“Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord” — Hebrews 12:14
Thirdly, I answer, That all the troubles, afflictions, and persecutions that do befall you for holiness' sake, shall never hurt you nor harm you, they shall never prejudice you, nor wrong you in your main and great concernments:
Exodus 3:2,
“And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush; and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.”
Here you have a bush, a dry bush, a bramble-bush all on a-light fire, and yet not consumed. This burning bush was an excellent emblem of the church in the fire of tribulation and persecution. Though the church may seem to be all on fire by reason of afflictions and persecutions, yet it shall be preserved, it shall not be destroyed. God would not suffer his anointed ones, his sanctified ones, so much as to be touched, hurt, or harmed by those who had malice enough in their hearts, and power enough in their hands, not only to hurt them, but even to destroy them. Sanctified persons are sacred persons, and they that touch them touch the apple of God's eye, and whosoever shall be so bold to touch the apple of God's eye shall dearly smart for it.
It was no small affliction to have no settled habitation. To fly from place to place, from kingdom to kingdom, and from nation to nation, was without all peradventure an afflicted condition. Doubtless many fears and frights, many hazards and dangers did attend them, when they considered that they were as lilies among the thorns, and as a few sheep among a multitude of wolves. In the land of Canaan there were seven mighty nations (Deu 7:1). Now for the people of God, who were so few in number that they might easily and quickly be told, to sojourn and wander among these, could not but be very dangerous and perilous; and yet such was the love of God to them, and the care of God over them, that he suffered no man, whether he was high or low, honorable or base, rich or poor, civil or profane, to hurt or harm them: Daniel 3:25, 27,
“And the king answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt, and the form of the fourth is like unto the Son of God. And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king's counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them.”
Though these holy men were cast into a furnace, into a fiery furnace, into the midst of a hot fiery furnace, yet God will work a miracle, yea, a glorious miracle, rather than the fire shall in the least hurt or harm them. God gives a commission to the fire to burn those mighty men that made the fire, and that cast his children into the fire, and whom the king would have to be spared and saved; and he lays a law of restraint upon the fire, that it should not hurt nor harm them whom the king would have destroyed.
Those, whom the King of kings will not have hurt, shall not be hurt, let kings and princes do their worst; that fire that burnt their bonds had no power to burn, no nor to touch, their bodies. God would not suffer the fire to singe a hair of their heads, nor to change the colour of their coats, nor to leave so much as an ill smell upon his people, that those heathen princes might see how tender he was of them, and how willing he was to put forth his almighty power rather than he would see them wronged or harmed. So chapters 6:21-23,
“Then said Daniel unto the king, O king, live for ever. My God hath sent his angels, and hath shut the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt. Then was the king exceeding glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God.”
Holiness, innocency, and integrity will preserve a man even among lions. Daniel preferred the worship of his God before his life. He made no great reckoning of his life when it stood in competition with divine glory, and therefore, rather than Daniel shall be hurt, God will by a miracle preserve him, he will stop the mouths of the hungry lions, and he will tame their rage, and overmaster their cruelty, rather than a hair of Daniel's head shall perish. When Daniel was taken out of the den, there was no hurt, no wound, no sore, no bruise found upon him. Daniel was a harmless man, and God keeps him from harms in the midst of harms.
Acts 18:9, 10,
“Then spake the Lord to Paul in the night by a vision, Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace: for I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee; for I have much people in this city.”
Paul met with many trials and troubles, bonds and prisons, oppositions and persecutions, and yet none of all these hurt him, but God miraculously preserved him even to old age (Act 20:23). All the troubles, afflictions, and persecutions that attends holiness, can never reach a Christian's soul, they can never diminish a Christian's treasure; they reach the shell, not the kernel; the case, not the jewel; the lumber, not the goods; the outhouse,[2] not the palace; the ribbon in the hat, not the gold in the purse. The most fiery trials and persecutions can never deprive a Christian of the special presence of God, nor of the light of his countenance, nor of the testimony of a good conscience, nor of the joys of the Spirit, nor of the pardon of sin, nor of fellowship with Christ, nor of the exercise of grace, nor of the hopes of glory (Psa 23:4; 2Co 1:8,9,12); and therefore certainly they can't hurt a Christian, they can't wrong a Christian in his greatest and chiefest concernments.
