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Introduction
A word
about law:
A member
of the Knesset (the Israeli Parliament), well-known
for his irascible temper and sharp tongue, became
so incensed one day that he leaped from his chair
and shouted, "Half of this Parliament are morons!"
There immediately arose angry shouts, catcalls
and demands that he apologize forthwith or be
ejected from the chamber. "All right, I take it
back," he grumbled. "Half of this Parliament are
not morons!"
If you
believe we should make the Gospel as easy and
comfortable as possible, and shield people from
its moral and ethical demands, then I'm warning
you you're not going to like this message, because
I am going to talk about the cost of discipleship.
I think
most ministry leaders today would agree that the
state of the body of Messiah is in many ways lamentable.
It seems that we have an abundance of believers
yet very, very few disciples. I suppose to a large
extent that's our own fault, collectively, as
leaders. Perhaps in our desire to fill our pews
and in fear of turning people off, we've adopted
a flawed methodology, where we seek to soften
the message of the Gospel and place as few demands
on people as possible. After all, we reason, if
we appear to have high expectations (such as honoring
one's commitments, evangelism, volunteering, financial
giving), people will turn high tail and run like
there's no tomorrow.
And make
no mistake, some will run, and seek out the church
or congregation that affords them the greatest
comfort, the most entertaining program, the most
anonymity and the least amount of moral, spiritual
or financial accountability. Candidly, if the
uncommitted were to leave, the rest would be better
off, but by having chosen the path of least resistance
the one who leaves will be the worse for it. We
grow and mature through the process of hardship,
not through the hot tub.
Look with
me at Luke, chapter 6, and let's be reminded that
there is a cost to discipleship. We're going to
read Luke, chapter six, verses 22, 23 and 26.
There, Yeshua is quoted as saying, "Blessed
are you when men hate you, and ostracize you,
and cast insults at you, and spurn your name as
evil, for the sake of the Son of Man. Be glad
in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your
reward is great in heaven; for in the same way
their fathers used to treat the prophets... Woe
to you when all men speak well of you, for in
the same way their fathers used to treat the false
prophets." (Luke 6:22-23, 26)
These
are familiar words, but let's remember that these
hardships are predicated on our confession of
Yeshua as the Messiah. I mean, if people hate
because you act like an ogre, or if people ostracize
you because you haven't bathed since the last
election, it's your own fault, so don't bother
with the gladness and the leaping. We're talking
here about hostility directed your way specifically
on account of your being publicly identified with
Yeshua.
A true
disciple, therefore, must be willing to endure
opposition, and to have yirat Adonai, the fear
of the Lord, rather than yirat Adam, the fear
of man. The true disciple of Yeshua consistently
will act on principle, and do what is right, sometimes
at the cost of society's disapproval; sometimes
at great cost; perhaps even the ultimate cost.
A true disciple, therefore, eventually will have
to develop a thick skin. Let's review that list
of hostilities we can expect to endure:
Hatred
"Blessed
are you when men hate you ..."
You will
be hated simply because of what you believe. There
is nothing rational about this hatred; it is unreasoning,
illogical and, furthermore, completely unjustified.
After 23 years as a Messianic Jew, I have learned
to not take the verbal abuse personally. After
all, I'm just a messenger - It's Yeshua that is
hated. And Yeshua warned us, saying, "It is enough
for the disciple that he become as his teacher,
and the slave as his master. If they have called
the head of the house Beelzebul, how much more
the members of his household!"
Please
believe me when I tell you that you will frustrate
yourself to no end if you try to understand and
mollify that hatred with reason. There is a time
to respond gently, but there is a time to just
leave it alone. Be discerning. This kind of blind
hatred is spiritual in nature, not intellectual,
and its causal agent is the father of lies, who
would love nothing more than to entangle you in
fruitless debate with someone who couldn't care
less about the truth, but gets a perverted sort
of ego-gratification out of frustrating believers
with circular debate. Proverbs 26:4-5 reminds
us, "Do not answer a fool according to his folly,
lest you also be like him. Answer a fool as his
folly deserves, Lest he be wise in his own eyes."
