Job, A Changed Man -- 3/25/12

Sunday, March 25, 2012

A CHANGED MAN

Job 42:1-6

            Let’s read Luke 19:1-10…

Then Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. 2 Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. 3 And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for He was going to pass that way. 5 And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him, and said to him, "Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house." 6 So he made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully. 7 But when they saw it, they all complained, saying, "He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner." 8 Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold." 9 And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; 10 for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

            It seems there is a sizable gap between verses 7 and 8.  We are not told what happened when Jesus entered into the home of Zacchaeus.  What did Jesus say to him?  Did Zacchaeus ask questions?  Was there a time when he fell on his face before the Lord?  We simply don’t know, because we are not told.  What we do know is that after spending some time with Jesus, Zacchaeus was a changed man.  He was not only a tax collector, but he was one of the head tax collectors, having others under him.  No wonder he was rich.  Zacchaeus and his tax collector friends had a reputation for gouging the people.  But when Jesus got through with Zacchaeus, he now states that he ready to give half of all his possessions to the poor.  Furthermore, he vows that if he has cheated someone out of a hundred dollars, he will give him 400 dollars in return.  Salvation touched what had been dearest to him -- his pocketbook.

            I read about Zacchaeus’ situation in order to compare it with that of Job.  When we come to chapter 42 of this long story, we find that Job is a changed man.  This man who had demanded that God give him justice will now humbly say, “I repent in dust and ashes.”  Wow!  What a difference!  We want to say, “What happened to Job?”  We don’t know exactly what happened.  We aren’t privileged to know everything about his thought processes.  However, we know a bit more than we do about Zacchaeus visit with Jesus, for God saw fit to preserve the words He spoke to Job.  We have been reading them in chapters 38-41.  Those words deeply impacted our friend Job.

            This morning we are going to consider 42:1-6.  Let’s go ahead and read it now… (Job 42:1-6)

 Then Job answered the Lord and said: 2 "I know that You can do everything, And that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You. 3 You asked, 'Who is this who hides counsel without knowledge?' Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. 4 Listen, please, and let me speak; You said, 'I will question you, and you shall answer Me.' 5 "I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, But now my eye sees You. 6Therefore I abhor myself, And repent in dust and ashes.

            From this passage we are going to look at three things (though we won’t get to all of it this morning).

                        … The change in Job

                        … The place of God’s Word in Job’s change

                        … Job’s changed perspective on God

This morning we will focus on the change in Job.

            Make no mistake about it, Job is a changed man.  We have talked at length about how pride had crept into his life.  In the last three chapters of his speaking, Job reminds God that he has been a great blessing to those around him, but now they treat him like dirt.  Job further accuses the Lord of not caring, of treating him with cruelty (30:21).  In chapter 31 Job enumerates all his righteous deeds one more time.  The problem wasn’t that Job was lying about his deeds.  Rather, the problem was that Job thought God owed him certain blessings because of his good deeds.  Though Job himself was blind to its deadly advance of pride within, Elihu had some insight into what was happening when he stated that Job was guilty of justifying himself rather than God (32:2).  But it was the Lord Himself who dealt directly with Job’s pride, especially in the first part of chapter 40.  He asked Job questions such as:  “Shall the one who contends with the Almighty correct Him?” (40:2) and “Would you condemn Me that you may be justified?” (40:8).

            Now when we come to 42:1-6, who can deny that pride has been replaced with a deep humility.  The change in tone is as different as night and day.  What a change, and it is all for the better.  Yes, Job is a changed man.

            Let’s look at three elements in that changed attitude. 

I.  Job Came to Recognize that God Can Do Anything

            Begin with verse 1.  Let’s read it again:  “Then Job answered the lord and said:  ‘I know that You can do everything, and that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You.’”  The ESV says the same thing, but I think it makes it a bit clearer:  “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.” 

            Notice the words “I know.”  This is not something that Job is still considering. He doesn’t say, “I think that maybe, just perhaps…”  Rather, it is a settled, “I know.”  Job has no question about the fact that God can do anything and everything.  Job’s confidence in that truth is now unshakable.  No doubt, Job would have said these same things back in chapters 1 and 2.  But because he had allowed himself to become self-focused, he had gradually forgotten who God was.  It wasn’t deliberate, but slowly but surely his confidence in the Almighty had leaked out. 

            What was it that brought Job back to this settled conviction?  All we have to do is read chapters 38-41.  Though we don’t know the exact thought process through which Job passed, we know that he was influenced by the things God said to him in chapters 38-41.  Recall that the Lord had asked him question after question, starting with:  “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?” (Job 38:4).  In chapters 38-39 the Lord interrogated Job with some 57 questions.  When the Lord paused at the end of chapter 39, Job gave a brief response which indicated that he was learning something about humility.  Let’s read again Job’s words from 40:4-5, “Behold, I am vile.  What shall I answer You?  I lay my hand over my mouth.  Once I have spoke, but I will not answer.  Yes, twice, but I will proceed no further.”  But the Lord wasn’t finished with Job.  In chapters 40-41 He reminded Job of the magnificence of behemoth and leviathan.  The center of God’s purpose is captured in 41:10, “No one is so fierce he would dare stir him [leviathan] up.  Who then is able to stand against me?”  Do you hear what the Lord is saying?  “Job, if you are willing to admit that you are terrified of leviathan, then consider the One who made this powerful creature and directs his every step.  I am the Creator.  Who are you to stand against me?”  Suffice it to say that the Lord definitely got Job’s attention.

            Job came to understand as never before that God can do anything.  Do you know that God can do anything?  Oh yes, you say you know God can do anything, but words can be cheap.  Do you really believe it?  You who are lost, do you believe that God can save you?  Do you believe that He can forgive you and transform you into a new creation?  Discouraged saint, do you believe that God can revive you again, can renew your faith and restore your joy?  We sometimes sing the words of Ps. 51:10-12…

Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.

Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.

Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.

We sing the words, but do you believe them?  If God can do anything, then He can work the impossible within us.

            Do you believe God can do anything?  Then ask Him to search your heart.  We believe He created the universe.  We know that He sustains it day after day.  We are convinced that He can indeed save people from their sins.  But do you believe that everything He does in your life is for His glory and your good?  Do you know that it is right for you to give thanks for all things unto God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ?  Do you know that He can empower you to forgive that one who has wronged you?  Do you believe that He can remove every remnant of anger, bitterness, and resentment that lies deep within you? 

            Praise God that no purpose of His can be thwarted.  No one can hinder the Lord from carrying out what He has purposed.  Aren’t you glad.  He has said that He will complete the good work He began in me until the day of Jesus Christ.  God has promised to make me like His Son.  That is His purpose and no one or no thing can derail His purpose.  Praise His name!  Believe it, brothers and sisters!

