Who are Our Enemies?

[Christsfreeservant]

“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person's enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” (Matthew 10:34-39 ESV)​

There are several running themes throughout the New Testament writings, and one of the predominant ones is the persecution of the saints of the Lord. It keeps recurring over and over because we need to be reminded that if we follow Jesus Christ with our lives that this is to be expected, so that when it does happen that it does not overtake us, and so that we do not lose heart. And perhaps in a sort of backward way, this serves as an encouragement to us when we are being persecuted, knowing that we are not alone in this.

And another reason we need to be reminded of this is because it appears that the majority of those who are preaching “the gospel” these days are overlooking this fact, and so many of them are presenting only the positive aspects of the Christian faith, and so they are not really preparing the people for this reality. Or if you are being persecuted, then they will try to put you on a guilt trip that it must be your fault, kind of like what Job’s friends did to him in accusing him of sin because of the trial he was going through.

And then there are those who, when you are being persecuted, immediately counsel you to leave and to go someplace else, “because God wants you to be happy.” But Jesus, over and over, kept telling us that we would be persecuted. Yes, there are times when he says to leave, but there are times when he says to remain and to see the salvation of the Lord. If all we do is keep running from persecution in order to be happy, then we will not be able to fulfill the great commission of the Lord in taking his gospel to the people.

And then if you do remain in situations where you are facing persecution, like Jesus did, and the NT apostles did, and the prophets before them did, then they want you to just keep it to yourself, as though that is just your problem. But Paul all the time told the people of his sufferings and of his persecutions, and he asked for them to share in the fellowship of his sufferings, and of Christ’s sufferings, and to pray for him and to encourage him and all other Christians who were suffering persecution.

So, basically if you are staying somewhere where you are being persecuted, but even if God is using this in your life for good in your own life and in the lives of others to whom you are ministering, it appears that most people do not want to hear about it so that they can pray for you, for they assume that is your problem. And I understand that there are people out there who just like to complain and to gossip about other people, but the Scriptures do teach that we are to bear one another’s burdens and to pray for each other.

And the reason that I am bringing all of this up is that the persecuted are often being persecuted by those who are supposed to be supporting them and encouraging them and praying for them. And so they are being abandoned and forsaken and cast off by the people who are to be praying for them. And so they end up not only being persecuted by those who are supposed to love and encourage them, but then they are abandoned, too, especially by those who think they should just live for their own happiness.

But Jesus didn’t call us to live for our own happiness. He didn’t call us to run away from suffering so that we can be happy. He called us to suffer for the sake of his name and for the sake of his gospel, and for the sake of righteousness, and that we are not to be ashamed to suffer for Christ. He called us to lay down our lives and to be willing to suffer and to die to see others be set free from their bondage of sin and to now walk in holiness and in righteousness and in obedience to our Lord.

But this doesn’t mean that if we are suffering for the sake of Christ and for his gospel that we are to keep silent about it and that we are not to ask for prayer. We need prayer! And the solution is not always to abandon ship, especially just so that we can be happy. For the Lord sometimes puts us in such situations to make us into the people he wants us to be so that he can use us in the ways he wants to use us, and running away would be abandoning his calling on our lives. But we still need prayer.

For when we make that decision to follow Jesus with our lives, we are choosing to be persecuted for the sake of righteousness. But this is the choice that all of us who call upon the name of the Lord are making for ourselves if our faith in Christ is genuine God-persuaded faith in Christ. For this is a decision to take up our cross daily to follow Christ in obedience and to be willing to be hated and persecuted in order to share with others the gospel of our salvation so that they can come to know him, too.

And yes, sometimes our fiercest opponents and enemies may be the people of our own families, even in our own households. But what did Jesus say? He said that whoever loves father or mother more than him is not worthy of him. For if we choose the acceptance and approval of our family members over the will of God for our lives, we are not worthy of Christ. We are not fit for the kingdom of heaven because we loved our lives more than we loved Christ. We have to be willing to be hated by people in order to love God.

And if we are not willing to die daily to sin and to follow our Lord in obedience to his commands, and if we are not willing to suffer for the sake of his name and for the sake of his gospel and for the sake of righteousness, for our own comfort and enjoyment and happiness, then we are not worthy (suitable, fitting, deserving) of our Lord and his salvation and eternal life. For we are called to suffer for the sake of his name, not to abandon all suffering for our own comfort and enjoyment.

So don’t be ashamed or afraid to suffer for the sake of Christ and for his gospel. And don’t believe the lies which tell you that you should live for your own comfort and enjoyment, even if it means abandoning the call of God on your lives. For we are called of God to deny self, to take up our cross daily (die daily to sin and to self) and to follow our Lord in obedience wherever he leads us. But if we hold on to our own lives for our own comfort and enjoyment, we will lose our lives for eternity, no matter what we profess.

[Matt 5:10-12; Matt 10:16-25; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 6:22-23; Lu 21:12-19; Jn 15:1-21; Jn 16:33; Jn 17:14; Ac 14:22; Rom 5:3-5; Phil 3:7-11; 1 Pet 1:6-7; 1 Pet 4:12-17; 2 Tim 3:12; 1 Thess 3:1-5; Jas 1:2-4; 2 Co 1:3-11; Heb 12:3-12; 1 Jn 3:13; Rev 6:9-11; Rev 7:9-17; Rev 11:1-3; Rev 12:17; Rev 13:1-18; Rev 14:1-13; Luke 9:23-26; Romans 6:1-23; Matthew 7:21-23]

Why Are You Afraid?

An Original Work / December 5, 2013
Based off Various Scriptures

Do not be afraid.
Your Lord is always by your side.
Serve the Lord in righteousness
Before Him all your days.

Those who hate the light
Will not come to the Lord.
They fear their deeds
Might be noticed.
So, they hate the light,
And they embrace the night.

Do not be afraid,
Although your enemy attacks.
Dare to share your testimony
Of God’s saving grace.

Do not fear their threats,
But honor Christ, your Lord.
Be prepared to give an answer
For the hope you have,
With gentleness; respect.

Why are you afraid?
For all that’s hidden will be shown.
What I tell you, speak in daylight.
Let the truth be known.

Do not be afraid
Of those who’ll take your life.
Fear the Lord with understanding.
Trust Him with your life,
And give not up to strife.

Do not be afraid.
Take courage, it is I, your Lord.
Bow before Me; now adore Me.
Oh, why do you doubt?

Listen to the Lord.
Get up and bear His name!
Run and tell the world He loves them.
Jesus came to save.
Give Him your all today.