O Christian, let persecutors do their worst, they can't reach thy soul, thy God, thy comfort, thy crown, thy paradise, &c.; and therefore let no man be kept off from pursuing after holiness because of afflictions or persecutions, seeing none of these can reach a Christian's great concernments.
[1] From Crown and Glory of Christianity, Thomas Brooks, The Works of Thomas Brooks, Vol IV, pp. 261-300, reprinted by Banner of Truth. Thomas Brook s (1608-1680) Nonconformist preacher and advocate of the Congregational way. Born into a Puritan family, he was sent to Emmanuel College, Cambridge. Author of Precious Remedies against Satan's Devices, The Mute Christian under the Smarting Rod, and others. He was buried in Bunhill Fields.
Haunted houses, ghosts, demons—our Western culture can’t seem to get enough of the spirit world. The latest Gallup poll indicates that 42% of Americans believe in demon possession, 37% believe in haunted houses, and 32% believe in ghosts. (Not just Americans are enthralled—40% of the British believe in haunted houses, too.)
Though interest in the paranormal is widespread, the majority of people are skeptical. They discount all spirit activity, going so far as to deny the existence of Satan and demons. Atheists stated this view succinctly in a sign they planted next to a manger scene last Christmas at the capitol building in Olympia, Washington:
“There are no gods, no devils, no angels, no heaven or hell. There is only our natural world.”
What is the Christian position?
First and foremost, we must remember that the non-Christian position is, indeed, just that, non-Christian! It is the position of non-Christians with all that this implies. From the inability to know and understand God, to the inability to know and understand their own heart, to outright animosity to God and spiritual things. It is their nature to to do that which is antagonistic to God and seek to rebel against Him. It is not surprising, then, that there is a “holiday” that celebrates all that is the diametric opposite of holiness, making light of the things of darkness and seeking make them seem inoffensive and harmless. Nor is it unusual, in light of this, that this holiday should come on the eve of the remembrance of the Reformation in this country when we remembrance the resurgence of the doctrine of Justification be Grace through Faith.
Clearly, outright denial of Satan and demons is not the answer. That view rejects the revelation in the Bible and the phenomena witnessed clearly and broadly in many lands and societies. The first- and second-world countries, not just third-world countries, experience demonic powers, whether knowingly or unknowingly. Of course Dr. Dickason is 100% on the money here. The tendency in the church, along with the rest of the rationalistic 20th Century, has been to discount all such activity in times past, and that has been a tragic error. There clearly are demonic power, Dickason observes and the Bible asserts, and they are active in the world.
As the former chairman of the theology department at Moody Bible Institute and author of “Demon Possession & the Christian”, I have carefully studied such topics. Demons are real and need to be taken seriously, even if many claims about evil spirits are fabricated or exaggerated. Sadly, in many conservative, fundamental churches, these ideas are dismissed as marginal, hysterical or as Charismatic. This is a terrible mistake. There is no reason to think that Satan and His forces are any less active today than they were in the time of Christ.
Unless we have a biblical view of God, mankind, and the spirit world, we will not have the perspective to understand the evil that plagues our world. I can say no less than a hearty “Amen!” to Dr. Dickasen’s statement here. At the same time, I know that this thinking is radical and foreign and may open one to attack from those around us as primitive and superstitious. And that is precisely what Satan would wish them to think!
Biblical Perspective on Satan’s Role
How does the Bible throw light on this problem? The biblical answer is connected to the fall of Satan and his angels and his role in the fall of the head of all mankind, Adam.
How could a good and powerful God allow evil spirits to trouble us since the very beginning?
