The Violence of the Christian Life

The Bible is an amazing work of writing. The very concept that men sat down and wrote its words as the Holy Spirit inspired them to do, is for many, a difficult concept to believe. One of the defining attributes of the committed Christian is that he believes this. Adding to the confusion in the minds of those who doubt God, is the fact that the Christian believes these things because God’s Holy Spirit has placed that truth within the heart of the Christian. Without a complete belief that the Bible is the very Word of God, the entire Christian faith, fails. The Apostle Paul confirms this truth.

2 Timothy 3:16-17
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

I believe every word in the Bible is from God and true. I believe that it is complete and in it is truth is everything we need to live a life pleasing to God.

Yet, there are scriptures that are difficult to be sure of the proper interpretation and we must seek the Holy Spirit’s teaching if we are to lay hold of God’s truth as presented in His Word. The fact is, none of us are perfect in this pursuit. I am not, you are not, and even our pastors and teachers are not. If this were not true, we wouldn’t have so many different viewpoints on things such as the end times and other doctrines of our faith.

One of the verses that fascinates me is Matthew 11:12. It is Jesus who is speaking here and in it He says this, “From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force.”

I have read that verse many times over my years of Bible study. Though I had never spent any time trying to break it down and dig deeper into its meaning, I believed it had a simple meaning. I believed it meant that the enemies of God, violent men, have opposed God and His kingdom with everything they could and in the end, this culminates in killing Jesus. Since the days of the Garden of Eden, Satan has battled against God and sought to stop Jesus from bringing salvation.

That interpretation is true. But last week I encountered this verse in my Bible Study and I learned that that interpretation is not the only possible one. John MacArthur offers a different viewpoint on what Jesus meant when He said “the violent take it [The Kingdom of God] by force.

I took a little time reading several commentaries on this verse, and many admit that this is a difficult verse to be sure of Jesus’ intent. Many scholar’s offer that there are at least two possible meanings. The first is similar to what I stated above. This would mean Jesus is speaking of God’s enemies.

The second viewpoint and forgive me if I fail in explaining this as the scholars do, suggest Jesus is talking about those who seek Him and His salvation. I suggest anyone reading this would do well to do your own Bible study on this verse. But the following is how I have come to understand what Jesus is saying.

I believe that Jesus is instructing us on what the true Christian life is in terms of reaching the end goal of our walk here on earth, sanctification. The call from Jesus is that we become “perfect, as our heavenly Father is perfect.” – Matthew 5:48

Many Christians seem to ignore this command and live comfortably in their imperfections, knowing God is full of grace and mercy. He is. And He does forgive us in our imperfections. But that does not change the command to be perfect. Our imperfections and our daily failings are the background for this interpretation that it is us Christians, who are taking the Kingdom by force. The Christian life is a life of warfare. We have an enemy, Satan, who wants to destroy us. Satan does not want us to give glory to God, but to Him. The war is won, Jesus finished that on the cross, but we still have to fight the mop-up battles of our own lives as we progress down this road of sanctification. To do that requires we respond to Satan’s attacks with great violence. We must storm the beaches of our own sin nature as the soldiers did on D-Day. This isn’t speaking of violence in the literal sense of physical violence, but as a metaphor for spiritual warfare.

The best way to interpret scripture is with scripture. Here are some verses that support this idea of us taking the Kingdom by force, that show us we are in a battle. Listen to how they describe the intense effort our Christian walk requires of us. I am not talking of how we are saved, that is by faith alone, I am talking about how we are sanctified. I am speaking of how we become more like Christ in this life and in being obedient to the commands of God.

Luke 13:24
 Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.

Acts 24:16
So I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man.

1 Timothy 4:10
For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.

1 Timothy 4:10
For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.

Hebrews 12:14
Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.

1 Corinthians 9:24-27
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.  Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air.  No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

Galatians 5:24
And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

Romans 8:13
For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

Take careful notice of what the Christian life is. It is a battle, but the true enemy is our old nature, called the flesh. Satan tempts us, but he cannot make us sin. It is our own free will that chooses to sin against God. Notice the words used in the scriptures I shared. Strive, toil, fight, beat your own body, crucify and put to death our flesh and its passions and desires.

Jesus taught us to pray for God’s kingdom to come, and that His will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Until Jesus returns, we are the means by which God’s Kingdom comes to earth and we are to do His will.

If we are to have victory over our sinful flesh and present to the world God’s Kingdom, we must do so by violence. Not physical violence against the world, but spiritual violence against our own sin nature. The violent take the Kingdom by violence. That violence is what Jesus means when He tells us to crucify our flesh. It must be put to death. It will not die easily. Self-examination reveals the power of the flesh in leading us to sin and it must be killed. That my friends, is a violent act.

My prayer is we Christians live out lives that show the unsaved world the Kingdom of God in how we live. I know how far short I fall in this quest. Let us encourage each other as we watch and pray for the return of Christ, to do whatever it takes to be His light. Let us take the Kingdom with a fervor and a zeal for God that can only be described metaphorically, as violence.

Open His Word and strive to live as He calls us to. The same power that raised Christ from the tomb. Lives in us. That is the Holy Spirit. We must strive to let the Spirit be what drives us, not our own flesh.

Be Blessed.

On Doing Good

What does the life of a Christian look like?

Galatians 6:9
And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.

We are not supposed to grow weary of doing good.

I’m 24 days into a trip amongst people who don’t think like me. They speak different languages. They drive differently. They even walk on the sidewalks differently then I’m accustomed to. I’m tiring of them.

I’ve tried my hardest to remain polite. The sidewalks are very narrow and usually jam-packed with people. I have been intentional about moving off the sidewalk, at times placing myself in peril of being struck by a car or motorcycle, so that others could walk safely on the sidewalk. And yet, not one, no not one person has said thank you or even acknowledged this in any way. I’m tired of them and so badly want to plow into them with a good, hard American shoulder block.

But the Bible says I’m not to grow weary of doing good.

But who cares about these rude, Europeans? Right? Plow em down Mike.

But guess what the next verse says?

Galatians 6:10
So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.

Let us do good to everyone.

If we are Christ’s, we are commanded to do good to everyone.

The Greek Word used is pas. It means everyone. All men, all people, each and every human on this earth. Not just the ones we like. Everyone.

I’m struggling with this. I usually do. But if I am Christ’s, I must follow this command by asking the Holy Spirit to empower me and change my heart.

If we follow His commands, we will change the world. We will be His light.

Everyone. Do good to them.

Giving Up Our Possessions

Luke 14:33
So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions.

At first glance, this is a scary verse. Last time I checked, I still possess a lot of stuff. I’m pretty sure all of you reading this do as well. Does this mean we are not saved?

No, it doesn’t. It is a great example, however, of the extreme importance of interpreting scripture, with scripture. You must read the entire Word of God if you truly want to understand it, as God wants it understood.

Matthew 6:19-21

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Luke 12:34
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

What God wants from us and what Jesus was teaching is that it is our heart that He seeks.

Do your possessions own you? Are you more concerned for them than you are for your spiritual wellbeing? Do you prefer spending time with your possessions than you do spending time in prayer, Bible reading, and in serving God?

If so, then you might want to reevaluate where you stand in God’s economy.

Jesus asked the rich, young ruler in Matthew 19:21 to give up everything literally. Jesus knew that the man had no interest in giving Him his heart, he just wanted to reap the benefits of salvation. So, Jesus gave this test knowing it would reveal to the man, his own heart. That’s why the man went away sad and grieving. His wealth was more important to him than Jesus and His kingdom.

The question to ask of ourselves is this; does Jesus have our heart?

Matthew 6:33
But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.