Must we...?
"The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name." (NIV) Acts 5:41
Wondered if it is worth the shame when we can easily avoid it? In a world of many opportunities and “shortcuts,” Christians are privileged to choose from the same options available to everyone. Sometimes, we fight for the very same choice since we all have equal rights. Is it wrong to belong or to be part?
These and many things Christians battle with every day. Today, there seem to be a solution for such struggles, “religious liberty.” There is the quest for separating Christian principles from societal norms such that moral sense only lies in what one considers appropriate for the moment of a circumstance and not a generalized shift towards a theocratic authority; therein lies an overruling command of God, regardless. In essence, truth is relative. I am not sure if you are caught up in this dilemma. It could be at the workplace, relationships, schools, to mention but few. A good illustration for this is the idea of having a common bathroom for people who associate with “transgender” in every public institution in the United States. Schools owned by religious opposites are struck with the decision to follow this command or lose government support. This may be very extreme but to set the problem statement high will mean to have something, as Christians, to relate to in terms of what we have as our enemy.
Many people easily go to Romans 14, to quote verses, they suggest, command liberty in Christianity but they fail to make the obvious conclusion that “If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord” Romans 14:8. Obviously the idea of liberty begs the question owing to this obvious and logical statement of Paul- doing things in the Authority of Christ is all that Paul meant and he reiterated that in Colossians 3:17 and 1 Peter 4:11. I am afraid this is going to be a never ending battle for Christians as it was from the beginning. We may think our present circumstances is nothing compared to earlier times. Truthfully, not the case. We do not feel the heat of persecution because of compromise, acceptance, and numbness towards immorality. It is meant to happen (2 Timothy 3:1-5). So we still ask the question “is it worth the disgrace?” Must we suffer “disgrace for the Name”? Why do we struggle when answers to these questions are as plain as day? To the Apostles, it is better to listen to God rather than men (Acts 4:19) and yes they rejoiced for suffering disgrace for the Name. Are we to do less? Remember the Promise! (Matthew 10:32-33)