First, let’s recall several truths about the nature of God, the limitations on fallen angels, and God’s final judgment. As always, an excellent place to start! The sovereignty of God – His control of His world and limitations His nature and power place on His world is the best to begin our understanding of any subject. To begin in the middle of any subject will only frustrate our search for truth – and to begin, as the unredeemed begin, without a starting place, is fruitless!
The God Factor. The same Bible that presents the inception and continuation of sin and evil also presents God as One who is holy, righteous, and perfect in all His ways and who hates evil (Deuteronomy 32:3–4). He is sovereign, omnipotent, and in control. He has no potential successful rival (Isaiah 41:4, 43:13; Revelation 4:11). Evil did not rise up apart from His control; otherwise, He would not be God.
It seems best to say that God, for good reasons, allowed evil to come into being. Believers confess that God is the Author of a plan, a perfect plan, that included allowing His creatures to choose to sin (Isaiah 45:7; Acts 14:16). His ultimate good purpose must be best served by such a plan.
Perhaps He allowed angels to sin so that He might give a concrete example of the wretchedness and degradation of sin. Perhaps He used the test to gain a group of angels to serve Him from choice and love while others fell. By this means He could show in specific form His hatred and judgment of sin, as in Pharaoh’s case (Romans 9:17–18). We would never know the magnitude of God’s grace in preserving most of the angels and in the costly redemption of unworthy, sinful man. The price of our redemption is the death of the eternal Son of God, who became our God-man Redeemer.
The Angel Factor. Satan was the lead angel, but in pride he deliberately chose to sin against his Creator. The responsibility falls on him, not on God in any way. The angels who joined Satan planned their rebellion despite all they knew of the greatness and goodness of God.
Moreover, Scripture reveals that God is sovereign over these evil spirits and has always limited the expression of their sin and its devastating effects. He allows it for only a finite time between Satan’s fall and His coming judgment. Further, He controls the magnitude of Satan’s evil even within that time frame (Psalm 11:4–7, 96:1–13; Romans 2:1–16).
The Judgment Factor. God in His righteousness has condemned sin in the fullest sense. He has judged it throughout human history. He also judged it in awesome dimensions in the sacrifice of His eternal Son, a sacrificial punishment more than all creatures combined could ever suffer. Ultimately, God will forever punish Satan, his demonic hordes, and all other evildoers in the lake of fire, and He will banish sin forever from the universe when He makes all things new in the new heavens and earth (Revelation 20:10–15, 21:4–5).
So scripture guarantees that God is in full control of His creation; He did not cause evil, and He will judge all evil. I would only add that all that has transpired is clearly within the plan of God that was within His mind from eternity past. Nothing has caught Him by surprise. There have been no alterations and no amendments to the plan, no last minute changes. Though it is certainly true that God did not “cause” evil, He did allow it to take place. He could have prevented it; He chose not to do so for reasons of His own that He has, in turn, chosen not to reveal to us in any detail. While that may not seem fail to us, as the Creator, it is His privilege so to do.
Demons Through the Ages
Demons have always opposed God, His purposes, and His people. In the Old Testament days, demons brought attacks against God’s nation, Israel. Demons also oppose the Church, Christ’s body.
They promote false doctrine and divisions, they produce false teachers and followers, and they incite persecution. No other religion of the world receives such opposition and deadly persecution. Satan and demons hate the Messiah—the Creator who became the Savior—and anyone who follows Him. It is important to remember this. They are not merely neutral. Neutrality may be a thing that is true on a personal level, but it is not so spiritually. Spiritually they are antagonistic to all that God desires and thus to all that His people stand for. There is no middle ground here. There is no place for any compromise. Either one is for what God has declared, or one is against it. It quite literally that simple. It is not subjective, it not up to the machinations of our spirit or the development of opinion. God has given us an objective standard by which to measure, that being His Word. That standard is nowhere near as difficult to understand and interpret as many would have us think. It speaks plainly and clearly. In these areas it is clear and frank.
