Encouragement in Persecution

Transcript

GR 684
9/23/1984
Encouragement in Persecution
Matthew 10:24-33
Gil Rugh

It is difficult to understand Matthew’s writing unless you relate it to the plan and program that God is working out for the nation Israel. In the Old Testament God promised to the nation Israel an earthly kingdom over which the Messiah would rule. It is described as a kingdom where the curse is lifted from the creation, where the desert blossoms as a rose, where physical afflictions are removed and where a king rules and reigns in righteousness. The forerunner of Christ, John the Baptist, prepared the way for the Messiah saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt. 3:2). Jesus picked up that message saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt. 4:17).

The nation was not ready for the kingdom, yet Jesus continued to offer it to them. He gathered around Himself twelve disciples whom He appointed as apostles. A disciple is a learner, one who is being taught by a teacher. An apostle is an official representative of a higher authority. So Jesus took twelve of His disciples and appointed them as His official representatives to announce to the nation that the Messiah was present and the kingdom was at hand.
The nation rejected that message and rejected Christ as the Messiah. So God has put on hold His program for the nation Israel. He has not canceled the program, but rather He has, from our perspective, delayed the establishing of the kingdom.
We are now living in a period of time which began in Acts 2. This period will continue down to the Rapture of the Church, a period of time called the Church Age. During the Church Age, God is dealing with people not on the basis of their national origin but simply on the basis of their relationship with Jesus Christ. At a future time the Rapture of the Church will occur when all true believers will be removed from the earth. Then God will resume His program with the nation Israel.
Following the Rapture there will be a period of seven years of Tribulation on the earth. That seven-year period will be climaxed with the bodily return of Christ to the earth when He will personally set up the kingdom over which He will rule and reign on the earth.
This is important background information to know in order to understand what Matthew is saying in chapter 10. The apostles were sent out to announce to the nation Israel the coming of the kingdom. They were told to go only to the nation Israel and were not allowed to go to the Gentiles. Neither were they allowed to go to the Samaritans, a mixed breed descended from Jews who had married Gentiles. The apostles were allowed to go only to the nation Israel because the kingdom was being offered only to them.
In His sending the disciples out to announce the kingdom, Jesus indicates what is going to happen as they present their message. He goes beyond the events surrounding His first coming and includes the time in the future, the seven-year Tribulation after the Rapture of the Church, that will lead to Christ’s Second Coming to earth and the setting up of the kingdom.

Matthew 10 relates both to the first coming of Christ and to His Second Coming, and just as in the Old Testament, both of these events are seen together with no distinction between the two. The Old Testament prophets saw the suffering of the Messiah and His death. They saw a period of Jacob’s trouble called the Seventieth Week of Daniel, the seven-year period known as the Tribulation. Then they saw the Second Coming of Christ in glory to set up a kingdom. The Old Testament tells nothing of the Church Age in which we are living today. The same is true generally of the gospels. They do not deal with the Church Age.
The question is often asked, How do you know whether the events referred to are connected with the first coming of Christ or to His Second Coming? In Matthew 10, there is no way to clearly draw the line where one ends and the other begins. In some instances, the reference is clearly related to the first coming, while in some it is limited to the Second Coming. In others, the reference is to both comings.
Jesus said in verse 20, “For it is not you who speak, but it is the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.” The Holy Spirit did not dwell in the apostles until after the resurrection. Jesus said that He was with them, but the Holy Spirit would be in them. The Holy Spirit indwelling them did not happen until Acts 2. Therefore, the prime thrust is yet future when people will be carrying the message by the ministry of the Spirit specifically to the nation Israel.
Matthew 10:22 says, “You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.” Christ also uses the concept of enduring to the end in Matthew 24:13, “But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.” It is clear that chapter 24 is in the context of the seven-year Tribulation. Christ will intervene and bring the persecution to an end in Satan’s attempt to annihilate the nation. Romans 11 also promises spiritual salvation to the nation when all Israel will be saved. There will be a national turning to Christ among the nation Israel just prior to the Second Coming of Christ to set up a kingdom. But the prime focus here is on their physical deliverance.
