So do not be
ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with
me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God, who has saved us and
called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of
his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the
beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our
Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and
immortality to light through the gospel. And of this gospel I was appointed a herald
and an apostle and a teacher. That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not
ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able
to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day. (II Timothy 1:8-12)
Apparently,
some of Timothy’s timidity involved the specter of criminal punishment. Jesus
was killed as a criminal. Jesus was, in a sense, jailbait. Anyone who accepted
Him as God, and therefore denied the Roman emperor as god could be put to
death. Paul was in prison for that reason. Timothy’s apprehension is
understandable. In today’s passage, Paul reminded Timothy who Jesus is and what
He has done. The Old Testament shows that when one follows God, the world
attacks. Jesus had warned us not to be surprised when the world hates us,
because it hated Him. Paul was suffering in prison because he was doing what
God had chosen him to do.
Some
time ago, I listened to a talk by R.C. Sproul, Jr., in which he said that the
scandal of evangelicalism is that evangelicals are scandalized when the world doesn’t
like them. Why can’t the world see what wonderful people we are? Why don’t
those people like us? They say all sorts of nasty things about us. We forget
that when Jesus walked the earth, they accused Him of blasphemy. He, a mere
man, claimed to be God! What a monster He had to be to do such a thing; unless,
He was telling the truth. But if He told the truth, His accusers had to be the
monsters, and that was simply impossible.
Recently,
I read a blog post calling on us to walk away from an unpopular passage in the
Bible that at least appears to restrict women’s roles within the Church. Again,
the teachings of the Bible must be wrong because we don’t like the picture it
paints. We can just ignore what it says because, well, look around you. “Everyone
knows” better than what the Bible teaches. My ego wants to be able to agree. I
don’t want to submit. I want to lead.
And once that is accepted, then someone
else’s ego says that genders don’t matter in the choice of restrooms or
showers, or in marriage. Another person’s ego informs us that religions don’t
matter. You can worship any god you want, because in the end, they’re all the
same. The reason you don’t see that is because of your ego. (Wait – wasn’t ego
what led us into this morass? Now it’s ego that keeps us from it?)
Paul
reminds us that, no, it was not our ego that led us to this place. We know whom
we have believed, and Christ, the Lord, the Living God is able to guard what we
have entrusted to Him (ourselves.) I will accept their hatred and their
mockery, but I will tell them that they are not living up to their own standards
and I will tell them what I believe to be true as kindly and firmly as I can because
it is the loving thing to do.
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