To The Death

In Luke 9:23, Jesus says that a person should take up his cross daily and follow Him. He also states that if a person loses his life for His sake, he will save it and if a person saves his life, he will lose it. Gaining the whole world and losing your soul is not a good choice.

In John 21:15-17, Jesus restores Peter and tells him how he is to serve Him. In verse 18, He tells Peter how he is going to die and glorify God through his death. Then in verse 19, He says to Peter, “Follow Me.” Peter followed.

In John 5:29, Jesus speaks of the resurrection of the “good” to life. The resurrection is spoken of many times in the Word. Paul dedicates the entire 15th chapter of 1Cor. to the resurrection. Jesus was resurrected from the dead. We will be resurrected in Christ. It is the foundation of our Christian faith.

It is because of his belief that the dead will rise in Christ that Peter followed Christ knowing that it would lead to his death. Through their belief in the resurrection, the martyrs went to their deaths singing praises to God rather than deny Christ. Belief in the resurrection of Christ and belief in the resurrection of those who follow Christ is the ultimate test of faith. When Jude exhorted us to “contend for the Faith,” the resurrection is what he was talking about. Without the resurrection, there is no Christianity. There is no reason to be a Christian without the resurrection.

Persecution has historically come upon Christians all over the world. Christians have been challenged to deny their faith or die. Have you considered which choice you would make if faced with that decision? If God wants you to glorify Him through your death as He did with Peter, will you be able to stand. Do you love God more than your own life? These are questions that Christians have always been faced with. In these days of only using our faith to seek blessings, healings, houses, cars, spouses, jobs, etc., we sometimes forget that we are called to a much higher standard of faith. Merely believing for God to deal with our issues in life is not a sustaining kind of faith. It is a self-centered faith not Christ centered.

The martyrs had to answer the question, “Will I die for my faith?” When I understood that, I had to ask myself the same question, “Will I die for my faith?” Do I believe in the resurrection enough to die for my faith? Taking it a step further, is my faith in the resurrection strong enough to allow my wife and children to die rather than deny Christ? This is what the martyrs faced. They not only gave their own lives for their faith, they watched their spouses and children being tortured and slaughtered before their eyes. Yet, they stood for Christ. As they died, parents encouraged children in Christ. Children encouraged parents, spouses encouraged spouses. They were able to do this because they knew through faith that they would see each other again in the resurrection.

I believe this strongly in the resurrection. It is the foundation of my faith. Everything else pales in comparison. Therefore, if I am determined to stand in the greatest of challenges, then there is nothing that can shake my faith. It always interested me that Paul ended his strongest statement on the resurrection with these words, “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, for as much as you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.”(1Cor. 15:58.) 1Cor. 15 is the longest single chapter written by Paul and it is all dedicated to the resurrection. God wants us to understand the importance of it.

Now is the time to make up your mind where you stand concerning the resurrection. You can’t wait until you are faced with persecution or the threat of death. Determining to die for your faith in Christ will strengthen you to live for your faith in Christ no matter what circumstances arise. Paul, Peter, the rest of the apostles, Stephen, and countless others all thought it to be a blessing and a privilege to be chosen by God to share in the suffering of Christ even to the death. They knew, through faith, they would also share in His glorious resurrection.

Hebrews 11 tells us that “Faith is the substance of things hoped for…” One of the things inherent in this thought is this: The level of your faith can never exceed the level of your hope. If everything you are hoping for is at eye level, then your faith will be very shallow. The higher the hope, the deeper the faith. The highest hope produces the deepest faith. The RESURRECTION is the highest hope.