Matthew 10:23 is a picture of the Israelites being persecuted and fleeing from one city to another to escape the persecution. The reference in verse 23 to “the Son of Man” is taken from Daniel 7 and relates to its messianic context. This reference is to the Son of Man coming in glory and establishing the kingdom. Before they have fled to all the cities of Israel and have run out of places of refuge, Christ will return in glory to set up His kingdom. Jesus said that if He did not intervene in that time at the Second Coming, there would not be a person left alive on the face of the earth.
Matthew 10:24-33 relates the encouragement that Jesus gives the apostles. He tells them that as they represent Him, they will be persecuted, hated, scourged and killed. That is a little unnerving to say the least! So in these verses Jesus gives them five reasons why they do not have to fear the persecution of men.
The first reason not to fear men is because it is enough for a disciple to be like his teacher and a slave like his master. Jesus gives two analogies in verses 24 and 25: “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master. It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, and the slave like his master.” The disciple is being educated and his goal is to become like his teacher. The slave is subjected to his master, and his highest ideal would be to be like his master.
As believers in Christ, we are disciples of Christ; we are his slaves. The highest goal and ideal of our lives is to be like Him and that is to be our consuming and driving motivation.
In the middle of verse 25, He gives a different emphasis to His previous statement: “If they have called the head of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign the members of his household!” Jesus says it is enough for
his disciples to be like Him. Since the world hated Him, can they expect not to be hated? Christ was persecuted. Can they expect to avoid persecution? They blasphemed Him. Can they expect not to be blasphemed?
The head of the household, Christ, is referred to as Beelzebul. The background for this name is in 2 Kings. Ahaziah, the son of Ahab, was king of Israel. He followed in the pattern of his godless, wicked father, Ahab. Ahaziah was injured when he fell through the latticework in his palace. “And Ahaziah fell through the lattice in his upper chamber which was in Samaria, and became ill. So he sent messengers and said to them, ‘Go, inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whither I shall recover from this sickness’” (2 Kings 1:2). Instead of turning to the God of Israel for help, he sent messengers to Ekron.
The people of Ekron worshiped a god called Baal or Baal-zebub, which means lord of the flies. In this part of Palestine, archaeologists have found little golden flies that were part of the worship system of the people of this region. Ahaziah sent for help from this god, Baal-zebub. The name is brought over into the New Testament as Beelzebul, meaning either lord of the temple or lord of the dung. The Jews corrupted this word in its use and it became a synonym for Satan. They took the name of this false god and used it as a title for Satan and the hosts of the demonic world. In Matthew 9:34, Matthew records that “the Pharisees were saying, ‘He casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons.’” They were saying that Christ was motivated by the ruler of the demons, Satan.
The same accusation is made against Christ in Matthew 12:24: “But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, ‘ This man casts out demons only by Beelzebul the ruler of the demons.’” The Pharisees were charging that Satan was the one who was empowering Christ, not God. This blasphemy was as clear and strong as could happen in biblical times. Christ was on the earth, and when they saw Him performing miracles, they attributed those miracles to the power of the Devil.
Since these people had no respect at all for Christ, what can His followers expect? Jesus is saying in Matthew 10 that if they have done this to Him, the head of the household, the best His followers can hope for is to be treated like the Master. Persecution and suffering is to be expected, but there is no need to fear. The desire of the follower is to be like the Master. That does not mean that one should court persecution or develop a martyr’s complex, but when persecution comes, there is no need to fear because they are treating the disciple just like they treated Christ.
Jesus moves on in the next few verses to express three times that his followers are not to fear. “Therefore do not fear” (v. 26); “Do not fear” (v. 28); “So do not fear” (v. 31). Verses 23-33 are built around the commands not to be afraid of men.
The second reason not to fear men, given in verses 26 and 27, is because the truth will come out: “Therefore do not fear them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim upon the housetops.” God will reveal Jesus’ disciples for what they are, and He will reveal His truth as His truth at the appointed time. Even though men are going to oppose what His disciples say and are moved by Satan rather than God, in God’s time the truth will be revealed. Then the disciples will be revealed as the faithful followers of Christ who proclaim the truth of God. That should be an encouragement to us as His followers even though we may be misunderstood and our message may be rejected now. There is coming a time when God will reveal us and will reveal all men for what they are. We will be vindicated in God’s time.
