Nephos 9

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e-mail, Humor, Martyrs, Theology

For your weekend reading, the Nephos 9:

1. Burmese Christians cautious but hopeful – Flickers of Hope for Some of the World’s Longest Running Persecuted.

2. Jonathan McBride addresses the State of the Christian Union. He’s not the president, but I’d probably vote for him if he ran.

3. This insightful piece from Kevin DeYoung struck a chord with me, especially point 6. What the debates say about America.

4. Surprisingly, Europe’s courts have recently made several pro-life decisions. Europe’s Top Courts Are On a Pro-Life Roll.

5. Asics. Apparently I’ve been pronouncing it incorrectly. At least I’m not alone. Asics Rhymes with Classics?

6. The Wardrobe Door looks at the importance of ecclesiastical context (past and present) to our understanding of scripture. Do we need more than the Holy Spirit and our Bible for our theology?

7. This has happened to most of us. Maybe that’s why it made me laugh. And You Thought I was Perfect.

8. Ok. I am officially creeped out by this. Millions of Spiders Overrunning trees to Escape Floodwater.

9. Should have listened to those warnings!

A Modern Pastoral Epistle

Tags

Iran, martyr, pastor, persecution, Youcef Nadarkhani

Youcef Nadarkhani is an Iranian Christian pastor who faces the possibility of execution for his faith. Trevin Wax has posted “Youcef Nadarkhani’s Letter to His Church.”

Among the most poignant portions . . .

“Dear brothers and sisters, we must be more careful than any other time. Because in these days, the hearts and thoughts of many are revealed, so that the faith is tested. May your treasure be where there is no moth and rust.”

and

“What we are bearing today, is a difficult but not unbearable situation, because neither he has tested us more than our faith and our endurance, nor does he do as such. And as we have known from before, we must beware not to fail, but to advance in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, And consider these bumps and prisons as opportunities to testify to his name.”

Take the time to read the entire letter, and pray for Youcef, his family, and his flock.

A Biblical Perspective on Martyrdom: To Die is Gain

With several posts, I have been considering the question of martyrdom. Why does God intervene in some cases (the recent Said Musa case, for example) and not for others? Did He love them less? Did fewer people pray? The human mind can be filled with questions.

In order to understand the Christian perspective of martyrdom, we have examined the example of Paul (Philippians 1:19-23) as he faced this same fate. Paul did not fear death because he knew the ultimate delight of Christ. “Christ Magnified.” In either life or death, he sought Christ’s glory.

Paul was confident because he had answered the ultimate demand of the Cross. He “died daily”. He had “presented his body a living sacrifice” It mattered not to him whether Christ was honored “By Life or By Death.”

In this third and final post, we will see that Paul’s courage in the face of impending martyrdom came from expecting the ultimate destiny of the Christian.

“For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”

Paul first addresses the “dread of death”. For the Christian, the “sting of death” has been plucked. With the Shepherd by our side we only face the valley of the “shadow” of death.

“O death, where is your sting? O grave, where is your victory?”

Paul next speaks of the “dilemma of death”. If we genuinely believe that the moment we leave this world, we step into the next, then we understand the dilemma facing Paul. “I am in a strait”. The believer feels the pull of this world and of heaven.

The believer can even speak of the “delight of death.”

“To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.”

If heaven is not a reality, Paul is wrong and dying is NOT gain. But Christ assured us it IS a reality! That is why Paul could say dying is gain, and it is far better to be with Christ (v. 23). Throughout the centuries Christians have faced martyrdom and even natural death with a peace that passed understanding. Take the time to read John Foxe’s “Christian Martyrs of the World”, and you will come away impressed by the grace our spiritual ancestors faced the scaffold and the sword.

Every time I read this passage, I am convicted of how “earthly-minded” I become. The pull of heaven is still there, but I heed it less. Paul and the other believers through history were not hesitant to leave this world because they so fervently longed for the next.

Consider the death-bed words of D. L. Moody.

“Earth recedes; Heaven opens before me. This is no dream. It is beautiful…if this is death, it is sweet. There is no valley here. God is calling me, and I must go. This is my triumph: this is my coronation day! I have been looking forward to this for years.”

Father, may my desire for you, your glory, and your presence overwhelm the pull of this world, and may I say with Paul, “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”

A Biblical Perspective on Martyrdom: By Life or By Death

What about the others? What about those who are not delivered but die for their faith? Paul could face martyrdom with joy because his great desire was that Christ be Magnified.

There is a second truth that helped Paul face his martyrdom. The ultimate demand of the cross. The cross demands a “living sacrifice”.

“I beseech you therefore brethren by the mercies of God that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”
Romans 12:1

Too often we confuse our actions as our ultimate service for God. When we do, we slip into the legalistic mindset that says, “The more I do, the more spiritual I am.” This leads to frustration in our Christian life. We will “burn out” trying to “do enough” to please God.

I can never “do” enough to please God. My service for God is not pastoring, teaching, singing, or anything else. My “reasonable” service is presenting a living sacrifice. My service is not my sacrifice, my sacrifice is my service. That is what God asks of all of us. This is the demand of the cross.

