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Rejoice and Exult in God
“Rejoice and exult, for your recompense will be abundant in heaven; for in this way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
(Matthew 5:12)
Let us begin where Jesus begins in this verse: χαίρετε και ἀγαλλιᾶσθε (chairete kai agalliasthe — “rejoice and exult”!). Understand here that Jesus is using this language in the context of Christian persecution. Our tendency is to want to rejoice and be glad when things are going well, when life is easy and things are “going our way.” Yet, Jesus is speaking about rejoicing under persecution. Why is that? The answer is simple: the persecution of the world is one of the best indicators that we are living out our faith in a manner that is glorifying to God. The world hated Christ so much that it put Him to death; why do you think that it would not also seek to put the followers of Christ to death?
True, in many places of the world, the evil ones threaten believers with knives and guns. And, while that sometimes happens here, in the Western world, more commonly, the devil is more subtle. Here, he attacks with lies and gossip, distraction and pretense. Here, we are surrounded by a frenzy of worldly passion that dumbfounds the spiritually-minded person, leaving many befuddled and stupefied, confounded by folly at every turn when Truth is desired. Jesus said, “This is the way they treated the prophets before you, do understand that there is nothing new under the sun.” Beloved, the Christian should expect to be a voice crying out in the wilderness. Why does it surprise you when we are?
The devastating thing is that not only do individual Christians face this kind of attack; if the church is living its life out as the True Church, it will be persecuted as well. And so, when it happens, rejoice! When persecution raises its ugly face, exult in God! Why? Well, it is the right thing to do. It also testifies that you are likely getting some things right. But Jesus also reminds us that your recompense will be abundant in heaven. What is that recompense? It is not houses and gold as some “prosperity preachers” would suggest. It is, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.” What greater recompense could anyone ask for? Further, as Christians, we will witness the enemies of God facing their eternal condemnation. The Bible speaks of that as a time of rejoicing in God (see Revelation 19:1-3), though I suggest that rejoicing will be shaped by our overwhelming recognition of the unmerited grace we have received in Christ.
Driven out for the sake of God’s Law
“Blessed are those who are driven out for the sake of righteousness, for to them is the Kingdom of Heaven.”
(Matthew 5:10)
Once again we find the language of the kingdom. And, as noted above, we should remember always that this speaks not only of the eternal Kingdom that is yet to come, but also of the church in this world. Arguably even, it is even more appropriate to understand this blessing as applying to the imperfect church in this fallen world. Yes, there are individual manifestations of this calling, but we should not overlook the corporate character of these as well.
Often, the Greek word διώκω (dioko) is translated as “persecuted,” and when one looks at the cognates of διώκω, that is an easy translation choice to make. Commonly, the word group also has legal connotations, which means that when we see this paired up with δικαιοσύνη (dikaiosune — justice) we can see how this phrase of Jesus is to be understood in a legal sense. Those who are persecuted, those who are driven out of their community (or driven out of the “good graces” of their community) because of what is Biblically true, these are the heirs or beneficiaries of the Kingdom.
Sometimes people miss the significance of the judicial connotations of this language here. Too often, people describe themselves as “persecuted” because others don’t share their preferences. Yet, given Jesus’ use of language, we must not see this in the context of preference or feeling, but should understand this in a legal sense. For the believer, there will be times when he or she is persecuted because he or she is committed to God’s Law. Nevertheless, if that statement is true for an individual Christian, that should be all the more true of the covenant body of believers. When the church sands for the Law of God, a secular society and a pagan society will persecute her members. For instance, when the church stands against abortion as a crime, when the church stands against sexually immoral practices, when the church insists that the Sabbath day should be set apart for God and businesses should be closed, the community will balk and complain. At times, the community will mock and at times, the community will organize to push a church out of its midst. This can be said even within the church. Those who insist on practicing the regulative principle of worship (see the Westminster Confession 21.5) are often mocked by other supposedly Christian bodies due to their unwillingness to include that which flows out of the creative whims of men in the church service.
Moreover, if the inheritors of the Kingdom of Heaven are those who are persecuted for ordering their lives according to God’s Law, and recognizing that the Kingdom of Heaven is rightly understood as the Church of Jesus Christ, then it follows that those who are not persecuted for their obedience to God’s Law are probably not the church. Jesus, indeed sets a bar in these beatitudes that none of our churches will ever fully meet, but do we even try to pursue that bar? We ought.
The Change wrought by Mercy
“Formerly, I was a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a violent man. Yet, I was shown mercy, for I labored in ignorance and in unbelief.”
(1 Timothy 1:12)
Paul’s testimony is powerful because his life illustrates what God can do. Further, verses like this also illustrate the humility of this convert. Think about it, Paul had been a Pharisee of Pharisees, studying under the great rabbinic teacher, Gamaliel. He had even been given authority to arrest the followers of Jesus under the charge of blasphemy. Yet here he is claiming that he had been the one blaspheming and without faith. For most of us who have grown up in Christian circles, it is hard to relate to how profound a statement this happens to be, but it would be the equivalent to a Muslim Imam converting to the Christian faith or perhaps even that of a Roman Catholic Bishop or Archbishop converting to the Protestant faith.
