AN ABANDONED FELLOWSHIP--Part III (of III)

PERSECUTION AS BOTH THE MARK OF AND ONE MOTIVATION OF THE TRUE MAN OF GOD.

This is the last of three articles on a fellowship that has been abandoned by the Evangelical church, the fellowship of His suffering, based on this passage:

Philippians 3:8-11.
8More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ,

9and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith,

10that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death;

11in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

So then, if Paul's instruction to the church at Philippi is correct, one of the reasons for our salvation is so that we may have the high priviledge of suffering for the same reason Christ suffered at the hands of both secular and religious unbelievers. "Saved to suffer" is an idea that's not big with the blab-it-and-grab-it Word Faith crowd. It's not big with the sinner-indulging seeker-sensitive crowd or the church growth-at-any-doctrinal-price crowd.

In this article I will make a biblical case for two things. 1. The true man of God will be hated. If a man is not hated, he is not a man of God. 2. The persecuted man of God will actually be driven to endure more persecution on purpose, by the very persecution he complains about. This is a kick in the gut for typical Evangelicalism.

SCARS MARK A TRUE MAN OF GOD. SMOOTH SKIN MARKS A LIAR.

Listen to what the Spirit of God says:

II Timothy 3:10-15.
10Now you followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, perseverance,

11persecutions, and sufferings, such as happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium and at Lystra; what persecutions I endured, and out of them all the Lord rescued me!

12Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

13But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.

14You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them,

15and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

Reread that portion of the Spirit's Word for you. Look for three words. "Followed," "but," and "however."

First, "followed." Who followed? ANSWER: Timothy. What did Timothy follow? ANSWER: Paul's "teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, perseverance, persecutions, and sufferings." As Christians we are taught all the time to follow God's teachings. As Christians we are taught constantly to follow godly characteristics like faith, patience, love, etc. When was the last time you meditated on the biblical teaching that says we are to actively follow the work of the Spirit into situations we know will lead to our own suffering?

Here is the Evangelical lie. Got it? I said "lie." Don't worry, I didn't mispeak. Lie is the appropriate term. And it's a whopper. Here it is: It is not right to ruffle feathers. All teaching must be relevant (whatever that is) and not offensive. In fact, the man or woman of God who ruffles is often castagated as wrong and sinful, without regard to the truthfulness of what was said. This is a lie. I cannot emphasize that enough. It is a lie. It is not biblical. It is a lie. And if you say this to others you're a liar. Stop it now!

Paul thanked Timothy (and God for Timothy, I'm sure) because Timothy acted like a man. A man of God. Oh, please, God. Raise up fellows like that! The church is dying for lack of them.

Now let's look at the two contrast words, "but" and "however." These two words are like a parenthesis around a short description of false teachers. The first nine verses (not given here because we picked up at verse 10) are a warning about false teachers. "Now" at the start of verse 10 sets apart this passage about Paul's commendation of Timothy. And that commendation continues through verse 15. "But" and "however" bracket a little bit of info that is put in as a contrast with Timothy's obedience. Here we read, "But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. You, however..."

Get the significance? The contrast highlights the true man of God who follows true doctrine, righteous works, and persecution. False teachers don't do that. They follow false doctrine and evil works and they avoid persecution. To make it plain, the Spirit says in verse 12, "...all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted."

Here's the test given to us by the Spirit: If you're not persecuted you're not godly.

Do you wonder how much less false doctrine would be in the church today if we didn't work so hard to please the world? Seeker sensitive churches are lies. We are called to be God sensitive. Or more to the point, God enslaved. When we are sensitive to man's wishes we omit wrath and repentance. This is done under the guise of "love." Love tells the truth. It doesn't shade it. As a result real biblical love is hated by the world. In the Emergent we are told to be postmodern to reach postmoderns. This never works. You will have a postmodern religious club, not a church of saints (holy ones.)

The false teacher often finds his motivation in the multiplication of followers. So he has to leave out those things that will offend so his followers don't have to repent. You get more followers that way. The true man of God loves men and God so much that he tells the truth. And he will always pay for it. He will have scars. The false teacher will have smooth skin with hell's lotion of slick deception slathered all over it. Baby soft and prepared for the fires of hell.

PERSECUTION MOTIVATES THE TRUE MAN OF GOD TO SUFFER EVEN MORE.