Paul writes in Romans 2:16 of “the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus.” In that day the secrets of men will be judged. We will be revealed for what we are, and the truth will be revealed as the truth. Men can oppose it and reject it, but they cannot change it. There is coming a day when God will reveal it for what it is.
Paul wrote of the same thing in 1 Corinthians 4:5: “Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men’s hearts; and then each man’s praise will come to him from God.” That should be a motivating factor for
His followers. We know that we have the truth of God. When men oppose our proclamation of the truth, it does not change the fact that it is the truth. There is coming a day when men will know that it is truth because they will be judged by this truth. We will be revealed at that time as the sons of God. Should we be intimidated by them when we have this knowledge and truth to grasp onto?
In light of this knowledge, Jesus exhorts his disciples to proclaim the truth openly. “What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim upon the housetops” (Matt. 10:27). What these apostles had been taught personally and privately, they are now to go out and proclaim. The same is the pattern for us as well. We may go to a Bible study and learn the truth of God. Then we are to go out and make it known everywhere.
It is crucial to keep this in mind as we face opposition. We sometimes take rejection, persecution or opposition as an indication of a closed door. But Jesus says that in the midst of these things, we are to go out and shout this message from the rooftops. This was done literally in Palestine from the flat roofs without the use of a public address system. A speaker would often stand on the roof of a house to address the people down below so he could be heard more easily. Christ is saying that we should proclaim this everywhere as openly as possible. He did not give us His Word to keep in secret, but rather He gave it that we might make it known in every place to everybody. Some will misunderstand it and reject it, but that is all right. In God’s time He will reveal us for what we are and His truth for what it is.
Jesus gives another reason not to be afraid of men in verse 28: “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” He is saying that there is no need to be afraid of men because God is more to be dreaded or feared than men are. If we are to be motivated by fear, we should fear the right one-God, not man.
Think over your opportunities to share the gospel with people during the past week. All of us were probably exposed to unbelievers with whom we could have shared the gospel but did not. We sometimes wonder what they will think of us, what they will say about us and how they will react toward us. We are often intimidated by the fear of men, but fear of God can also be a strong motivation. Those who fear men are intimidated from proclaiming the truth openly, but those who fear God are so motivated by Him that they proclaim the truth regardless of what men think. So fear can definitely be a motivator, it is just a matter of whether your fear is directed toward men or toward God.
Verse 28 indicates that man does have real power. As Jesus talks to His disciples, He tells them that the men they will preach to have the power to kill their bodies. Some of the disciples will eventually give their lives for the gospel, with James being the first. All of them, with the possible exception of John, will die as martyrs. Jesus is not telling them that they will not be opposed, persecuted or even killed, but He tells them to keep the proper perspective in mind. Men only have power over the physical body; they do not have power over the soul. The soul here is synonymous with the spirit. James 2:26 says, “The body without the spirit is dead.”
When I die, I as a person will leave this body. Because I am a believer in Jesus Christ, I will go into the presence of God in glory. Men can kill this body, but they cannot touch my soul. The moment I experience physical death, I will be transported into the presence of God in glory. Should I be afraid to proclaim the gospel for fear somebody will kill me? If they kill my body, they cannot get to me as a person and touch my soul. The moment they kill my body, I will be absent from the body and present with the Lord. Is that so bad?
Jesus is saying that the power of men is great, but it is limited to the physical body and that if you want to fear somebody, you should fear the One who is able to destroy both body and soul in hell. God has power not only over your physical body, but also over you as a person, over your spiritual being, your soul. This is a matter of eternal significance. Jesus is referring to fear of God, not Satan. Nowhere in the Bible are believers told to fear Satan. We ought to respect him because he is a powerful being. James 4:7 and 1 Peter 5:9 both say to resist the devil, but we are never told to fear him. That should be a great encouragement for us.
