THOSE WHO CANNOT BE DISCIPLES
Luke 14:25-35
In our text this morning (Luke 14:25-35) Jesus repeats a phrase three times in this passage. It is the phrase “cannot be my disciple”. Jesus is warning us of things that will disqualify us from being His disciple.
Note the context of the passage. There were large crowds following Jesus. Most leaders today are concerned with how to keep the crowd. Jesus seemed to intentionally be trying to thin the crowds. Jesus understood that people are naturally attracted to a crowd.
Jesus understood that it is easy to talk like a Christian and to even believe that you are a Christ follower simply because you hang out with followers of Christ. Jesus wanted us to understand that discipleship is not about membership, it is about a way of life. It is not about following the crowd, it is about following Him. When we put our trust in Christ we enter into a relationship. Faith does not end at the point of decision . . . it begins. Jesus wants to help us in that relationship.
So who are those who cannot be His disciples?
Those Who Are Too Family Oriented
The first thing Jesus says is,
“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple.
This is not a new theme. Rick explained this passage several weeks ago when Jesus was speaking to just the disciples. Now He expands the audience and applies this to any who would follow after Him.
Anytime we come up against a passage like this we must interpret it carefully. We must never interpret one passage in such a way that it contradicts another. The Ten Commandments tell us to honor our Father and Mother. Consequently, these words do not mean that we should neglect or dishonor our family. However, in our heart, in our priorities, in our calendar . . . He must come first. When we read the story of Jacob and his wives Rachel and Leah we are told that Jacob loved Rachel and hated Leah. We know from the context of the story that Jacob didn’t despise Leah . . . he simply loved Rachel more than Leah.
What God is asking of us is similar to a marriage covenant. A man and a woman stand on a platform and declare that they will be “yours and yours alone for the rest of my life”. It used to be that couples used the words: “forsaking all others”. They are not declaring that they will no longer have any friends or never talk to another person of the opposite sex. They are saying that their spouse will have the central or priority position in their heart over all these others. Couples say this because they believe life will be better together than it ever could be apart.
It is a huge commitment. To keep that commitment you have to change the way you make decisions. You can no longer live as if you were the only one that mattered. However, for those who truly make this commitment life is better than it could have ever been outside of that commitment. There is companionship, sometimes there are children, there are shared experiences, and there is a oneness between the two people that can be downright frightening to others.
This is what God wants from us. He wants that kind of commitment from us in our relationship with Him. He wants us to make His glory our primary priority in life. He wants us to do so because He has demonstrated that He alone is God.
This obviously goes against the cultural mindset of our day. Today priorities seem to revolve around “Me, My Job, and My Family” in the minds of most people. We justify our obsession with our job saying, “It is what puts food on the table”. We run to endless school, athletic and extra-curricular events justifying it by saying we are just being a good parent.” We live by a simple motto: “I want what I want” and that seems to settle the issue in our mind. Hear the words of Jesus. He says that people who function by these priorities cannot be His disciples.
Kent Hughes writes,
In the secularized, anti-family culture of today, our family is at the center of our Christian ethic. And that is proper. But some of us love our wives, husbands, and children more than we love God. We miss the mark when we put their development athletically, intellectually, culturally, artistically, socially before their spiritual well-being. We fall short when we spend more time in the car in one day shuttling them to games and lessons than we do in a month in prayer for their souls. By comparison, our lives reveal that we hate God and love our children disproportionately—and that we are not Jesus’ disciples.[1]
The Lord is not telling us to abandon or mistreat our family. He is not telling us to get so involved in the work of the church that we are never home. He is calling us to order our priorities in a godly way. When we do this we actually will be able to love our family more appropriately, fully, and effectively. This is because we are no longer trying to prove ourselves to be a “super parent” but are instead pointing our family to the One who alone is worthy of praise. Only Christ can redeem our children. Only He can accompany them through the storms of life. Only He can lead them to eternal glory before the Father of Heaven. They need us to lead them to Him.
These are admittedly hard words but understand how important this is,
1. Our actions demonstrate what is truly important in life. It doesn’t matter what box we check on a religious survey. It doesn’t matter what you tell your children you believe. Our families are watching our actions. We are either leading our families to God or we are leading them away from Him by the choices we make.
2. This is the wise way to live. Jesus knows the answers to life’s questions. He understands human nature; He is the fountain of all wisdom. When we point our families to Christ we are providing for them the greatest blessing possible.
