Hard Sayings of Scripture (Part 1)

If you find some things in scripture that are hard to swallow, or hard to apply, you are not alone. I have walked with God since 1969 and still find some things difficult that God calls me to do or believe. Some things cause me to outright argue with God or at least invoke in me desire to avoid them. Why? Because my salvation is still in progress and God is not through helping me to get a Kingdom mindset rather than a selfish worldly one. This leads me to voice a concern I have with modern preaching and teaching in the body of Christ.

Much of Christian preaching today is about embracing God because he will bless us with peace, happiness and fullness. I fear that we have left our basic Christian values that God has communicated to humanity for thousands of years. At the core of Christianity, as it was for Israel, is the challenge to “GET RIGHT” with God and become a child of God by being adopted by him. Although that starts with a willingness to surrender to God it by no means is a finished deal, but rather a process of transformation that takes a lifetime.

John 1:12

But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.

Let me use an illustration that might make this concern and topic clearer. When I turned 16 years old I could get a license to drive a car. Why does a 16-year-old want a license? To have fun with our friends, to feel like we have arrived at some level of maturity and independence. The question is what “SHOULD BE” the main reason or the primary reason for us to get a license?  To become a more responsible person or adult and to provide personal “transportation” more than all the other side benefits. When we lose sight of the real reason of becoming a Christian we fail to be a real Christian and rather become a religious person.

When we make getting a license mostly about fun we are heading for a car crash because we will not be driving for the main and responsible reason but a side benefit. Christian faith is the same thing. Do we walk as Christian because it makes us happy primarily? We should walk as believers because it honors our creator and he was right about the reason for our creation and existence.

So here is one of the “Hard Sayings” of Jesus that truthfully I don’t like, but for which I am called. At the core of Christianity is the challenge by Jesus to take up “My Own Cross” and follow him. This idea is that to be a follower of Jesus, we are willing to give up a life of “self” and make Christ first in our lives. Interesting that the cross of Christ does not negate our own need to have a cross. Isn’t that mind blowing? Yielding to the will of God over our selfish tendencies and desires is such a hard thing.To be honest it is impossible without the help of the Holy Spirit. But that is what we are called to if we want to be considered a child of God.

Believers in Jesus’ day had no illusion about what Jesus meant when he said they needed to take up a cross as part of a normal Christian life. The Romans were very efficient at motivating Jews not to be disruptive to the civil society. They set up crosses publicly on major roads leading in and out of towns. Rebels were nailed or tied to a cross to show what happens to people who stepped out of line. Historians said that people crucified could survive from hours, to overnight, to several days. These crosses were not put on some back road, but on the main road for all to see and hear the groans and wailing of the victims. This was called motivation.

The question is: how did the first disciples relate to this? I have to believe they took it hard because they had hoped Jesus would free the Jews from Roman brutality.

Matthew 10:38

If you refuse to take up your cross and follow me, you are not worthy of being mine.

Jesus didn’t say to a select group of dedicated disciples to take up their cross, but to “ALL” who wanted to follow, and he did so with the caveat that if someone did not do so they were unworthy of being his disciple.

Don’t get me wrong about the benefits of becoming a Christian. There are many and they are amazing, but never embrace a false Christianity for the real deal one. Benefits of the Christian life are real but they are benefits and not the core reason for what we believe or the life we are called to live.

A young man who wanted to know he had the benefit of eternal life came to Jesus one day looking for “More Benefits” to an already comfortable life he enjoyed. What he learned about following Jesus is that it was costly as well as beneficial. The problem he discovered was he wasn’t willing to embrace the hard things along with the good things and walked away from Jesus very sad and empty. The same could be said of us if we refuse to embrace total surrender.

Matthew 19:21-22

Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

If a person is coming to Jesus to be saved they have to embrace the hard things along with the benefits otherwise they will walk away empty, without Jesus, and enter eternity without a savior. This young man thought following Jesus was agreeing with his doctrine and philosophy, not about changing his lifestyle.

This hard saying applies to all of us who chose to follow Jesus. Might I add that we have to revisit this hard saying often enough to make sure we haven’t wandered off to believing in a pretend Jesus versus the Son of God. Look what the disciples said about this hard saying when they heard Jesus explain the cost of being a real follower of his:

Matthew 19:25-26

When the disciples heard this, they were very astonished and said, “Then who can be saved?” And looking at them Jesus said to them, “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

I think these first disciples struggled with this hard saying of Jesus just like you and I do, yet they successfully incorporated this saying into their theology and practices. We should likewise embrace scripture even when it’s hard to understand or apply because it is God speaking to us about our transformation into the likeness of Jesus.

Have you embraced the “Hard Sayings” or just the benefits?

Questions:

1) Have you struggled with this hard saying about taking up your cross? Ask the Holy Spirit to help you understand the love of the Father in accepting it.

2) Have you rejected this hard saying of Jesus about you taking up your own cross? Consider what Jesus said about being worthy or unworthy of being a genuine follower of his and submit your heart to the Holy Spirit.

Trying to be conformed to the transformation God desires,

Pastor Dale