Today the battle for truth is raging. Truth itself has become relative and God’s Word carries no authority for the majority of people in our nation and much of the Western World. Some Christians find it difficult to work in their chosen fields without compromising their religious convictions. In many arenas, those who speak up for what is morally right are called bigoted, intolerant, or worse.
But we need to be careful about putting our hope in the government to change and protect us. While there might be a temporary slowing of the process, I believe in the long run these trends will continue, perhaps faster than we think possible. So, how can we prepare ourselves for the continuing battle?
Today’s Readings:
Ruth 3 & 4
Psalm 52.6-9
Proverbs 15.6-7
Luke 20.1-26
The Battle for Truth
Luke 20.1-26:
No Authority
If you read or listen to much news, you know the world around us is changing at breakneck speed. Lifestyles that were once almost universally condemned are now accepted and embraced. And anyone who disagrees is widely criticized or worse.
Much like what we just finished reading in the book of Judges, everyone believes they’re free to decide what’s right for them. God’s Word carries no authority for the majority of people in our nation and much of the Western World.
Christians in the scientific community and the world of academics have been discredited, marginalized, refused positions, and fired for expressing their beliefs.
People of faith are attacked and made an example of in the marketplace. Some have been threatened, sued, and fined for following their Christian beliefs.
Free speech itself is being attacked in the very institutions that have traditionally stood for the free exchange of ideas. Students on university campuses have rioted to prevent the expression of opinions and ideas with which they disagree. And those who oppose them are afraid to speak up for fear of becoming targets themselves. Even students are attacked for expressing Christian or conservative views.
And now we have what is going on across the nation on college campuses with the most vile expressions of antisemitism imaginable and again people are either afraid or prevented from speaking the truth or stopping the evil.
And sadly, I believe we can expect these trends to continue in the long run and pick up speed.
A Servant is Not Greater than His Master
We shouldn’t be surprised. Jesus warned us in John 15:
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.
Here in Luke 20, we see the Scribes and Pharisees intensifying their efforts to trap Jesus. But instead of pulling back, He tells the “Parable of the Wicked Vinedressers” (Lk. 20.9-19).
19 And the chief priests and the scribes that very hour sought to lay hands on Him, but they feared the people—for they knew He had spoken this parable against them.
But they would soon have their opportunity.
What If It’s Us?
How should we respond if (or perhaps, more accurately, when) we find ourselves in the cross hairs of our intolerant culture? The book of 1 Peter has some things to say on that subject.
In 64 A.D. historians say Emperor Nero burned a large part of Rome to the ground to make room for palaces and other buildings he hoped would become his legacy. When accusations were aimed at him, he looked around for a scapegoat and found a convenient target: Christians.
They soon found themselves suffering intense persecution. They were imprisoned, beaten, and persecuted in dozens of ways. Some were dipped in tar and burned as torches, others were thrown to lions, and still others were dragged to death through the streets of Rome.
It was during this time and to those people that Peter wrote his first epistle.
Unless We’re Asked to Sin
1 Peter 2:
13 Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme, 14 or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good.15 For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men— 16 as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God. 17 Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.
So first, we should do our best to submit to and show respect for civil authority unless it would be sinful to do so (Acts 4.19-20). That might sound reasonable if a government is seeking to do good and rule justly. But Peter didn’t stop there.
18 Servants, be submissive to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the harsh. 19 For this is commendable, if because of conscience toward God one endures grief, suffering wrongfully. 20 For what credit is it if, when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God.
If we’re mistreated, it should be for doing what is morally right, not because of our own sinful behavior.
Following His Example
21 For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps:
22 “Who committed no sin,
Nor was deceit found in His mouth”;23 who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously.
Just as Jesus entrusted Himself to God, so should we. He will, eventually, right all wrongs. Instead, we should do what Paul told those in the church in Rome (Rom. 12)
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.
17 Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. 18 If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. 19 Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 Therefore
“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
If he is thirsty, give him a drink;
For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.”21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
When we do, we’ll be salt and light to a generation that is in desperate need of Christ.
Seeking Legal Counsel
That doesn’t mean that we can’t defend ourselves legally if we are threatened or accused of a crime. We should, also, seek wise legal counsel to protect ourselves as much as possible. Proverbs says:
The prudent sees the evil and hides himself,
But the naive go on, and are punished for it (Prov. 22.3).
If you are accused or threatened, there are organizations seeking to help and defend believers with these issues. One is the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) and the other is the American Center for Law & Justice.
But ultimately our allegiance should be to God and His truth. And like the apostles, we must be willing to suffer the consequences of doing so. In Acts 4, Peter and John had been arrested and were to be released but were given strict instructions:
18 And when they had summoned them, they commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge; 20 for we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.
Preparing Our Hearts & Minds
In the meantime, we must prepare our hearts and minds for these possibilities. If we don’t, it’s unlikely we’ll stand up under the increasing marginalization and persecution that will likely come.
Certainly, we should vote for candidates who we believe will defend religious liberty, but, ultimately, we cannot look to the government to rescue us. Instead, we should prepare ourselves so we’re able to stand firm against the secular onslaught.
6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
13 Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ (1 Pet. 1.6-7,13).
Wishy-washy Christianity won’t hold up. Sunday-only Christians will fall away under the pressure. Religion alone won’t cut it.