Those Who Want Easy Discipleship
The first exclusion is hard but the second may be harder
27 And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
Jesus is not talking about carrying a cross in your pocket or wearing a cross on a chain around your neck. The cross is a symbol of death. Jesus is saying we need to be people who are willing to sacrifice even our very lives for the Lord. Contrary to what we sometimes hear on TV, Jesus never said following Him would be easy. In fact, He said just the opposite. Notice here that Jesus does not encourage the crowd with flowery words and promises of ease and happiness . . . He points them to the cross and the cost of following Him.
Christians are often guilty of preaching a shallow gospel. We call people to “accept God’s gift” and we act as if this is the end of it. It would be like someone coming into a car dealership. You as the salesman tell the person that you “want to put them in this brand new car and all they need to do is sign on the dotted line.” The person who has never purchased a new car before eagerly signs their name and then is shocked when you say, “OK, the final cost with tax, license, under-coating, insurance, inflated tires, knobs on the radio, is . . . . four times more than you can afford to pay!” The person feels you swindled them because you never said anything about their being a cost.
This is the way we often present the gospel, and it is irresponsible. Jesus calls each of us to “count the cost”. He gives two illustrations to drive His point home,
28 “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? 29 For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, 30 saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’
If you want to put an addition on your home even I know that you don’t knock a hole in the wall and then go to Menard’s to buy some lumber. You need to consider many things: what kind of addition you want and whether you have the property to facilitate that addition. You need to consider the issues of plumbing, heating and electrical. You need to talk to the utilities and find out what is currently buried in the ground. You need to consider structural viability. Then you need to add everything up and decide whether or not you can pay for such an addition. You must count the cost.
The second illustration is a little different.
31 “Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace.
In this case the man doesn’t have a great deal of time to make a decision. An army is advancing against him. The King must take time to consider whether his army has a chance of victory. If there is no good chance of victory the King would be wise to negotiate terms for peace.
Jesus is saying don’t enlist in his army unless you are willing to abide by His command. Don’t declare you want to be His follower unless you know what is at stake. He is telling us not to respond emotionally (even though our emotion is involved); He wants us to respond to Him rationally. This comes as a surprise to many today who think that you need to have lobotomy before you become a Christian. Jesus says the opposite…think about it, count the cost, know what you are getting in to.
In many countries, declaring allegiance to Jesus could get you killed. In some Muslim or tight knit Asian communities declaring allegiance to Christ is seen as an act of treason. You may be executed. Our cost may not be as great but,
* Your belief in a Creator might cost you your job at a University
* Your stand for Christ and the moral Laws He has given might cause you to lose an election, be fired from a job, or be the focus of protests.
* Your refusal to be part of activities that involve illegal or excessive drinking, immoral behaviors, and just plan foolishness, may cause you to be ostracized by your friends
* Your pursuit of personal holiness may necessitate you abandon some of your former activities and friends and create an uncomfortable situation with others.
* Your insistence on conducting business honestly may cause you to lose contracts to less scrupulous people.
The point is that we need to understand that following Christ will not be easy and it will not be “business as usual”. He calls us to be willing to follow Him even ahead of our own comfort and even our own lives. If we don’t realize this, we cannot be His follower.
Those Who Can’t Let Go
The last disqualified for discipleship is in verse 33
In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.
Do you remember the story of the Rich Young Ruler? He wanted to know what was needed to obtain eternal life. Jesus told Him he needed to obey the law perfectly (that is the only way to be saved by our own strength . . . we must never sin). This man felt he had lived an obedient life. Jesus told Him that he also needed to sell everything he had and give it to the poor.
Jesus was not saying that a person must be destitute to be a follower. He was saying that we cannot be enslaved to the material and still be honoring God. As a believer we are to be people who are willing to give anything and everything to the Lord for His service. There is to be NOTHING held back.
It is natural for us to say, “Lord, I will give you all I have . . . as long as you don’t ask for; or don’t ask me to do . . . “ You may have said in your heart and mind: “I will follow you fully as long as you
* don’t ask me to serve on the Mission field
* don’t ask me to give up my friends
* don’t ask me to give up buying a new car
* don’t ask me to love a certain person
* don’t ask me to forgive a certain offense
The attitude of a true disciple is this: “All to Jesus I surrender, all to Him I freely give”. If Jesus is to be Lord AT all . . . He must be Lord OF all. We do not tell Him what is most important, He tells us. He does not exist to glorify us, we exist to glorify Him.
