Men of Whom the World Was Not Worthy (2)
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April 22, 2018 |
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 Senior Pastor Dr. Jaerock Lee
"Who by faith conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire…and others experienced mockings and scourgings, yes, also chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, they were put to death with the sword; they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated (men of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground". (Hebrews 11:33-38)
In the last edition, we looked into the faith of Elijah who brought down the answer of fire by faith, Esther who saved her people, and Daniel who did not compromise in the face of death. These great forefathers of faith were not afraid of any kind of threat because of their spiritual boldness that came from love for God.
Let's delve into the forefathers of faith who overcame the world in the unity with the Lord by faith in the New Testament time.
1. Perfect Faith that Can Even Give One's Life
John 6:53-55 reads, "So Jesus said to them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink.'"
What does it mean by 'eating the flesh of the Son of Man and drinking His blood'? The Word is God (John 1:1), and the Word became flesh and came to the earth (John 1:14). He is Jesus. So, eating the flesh of the Son of Man means to make the Word of God bread for our life. When you 'eat the flesh of the Son of Man', you must drink His blood as well. It indicates that you must not only learn the Word but also act upon it in obedience at the same time. It spiritually refers to the act of casting away evil and replacing it with goodness and love.
When you walk in the Light by acting upon the Word, the blood of the Lord cleanses you from all sin (1 John 1:7) and your faith becomes perfected (James 2:22). And you have sure hope for resurrection, so you don't hold fast to things on the earth. You also have perfect love even to give your life for the Lord.
It is because you know and believe that the glory that'll be given to you in heaven is incomparably greater compared to the momentary persecutions on the earth, even if you are put to death. In addition, since you realize the love of the Lord who sacrificed everything for you, you can give even your life for the Lord.
2. The Forefathers of Faith Who Loved God with Their Lives
1) The Lord's disciples were severely persecuted and martyred.
Apostle James, a brother of John, was the first among the Lord's disciples to die as a martyr. He was beheaded during the reign of Herod. Apostle Peter suffered from many persecutions, threats and imprisonment. But he boldly preached the gospel. At the appointed time, he was martyred by being crucified upside down. Apostle John was plunged into boiling oil in the time of Emperor Domitian, but he suffered nothing from it since the Lord was with him. Afterwards, he was exiled to Patmos and recorded the Book of Revelation.
The reason the Lord's disciples could endure persecutions and face martyrdom was because they had God-given faith and their hearts were filled with the love of the Lord. They did not spare anything for the Lord, not even their lives.
2) Apostle Paul was beheaded while preaching the gospel to the Gentiles.
Apostle Paul was born a citizen of the Roman Empire. He was an elitist with best knowledge available in his time. Such a man left behind everything after he met Jesus Christ and felt pleased with all sufferings he had to endure for the church, the body of Christ (2 Corinthians 11:23-27). He was stripped and beaten in public and imprisoned, but he praised God in the prison (Acts 16:22-25). He was stoned by people, and they threw him outside of the castle for they thought he was dead (Acts 14:19).
Nevertheless, he kept going the way for the Lord. It's because of the love of God for him (Romans 8:35-37). He had previously persecuted churches and believers in the Lord, but the Lord came to him and set him as an apostle for Him. He was so grateful for the grace of God.
He preached the gospel earnestly as an apostle of the Gentiles throughout his life and at the appointed time, he was beheaded. Until he entered the Lord's bosom, he gave everything he had to Him.
3) Early Church members endured the severe persecutions in the Colosseum.
In the year 64AD there was great fire in Rome. It is said that Nero was responsible for setting fire to Rome to rebuild the Roman Empire. But he blamed the fire on Christians, and they were arrested for it. Nero let the citizens watch them killed by beasts in the Colosseum.
Most of them faced death without fear. Some were fed to wild animals while praying to commit their spirit to the Lord, and others died joining their hands together and praising to God with their eyes in heaven. They faced the end of their lives offering glory.
4) The Early Church members were not spared from any persecution and martyrdom.
The persecutions against Christians were intensifying throughout the second century. They were forbidden in public places and stoned in street riots. Church leaders, especially, were persecuted severely.
Ignatius of Antioch was a bishop of Antioch Church, and he was fed to the lions in Colosseum as a martyr. Polycarp was a disciple of Apostle John and a Christian bishop of Smyrna. He was forced to say the Roman Emperor was his Lord, but he would not submit to any kind of threats and was burned at the stake.
As the persecutions became more severe and prolonged, to avoid the persecutions, Christians lived in the Catacombs, underground burial places under Rome. They lived there in danger of death for decades.
They seemed to live a miserable life as if they lived in death, but they endured everything with love for the Lord. They engraved the love of the Lord with prayer and praise every day and they talked about heavenly joy that people who died before them would enjoy and lived in hope for heaven.
The persecutions were extremely severe right before Christianity was officially recognized. Christians were deprived of citizenship, churches were burnt, and many pastors and church leaders were arrested. The leaders imprisoned were forced to worship the Roman gods, and when they rejected it, they were severely punished. Most of the martyrs in such serious persecutions were given chances to survive if they denied they were Christians. But they joyfully faced death to give their lives for the Lord.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, I pray in the name of the Lord that you will please God with the faith of which the world was not worthy and enjoy every blessing prepared for His loving children.
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