II.  Job Came to Understand that God Knows Everything

            Now come to 42:3, “You asked, ‘Who is this who hides counsel without knowledge?’  Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.”  Now there is a shift from power to knowledge.  Job now knows that God can do everything, but he has learned something else equally important.  Though the wording isn’t quite so clear, Job is now saying, “And I know that you know everything.”  The Lord is omnipotent is also omniscient.  The God who has all power also has all knowledge.

            Let’s take just a moment to look at the beginning of verse 3.  Notice those words in the New King James, “You asked.”  These words are absent from the King James, the English Standard Version, and the New American Standard Version.  In the New International Version “You asked” is in brackets.  There is a very simple explanation for the difference in translations.  Those versions which omit “You asked” are very literal; those words are not in the text.  So why does the NKJV include them?  To try to help us understand where the following words come from.  In other words, who said, “Who is this who hides counsel without knowledge?”  Job is the one speaking here, but putting those words into the mouth of Job doesn’t make much sense.  We find our answer in the context, by going back to chapter 38.  38:2, “Who is this who darkens counsel by words without knowledge?”  Job gives a loose quotation of what the Lord had said to him.  Though here in 42:3 Job doesn’t include the words, “You asked,” he is clearly referring back to what the Lord had said to him.  The Lord had asked Job why he muddied the waters by speaking when he didn’t know what he was talking about.

            Now, after listening to all the words of chapters 38-41, Job is ready to give an answer to the Lord’s question.  Listen to his answer in the last part of 42:3, “…Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.”  You may be comparing these words with the words of Job in chapter 40, which we read just a little bit ago.  Let me read them again from 40:4-5, “Behold, I am vile.  What shall I answer You?  I lay my hand over my mouth.  Once I have spoke, but I will not answer.  Yes, twice, but I will proceed no further.”  At first, we might think that there is really no difference in the two responses.  However, I believe there is a difference.  When Job responded in chapter 40, I believe he was overwhelmed by the power and knowledge of God.  He was humbled, but he still lacked understanding.  He agreed that he was out of his league and ought to keep his mouth shut.  But now Job has much more understanding.  His understanding is in the fact that he realizes just how little he understood all along.  Before the further words of God in chapters 40 and 41, Job understood enough to acknowledge his ignorance and shut his mouth, but now he understands enough to praise God that His thoughts are far above those of man.  If it seems that I am reading a bit into Job’s words, it is because of what we are going to read in verses 5 and 6.

            Before the Lord began to speak in chapter 38, Job sometimes talked to the Lord as if he were on an equal plane with Him.  Remember that he requested a hearing in God’s court.  But now he realizes that he was speaking in ways that he did not understand.  When Job now talks about “things too wonderful for me, which I did not know,” I believe his thinking is well represented by those well-known words of Is. 55:9-10, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”  Job came to understand that the Lord’s knowledge is so far above man’s that there is no comparison.

            We read from Psalm 139 a couple of weeks ago, but we must read it again.  Ps. 139:1-6…

O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me. 2.  Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. 3.  Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. 4.  For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether. 5.  Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me. 6.  Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.

That’s exactly what Job was saying.  He had deceived himself into thinking that he could converse with God as an equal, but now he knew better.

            Do you know that God knows all?  We answer matter of factly, “Of course.  We all know that God knows everything.  Even children know that.”  But do we believe it?  Do you believe that God knows the pain that you experience as well as you know it?  Do we believe that God understands the hurts we have endured better than we ourselves understand?  Do we believe that God is wise enough to know exactly what circumstances to bring into our lives?  If we believe that, along with the truth that He is our loving Father, then we will praise Him for every circumstance in life.  The problem is that sometimes we forget that He is an all-wise and loving heavenly Father. 

            Brothers and sisters, let’s praise God that He knows everything.  He did not create us to know everything.  If we knew everything, we wouldn’t need to trust Him.  Since our knowledge is limited, we can take heart in the fact that we are being loved and transformed by the God who knows all.  We are in good hands!

           

III.  Job Came to Abhor Himself and to Repent

            I said we were going to look at three elements in Job’s changed attitude.  First, he now knows that God can do everything.  Second, he now understands that God knows all things, that His knowledge and wisdom is far above that of any man.  Now we come to the third aspect of Job’s changed attitude.  We find it in verses 4-6, “Listen, please, and let me speak.  You said, ‘I will question you, and you shall answer Me.’  I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You.  Therefore I abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes.”  To put it briefly and bluntly, now Job has an attitude of repentance.  This is the natural outgrowth of what he has learned from the Almighty.  Since he now understands more of who God is, he also understands more of who he is, and he repents.

            Various translations and interpreters understand verse 4 in different ways.  Again, the words “You said” in the New Kings James are not found in most translations, because they are not in the original text.  As a matter of fact, there are those who take the words “I will question you, and you shall answer me” as Job’s direct statement to God.  In order to do so, they soften the terms somewhat and make this a plea from Job rather than a demand.  However, it seems better to take this in the same way as verse 3.  (Note that though the ESV doesn’t include the words, “You said,” it takes it as God’s words, as seen from the inclusion of the single quotation marks that surround it).  Notice that these words are an exact quote of what the Lord said to Job in 38:3, “…I will question you, and you shall answer Me.”  Since Job has  already quoted the Lord once in this context, it seems pretty clear that he is quoting the Lord again.  After quoting the question, Job is now ready to give the appropriate answer.

            When we come to verses 5-6 we really begin to see the great change in Job.  The reality of his greater understanding of God’s power and knowledge is now confirmed by his attitude of repentance.  As we consider the words of Job in chapters 3-26, we begin to realize that Job was moving farther and farther from an attitude of humility and repentance.  Little by little, his heart was becoming hard but what a change.  The Job who had become self-confident now says, “I abhor myself.”  Some translations render it, “I despise myself,” and I believe that is a good translation.  Webster’s dictionary lists “hate” as a synonym of “abhor.” 

            I am fully aware that the great majority of people in our society, especially those with the most education, will view Job as a poor misguided soul who had little understanding of modern psychology.  In our world we are constantly told that it is a bad thing to despise or hate self.  Rather, we are bombarded with the message that one of our greatest needs is to love self.  I want to be careful not to get on my soap box and spend an hour on this subject.  Nevertheless, I must say without apology that by the grace of God I will not be lured into such unbiblical thinking, regardless of who advocates the love of self.  Love of self is SIN.  That’s right -- s-i-n, sin.

            Many so-called Christian psychologists and counselors have used advocated love of self by using Jesus’ words, when He said, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.”  They explain, “Since you are supposed to love your neighbor as yourself, you can’t do it until you learn to love yourself.”  That is an example of taking a conviction and then trying to find biblical support for it.  The conviction came from the rise of modern psychology.  If it was going to be incorporated into Christian thinking, it had to have some basis in scripture.  However, Jesus never once talked about learning to love self, nor does any other part of the Bible.  Rather, the Bible assumes that people love themselves.  That is why Jesus said, “He who loves his life shall lose it; and he who hates his life in this world will keep it unto eternal life” (John 12:25). 

