Heard a question the other day while walking in the field with the worst-best dog ever. I came home, played the message again and wrote it down – I had to see it on paper to see if it really was the question I thought it was. Was the question asking what I thought it was asking? It was. It is. And, I can’t get it out of my head…
Do you have the courage to be a Biblical Christian?
That’s the question. Do I, Beth, have the courage to be a Biblical Christian? Do you, _____, have the courage to be a Biblical Christian? This is not a yeah, yeah, yeah question. This is not a pop over question. This is a pray fervently, search deeply, think until you’re thoughtless so that He can fill your thoughts, kind of question.
It’s going to be hard to answer that question though I’m not sure it should be. I’ve been carrying this question everywhere I go for a week, pulling it out here and there, praying for illumination, praying for it to be easy, praying that He would take this cup, and I’m only just beginning to wrap my head around the question, it’s meaning, it’s impact, it’s world changing, life giving potential. To be honest, I keep reading the question and sometimes I simply have to glance away, close my eyes, beg for mercy, and praise Him for His grace.
You see, one minute I’ll read the question and get my brave on. Charge! I’ll answer the question with a resounding, Yes!! I’m in, Lord! I will follow You, wherever You may go! I accept! Send me Lord, into all the world! The Message is a simple one. Jesus is who He is! The Bible says what it says! Seems simple enough, right?
It is right that I should feel as I do about all of you, for you have a very special place in my heart. We have shared together the blessings of God, both when I was in prison and when I was out, defending the truth and telling others the Good News. Philippians 1:7
If it’s so simple, why then the next minute, am I trembling in absolute terror of what I may be called to say or do? Worse yet, what I may be called because of what I’m called to do or say. What are you talking about, you say? Speaking Truth, I say. The world has names for those who speak Truth.
But Jonah got up and went in the opposite direction in order to get away from the Lord.
Jonah 1:3
The next reading of the question finds me apathetic, indifferent, whatev, laissez faire. No courage needed, because it’s not my problem. Everybody’s on their own. Each has to figure out what following Jesus means to them, what the Bible says to them. Everybody has rights, you know! Here’s where I beg for mercy because that answer to the question is not what He has taught.
I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold, I wish you were one or the other! But since you are like lukewarm water, I will spit you out of my mouth! Revelations 3:15
Another reading of the question again leaves me completely at odds with the world, yet, to be honest, when I’m of the world, I’m completely at odds with God. Completely.
Once you were dead, doomed forever because of your many sins. You used to live just like the rest of the world, full of sin, obeying Satan, the mighty prince of the power of the air. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. All of us used to live that way, following the passions and desires of our evil nature. We were born with an evil nature, and we were under God’s anger, just like everyone else.
But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so very much, that even while we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. Ephesians 2:1-4
The next time I read it I think, who are you Miss Smarty Pants? I’ve seen what you have done. Who are you to tell others what the Bible says, you’re not perfect, you know. Who are you?
But why me? What makes you think that I could ever go to Pharaoh and lead the children of Israel out of Egypt? Exodus 3:11
Another reading finds another type of fear. Fear of not being heard. Fear of not being able to say the right things. Fear of coming off wrong. Fear of folks not believing me. Fear of death, eternal death for those I love.
What if they won’t believe me and will not obey me but say, “The Lord did not appear to you!” Exodus 4:1
The Lord said to him, “Who placed a mouth on humans? Who makes a person mute or deaf, seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go! I will help you speak and I will teach you what to say.” Exodus 4:11-12
This world is a rugged place for Believers. The constant pull to the world. The constant heel-digging to stay out of the world. This is nothing new and it’s nothing we haven’t been warned about from the very beginning. It is also not something we should shy away from. The world is still the world – different time, different place, different issues, but mostly not. We’re no different than the folks of the Bible.
When the world hates you, remember it hated me before it hated you. The world would love you if you belonged to it, but you don’t. I chose you to come out of the world, and so it hates you. John 15:18
People like to say it’s all about the love. That is exactly right! The Greatest Commandment from the Father above.
So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples. John 13:34-35
Just as I have loved you…Not how the world has taught you to love, but how I have taught you to love.
And here is how to measure it – the greatest love is shown when people lay down their lives for their friends. You are my friends if you obey me. John 15:13
Sacrificial love. Give up my life for you love. Carry you through the world love. Lay my coat over a puddle for you love. Stand in front of a bus for you love. Catch you when you fall love. Call me names for you kind of love. My earthly life for your heavenly eternity. That’s what love is. That’s how much I want someone to love me – enough. Enough to warn me of danger ahead. Enough to right me when I’m on the wrong path. Enough to throw me a lifeboat when I’m sinking. Enough to show me the way to eternity.
Love me enough…not judge, not to condemn, but to be honest and speak Truth. Our job is simply to tell others what the Bible says, encourage them to learn for themselves what the Bible says, and to speak of His amazing power in our lives. Then, step back and watch God do His God thing. He’s the love-maker, gift-giver, heart-changer. He’s the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. The Good News isn’t only that God loves us – it is that He died for us, that He forgives us, because He loves us enough!
So, back to the original question:
Do you have the courage to be a Biblical Christian?
Not on my own, I don’t. But, with the example from The Word of God; the Spirit’s working in my life; Biblical examples of those who’ve gone before me; the support and encouragement of friends who love me enough to tell me the truth, friends who love me enough to keep me on the Godly path and have saved me from the worldly way of destructive sin; and a God who expects me to be who He made me to be, a child with access to the same power that rose Jesus from the grave, I must. I don’t know if I have the courage, but I do know that I don’t have a choice if I am whose I say I am. I must get my brave on.
And now, O Lord, hear their threats, and give your servants great boldness in their preaching. Send you healing power; may miraculous signs and wonders be done through the name of your holy servant Jesus. After this prayer, the building where they were meeting shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. And they preached God’s message with boldness.
Acts 4:29-31