In the Bible, even though God opposes the proud or the one who rejects Him, God still expects His people to show love towards unbelievers because He himself is merciful and benevolent towards them. In this passage, we learn how to love unbelievers and also those people who intentionally persecute us.
What will you do when you are persecuted and your life is at stake especially because of your obedience to Jesus Christ? Most of us can try to be diplomatic and save our lives if we’re summoned by the government authorities. In this passage, God describes how a true disciple remains to faithful to Him in the midst of persecution.
Bible keeps reminding us again and again to trust in the Lord especially when we cannot control the outcome. Sometimes we fail to trust in the Lord when we are uncertain about the future. In this passage, we learn how to trust God during impossible situations.
We live in a culture that is very hostile to Christianity, perhaps increasingly becoming hostile. This is also because the Lord Himself prophesied about persecution. The Lord prophesied about it because the world was already hostile to Him. In this passage, the Lord teaches us how we can endure persecution.
Every Christian is called to suffer and to expect persecution in this life. The Bibles places such expectation because God knows that we live in a sinful world among fallen people, who do not like to worship The true and living God of the Bible. In this passage, we learn how we can respond during persecution.
Church history has a record of martyrdom so prevalent that a person’s genuine faith in Christ was verified by how much they were willing to suffer and be persecuted for Christ sake while witnessing for Him every second of their lives. So, what kind of character traits should a Christian show forth in the church and in the world especially in times of spiritual adversity? Listen to the sermon to learn the marks of a healthy Christian.
The unity of the church refers to the union of the people of God, bound to Him and to one another by the gospel of Jesus Christ. It’s that One blood which saves God’s people, and this same truth produces unity that transcends race, culture, age, and social status. Gospel, when truly embraced, will transform us and pursuing unity among the saints becomes an inevitable reality. In this passage, we learn how pursuing unity in the Kingdom of God is part of gospel witness, and also necessary to experience joy in Christian life.
There is one prevailing truth which the Bible keeps reminding Christians about, that is our eternal fellowship with God. This is not just our destiny, but it is also our longing. We were created with a sense of eternity in our hearts, which can only be realized in actuality when we behold God on the last day and enter into eternal fellowship with God. In this passage, the Apostle Paul explains why and how we need to keep groaning for our eternal home, which is God Himself.
Christian life is not devoid of suffering. It is not always filled with happiness. Christian life involves suffering because of the sin we carry with us, and also the sin and evil we see around us. Sometimes, this reality of suffering and hardship can be daunting. But this is where a great comfort lies, because it is God who enables us to persevere, assuring us that our suffering is momentary. In this passage, we learn how to endure suffering with eternity in mind.
Elisabeth Elliot on suffering once said ― “Whatever is in the cup that God is offering to me, whether it be pain and sorrow and suffering and grief along with the many more joys, I’m willing to take it because I trust Him.” This needs to be the response of every Christian in times of suffering, because hardships are inevitable in this life. In this passage, we learn how suffering should enable us to trust in God, an expression of our humility and dependency on Him alone.