Conclusions
Let’s confess honestly that we struggle with each of these things. We aren’t sure that we really love the Lord more than we love our family. We don’t know if we are willing to follow Christ . . . even to death. We are positive we haven’t given Him everything. Does this mean that we are not His disciples?
The answer to the question I believe is: not necessarily. As we look at the lives of the disciples we see that they grew in their commitment to Christ. I think the principle is this: if we are not seeking to follow Christ fully, if we are not trying to consciously give Him all things, if we are not willing to make significant sacrifices because of our love and trust of Him . . . we are not and cannot be His disciple. We still struggle. At times we still fall short. But we should be moving in the right direction.
Let’s go back to the marriage analogy. Do we live our commitment faithfully all the time? No. Are we as devoted as we need to be? No. There are still many self-absorbed times, there are still temptations that come our way . . . but, if we are pursuing the goal of being fully devoted and committed to our spouse we will see significant progress. Every day brings new tests and challenges. True commitment is both a decision and a learned behavior.
It is the same in the Christian faith. We should be growing in our discipleship. We are constantly learning the cost and every day we agree to pay that cost. Every day we consciously surrender again all that we have and all that we are. Jesus said,
34 “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?35 It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out. “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
Salt was used for a number of things: it preserved, it enhanced, and it facilitated growth. The Christian is to be all these things. However, if a follower of Christ isn’t following . . . they become useless. What can we do to remain “salty”? I’d suggest several things.
1. Consciously decide to truly follow Christ. When we make decisions we quickly (and unconsciously) go through a list of questions: things like: Do I want to do this? Will my friends approve? Is there something to be gained? Is this what I think a good parent would do? Will it be profitable? Will this cause conflict? We must learn to consciously ask: “Will this reveal and honor my commitment to Christ?” “Will this advance His Kingdom?” And we need to ask that question before and above all others.
2. Set up regular check points in your life to monitor your spiritual vitality. Set aside a regular time to meet with God every day. If you find trouble praying, try writing letters to God. Use the Sabbath as it was intended; as a time to realign our hearts with the Lord and to grow in knowledge and truth. Do a monthly spiritual inventory and monitor progress in your spiritual life.
3. Be ruthless in confronting sin in your life. Confront your excuses, justifications and denials. Don’t let yourself be fooled by your own rationalizing. Recognize sin for what it is and deal with it.
4. Practice your faith. Remind yourself that knowledge is of little value until it is applied. Be intentional about finding ways to live out what you say you believe.
5. Be intentional about growth. Read books to deepen your understanding. Listen to sermons. Watch or attend conferences. Make sure you are being spiritually nourished.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
BIBLICAL LEADERSHIP IS A MYTH!
Biblical leadership is a myth? Well, kind of . . . at least the way it's popularly portrayed. When people write about biblical leadership, they often say, "Let's do leadership like Moses, or David, or Jesus, or Paul." That is not a study of leadership but of leaderships.
Let me be academic here for just a minute.
Leadership History
Leadership studies from the 1950s to the 1970s went through a period of time when "Great Man Theories" were the dominant model of leadership. The search was all about identifying the traits or abilities or characteristics of leadership (looking almost exclusively at male leaders). By 1977, the verdict was in. Research failed to find a set of traits that leaders must posses in order to be leaders (see chapter 2 in Couto's Reflections on Leadership.
Today's popular presentation of biblical leadership harkens back to this failed way of studying leadership, frequently identifying biblical leadership as a compilation of different traits/abilities/characteristics. This leader is strong, this one sensitive, this one wise, this one decisive, etc. Predictably, these books and articles and blog posts have different lists—some longer, some shorter. Rarely do they say a certain characteristic is more important than another, how a particular characteristic should be applied in leadership, and rarer still, how the different characteristics ought to interact with one another.
Leadership and Culture
In addition, the Bible spans many diverse cultures and customs. Yet leadership decisions and actions vary widely from culture to culture. For example, I led a group of congregations in Manila for 30 years. Different cultures have different set of time consciousness. I remember Jim McElroy, an American missionary, made a joke about time consciousness. We were setting an appointment to meet and discuss certain things. Finally we agreed to meet at 9:00 in the morning. But before we parted ways I asked, Filipino time or American time? If Filipino time you can be late at least one hour. If it is American time it must be exactly 9:00 AM. But he answered "Chinese time". I asked what is that? He said, I may or may not come.
