Wanderers

Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented-- of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth. (Hebrews 11:36-38, NKJV).

This world is not our home. We, as Christians, are sojourners here, pilgrims, ambassadors, light, and salt, but not permanent residents. For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, (Philippians 3:20, NKJV).

We are the descendants of a long line of wanderers, bought with a price, redeemed from this world and the slavery of sin by the blood of Christ. [For we wait] for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God. (Hebrews 11:10, NKJV).

Losing sight of our true home is a sure prescription for intense heartache. If we hold on too tightly to the things, and people, of this world, we loosen our grasp on Christ our Savior, and that is dangerous, for He is our only true anchor. The world, and the things of the world, are passing away.

It will burn, and its elements will melt in a fervent heat. It is made of stuff which can be shaken and destroyed. 

Look around. 

So for our own sanity and peace, we should devote everything we are and have to that which cannot be shaken, to that which is eternal.

In many ways, that means we recognize that however precious or beautiful or delightful - or horrible - our temporal circumstances may be, they are by no means more than a momentary light joy - or affliction - in comparison to the unending span of heavenly - or hell-bound - existence in the life to come.

As His wanderers on the earth, we understand the simple truth that humans, who are made in God's image, cannot be unmade. It is NOT you are born, you live, and you die in oblivion. 

No, you are immortal, whether you want to be or not, and you WILL survive physical death. The only question, an ancient one posed since the Fall of Man, is WHERE will you survive; Heaven or Hell?

This terrifying knowledge enables our state of mind while alive on this planet to be that of wanderers, not seeking a homeland, for we know where we are destined through faith in God's Son, but following His lead through this wilderness as our Great Shepherd.

“And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. (Matthew 10:28, NKJV).

In a practical sense, it also follows that, like all those saints who lived and died before us - that great cloud of witness spoken of in the next chapter, we realize that nothing in this life is worth renouncing or forfeiting our heavenly citizenship. Nothing. 

This is not justification for Christian pacifism or inaction, for we should fervently endeavor to always do and fight for what is right, as the Lord leads each one of us individually. But this is an essential component of realizing why the truth makes us free. 

The ultimate result of the struggle is already known. God wins. His Son has already been victorious on the Cross, making us, His followers, more than conquerors.

Nevertheless, we fight the good fight. We run the race. And we do so for the glory of the Lord.

But as His wanderers, immersed in His truth, we are protected from the despair of making our allegiance to the world.

[For] the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever. (1 John 2:17, NKJV).

Of Whom the World Was Not Worthy

Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented-- of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth. (Hebrews 11:36-38, NKJV).

There are very few places in the entire Bible where humanity is seen in a positive light. God's view of fallen mankind is:

As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one.” “Their throat is an open tomb; With their tongues they have practiced deceit”; “The poison of asps is under their lips”; “Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.” “Their feet are swift to shed blood; Destruction and misery are in their ways; And the way of peace they have not known.” “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” (Romans 3:10-18, NKJV).

But here in Hebrews, we see a very different picture of those whose hearts and lives are wholly the Lord's through faith, and it is the obverse of the implied answer to Jesus' question, “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? (Mark 8:36, NKJV).

One soul is infinitely precious, and far outweighs the value of the whole world, rendering the world unworthy (of insufficient value) for even one soul given over to God. Allegiance to Christ, Who is superior to all things and persons, imputes to His ally, His value. Not that we are anything in ourselves, but in Him, we are beyond price.

This is the import of these wonderful passages in Hebrews defining and exampling the profound transformation of faith. Yes, from the world's perspective, we are inhabitants of a fantasy, a realm of wishful thinking.

For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence. But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God--and righteousness and sanctification and redemption-- (1 Corinthians 1:26-30, NKJV).

Self-worth is an illusion outside of faith in Jesus.

The world believes we need to learn to love ourselves. This is foolishness akin to the delusion that every day in every way things are getting better or better. We do love ourselves, beyond measure. It is God whom we need to learn to love, and that can only happen when our heart is created anew through faith in His Son. When He replaces our heart of stone with a heart of flesh.

Why God has chosen to redeem inveterate rebels is a mystery, but that He has is the epitome of mercy and grace. And it is no small thing to have done, requiring the birth and death of His beloved Son, the eternal Second Person of the Trinity, who became fully one of us, to die in our place, so that, in faith, we might become fully one with Him.