Satan and demons have not faded from the scene. They continue their evil activity. Their activity is more blatant in some places than others, but their presence is still experienced worldwide. The Bible warns that their activity will reach new heights in the future. The pinnacle of satanic activity will be embodied in Antichrist and his program (2 Thessalonians 2:9). However, Satan and his fallen angels will ultimately be defeated, and God will throw Satan and his angels into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:7–10; Matthew 25:41).
God will create new heavens and a new earth in which believers will enjoy His presence and provisions forever. Throughout eternal ages, righteousness will permanently rule on earth (2 Peter 3:13); and Satan, demons, and human evildoers will be forever punished. By God’s goodness and grace, those who place their trust in Christ will enjoy a wonderful world where there are no more fears, tears, pains, or deaths. There will be no recycling of evil. Evil will be forever banished (Revelation 21–22).
Demonic Activity in the World
Demons are alive and active today, but we can rest in the reality of our Father’s gracious and powerful control.According to the Bible, demons are real spiritual and personal beings, not just forces or phenomena in the physical and psychological realm. Various Bible passages reveal that they have intellect, emotions, and will. They think, hate, and choose plans of action against God, Christ, and mankind. They especially hate believers in Christ because believers belong to Christ and are foes of Satan.
The Scriptures provide many details about demons. They are spirit beings created by God and responsible to God (Colossians 1:16). They are creatures limited in space, time, and powers. They have become morally perverted and are called “unclean spirits” (Matthew 10:1) or “evil spirits” (Luke 7:21). They promote immoral and sensuous lifestyles (2 Peter 2:1–18). They cause false teachers of depraved minds to oppose the truth and appeal to carnal and selfish impulses (2 Timothy 3:6). They sow false followers of Christ in the world (Matthew 13:37–42). They blind the minds of unbelievers to keep them from seeing God’s salvation through faith in His Son (2 Corinthians 4:3–4).
Demons promote primitive religions, magic, superstition, and worship of evil spirits. They are the dynamic behind idolatry and their devotees, whether worshipers of the gods Marduk, Asher, Zeus, Jupiter, Apollo, Ra, Diana, Aphrodite, or a host of lesser manmade deities. Witchcraft and astrology are among the earliest false religions that they have inspired in the minds of men. Satanism stands out among their more recent promotions.
The Bible reveals that demons may invade and seek to control humans (Luke 22:3–4). The Greek word for “demon possession” denotes “demon-caused passivity.” It is used of an internal control manifest in either physical or psychological problems. Once again, we must make clear that this is not a popular notion and will open the believer to both ridicule and the charge of being extreme and old fashioned. In the modern world, such things are looked down upon and dismissed as a part of the old world, the uneducated world, superstition and the like. To embrace and cheerfully put such ideas forth as fact is much akin to upholding the idea of a young earth or opposing global warming – you are view as an idiot and dismissed as lacking in intelligence and overwhelmed by religious zeal. But, in reality, it is the holders of the other viewpoint that are the ones overwhelmed by the “religious” zeal, the zeal of the unredeemed!
Demonic Opposition to Believers
I’ve long chuckled at those who espouse the detailed and hysterical conspiracy theories that surround our government and the things that occur from time to time. It is amazing the things that fly sometimes. There are huge conspiracy theories, for instance, about what happened on 9/11. Many would swear that George Bush, the Republican Congress and the others in Corporate America engineered the attack and made it look like Islam to draw us into an attack on the Middle East for the sake of oil; a ridiculous theory. I’ve chuckled, not because there are no conspiracies, but because those conspiracies are not human, they are Satanic! Satan and his angels have long targeted God and His people, and any people or nation that remotely honors Him for destruction. Anything they can do to detract attention from the Gospel they’ll do. Anything they can do to subvert and detract money away from missions and from the support of the work of Gospel they will do.
Demons—those rebellious angels who followed Satan—especially target true believers who are a threat to them. At least sixteen passages in the New Testament address demonic opposition to Christians. Perhaps their greatest deceptive device is that of counterfeiting (2 Corinthians 11:13–15). Satan sought to be like God, and so he imitates some of God’s powers (as did the magicians in Pharaoh’s court) and distorts God’s message.