Be especially
wary of the snare of thinking that maybe if you
are gentle and kind and explain the Scriptures
to this person, you'll be the one to reach
them. That is a subtle form of pride a dangerous
snare. You need to remember that this is not about
you.
Exclusion
"Blessed
are you when men ... ostracize you ..."
The disciple
of Yeshua should expect that he or she will be
singled out for exclusion and treated as an outsider;
sometimes even by those they love. Jewish followers
of Yeshua have, for over eighteen centuries, been
systematically excluded from Jewish community
life. This is due in large part to the rabbis'
successful campaign to perpetuate a climate of
hatred and suspicion in the synagogues. It has
been going on for centuries, and the result is
collective Jewish hostility. Messianic Jews have
been told in no uncertain terms that we are unwelcome.
But we
Messianic Jews are not alone. Some of you, on
account of having favored the word of God over
family religious traditions, have likewise had
to endure opposition. Some of you have been told
not to bother showing up anymore at family functions.
Others of you have endured exclusion in the workplace,
when your co-workers conveniently "forget" to
invite you to lunch with them, because you're
the "religious nut". Whatever the arena, ostracism
is to be expected, if we are going to openly follow
Yeshua.
The danger
(and this is crucial!) comes when we so desire
the acceptance of others, particularly unbelievers,
that we begin doing things we would otherwise
never do, in order to gain their approval. Some
have questioned and later cast aside sound doctrine
and some have negotiated away their principles.
That is when the opinion of men becomes an idol.
The sooner we learn to live with the inevitable
rejection, the better off we'll be. We'll get
our sense of humor back, and our consciences will
be the better for it.
And let's
be real about this. Yeshua gave us more than fair
warning. He didn't merely tell us that we might
experience rejection; He told us we could bank
on it! The question, then, is not whether we will
experience rejection, but how much and from whom;
and the biggest question is: are we are willing
to endure it? Are you willing? That is the mark
of a true disciple of Yeshua. And you won't exactly
need to go out of your way to find opportunities
to be ostracized. Trust me, if you're open about
your faith, it'll come to you!
Casting
of aspersions
"Blessed
are you when men ... cast insults at you ..."
That's
always fun. Here are a few samples for you:
"You're
despicable!"
"You must be brainwashed!"
"Did you have drug problems or something?"
"You should be ashamed of yourself!"
"You are finishing what Hitler started!"
"Idiot!"
"Drop dead, freak!"
We're
not to be surprised when people hurl insults at
us. Yeshua was hated, and He told us we would
be hated all the more.
If people
were willing to equate our wonderful, righteous
Messiah with Satan, what makes us think we're
going to get the red carpet treatment? I wouldn't
want the praise of a person like that! A word
here about loyalty: Be careful never, ever to
accept a compliment from someone who insults your
brothers or sisters in Yeshua. If someone casts
aspersions on your fellow Christians or Messianic
Jews, but then says to you, "But you're different,
you seem alright - you're intelligent!" don't
you accept that compliment! Let me suggest an
alternative. Say to the person, "First of all,
I'm not different. Secondly, I couldn't care less
what you think of me. And third, there is no way
I'm going to accept a compliment from you at the
expense of my brothers and sisters?"
But what
is our natural instinct when insulted? Our natural
instinct is to defend ourselves. We want to demonstrate
to the name-caller that we really are decent people,
not despicable. We want to explain that what we
believe is rational and historically verifiable,
and that we are, in fact, people of reasonable
intelligence.
But that
is the very thing we must not do. You see, when
you try to explain or defend yourself, you allow
the other person to shift the focus away from
Yeshua and at the same time you allow yourself
to become the issue, and you are not the issue.
The Messiahship of Yeshua is the issue. You and
me we're small potatoes.
Furthermore,
you need to remember that those who ridicule do
so because they are afraid. Someone once remarked
that ridicule is the weapon of those who have
no other. It is a sign that this person is unwilling
to deal honestly and squarely with matters of
substance. Trying to defend your sincerity or
knowledge or intelligence is not only playing
right into their hand, but making them feel "clever
in their own eyes." Again, for some people it
is an ego-trip to get others on the defensive.
