In a book called "Fool's Gold?" generally edited by John MacArthur, there is a chapter called 'Let Your Light So Shine'. It is about the American-Christian approach to politics, based off the passage of Matthew 5:16. This book was recommended by a friend and I thought that I'd post about the general content of the chapter, as I found it quite insightful. Firstly, it made it abundantly clear that "when influential Christians have tried to steer the church into the political process...they have actually lost influence." This is quite true, the church is most effective when they aim at hearts instead of legislation. However, the author also pointed out that part of being a good citizen is voting and that there is absolutely nothing wrong with being in politics. Christians are to be salt and light wherever they are, whether in politics or business. But it was strongly emphasized that making laws cannot change hearts, and bringing people to Christ for His glory is indeed our true commission. The author also pointed out something else of great importance. He shared his testimony, and in it he said that his political friends never told him of Christ, for 'fear of alienating a political ally'. Unfortunately, it is too common to see Christians (not all Christians by any means) so into politics that they loose sight of what really matters. The author also stuck a chord about witnessing to the opposition. What I mean is, as a hard-right conservative, it is easy for me to become annoyed and condemning of Democrats. However, unbelieving Democrats (as well as unbelieving conservatives) are the very people God told us to love and to witness to. We destroy our witness when make fun of, and ridicule those on the opposite side of the political spectrum.
In summery, it was a very insightful and helpful chapter. And I hope that some day I can work with and meet those politicians who put God first and manage to be a good leader in our country, without compromising God's commands.
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An understandable sacrifice
Throughout the history of the Marine Corps, Marines have given up their lives in battle. Some people say that this sacrifice that they make is for their country. While in some sense this may be true, in reality they are fighting for their lives; they are fighting for their fellow Marines around them.
There are many reasons why young men join the Marines - adventure, excitement, the chance to get away from home or to get money for school. There is also a sense of patriotism that has driven many of them into the Marines. This was most clearly seen during World War II; the people of America rallied together to fight a common enemy.
Once trained, the Marine is highly disciplined and taught how to fight; this discipline is necessary on the battle field. This discipline, along with a high sense of esprit de corps and pride, gives Marines the tenacity and willingness to fight for their country and their brothers-in-arms who are at their sides.
There have been many times that Marines have given up their lives for those around them. In one instance a Marine in Vietnam single handedly assaulted a machine gun emplacement because his fellow Marines were pinned down and dying under its suppressive fire. The Marine had to cover a large distance to reach the emplacement and several times he had to take cover from the oncoming bullets. After several bounds he reached the bunker and killed the enemy. When the rest of the squad reached him they found him lying on the ground. When they opened his flak jacked they found that he had been shot so many times that the only thing holding him together was his flak jacket.
There have been many more occasions where Marines have willingly given up their lives to save those around them. Many Marines have been posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for throwing themselves on grenades to save those around them. I don’t think that there is a greater sense of self-sacrifice than knowingly giving oneself up for another.
A sacrifice the world cannot understand
We can understand the Marine’s self-sacrifice. He has chosen to live the life of a Marine; he has chosen to sacrifice his life for his country and for his fellow Marines. But we are at a loss of understanding when someone is willing to die for a belief. We are amazed at those who do not fight back to protect themselves or take steps that keep themselves safe.
Raising a family in the midst of civil war in El Salvador would have been a terrible challenge without hope in the Word of God. Death was an everyday reality for everyone. Having your seven-year-old come home from school to report being held with the muzzle of an M-16 rifle to her head as soldiers checked her and her teacher for bombs or weapons, can be disquieting. Many such experiences happened, and were precisely what led many well-intentioned friends and family members to question our wisdom or sanity for staying there (I do not have the entire bibliography just a copy from a book).
What would cause someone daily to put their life in danger as the person mentioned above did? It is ridiculous that a person, who had the ability to leave, would want to stay in a war torn country. It makes no sense that a person, who doesn’t have to, would willingly subject himself to constant danger. Why are people willing to do this? Why are they willing to give up so much for a belief? Not only are some willing to live a life of sacrifice, but they are willing to make the ultimate sacrifice.
Accordingly the bishops appointed by the Council stripped him of his priestly garments, degraded him, put a paper miter on his head, on which was painted devils, with this inscription, “A ringleader of heretics.” Which when he saw he said: “My Lord Jesus Christ, for my sake, did wear a crown of thorns; why should not I then, for His sake, again wear this light crown, be it ever so ignominious? Truly I will do it, and willingly.” When it was set upon his head the bishop said: “Now we commit thy soul unto the devil.” “But I,” said John Huss, lifting his eyes up towards the heaven, “do commend into Thy hands, O Lord Jesus Christ! My spirit which Thou hast redeemed.”
