Dangers!

December 21, 2023

Dangers!

There are dangers when we commit to living a life of holiness with Jesus as Savior.

There are the awkward silent moments when someone asks if you are a Christian.  There are the difficult moments when you tell your boss you need time off to attend a baptism.  There are the hurtful moments when someone ridicules you at a party for being a Christ-follower.

Although these are hurtful moments, these experiences are not all that dangerous. 

One of my roommates in graduate school was from a small rural town in Indonesia.  Flowing behind his family’s small home was a river.  While the family was doing their laundry in the river, it was not uncommon to see human body parts float past. 

At first, I was so stunned by what I heard that I could not comment.  Finally, I asked what was going on back home.  He calmly responded that Christians where he lived were beaten, tortured, and killed by people who professed a different religion.  It was dangerous to live a life of holiness with Jesus as Savior.

Several years ago, there was a rash of shootings at churches in the southern part of our country.  Some claimed the motive for the shooting was racism because people who were black attended those churches.  The motive was racism and the motive was an attack on people who chose to worship Jesus as the Son of God.  It was dangerous to live a life of holiness with Jesus as Savior.

It was dangerous to be a Christ-follower in the first century, too.  Paul describes some of the dangers he personally encountered as he shared the love of Jesus with other people.  In II Corinthians 11:23-28 Paul writes;

“Are they ministers of Christ?  I am talking like a madman—I am a better one: with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless floggings, and often near death.  Five times I have received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one.  Three times I was beaten with rods.  Once I received a stoning.  Three times I was shipwrecked; for a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from bandits, danger from my own people, danger from gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers and sisters;  in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, hungry and thirsty, often without food, cold and naked.  And, besides other things, I am under daily pressure because of my anxiety for all the churches.”

It was dangerous to live a life of holiness with Jesus as Savior in the first century. 

The paradox is that before the Apostle Paul became a Christ-follower, he was perpetrating these same acts of violence against Christians in and around Jerusalem.  Paul had brought intolerance and hatred and pain to Christians.  Interestingly, after coming to faith in Jesus was a victim of these same acts. 

Christians in other parts of the world are facing these same dangers today.  Those who live in the United States may not be aware of the torture and threats as well as the persecutions and prejudices experienced by Christ-followers in other parts of the world.  And yet in many places, the danger is very real for those who profess their faith in Jesus.

For most people who live in the United States, living a life of holiness with Jesus as Savior is still dangerous.  However, the dangers may not be coming from outside of us as much as they are coming from within us.

Complacency in the Christian church in the United States is a very real and present danger for Christians.  In a like manner, a lack of assurance in one’s salvation, an unwillingness to fully surrender to Jesus as Savior, an ignorance about the power and presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives, and a pride that gets in the way of asking Jesus to forgive us are just a few examples of the dangers that come from within us. 

Whether the danger comes from without or from within, living a life of holiness with Jesus as Savior can be dangerous.  The Apostle Paul records his experiences of the danger.  We also know that most of the other apostles and countless other Christians were imprisoned, tortured, and murdered in the first century.

Today, many Christ-followers in our country lack passion and power as they live a life of holiness.  The dangers from within have left them afraid, doubting, and unengaged.  Many Christ-followers have been spiritually paralyzed by the fears from within.

I imagine you know someone who is a Christ-follower who is right know overwhelmed by some of the dangers that can face Christians.  I invite you to pray for that person every day in the coming week. 

Likewise, please pray for Christians in other parts of the world who face very real dangers from without when they publicly profess their faith in Jesus. 

Ask the Holy Spirit to give each of these persons strength and courage for the day as well as peace and joy in knowing Jesus loves them.  When your prayers are answered, they will take delight in the Lord no matter what dangers they face today.

Take Delight In The Lord!

Doug