Let such a person know that their little game
is unworthy of your precious time.
But remember
that we are to expect insults if we openly identify
with Yeshua. And that is the mark of a true disciple.
Willful
mischaracterization with the intent of harming
reputation
"Blessed
are you when men ... spurn your name as evi l..."
The true
disciple of Yeshua can fully expect to have lies
told about him and his reputation besmirched.
Character assassination is the last, desperate
act of those who cannot successfully answer the
substance of your position. We'll see a lot of
that kind of behavior in the months ahead in the
political realm. But in the arena of faith, Yeshua
tells us that we should not be surprised to have
horrible lies told about us on account of openly
declaring Yeshua to be the Messiah. What is particularly
lamentable about this lashon hara (evil speech)
is that people will uncritically accept those
false reports, and even go on to spread them further.
For example,
among the writings of the early church fathers,
there is a document dating to about the year 230,
entitled Octavius of Minicius Felix. It
describes a debate between a Christian and a pagan
at the Roman port of Ostia. In it, the pagan repeats
a widely-held false report that Christians were
cannibals (allegedly eating "the body and blood"
of Yeshua), and another false rumor that Christians
were incestuous (the intent of "brothers" and
"sisters" greeting each other with "a holy kiss"
willfully twisted).
Dirty
lies told by those with dirty minds. But it shouldn't
come as a surprise that followers of Yeshua will
be falsely maligned.
Now, what
is our response to all this? Be glad in that
day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward
is great in heaven; for in the same way their
fathers used to treat the prophets.
The word
for "glad" here is from the Greek word cai,rw,
to rejoice. You have a choice, you know, about
what kind of outlook to have in anticipation of
being persecuted for Yeshua's sake. You can be
fearful, or you can look beyond it and know that
you will be part of the great celebration in heaven.
Yeshua says our reward will be great, and so we
can actually leap for joy if we suffer hardship
for His sake.
Consider
those who went before us, and what they were willing
to do for Adonai. If you think about it, we're
in very good company if we're ridiculed for our
faith. Here are a few examples of men and women
who were willing to risk everything from ridicule
to death in order to be faithful to God.
- Noah (builds ark, is
the laughingstock of his neighbors)
- Abraham (leaves cosmopolitan
Ur, to depart for who-knows-where, because an
invisible God told him to)
- Hebrew Midwives (defied
Pharaoh's edict to slay Israeli baby boys)
- Joshua & Caleb (stood
against the majority opinion & the multitude)
- Daniel & Co. (defied
edicts to bow to idols, maintained faith & prayer)
Can you
even imagine being considered in the same category
with great prophets and men of God like Isaiah,
Daniel, Noah, Abraham and Moses? The prophets
of old were despised and treated with contempt
by their own people. Their crime?: having spoken
the truth and summoned our people to repentance,
to turn back to God.
Consequently,
when we preach repentance in the name of Yeshua
the Messiah, we are walking a well-trodden path,
a path blazed by righteous and godly men and women,
and our reward will be commensurate. Personally,
just being in heaven with my fellow believers
and with Yeshua and the great saints of old is
reward enough for me! But there will be great
reward for those willing to endure hatred and
exclusion and insult and character assassination
for the sake of Messiah. Be glad when it happens.
Rejoice and just know you're in very good company!
But then
there is the other side of this. You are blessed
when you are mistreated for Messiah's sake, but
woe to you if the unbelieving world considers
you one of its own. Yeshua went on to say, "Woe
to you when all men speak well of you, for in
the same way their fathers used to treat the false
prophets."
If the
world thinks you're the "cat's meow" you are in
big-time trouble, because the world stands in
opposition to the righteousness of God. And if
the world thinks you're one of its own, it can
only be because you have refused to take a stand
for Yeshua of Nazareth. The only way that all
men will speak well of you is if they are under
the impression that you are in solidarity with
them. How could they think that about a follower
of Yeshua, unless that person is keeping his or
her light hidden under the peck-measure; ashamed
of being identified with the Messiah?
