Joshua Harris and Marty Sampson made quite a splash in some circles recently.  They are both religious influencers who announced in writing that they are stepping away from the Christian faith.  That’s disappointing, but should we be surprised?  Probably not.

In recent years, Pew Research Center studies have documented the increase of the “nones” (religiously unaffiliated) in the U.S.  The most oft-cited reasons for people categorizing themselves this way is that they disagree with teachings on religious and social issues.  To unpack that, they find more truth in culture than in Christianity.  Statements made by Harris and Sampson reflect that trend, and raise a question.  Must authentic, Biblical faith pass a cultural litmus test?

Jesus was a bit counter-cultural.  A lot, actually.  Those who considered him a revolutionary used that as the proximate cause of his execution, which he willingly endured for His eternal cause.  He knew His followers would face the risks of cultural pushback and even apostasy, so He warned about it in parables (Matt. 13).  The seeds fell on rocky and thorny places, and they didn’t endure.  The weeds grew with the wheat, at least until they didn’t.

The New Testament book of Hebrews uses some version of the word “endure” eight times in chapters 10 – 12.  The context of that exhortation is faith, and reasons to believe.  It becomes apparent that endurance is the fruit of a well-grounded faith, not the cause of it.  Don’t miss that.  Such faith might make you a public spectacle because of your view of eternity (10:32-34).  But by faith you endure and do the will of God, not of the cultural influencers of the day (10:35-36).  Your time on earth is finite, but by faith your soul endures (10:39).

Hebrews 11, the “hall of faith,” describes the deeds of men and women who had an assurance, a conviction about eternal truth.  They actively resisted the incoherent truth claims of their day, and they are our examples.  They proved the world was not worthy of them.  You do the same when you resist our culture’s confusions such as, when people believe something it becomes their truth; faith is worthless because it doesn’t stop bad things from happening; and, if you don’t celebrate all facets of this cultural moment, you’re a hater and your religion is evil.

So, you’re in a race to the finish line of faith.  The goal is to get there, not to be first.  With all the encumbrances and entanglements around you, how do you endure?  How do you make sure you don’t become a “none” writing an awkward note to those who thought otherwise?  By “fixing your eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross” (Heb. 12:2).  Believe, and endure.

 

 

A young woman paced the sidewalk outside the pastor’s home. He and his wife were preparing for a picnic in the park.  They noticed woman’s tentative attempts to approach their door.

F.W. Boreham wrote about his experience that day. Realizing that the woman needed something, he invited her inside.  She poured out the heart-rending tragedy of her baby’s sudden death.  She needed help with the burial.  She confided that the baby was born out of wedlock, and was deformed.  That changed nothing for the pastor.  The next day he, his wife, and the woman laid the baby to rest during a driving rainstorm in a barren place.

The woman found a home with Boreham’s church because they treated her with love, care, and respect. She must have known that the cemetery was not her baby’s home.  Ravi Zacharias comments, “The respect shown in a cemetery comes not because it is home, but because it is where we bid believing loved ones a temporary good-bye.  Jesus came from the Father and returned to the Father to prepare a place for you and for me.  That’s home.”  That’s your destiny when you believe Jesus.

He refers to Jesus’ words, “In my Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:2-3).  Jesus did not just speak of life after death philosophically, but he demonstrated it physically.  He assured Martha that her brother would live again saying, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies” (John 11:26).  Then he raised Lazarus.  Later he raised Himself from the dead.

This life beyond, in a prepared place, is where community, reunions, and love happen. Isn’t that what a home is?  This place is not just for being with loved ones again, but being with the One who loves us.  Jesus wants you to be with Him.

Stuart Hine was a pre-WWII missionary to the Russian people. They sang a hymn that he translated to English.  After the war, a displaced man told how he despaired of finding his wife, and longed to meet her again in heaven.  That inspired Hine to pen another verse to the hymn.  When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation and take me home, what joy shall fill my heart! Then I shall bow in humble adoration, and there proclaim, my God, how great Thou art!

You worship a great God who rescues you from the bounds of time and decay! You can travel lightly on this earthly journey with the confirmation that you have a place to call home, forever.