Scripture is clear that every unbeliever is going to get a resurrected body, one that is suited to endure for eternity. That body will also be capable of suffering for all eternity. Jesus said, “Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment (condemnation)” (John 5:28,29). The deeds are an evidence of character, but everyone will be resurrected-some to enjoy life in God’s presence and some to be condemned to hell for eternity.

When Jesus spoke of destroying “both soul and body in hell” (Matt. 10:28), He was not referring to annihilation. The fear of judgment would be limited if one ceased to exist after judgment, but Jesus is not referring to that. If I had two options, one option being that I would never exist again or the other option of being in God’s presence in glory forever, then I would prefer to be in God’s presence in glory. But the first of those two options is not that bad, you would be gone and there would be nothing else. However, that is never the Bible’s perspective. When the Bible talks about destroying both body and soul in hell, it refers to torment in hell forever and ever.
In Jesus’ reference to hell in this verse, He uses the Greek work gehenna. This word is used twelve times in the New Testament and always refers to hell, the place of suffering and torment for all eternity. This is the destiny of those who do not believe in Jesus Christ and who do not submit themselves in faith to the good news of His death and resurrection. Paul wrote in 2 Thessalonians 1:9, “These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power.” Eternal destruction means being away from the presence of the Lord and the glory of His power, and it is referred to in the Bible as the second death. Death is separation. When you die physically, your soul leaves your body. One who is dead spiritually is separated as a person from God. When one is eternally dead, he is separated from God for eternity. That is the second death, the final death, the final separation. It means you are separated from God for eternity.
Revelation 14 describes the fate of those who do not believe in Jesus Christ during the Tribulation. They will suffer the same fate as every person does who has ever existed and who does not believe in Jesus Christ as Savior. “And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever; they have no rest day and night” (v. 11). That is what it means to be cast into the lake of fire and brimstone as described in verse 10. Those cast there will be tormented day and night and will have no rest ever.
It is impossible for me to conceive of the awfulness of hell. There is no way to comprehend how people could suffer to such an intense degree twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week for the millions and billions of years of eternity. That concept goes beyond what I can fathom, but I know it is true because God says it is. That is why He so strongly exhorts everyone to believe in His Son, Jesus Christ. That is also why He says it is better to fear the one who is able to destroy both body and soul in hell than to fear men who can only kill the body. Our thinking can get twisted and distorted so that we are intimidated from believing in Jesus Christ because of the fear of what people will think.
According to Matthew 25, hell was created for the Devil and his angels. That is the place where they will suffer for eternity along with all those who have not become the children of God. Revelation 20:10 gives a similar description of hell: “And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and forever,” literally, unto the ages of the ages. That is the strongest way to express eternity in the Greek language. They will be tormented forever and ever, day and night with no rest. Is it any wonder that Jesus says in Matthew 10:28, “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” What a contrast!
Should I be intimidated by men? I am to be moved by the fear of Almighty God. I do not have to be afraid because I know I am His child, but I still recognize His sovereign holiness. If I am to be motivated by fear, it should not be fear of men, but fear of God and the recognition that judgment is coming. Men and women will be accountable to Him. The only hope for their salvation is to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ and believe it. There is no room for fear of those who can kill the body. We should fear Him who is able to destroy both body and soul in hell.
Jesus gives another reason, the fourth, why His disciples do not have to be afraid of men: God is interested in the most minute, trifling details of your life. This brings a beautiful balance from the awfulness of verse 28. God is in sovereign control of the smallest details. That helps put things in perspective. It is easy to think that God is interested only in the big things, and we will work out the little things. But verses 29-31 make it clear that God works out even the smallest details, even those that we are not interested in.
In verses 29 and 30 He gives two analogies. Verse 29 says: “Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.” People ate sparrows in biblical times. They were not very valuable because you could get two for a penny. Luke 12 says that you could get five for two pennies, so you got an extra one thrown in if you bought two pennies’ worth. At this price sparrows are relatively worthless. Yet Jesus says that not one of them falls to the ground without the Father knowing about it. Not one of them perishes apart from His sovereign will and control. That is remarkable!
