For the Love of the Church

The apostle Paul wrote about the things he had suffered in 2 Corinthians 11:23-28. I have to tell you, when I read the list of things he suffered for his faith, it makes my puny little complaints seem to evaporate. I haven’t suffered physically like he did. However, there is one part of this list that I can, at the very least, begin to understand. At the end of his list of trials, Paul said, “Apart from such external things, there is the daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches” (2 Corinthians 11:28). If you love the church the way a Christian must love the church, you know what it’s like to have concern for the church.

Christians must always have a concern for the bride of Christ, the church, the kingdom of God, the household of the living God, the temple of God. We understand that. However, there is a growing concern for the church today that she is being threatened from within. Jesus said that He would build His church and the gates of Hades would not overpower it (Matthew 16:18). That statement was and is true. Even if the enemy is able to infiltrate the hearts of Christians and lead them out of the grace of God so that they lose their souls forever, the church is not overcome because of the faithful who remain and the faithful who have already gone to their reward (Revelation 2:10). Still, anyone who pays attention to the growing dilemma in the church today cannot help but be concerned.

I want to offer a little encouragement here to those who are suffering through the attacks of the enemy of the church of our Lord. The first word of encouragement comes from one of you who put this in a way I hadn’t thought of, but it truly encourages me. The church is His bride, not mine; our Lord Jesus Christ will take care of His bride. Remember that. Jesus is not blind nor is He just waiting patiently (and dispassionately) until the church (and each member of the church) decides what he or she is going to do. He’s not going to let the faithful down. Second, remember those passages we noted a moment ago. “I also tell you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it” (Matthew 16:18). “Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, so that you will be tested, and you will have tribulation for ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you a crown of life” (Revelation 2:10).

You and I, as members of Christ’s church, have a job to do. Our job is to remain faithful and to help our brothers and sisters remain faithful, among other things. When false teachers appear in our ranks (and the apostle Peter said they would, 2 Peter 2:1), we must oppose them. We will have that concern for the churches that Paul speaks about but know this: we do not fight this battle alone! There is Someone fighting alongside us Who is more powerful than our enemy and if we remain faithfully at His side, we will not lose this battle!!

Go back to that passage in 2 Peter. Verse 1 says: “But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves.” Did you catch that these false teachers come in among us and secretly introduce heresies? They don’t do it openly. Many of those who are hearing false doctrine today think they are hearing “nothing unscriptural.” That’s why it’s so important to “search the Scriptures daily to see if these things be so” (Acts 17:11).

Notice how God deals with this problem. Peter wrote that these false teachers are bringing “swift destruction upon themselves.” Now, it may not seem very swift, but that’s only because we’re applying our own understanding of time to the problem. You may rest assured that God is in control and that destruction, when it comes, will be swift and decisive and, sadly for those who do not repent, eternal. In the verses that follow 2 Peter 2:1, Peter shows that God has always been in control and no one in history has been able to “get away with” the sinful lives they lead and the righteous who have been afflicted by such unrighteousness have been rescued. Peter said all of that to say that God “…knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment, and especially those who indulge the flesh in its corrupt desires, and despise authority. Daring, self-willed, they do not tremble when they revile angelic majesties” (2 Peter 2:9, 10).

The “daily pressure of concern for all the churches” of our Lord is going to continue if we remain faithful because we’re going to care what happens to the bride of Christ. However, we can be encouraged to know that the Bridegroom is equally concerned about His bride and not just sitting idly by. In order to be faithful, every one of us must resist the enemy and fight against the attempts to defile the pure and holy and blameless bride (Ephesians 5:26, 27). But take courage. God is fighting alongside you and if you remain faithfully His, you will win! He loves you and so do I.

Donnie Bates

The Blessing of Suffering

You would think that a message dedicated to encouragement would say something like “the suffering is going to end,” wouldn’t you? I mean, how encouraging is it to tell someone who is suffering to just “grin and bear it”? Well, on the surface, not very! Still, there is encouragement when we realize that our heavenly Father has made provision for us to be able to endure and even thrive while suffering in this life (James 1:2, 3).