Lyrics
to Petra song, "Chameleon"[1]
You want the best of both worlds - you're not
getting either
You seem content to ride the fence, when you know
which side is greener You compromise each word
you say so inoffensively
You only want to hide behind your anonymity
You struggle for acceptance , and it takes you
to extremes
The smile you hide your face behind is not all
that it seems Some run hot, some run cold, some
run from their Maker
Some run the risk of losing out with lukewarm
friends and fakers Chameleon, you blend with your
surroundings
Chameleon, no one knows where you come from
Chameleon, you change with every situation, compromising
dedication
Can a
true disciple of Yeshua be ashamed to be identified
with Him? Can a follower of Jesus say, "I love
you, Lord, but I just don't want to be seen with
you."? Do people in your neighborhood or at work
even know that you belong to Yeshua? Do your family
members know? David Brickner, the Executive Director
of Jews for Jesus (but more importantly to us,
Martha's brother) remarked in the last Jews for
Jesus newsletter that he had had to turn down
an application from a Jewish believer to join
their staff. Everything looked good as far as
this person's schooling, their work record, their
regular attendance at a Bible-teaching congregation
- everything. But there was one problem. On one
of the character reference forms (the one filled
out by their employer) were these words, "so and
so has worked here for x number of years, but
in all this time I had no idea that they were
either Jewish or a Christian". David related that
he couldn't, in good conscience, hire for their
missionary staff, a person who had not even said
a word about their faith to their boss. Someone
who is unwilling to share their precious faith
with people they see every day at work are unlikely
to share their faith with complete strangers on
the street.
When the
world pours out its compliments on you, something
is terribly wrong. And I'm here to tell you what
it is this morning: Yirat Adam the fear of man.
Proverbs 29:25 states, "The fear of man brings
a snare, but he who trusts in the Lord will be
exalted." There is a real dichotomy there. We
either have yirat Adonai, the fear of the Lord
(meaning reverence and respect), or we have yirat
Adam, the fear of man (caring more about the opinions
of men than about doing what is right).
Yeshua
said that those who were well-spoken of by men
were false prophets. What characterized false
prophets? They said the kinds of things that people
wanted to hear and attributed their false predictions
to Adonai. False prophets liked to tickle people's
ears with sophisticated, comfortable, easy words.
No moral demands, no calls to repentance. That
same man-pleasing syndrome is at work in the religious
realm today. You are not likely to attract a large
following by preaching that man is sinful and
in dire need of repentance. On the other hand,
if you teach that we all are gods and have the
potential for infinite goodness, crowds will flock
to you because people want a loosely-defined "spirituality",
but recoil from the very idea of moral absolutes.
Yet we are exhorted time and again in the Scriptures
not to allow the opinions of men to influence
our actions or our words, but to wholeheartedly
obey the Lord.
Stop
regarding man, whose breath of life is in his
nostrils; For why should he be esteemed? (Isaiah
2:22)
Listen
to Me, you who know righteousness, a people in
whose heart is My law; Do not fear the reproach
of man, neither be dismayed at their revilings.
(Isaiah 51:7)
You
shall not follow a multitude (majority/crowd)
in doing evil. (Exodus 23:2a)
Consider,
too, the consequences of yirat Adam, of fearing
the opinions of men; of tailoring our actions
to pander to the prejudices of men; of following
the majority in order to fit in. The Scriptures
are replete with stories of men who compromised
the truth in order to curry favor with others,
or to avoid the disfavor of others. Consider,
for example:
- Aaron (caved in to
the multitude - golden calf, 3,000 men put to
death!)
- Peter denies Yeshua
(three times!)