Perhaps demons’ greatest deceptive device is that of counterfeiting. They promote legalism as well as license.Christians must beware of any changes to the gospel of God’s saving grace in Christ. Satan promotes legalism, as well as license (Galatians 5:1–4, 13–14). So Christians must guard their lives by following God’s truth and depending upon the Holy Spirit, lest they let their sinful desires overrule God’s will.
Demons tempt and seek to lead true believers astray from following Christ (2 Corinthians 11:13–15). They promote rebellion and posit slander against God and men (Genesis 3:1–6; Revelation 12:9). They abhor the grace of God and attack the character of God by causing people to think of Him as dominating, restricting, and vengeful. They attack a Christian’s confidence and commitment to Christ, and in their place they insert accusing thoughts.1 They tempt people to lie, to commit sexual sins, to be preoccupied with this world’s values, to rely on human wisdom, to be proud in spiritual matters. They bring discouragement and division, both doctrinal and relational. They incite persecution, prevent service, and infiltrate the church. In each case, we have a choice to make—to give in or stand firm in Christ.
The Time of Satan’s Fall [3]
Job 38:7 says all of God’s angels rejoiced in seeing God’s creation of the world. Satan and his angels must have witnessed the creation of man, in particular, because one of Satan’s desires was to rule over man (Isaiah 14:13). So we have some idea about when Satan was created—prior to the creation of Adam. But when did he fall?
Obviously, Satan must have fallen before he tempted Eve and Adam (Genesis 3). Since God pronounced all His creation “very good” at the end of Creation Week (Genesis 1:31), the implication is that Satan had not yet rebelled against God. So it appears that Satan fell after Day Six of creation but before Adam’s sin.
After Satan rebelled, his character was corrupted as “the evil one” (1 John 3:12), his power became perverted, and God cast him and his followers out of heaven (Isaiah 14:12).
[1] This is a Reprint of an article received by forward in email. It is attributed as best I was able. Comments by Pastor Farrow are in Red
[2] C. Fred Dickason is the former chairman of the theology department at Moody Bible Institute and is the author of numerous books on angels and demons. He holds a ThM in theology and a ThD in New Testament literature and Exegesis from Dallas Theological Seminary.
[3] C. F. Dickason, Angels: Elect and Evil (Moody Publishers, 1995), pp. 155–159.
“Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord” — Hebrews 12:14
Secondly, Christ and his apostles hath long since foretold us that afflictions and persecutions will attend us in this world.
The Lord hath long since forewarned us, that we may be forearmed, and not surprised on a sudden when they come. Christ hath shot off many a warning piece in his word, and sent many a harbinger,[1] that so we may stand upon our guard, and not be surprised nor astonished when afflictions and persecutions overtake us: Matthew 10:22,
“And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved.” Chapter 16:24,
“Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.”
Luke 21:12,
“But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name's sake.”
John 15:20,
“Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than the lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.”
Ah Christians, since they have crowned your head with thorns, there is no reason why you should expect to be crowned with rosebuds. John 16:33,
“These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”
Acts 14:21, 22,
“And when they had preached the gospel to that city, and had taught many, they returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium, and Antioch, confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.”
As there was no way to paradise but by the flaming sword, nor no way to Canaan but through a wilderness; so there is no way to heaven but by the gates of hell, there is no way to a glorious exaltation but through a sea of tribulation. They do but dream and deceive their own souls who think to go to heaven upon beds of down, or in a soft and delicate way, or that think to be attended to glory with mirth and music, or with singing or dancing. The way to happiness is not strewed with roses, but full of thorns and briers, as those of whom this world was not worthy have experienced.