That is what makes the world unworthy.

Our natural view of things is very different from the truth. In our spiritually deadened state, we cannot see through the eyes of faith. We are blinded beyond any remedy within our power. Only in Him can we say, as the man in John 9 requiring the Lord's miraculous touch, I was blind but now I see.

While not all hatred directed at Christians stems from the world's enmity with God, for there are many of us thoroughly obnoxious in our own right, we are guaranteed hatred from the world the more He increases within us and we decrease.

More of Him and less of me is a formula that equates to eternal blessing, but temporal trials.

Whatever the world throws at us, in the end, does not matter. It is an unworthy opponent, and never be victorious, because we are more than conquerors through Him who loves us.

Destitute, Afflicted, Tormented

Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented-- of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth. (Hebrews 11:36-38, NKJV).

Anyone who seriously claims that Christians are guaranteed a picnic in this life once they come to faith in Christ must be Biblically illiterate.

There is no such promise. In fact, Scripture affirms the opposite to be true, and the last 2000 years of Church history unequivocally bears that out.

From the Psalms, to the Prophets, to the Gospels, and throughout the New Testament epistles, pain, suffering and persecution are the foundational ingredients of the Christian walk. As is joy unspeakable, fellowship with the saints and with the Father through His Son, and peace that passes understanding.

God makes no excuses, and accepts responsibility, but in this take heart: there is always purpose in a believer's pain. 

Either correction, refinement, or empathic identification are in view. You are either heading in the wrong direction and God is compelling a course change, or being purified through trials, or experiencing affliction and loss so that you can provide comfort to others. Or perhaps all three at once. 

God is nothing if not brilliantly efficient.

In first century Israel, based on long tradition, the formula was this: if you were not prosperous in every way you were obviously guilty of some sin. This made for very convenient class warfare. The rich were deemed righteous. The poor unrighteous.

This was not based on anything other than wishful thinking, and certainly not on Scripture. Yes, it's true that blessings were promised if The Law was kept, and curses if not, but it was (and is) also true that poverty, degradation and suffering would always be present, even among the Children of Israel. Hence all the Mosaic provisions regarding charity and support for the poor and the orphan and the widow.

Don't think for a second that comfort and ease in this life is indicative of pleasing God. Riches and luxury are fecund cultures for temptation and sin.

On the other hand, discomfort and unease are also not indicators of holiness, for it is the tenor of the heart in all things that matters - its purity and devotion and trust in God.

On this one tenet be sure: if you follow Jesus with your whole heart you will not be loved by the world. Or possibly even those in your own household, but so what? Loving the world and being loved by the world means you are at enmity with God. Is it really such a profoundly difficult question as to which side sanity demands allegiance?

But sin and unbelief breeds stubbornness, stupidity and rebellion. The longer you remain an enemy of God the harder your heart will become until, in the end, you will be unable to choose the path to life.

Today is the day of salvation. And humility. And a broken and contrite heart. Suffering for a little while now does not compare with the glories that will be yours the age to come, but first and foremost you must believe that God is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

In a society where infanticide in the womb is not only legal, but considered a right, where the venerable and ancient institution established by God in marriage is being derided and undermined by legal compulsion to accept what is Biblically unacceptable, in a culture where good is called evil and evil good - those who stand against this tide of anti-God morality and philosophy will win no popularity contests - and will suffer.

It is a given, but again, so what?

If this life, with all its vagaries and inevitable losses, is all there is, then eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die. 

But you know in your heart of hearts that this life and this world is NOT all there is. From the moment you could think, imagine and dream with the innocence of childhood, you knew that there was more to existence than could be measured or described. You knew!

But the years have desensitized you to that marvelous connectedness with things unseen. You have become worldly - a huge mistake.

For unless you become like a little child you will in no way enter into the Kingdom of God. And always in this life, children are the most vulnerable and can become the victims of immense suffering, made more intense by their very inability to either defend or protect themselves.

Yes, beloved, do not be surprised by the fiery trials, and, in faith, count it all joy, for your God is with you.

Forever.

To Live is Christ, To Die is Gain

Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented-- of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth. (Hebrews 11:36-38, NKJV).