            Someone will say, “Ron, don’t you realize that there are thousands of messed-up people who hate themselves?”  What psychology defines as hating self is just a twisted form of loving self.  The essential characteristic of loving self is self-focus.  The person who loves himself is focused on himself.  Now apply that to those people who are described as hating self.  Is their focus on self?  Absolutely.  Consider the person who commits suicide, which might be defined as the ultimate form of self-hatred.  Certainly psychology will tell us that we must teach self-haters to love themselves in order to prevent suicide.  That kind of thinking is upside down.  A person commits suicide because he loves himself, because he is self-focused. He certainly doesn’t kill himself for the benefit of those around him.  He does it for himself!

            When Jesus spoke of hating self, He did not mean that we are to go around beating ourselves and berating ourselves, saying, “I am the worst person on the planet.  I’m not worthy to live.  Go ahead, hit me; I deserve it.”  That’s not what Jesus meant.  That kind of attitude focuses on self.  The person who hates himself in biblical terms hates the life that’s focused on self.  Freedom in Christ is not to think less of self, but to think of self less.  In other words, when a person comes to understand that his life is Christ and is able to set his mind on things above, where Christ sits on the right hand of God, he will not constantly be thinking, “Do I love myself enough?  Am I hating myself too much?”  Rather, he will not be thinking of himself at all.  Rather, he is thinking of Christ and how he can be a servant of others in Jesus’ name.

            Isn’t that what we see in Job?  He had become self-focused, but after listening to God for an extended period of time, he is able to drop his complaints, rise out of his self-pity, and set his eyes on the glorious God who has the power and knowledge to direct his life.  He despises the way he was.  Now he rejoices not so much in what he has become, but in the God who is in the process of changing him.

            Turn for a moment to II Corinthians 3.  Paul has been talking about the wonderful new covenant ministry of the Spirit.  Nevertheless, there are those who seem to have a veil over their hearts, preventing them from hearing from the Lord.  Now II Cor. 3:16-18 (ESV), “But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.  Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.  And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.  For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”  Brothers and sisters, it is as we keep on beholding the Lord Jesus that we are transformed from one degree of glory to another.  In short, if you want to be like Jesus, then set your gaze on Jesus and keep it there.

            I am fond of reading or quoting Col. 3:1-4.  I was thinking about that passage again in relation to Job and the change the Lord makes in our lives.  Let me read it again:  Col. 3:1-4 (NKJV), “If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God.  Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.  For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.  When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.”  Speaking to believers, Paul says that Christ is our life.  That is true for every believer.  But perhaps it is significant that he mentions this in verse 4.  He could have said in verse 1, “If then you were raised with Christ, who is our life,” but he doesn’t.  It is as we seek those things which are above and set our mind on things above, realizing that we died with Christ… it is then that we are fully aware that Christ is our very life.  In other words, when we continually set our minds on Jesus, we enjoy the reality that He is indeed our very life.

            Back to the words of Job in 40:6, “Therefore I abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes.”  Job repented.  Notice how closely his repentance is linked to his despising of self.  He now hates the attitude he had demonstrated.  How he regrets the way he had opened the door to pride, and now he wants to distance himself from that attitude.  He wonders how he could have ever challenged the wisdom and justice of the Almighty.  He has been guilty of foolish pride and arrogance.  He regrets his self-righteousness, and he doesn’t want to go there again.  Yes, Job repented. 

            So what’s with the dust and ashes?   Let’s go back to chapter 2, when Satan first afflicted Job with boils.  Let’s read Job 2:7-8, “So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and struck Job with painful boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head.  And he took for himself a potsherd with which to scrape himself while he sat in the midst of the ashes.”  To sit in dust or ashes was a sign of mourning and/or humiliation.  It was an outward expression of inward sorrow.  The depth of his sorrow now is even greater than that caused by outward affliction in chapter 2.  It was absolute misery to be afflicted with such painful boils, but it was far greater misery to realize his sin against a holy and righteous God. 

Conclusion:  Beyond Repentance

            Some would look at this story and view God as cruel.  How could a loving God crush and humiliate a man like this?  Surely He is nothing but a bully who throws His weight around because no one can stop Him.  Such a viewpoint does not understand God as Job did.  Whatever readers of his story may think, Job did not view the Lord as cruel and vindictive.

            Someone has noted that Satan tears a man down in order to destroy him.  God, on the other hand, tears a man down in order that He might build him up.  The simple truth is that the way up is always down.  That is why Jesus said, “And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Matt. 23:12).  It was true in the life of Jesus Himself.  It was only after He had humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death that God highly exalted Him and gave Him a name above every name (Phil. 2:8-11).  If it was true of the Son of God, surely it is true of every one of God’s creatures.  We are going to see this in the life of Job.  It is out of His repentance and humility that the Lord will heal him and bless him in a great way.

            The natural man scratches and claws to elevate himself; the godly man bows himself before the Lord, only to find himself being lifted up by the Almighty.  Jesus put it like this in Matt. 5:3-6…

3.  Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4.  Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

5.  Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.

6.  Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

            Job was a changed man because he came to see the character of God more clearly, and as a result he was able to view himself more accurately.  So it was with Isaiah.  After he saw the Lord high and lifted up, he then was able to say, “Woe is me, for I am undone” (Is. 6:1-5).  It is the same with everyone of us.  Understanding more of who God is is not just an intellectual exercise; it is the door to living life as God intended. 

            Let’s conclude on a joyful note.  Think about it.  God is all-powerful and all-knowing.  He can do anything, and He knows everything.  Is it any wonder that Paul says, “If God is for us, who can be against us”? (Rom. 8:31).  If the God I serve is able to do anything on my behalf and is wise enough to know what to do for my benefit, then I can live with absolute confidence.  I am not limited to what I know and what I can do.  Of course, the only question is this:  Is Almighty God for me?  Is He my God?  Have I been reconciled to Him?  Is He my Father? 

            If the answer those questions is “Yes,” then rejoice, brother or sister.  He is indeed working all things together for your good, as you love Him and have been called according to His purpose.  Continue to look to Him and all He has done in Jesus, and He will bless you with a life of repentance and faith.  If you haven’t been reconciled to God by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, then He is not your Father.  The Bible says that you are God’s enemy.  His wrath is resting upon you.  You have no hope in this world or the next.  What can you do?  Obey the words of Jesus, when He said, “Repent and believe.”  Give up on yourself and your own resources.  Admit that there is nothing good in you, that you have been a rebel against God.  Put all your trust in the Lord Jesus, the one who died on the cross, bearing your sins.  He took the punishment of God in your place.  Throw yourself on Him.

