The Heaton File

For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! (1 Corinthians 15:16-17)

Today Is Christmas

December 25 appears on the calendar every 365 days. The celebration of the birth of Christ spreads across the globe as the world enjoys a holiday of family, friends, religious events, and raucous parties late into the night. There is an irony to the celebration of Christmas, as a semblance of religious honor is given to the birth of Jesus Christ, with pictures of a baby lying in a manger with many people who have little or no knowledge of who Jesus Christ is. It is a time to spark an interest in the hearts of those who never think about the Lord and to urge them to seek after the real story of the birth of Jesus. Christmas can be an opportunity to lead lost souls to Christ.

The birth of Jesus is more than a holiday. Without the birth of Jesus, there could be no resurrection. The birth of Jesus was unlike any child that has ever been born. God showed His power and dominion by bringing Jesus into the world through a virgin birth. The conception of the Holy Spirit in the womb of Mary, who had never known a man, is a miracle that has never been replicated. Isaac was born in the womb of a woman ninety years old, and John the Baptist came from a womb that had passed the age of childbearing. Both Isaac and John were conceived in the womb by a man. In the case of Jesus, Mary was a virgin who was blessed among women to bear the Son of God—the testimony of the virgin birth points to the singleness of Jesus’ resurrection.

There have been numerous accounts of people raised from the dead. Abraham offered Isaac as a burnt offering, believing that God would raise him from the dead. In the days of Elijah, a woman of Zarephath had a son who was sick and died. Elijah raised him from the dead. Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, as well as the daughter of Jairus, and the widow of Nain’s son. After the resurrection of Jesus, many came out of the tombs and went into the city. All of those who rose from the dead died again. When Jesus rose from the dead, He ascended to the Father and lives and reigns at the right hand of God. The resurrection was not possible without the birth. God’s power is found in the birth and resurrection of Jesus. Today is Christmas. The story should tell the whole counsel of the birth and the resurrection of Jesus. One without the other is an empty story.

Another irony of Christmas is that the focus is on the birth of Jesus rather than His resurrection. In 100 days, the world will pause again to celebrate Easter. The focus will be on the resurrection of Jesus, but not on His birth. Once again, the world will celebrate a day to reflect on Jesus and enjoy a holiday of family, friends, religious events, and raucous parties late into the night. Everything will be about the risen Christ without telling the story of the miraculous birth of the Christ. The world is always so confused about something that is clear. Every holiday cherry-picks a portion of the story of Jesus and tells one without the other. The birth of Jesus cannot be told without His resurrection, and the resurrection cannot be told without His birth, and yet that is where the world finds itself.

Today is Christmas. Most stores are closed. The world almost comes to a stop. Presents are given. Celebrations abound. Families gather. In three days, the greatest day on earth will take place again. It happens every week. The first day of the week is when the children of God pause to tell the story of the birth of Jesus, His life, and His resurrection. This event repeats fifty-two times a year. The first Christians did this two thousand years ago when they met on the first day of the week. Celebrating the life of Jesus was something they did every day. They gathered as the people of God every first day of the week to worship the glory of the resurrection of Jesus. There was no special holiday because the first day of the week was set aside for devotion, praise, and honor to the King of kings and Lord of lords. When people ask if the saints remember the birth of Jesus, the answer is a resounding yes because without the birth, there could be no resurrection. The world did not find hope in the birth alone. If there had been no resurrection, the birth would have been meaningless. And if Christ is not risen, faith is pointless because the world remains in the grip of sin. Thank God for the birth of Jesus, but thank God for the resurrection.

Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began. (2 Timothy 1:8-9)

Willing To Suffer

Paul’s letter to Timothy was filled with emotion as the faithful apostle knew his time of death was near. He had so many things to say to his brethren, and there was still much work to be done. Timothy was his son in the faith. Paul used his letter to encourage Timothy to keep on fighting the good fight of sharing the gospel throughout the Roman Empire. The early church faced a great persecution that would last for nearly two centuries. Paul was in prison because of his faith in Jesus Christ. The conversion of Saul of Tarsus marked a turning point for the early church, providing an example of someone who was shown the long-suffering of God and given the mercies of God’s love.