Jeremiah's complaint is a really sad story. The prophet whines about suffering and even starts by accusing God of deceiving him. (I have done the same many times.) But by the time it's done, the prophet admits that he cannot help himself. He has to speak the truth.

Listen to Jeremiah's complaint as the Spirit recorded it for our edification:

Jeremiah 20:7-18.
7O LORD, You have deceived me and I was deceived;
You have overcome me and prevailed
I have become a laughingstock all day long;
Everyone mocks me.
8For each time I speak, I cry aloud;
I proclaim violence and destruction,
Because for me the word of the LORD has resulted
In reproach and derision all day long.
9But if I say, "I will not remember Him
Or speak anymore in His name,"
Then in my heart it becomes like a burning fire
Shut up in my bones;
And I am weary of holding it in,
And I cannot endure it.
10For I have heard the whispering of many,
"Terror on every side!
Denounce him; yes, let us denounce him!"
All my trusted friends,
Watching for my fall, say:
"Perhaps he will be deceived, so that we may prevail against him
And take our revenge on him."
11But the LORD is with me like a dread champion;
Therefore my persecutors will stumble and not prevail
They will be utterly ashamed, because they have failed,
With an everlasting disgrace that will not be forgotten.
12Yet, O LORD of hosts, You who test the righteous,
Who see the mind and the heart;
Let me see Your vengeance on them;
For to You I have set forth my cause.
13Sing to the LORD, praise the LORD!
For He has delivered the soul of the needy one
From the hand of evildoers.
14Cursed be the day when I was born;
Let the day not be blessed when my mother bore me!
15Cursed be the man who brought the news
To my father, saying,
"A baby boy has been born to you!"
And made him very happy.
16But let that man be like the cities
Which the LORD overthrew without relenting,
And let him hear an outcry in the morning
And a shout of alarm at noon;
17Because he did not kill me before birth,
So that my mother would have been my grave,
And her womb ever pregnant.
18Why did I ever come forth from the womb
To look on trouble and sorrow,
So that my days have been spent in shame?

This is a passage that you may want to spend some time with. It's a gut-wrenching set of three mood swings with four major moods. I can relate to each one and so will you if you've been faithful to proclaim God's word under persecution.

First, is the mood of bitter disappointment. He even gets angry with God in verses 7 and 8. He blamed God. He expected to be a popular leader and he is not. He faithfully brought God's word to the folks and the folks spat on him. They hated him. He became a "laughingstock." Faithful preaching has only brought "reproach and derision all day long." So much for Jerry's Main Street Mega Church.

Second, is an odd mood. It is volatile mixture of frustration, resignation, and a horrible realization. It's hard to separate these out. They seem to be almost simultaneous. (And that has been my experience, too.) He's about to explode. The Word of God in his heart is more than he can contain. The frustrated prophet describes it as a fire in his bones and he can't let it out. He can't hold it in any longer, either. The force of the Word wanting out actually tires his soul. Frustration leads to a resignation in verse 9 where he admits to God, "...I am weary of holding it in, and I cannot endure it." Even though he knows he will pay a price, he admits to God and himself that his life has been commandeered by the Word. He can't keep shut up any more than an elephant can fly. He isn't even going to try anymore. Finally, mixed with the frustration and resignation is anger. It is a realization that his friends are liars. They are not really his friends at all. Not only will they not endure the persecution with him, they have come to hate him so much they want him to fail in verse 10.

Third, Jeremiah reaches an ecstatic elation. Knowing Who God is, he knows he is secure. His critics will fail in verses 11-13. God is his Champion. His enemies will be destroyed.

Fourth and last, the prophet slumps down into a sullen melancholy. Resigned to a life of obscurity, he is downcast, wishing he had never been born. This is verses 14-18. As a warning to us who are called to carry God's Word into the world, this section of Jeremiah's book ends with the statement that the life of the prophet will be lonely and bitter. As such, we had better be close to each other and to God. He will often be our only solace.

In the end, even though Jeremiah's personal journey was arduous, God was his Champion. And remember that persecution only pressurizes the Word in our bones. It may squelch us for a time, but we cannot contain it.

Listen once more to the Spirit: Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Matthew 5:10-12.

Persecute us. It blesses us and it makes us louder.

In Christ,
Phil Perkins.