Considering Repentance -- 3//18/12

Sunday, March 11, 2012

CONSIDERING  REPENTANCE

            Fred, repent!  I’m telling you, Fred Bundy, repent!  Now when I said those words to Fred, what went through your mind?  Such a blunt command raises a few questions, doesn’t it?  Some of you may be thinking, “Is that any way to talk to someone?  Surely no godly man will talk like that to someone he cares about.”  Or I might ask you:  When I said, “Repent,” what was I asking Fred to do?”

            Perhaps some of you are wondering, “Ron, where did that come from?  What does it have to do with anything?”  That too is a good question.  Job did not receive a command to repent, but in Job 42:6 we hear Job say, “I repent in dust and ashes.”  Now I ask you, “Where did that come from?”  I have to tell you that it is a rather unusual statement.

            In the King James Version, the English word “repent” (in its various forms) is found 46 times.  That isn’t too many over the span of the entire Old Testament.  But 37 of the 46 are not used of man, but of God.  For example, Gen. 6:6, “And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.”  Of the nine remaining, six speak of people repenting in the sense of despising sin.  Five of the six come much later than the time of Job -- one during the reign of Solomon, two in the writings of Jeremiah, and two in the words of Ezekiel.  That leaves us with Job 42:6.  In relation to chronology, this is the first time we read specifically of any man repenting. 

            Before you decide that repentance is an ancient practice of the Old Testament that has little relevance for us today, I must tell you that the concept of repentance is much more prevalent in the New Testament than in the Old.  Furthermore, there is no indication that God intended repentance to cease after biblical times.  So before we dive into Job’s response to God in chapter 42, let’s spend some time this morning looking at the biblical concept of repentance. 

I.  A Familiar Term in the New Testament

            First of all, let me reinforce the truth that the terms “repent” and “repentance” are not foreign to the New Testament.  Rather than looking at all of them, let me focus on the fact that repentance comes to the forefront in the very beginning of the New Testament.  You young people, whom did God send to prepare the way for Jesus?  That’s right, John the Baptist. 

        When we come to the book of Mark, we don’t have to go far at all before we encounter repentance, and that encounter comes through John the Baptist.  Let’s just start at the beginning and read Mark 1:1-4…. (NKJV)

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  ²  As it is written in the Prophets: " Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your way before You."   ³ " The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ' Prepare the way of the LORD; Make His paths straight.' " ⁴ John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.

When Mark wanted to summarize the ministry of John, he said that John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.  The baptizing that John did could not be separated from his message of repentance.  Matthew gives us the very words that John spoke:  ^“In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, ² and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” (Matt. 3:1-2).  Now go on down to Hatt. 3:7-9,          

But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, "Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?  ⁸ Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, ⁹           and do not think to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.

John recognized the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and Saducees.  He told them in no uncertain terms that they needed to show evidence of true repentance in their lives.

           But that was John the Baptist.  He was kind of a strange character anyway.  What can you say about a man who lived in the desert, dressed himself in camel hair, and ate locusts?  We might expect that kind of man to preach a strange message.  Remember that it was John who introduced Jesus, saying, “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).  It would seem that Jesus wasn’t like John.  We have no record that He wore camel hair and ate locusts.  He doesn’t seem as harsh as John.  Nevertheless, go back to Mark 1 and come down to verse 14.  Let’s read Mark 1:14-15, ¹⁴ “Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, ¹⁵ and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.’"  Notice that Jesus said the same thing John said, with great emphasis on repentance.

           Jesus didn’t just tell those particular people to repent and believe, but He later made it clear that the message of repentance was central in His purpose.  After Jesus called Levi (Matthew), the hated tax collector, to follow Him, that same Levi threw a big party for Jesus, the apostles, and his tax collector friends.  You can imagine the kind of people that showed up.  The Pharisees certainly noticed, and they were dumbfounded.  They said, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners like this?” (Lk. 5:30).  That’s when Jesus responded with the words we know well:  "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.  ³² I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance" (Luke 5:31-32).  Later Jesus said, “The Son of man has come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10).  That is a beautiful description from His own lips of why He came.  But notice that within that purpose of salvation is repentance.  Jesus came to call on sinners to repent.

           Let me read you another little story from Luke 13:1-5…

There were present at that season some who told Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.  ² And Jesus answered and said to them, "Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things?  ³ I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. ⁴ Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem?  ⁵ I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish."

Jesus made it clear that it is a dangerous thing to look at others and conclude that their misfortunes prove their sin is worse than yours.  Listen to the Lord Jesus:  “Unless you repent, you yourselves will perish.”

           We all know that Jesus had disciples.  Among those disciples, there were twelve whom Jesus designated as His apostles -- Peter, James, John, Andrew, and the rest.  These twelve traveled with Jesus and were in special training.  The time came when Jesus sent out the twelve to do what He was doing.  We know that they preached, healed the sick, and cast out demons.  Now I want you to notice something else in Mark’s account.  We see in 6:7-8 that Jesus sent them out.  Now read Mark 6:12, “And they went out and preached that men should repent.”  Not only was this the message of Jesus, but it was also the message of His apostles.

           We could read other words from Jesus (such as the joy in heaven over one sinner who repents), but let’s come to the end of Jesus’ life on earth in Luke 24.  This is after He rose from the dead.  These are the very last words of Jesus that are recorded in the gospel accounts.  Let’s read them in Luke 24:46-49…

Then He said to them, "Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, ⁴⁷ and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.  ⁴⁸ And you are witnesses of these things.  ⁴⁹ Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high."

Jesus said just as it was necessary for Him to suffer and be raised from the dead, so it is necessary that repentance and forgiveness of sins be preached in His name to all nations.  Wow!  Jesus certainly stressed repentance.

            We could look through other New Testament passages, but I believe this illustrates the importance of repentance and how vital it is to the message of the gospel.  Praise God for the words we find in II Peter 3.  In the context of what he says about the awful judgment that is to come on the world, Peter then gives us this encouragement in II Pet. 3:8-9,  “But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.  ⁹ The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”

II.  Repentance and Faith

           We have seen that repentance was a vital part of the message of Jesus Himself  but before we go any further, surely it would be a good idea to ask the obvious questions:  “What is the meaning of repentance?  What does it mean when we say that a person repents?”  While those are crucial questions, I think it will be wise for us to look at the meaning of repentance in its relation to faith (or belief).  Remember Jesus’ command very early in His ministry:  “”Repent and believe the gospel” (Mark 1:15).  We also see repentance and faith tied closely together in Acts 20.  Paul was meeting with the elders of the church at Ehpesus.  As he reviewed his ministry there, we read these words in Acts 20:20-21, “…  how I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you, and  taught you publicly and from house to house, ²¹ testifying to Jews, and also to Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.”  So exactly what is repentance and how is it related to belief?