Who really cares about sparrows? If you walk down the sidewalk or drive down the street and see one that has died, do you think you should stop and have a funeral service for it? No, a dead sparrow is not very significant. You might even think that it is good that another one is gone! We just are not very concerned about sparrows. Who cares about them? God does. Not one of those sparrows dies apart from the sovereign control of God. That boggles my mind, because I have a hard time grasping the fact that God can keep track of the billions of people on the earth and be working out all the details of their lives according to His plan. Then when I find out that he has all of the sparrows in line, too, that is more than I can comprehend. Anytime a sparrow flies in front of my car and is hit, that is not apart from God’s sovereign control. Such a concept is mind-boggling. God is even interested in the sparrows.
The next analogy is found in verse 30: “But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.” Notice that this verse does not say God has counted the hairs of your head. He has numbered each one, meaning that each one is marked out as separate and distinct to Him. I like to keep track of all the hairs on my head, but I do not count them!
One commentator said that the average person has 140,000 hairs on his head. That is a lot of hair! God says that each hair has its own number. What detail! If you comb your hair and one falls out in the sink, you don’t say, “Oh look. There is number 103,247. I had better pick it up. ” No, you simply wash out the sink. You probably hope the process does not accelerate, but you don’t really count the hairs!
God says He has each hair numbered. That says He is more interested in the details of your life than you are. I am not interested enough to try to get a number for every one of my hairs even if I could, but God is just that interested. Should I then think that God is only interested in the big things of my life and not the little things? No, He is interested in things that are so little that I am not even interested in them. That is how interested He is in our lives.
Since He has such great interest in us, should we be afraid of what men are going to do? Does the sparrow fall to the ground without the Lord’s being aware and being involved? Does the Lord have the hairs of your head numbered? Does He know what someone said about you? We sometimes forget how involved God is in our lives.
Jesus draws this section to a conclusion in verses 31 through 33. He says in verse 31, “So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.” Can we be persecuted, suffer or die for Jesus Christ without His being aware of what is going on? He is intimately involved in every detail and aspect of our lives. You have never had a headache that He did not have under sovereign control. You have never stubbed your toe without His sovereign control in the entire situation. We sometimes forget that when the pressure builds and the heartaches and the burdens mount up. At those times we sometimes cry out, “Oh, God, have you forgotten about me?” Then He replies, “What do you mean, have I forgotten about you? I know you. You are the person with 142,192 hairs on your head. ” He knows everything about me and is interested in all the details.
As a believer in Christ, I have been joined in an inseparable relationship of love with Him, and I am important to Him in every way. The psalmist said in Psalm 116:15, “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His godly ones.” There is no saint who dies apart from the sovereign control and will of God, and that death is precious to Him.

Paul tells more about God’s sovereign control in the situations in our lives in Romans 8. “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” (v. 28). He is in control of what comes into our lives. “Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Just as it is written, ‘For Your sake we are being put to death all day long; we were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.’ But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us” (vs. 35-37). If you try to name anything that can cut us off from the love of Christ, it becomes apparent that nothing can, because His love is adequate for every situation. It does not matter what comes our way-tribulation, suffering or death. Nothing can separate us from the love of God. “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (vs. 38,39).
Do not overlook the fact that in these verses we are told that we experience the love of God in Jesus Christ. Only those who are in Jesus Christ by faith in His finished work enjoy this love relationship with God which nothing can break.
Since this relationship with Him is inseparable, should we be afraid of men or intimidated by the nasty things they say about us? If they hate us, persecute us or even put us to death, can this affect Christ’s overwhelming love for us and His involvement in every detail and aspect of our lives? When we become afraid of men, we forget who we are in Christ and we forget the great God who cares for us.
Jesus gives one other reason in Matthew 10 not to fear men. It is similar to the reason given in verse 28 and is a reminder of the alternatives. He says not to fear men because fear of men brings destruction. “Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven” (vs. 32,33). The word “confess” means to agree with or to acknowledge. It is a compound word that literally means to say the same thing, so it implies being in agreement or acknowledging something.