So first, we need to be sure that we are in right relationship with God. Then we need to read, study, and seek to understand the Word of God, His promises to us, and His character.
The Need to Keep Growing
And then we need to keep growing.
14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ (Eph. 4.14-15).
That means living obediently.
12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. 13 For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. 14 But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil (Heb. 5.12-14).
The New Living Translations says, “Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong.”
We mature not by merely knowing the Word, but by training ourselves to do it. We must not think we can ignore God’s commandments in the little everyday things and believe we’ll be strong enough to obey when tested.
Discipling Others
We should not only fill our hearts and minds with the truth, but we should, also, disciple others (2 Tim. 2.2), beginning with our children. We can’t leave it to Sunday school teachers who have our children for an hour or two a week (Deut. 6.6-9).
And we shouldn’t stop with our own families. All of us know other believers who would love to grow. Women can meet once a week with another woman and men can do the same with another man. Study a book of the Bible together. Go through a biblically sound book. Ask your church leadership for recommendations or check out the list at the bottom of this post.
Don’t Go Looking for Trouble
Finally, we don’t need to go looking for persecution and trouble, but we need to trust God to give us the wisdom and grace we need if and when it comes.
16 “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.17 But beware of men, for they will deliver you up to councils and scourge you in their synagogues.18 You will be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles.19 But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak;20 for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you (Matt. 10.16-20).
And we need to rejoice that the current trials and persecutions point to the fact that Jesus is coming back, maybe soon. May we be found living for His glory when He does (2 Cor. 5.9).
Today’s Other Readings:
Ruth 3 & 4:
A Loyal Daughter-in-Law
In yesterday’s reading, we met Ruth and her mother-in-law, Naomi. If you know the story, Naomi’s husband and two sons had died in Moab where they had fled to avoid a famine in their homeland. Their deaths had left Naomi hopeless and bitter. As she prepared to return home, she urged her two daughters-in-law to return to their own people. One reluctantly did but the other, Ruth, remained loyal to Naomi and returned with her.
A Kinsman-Redeemer
In chapter 2, Ruth had been providing for them by gleaning the grain left after the reapers had finished. In God’s sovereignty, she ended up gleaning in a field owned by a close relative of Naomi’s by the name of Boaz. Boaz took notice of Ruth and her faithfulness to her mother-in-law.
Chapter 3 opens with these verses:
1 Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, shall I not seek security for you, that it may be well with you? 2 Now Boaz, whose young women you were with, is he not our relative? In fact, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor. 3 Therefore wash yourself and anoint yourself, put on your best garment and go down to the threshing floor; but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. 4 Then it shall be, when he lies down, that you shall notice the place where he lies; and you shall go in, uncover his feet, and lie down; and he will tell you what you should do.”
5 And she said to her, “All that you say to me I will do.”
Even though the custom seems very strange to us, Ruth obeyed her mother-in-law and did the morally right thing to appeal to Boaz to marry her under the levirate law. Boaz commended her for her request. After their marriage, the first child born to Boaz and Ruth was Obed, the grandfather of King David and the ancestor of Jesus Christ.
Boaz as Ruth’s kinsman-redeemer was a type of Jesus Christ Himself who would later come as our Redeemer.
Psalm 52.6-9:
The End of the Wicked
The psalmist compares the ultimate destruction of evildoers and God’s care for the righteous. He acknowledges that the wicked may boastfully appear to succeed for a time, but will ultimately be judged and become a laughing stock.
Proverbs 15.6-7:
Meditation, the Heart, and the Lips
The lips of the wise disperse knowledge, but the heart of the fool does not do so (v. 7 NKJV).
Why does the writer of Proverbs compare the “lips” of the wise and the “heart” of the fool? Because the lips and the heart are closely tied together.
The reason the wise woman (or man) is able to disperse knowledge is that she has been putting God’s truth into her heart, choosing to view things from God’s perspective, meditating on it, and seeking to be a doer of it.
The fool, on the other hand, feeds and meditates on all the wrong things. We shouldn’t think we can fill our thoughts with envy, bitterness, and anger and expect wholesome words to come out of our mouths. Eventually, our words will reveal what is really in our hearts.
Coming Up:
In the coming days, we’ll talk about responding to criticism, persecution, and rejection. We’ll discuss what to do when you feel like you have let God down or you continue to fight the same spiritual battle over and over. And we’ll learn how to tell the difference between godly sorrow and worldly sorrow.
I hope you’ll sign up so you don’t miss any of them.
If you would like to receive a FREE downloadable and printable Bible study through the book of Mark, you can click here for more information.
Blessings as you grow in Christ,
Donna ♥
Note about this post:
I began blogging through the Bible in 2012 and have done so every year since then. These posts are the product of many edits and additions throughout those years. Some days I make major changes, other days fewer.
A while ago, I read Jen Wilkin’s book None Like Him about the attributes of God. One is His incomprehensibility. In it, she says, “God is incomprehensible. This does not mean that he is unknowable, but that he is unable to be fully known.”
I have found that to be true each year as I’ve gone back through the Bible. Sometimes I find myself feeling as if a passage just appeared there for the first time. I’m reminded that no matter how many times we read through the Bible, we have only scratched the surface. I hope you feel the same.
Indeed these are the mere edges of His ways,
And how small a whisper we hear of Him!
But the thunder of His power who can understand?” (Job 26.14)
Leave a Reply
Your email is safe with us.