            Through an extended portion of church history repentance was largely equated with penance.  Webster’s Dictionary defines “penance” as “an act of self-abasement, mortification, or devotion performed to show sorrow or repentance from sin.”  It is a work performed by man in order to satisfy God.  Through the time when church history was dominated by Roman Catholicism, the concept of repentance generally got lost in the huge emphasis on penance.  In other words, repentance was seen as a work that helped a person earn or maintain his salvation. 

            The Reformers, especially John Calvin, recaptured the root idea of the term “repent.”  The Greek word which is most commonly translated “repent” in the New Testament literally means “to change the mind.”  Some are quick to point out that it is a change of mind that leads to a change of life.  That is true, but it doesn’t begin with a change of life; it begins with a change of mind. 

            Now here is the big question that has been debated quite a bit in recent years.  If “repent,” means to change your mind, then change your mind about what?  About God?  About Jesus?  About sin?  About self?  One school of interpreters teaches that repentance is a change of mind about Jesus and nothing more.  It does not include a change of mind about sin and self.    

            Before we pursue that any further, now let’s ask another question:  How does repentance relate to faith?  In that context, let’s ask still another:  Is repentance necessary for a person to be converted?  If so, what kind of repentance?  Here is what I am getting at:  Can a person be converted without changing his mind about sin and self?  Is a change of mind about Jesus the only change of mind that occurs at conversion?  These are important questions.

            Charles Ryrie answers those questions by saying that repentance is necessary for salvation, but repentance must be defined as changing one’s mind about Jesus.  Changing the mind about sin and self is something that may take place later, but it is not necessary at conversion.  Rather, a person must come to believe that Jesus is indeed God in the flesh and has died for his sins.  But isn’t that a part of what faith is? 

            Ryrie and others see repentance and faith as virtually synonymous, and there is a reason for that.  I pointed out that repentance and faith are linked closely together in Mark 1:15 and in Acts 20:21, but outside of perhaps one other New Testament passage, they are never put together in a single verse.  For example, after preaching the powerful sermon of Acts 2, Peter concludes by commanding his hearers to repent (Acts 2:38).  He says nothing about believing.  However, in verse 41 the author speaks of those who received his word being baptized, which seems to imply believing.  There are other places in Acts where we see repentance without belief being specifically mentioned.  On the other hand, Paul and Silas said to the Philippian jailer, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved” (Acts 16:31).  There is no mention of repentance.

            The most striking example in the New Testament of the occurrence of one without the other is in the Gospel according to John.  It is sometimes called “the gospel of belief,” because the word “believe” is found roughly a hundred times in its pages.  And how many times do we find the word “repent”?   Not a single time.  John 3:16 does not include a reference to repentance.  Jesus says in John 6:47, “He who believes on me has everlasting life,” with nothing at all about repentance.

            So do “repent” and “believe” mean the same thing?  No.  On the other hand, they are so closely related that they can’t be separated.  I like to think of repentance and faith as being two sides of the same coin.  Let me put it concisely:  If a person repents, he also believes.  If a person believes, he also repents.  While they are linked closely together, they are not the same thing.

            Charles Ryrie agrees that they are linked together, saying that “the two are inseparable, though each focuses on a facet of the single requirement for salvation.”  It is what he says next that is interesting:  “Repentance focuses on one changing one’s mind about his former conception of God and disbelief in God and Christ; while faith in Christ, of course, focuses on receiving Him as personal Savior” (Charles Ryrie, So Great Salvation, p. 98).  That does indeed make repentance and faith mean virtually the same thing.  He has so included the concept of faith within his definition of repentance that he then has to give a new meaning for faith, which is (of course) receiving Him as personal Savior.  That last phrase is lifted from our religious culture, not from the scriptures. 

            Let me suggest another way to put repentance and faith together.  Repentance is not only a change of mind about Jesus, but it is also a change of mind about self and sin.  “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way” (Is. 53:6).  Though it may take many different forms, that is the mindset of every unbeliever, and it is the very essence of sin.  To repent is to change the mind from approving such a life to hating it.  The one who repents despises his sin.  That is exactly what we are going to see in Job.  Job didn’t just change his mind about God; he changed his mind about the way he had treated God and the things he had said about Him and to Him.  Job repented of his sins.  But repentance is just one side of the coin.  When a person despises his own sin and self, he then desperately needs a Savior and cries out to the Lord Jesus, putting his complete trust in Him.

            I am not trying to pick on Charles Ryrie.  The truth is that he expresses in a very clear and concise way this position that has been adopted by many in our day.  So why this modern definition of repentance that divorces it from sin?  I believe it is because of the power of our modern religious culture.  How can we account for the fact that millions have professed Christ and have not turned from sin?  Maybe it is because becoming a Christian does not necessarily mean that there will be a significant change of life, only that the person believes in Jesus.  Many, like Charles Ryrie, who teach that repentance is only a change of mind about Jesus also teach that you can be a Christian without being a disciple of Jesus.  A Christian should be a disciple, but it isn’t necessary to go to heaven.  That thinking opens the way for the millions who profess Christ but whose lives have not significantly changed to be included among those who will be in heaven.  The alternative is to come to the conclusion that there are millions who profess Christ but who have not been truly saved.  While that may seem harsh, Jesus more than hints at this conclusion when He says, “Not everyone who says Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of my Father which is in heaven.  Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name? and in your name cast out demons?  and in your name done many wonderful works?  And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you; depart from me, you who work iniquity” (Matt. 7:21-23).

            I believe there is another reason for taking the position that repentance does not include a change of mind about sin.  I think it is a reaction against making repentance a work of man.  There are those who would say, “You cannot become a Christian until you quit getting drunk, until you quit using drugs, until you quit cussing, etc.”  They make repentance a work.  We too can be in danger of that very thing.  Brothers and sisters, we do not need to help people clean up their lives so that they can come to Jesus.  No one can earn God’s salvation in any way.  To say that repentance doesn’t focus on sin but on Jesus helps us steer clear of that error, but such an over-reaction leads us into error on the other side.

            I remind us this morning that repentance is as much a gift of God as is faith.  “For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves.  It is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast” (Eph. 2:8-9).  It’s all a gift, and that is true of repentance.  Peter said in Acts 5:30-31, “The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you murdered by hanging on a tree.  Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.”  Later, speaking of the Gentile Cornelius and those who were gathered in his house to hear the gospel, Peter recounted his experience to the leaders of the Jerusalem church:  “‘If therefore God gave them the same gift as He gave us when they believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could withstand God?’   When they heard these things, they became silent; and they glorified God, saying, ‘Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life” (Acts 11:17-18).  No one can repent unless God enables him to do so, just as no one can believe unless he is enabled by God.

            Repentance is a hatred of sin that is enabled by the Spirit of God.  Yes, it is a change of mind about sin.  Whereas a person thought he could handle sin against God, in repentance he comes to a place where he realizes he cannot.  Sin is such a heavy burden that he can’t stand it any more.  The other side of the coin is to put his faith in Jesus Christ, who died and rose for him.  Praise God that Christ delivers us from the burden of sin.  Jesus said, “Come unto me, all you who labor and are heavyladen, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28).