Jesus is emphasizing the importance of being identified with and acknowledging Jesus Christ in this life. The Bible assumes that those who believe in Christ will also be identified with Him in their life and in their speech. Those who have agreed concerning the person of Christ should acknowledge that and make it known. That is the purpose of water baptism-a public identification with Christ. That is the purpose of our being spokesmen for Him and living lives which draw attention to Him. He is saying that if we will confess Him as the Messiah and Savior before men, then He will acknowledge us in the presence of His Father in heaven.
The contrast in these verses is in the statements “before men” and “before My Father.” There is a tremendous gap between those two statements. Where would you rather be acknowledged? I would rather be acknowledged by Jesus Christ before His Father in glory. He says He will do that if I will confess Him before men. That is a motivation not to be intimidated by men. We should not allow men to keep us from acknowledging Him. Some people say, “Oh, I couldn’t believe in Christ because my family would throw me out.” So what? “I couldn’t believe in Christ because my friends would cut me off.” So what? “I couldn’t believe in Christ because I would lose my job. ” So what? If you deny Him before men, He will deny you before His Father who is in heaven.
“Confess” is used in other passages in the Scripture. Romans 10:9 says, “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” The confessing or acknowledging with the mouth and the believing in the heart are inseparably joined together in this verse.
John uses the word confess more than any other New Testament writer. He wrote in 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” To be saved you must agree with God about your sins, acknowledge the fact that you are a sinner in need of salvation and then agree that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, died on a cross to pay the penalty for your sins. When you come into agreement with
God on those issues, then He can save you, cleanse you and make you a new person.
He also wrote in chapter 4, “By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God” (v.2). You must agree with God that you are a sinful being. You must also agree that Jesus Christ died to pay the penalty for your sin. If you do not, then you are destined to suffer the destruction of body and soul in hell. Jesus Christ will deny you before his Father in heaven.
In Matthew 7:23, Christ prophesies of the day when people will stand before Him and claim a relationship with Him. At that time He will say, “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.” He will deny any relationship with them as He stands before His Father in glory. In connection with setting up the kingdom in Matthew 25:41, Matthew records: “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels.’” This serves as added motivation to remember that it is our relationship with Jesus Christ and our acknowledging Him that makes eternal significance.
Matthew 10:24-33 is primarily addressed to Jews who will be proclaiming the coming of the kingdom in the context of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. The primary focus is on the events which will occur during the Tribulation. The truths are specifically related to the apostles, but the application is true for every believer in Jesus Christ.
Followers of Christ need not be afraid because the goal of our lives is to be like Jesus Christ. If you are sharing the gospel and standing as a representative for Him and it results in persecution, praise God. It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher.
Secondly, as a motivation for me not to be afraid, I am assured that the truth will be made known. God is going to reveal the reality of things and will vindicate His sons at that coming day of glory. It will be revealed that the truth of the gospel we proclaim is the truth of God Himself.
The third reason not to fear men is because God is much more to be dreaded and feared than are men. If fear is to be a motivation, it should be a fear of God, not a fear of men. He is the One who has almighty and sovereign power over the soul as well as the body.
Another encouragement for me to share the gospel and not be afraid is because He is concerned about even the trifling little details of life and He is sovereign over those minute details. I am not in these difficulties alone. God is with me, and not only is He with me, but He is in control in working to accomplish His plan for all eternity.
A final encouragement in these verses is that those who confess Christ before men will be confessed by Him before the Father, but those who deny Him before men will be denied before the Father. That will motivate us to represent Him faithfully without fearing what men may do.
What kind of testimonies are we? Does this move us and motivate us and make a difference in the way we represent Him? We are not to be concerned about how men will respond, but rather we must think about how we can most faithfully represent the beautiful character of Jesus Christ.
What is your relationship with Jesus Christ? If you will believe in God’s Son who died to pay the penalty for your sin, He will cleanse you and forgive you and make you a new person. You will be the special object of His care, affection and attention in an unbreakable bond of love. He then promises to care for you and to exercise His sovereign control over every detail of your life while preparing you for the glory of His presence.