Ecclesiastical histories tell us that all the apostles died violent deaths. Peter was crucified with his heels upward — Christ was crucified with his head upwards, but Peter thought this was too great an honour for him to be crucified as his Lord, and therefore he chose to be crucified with his heels upward; and Andrew was crucified by Egeus, king of Edessa; and James the son of Zebedee was slain by Herod with the sword, (Act 12:2); and Philip was crucified at Hierapolis in Asia; and while Bartholomew was preaching the glad tidings of salvation, multitudes fell upon him and beat him down with staves, and then crucified him, and after all this, his skin was flayed off, and he beheaded; Thomas was slain with a dart [2] at Calumina in India; and Matthew was slain with a spear, say some, others say he was run through with a sword; and James the son of Alpheus, who was called the Just, was thrown down from off a pinnacle of the temple, and yet having some life left in him, he was brained with a fuller's club; Lebbeus was slain by Agbarus, king of Edessa; and Paul was beheaded at Rome under Nero; and Simon the Canaanite was crucified in Egypt, say some, others say that he and Jude were slain in a tumult of the people; and Matthias was stoned to death; and John was banished into Patmos, (Rev 1:9), and afterwards, as some histories tell us, he was by that cruel tyrant Domitian cast into a tun [3] of scalding lead, and yet delivered by a miracle. Thus all these precious servants of God, except John, died violent deaths, and so through sufferings entered into glory; they found in their own experience the truth of what Christ had foretold concerning their sufferings and persecutions.
When Mr. Bradford was told that his chain was a-buying, and that he must be burnt, he lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, “I thank God for it; I have looked for this a long time; it comes not to me suddenly, but as a thing waited for every day, yea, every hour in the day; the Lord make me worthy thereof.” If upon God's warning you will but prepare for sufferings, you will never fear nor faint under sufferings, yea, then you will be able under the greatest persecutions to bear up bravely, and with holy Bradford bless the Lord that has called you to so high an honour as to count you worthy to suffer for his name.
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[1] harbinger – that which precedes and gives notice of the expected arrival of something else.
[2] dart – a short lance.
[3] tun – a large cask.
[a] From Crown and Glory of Christianity, Thomas Brooks, The Works of Thomas Brooks, Vol IV, pp. 261-300, reprinted by Banner of Truth. Thomas Brook s (1608-1680) Nonconformist preacher and advocate of the Congregational way. Born into a Puritan family, he was sent to Emmanuel College, Cambridge. Author of Precious Remedies against Satan's Devices, The Mute Christian under the Smarting Rod, and others. He was buried in Bunhill Fields.
It’s amazing what one finds when one stops parroting others and reads the Bible for one’s self. [Of course, this is a common failing in our society. We’d rather do anything but work for ourselves. Pascal said that men:
"Being unable to cure death, wretchedness, and ignorance men have decided, in order to be happy, not to think about such things."[1]
Sadly, men's minds must be occupied with something! And so, they occupy it with trivialities. Things that do not matter in the long run. That. in turn crowds out the things that do matter. The greatest of these matters are the things of God with the result that men do not know the very God is their Creator.
A friend [of Brother Thornton] tells the story of how, when he and his wife began to discover the real truths of God’s character and who He really is, his wife proclaimed, “That was not in my Bible before!” I remember having that same epiphany myself some years back. But, I must sadly confess that the more people I talk to, the more I realize that the professing church is in a very sad state of affairs. [How true it is, and how shocking! people are startlingly illiterate of the things of God and embarrassingly unembarrassed about the ignorance! It is bad enough that the society at large has little knowledge of the things of God, but the professing Church has virtually just as little.]
It is one rooted in biblical illiteracy, and it results in people professing the name of Christ who do not really know the Jesus of Scripture. The god they worship is, sadly, a figment of their imagination. He exists only as an apparition in their minds. He has been conjured up out of thin air. In the words of Andy from Shawshank Redemption, “He’s a phantom, an apparition, second cousin to Harvey the rabbit…”. [I fear many would dismiss this as radical and judgmental. They would view it as harsh and condemning and find any number of ways to cast Brian's opinion aside as irrelevant and immaterial. But He is correct in His assertion. The God that many, even in most Bible-preaching churches today, is not the God of the Bible; and the Jesus Whom most people profess to follow is not the Christ of the Scripture.]