So how shall we interpret the words/actions/decisions of these leaders? Culture is a prime factor in leadership decisions. We cannot render a judgment on a certain leadership action until we appreciate the culture of the people involved. In books and articles listing "biblical traits of leadership," culture is rarely mentioned at all.
One-Sided Leadership
Finally, popular biblical leadership tends to look at the leader and not the follower. By examining only one part of the equation, the reader sees only one part of the leadership relationship. Leadership becomes a property or power to be used to get someone else to do what you want. This is a dangerous way to think because it reduces leadership to a tool for controlling others.
Christian Leadership Analysis
So how should Christians analyze leadership? Studying the lives of biblical leaders is a worthwhile task, but we must also examine what Scripture says about community purpose and behavior. We study how the leaders interacted with the people as well as the values the people themselves espoused.
The results of modern leadership research must also be considered. For example, there is a large amount of literature on the different, yet at times overlapping, characteristics of a nonprofit group like a church and for-profit businesses. Leaders unwittingly borrowing characteristics from for-profit leadership books are likely to watch their initiatives go down in flames. Conversely, there is a large body of research on organizational change that is quite apropos to church leadership.
Finally, beware of articles and blog posts like "20 Essential Traits of a Biblical Leader." They tell wonderful, even inspirational, stories about compassion, integrity, courage, etc. However, like fine and tasty leadership McNuggets, they are not particularly satisfying or healthy.
Biblical leadership is a myth? Well, kind of . . . at least the way it's popularly portrayed. When people write about biblical leadership, they often say, "Let's do leadership like Moses, or David, or Jesus, or Paul." That is not a study of leadership but of leaderships.
Let me be academic here for just a minute.
Leadership History
Leadership studies from the 1950s to the 1970s went through a period of time when "Great Man Theories" were the dominant model of leadership. The search was all about identifying the traits or abilities or characteristics of leadership (looking almost exclusively at male leaders). By 1977, the verdict was in. Research failed to find a set of traits that leaders must posses in order to be leaders (see chapter 2 in Couto's Reflections on Leadership.
Today's popular presentation of biblical leadership harkens back to this failed way of studying leadership, frequently identifying biblical leadership as a compilation of different traits/abilities/characteristics. This leader is strong, this one sensitive, this one wise, this one decisive, etc. Predictably, these books and articles and blog posts have different lists—some longer, some shorter. Rarely do they say a certain characteristic is more important than another, how a particular characteristic should be applied in leadership, and rarer still, how the different characteristics ought to interact with one another.
Leadership and Culture
In addition, the Bible spans many diverse cultures and customs. Yet leadership decisions and actions vary widely from culture to culture. For example, I led a group of congregations in Manila for 30 years. Different cultures have different set of time consciousness. I remember Jim McElroy, an American missionary, made a joke about time consciousness. We were setting an appointment to meet and discuss certain things. Finally we agreed to meet at 9:00 in the morning. But before we parted ways I asked, Filipino time or American time? If Filipino time you can be late at least one hour. If it is American time it must be exactly 9:00 AM. But he answered "Chinese time". I asked what is that? He said, I may or may not come.
So how shall we interpret the words/actions/decisions of these leaders? Culture is a prime factor in leadership decisions. We cannot render a judgment on a certain leadership action until we appreciate the culture of the people involved. In books and articles listing "biblical traits of leadership," culture is rarely mentioned at all.
One-Sided Leadership
Finally, popular biblical leadership tends to look at the leader and not the follower. By examining only one part of the equation, the reader sees only one part of the leadership relationship. Leadership becomes a property or power to be used to get someone else to do what you want. This is a dangerous way to think because it reduces leadership to a tool for controlling others.
Christian Leadership Analysis
So how should Christians analyze leadership? Studying the lives of biblical leaders is a worthwhile task, but we must also examine what Scripture says about community purpose and behavior. We study how the leaders interacted with the people as well as the values the people themselves espoused.
The results of modern leadership research must also be considered. For example, there is a large amount of literature on the different, yet at times overlapping, characteristics of a nonprofit group like a church and for-profit businesses. Leaders unwittingly borrowing characteristics from for-profit leadership books are likely to watch their initiatives go down in flames. Conversely, there is a large body of research on organizational change that is quite apropos to church leadership.