Stephen, the first martyr of the infant church, was stoned, with Saul, who was to become the Apostle Paul, consenting to his death, and looking on, holding the cloaks of the stoners lest these get soiled by blood (Stephen's) and sweat (their own). If ancient Jewish tradition is accurate, Isaiah, the prolific Old Testament prophet whose tenure spanned several Kings of Judah, was placed in a hollow tree trunk by Manasseh, the mostly evil son of good King Hezekiah, and sawn in two.

James ben Zebedee, the brother of John the Beloved, was slain with the sword by King Herod to gain favor with the Jews. And all believers throughout all history were tempted by the world, their own flesh, and by Satan or his minions.

This is representative history for all Christians, and is hardly a vacation brochure for ease and comfort, health and wealth, or position and prestige. Jesus said count the cost before following Me. He promised tribulation and persecution. He promised hatred by the world. He promised division and contention within households, communities and nations.

He also promised power to live as He Himself did, and eternal gains that could not compare with mere temporal treasures. And for all loss suffered here in this age, rewards beyond measure in the next, and above all He promised Himself, to never leave us nor forsake us.

There is a void in the human heart that can only be filled by God. It was placed there on purpose so that fallen creatures, even in the utter depravity of their fallenness, would perhaps seek after the only Thing that satisfies - the Lord God Himself.

What is the essence of Man? For what purpose does he exist?

If you have faith in the ever changing wisdom of the world, you must believe, despite all evidence to the contrary, that the essence of Man, is material. That he exists because of chance over time, an accident of circumstances and lightning. His purpose is to achieve self-fulfillment, while doing what's best for himself and others because that is the right thing to do, until death, at which point you are returned through natural processes of decay into the component star-stuff from which you were made.

Alternatively, if your worldly faith extends unto the unseen forces around you, you may believe, again without evidence, that the essence of Man is spiritual energy, whose goal is to become one with All That Is - to be absorbed into an undifferentiated mass of consciousness with no beginning or end, and no identifiable purpose except a state of person-less Being.

Or you may hold to some form of religion, based on a cafeteria-like selection of tenets from various faiths, liberally flavored with your own imperfect thinking and self-serving imagination. The purpose of existence under this form of delusional faith is thinly disguised self-aggrandizement and glorification. In short, your well-being and happiness is why the Universe exists, and all things "not you" are there "for you", or best eliminated.

In Reality, it is God, the Author of existence who has determined, and revealed, Man's essence and purpose, and it is this: to be in intimate, eternal fellowship with Him, as an utterly unique individual with free will, moral agency, intelligence, emotion, and physically endless life.

We were created for His good pleasure. And His will and purpose for us is, by His design, the most glorious, satisfying, and good ongoing outcome of life in His Son.

The evidence for His reality is overwhelming. The very celestial heavens declare His glory and power. The irreducible complexity of even the simplest life heralds His infinite intelligence, and the Cross of Christ demonstrates His unending love.

When we escape from the realm of death into the Kingdom of Life through faith in His Son, whose life and ministry changed all of human history forever, we go from darkness into light, from futility into glorious purpose, from infinite isolation to eternal relationship.

And this transition, while only completed at our physical death or His return, is amply evidenced and accessible in the here and now.

That is why the Apostle Paul declared unequivocally, to live is Christ and to die is gain.

That is why these examples of faith in Hebrews 11 are presented to us as beings of whom the world was not worthy.

These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them. (Hebrews 11:13-16, NKJV).

Chains and Imprisonment

Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented-- of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth. (Hebrews 11:36-38, NKJV).

Chains keep you from acting in your full capacity while being among the company of others. Think stocks and pillory. Prison keeps you from that, as well, but also isolates you from the company of others. Combined, chains and imprisonment are doubly inhibiting, depriving you of virtually all freedom of action and choice.

Christians, especially those referenced above, of whom the world was not worthy, have experienced these deprivations physically in horrid circumstances without recourse or hope of release or escape. In certain parts of the world today, men, women and even children are incarcerated for no other reason than that their faith is considered dangerous, or criminal, or blasphemous. 

Jail and worse than jail occur ALL the time to devout believers in lands less "democratic" throughout the planet. Christian martyrdom is, indeed, NOT a thing of the past. Unconscionable persecution, forced familial separation, torture and death are common while also being unheralded in the media. Few are aware of, or take the time to think about, how precious is the West's freedom of religion.