When the chain was put about him at the stake, he said, with a smiling countenance, “My Lord Jesus Christ was bound with a harder chain than this for my sake, and why then should I be ashamed of this rusty one?”
When the fagots were piled up to his very neck, the duke of Bavaria was so officious as to desire him to abjure. “No, (said Huss;) I never preached any doctrine of an evil tendency; and what I taught with my lips I now seal with my blood.” He then said to the executioner, “You are now burning a goose, (Huss signifying goose in the Bohemian language:) but in a century you will have a swan which you can neither roast or boil.” If he were prophetic, he must have meant Martin Luther, who shone about a hundred years after, and had a swan for his arms.
The flames were now applied to the fagots, when our martyr sung a hymn so loud and cheerful a voice that he was heard through all the cracklings of the combustibles, and the noise of the multitude. At length his voice was interrupted by the severity of the flames, which soon closed his existence ( Edited by William Byron Forbush, D.D. Fox’s Book of Martyrs (Philadelphia: The John C Winston Company) p.143)
What an amazing man; what an amazing way to meet death! What is it that made John Huss so willing to endure suffering and death for a belief? Why was he able to die so well?
Our Hope is in Christ
Most of us have heard of the five missionaries to Ecuador who went to the dangerous Auca tribe and were killed. They knew the dangers that awaited them, yet what made them go? These are not the only ones who have sacrificed all for the cause of Christ. William Tyndale was martyred, John Bunyon was shut away in prison for years for his faith in Christ, Jerome of Prague was martyred shortly after John Huss, and there are thousands who endure suffering or are put to death for their faith in Christ every day. It seems absurd that anyone would turn to Christianity seeing all the suffering the followers of Christ go through, yet people do. The missionary to El Salvador, whom I quoted at the beginning of this paper, explains why he and his family stayed in the midst of a war.
Why did we stay? Because we were convinced that God had placed us there for that moment in time. How could we tell our dear Salvadoran believers to trust in the Word, and hope in the Word, if we were not willing to do the same? We concluded the very worst thing that could happen would be that we would all be killed. Yet if that were to happen, we had the sure hope of eternal life. What’s so bad about that? We would go to heaven ahead of others! To hope in the Word of God is not just a theory in our lives. We literally staked our lives upon hope in the Word (this is a part of the previous book that i have no bibligrophy for).
Our hope is in Christ.
No matter what happens to us here on the earth it will be but a minute compared to the everlasting glory we will experience in heaven.
There is a story told of some Christians in the former Soviet Union worshiping their Lord when suddenly two soldiers burst into their worship and demanded that all who are not willing to die for their faith to leave. Many got up and walked out. After they had left the soldiers set down their guns, pulled out their bibles and said that they too were Christians and wanted to be sure that they were worshiping true Christians
(Message by Ray Comfort, The way of the Master).
I wonder how many people would walk out of church here if some gunmen burst in on the service.
One of the most stunning and sobering words spoken at the second Lausanne Congress on World Evangelism in Manila in 1989 was spoken by George Otis concerning the call to martyrdom. He asked, “Is our failure to thrive in Muslim countries the absence of martyrs? Can a covert church grow in strength? Does a young church need martyr models? (John Piper, Let the Nations be Glad (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic) p.75)
Perhaps the church needs to reevaluate the way it does missions to Muslim countries. Muslim fundamentalists are willing to give their lives, with the sword, for what they believe in. How much more we should be willing to give our lives, with love, for the cause of Christ! The U.S. government is working hard and spending millions of dollars to bring democracy to Iraq; this is an in depth issue. This is a futile plan. Not only are they trying to push for a form of government on those that don’t understand it, and probably not wanted by many, but it does not provide what they need for their eternal salvation, faith in Jesus Christ. The church in America needs to be less concerned about changing the morality of the country and start being the city on a hill and light unto the world. To do this we need to have a proper understanding of what Christ has called us to.
A Call to the Cross
Jesus tells us that if we wish to come after him we must deny ourselves and take up our cross and follow Him.
Mark 8:34
And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.
Sadly, today this call to follow Christ has been drastically lessened. Many equate the cross we are to bear to a nagging wife, an illness, or any other hindrances that disrupt our daily life. This is not at all how Jesus’ listeners would have understood the call to take up a cross. They saw the cross as an instrument of death. When someone was carrying a cross they were considered the scum of the earth. After a person was sentenced to death he would be forced to carry his cross through the streets and outside the city gates. This is what people would have pictured in their minds after Jesus’ words. What a radical concept. I wonder what some of them thought when they heard it?
This teaching was not a one-time slip of the tongue; Jesus taught this multiple times.
Luke 14:25-35
Now large crowds were going along with Him; and He turned and said to them,
“If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple.
“Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.
“For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it?
“Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him,
saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’
“Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand?
“Or else, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace.
“So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions.
“Therefore, salt is good; but if even salt has become tasteless, with what will it be seasoned?
“It is useless either for the soil or for the manure pile; it is thrown out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
In this passage Jesus not only repeats His call for His disciples to carry the cross of death but He warns would-be disciples to count the cost of becoming His disciple.
Jesus did not call us to an easy life while we are here on the earth. Jesus in fact calls us to be disciples and live a life of suffering! Jesus calls us to give up everything for Him and even to love Him more than our parents and even our wife and children (Matt. 10:37-38; Luke 14:25-35)! Jesus told His disciples that they would be hated and even persecuted because of His name (Matt. 10:16-23). Looking at the persecuted church around the world, we can see that this is still true today. There are brothers and sisters in Christ in many nations who are suffering for the name of Christ. They are suffering because they have made Jesus Christ their Lord and savior and they are making disciples and telling others about the one true God. Again, Jesus did not tell us that life would be easy but He called us to a life of suffering (Matt. 16:24-26; Mark 34-37; Luke 6:22-34, 9:23-26, 14:25-34; John 18:18-21)!
Peter’s Example
Peter writes his epistle to those who were going through great suffering. He addressed them as aliens (1 Peter 1:1). This is another passage Christians, particularly Christians here in America, have failed to fully understand. Our home is not here on this earth, our citizenship is not in the country in which we reside, but it is in heaven. Our residence here on earth is temporary, but a second, compared to the eternity that we will spend in heaven. Knowing this we should strive to live our life for what truly matters; honoring God and following His commandments.
Peter continues by telling his readers that they have an inheritance because of the mercy of God. This inheritance is imperishable and will not fade away but it is reserved in heaven for them and will be revealed to them in the last time (1 Peter 1:3-5). Then Peter says something interesting. He says that the various trials they are going through will show the genuineness of their faith and result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus (1 Peter 1:6, 7). We would prefer not to go through trials, they are hard and painful. But according to Peter they have a purpose, to show the genuineness of our faith and bring glory to God.
In chapter 2 Peter again addresses suffering. He says that we should follow the example of Jesus (1 Peter 2:21). Peter then quotes from Isaiah 53:9, “Who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth. While being reviled Jesus did not revile in return. While suffering he uttered no threats but he entrusted himself to Him who judges righteously (1 Peter 2:21-25).” What an example we have in Christ! How much I have to change to follow His example.
In chapter three Peter instructs women how they should live godly lives with their husbands. And to the husbands he says to live with your wife in and understanding way, as someone weaker, and to show her honor (1 Peter 3:1-7). Then in verse eight he shifts his thoughts a little to address everyone. Peter tells everyone to be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted and humble in spirit. Then he says do not return evil for evil or insult for insult, but give a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing (1 Peter 3:8, 9).
We find this same exhortation, to return evil with a blessing, made by Paul in Romans (Romans 12:14-21). We have been called to live a life of love. Jesus said that the command to love others was second only to love we are to have for God (Matt. 22:37-40).
Peter continues in chapter three by saying that there is no one who can harm us for our good works, and even if we do suffer for the sake of righteousness we are blessed (1 Peter 3:13, 14). We should not stop doing good works because we are being persecuted. On the contrary Peter tells us to be ready to give an account for the hope that is in us (1 Peter 3:15).
In chapter four Peter again addresses suffering,
1 Peter 4:12-14
Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation. If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.
We should not be surprised when we endure persecution. Jesus told His disciples that they would be persecuted because the world hated Him and as His servants, the world would hate them as well (John 15:18-21). Not only should we expect suffering but Peter tells us in chapter five that it is impossible to be godly without suffering (1 Peter 5:6-10).
The theme of suffering fills the pages of the first epistle of Peter (and the New Testament). I think that it would behoove us to read and study this epistle. Here in America we consider suffering a flat tire or an illness; rarely do we truly suffer for our righteous deeds as Christians in other countries do.
God is Sovereign
God is in complete control over all His creation. God has given us His word and in His word He tells us that He is in absolute control. He is in control of not just the moon and stars and the sun but everything, even those that live on the earth. He is in control of kings and rulers (Is. 41:2); He can raise them up or destroy them (Is. 40:23-24). He uses people to accomplish His will; indeed we are insignificant compared to Him. We are like grasshoppers on the earth (Is. 40:22).
The sovereignty of God causes problems for some. They cannot understand why bad things happen if God is in control. I think that they are looking at the problem backwards. We must remember that after sin we were separated from a holy and righteous God who will not tolerate sin. And because of sin God cursed humans and the earth that we now live on (Genesis 3:14-19) and He has given the rule of the world over to the power of Satan (Ephesians 2:2). But Satan does not have carte blanche. He can only do what God allows him to do (Job 1:12).