Yet, notwithstanding Paul’s personal testimony, I think that we need to look more closely at that which Paul accuses himself. Ultimately, it is three things: blasphemy, persecution, and violence. While it manifests itself differently in different contexts, I think it is fair to say that all these things still take place even within Christian circles. Blasphemy is any form of dishonoring God’s name. This certainly covers the Third Commandment, but we ought to remember that dishonoring God’s name can be just as much a a physical as it is a verbal action. For instance, one need not use God’s holy name as a curse word or vulgar oath, one can go about willfully breaking the commandments and still be guilty of blasphemy against God. When worship services follow the directives of men rather than the directives of God, that is blasphemous. When false teachers present a gospel that is not the Gospel as delivered in the Scripture, again, blasphemy is taking place. Any time the things of men are substituted for the things of God (especially in worship and in the life of the church), blasphemy is taking place.
Yet, we are not through. Is not gossip a violence against the name or character of another person? Do you realize that by not following the principles that Jesus lays down in Matthew 18, when you are aware of a brother or sister in sin, that you are committing violence against them. People so often run directly to the pastor or Elders when there is an offense, bypassing their Biblical obligation to speak to the offending brother one to one in the hopes of restoring relationship. How often I have told parishioners that the Elders and I will do nothing until Matthew 18 has been followed. How often people are frustrated by that stance. Yet, to do otherwise is a violence against an unsuspecting brother or sister. In some cases, where there is a breakdown of discipline in the church, it may even a form of persecution.
While Paul addresses sins in various places in this text, to see the change in Paul is a testimony to the mercy God showed him. When a person genuinely experiences the mercy of God, their life is changed. The sad thing is, what does that statement say about so many of the churches in our midst?
Entering Into Christ’s Sufferings
“to know him and the power of his resurrection, the fellowship of his sufferings, sharing in the sake kind of death as his —”
(Philippians 3:10)
What does it mean to be “found in Christ”? It means that in the context of his imputation of righteousness to us, we come into relationship with him — we know him — and that knowledge gives us a promise of the resurrection to come. He who was raised from the dead will also raise us that we may indeed experience the power of that resurrection firsthand.
Yet, the power of the resurrection also comes at a cost. Paul writes of a fellowship of suffering and entering into a death that is “like his.” How are we to understand this death? Certainly, one must not die on a cross to enter heaven? So, what does Paul mean by this? As you continue to read the flow of Paul’s language, he explains exactly what he means by this — Paul means the putting to death of his sins and the things of the world that he might boast in. That means suffering, when God calls him to suffer, that he might be found faithful in service and grow more like Christ.
Yet, this notion of suffering is something that often is difficult for us to hear. We have been accustomed to the notion that we are to seek the comforts of life and that suffering is somehow undesirable. Yet, did not our Lord choose to suffer for us? Did not our Lord choose to die on the cross for us? And did not our Lord enter into glory through the pathway of suffering? If it was good enough for our Lord’s entrance into heaven, is it not good enough for us? Is not suffering often the way that God refines those who are most precious to him? As C.S. Lewis wrote in his Problem of Pain, if we ask for less suffering and not more, are we not asking God for less love and not more?
We live in a world where many Christians are dying for their faith. And, these Christian brothers and sisters count it their privilege to “enter into” our Lord’s sufferings. At the same time, in the west, we live in a world where, while there is comfort for those who believe, people and churches are apostatizing faster than can be counted. While it is quite true that the freedoms we enjoy in this western world have been a great and profound blessing to the church, particularly in the realm of discipleship (formation of Christian Schools, Colleges, Seminaries, Book Publishers, etc…), with that freedom there has also been a fertile seedbed for false teachers and lazy believers. Let us be neither, even at the cost of persecution, that we may guide the church in a way that willingly enters into Christ’s sufferings — internally as we put sin to death and externally as we face persecution.
Abraham’s Fear: Genesis 20:11
“And Abraham said, ‘It was because I said, ‘no one fears God in this place and they will slay me over the thing of my wife.’’”
(Genesis 20:11)
“For this reason, I remind you to rekindle the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God did not give you a spirit of cowardice, but of power, love, and self-control.”
(2 Timothy 1:6-7)
How often believers fall into the trap of fear. How sad it is when those who should know no fear of the things that can destroy the flesh of this world succumb to the terrors that it seems to present. Even here, Abraham, the “father of the faithful” (Romans 4:11), falls prey (once again) to the fear of what will happen if Abimelek finds out that Sarah is his wife, not his sister. And rather than trusting God, he falls back into his old sin of half-truths to try and cover himself.
As Christians, though, fear is not a character trait that should mark us. We have a God who is Lord of all of the heavens and who reigns sovereignly over his creation. We are in his hands and not under the power of the hands of our enemies. What confidence that should give to us, what boldness we should have as we share the Gospel of truth with our neighbors, friends, and co-workers. We, of all people, should be going out and sharing our faith; yet how often we adopt a fortress mindset and retreat our Christianity behind the walls of our church buildings. How sad it is that Christians who know the power of God in their lives can then doubt that power so greatly that they become timid and fearful and do not speak the truth into the lives of those around them.
Loved ones, love God. And whether the people in our communities love and fear God should not stop you from sharing the Gospel. What is the worst they will do? Make fun of you? Try and ridicule you? Was not our Lord ridiculed and made fun of for our sake? Will they attack you and harm you? Was not our Lord beaten for your sins and for mine? Will they kill you? Indeed, they may, but why fear those who can only harm the flesh when the God of heaven has the power to destroy both flesh and spirit? Loved ones, there is nothing to fear… go, make disciples of all men by seeing them baptized in the church and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commanded. There is nothing to fear from men.
Shall I, for fear of feeble man,
The Spirit’s course in me restrain?
Or, undismayed, in deed and word
Be a true witness for my Lord?
-Johann Winkler
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