As valiant as Paul fought to spread the gospel, the world would have its way to kill him. The Jews sought diligently to have him killed, and the Roman government carried this out. Many of the saints were persecuted by the government, false religions, and the immoral character of the world, leading Paul to remind the early saints that living a godly life would bring persecution. Timothy needed to hear Paul remind him that the world of darkness does not easily accept the teachings of Jesus Christ. The evangelist must not be ashamed of Paul’s example of suffering for Christ because the testimony of the Lord is truth, and no man should be ashamed of the truth. Paul had suffered greatly in his ministry. It was very likely that Timothy and other Christians would also suffer as Paul did.

Jesus came to earth knowing He would suffer and be killed. He told the eleven that if the world hated Him, the world would hate them. Being a follower of Jesus Christ does not come without cost. If a man desires to follow Jesus, it requires bearing a cross. Serving God must come before father and mother, husband and wife, and son and daughter. Nothing comes before Christ. The testimony of the Lord will separate family and friends and make one an enemy of the world. Timothy must not be ashamed to support the prisoner named Paul. The apostle needed the encouragement of those who would stand faithfully with him for the gospel’s sake. To serve Christ may bring suffering.

There are many who want to serve the Lord but are unwilling to pay the price set forth by the King of kings. Living the Christian life is not suffering to show a self-imposed piety or false humility. The reality is that the teachings of righteousness always stand against the ways of the world filled with unrighteousness. Living a godly life will put one at odds with the way of the world. Each Christian has a holy calling according to the grace of God to live apart from the world. The heart of the Christian must be staunch enough to stand firmly against how the world thinks, how the world acts, and the lifestyles of a wicked world. This must be seen in the workplace, in the community, and as citizens of the nation. Every Christian stands as a beacon of righteous light in a dark world.

What Paul wants Timothy to remember is that suffering for Christ is living for Christ. Can anyone do any less in our world of religious division, immorality, and moral decadence? It takes courage to stand against the wiles of the devil, but stand we must. There can be no quarter given, and there is no surrender. Suffering for Christ will bring greater rewards than facing the wrath of God. Do not be ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Share in the sufferings of the word of God. Anyone who puts his hand to the plow and looks back cannot be a disciple of Christ. Living the Christian life requires faith and the willingness to stand against the world – and stand we must.

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich. (2 Corinthians 8:9)

He Became Poor For Me

It is difficult for the human mind to understand what it means to be God. As the creation, humanity struggles with its identity as a creature formed by the hand of God to be an eternal creature. The world is the sphere of human experience, and while there are challenges to consider, the vastness of the universe and man’s place in it make it impossible to pin down the idea of God’s dwelling and who Jesus was before coming to earth. Paul seeks to peek behind the curtain of the nature of Christ, saying that what the Son of God was before was nothing like what He became.

Is it possible to think of someone who possesses riches beyond the imagination, giving all of that up to be the lowest, poorest, most despised, and rejected person on earth? What makes the transition more remarkable is that the one who possessed all the riches created what He will become. Jesus was God. He was with the Father, dwelling in the radiance of the eternal glow of glory immeasurable. Before the world was created, the Son of God accepted the will of His Father to divest Himself of everything He possessed as God to become a creation of flesh. In the incarnation of flesh, Jesus would suffer all the frailties of the human experience. He would know warmth and cold, hunger and plenty, happiness and sorrow, and most of all, temptation.

God would live for more than thirty years in a fleshly body and feel the dread of the lust of the flesh. He would challenge the lust of pride. Jesus experienced the lust of the eyes that consumed so many in the world. For thirty years, He was the son of a carpenter whom few paid any attention to, and He was barely noticed. Jesus shared a home life with His half-brothers and sisters. He stood out among the young men who came to Jerusalem each year, but no one sought His counsel or witnessed His power through miracles. Jesus was a man from Nazareth, and that was all. No followers and no miracles. Deity had become flesh. It was not until Jesus was thirty years old that the world began to realize who stood in their midst.