Finally, beware of articles and blog posts like "20 Essential Traits of a Biblical Leader." They tell wonderful, even inspirational, stories about compassion, integrity, courage, etc. However, like fine and tasty leadership McNuggets, they are not particularly satisfying or healthy.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
“A COSTLY CAUTION AND ITS CORRECTION”
(Acts 10:14)
“I have never . . . .”
It was interesting to notice that each artist had a distinctive style all his own. If you were familiar with an artist’s style, you could recognize his paintings even if you had not seen them before. A good example is the style of the Spanish painter, Pablo Picasso. All of his paintings have a kind of “grotesqueness” about them (a layman’s point of view) that marks them as Picasso paintings. This style tells you that you are looking at a Picasso, no matter what gallery you may see it in.
Even so, Simon Peter is always Simon Peter, wherever you find him, and whatever condition he’s in. Whether before or after he became a Christian, whether pulling in nets on the Sea of Galilee, or walking with Christ in a desert place, he is always Simon Peter. No matter where or in what circumstance you find him, he will always speak and act like Peter. Nothing could have been more characteristic of Peter than what he said in this verse. He words formed a curious mixture of reverence and impertinence. “By no means, Lord; I have never . . . . “
One thing deserves our approval in this verse; we ought to give Peter credit for standing up for his religious convictions. He had always observed the old ceremonial laws, and he didn’t intend to violate them now. However, we must also remind ourselves that it was God’s voice telling him to change his customary way of doing things. This means that his refusal came dangerously near to being open rebellion against God. Narrow your attention to the words, “I never have.”
I. A SINFUL CAUTION
First, these words reveal a sinful caution in the life of Simon Peter. And the same sinful caution prevails in the lives of multitudes of Christians today. These three words — “I never have” — comprise today one of the most common statements offered by Christians to shelter them from their clearly specified duties and responsibilities.
The reluctance and hesitancy to do a thing simply because we have never done it before often stymies God’s work in a local setting as much as any other factor. The words “I have never” form an alibi or an excuse which a Christian can use to shove duty, opportunity and responsibility away from him. In fact, in these three words, “I never have,” you find one of the great excuses offered by the unsaved person for not being a Christian. “I never have trusted your Christ yet, and nothing bad has befallen me thus far; I guess I can go on this way a while longer.” Many a person is unsaved today, and many a Christian is useless to Christ today, because of these words: “I never have.”
Is this not true with regard to the personal talents and abilities of many people? I think it must cause a deep ache in the heart of God for so many talents and abilities to be wasted and unused as there are in any church. We sometimes say of a certain person, “He is surely talented in that direction,” or “He has a marvelous capacity for a certain thing.” But I am convinced that not one of us has ever exploited his capacities to even the smallest degree. Underneath the drab and ordinary surface of the most common man and woman lies the gold of astounding talent and ability. But in many cases it is never brought to the surface because the working principle of so many people is summed up in this statement of Peter, “I never have.”
There are many people who shrug off their responsibilities to Christ with the words, “I can’t do that,” when they really mean, “I have never tried.” How can you possibly know whether you can do a certain thing or not until you’ve tried it? Poetess Christina Rossetti often said, “Can anything be sadder than work left unfinished? Yes; work never begun.” You will never know until you face God in judgment whether or not you had other capacities for Christian service unless you try new avenues of service for Christ.
This principle holds true in the matter of Christian giving. A lady said to me sometime ago, “My husband feels that we can’t tithe.” I answered, “Have you ever tried tithing?” “No,” she replied. “Then he really means, ‘I never have tithed, so I’m sure I can’t,’ doesn’t he?” What blessings he was missing! He was missing the partnership of Christ, the privilege of supporting His work, and the privilege of blessing the world, to name a few of the blessings missed.
This principle is true also in the matter of Christian witnessing and soul-winning. Many Christians think they are excused from this responsibility on the grounds that they can’t do it, when actually they have never tried. A. C. Archibald first popularized the now famous statement: “The only person who fails in soul-winning is the person who fails to try.” There is not a Christian anywhere who could not win some unsaved person to Christ if he or she would just try — with a genuine, unceasing, honest, compassionate effort.
The same principle is true with regard to the private devotional life of many Christians. Many say, “I can’t pray,” when they really mean, “I have never seriously and systematically tried to pray.” Again, what blessings we forfeit because we cannot muster enough force of will to begin to pray and to study God’s Word regularly.