Now, before you think I’m suggesting we are not expected to serve, let me say this. The result of my living sacrifice is that I serve. But too often, we focus on the doing without the being. You can do without being, but you cannot be without doing. If I am a living sacrifice, I will act in service. But it will be a service that is honoring to God, rather than pleasing to myself.

Paul reminds us that this “service” is reasonable. This implies thoughtful meditation. Reflecting on what I am doing as opposed to mindless ritual or routine. For those whose service is their sacrifice, the danger of religious habit is always present. The believer whose sacrifice is their service will find a spirit of newness and joy in their work for God.

When we have made this living sacrifice, we can say with Paul,

“Now, as always, Christ shall be magnified in my body. Whether it be by life or by death.”

Living for God’s glory is just as blessed as dying for it.

A Biblical Perspective on Martyrdom: Christ be Magnified

Last week I asked the question, “What about the others?” What about those, who unlike Said Musa, are not delivered from martyrdom? How do we come to a Biblical understanding of their deaths?

In prison, facing death, Paul said “my earnest expectation and hope…is that…whether by life or by death, Christ shall be magnified.” (Philippians 1.20)

God’s ultimate delight is in His glory, and His purpose is to glorify Himself. Paul had come to the place that his delight was God’s delight. It did not matter whether he lived or died, if Christ was magnified, he considered himself to have been delivered.

Is it possible for God to get glory through death rather than life? Consider John 12:23.

“Jesus answered, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified.”

His “hour” was the time of His passion. The hour of His death was the hour of His glory. Later, in the same passage He expresses the turmoil of His soul and its consolation.

“Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify your name.”

The Father received glory through the obedient death of His son. Is it not possible that He might also get glory through the death of a believer?

The surrendered life of a believer focuses on the glory of God as the highest achievement. That is what enables Paul to say in Romans 14,

“For none of us lives to himself, and no man dies to himself. For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s.”

For the believer who yields all for the glory of God, dying for their faith is not failure on God’s part. It is simply the means He has chosen to declare His glory.

For the rest of us . . .
Some are called to die for God’s glory. All are called to live for it.

What About the Others?

According to reports, Said Musa has been released from prison.. With my fellow believers I welcome this news. I am thankful that the outrcry and political pressure seem to have been effective. We should remember, however, that the real power behind his release was not political or social.

“The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turns it wherever he will.”

But what if God had chosen not to save his life? What if Musa had been sentenced and executed? What about Shoaib Assadullah? Would it mean prayer had failed? That God didn’t care?

Through the years, hundreds of thousands of Christians have died for their faith. Did they matter less to God?

To have a proper perspective on this, let’s remember Paul’s words in Philippians 1…

“For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Christ, according to my earnest expectation and hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”

These verses reminds us of three important truths:
1) The Ultimate Desire of Believers – “Christ be magnified”
2) The Ultimate Demand of Believers – “whether by life or by death”
3) The Ultimate Destiny of Believers – “to die is gain”

In future posts, I plan to address each of these as related to a Biblical perspective of martyrdom.

Reality Check

Tags

Afghanistan, Christian martyr, persecution, Said Musa

For the past couple of days, the story of Said Musa (also here) has made waves in the UK and Europe while little has been reported here in the US. This Afghan Christian faces death for his faith in Christ.

He has said, “I also agree . . . to sacrifice my life in public [where] I will tell [about my] faith in Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, [so] other believers will take courage and be strong in their faith.” The Apostle Paul said similarly, “I am ready to be offered up,” and “My earnest expectation and hope is that Christ be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death.”

Many people seem shocked over his situation, but it simply reminds us of the reality of the world we live in:

1) The innocent die.

In Job 4.7, Job’s friend Eliphaz asked the question, “Who ever perished, being innocent? or where were the righteous cut off?”

Millions of martyrs through the centuries would answer resoundingly, “We did.”

We should do what we can to promote religious freedom around the world, and to end this type of persecution. But if Said dies for his faith (something he is willing to do, by the way), it is not because of a lack of faith, prayer, or outside intervention. We should pray for him – that whatever the outcome God will get great glory to Himself. Pray for his faith to not waver and for grace to triumph.

2) Persecution is prevalent.
Most American Christians think of persecution as Christians being thrown to the lions in the first century. Some may be familiar with the image of an Inquisition Court. Fewer still understand that persecution and martyrdom are alive and well in our time.

According to Voice of the Martyrs website, there are Christians in over 40 countries suffering from persecution for their faith. A number of reputable sources claim that more Christians died for their faith in the twentieth century than in the nineteen previous centuries combined.

3) Democracy is insufficient.
Despite the high hopes of some, democracy is not the cure-all for the world’s ills. Some time ago Palestine had democratic elections and who did they choose? Terrorists. Afghanistan threw off the domination of the Taliban, had elections, and chose a constitution. Now they will put a man to death because he had the temerity to choose another religion. Egypt’s recent revolution brought change, but uncertainty about their future is strong.

Choice without character will lead to chaos. Give freedom of choice to a people whose belief system is predisposed toward violent intolerance of other belief systems, and you will get Said Musa sentenced to death.

The Harsh Reality
These are realities in our world. If nothing else, this story should bring home this stark truth: Never expect too much from human attempts to improve our world. Hasn’t happened yet. Never will.

Reality is, there’s only one hope for this world!