Jesus was rich and became poor so that the world could rise from the despair of its filth to be cleansed in His blood. What Jesus did was not for Himself but for the sake of the world that walked in the darkness of sin. He became poor to bring light to a dark world. His poverty was taking on the flesh of humanity to offer to the world the greatest riches known to man – the salvation of the soul. The contrast is stark when the world realizes that the greatest riches are found in the blood of Jesus Christ. What the world wants are the riches of gold, silver, and pleasure. Those riches are counterfeit. The true riches are found in what Jesus came to offer through His poverty. To be rich is to be filled with the spirit of God, to long for the hope of eternal life. That is why Jesus came. He offered the riches that can never be taken away.

The only reason the world has been given the gift of grace is that Jesus became poor and, through His poverty, suffered the humiliation of the cross, rejection by the world, and being despised by His nation, giving His life to enrich the soul of man with love. Jesus gave a full sacrifice to the world, and the world did not deserve His sacrifice. Jesus was rich and became poor. The world was poor and can be rich through Jesus Christ, but that choice is left to the will of man. What makes the whole story of Jesus tragic is that He left the glory of Heaven to bring hope to a lost and dying world; and for the most part, the world does not care.

And Adah bore Jabal. He was the father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock. His brother’s name was Jubal. He was the father of all those who play the harp and flute. And as for Zillah, she also bore Tubal-Cain, an instructor of every craftsman in bronze and iron. And the sister of Tubal-Cain was Naamah. (Genesis 4:20-22)

Early Man Deliberately Made Fire

In a recent Fox News article, scientists shatter a supposed timeline of human fire-making with a “400,000-year-old” discovery in England. The study, published in the journal Nature on December 10, centered on a site in Barnham, England, that, according to scientists, dates to the Paleolithic era, the longest era of human prehistory. During the excavation, a team led by the British Museum found flint hand axes, a patch of baked clay, and fragments of iron pyrite. The iron pyrite was likely struck against flint to produce fire. A British Museum curator declared it was the most exciting discovery of his 40-year career. The find has created a major chronological shift in how the world understands “prehistoric man” and the origins of fire-making.

What surprises scientists is how early man was actually making fire, and the fact that they were making it. The general view of early man is that he evolved from the superfamily Hominoidea species into an intelligent creature of today. In other words, humans evolved from the Ape family. Since early man evolved from apes, he was an ignorant, animalistic creature unable to create fire until, miraculously, 400,000 years ago, he learned how to light a match. Scientists are astounded by the amazing discovery. Believers are bemused at how ignorant the intellectual world continues to show itself, fooled by the wiles of the great deceiver. The Bible states that in the beginning, early man knew how to create and control fire.

Adam and Eve were the first humans. Every Bible-believing follower accepts the account of Moses that Adam and Eve were the first humans to walk on earth. If a scientist rejects the Genesis account, he has removed the only answer to early man that proves who he is and where he came from. Adam and Eve had two sons, Cain and Abel. When God punished Cain for killing his brother Abel, Cain dwelt in the land of Nod, east of Eden. He had a son named Enoch, and Cain built a city named after his son. In the genealogy of Cain, Jabal was the father of those who lived in tents and raised livestock. Early man knew how to make tents and care for livestock.

Jabal had a brother named Jubal, who was the father of all those who played the harp and flute. Early man knew how to make musical instruments of various types. One of Lamech’s wives, Zillah, had a son named Tubal-Cain, an instructor of every craftsman in bronze and iron. The Genesis accounts confirm that the earliest people on earth not only knew about fire but also how to harness its power to build cities, care for livestock, make musical instruments, and work with iron ore.

