Stand up stand up for Jesus

Stand up stand up for Jesus

             The Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments tell us that certain people are exceptional and special to God.  Psalm 33:12 refers to Ancient Israel as the people whom God has chosen. Jewish believers affirmed their faith with words such as, we are his people, the sheep of his pasture (Psalm 100). First Peter 2:1-12 reminds us that believers are chosen, called and commissioned by the Lord. We are exceptional people, that is, in the sight of God, we are qualitatively different from others.  

           Our differences with the world are significant. The Lord himself told his disciples: You are not of this world. He prayed that his chosen ones would be in the world but not of the world. St. Paul pleaded with believers not to be conformed to the world. St. John urged those in Christ not to love the world.

            Some are inclined to minimize the Christian difference. Others, though claiming to be Christian, are embarrassed by the teaching of the Lord and his apostles. Such people  do their part to deny any distinction that exists between Christians and others.

             Although believers are different from the rest of people, St. Peter makes it clear that our distinctiveness does not confer on us the benefits of status as much as the burden of service. As it was with Israel in the Old Testament, which was called to know God’s will and way and then teach them to the nations, we are called to declare the praises of the one who has called us out of darkness into his marvelous light. Believers in Christ have a duty to teach their distinctive God-given views and values to others.

          You may ask, why should we teach our Christian values to others? (1) We are commanded to do so.  In the Great Commission, the Lord sent the apostles to make disciples of all nations and to teach them all that he commanded them. We do it for the sake of the Gospel.  (2) We do it to fulfill our debt to others. In the Book of Romans, St. Paul spoke about his longing to preach the Gospel in Rome because,  where the Gospel is concerned, he was a debtor to the people of Rome. We do it for the sake of others. (3) The Lord suffered, bled, and died to reconcile all people to God the Father. We are Christ’s witnesses. We do it for the sake of Christ.

            We should not shrink from our obligation, nor should we deny our Lord and his saving Gospel. This does not mean that we pick religious fights or indulge in religious argument for the sake of being contentious. However, we seize those moments when an opportunity is given to speak for the Lord and to stand up for Jesus.

            The clear teaching of Scripture stands in opposition to many values and practice of the dominant culture. If we stand with the Christ who was rejected by men, he expects us to let the light that is within us shine. However, we must fight this battle with spiritual weapons and methods. What we say and do in the name of Christ should have a single purpose, to lift him up so that he would draw others unto himself. Witnessing is never about winning an argument, it is about winning others for the Lord. We do not witness in order to correct another, we witness for the conversion of a soul. Any defense of the faith that is not Christ centered tends to defeat the cause and dishonor our Christ.

          We do not have to go out of our way to make a statement to declare our Christian beliefs, nor do we have to go out of our way to avoid making a witness.  Jesus’ witness to the Samaritan woman in John 4 is a parade example of how we may embrance the opportunities that come our way to meet others where they meet us and share the unique message of love that the Lord has given us.

           But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.  Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy (First Peter 2: 9-10).

Pastor Cutting