III.  Repentance Is a Way of Life for the Believer

            When we think about repentance, we may have a tendency to think about the sinner who needs to be converted.  We stress that repentance is absolutely necessary for a person to be converted.  While a person must put his trust in Christ, no one will do that apart from conviction of sin and a hatred of that sin.  But what about a person has been genuinely converted and has become a new creation in Christ?  Is he done with repentance?  Absolutely not.  His initial repentance in coming to Christ is only the beginning.

            As it is with faith, so it is with repentance.  When a person puts his trust in Christ for salvation (justification, to be more exact), is he done with faith?  No.  Let’s take a moment to read I Pet. 1:3-5…

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴ to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, ⁵ who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

We know from Eph. 2:8-9 that we were saved by grace through faith, but how are we kept?  What is it that keeps us saved?  Peter tells us that we are kept by the power of God through faith.  It is God who does the keeping, but it isn’t some kind of automatic magical operation.  By His power, we keep on trusting in Jesus.  Now let’s read Col. 2:6, “As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him.”  And how did we receive Christ Jesus the Lord?  Through repentance and faith.  We might say simply “faith,” but remember that we can’t separate faith and repentance.  The way we began the Christian life is the way we continue it.  Repentance and faith are the ABC’s of following Christ.

            Suppose we look at it another way.  Before we came to Christ, why was repentance necessary?  Because of sin.  Sin had our number.  We were slaves to sin.  Because of God’s work in us, we came to hate sin.  We repented of our sins.  Now the big question:  When we came to Christ, when we were converted, did we get rid of sin?  No.  Our relationship with sin did change.  According to Romans 6, we were delivered from the power of sin.  That’s why Paul says in Rom. 6:14, “For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.”  Though we are no longer slaves to sin, sin is still a problem, is it not?  If you feel you have come to the place where sin is no problem, I suggest that you are kidding yourself.  There will be a day when sin will no longer be a problem, but not on this side of death.  To the degree that sin is problem in our lives, to the same degree repentance must be a way of life.

            First of all repentance is an attitude.  It is a settled hatred of sin and a desire to be rid of it.  And yes, it is a changing of the mind.  When I sin, I have somehow convinced myself that it is okay.  When I repent, I see that it is not okay and I hate the sin.  I want to get as far from it as I can. 

            That raises another question:  As I grow in Christ, won’t I sin less and less?  Therefore, I will need to repent less and less.  Does anyone find it to be that way in life?  Instead, what we find is that sin has deep roots in us.  We get one thing under control, and then the Spirit of God reveals another area of sin.  Praise God that the Spirit doesn’t open our eyes to all the sin in our lives; we couldn’t handle that.  Until Jesus comes, more sin will continually be revealed in our lives.  Perfection will not be attained until we meet Christ face to face.  “When he shall appear, we shall be like him” (I John 3:2), but not before.

            At this point, some of us may have a question that goes something like this:  Is there a difference between confession and repentance?  Most of us know I John 1:9.  Please say it with me:  “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”  When I confess my sins, does that mean that I have repented of my sins?  While the two are related, surely there is a difference.  The Greek word translated “confess” literally means “to say the same thing.”  When we confess our sin to God, we say the same thing about the sin that God says.  There is no “But God…”  Rather, it is “Yes, Lord, you call it sin and I must agree.  I have sinned against you.”  When we do that from the heart, God is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us.  He is faithful in that He said He would do it.  He is just because Jesus paid for our sins.  Remember, God doesn’t overlook any sin.  He can forgive us because the sin was punished in Jesus, as He took our sins on Himself at the cross.

            But what about repentance?  While confession is a genuine acknowledgment of sin, repentance is the attitude that hates sin and longs to be done with it.  Surely both are important in our lives.  Confession is the starting place, as there can be no repentance until we say the same thing about sin that God says about it.  Then in repentance, we agree with more than the fact that we have sinned.  We agree with God that sin hinders the glory of God and our being conformed to the image of Christ, causing us to despise it and turn from it. 

            Let me ask you this:  Does repentance involve sorrow?  Or to put it another way, when we sin, is it necessary to be sorry for that sin in order to receive God’s forgiveness?  There are those who teach that sorrow is not necessarily involved in true repentance.  Again, I believe this is an over-reaction against emotionalism.  Sometimes we can give the impression that repentance is the most real in the person who sheds the most tears.  That is wrong.  While there is nothing wrong with an emotional response, that emotional response may be conditioned by other factors, such as personality.  There are those who want to guard against equating true repentance with the degree of emotional response.  While that is healthy, we cannot remove true godly sorrow from genuine repentance. 

            In his letters to the Corinthians Paul was dealing with a case of sexual sin that was well-known in the congregation.  He not only rebuked the man who was guilty, but also the church for not dealing with it quickly and decisively.  With that background, he writes to the church in II Cor. 7:9-10…

Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. ¹⁰  For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.

The sorrow of the world can produce lots of tears, but that kind of sorrow may only be the result of getting caught.  Godly sorrow, on the other hand, leads to repentance.

            Think it about it.  If I sin against the God who created me, who also sent His Son to bear my sins, against the Christ who loved me and gave Himself for me, how can I not be sorry?  Let’s suppose you speak to your wife in an ugly tone of voice.  Later, as you are hurriedly headed out the door, you say to her, “Forgive me for that ugly tone of voice.  That was wrong” [said in a matter-of-fact manner].  Surely your wife wants to know that you truly have sorrow for the way you have treated her.  Without this aspect of godly sorrow, confession and repentance become mechanical and are treated like some kind of magic button that will fix everything with little or no pain.

            I know something about this because of my own personal experience.  If I am not careful, I can confess my sin because I know it’s the right thing to do and because God promises that He will forgive and cleanse.  But am I truly sorry that I have sinned against my Lord?  I’m not talking about outward emotion; I’m speaking of godly sorrow.  Am I truly repentant?  Do I hate my sin and desire to turn from it?  For me, that sometimes takes time for reflection.  I have to ask the Lord to search my heart and evaluate my motives.  Repentance is not a light thing.

Conclusion

            May the Lord give us Christians grace to keep on repenting and believing.  As we cling to Christ, we will experience genuine repentance.  And may the Lord grant to you who are not yet believers the gift of repentance and faith.  Someone might draw this conclusion:  “If repentance is a gift from God, then all I can do is wait for Him to strike me with it.”  No, that is not true.  While repentance is a gift, it is also a command.  We have the responsibility to repent.  We might also note that Paul says much about the gifts of the Spirit in I Corinthians 12-14.  However, he also gives this command to Christians:  “But earnestly desire the best gifts…” (I Cor. 12:31).  May we truly desire hearts of repentance.