Metallurgy is a very dangerous science. Arsenic occurs naturally in the environment as an element of the earth’s crust, and if a man does not know how to handle the ore of any metal properly, he will not live long. The early generation of Cain knew how to find ore in the ground to form bronze and iron. Bronze is not found in nature as a pure metal but is created through the combination of copper and tin. The process involves smelting copper and tin ore and combining them at high temperatures to form an alloy. Tubal-Cain knew how to work with ore and fire to create tools.

God has shown modern man how advanced early man was to show that man is not a creature formed from the DNA of apes but the image of an eternal God. It is almost laughable that scientists get so excited about finding early man using fire when Moses wrote about it three thousand years ago, and little children have known about it for thousands of years. If a man reads the Bible, he will know and understand where man came from. It is not hard to picture Adam and Eve warming themselves with the glow of a beautiful fire.

Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. (John 17:17)

The Truth

A common phrase we use in everyday language is the “naked truth.” This phrase means the absolute truth and comes from an old fable. “Truth and Falsehood went swimming. Falsehood stole the clothes that Truth had left on the riverbank, but Truth refused to wear Falsehood’s clothes and went naked.” Truth is pure. There is no deceit in truth, and it bears no resemblance to falsehood. Truth is not encumbered with the cloak of lies and garments of jealousy.

John Hales wrote, “Truth is more ancient than error, for error is nothing else but deviation and swerving from truth” (Private Judgment in Religion; 1584-1666). Error is often paraded with a morsel of truth, but it remains false when the truth is covered up. Truth can only be one thing and is open to investigation by an honest heart. The psalmist declares that the entirety of God’s word is truth from the beginning (Psalm 119:60). Eve’s taking of the forbidden fruit did not change truth. The truth of God’s will was unaffected by her rebellion. Satan convinced the woman to view God’s command differently, and when she examined the truth of God’s word, she was willing to believe the Lord would accept her actions. This is like taking truth and putting on the dress of self-will, but truth remains the same. When challenged by God, Adam tried to redress the truth by blaming the woman. The naked truth remained the same when the Lord first gave them the command not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

King Saul was told by Samuel to “strike Amalek and devote to destruction all that they have. Do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey” (1 Samuel 15:3). Taking two hundred-thousand-foot soldiers and ten thousand men of Judah, the king went to war with Amalek. However, instead of obeying the command of God, King Saul decided to spare King Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good. How did Saul change the truth? He did not. Bringing the spoil of war back did not change the truth of what God told him to do. Confronted by Samuel about the “bleating of the sheep” and the “lowing of the oxen,” Saul defended his actions by suggesting God would be pleased. Sadly, what the king did not understand is that truth remained constant, and his disobedience did not change the truth but only condemned his actions.

Falsehood is a clothier. The most effective form of falsehood is when truth is mingled in the formula. As in the parable, what falsehood wants truth to do is wear its clothes so that falsehood will be presented as truth. It merely places the garments of deception on some truth, and the unsuspecting will believe what they hear is the truth. Satan’s lie to Eve was truth dressed in the cloak of a lie. This same ploy is used by Satan today. Eve understood clearly what the truth was. Satan only dressed it up a little bit with a skirt of lies, and the woman fell for the temptation. Often, the greatest tool the devil uses to entrap people is to allow them the luxury of truth, but dressed in the fashion chosen by the deceiver.

One of the most important lessons to learn about Satan is that “when he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44). The reality of his ploy is to cloak truth with his lies to deceive the heart. The lust of the flesh is the truth of what God has created, clothed in the lie of unrestrained pleasure. There is no lasting happiness when truth is corrupted. When men seek after the pride of life or the lust of the eye, they follow the primrose path of truth masked in the veneer of a false hope. Despair is all that comes from him. Truth must be unclothed to find happiness and fulfillment.

The only way to know the truth is to look at the source of truth. Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). The Son of God declares that whatever is of truth must come through Him. As the “way” and the “life,” Jesus personifies the character of “truth,” and this comes from the Father (John 14:10). Whatever Jesus says is truth because it comes from the Father – who is truth. We can have confidence in this truth knowing that God does not lie (Titus 1:1).

