Good Company

What do they say about us today, those of us who read our Bibles as they did in former days as if it is the sufficient, reliable, authoritative Word of God? How do they refer to us who are serious about following Christ? They have lots of terms. They say we're crazy. They say we're obstinate. They say we're judgmental. They say we're divisive. They say we're haters. They say we're on the wrong side of history. So they say.

When Jesus was on the earth they said of Him, "He has a demon, and is insane; why listen to him?" (John 10:20) When Paul stood before Festus and Agrippa declaring the Gospel that Christ died and rose from the dead, Festus loudly declared, "Paul, you are out of your mind; your great learning is driving you out of your mind." (Acts 26:24) If we are crazy like Jesus and Paul were, we are in good company.

Elijah was a unique prophet. The others always had God telling them, "Go and tell My people that I say ...". Elijah walked in to the king and declared "There shall be neither dew nor rain these years except by my word." (1 Kings 17:1) There is no indication in the texts that God told him to say it. James indicates that Elijah did so on the basis of prayer, not divine calling (James 5:17-18). And it didn't rain for three years. Ahab called him the "troubler of Israel" (1 Kings 18:17) Three years without rain because Elijah prayed that it wouldn't rain and refused to pray that it would rain again -- that's obstinate. If we are obstinate like Elijah was, we are in good company.

When Jesus preached His Sermon on the Mount, He had a lot to say about the Law. No, He didn't set it aside. Indeed, He said, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished." (Matt 5:17-18) Then He went on to not only affirm the rules, but to expand them. "You've heard it said ..." He would begin, referencing a particular law, followed by "but I say to you ..." and He would broaden the command (Matt 5:21-47). You've heard that murder was wrong, but He considered anger to be murder. You've heard that adultery was wrong, but He included lust with adultery. You've heard that divorce was okay, but He said it caused adultery. You've heard that you should love your neighbor, but He insisted you should also love your enemy. His standard was nothing less than the perfection of the Father (Matt 5:48). Very judgmental. If we are judgmental like Jesus was judgmental, we're in good company.

Believers throughout Scripture had an ongoing history of causing division. Noah took only 7 others (2 Peter 2:5) with him into the ark "by the which he condemned the world." (Heb 11:7) Joshua exhorted Israel, "If it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve." (Josh 24:15) Elijah commanded Israel to "Seize the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape." (1 Kings 18:40) Jonah told Nineveh to repent or die in 40 days (Jonah 3:4). Jesus denounced "the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent." (Matt 11:20) Of the first century believers it was said they "turned the world upside down" (Acts 17:6). If we are divisive like these people were, we are in good company.

One of the very popular terms for Christians who follow the Word these days is "haters". It might come as a surprise to them how many times we read that God hates. "You hate all evildoers," David says (Psa 5:5). David hated them, too (Psa 26:5), and the psalms exhort us to do the same (Psa 97:10; Psa 119:113, 128, 168). Solomon writes of seven things the Lord hates (Prov 6:16-19). When Scripture refers to things as an "abomination" to God, they are references to things He hates (e.g., Lev 18:22-23; Deut 7:25; Deut 22:5; Prov 15:9; etc.). If we hate like God hates, we are in very good company.

I'm amused by the latest epithet -- "You're on the wrong side of history." Would that not be what was said against every single one of the people of faith in Scripture? When Israel demanded and received a king instead of God as their master (1 Sam 8:7), who was on the wrong side of history -- those who wished to remain under the Lord, or those who sought to be "like all the nations" (1 Sam 8:5)? When Israel split into two kingdoms, resulting in their downfall and ultimate destruction, who was on the wrong side of history? When the Jews sought to kill Jesus to save their country (John 18:14), who was on the wrong side of history? When the Jewish leaders ordered the disciples of Christ to stop preaching the Gospel and they replied, "We must obey God rather than men" (Acts 5:29), who was on the wrong side of history? The Bible is a historical record of those who have followed God against the "tide of history", always coming out "more than conquerors" (Rom 8:37). If we follow Christ like they did, ending up on "the wrong side of history", we are in really good company.

These days arguments aren't normally rational; they're emotional. The idea is that if you can throw out some moving epithets to make people dislike your opponent, you can win the argument without actually having to make sense doing it. Sadly, it works that way far too often. Happily, winning the argument are not our marching orders. Our marching orders are to follow Christ to the glory of God wherever that may lead. We do it with the ire of our world, but as we do it in the way those who have come before us did, we do it in good company.