            Don’t conclude that repentance is a dark, gloomy subject.  “Oh no, we have to repent.”  The fruits of repentance are glorious.  When we live a life of repentance, our lives are continually transformed in a way that gives glory to God.  We are blessed with a proper attitude toward sin.  More and more it is the attitude of God Himself.

            I point you again to those words of Paul in Acts 20:21, where he reminds them that he testified of “repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.”  While repentance speaks of a hatred of sin, it is also a turning toward God.  The two go together.  When we turn toward God, we despise our sin.  When we hate our sin, we are turning toward God.  Is that not what we desire with all our hearts?  Life is found in Him and nowhere else.  Genuine repentance gives us the proper mindset toward God and toward sin.

            Lord willing, we will see the practical application of sin in the life of Job, as we look at the first six verses of Job 42.  I encourage you to be reading it this week.

Blessed to Suffer -- 3/11/12

Sunday, March 11, 2012

BLESSED TO SUFFER

            What does a little child pray for?  Please allow me to tell you about the prayer of one particular four-year-old boy.  I can’t remember all the details, but his dad was showing him a book about the people of Colombia.  Turns out that it wasn’t very age-appropriate for a four-year-old.  Even the little boy could tell that these people in the pictures were not living a wholesome life.  Before his dad could close the book, his little boy asked him, “Dad, why do those people live like that?”  “Well, I guess it’s because they don’t know any better.”  “But why doesn’t someone go tell them about Jesus?”  “Well, I guess it’s because no one cares enough to go and tell them.”  “Dad, you care, don’t you?”  “Yes, son, I care.”  “Then why don’t we go tell them about Jesus?”  At that point, his dad did a lot of hmming and hawing.  He said something to the effect that they couldn’t do that; that would be missionary work.  And God has to call a person to be a missionary.  Finally, he told his little boy, “Why don’t you pray that God will call you to be a missionary when you grow up; then you can go tell them.”  That little boy knelt down and prayed something like this:  “O God, please call my Dad and Mom to be missionaries, so that I won’t have to wait until I grow up.”  Within a few years, that family was in Colombia.

            Now let me ask you a question.  Would God bless a boy like that for being so eager to do His will?  Surely God would do that?  But how would God bless that boy?  As a young man, he found himself tied to a tree in the middle of a guerilla camp in Colombia.  These rebel forces had kidnapped him and were deciding what they were going to do with him.  One option that was not unusual for them was execution.

            Jesus said:  “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.  Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matt. 5:10-12  NKJV).  Is that the kind of blessing you are looking for?  Russell Stendahl counted it a blessing.  Yes, that is the Russell Stendahl who dropped the parachutes we made.  He uses those parachutes to drop Bibles, literature, and radios to the very guerillas who once threatened his life and held him captive for five and a half months.

            Another boy grew up in Pakistan.  He had Christian parents.  They were not “Christian” in name only, but they were true servants of the Lord.  They taught their son the scriptures and lived them out before him.  That boy Daniel learned the scriptures and hid the Word of God in his heart.  Would God want to bless a boy like that and bless his parents for raising him that way?  Yes.  “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.  Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matt. 5:10-12  NKJV). 

            After holding a highly-respected position as a professor of higher mathematics at a top university in Pakistan, Daniel was being hunted by thousands of Pakistani students, who had no greater desire than to kill him.  But why?  Because he would not convert to Islam, and he would not quit exposing the falseness of Islam and sharing the good news of Jesus.

            Another boy grew up in Israel.  His dad was a pastor in Bethlehem.  But his upbringing was not like that of most preacher’s kids.  many of the people around them did not like the fact that his dad preached the gospel of Jesus Christ. They especially objected to the fact that his father wanted to spread the news of Jesus far and wide.

            As a boy, little Steven learned to love Jesus.  He would go to the services and listen to his dad preach, but their services were a bit different from ours.  The time came, when Steven was nine, that the opposition grew very strong from the Jewish people around them.  They began to open the doors during the service and throw Molitof cocktails into the building.  Sometimes they would come in and beat Steven’s father with sticks and chains.  So what would the church people do?  They would continue to praise the Lord together and come again the next Sunday to do the same.  It became a routine to have buckets of water on hand to put out the fires that were started.

            If Steven’s dad was discouraged, he surely didn’t show it.  It wasn’t enough for him to preach to the congregation in the building.  He wired powerful speakers to the steeple.  without telling anyone on the inside what he was doing, one morning after he had finished the project, he pushed a button and now his message was being heard by thousands in the surrounding neighborhood.

            Would God choose to bless young Steven, and his father for setting such an example for him?  Yes.  “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.  Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matt. 5:10-12  NKJV). 

            When Steven was 19, a Jewish young man became interested in the gospel.  After had had come to services for a while, Steven’s dad asked him to begin discipling this young man.  He did so for two weeks, but then this young man just disappeared without a word.  Later Steven would learn that his mother had discovered his Bible under his bed, along with some of his notes which stated that he believed in Jesus, who was the Son of God.  She revealed these facts to two of his uncles.  As a result, one day when Steven was walking to the church building, seven men jumped him, beating him with chains, stomping on him, etc.  Steven was blessed that day.

            Why am I telling you these stories?  Because they are true?  Yes, they are true, but there is more to it than that.  I am telling you these stories because this is reality.  This is the fulfillment of God’s Word.  Paul wrote:  “Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution” (II Tim. 3:12  NKJV).  Our Lord Himself suffered persecution, and He made it clear that those who follow Him can expect the same.  “If the world hates Me, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.  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.  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 would keep yours also” (John 15:18-20  NKJV).

            One more story.  Darcie tells of  her life when she was a young woman.  She described herself as being rude and crude.  She dressed immodestly and her language was the same.  Though she had a little girl, she said that she was not the kind of person you would want your kids to be around.  She didn’t explain how she met the “Welcome Lady” from the church, but that lady befriended  her.  She introduced her to other ladies from the church.  Different ones would invite Darcie and her little girl to go with them to the park and other things, including a bible study.  But then her husband found out what was going on and told Darcie he  didn’t want her seeing the church ladies any more.  He didn’t want anything to do with church or God.  But then the men of that same church started praying for him.  They knew he loved barbeque, so they invited Darcie, her husband, and little girl to a barbeque.  To make a long story short, God used the people in that church to draw them to Himself.  They were converted and God began to transform their lives.

            Would God choose to bless this woman?  “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.  Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matt. 5:10-12  NKJV).  That is the passage she read for us at the conference yesterday.  Now she devotes her life, along with her husband, to going to various parts of the world, meeting with Christians who are being severely persecuted, and then coming back here and telling their stories.  she is a voice for the martyrs.  Why would she spend her life doing this?  she loves it.  The same God who worked in Russell, Daniel, and Steven works in her.  Because she is identified with Jesus, she finds her joy in identifying with His church.