Religion is often clothed in enough truth that no one can see the false doctrine it really is. “And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness” (2 Corinthians 11:14-15). The devil knows the truth, and he cloaks it well with his lies to destroy us. The works of the flesh (Galatians 5:19-21) have enough ‘truth’ in them to attract men to embrace the error. Truth is naked because it bears its own mark of ownership. There is nothing to hide in truth. It does not change over time or adapt to different cultures. The gospel of Jesus Christ was true for those in 1492, as it is in the modern world. Truth is sanctified by the word of God (John 17:17), and the word of God is settled in Heaven (Psalm 119:89).

Truth will not wear the garments of Falsehood and must bear the purity of the heart in speaking the truth, believing the truth, and practicing the truth. There are no small lies or white lies or cute lies – a lie is a lie. Truth is truth. Refuse to put on the garments of falsehood. Walk according to the truth.

I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to have the preeminence among them, does not receive us. Therefore, if I come, I will call to mind his deeds which he does, prating against us with malicious words. And not content with that, he himself does not receive the brethren, and forbids those who wish to, putting them out of the church. Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. He who does good is of God, but he who does evil has not seen God. Demetrius has a good testimony from all, and from the truth itself. And we also bear witness, and you know that our testimony is true. (3 John 1:9-12)

Two Kinds Of Church Members

The early church faced internal problems because the human spirit would not submit to the will of Christ. Luke traces the origins and history of the church in the Acts of the Apostles, including the many problems it faced. The Jerusalem church dealt with prejudice and neglect against the Greek widows, and then the shocking news of the death of Ananias and Sapphira, who lied to God and were struck dead. Certain men came down from Judea to Antioch, teaching that circumcision was necessary for salvation, causing no small stir among the churches. Paul’s letters to the churches addressed problems of carnality, sexual immorality, false doctrine, submission to government, disputes over doubtful things, abuse of the Lord’s Supper, and a host of challenges the early church faced.

There were problems in the church because the body of Christ is made up of sinners. What hindered the work of the Lord were those members who were carnally minded, seeking their own wills rather than submitting to the will of the Lord. Such was the case when the apostle John writes to a fellow saint named Gaius. It seems that in the church where Gaius was a member, there were problems with a member named Diotrephes. This man loved to have preeminence among the saints, making false claims against men like the apostle John and casting out some members of the church. His actions were full of deceit and maliciousness. Diotrephes ran the local church as if it were his own group of saints.

John asks Gaius not to allow the ungodly example of Diotrephes to influence the work of the church. The malicious character of Diotrephes should not be allowed to guide the spirit of the church. John exhorts Gaius to follow the examples of good people among the brethren, especially the example of a saint named Demetrius. His example was that of goodness and kindness. The example of wicked men shows themselves to be wicked, and the example of good men shows themselves to be good men. John wants the brethren to look to the good examples among them and to imitate their lives as they imitate Jesus Christ. Demetrius was a model of seeking the higher calling of God’s will with humility. Diotrephes was an example of carnality and worldliness.

Many congregations have members like Diotrephes who try to impose their will on others for their own glory. Men like Demetrius are quiet workers doing the work of the Lord with little fanfare. The church was bought by the blood of Jesus. Headship of the church belongs only to Christ. No man should think the church belongs to him. The early church faced the challenges of members who were examples of ungodliness and those who were godly. John exhorted the saints to seek out those who gave good examples of faith and fidelity and to follow their example. He warned them against following men like Diotrephes, as both will fall into the ditch. Paul asked the saints in Corinth to imitate him as he imitated the Lord Jesus Christ. That is the only model of following another man’s example. The example of a godly man reflects the glory of God. That is the example that leads to righteousness.

