Earlier this year I led the adult class in a study of the book of Judges. Among the many tragic figures in Judges, Samson stands out as a sobering reminder for the American church of how easy it is to assimilate with the prevailing culture instead of transforming it.
So how do we develop a Christian witness strong enough to withstand and overwhelm the seductive and idolatrous attractions of this broken world? There are countless means we can employ, but for the sake of time I will only mention two.
First, we should be aware of the tone we use in expressing our faith in Christ. There is not one among us whose voice has not quivered when making our faith known to those with either hostile or ambivalent reactions to the good news of the gospel.
Maybe it is the fear of humiliation or persecution; or perhaps it is because of long suffering or doubt. Regardless, there are times when we express our faith in the bold victory of Christ in dull murmurs and quiet whispers.
Now I ask, does Heb 13:6 read, “ …so we say with timidity…so we say with a faint heart…?” No, it reads, “…so we say with CONFIDENCE.” And what is the source of our confident tone? It is God’s promise in the preceding verse, “never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” Notice how unlike other scriptures on the dangers of loving money, Heb 13 sees one’s love of money not so much as a product of greed as it is a fear of abandonment.
Yet Heb 13 proclaims that such fears are unfounded because of God’s promise to stay. And since God is not our attacker, Heb 13:6 invites us to place our fears and anxieties in the hands of a God who helps, and more importantly, a God who protects.
This reality accounts for the fearless tone of the author’s confrontation with the destructive forces of this world asking, “what can mere mortals do to me?” In other words, whether it be a crazed terrorist or a ferocious cancer: that which is finite cannot destroy those who have been made eternal by the blood of Jesus Christ.
In addition to the tone of our faith in Christ, we should be mindful of the tense we use when describing Christ himself. More often than not, Jesus is referred to in the past tense. One will say, “Jesus ate with sinners.” Another will say, “Jesus had a heart for the lost.” Still another will say, “Jesus loved little children.”
When we speak of Jesus only in the past tense, it can imply Jesus did those things for a time but no longer. This morning I want to encourage us to bring Jesus into our present when we speak. As one who attends the Bread of Life Café on Wednesday nights, I believe Jesus still eats with sinners. I recognize Jesus still has a heart for the lost. Having spent six summers working with the children of Shiloh, I know deep in my bones Jesus still loves little children.
Finally, each of us experience Christ in different ways. However, Heb 13:8 declares that Christ is the same in the ways that matter most: One, Christ is alive, and two, Christ is in control. I don’t know how one gets out of bed every morning unless he or she believes that. Even when our eyes can’t see it, even when our hearts can’t feel it, let us always remember that Christ is alive and Christ is in control. It was true yesterday, it is true today, and it will be true forever. In the coming week may all of us do our best to see this reality reflected in our tones and in our tenses.