- Peter turns his back
on the Gentile believers in Antioch
But
when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to
his face, because he stood condemned. For prior
to the coming of certain men from James, he used
to eat with the Gentiles; but when they came,
he began to hold himself aloof, fearing the party
of the circumcision. (Galatians 2:11-12) You
think those are bad? Consider the implications
of the following individuals, whose fear of the
opinions of men again resulted in tragedy:
A. Herod
(caves in to dinner guests' expectations, has
John the Baptist beheaded) But when Herod's
birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced
before them and pleased Herod. Thereupon he promised
with an oath to give her whatever she asked. And
having been prompted by her mother, she said,
"Give me here on a platter the head of John the
Baptist." And although he was grieved, the king
commanded it to be given because of his oaths,
and because of his dinner guests. And he sent
and had John beheaded in the prison. (Matthew
14:6-10)
B. Pilate
(caves in to Jewish crowd, fear of Caesar, orders
Yeshua crucified) Now at the feast the governor
was accustomed to release for the multitude any
one prisoner whom they wanted. And they were holding
at that time a notorious prisoner, called Barabbas.
When therefore they were gathered together, Pilate
said to them, "Whom do you want me to release
for you? Barabbas, or Yeshua who is called Messiah?"
For he knew that because of envy they had delivered
Him up. And while he was sitting on the judgment
seat, his wife sent to him, saying, "Have nothing
to do with that righteous Man; for last night
I suffered greatly in a dream because of Him."
But the chief priests and the elders persuaded
the multitudes to ask for Barabbas, and to put
Yeshua to death. But the governor answered and
said to them, "Which of the two do you want me
to release for you?" And they said, "Barabbas."
Pilate said to them, "Then what shall I do with
Yeshua who is called Messiah?" They all said,
"Let Him be crucified!" And he said, "Why, what
evil has He done?" But they kept shouting all
the more, saying, "Let Him be crucified!" And
when Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing,
but rather that a riot was starting, he took water
and washed his hands in front of the multitude,
saying, "I am innocent of this Man's blood; see
to that yourselves." (Matthew 27:15-24)
The fear
of man leads to cowardice. It prevents us from
being decisive and from doing the right thing.
A perfect example of this is when the Jewish religious
leaders challenged Yeshua's authority. They wanted
to trap Him in a statement so they could condemn
Him, and so they demanded He tell them by what
authority He was performing miracles. Of course
He didn't fall for their ruse; instead He posed
to them a question of His own:
"The
baptism of John was from what source, from heaven
or from men?" And they began reasoning among themselves,
saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' He will say
to us, 'Then why did you not believe him?' "But
if we say, 'From men,' we fear the multitude;
for they all hold John to be a prophet." (Matthew
21:25-26)
The fear
of man is what causes politicians to never tell
you what they really stand for. Every statement
must be put to a committee to gauge how it will
resonate with various interest groups. Every position
taken must first be triangulated to determine
how it will help or harm their personal aspirations
for power. Popularity: A crime from the moment
it is sought; it is only a virtue where men have
it whether they will or no. - Lord Halifax
We had
a perfect example of the fear of man this past
week, as the overwhelming majority of our United
States senators displayed their cowardice to the
nation, refusing even to allow a vote for cloture
on the Federal Marriage Amendment. These paid
sycophants are so afraid of incurring the wrath
of the homosexual lobby, that they wouldn't even
allow discussion of the amendment.
Yirat
Adam, the fear of man, is what leads politicians
to say things such as, "I am personally against
abortion, but I also believe in a woman's right
to choose'". A woman's right to choose What? That
is like saying, "I personally believe it is wrong
to violently dismember a living baby inside her
mother's womb, but I think the law should allow
for that."
Do you
know why we are constantly urged by Christian
leaders to call and write our elected officials?
It is because the majority of our elected officials
operate out of concern for popularity rather than
principle. The only way they'll do the right thing
is if they think that enough people care that
they do the right thing, lest they be voted out
of office. For the most part they are men-pleasers;
and concerning the Federal Marriage Amendment,
let me just say that all of society suffers when
a tiny handful of special interest activists employ
strong-arm legal maneuvers.