Now when He rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons. She went and told those who had been with Him, as they mourned and wept. And when they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe. (Mark 16:9-11)

They Forgot What Jesus Said

The resurrection of Jesus should not have surprised the eleven. In the final year of His ministry, Jesus told the apostles that He was going to Jerusalem, where He would be handed over to the Romans, who would kill Him, but that He would rise on the third day. He told them this on numerous occasions. On one occasion, Peter was so upset about the Lord speaking of His suffering in Jerusalem that he took Jesus aside and began to rebuke Him. How dare Jesus suggest He would suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and be killed? What the eleven did not hear was how often Jesus said He would be killed and rise on the third day.

Listening is more than hearing words. Understanding what is being said requires paying attention to the message. Thomas was one of the apostles who understood more of what Jesus was teaching than the others. When Peter told Jesus he would lay down his life for the Lord, Jesus told Peter that in a short time the emboldened apostle would deny Him three times before the rooster would crow. Jesus tells Peter not to be troubled by what the Lord was saying because the will of the Father was for the Son to give His life to prepare the way of salvation. The Lord tells the eleven that He must go away, and they should know where He is going. It was then that Thomas told the Lord they did not understand and wanted to know more.

The arrest, trial, and crucifixion came as a shock to the eleven. On the evening of the day Jesus rose from the dead, ten of the apostles were gathered in a house with the doors shut for fear of the Jews. They were crying and mourning the death of Jesus, fearful of reprisals; the mob of Jews who cried for the death of Jesus would do the same to them. When Mary Magdalene burst in the door telling them Jesus was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe. Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, Joanna, and Salome, had been to the tomb and found it empty. Peter and John inspected the tomb and found it empty. The women’s report seemed to the apostles like idle tales, and they did not believe them.

Jesus told the apostles He would die and rise on the third day, but they did not realize what they were witnessing was the fulfillment of that promise. They forgot the words of Jesus, causing them to disbelieve. The miracles of Jesus proved He was the Son of God. Jesus brought Lazarus from the dead after four days. This should be the testimony that if Jesus could raise the dead, God would make a way to raise His only begotten Son from the grave. The proof was in the word of God. Forgetting what Jesus said led to a lack of faith in God’s promises. They relied on their own understanding and wisdom to understand how Jesus was crucified and how, according to those who saw Him, He was alive.

Jesus was alive because His word testified to the Father’s will. Faith comes from hearing the word of God, but hearing is not just about making a sound. It requires a deep understanding of what Jesus is saying, remembering the words of God, and accepting them as truth. The word of God is truth. Hosea, the prophet, declared that Israel’s fall was because the people lacked knowledge. The apostles would believe when Jesus stood before them, and the following week Thomas would see his Lord face to face. Jesus reminds the eleven that the ones who are blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. Trust the word of God. Do not forget the promises of God. God can’t lie. If Jesus said He would rise on the third, the eleven should have been looking for Him. It was Jesus who found them. Praise God.

And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. He spoke this word openly. Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. But when He had turned around and looked at His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying, “Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.” (Mark 8:31-33)

The Mind Of Man Is Not The Mind Of God

Peter was an impetuous person with an independent streak of stubbornness that often put him at odds with Jesus’ purpose and mission. As a disciple of the Son of God, Peter was deeply devoted to Jesus’ work. There were few disciples as loyal as the man called Simon. He was a fisherman who spent many hours at his craft in harsh, challenging places, trying to provide for his family. Fishing was a job requiring courage, tenacity, and a hardened spirit. Peter was all of those and more. Few of those who followed Jesus could grasp the full meaning of His work. Much of what Jesus came to do was hidden from the minds of men. Many disciples thought Jesus would restore the kingdom of God to Israel.

In the final year of His ministry, Jesus spoke openly about the fulfillment of His mission. He had only been preaching for a little over two years when the language changed to the message of the suffering Servant. Jesus began to teach the multitudes that He would suffer many things in the coming months. He would be betrayed into the hands of His enemies, and they would kill him. They would mock Him, scourge Him, and spit on Him, and be delivered to the Gentiles (Romans) to be put to death. The disciples did not understand what Jesus was saying and were afraid to ask Him. Peter decided to take matters into his own hands because it was obvious to him that Jesus did not know what He was talking about.