            But why does God choose to do things this way?  Isn’t He a God who has all power?  That means He could spare His children from suffering.  Isn’t He a God of love?  How could a Father let His children endure such suffering?  It is precisely because He loves His children and has the power to make them like Jesus.

            I certainly don’t have a handle on the mind of God.  His ways are beyond me.  But even a child can understand something of why He allows those He loves to suffer.  Let me give you three simple reasons why God has ordained suffering for His people.

1.  God has chosen to use the suffering of His saints to bring sinners to Himself

            Paul and Stephen -- Stephen suffered greatly, even dying because of his stand for Jesus.  Paul [Saul] watched him die.  It wasn’t long after that before God got hold of Saul’s life and he became the greatest Christian missionary the world has ever known.

            Jesus Himself is the example.  It was His death and resurrection that made the way for us to be saved, to be forgiven of our sins…

            I remind you that one of the themes of Voice of the Martyrs is:  “Pray for the persecutors.”

2.  Suffering is good for the saints!

            But there is another purpose for suffering.  It is not only meant for the good of lost sinners, that they might be drawn to Christ, but it is also good for the saints!  That’s right.  God uses suffering in the lives of His children who suffer.  “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.  For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

            How can God make His children like Jesus?  That is a tall order, isn’t it?  Suffering plays a huge role, especially persecution, which is suffering on account of being identified with Jesus.  Let me go back to Russell Stendahl.  When he was still a very young man, he was praying for the advance of the gospel in Colombia.  It just seemed like the strategies they were using were having no effect.  He saw the need for a fresh approach, but he didn’t have a clue what approach to take.  Then one day the guerilla forces kidnapped him.  He found himself tied to a tree in the jungle, right in the middle of one of the guerilla camps.  He had time to think and pray, as the leaders decided what to do with him.  One option was death.  Russell shared that during that time, when there were no distractions, the Lord opened his eyes.  He had been praying for wisdom as to how they could take the gospel to these guerilla forces, and now here he was right in the middle of one of their camps.  This was the answer to his prayer.  He also found that whereas before that experience, he was gripped with fear every time he stood before a group to speak, that fear never plagued him again after that.

            And what about that beating Steven Khoury received at the hands of those seven men?  He shared with us that even though he could not explain it, after the beating he had a far greater love for Jesus than ever before.  In addition, his thinking was turned upside down.  He realized that God was in control and was ready to use every circumstance in life to make him like Christ.  Instead of fearing trials, he began to take the rather extreme stance:  “Bring ‘em on, for this is the way God is going to grow me to be like Jesus.”

3.  Suffering in the lives of His saints brings glory to God!

            But there is an even greater reason that God has chosen the way of suffering for His children.  It is an opportunity for God to be glorified.  Steven, the brother from Israel, took us to Daniel 3 and reminded us of the experience of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.  You will remember that Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, made a huge image (90 feet tall) and demanded that everyone in his kingdom bow down to it.  When these three Hebrew children refused to do so, King Nebuchadnezzar sought to make an example out of them.  He was going to show one and all what he did to people who defied his command. 

            While Nebuchadnezzar was carrying out his plans, the Lord was carrying out his.  He would indeed make an example out of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, but it would not be for the purposes of the king.  He would glorify Himself through their lives.  Before he cast them into the fiery furnace, he gave them another chance.  You get the idea that he was hoping they would bow down.  He kind of liked them.  It was as a favor to Daniel that he had put them in high positions.  He told them that if they refused, he would throw them into the furnace, asking them, “What God will deliver you out of my furnace?”  You remember their response:  “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, ‘O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter.   If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king.  But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.’”  God was not only glorified in their answer, but He was then glorified in the results.  King Nebuchadnezzar heated the furnace seven times hotter than normal, so much so that some of the ones who threw them in were killed by the flames.  But the fire had no power to touch God’s three servants.  Not a hair of their head was singed.  There was not even smell of smoke on them.

            How was God glorified in that?  Through that trial came great opportunity for the Lord to be glorified.  Had these three Hebrew young men not been severely tested, there would have been no fourth man in the fire.  There would have been no miraculous deliverance.  The greater the trial, the greater the opportunity.  This is why our tendency to desire our own comfort robs God of glory.  If the Lord had allowed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to live comfortable lives, He wouldn’t have let them go through that severe trial.  And if that trial had not come upon them, the Lord would have been robbed of glory in the eyes of Nebechadnezzar and the people of Babylon.

            We read in Ps. 96:8, “Give to the Lord the glory due His name; bring an offering and come into His courts.”  It was certainly appropriate for His people to bring an offering and come into His courts.  That brought glory to the Lord.  But we who are on this side of the cross and have the living Christ within us have an even greater call.  We give the Lord the glory due His name by going to Him outside the camp.  Jesus was rejected by the religious leaders of His day and they took Him out to a hill outside the holy city to crucify Him.  We give Him glory when we go to Him outside the safely of man’s religion, bearing His cross and following Him wherever He leads.

Conclusion

            Why take time to talk about suffering and the persecuted church this morning?  I certainly hadn’t planned to do so, but in my thinking it is a must.  We must not divorce ourselves from our brothers and sisters around the world and what God can teach us through them.  We are privileged to have contact with the persecuted church.  Not many have the opportunity or avail themselves of the opportunity.  Few from this area there were very few at this weekend’s conference in Albuquerque.  I’m not putting down other churches for not being there, but I am simply saying that God has given us this privilege.

            When Oded and Bimini Cohen come to present “Christ in the Passover” on the 20^th, realize that they too suffer persecution as a part of their ministry in Israel.  Before moving to Israel a few years ago, they lived in the Boston area.  One might think they moved their so that Oded could celebrate his Jewishness.  No, that is not the reason.  They moved there so they could take the gospel of Jesus to the Jewish people who need Him so desperately.  They have found that it isn’t easy.  They face great opposition.  As they come, let’s learn from them, but let’s also pray for them.

            What is the greatest threat to us today?  Many would say that Iran is the greatest threat to us, especially with the prospect that they could develop a nuclear bomb.  But let me ask you another question:  “Where is the greatest move of the gospel among Muslims today?  VOM tells us that it is in Iran.  I am not excusing the Iranian leaders, but I am saying that we can’t take our cues from the media.  We belong to Almighty God, who is not threatened by the weapons of man.  We are engaged in a war that is far greater than any war between nations, “for we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Eph. 6:12).  Our destiny is not determined by what earthly kingdom comes out on top, for God has chosen us who His to be a chosen generation, a kingdom of priest, a holy nation, a people for His own possession.  Why?  So that we can proclaim the praises of Him who has called us out of darkness into His marvelous light (I Pet. 2:9).  The only one who truly threatens us is Satan, the god of this world, who walks about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.  But praise God that He who is in us is greater than he who is in the world (I John 4:4).