Yes, it’s true that someday the suffering will end for those who are faithfully united with Christ. A day is coming in which God will wipe away every tear (Revelation 21:4). “There’ll be no sadness, all will be gladness” in heaven. However, we are not in heaven yet, are we? Many people are all too well acquainted with that fact; perhaps some of you. I take great comfort in knowing that God is with me until the end (Matthew 28:20); that He personally makes sure that I do not suffer more temptation than I am able to bear (1 Corinthians 10:13). But there is one passage that speaks directly to how we should suffer, and the blessings involved in suffering the right way, that I find especially encouraging.

Most of us are familiar with “The Beatitudes” (Matthew 5:3-12). We could spend weeks studying the depth of this passage of Scripture. There is much wisdom here concerning many aspects of everyday life, but let’s stay on the subject of how to suffer and the blessings involved. The first three beatitudes have to do with suffering more than those beatitudes that immediately follow. In verses 3-5, we read that there are blessings involved for those who voluntarily take on the qualities of poverty of spirit, mourning, and gentleness (meekness). Perhaps you’ve heard it explained that the word “blessed” means “happy,” but let me assure you that it is not a happiness as the world understands happiness. The world thinks of happiness as an emotional response to, or determined by, circumstances. If someone knocks on my door and presents me with a “big ‘ole” check for $10,000,000.00, I’m going to be happy because of those circumstances. Jesus uses a word in the beatitudes, however, that describes a “blessedness” in spite of circumstances. It’s a “contentment,” if you will, on a much deeper level than the world thinks of happiness.

“Poverty of spirit” is not depression. “Depression” is a humbling or “lowliness” caused by circumstances. Poverty of spirit is a voluntary humility or “emptying of self.” See Philippians 2:5-8. “Mourning” is not just sadness, but sadness on a level that requires action. It’s the difference between godly sorrow and worldly sorrow (2 Corinthians 7:10, 11). “Gentleness” (meekness) is a word worthy of a great deal of study. It involves humility to a great extent. It involves self-control. It is the quality of keeping your own wants and desires in check for the good of another. We sometimes call Moses the “father of the meek,” but not because he was a weakling. (Read Exodus 32:19, 20 if you think he was weak.) Moses was more concerned with God and His Name than he was about anything to do with his own life.

So, what we find is that the first three steps on God’s ladder of success (Matthew 5:3-5) are downward, not upward. Interesting, isn’t it? But now, catch this point: God doesn’t just leave us in the basement. James writes that if we humble ourselves before God, He will lift us up (James 4:10). And the point is that only by God lifting us up can we get where we need to be.

When I teach a series of lessons on the Beatitudes, I make the point that when we talk about voluntary poverty of spirit (emptying oneself), it’s a lot like making yourself a doormat. Well, you know what happens to doormats, don’t you? They get stepped on! And that hurts; sometimes a lot. The last beatitude addresses that one little problem.

I count Matthew 5:10-12 as one beatitude. You can count it as two or three if you want, but look at these three verses very carefully. When you make yourself a doormat, people will step on you. That won’t be fun, but there is a blessing here, too. There were (and are) people doing the right thing (righteousness) and suffering for it; being persecuted for it. And Jesus says they have access to that deep level of “blessedness” that the world doesn’t understand. Why? Because theirs is the kingdom of heaven, that’s why! But Jesus continues. He says that sometimes the persecution is going to come in the form of insults and people falsely saying all kinds of evil against us because of Him (Jesus); because of doing the right thing (righteousness). And here, too, is that deep “blessedness.” Now He tells us how to approach this kind of suffering; what attitude to have. He says, “Rejoice and be glad…”

What??? I thought I was supposed to moan and groan, to gripe and complain! No, that’s the world’s response. Christians are supposed to “rejoice and be glad” and He gives a reason. Not only can we have “blessedness” that is deeper than any worldly happiness, but we can take comfort in the fact that we are in good company “…for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

I have to tell you that it’s harder for me to endure it when people insult friends and loved ones of mine than when they insult me. I don’t mean that insults don’t hurt me, because they do. I do mean, though, that when you insult a friend of mine, you’ve stepped much further over the line (in my mind) than when you just insult me. Still, I must resist the temptation to lash out and realize (and make sure my friends who’ve been insulted realize) that there is a blessing for us. God is with us! We are in good company!

You may have some difficult circumstances to deal with this week. There may be people who are going to insult you and say all kinds of evil against you on account of Jesus, but you hang in there! You may be stepped on by a lot of muddy feet, but don’t give up! God is with you and loves you more than you can know in this life, and so do I.

Donnie Bates