What I want to do in this post and maybe a couple of others is to display the real Jesus, the Jesus of Scripture. [There is nothing more that any preacher CAN or OUGHT to do!] Quite honestly, I want to quash the Jesus that is prevalent in so many minds and rules in so many churches. This will not be a comprehensive or exhaustive look at Christ, for the whole world would not be able to contain the books that would be required to do such an examination. My plan is simply to reveal some things that I am convinced people who profess faith in Jesus don’t even know or realize is true about Him. [How could they, as they rarely, if ever look at the only thing that could reveal those to them, that being the Word of God, the Bible?] Who knows, even you may come away from this exclaiming, “That Jesus was not in my Bible before!”
After Jesus was tempted in the wilderness by the devil, He begins His earthly ministry by returning to Galilee and the surrounding country, teaching in the synagogues and being “glorified by all”. When He comes to Nazareth, though, something different happens. As in all the surrounding areas, He goes to the synagogue and begins reading from the Scriptures and speaking to the people. One would think that He probably preached a message of hope and encouragement, or perhaps one of forgiveness and acceptance. No. Not here. In Nazareth, Jesus opens His mouth and preaches on the doctrine of election in two sentences. And what He says infuriates the people so much that they try to throw Him off a cliff! [It is scenes like that we OUGHT to be using to model our ministries after and using to shape our outreach strategies on; but no, we are shaping them using the world’s techniques. Somehow we have confused the need to be like Christ with the need to achieve results and accomplish a goal. Christ has not called us to get the result, but to be faithful to the calling.]
Here is what He said that made the people so mad:
But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land, and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian. When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. And they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff. – Luke 4:25-29
Why did the people get so angry at this? All He was doing was recounting a couple of Old Testament stories about Elijah and Elisha and how they each had healed someone. What’s the big deal? The big deal was that the person healed in each instance was not Jewish. They were outsiders. They were the scum of the earth in the eyes of Israel. here is what John Gill says about what Jesus was preaching that day regarding starving widows and lepers:
to none of the poor widows in the land of Israel was the prophet sent, to supply them with food, and relieve them in their famishing circumstances, as might most reasonably have been expected…Our Lord meant to observe, by this instance…that God bestows his favors on persons in a sovereign way, and sometimes upon the most unlikely; as in a time of famine, he overlooked the poor widows in Israel, his peculiar people, and sent his prophet to a Gentile woman in one of the cities of Sidon
In other words, God chose one person over and above some others. He demonstrated His favor over one person at the expense of some others. [Of course, that doctrine always lights the fires in the hearts of fleshly people. Those who are thinking more of men than of the glory of God are upset when men are not at the center of the plan, even when it is clear that God is the One that is at the center of that plan.] Consider also Gill’s comments on Jesus reference to the lepers in Elisha’s day:
and none of them was cleansed; from their leprosy, by any direction of the prophet, but Naaman, who was not an Israelite, but a Syrian: he was cleansed and cured of his leprosy, being ordered by Elisha to dip himself seven times in Jordan, which he did, and was healed
Why did Jesus do this? Why did He not preach a message of love and acceptance and tolerance for all people? Why was He not positive in His message? What kind of evangelist was this, anyway? Surely He knew that what He was about to say was going to incite the people. [An interesting question…the only conclusion is that He deliberately provoked them – a fascinating concept given the popular conceptions of God] Yet truth is truth, and God is God. Jesus asserted the sovereignty of God in His sermon that day. He showed that God is the one who does the choosing – He alone determines on whom his favor will rest – and the people hated Him for it. Consider these final thoughts from Gill:
these two instances of Elijah and Elisha, the one supplying the wants of a Sidonian woman, and the other healing a Syrian leper, when no notice were taken by them of poor widows and lepers in Israel:for by these instances they perceived, that they were compared to the Israelites in the times of wicked Ahab and Jezebel; and that no miracles were to be wrought among them, or benefits conferred on them, though they were his townsmen; yea, that the Gentiles were preferred unto them: and indeed the calling of the Gentiles was here plainly intimated, which was always ungrateful and provoking to the Jews; and it was suggested, that the favors of God, and grace of the Messiah, are dispensed in a sovereign and discriminating way, than which nothing is more offensive to carnal minds.