Earlier, Jesus had asked His disciples who men said that He was. Peter had proclaimed that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God, and Jesus commended Peter for his bold declaration. Soon after, when Jesus began to teach them that He would suffer many things, be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, Peter took it upon himself to take Jesus aside from the other apostles and openly rebuke Him. The scene could not have been of any greater parallels. Peter, an apostle of Jesus who just declared that Jesus was the Son of God, a divine being proven to be the Messiah by the miracles, signs, and wonders; and Jesus, standing off to the side, being berated by one of His disciples that He did not know what He was saying.

Peter was reprimanding Jesus for talking about His suffering from the Jewish leaders, and that Jesus did not know what He was talking about and should stop telling the other disciples such things. Man telling God that God does not know what He is doing. Peter forbade Jesus from talking like that. Where did Peter find such boldness to openly rebuke and challenge the word of God in the face of the one he declared to be the Son of God? Jesus answered the question when He turned to the other disciples and rebuked Peter in their presence. What Peter was doing was trying to tell God how to do His work. It seemed that Peter knew better how to do the Lord’s work than the Lord.

The failure of religion has always been when men think they know better than God. Biblical history is filled with those who decided they knew better how to accomplish the will of the Lord than the Lord Himself. They all failed. The problem with modern church theology is that men reject the word of God for their own wisdom, apparently because God does not understand the contemporary mind or what people long for. Communities are filled with churches of various faiths, beliefs, and practices because people want to worship God in ways that suit them. It is as if religious leaders, like Peter, take God off to the side and rebuke Him for not understanding the modern mind. It does not matter what the word of God says. What matters is what the hearts of men believe.

Peter failed his Lord that day because he was mindful of what he thought was the best course of action for Jesus. The Lord firmly rebuked Peter in the presence of others to show Peter and the rest of the disciples that there is one word, one faith, one Lord, and one way. If the religious world does not wake up to the reality of the unity of the faith under the banner of one Lord, they will perish in their ignorance and lead the masses to an eternal perdition. Human wisdom can never trump the wisdom of God and be successful. Let anyone beware who decides to tell God He does not know what He is doing.

Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’ So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.” ‘ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’ “So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” (Luke 12:16-21)

The Challenge Of Prosperity

Success can breed contempt. One of the great challenges to faith is the spirit of accomplishment. When the heart becomes satisfied, believing that everything in life has been gained, the need for God can begin to fade. Materialism replaces the Lord. Success highlights the individual’s accomplishments. When the heart is in a state of satisfaction, there is a temptation to forget God, deny His blessings, and become spiritually blind to all that God has provided. Faith becomes choked by the things of the world rather than living for the glory of God. The heart believes the soul is fully satisfied and life will never change. This is a tragic mistake.

When Israel was about to cross the Jordan and possess the land of Canaan, Moses warned the people about the challenges of success. God had given the land to Israel forty years earlier, but the people were fearful and did not trust God. He punished them for forty years. A new generation now stood at the border of the promised land, anxious to conquer and possess the land. Canaan was described as a land flowing with milk and honey. A land with brooks of water, fountains, and springs with fields of wheat, barley, vineyards, fig trees, and pomegranate, a land of olive oil; a land in which they would never go hungry. Moses warned that in their season of success, they would forget the Lord by failing to keep His commandments, judgments, and statutes.

Seeking greater faith is often more challenging in times of success than in times of persecution. History has borne the wisdom that the church is stronger under persecution than under freedom and prosperity. The reason is clear: success can lead to apathy. Moses warned the people they would forget God, and they did. Life became so bountiful that faith turned toward the cares of the world instead of trusting in the care of the Lord.