There are many who “never have” with regard to any practical form of Christian service. Some refuse to serve by offering the poor alibi, “I never have done anything like that.” It is true in many churches that some positions will go unfilled at this time because many abide by the statement, “I never have.”
The same thing is true of the church attendance of many people. There are multitudes of Christians who miss church on Sunday nights and Wednesday nights, not because they can’t go, but because they won’t go. And many of them dismiss their sin (see Hebrews 20:25) with the easy words, “But I never have gone to church on Sunday night. I always go on Sunday morning, but not on Sunday night. That’s the night we drive out to visit my wife’s mother, or stay home and watch TV.” As if your life benefited more from these things than from a happy hour of worship and hearing from God in the fellowship of His people! What insanity sin fosters in our lives! “But I never have!”
II. THE SAD COST
Notice that the sinful caution pictured in the text has a sad cost attached to it. When God says, “I want you to do this,” and the Christian answers, “But I never have,” and persists in this subterfuge, that Christian pays a terrible price for his un-Christlike caution.
First, the Christian who refuses to obey on the grounds that he never has before misses the very best blessings life can offer to a human being.
To this “I never have” person, life holds no holy of holies. Life refuses to give to this cautious Christian the throbbing thrill of conquering new territory and emerging the victor from the field of battle. To the Christian whose life is one long succession of “I never haves,” his soul withers and dies, and he forfeits the unspeakable blessings of being out-and-out for Christ. The Christian who always “plays it safe,” “stays out of it,” “remains neutral,” “never gets involved,” may not think he has lost anything, but he has.
Furthermore, the Christian who lives by the principle of “I never have” suffers a terrible blindness in spiritual matters. In verse seventeen of the chapter which contains our text, the Bible says, “Now . . . Peter doubted in himself what this vision which he had seen should mean.” He would have known immediately what it meant if his life had not been governed by un-Christian caution. The person who says, “I never have,” keeps his vision limited to a small, narrow circle, and timidly refrains from venturing outside. Consequently, he is blind to matters outside.
III. THE SPIRITUAL CORRECTION
The sinful caution pictured in the words, “I have never,” can be corrected by throwing that caution to the winds and walking a new path for Christ. When this is done, both the correction and the consequences are attended by great rewards.
To try a new thing for Jesus on His terms will bring us to a humble dependence upon God. When God said to Abraham, “Arise, and get out of your country, away from you kinsmen, to a land I will reveal to you,” the Bible says that “Abraham went out, not knowing where he was going, but sojourning as in a strange country.” He didn’t know where he was going. He didn’t know what he would find when he got there. He had no earthly idea where his next meal would come from. But he went out! And in going, he cast himself in humble dependence upon God. The same would be true of us if we were to match his adventurous faith today. If the “I never haves” in the community of Christians would begin now to give their talents totally to Christ, to tithe, to visit and witness, to pray and study the Bible, to accept the work of the church as their own, to attend all services of the church -- to do what God leads them to do, what a Christian revolution would sweep our church! The demands of the new paths would force us into God’s arms and throw us back on His resources.
To walk a new path for Christ will create within us a willingness to be used in any place. When Peter abandoned his “I never have” policy, God used him in a new place for a new service. And what a blessing it was — to Peter, to Cornelius, to the Jews, to the Gentiles, to the world!
Even as Peter had his vision, there were voices on the front porch, and a knock at the door. This is a strong reminder that you can’t separate visions from vocations, perception from performance. Peter had a heavenly vision, but he was brought back to earth by the words, “Behold, three men seek thee. Arise therefore, and go with them.” Perhaps today some of you have had a vision in God’s house of what you could do if you would only break the shell of custom and try a new work for Christ. Now you must go to the door, where the Master awaits, and accept the duty prescribed in the vision.
A final word to any reader who may not know Christ personally. This means, dear friend, that you have never been saved, thus you are “lost.” To be lost means to be displaced from God, separated from Him in sin, and bound for an eternity without God. This is the condition of every person who has not definitely been saved. Have you experienced God’s salvation? Have you trusted Jesus Christ to save you and received Him into your life? The Bible says, “As many as receive Him, to them He gives power to become sons of God, even to them that believe on His Name” (John 1:12). Let me urge you to confess your sins directly to Jesus Christ, repent of those sins, and trust Him at this very moment to save you. At this very moment, you can correct the most tragic “I have never” in human life. “I have never before trusted Christ . . . but I do here and now trust Him and receive Him as my own personal Saviour and Lord.” Do it now.