Is that offensive to you? Do you rail against the idea that God chooses one over the other? Bow your will to Scripture, for the Word of God is saturated with that truth from Genesis to Revelation. Don’t shoot the messenger. It’s there. Go read it for yourself. This is the Jesus most Christians don’t know. [This is, indeed a Christ that most people do not know, a deliberately confrontive, even offensive Christ. One Who stands before people and calls them to think forcefully and even offensively (though surely not vulgarly). It is the Christ that appears time and again during the Gospels. It is the Christ that appeared to both the people and to the leaders. It is the Christ that was eventually crucified!]
“Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord” — Hebrews 12:14
Objection: Some may object, and say, We see that no persons on earth are exposed to such troubles, dangers, afflictions, and persecutions, as those are exposed to who mind holiness, who follow after holiness. These are days wherein men labor to frown holiness out of the world, and to scorn and kick holiness out of the world; and do you think that we are mad now to pursue after holiness? Now to this great and sore objection, I shall give these following answers
1. First, It must be granted that afflictions and persecutions has been the common lot and portion of the people of God in this world.
Abel was persecuted by Cain, (1Jo 3:12), and Isaac by Ishmael, (Gal 4:29). That seems to be a standing law,
“All that will live godly in Christ Jesus must suffer persecution,” (2Ti 3:12).
A man may have many faint wishes and cold desires after godliness, and yet escape persecution; yea, he may make some essays[2] and attempts as if he would be godly, and yet escape persecution; but when a man is thoroughly resolved to be godly, and sets himself in good earnest upon pursuing after holiness and living a life of godliness, then he must expect to meet with afflictions and persecutions.
It is neither a Christian's gifts nor his graces, it is neither his duties nor his services that can secure him. Whoever escapes, the godly man shall not escape persecution in one kind or another, in one degree or another. He that will live up to holy rules, and live out holy principles, must prepare for sufferings. All the roses of holiness are surrounded with pricking briers.
The history of the ten persecutions, and that little book of martyrs, the 11th of the Hebrews, and Mr. Foxe his Acts and Monuments,[3] with many other treatises that are extant, do abundantly evidence that from age to age, and from one generation to another, they that have been born after the flesh have persecuted them that have been born after the Spirit, (Gal 4:20), and that the seed of the serpent have been still a-multiplying of troubles upon the seed of the woman.
Would any man take the church's picture, saith Luther, then let him paint a poor silly maid sitting in a wilderness, compassed about with hungry lions, wolves, boars, and bears, and with all manner of other cruel, hurtful beasts, and in the midst of a great many furious men assaulting her every moment and minute, for this is her condition in the world. As certain as the night follows the day, so certain will that black angel, persecution, follow holiness wherever it goes.
In the last of the ten persecutions, seventeen thousand holy martyrs were slain in the space of one month. And in Queen Mary's days, or, if you will, in the Marian days, not of blessed, but of most abhorred memory, the Popish prelates[4] in less than four years sacrificed the lives of eight hundred innocents to their idols! And oh that that precious innocent blood did not still cry to heaven for vengeance against this nation!
[1] From Crown and Glory of Christianity, Thomas Brooks, The Works of Thomas Brooks, Vol IV, pp. 261-300, reprinted by Banner of Truth. Thomas Brook s (1608-1680) Nonconformist preacher and advocate of the Congregational way. Born into a Puritan family, he was sent to Emmanuel College, Cambridge. Author of Precious Remedies against Satan's Devices, The Mute Christian under the Smarting Rod, and others. He was buried in Bunhill Fields.
[3] Acts and Monuments – a reference to the great work by John Foxe (1516-1587) originally entitled Actes and Monuments of These Latter Perilous Days, known to us as Foxe's Book of Martyrs.
[4] prelate – a minister or priest of the higher order, as an archbishop, bishop, or patriarch.