Yet, know this: God is in control. Does that mean He causes these persecutions to happen? It is clear from Scripture that such inhumane treatment of His children is forewarned repeatedly. Jesus taught that persecutions will come, that those who endure with godliness and faith are "blessed" and will receive a "crown of life", and that in this world as believers we are promised tribulation. There is no escape.

And while the more physical manifestations of these trials are often thankfully rare in some societies, their mental-emotional-spiritual counterparts are not.

Whether imprisoned in jail or by chronic disease, bound by physical chains or emotional ones, no true child of God will go without experiencing these torments. Without doubt, these are part of a life of faith.

So then, is God responsible?

The answer can be none other than, yes. But note that "responsible" is not the same as "causing". The Living Lord of the Universe is incapable of causing evil. That is solely the purview of man and fallen angel. When God cursed, rather than destroyed Creation in response to Adam's sin and Lucifer's rebellion, evil entered into existence and was allowed to thrive. 

Thus one very real explanation for all the troubles of this life is God's mercy.

One day, that mercy will be exhausted and judgment will be executed, and evil will be done away with forever, but until then, sin and evil must abound, else no flesh would be allowed to live.

Now, these same evils happen to unbelievers, too. But for them, if they persist in unbelief to death, these tribulations serve no purpose. I can think of nothing more tragic then knowing that the horrors of this life, for those who reject Christ's free offer of salvation through faith, are merely a brief prelude to an eternal torment.

But for believers, all such evil does have one or more of three purposes: refinement, correction, and/or empathetic identification.

Being refined in the fire of tribulation is what strengthens faith, character, and Christ-likeness, in preparing us for our true citizenship in Heaven. The dross of our old natures must be burned away in order for us to be purified as fine gold. It is no surprise that repeatedly in the Psalms and Proverbs we see the uncompromising declaration that in suffering, we are drawn closer to God.

In addition, as a loving Father, God must correct His children so that if they no longer hear that small voice within, more undeniable corrective measures must be taken. In the very next chapter of this marvelous epistle we will see that if we are without divine chastening, we are illegitimate and not sons (or daughters).

Finally, in order to comfort others in the way that we are comforted by God, we must know the depths of the same suffering. This is God's design for the church, so sometimes when you are suffering it is because He wants you to be able to empathically identify with another's loss or pain or sorrow.

These three purposes are clearly outlined in Scripture, and we can take great comfort, encouragement and strength, even, or perhaps especially, in the midst of our greatest trials. No such mitigation is possible for those who have rejected Christ.

Know this, beloved of God, no matter how inexplicable, painful, or devastating your chains and imprisonment, because you are His, these are working towards a far greater weight of glory than you can possibly imagine.

By faith we know this to be true, and the great cloud of witnesses that have gone before us are ample testimony. Hebrews was written so that we would know… and believe.

A Prayer for Strength and Encouragement

Lord, I confess I want nothing more than ease and comfort out of life. 

I want neither worry nor sorrow, nor pain, and I especially do not want to face those dark and long tunnels of fear about the future. 

I want to count on all my tomorrows as if I am already immortal, and  go on living as I am, as if I am already perfected.

I especially do not want to suffer.

Yet I know in my heart that You have more than this in mind for me, and if you were to grant my fervent prayers for these things I would remain unfit for eternity in Heaven.

I would be as that man who looks in the mirror and turns, and immediately forgets what he has seen, and forgets what manner of man he really is.

I know from Your precious and life-sustaining Word that You will use even my weakness and doubt for Your glory, though I dread that long trek through the Valley.

I must trust that You will lead me, and that Your ways are perfect.

I know I am not alone and that Your grace is sufficient, but that knowledge does not prevent my heart from racing and my thoughts from spiraling into frenetic uncertainty. nor from second guessing, nor from the  deepest longing for relief.

I long not to lean on my own fretful and nightmarish understanding, but to trust in You with all my heart.

I face that insurmountable wall of mortality that is my sole understanding of what it means to be alive, and in the darkness I, like your servant Job, wish that I might never have been born.

Yet I know that I can do all things through my Christ who strengthens me.

I must trust that what is for your Glory is also for my greatest good.

I must trust that You are who You say You are - my God and my Father.