(Acts 10:14)
“I have never . . . .”
It was interesting to notice that each artist had a distinctive style all his own. If you were familiar with an artist’s style, you could recognize his paintings even if you had not seen them before. A good example is the style of the Spanish painter, Pablo Picasso. All of his paintings have a kind of “grotesqueness” about them (a layman’s point of view) that marks them as Picasso paintings. This style tells you that you are looking at a Picasso, no matter what gallery you may see it in.
Even so, Simon Peter is always Simon Peter, wherever you find him, and whatever condition he’s in. Whether before or after he became a Christian, whether pulling in nets on the Sea of Galilee, or walking with Christ in a desert place, he is always Simon Peter. No matter where or in what circumstance you find him, he will always speak and act like Peter. Nothing could have been more characteristic of Peter than what he said in this verse. He words formed a curious mixture of reverence and impertinence. “By no means, Lord; I have never . . . . “
One thing deserves our approval in this verse; we ought to give Peter credit for standing up for his religious convictions. He had always observed the old ceremonial laws, and he didn’t intend to violate them now. However, we must also remind ourselves that it was God’s voice telling him to change his customary way of doing things. This means that his refusal came dangerously near to being open rebellion against God. Narrow your attention to the words, “I never have.”
I. A SINFUL CAUTION
First, these words reveal a sinful caution in the life of Simon Peter. And the same sinful caution prevails in the lives of multitudes of Christians today. These three words — “I never have” — comprise today one of the most common statements offered by Christians to shelter them from their clearly specified duties and responsibilities.
The reluctance and hesitancy to do a thing simply because we have never done it before often stymies God’s work in a local setting as much as any other factor. The words “I have never” form an alibi or an excuse which a Christian can use to shove duty, opportunity and responsibility away from him. In fact, in these three words, “I never have,” you find one of the great excuses offered by the unsaved person for not being a Christian. “I never have trusted your Christ yet, and nothing bad has befallen me thus far; I guess I can go on this way a while longer.” Many a person is unsaved today, and many a Christian is useless to Christ today, because of these words: “I never have.”
Is this not true with regard to the personal talents and abilities of many people? I think it must cause a deep ache in the heart of God for so many talents and abilities to be wasted and unused as there are in any church. We sometimes say of a certain person, “He is surely talented in that direction,” or “He has a marvelous capacity for a certain thing.” But I am convinced that not one of us has ever exploited his capacities to even the smallest degree. Underneath the drab and ordinary surface of the most common man and woman lies the gold of astounding talent and ability. But in many cases it is never brought to the surface because the working principle of so many people is summed up in this statement of Peter, “I never have.”
There are many people who shrug off their responsibilities to Christ with the words, “I can’t do that,” when they really mean, “I have never tried.” How can you possibly know whether you can do a certain thing or not until you’ve tried it? Poetess Christina Rossetti often said, “Can anything be sadder than work left unfinished? Yes; work never begun.” You will never know until you face God in judgment whether or not you had other capacities for Christian service unless you try new avenues of service for Christ.
This principle holds true in the matter of Christian giving. A lady said to me sometime ago, “My husband feels that we can’t tithe.” I answered, “Have you ever tried tithing?” “No,” she replied. “Then he really means, ‘I never have tithed, so I’m sure I can’t,’ doesn’t he?” What blessings he was missing! He was missing the partnership of Christ, the privilege of supporting His work, and the privilege of blessing the world, to name a few of the blessings missed.
This principle is true also in the matter of Christian witnessing and soul-winning. Many Christians think they are excused from this responsibility on the grounds that they can’t do it, when actually they have never tried. A. C. Archibald first popularized the now famous statement: “The only person who fails in soul-winning is the person who fails to try.” There is not a Christian anywhere who could not win some unsaved person to Christ if he or she would just try — with a genuine, unceasing, honest, compassionate effort.
The same principle is true with regard to the private devotional life of many Christians. Many say, “I can’t pray,” when they really mean, “I have never seriously and systematically tried to pray.” Again, what blessings we forfeit because we cannot muster enough force of will to begin to pray and to study God’s Word regularly.
There are many who “never have” with regard to any practical form of Christian service. Some refuse to serve by offering the poor alibi, “I never have done anything like that.” It is true in many churches that some positions will go unfilled at this time because many abide by the statement, “I never have.”