And we
are all too often afraid to say what we really
mean, lest we be perceived a certain way. Did
you know that in Canada a law was just recently
passed making it illegal to say anything negative
about homosexuality? By law there, you may not
even cite the Scriptures in what they say about
it; and pastors in Canada now risk going to jail
for saying what I have said this morning. Thankfully
at least we still have a vestige of that right
here in the United States. So concerning this
issue, let me say three things:
- Homosexuality is a
grievous sin, and a gross distortion of the
created order.
- The homosexual lobby,
in order to gain permanent legitimacy, has as
their goal the reorientation of people's thinking,
to where there is a complete demolition of natural
gender distinctions, and they intend to implement
that reorientation through the public school
curriculum.
- God wants to save homosexuals
just like He wants to save the the rest of us
sinners.
Because
of the fear of man far too many followers of Yeshua
are afraid to take a stand against the evil of
abortion, the murder of multiplied millions of
the most defenseless members of our society. We're
so afraid of what others think of us that we refuse
to get involved in what are supreme moral issues
because of the controversy. We seek the applause
of men rather than the applause of heaven. Let
me again go on the record as saying. So on this
issue, let me also say three things:
- Abortion is
the murder of defenseless babies in their mothers'
wombs.
- Decrying the sin of
abortion is to our generation precisely what
slavery was to our ancestors' generation; a
heated, divisive issue, to be sure and the slaughter
of unborn children will not stop overnight.
We'd like to legislate the cessation of this
heinous practice, but, as with slavery, the
real battle is in the consciences of men.
- God wants to forgive
and save those who have had or who have performed
abortions, just like He wants to save the rest
of us sinners.
The fear
of man is the worst form of slavery. And it is
so unnecessary! Psalm 118:6 says The Lord is for
me; I will not fear; What can man do to me?
Nevertheless,
far too many people who identify as Evangelical
Christians or Messianic Jews are unwilling to
incur the disfavor of others by decrying in clear
terms the sins of our nation. Even some of our
religious leaders, fearful of being labeled "backwards"
or "bigoted and intolerant" or "elitist" have
compromised theological truth, and have adopted
the view that there are ways other than Yeshua
of being saved. Some have gone on record as saying
that Jewish people are the exception that Jewish
people need not believe in Yeshua in order to
be saved.
Conclusion
The fear
of man is nothing new, and its consequences are
potentially devastating. And while inevitably
we will see the fear of man at work in the world,
we have a choice about how we will conduct ourselves.
Are you
willing to be openly identified with Yeshua -
even if it invites persecution and insult? The
true disciple is willing to endure these things
for Messiah's sake. The true disciple needs to
have thick skin. If we are more concerned with
people's opinions of us than of being pleasing
to God, we will invariably compromise the truth,
and will have to answer for it on that Day.
We have
a choice: yirat Adonai the fear of the
Lord, or yirat Adam the fear of man. One will
set you free free to speak the truth and not
fear unpopularity. The other will enslave you,
and you will have to calculate everything you
say and do so as not to offend. One leads to life,
the other leads to death.
"Blessed
are you when men hate you, and ostracize you,
and cast insults at you, and spurn your name as
evil, for the sake of the Son of Man. Be glad
in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your
reward is great in heaven; for in the same way
their fathers used to treat the prophets ..."
This is
yirat Adonai contempt from men for Yeshua's
sake, but a blessing from God.
Woe to
you when all men speak well of you, for in the
same way their fathers used to treat the false
prophets."
This is
yirat Adam compliments from men, but an eternal
curse from God.
Will you
take your stand? Will you publicly and unashamedly
identify with Yeshua. Yes, it will cost you something
in this world, but this world, ultimately, is
not our home. The writer of Hebrews expressed
this idea so simply and clearly with these words,
with which we'll conclude this morning:
For the
bodies of those animals whose blood is brought
into the holy place by the high priest as an offering
for sin, are burned outside the camp. Therefore
Yeshua also, that He might sanctify the people
through His own blood, suffered outside the gate.
Hence, let us go out to Him outside the camp,
bearing His reproach. For here we do not have
a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which
is to come. (Hebrews 13:11-14)
[1]
"Chameleon" written and performed by Petra, Words
and Music by Bob Hartman
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