I must trust that Your Son was sent to save me from all that my sin deserves.

I must trust that You hear my prayers and love me, and will give me no more than I can bear.

I have no reason to doubt You, and every reason to know that You are for me and not against me; that Your thoughts toward me are more than I can number.

But oh my Lord and Savior Jesus, sometimes when the veil is lifted and I see all that could come to pass, I tremble in abject terror, and cry out like a bereft child.

Hear my cry, O God.

You know my inmost parts. You know the number of my days, before there was even one.

You know my going out and coming in and my ways. And you love me with an everlasting love.

Draw close to Your child now, my God. Comfort me and strengthen me.

For without You there is nothing. And worse than nothing.

Scourge

Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented-- of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth. (Hebrews 11:36-38, NKJV).

The most famous and significant recorded act of human torture was inflicted upon Jesus by the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate. The account, un-sensationalized and succinct, appears in all four Gospels, and is referred to in several other New Testament citations.

This heinous episode included public mockery, verbal abuse, spitting, beatings, scourging with a flagellum to the point of having His skin stripped down to the bone, and ended with horrific crucifixion.

Subsequent to His death and Resurrection, Christ's followers were subject to similar fates, all at the behest of religious leaders, civil authorities, or riotous mobs. Underlying each instance was the manifestation of a Satanic strategy to make faith in Christ too costly to maintain.

In reality, and in opposition to the intent, what these despicable acts proved is that anything other than faith in Christ is a hopeless palliative in the face of eternal condemnation in Hell. 

That was the perspective of those martyrs mentioned here in this verse. They withstood all, by the grace of God, because they believed that what awaited them in Heaven so outweighed the manner of their physical deaths that endurance was the only real option available to them. 

The alternative was literally unimaginable.

Were they just plain crazy, dying hideously for what much of the world views a myth, or an allegory, or a pious fabrication? Today, an honest skeptic must concede these martyrs' intensity of belief, since it is difficult to picture a man dying for something he knows to be a lie. So the only conclusions left are insanity, or true faith.

Of those two, insanity is the least likely, especially in regard to those victims for whom we have actual written and historical evidence. If they were lunatics, there is no corroborating indication in the documented contemporary accounts, or in the martyrs' own writings, where they exist.

Logically, that leaves only faith as an explanation. Now it is admittedly possible to sincerely believe error, but that then begs the question as to what would motivate others to follow in such a risky venture after being warned of the possible consequences, as here in the Book of Hebrews? 

If the beliefs were so dead wrong, and potentially dangerous, answer these questions. Why are these beliefs so persistent and indestructible? Why have they impacted so much of human history?

One final question. Why is Biblical Christianity so emphatically despised by an evil and bloodthirsty world? Its tenets do not condone or teach violent conquest. It commands love and help, mercy and forgiveness, and despises a sense of personal superiority. It is, in an inarguable sense, harmless.

Except its truths, and its Divine Source, act as a scourge to the evil of this world, not by force but by drastically reformed hearts and minds. And in return, like a schoolyard bully, the world desires to scourge back in the only way that banal evil can - grossly, physically, bloodily.

Jesus warns of these very things. The world hated Him. It will also hate His followers.

The world persecuted Him. It will also persecute us.

Christ comes into the hearts, souls and minds of His children by faith and changes them fundamentally, miraculously, eternally. He ransoms us from the world so that we are no longer of the world, but only in it, and that for merely a little while.

In the end, all those who desire to live godly will suffer persecution. In the end, all who are in the world will have tribulation.

But we, like the faithful saints who died before us, are to be of good cheer, because our Lord has overcome the world.

Held in Contempt

Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented-- of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth. (Hebrews 11:36-38, NKJV).

It is unlikely, in this sophisticated and oh-so-tolerant era, that a Bible-believing Christian well be held in high-esteem by the world. In fact, you can almost be completely assured that such a person, however pure and harmless, will be held, not in high regard, but contempt.  

And the more vocal that person is about his or her faith, however circumspect and sensitive, the more this contempt will accrue, like compound interest on a bad debt.

It has always been so. 

These are what the writer of Hebrews terms, trials of mockings - scathing, scoffing ad hominem attacks on a believer's intelligence, ancestry, character, and humanity.