Jesus told the parable of a rich man who prospered greatly. The ground yielded plentifully, and the man did not have barns big enough to store his crops. God blessed the man with a prosperous harvest. Instead of giving God the glory and using the crops to share with others, the greedy man desired to keep the blessings of God to himself. He decided to build greater barns to store all his crops and goods. He thought he had many years left on earth to enjoy the fruits of his labor. He was a fool. His barns were never built. The abundance of his crops never made it to the barn. Everything he had held on so tightly was lost the night he died. His treasure was in the things of the world. He was not rich toward God.

Faith must be found when the days are good and bad. There should be no seasons of faith. Faith must be resilient whether facing persecution or enjoying peace. Seeking greater faith may require greater effort when the days of prosperity come, because the heart is drawn away from God. In the parable of the sower, it was the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches that choked the ground with thorns. There is no productivity in lives filled with worries about life and the belief that happiness comes from the things of this world. That is a fool’s errand and a fool’s end.

When the days of success come, remember from whom all blessings come. Abraham and Job were immensely successful men, but their faith rested in the word of God. When all was taken from Job, his faith remained in the God who had given him everything. He accepted good from God, and he accepted adversity. In all things, he could only bless the name of the Lord. He did not sin nor charge God with wrong. His season of success did not cause him to forget God. When he lost everything, he did not forget God. Be thankful. Do not forget God in seasons of success.

Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. (Philippians 3:13-15)

Faith Struggling With Motivation

The root of motivation is the word motive, “That which causes one to act.” Faith and motivation are keenly connected because faith can falter under pressure, and the desire to act can be difficult. Satan constantly seeks to discourage and dissuade the loyal heart from serving the Lord. When a spirit of apathy enters the heart, the zeal for knowledge, grace, love, and obedience diminishes, and if left unaddressed, can devastate the soul. A lack of faith can come from a lack of motivation. When the cares of the world overwhelm the spirit, a feeling of despair can arise that hinders the soul from acting. Motivation is a crucial ingredient in faith that helps us maintain it through difficult days and challenging times.

The challenge to one’s faith is never-ending. It is exhausting facing the wiles of the devil every day, and he will not give up. His relentless pursuit of deceiving the heart is a constant battle that must be fought in the trenches of God’s promises, which He cannot lie about, and for which victory is assured. The motivation to carry on through thick and thin inspires the heart to trust in the Lord. Abraham was told to leave his family and go to a place the Lord would show him. He did not know where he was going. Every morning, Abraham arose and moved his family a little further down the road as he made the journey to where God was taking him. His motivation stemmed from his faith in God’s promises. It took twenty-five years to realize the promise of a son. His motivation kept his faith alive.

Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers as a teenager. He faced harsh conditions and humiliating experiences, but he never gave up his faith in God. When the wife of Potipher falsely charged him, he did not give up on the Lord. His motivation was to see through whatever God had in store for him. It would be twenty-two years before he realized the meaning of his dreams. His motivation was to trust in the will of the Lord. Because of his faith, he came to realize God’s plan in his life. Daniel and his three friends were taken as prisoners to a foreign land. They did not let the circumstances of their lives determine the motivation of their hearts. Everything they did was motivated by trusting in the Lord to deliver them.

Jesus lived with a strong motivation to serve His Father. He faced many obstacles in His faith, but He always trusted in the will of the Father alone; not his own. The proper motivation is established in faith by trusting that God is right and His will must be followed to receive the blessings of the Father. In the book of Hebrews, the chapter on faith showcases the motivation of people like Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Moses, and many others, who gained victory in the face of persecution. Many saints had trials of mockings, scourgings; they were stoned, slain with the sword, and made to wander the earth as vagabonds. What was their motivation? The same as all the faithful. They were motivated by God’s promises.

Seeking greater faith can pose a challenge to the motivation to persevere. There is no greater reward for the people of God to endure till the end, never give up hope, be found faithful unto death, and in the words of Winston Churchhill, “Never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never-in nothing, great or small, large or petty — never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense.” The motivation of faith is to trust in the Lord with all your might and never give up. Remain faithful. Serve the Lord.