Standing Firm

I know you’ve experienced it. You’re standing among non-Christians, you may or may not know them, when the topic of Christianity comes up. A disparaging or inaccurate comment is made about Christ or his church and you debate within yourself, “Should I say something? I don’t want to get into an argument. I certainly don’t want things to get ugly. Should I speak up? If I do, what will these people think?” Whether we open our mouths or not, the mere fact that we have an internal debate indicates our awareness that in many circles possessing faith in Christ is not a résumé enhancement.

Feeling marginalized due to our confession of Christ is an increasingly common phenomenon. It’s a form of persecution (albeit a mild one). And the more one gets pushed to the margins, the more one feels that holding fast to that which is prompting the persecution is futile. The pressure to abandon the faith increases. But the abandonment does not take so blunt a form as cursing Christ and being done with it. It’s subtler than that. It’s leaving out the bits that cause problems. It’s majoring on issues that are palatable to the opposing populace. It’s trying really hard to blend in. It’s engaging in unilateral compromise.

The theological drift is always toward liberalism. Feeling its exclusivity and holiness the tendency is to substitute comfort food for the robust fare of the Bible. The result, succinctly described by H. Richard Niebuhr, is a message that challenges and changes no one: “A God without wrath [brings] people without sin into a kingdom without judgment through the ministrations of a Christ without a cross.”

As the pages of Scripture attest, the pressure to yield our confession of faith has always plagued the church. The writer of Hebrews famously instructs his readers to “hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering” (10:23). When Paul writes the believers in Philippi he feels compelled to exhort them to “[stand] firm in one spirit, with one mind” as they strive “side by side for the faith of the gospel . . . not frightened in anything by your opponents” (1:27-28). Recall Peter in the precincts of Pilate pushing aside any notion that he was somehow associated with Jesus; then the rooster crowed prompting bitter tears (Matthew 26:75). I’m not sure what form it will take for us beyond what I’ve pictured above, but we shouldn’t be surprised if we run up against stiff opposition. The challenge will be to stand firm, striving for the faith of the gospel.

What's It Worth?

Christianity is not for the faint of heart. At least that’s the impression I get from reading the epistles or the teachings of Jesus. No matter what portion of the New Testament one reads it isn’t long before the subject of suffering for the cause of Christ becomes part of the discussion. It shouldn’t surprise me, I suppose, given the fact that the one we follow was executed.

Jesus provokes controversy. And it’s not unusual for those who follow him to find themselves in trouble. The litany of Paul’s troubles (see, for example, 2 Corinthians 11:24-27) testifies to the breadth of difficulties that can attend someone who has given his life to Christ. Yet, despite the fact that Paul finds himself in unwanted, even perilous circumstances, he rejoices (see Philippians 1:12). How? Paul’s ability to rejoice while enduring persecution grows from his profound appreciation of the gospel. Like the man who stumbled upon the treasure, or the merchant who came across a pearl of unprecedented beauty, he was willing to give up everything, including his life, in order to possess Christ.  Why is the gospel so precious to him? Because he knew that grace was just that, grace, and it had been extended even to him.

It’s notable how often Paul’s persecution of the church is referred to in his writings. The depth of this sinfulness seems never to have left him, at least on this side of glory. Even in one of his last writings he remarks, “I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent “(1 Timothy 1:13), an echo of a previous statement in which he confesses, “I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God” (1 Corinthians 15:9). I think it’s this persistent memory that fuels his cherishing of the gospel. He knew that God had granted him an eternity that he did not deserve and rescued him from one that he did.

I haven’t participated in the arrest and execution of any of Jesus’ disciples, but my mocking and blasphemous tongue made me as worthy of condemnation as Paul. But God in his grace rescued me from myself. I pray I will treasure the gospel with the same warmth as Paul so that I can whole-heartedly serve him, whatever the circumstance, and confess with the apostle, “. . . to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”