“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matt 5:10).
It can be rough standing out from the crowd. Don’t expect to be popular if you follow Jesus’ teachings.
As we finish up the Christian Behavior series, we need to look at how the world will react to people who actually follow Jesus. It’s not uncommon to hear that people only dislike Christians when they get preachy about sexual morality. That’s not actually true, though. People speak highly of Jesus' ethical teachings until someone actually starts following them. Then they can get grumpy real quick.
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock” (Matt 7:24-25).
We really don’t like rules. The day our first parents broke the one rule they were given something crept into our DNA that makes us chafe against any limitations. Nothing makes us want to touch something more than a sign that says “don’t touch.”
We’ve spent the last several months looking at a lot of rules, things Jesus said to do or not do. Human nature is to go along with the ones that suit us and ignore the ones that seem too hard or too limiting. Jesus warns us not to do that.
“Keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come” (Matt 24:42).
The King is coming! One day the sky will split open and the Lord will appear. We “do not know the day or the hour” (Matt 25:13), but he’s coming, and it will be good for the servant whose Master finds him doing his job when he returns (Matt 24:46).
It’s tempting to wonder if he’s really coming. It’s been such a long time. This was a problem in the first century, so it’s not surprising for it to appear now.
Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” ...
But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. ... (2Pet 3:3-10)
“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves” (Matt 7:15).
The enemy is among us. The Bible has a lot to say about false teachers. It’s a major topic in 2 Peter, Jude, Galatians, and the Pastorals, but it comes up in almost every New Testament book. Jesus called them “wolves in sheep’s clothing;” Paul called them “savage wolves” who would try to draw away disciples (Acts 20:29-30). Jude called them “shepherds who feed only themselves” (v12).
This isn’t just advice or a warning, it’s a command. Jesus tells us to be vigilant because these people are destructive. They tell people what they want to hear (2Tim 4:3-4). They may create legalistic rules (1Tim 4:1-5) leading to self-righteousness, or they may tell people there are no rules, that they can live however they want (Jude 1:4). Perhaps they’ll get us distracted by godless myths or foolish arguments (2Tim 2:23). Whatever they’re doing, they’re not building up the church. They’re misleading believers for their own profit (2Pet 2:3).
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you” (Matt 7:7).
Do you trust God? How can we say we trust him to save us from our sins if we don’t trust everything else he says? But when he says, “Ask and it will be given to you,” that’s so hard to believe.
Is it hard to believe he’s able to give us what we ask for? Surely not. If he can create a universe, surely he can meet our little needs. So do we doubt his willingness? I think so. We have to trust that our heavenly Father wants to give us good things.
Paul said, “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” (Rom 8:32), so we should be willing to act on what Jesus said. How do we do that?
“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you” (Matt 7:1-2).
Meet this era’s favorite Bible verse. Of course, they misunderstand and misuse it.
“Do not judge” is the only command in the Bible they believe to be absolute. Do not judge, no ifs ands or buts. Jesus does say that, but he says it in context, and we have to consider everything he says on the matter.
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ... Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life” (Matt 6:25-27).
Worry is a choice. We don’t think of it that way, of course. To us, worry is just what happens when you’ve got a lot on your mind, but the scriptures insist that worry is a choice that we’re making.
When Jesus talks about food and clothes, he’s not talking about modern, prosperous Americans who wonder if they can afford to eat out or want a new pair of designer jeans. He’s talking to people who wonder where their next meal will come from and only have one threadbare garment. He says to them, trust God to meet your material needs. If he expects that of them, he certainly does of us.
