willing to sacrifice to keep it. It has been said that no one could take away an American’s freedom by force, but given time America would give it up gladly for a nice home and a satellite dish. I fear this is true. In forty years, we have given up much that our forefathers would have died to keep. Unless we wake up we shall give up much more until it is all gone.
Not only our personal freedoms, but also our religious liberty we have taken for granted. We think we have arrived in Heaven and we are to just kick back and wait for that glory bound train. We think it is great if we spend an hour a week or a month in an air-conditioned building that we have really sacrificed and done our bit for God. We think we are to be free from spiritual battles. Our forefathers saw that they would always be in spiritual warfare and they wished the same for their descendants.
Faith of our fathers, living still in spite of dungeon, fire, and sword;
O how our hearts beat with joy whene’er we hear that glorious word.
Our fathers chained in prisons dark were still in heart and conscience free
How sweet would be their children’s fate, if they like them could die for Thee!
Faith of our fathers we will love both friend and foe in all our strife
And preach Thee, too, as love knows how by kindly words and virtuous life
Faith of our fathers, holy faith! We will be true to thee till death!
We have not experienced the first verse, yet. We do not wish to experience the second. We do not practice the third and I doubt that we will practice the refrain!
Matt 16:25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. (KJV)
I read of a Scottish woman during the Inquisition, who was asked to come and encourage her husband to recant his faith. She replied that she would rather catch his head in her apron than to have him deny Christ. Would you cheer your spouse on to martyrdom or try to get them to recant? Many others have endured flame, sword and imprisonment for what we take for granted.
We like to use this verse to speak of giving up our rights or desires, but we shrink back from the concept of actually dying for Christ. Many brethren overseas understand this verse clearly and know that they are engaged in warfare "against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." (Eph 6:12) They cannot be at home in this world like we are for they see it as it is a battleground on which to fight for righteousness.
Many of us have roots way too deep in this world. Some because their citizenship is not Heaven though their name is on the church roll. Others are deepening their roots because of carnality and ignorance. We need to look at our passports and refocus our energies and redirect our wealth to eternal investments. We are ambassadors and we must be about the work we are called to. We are soldiers that need to come back from AWOL. There are times of R&R, but they are short respites from the battle. There will be no truce until He returns. The old song says, "Yea, I must fight if I would reign, increase my courage, Lord. I’ll bear the toil, endure the pain supported by Thy Word." Are you fighting or feasting or fleeing? Are you toiling at all? Is the biggest pain you endure is getting wet walking from the parking lot or having the wind mess up your do? Our cloud of witnesses weeps at our unfaithfulness, pettiness and whining.
During the Cold War, Communists had far more zeal for their cause than the average Christian does for his faith. One young man wrote that he believed that Christianity had more to offer the world than Communism, but that Communism would ultimately win. Why? He said that Christians are lazy and self-centered and would not dirty their hands for what they believed. Whereas Communists spent every spare hour in the streets with their propaganda seeking converts. Of their income they kept only what they absolutely needed to survive. All the rest went for the cause.
It is a shame to see such commitment to a poor political philosophy when people who do not share it or recognize its power hold the truth the world so desperately needs. Is it possible that even Christians are guilty of "holding the truth in unrighteousness" when we dally around in the silliness of loving this world and neglecting our duties? (Rom 1:18) At the least, we are aiding and abetting the enemy when we stand on the other side and watch evil run rampant while we kick back and wait for the Rapture. Just sitting there makes us as bad as they are and in essence one of them. (Obadiah 11) Indeed, our carnality gives cause for the enemies of God to blaspheme and our love of this world puts us at war with God. We become traitors. (2 Sam 12:14; James 4:4)
Only by the grace and purpose of God does the Russian bear currently hibernate. It is not dead only sleeping and one day shall rise up again with some help from Capitalist funds. She will come against Israel one day and lose most of her army but for now she sleeps. China is flourishing and is the current greatest threat to liberty. Yet, in spite of governmental hatred of liberty and God, the Church flourishes in both countries where believers are arrested, tortured and slain daily. The Spirit of the Lord is there. These bold and faithful brethren dwell in holy liberty! (2 Cor 3:17)
When, not if, the persecution comes to America will we be ready to die for Him? I doubt it highly. We are not like Paul who did not count his life dear unto him. (Acts 20:24) We like our life far too much and will not let anything inconvenience us or get in the way of our goals. Yet, Christ said that if we love our life that much we cannot be His disciple. (Luke 14:26)
We prove daily that we are not dead to sin or self and yet rejoice in our salvation and proclaim that Christ lives in us. (Gal 2:20) We may be saved but we are not dead, as we should be. We are to set our affections on things above and not on things here. I can tell that is not true by the average church attendance. Sunday morning may be packed, but Sunday evening is maybe a fourth of that and Wednesday night is truly a remnant of that Sunday morning crowd. Let something of this world be going on at the same time as a church service and the worldly thing will win out every time. Where your treasure is so is your heart and your body shows your heart’s treasure.
Does that sound like dead people whose life is hid in Christ? Yet, we want to appear with Him in glory when He comes. The word says that happens to people because Christ is their life. Whose life is yours, and how dead are you? Your affections will give you the correct answer not your theological or denominational platitudes. (Col 3:2-4) Yes, none of us are perfect and we all need to strive for that closer walk or deeper life. But, are we honestly striving or is it just lip service? You won’t endure persecution or die for what your lips say. That kind of walk comes from the heart.
