Hi all,
I close this series offering a more historical perspective on our faith. For what was, will be again. People will flock to teachings about how God wants us blessed (He does), but what about the hard part of walking with God?
Obedience is hard on the flesh
“If you love me you will obey me”, Jesus said in John 14:15.
“In this world, you will have tribulation, but rejoice, for I have overcome the world.” John 16: 33
“If the world hates you, know that it hated me before it hated you.” John 15:18
In I Peter he uses the word ‘suffer’ or ‘suffering’ 15 times, with 4 times referring to Jesus’ suffering, and 9 times for Christians suffering persecution. 1 time for suffering because you did wrong and deserve it. 1 time to describe a Christian dying to the fleshly sins of this world. (4:1)
Most of I Peter is about suffering persecution just because we are Christians. Modern Western Christianity isn’t used to persecution like most of the rest of our brethren in other nations endure every day.
Peter was writing I Peter just 1-2 years before his martyrdom, from Rome.
He confirms this was written from Rome by saying in 5:13: “The church at Babylon, chosen together with you, greets you, as does my son in the faith, Mark.” Babylon was a code commonly used to describe Rome, as it was the source of commerce, persecution, and culture at that time. (John also calls Rome ‘Babylon’ in The Revelation) Christians were being killed in the city just for being Christians.
Remember a foundational rule of Bible interpretation is that scripture has to have made sense to the original hearers or readers. In context at the time, if you were a Christian you were risking your life. Lifting verses out of context gives rise to error, so much so that some will fight ‘tooth and nail’ to defend the error they believe as truth.
This is the foundational verse for ‘pleading the blood’:
(Greek) “And they have overcome him (the devil) by reason of the blood of the lamb, and by reason of the word of the testimony of them and not have they loved the life of them (they did not love their lives) unto (their) death.” Revelation 12: 10-11
This is a verse about martyrs. “They overcame the devil by the blood of the Lamb who saved them…” Their salvation was bought with His blood. That is the ONLY way the precious and holy blood of Jesus is taught throughout the NT. It is NEVER taught to be lifted from that most holy and one time use of buying our salvation to be some sort of talisman against the devil. We ARE taught, however, to use the name of Jesus to take authority over demons. Even in the OT as a type of Jesus’ sacrifice, the blood of the animal was ONLY used to cover that person’s sin.
“…and the word of their testimony”
…which was refusing to renounce Christ when Roman officials gave them the choice of worshipping Caesar and renouncing their faith or proclaiming their faith in Jesus, under penalty of death. But because we in the west have not suffered this life or death persecution, verses are today lifted out of context to say something only a soft and self-focused faith could do. “They overcame him by the blood of the lamb and the word of their testimony for they loved not their lives to the death.” Just read it like the original readers of these words, in fear for their lives, would have read it.
What faith was for them, it is for us – all of it
We read the NT and can rightly say as our brethren 2,000 years ago were cleansed by the blood of Jesus, so are we. As they prayed for others, so do we. As they wrestled with family and work issues, so do we. As they wrestled with sin and forgiveness and walking in love, so do we. All these are written about in the New Testament.
If all that is the same for us as it was for them, so also is the rest of the message: As they suffered persecution, so will we. As they lived hard lives, so will we. We cannot pick and choose what verses or what part of the message we want to apply, and what part to ignore. My point in closing this series is to cause us to reflect that we who belong to Christ are hated by the spirit in this world. We need to have a right perspective on the whole of the Word.
A well-traveled minister acquaintance and I were having lunch one day. He told me about an experience in an asian country. His host told him: “You preach a different gospel in the US than we do.” He asked what he meant, and the man replied: “You teach if you believe in Jesus you will be healed, your job will be blessed, your money will be blessed, your family will be blessed. We teach if you believe in Jesus you may lose your health, you may lose your job, you may lose your money, you may lose your family, you may lose your life.”
Which one is closer to what Jesus taught and what the rest of the NT teaches? He does want us blessed, yes. But hardship comes with the territory. Faith in Christ is serious. We gave ourselves to Him, we didn’t add Him to us. He tells us what to do, we don’t tell Him what to do.
Some things to consider here at the end of the year, when we contemplate our walk with Him in the coming year. Are we mere believers, or are we disciples (always learning)? Next subject next week, blessings!
John Fenn