I think that Piper correctly addresses the “problem” of God’s sovereignty.
Man-centered humans are amazed that God should withhold life and joy from His creatures. But the God-centered Bible is amazed that God should withhold judgment from sinners (Piper, John, The Supremacy of God in Preaching (Grand Rapids: Baker Books) p. 34).
How amazing things become when we change our perspective from a prideful human self-centered perspective to a biblical God-centered perspective. The writer of Psalms 119 had a biblical view of affliction.
It is good for me that I was afflicted,
That I may learn Your statutes.
In verse 71 the writer attests to the goodness the affliction of God had on him. He said that he learned Gods statutes because of the affliction. In verse 74 he says that all of Gods judgments are righteous and it was in faithfulness that he was afflicted.
I know, O LORD, that Your judgments are righteous,
And that in faithfulness You have afflicted me.
James tells us that we are to have joy when we go through various trials. These trials test our faith and will produce endurance and endurance will make us perfect, lacking nothing (James 1:2-4). And finally in Romans 8 we find that all things work together for good to conform us to the image of Christ.
Romans 8:28, 29
And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;
No matter what happens we know that God works all things together for good. Not a few things, not most things, but all things. So whether we are being slandered, fired from a job, or killed for the cause of Christ we know that God is in control and is using our affliction to bring glory to Himself, to further His kingdom, and to sanctify us.
Michael Harwood
Mike,
Great article! Can I post it on my blog as a guest-post? I'd like anyone else who reads this blog to read it.
I think I agreed with almost everything you said, although I'm slightly uncertain about your comment "it is impossible to be godly without suffering" as there may be some Christians who will never experience persecution, and I don't believe we should necessarily go looking for it. Am I missing something?
Thank you!
Brooke
I am not saying that we should have a martyr complex. I was not the one that said that those who desire to live a godly life will be persuceted. Paul said this in 2 Timothy 3. Jesus also said that we will be hated because the world first hated Him.
I think that if the church, in Amreica, was really being a light to the world and "being" the church we would be persuceted more harshly than we are at times here.
God uses trials to sanctify us, to make us more Christ-like. We are called to be Christ-like, we are told to grow, 1 Peter, it is a command.
The first chapter of James covers how God uses trials to refine us. The only way to get pure gold is to put it through the crucible and melt the impurties out of it. That is what God does to us, see also Romans 8:28, 29. As I mentioned in the article Peter talks a lot about suffering in his letters. I would encourage you, and everyone, to read it several times and take note to what he says about suffering.
Suffering is a part of life. Everyone suffers, but those who make it thorough the trials and still hold to their faith in God will recieve the crown of life. James 1
I would encourage every who is reading these to find and talk to a Christian that was raised in a different culture and country. Most of them have some fairly different ideas about life, Christainity and suffering than we americans do.
Mike Harwood
And yes you can use my article however you want to.
Mr. Harwood,
Thanks for letting me use your article, and for the suggested reading. I'll look in to that. And I do totally agree that suffering does refine and that it is a part of life, especially for those who make a stand and chose to be a light. Thanks for clarifying that.
By the way, are going to take Greek 2? =)
I am very grateful that God placed me here in this countlry at this time. It is a real blessing to be able to freely worship and go to bible college and seminary and i look forward to openely teaching others and sharing what God has done in my life. Our freedom is a blessing and we should take advantage of it. Many Christians in other countries would love to just own a bible let alone go to bible college and study at seminary. I would encourage all high school graduates, and anyone else who wants to know Gods word better, to go to bible college. If anyone is struggling with what the will of God is for their life study His word. God's will for us is sanctification, or becoming more like Christ. To do this we need to know His Word, the bible, and obey His Word. Going to bible college will facilitate spiritual growth (and it is a good place to meet godly men and women, friends, and possibly a future spouce!?!?)
If you are reading this and don't know what to do with your life, consider a GOOD bible college, a bad one can lead you astray from the truth (i.e. false teaching). One year degree from a bible college won't put you that far off course from persuing your dream career, after all most people change their major several times in college. So take advantage of the freedom we do have, study God's Word.
Brooke, if you want to study more on this subject i would recommend taking the Philosophy class at Montana Bible College. It will really open your eyes to just how unbiblical much of our thinking is here in america. Yes i will be in greek 2 next semester and i have a lot of studying to do this vacation for greek.
Mike Harwood
I appreciate you bringing up the blessings of living here, indeed we do a have a great priviledge and we should take full advantage of it. I am going to try and get Kristi to read what you wrote about Bible college, as she is hoping to head off to college soon.
I'll have to look into the philosophy class. Does Mr. Heide teach that? Ditto on the Greek review this break. :)
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