“Are they Israelites? so am I.” 2 Corinthians 11:22
“We have here a personal claim, and one that needs proof. The apostle knew that his claim was indisputable, but there
are many persons who have no right to the title who yet claim to belong to the
Israel of God…. O let us prove our gratitude by our devotion, and live as those
who, having claimed a privilege, are willing to take the responsibility
connected with it.” (Excerpt from Charles Spurgeon, Morning and Evening,
June 6.)
One must ask what responsibility Spurgeon is referring to
here. I suspect that few Christians think of their claim of faith in Christ as
a responsibility. An honor, yes; a gift, certainly; but a responsibility, not
so much. If God leaves believers here, in but not of this world, He must expect
something of us. The command of Jesus to make disciples as we go about our daily
lives in the world is a large part of why we are still here. Astounding as it
may seem, God wants us to further His kingdom by adding disciples to it.
God could have continued to send angels to proclaim the kingdom
like He did at Jesus birth. But, in fact, we are completing God’s mysterious
plan of the ages by becoming the kingdom on earth, and the
angels are the witnesses. The Old Testament saints didn’t know the whole
plan of God. According
to Peter, before the Cross of Calvary, not even the angels knew exactly
what God was doing. The church, the Israel of God for this age, is tasked with gospel
proclamation.
Simply put, the gospel is the good news that God is calling
a people to Himself. The tough news is that He is using the faithful to do it. I
say it is tough based on my observation of the reluctance of most believers to
become fully engaged in disciple-making. As I said in my book, Lead
a Horse to Water, making disciples means making God look good to non-believers.
In the book, I suggest many ways to overcome the reluctance to do the job we
are called to do. The Scripture is clear that the primary way we do the job is
to demonstrate love for one another. And I would add love for the lost.
There is another aspect to the responsibility of being a
Christian. The day may not be too far distant when taking a stand as a Christ-follower
in America will cost something. Forget for a moment the call to share the
gospel; just living the gospel in our own lives is already being challenged as
racist and un-American by many on the political left. The anti-religious
feature of Marxism is an integral part of the neo-Marxist critical race theory
that is being force-fed on all levels of American society. If you look closely
into critical race theory, you will discover that it claims Christianity is one
of the foundational sources of racism in this country.
In all levels of government and many corporate jobs you can
be fired for expressing biblical truth. Instead of using class struggle for its
basis as historical Marxists have, the new Marxists use identity. Identifying
as part of the “Israel of God” can get you fired. This puts weight on the
responsibility Spurgeon spoke of to live, “as those who, having claimed a
privilege, are willing to take the responsibility connected with it.”
Hebrews chapter eleven is often called the hall of faith. In
it we read of many who took responsibility for their faith in spite of dire
consequences. “[They] were tortured… And others experienced
mocking and flogging, and in addition bonds and imprisonment. 37 They
were stoned, they were sawed in two, they died by murder with a sword, they
wandered about in sheepskins, in goatskins, impoverished, afflicted,
mistreated, 38 of whom the world was not worthy,
wandering about on deserts and mountains and in caves and in holes in the
ground.”
There are Christians in various places around the world who
are experiencing that kind of treatment today. I pray that we may never reach that
level of persecution in America. I pray the church will rise up and take the
responsibility that comes with the privilege of calling Christ her Lord. If we
don’t stand up now against the rising tide of anti-religion and anarchy that is
flooding the public square in America, I fear we will find ourselves in company with
the stoned, the sawn, the murdered wanderers.
Related posts: Critical Race Theory; Truth Dysphoria; I Pray for America; America Held Captive; How Can They Think That?
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