Some of you are afraid to enter into a closer walk because your family will call you a fanatic. It is great to love your family, but we are to love Christ more if we are to be His disciple. (Luke 14:26) Some are afraid of what other people might think so we deny Him not by what we say but by our silence. Peter spoke and denied the Lord. The rest of us just use the crutch of that old lie that says you should never talk about politics or religion. Careful, be sure of your passport. Those that deny Him here will be denied of Him there. (Matt 10:33)
Your fear may be a misunderstanding of your mission. Not everyone is called to be a Southern evangelist. You do not have to be an apologist or a polemicist. Some are saying, "AMEN" because you do not know what those words mean. An apologist is one who can take on the world and prove the faith to the unbelievers. He can argue with the philosophers on Mars Hill and win with ease. A modern example might be C. S. Lewis. A polemicist is like a prophet and comes in to rightly divide the Word and correct errors within the church. I am not sure we have a prominent one of those currently because there is a lot of error in the Church and most everyone is happy with it or unconcerned with it. In fact, many that name the name of Christ want to unite everybody regardless of doctrine. That t’ain’t biblical. So, we need a good polemicist in the church.
All of us are called to be witnesses. It is a legal term. You are not the prosecuting attorney. That is the job of the Holy Spirit. You are not the writer of the Law. God took care of that with His Word. You are not the jury. Jesus determines the fate of the accused and is both jury and attorney for the defendant if they choose Him. If not, they can choose to represent themselves or choose another. Jesus is the court appointed one, but they have the right to reject His services. You are the witness. All you are called to do is tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you, God. It is really the easy job.
Now, it is easy, but it can be costly. The Greek word is martureo (mar-too-reh’-o) from where we get martyr. Many of the witnesses in the early Church ended up dying for their faith. Saul before he became Paul killed some. The Caesars killed many. The Inquisition killed many more and then Hitler and Communism came in. In some areas, Islam is adding to the list of martyrs. These are just the big name martyr makers, but many others have died at the hands of governments and neighbors. They were just reported differently so as not to make it look like it was because of their faith. Yes, being a witness is easy because you only have to tell the truth of what Jesus has done for you, but it can be cost you your life.
It will take more than an hour a week to develop the kind of faith and relationship to Him that is willing to die for Him! If you do not daily die to self, you will not die for Him when the time comes. We need to confess that in our lives we have for the most part forgotten God. (Jer 2:32) There is a good reason that many Christians have no testimony and the Church is openly ridiculed. We have forgotten Him and trust in lies of this world. It is God Himself that is exposing our folly and causing our shame. We thought we were well dressed in our self-righteousness and self-determination and God is displaying our nakedness to the world we love so well and cater to. (Jer 13:25-26)
We work the fields and we get less than desirable results and we wonder why. It is because we have forgotten Him and have done things our way. (Isa. 17:10-11) We have chosen to fight the war in the flesh using politics, patronage, and pulp novel palaver and we wonder why we lose. We need to cast down those high imaginations and bring our thoughts into captivity and obedience to Christ if we desire to pull down the strongholds of evil. (2 Cor 10:3-6)
It is time to return to boot camp as rookie recruits when we should have been trainers and teachers. (Heb 5:12) For years, preachers have been preaching the basics but we refuse to hear to them. It is time to turn off the tube and the PC and get alone with God. We need to read and pray and then obey the B-I-B-L-E. We need to meet whenever the doors are open to learn and to encourage one another. We need to find our gift and use it. Even if it has been years you can still be used and exercise that gift for the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. (Romans 11:29) We need to set our affections on things above to truly make an impact on this world. We need to be the witnesses God has called us to be lest we help people condemn themselves to Hell by our failure to appear with the facts pertinent to their case.
John 15:13 Greater love hath no man than this that a man lay down his life for his friends. (KJV)
We sing about how much we love Jesus. We put pins on our lapels and stickers on our cars, but do we love Him enough to die for Him? If you love Him, die to self now! Walk in His resurrection life seeking God’s interests and not your own. What would Jesus do? What He has already done. He died to bring us life and life more abundantly if we will just love Him enough to leave the worldliness behind. Follow Him to the Cross, to the grave and then to newness of life! If you do not do this now, you will not die for Him when they come for you in the future. You will surely deny Him as Peter denied Him.
If you are already dead when they come, they cannot threaten you with death. One Romanian pastor told the police that they could not hurt him with death. "If I die, I go to glory. You cannot frighten me with glory." He even told them that if they would kill him that by his blood he would conquer the country. His sermon tapes would be sprinkled with his blood and people would be even more willing to listen to someone who died for their faith. We too shall conquer one day through His blood, but He may choose to win a battle with ours. Are we ready, fellow soldiers of Christ? I pray we that we are already dead and our martyrdom will only be an entrance to the throne room where we will worship Him forever!!
Sep 23, 1995 Rise Up, Fellow Soldier
There is power in the blood and victory in the Cross,
So why, Child of God, do you mourn like all is lost?
Take up your mighty sword, the blessed Word of God
And march into the battlefield where other Saints have trod.
When in joyful, singing faith, we do them assail,
The Gates of deepest Hell have no chance to prevail.
Satan’s host may seem so many and so very strong,
Yet, before the toughest battle, we can sing the Victor’s song.
The Captain of the Hosts has already won the fight
And filled the darkness with His Shekinah light!
There is no foe that He has not already overcome.
The spoils are there waiting, so let’s take us some.
The time is short and there is so very much to do.
You cannot imagine what Christ can do in you.
So rise up, my fellow soldier, and quit your looking down!
Look up to Him who shares with you the glorious Victor’s crown.