The same thing is true of the church attendance of many people. There are multitudes of Christians who miss church on Sunday nights and Wednesday nights, not because they can’t go, but because they won’t go. And many of them dismiss their sin (see Hebrews 20:25) with the easy words, “But I never have gone to church on Sunday night. I always go on Sunday morning, but not on Sunday night. That’s the night we drive out to visit my wife’s mother, or stay home and watch TV.” As if your life benefited more from these things than from a happy hour of worship and hearing from God in the fellowship of His people! What insanity sin fosters in our lives! “But I never have!”
II. THE SAD COST
Notice that the sinful caution pictured in the text has a sad cost attached to it. When God says, “I want you to do this,” and the Christian answers, “But I never have,” and persists in this subterfuge, that Christian pays a terrible price for his un-Christlike caution.
First, the Christian who refuses to obey on the grounds that he never has before misses the very best blessings life can offer to a human being.
To this “I never have” person, life holds no holy of holies. Life refuses to give to this cautious Christian the throbbing thrill of conquering new territory and emerging the victor from the field of battle. To the Christian whose life is one long succession of “I never haves,” his soul withers and dies, and he forfeits the unspeakable blessings of being out-and-out for Christ. The Christian who always “plays it safe,” “stays out of it,” “remains neutral,” “never gets involved,” may not think he has lost anything, but he has.
Furthermore, the Christian who lives by the principle of “I never have” suffers a terrible blindness in spiritual matters. In verse seventeen of the chapter which contains our text, the Bible says, “Now . . . Peter doubted in himself what this vision which he had seen should mean.” He would have known immediately what it meant if his life had not been governed by un-Christian caution. The person who says, “I never have,” keeps his vision limited to a small, narrow circle, and timidly refrains from venturing outside. Consequently, he is blind to matters outside.
III. THE SPIRITUAL CORRECTION
The sinful caution pictured in the words, “I have never,” can be corrected by throwing that caution to the winds and walking a new path for Christ. When this is done, both the correction and the consequences are attended by great rewards.
To try a new thing for Jesus on His terms will bring us to a humble dependence upon God. When God said to Abraham, “Arise, and get out of your country, away from you kinsmen, to a land I will reveal to you,” the Bible says that “Abraham went out, not knowing where he was going, but sojourning as in a strange country.” He didn’t know where he was going. He didn’t know what he would find when he got there. He had no earthly idea where his next meal would come from. But he went out! And in going, he cast himself in humble dependence upon God. The same would be true of us if we were to match his adventurous faith today. If the “I never haves” in the community of Christians would begin now to give their talents totally to Christ, to tithe, to visit and witness, to pray and study the Bible, to accept the work of the church as their own, to attend all services of the church -- to do what God leads them to do, what a Christian revolution would sweep our church! The demands of the new paths would force us into God’s arms and throw us back on His resources.
To walk a new path for Christ will create within us a willingness to be used in any place. When Peter abandoned his “I never have” policy, God used him in a new place for a new service. And what a blessing it was — to Peter, to Cornelius, to the Jews, to the Gentiles, to the world!
Even as Peter had his vision, there were voices on the front porch, and a knock at the door. This is a strong reminder that you can’t separate visions from vocations, perception from performance. Peter had a heavenly vision, but he was brought back to earth by the words, “Behold, three men seek thee. Arise therefore, and go with them.” Perhaps today some of you have had a vision in God’s house of what you could do if you would only break the shell of custom and try a new work for Christ. Now you must go to the door, where the Master awaits, and accept the duty prescribed in the vision.
A final word to any reader who may not know Christ personally. This means, dear friend, that you have never been saved, thus you are “lost.” To be lost means to be displaced from God, separated from Him in sin, and bound for an eternity without God. This is the condition of every person who has not definitely been saved. Have you experienced God’s salvation? Have you trusted Jesus Christ to save you and received Him into your life? The Bible says, “As many as receive Him, to them He gives power to become sons of God, even to them that believe on His Name” (John 1:12). Let me urge you to confess your sins directly to Jesus Christ, repent of those sins, and trust Him at this very moment to save you. At this very moment, you can correct the most tragic “I have never” in human life. “I have never before trusted Christ . . . but I do here and now trust Him and receive Him as my own personal Saviour and Lord.” Do it now.
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