Know this, however, that while there are undoubtedly obnoxious, hypocritical, contentious, and cold-hearted so-called Christians out there, who deserve such scorn from the world, the vast majority of these attacks are not truly aimed at the person, but at Christ. 

And He feels these attacks, as we discover in one the earliest accounts of persecution in Scripture - the Apostle Paul before his conversion and renaming, on the road to Damascus to help put and end to this upstart Christian sect.

He saw a great light, and was knocked off his high horse. Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” (Acts 9:4, NKJV).

Note the Lord's intimate identification with His followers. When you persecute us, who are largely powerless, you are, in reality, persecuting Him who has all power and authority, and will one day cause every knee to bow, and every tongue to confess to God. (Ro 14:11; Php 2:10).

He is the One held in foolish and insane contempt. He is the One who is the object of thinly veiled hatred. And He is the One who will, on That Day, judge the world and hold each soul accountable for every single word and deed, and thought and intent of the heart.

The rebellious God-haters, for that is what those who hate you are, at heart, are furious at the impending judgment, and they vent that hatred and terror upon you, as if to pretend their fear and unacknowledged guilt are your fault.

When you are mocked for Christ's sake, and not for any evil you have done, you are standing in a long line of venerable saints who have lived and been targeted beforehand. This is good to know, because it makes the inevitable self-questioning and self-doubt less intense.

The Lord, through His Word, desires that you know these things for your own sake, to ease the feelings of betrayal and hurt.

Mockery is a cruel practice, especially when it comes without warning, and from those closest to you, perhaps even in your own household. It can bring its victim to humiliated tears, sometimes as hard to bear as physical pain.

If perpetrated enough, it can harden the heart of the victim, and become a self-fulfilling prophecy, so that he takes on the vile characteristics attributed to him. Or it can lead to abandonment, isolation and bitterness, such that the Christian is no longer a witness to the world.

And that is the real purpose - to get you to shut up about Jesus; to shut your mouth and cease condemning what the world holds near and dear to its evil heart.

Don't succumb. The very people who come at you the hardest are the ones who would benefit most from the truth.

Remember Saul the Persecutor who became Paul the Apostle, and his encouraging exhortation:

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:13, NKJV).

A Better Resurrection

Women received their dead raised to life again. And others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. (Hebrews 11:35, NKJV).

The Bible is crystal clear: we are all immortal; we will all be resurrected. 

However far removed these truths may seem from daily life on this planet is irrelevant. The real question, the question posed to each of us by Jesus Himself is, will your immortality be the result of the resurrection of life - the better resurrection, or the resurrection of condemnation - unthinkable torment in Hell (John 5:29)?

It is also no trivial matter that torture is included in this verse of Hebrew's faith chapter, and explicitly associated with endurance and deliverance.

In this life, on this fallen world, there are innumerable forms of torture, which in the present context must mean purposely inflicted pain. There are the unspeakable tortures perpetrated against believers throughout history, and even today in some parts of the world, and then there are the tortures we inflict upon ourselves. Add to that the torturous uncertainty of life in an environment currently ruled and fueled by the Devil, and the basket of woes is overflowing.

Heroes of the faith qualify for that designation by enduring whatever this God-hating, Satan-controlled world throws at them. And by enduring even what they throw at themselves. All sources of torture are used by the enemy to destroy faith.

It makes perfect sense. If faith is the manner of entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven, then undermining that faith is essential strategy in the Long War Against God. Destroy a man's faith, and you have a writhing immortal corpse forever suffering in the flames of Hades.

Endurance is the definitive proof of true, internal, essential, transformative faith. Anybody can say he or she has faith, but the proof is in the twofold declaration of how a professing believer lives… and dies.

In fact, dying is the common thread in Hebrews 11. It is mentioned at least eight times (Hebrews 11:4,5,12,13,19,21,22,35), in different contexts, all serving to illuminate some aspect of the relationship between faith and death.

Christ came to die, and, in dying, conquered death, to release those, who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

Torture in this regard always includes the dangled prospect of death, and most specifically, a drawn out and painful death - the kind used to coerce fundamental changes in behavior and belief.

Few of us in the West have undergone the deliberate torture inflicted upon prisoners of war, or victims of heinous crime, or martyrs of the faith, but that in no way means we escape all forms of torture. And how we respond to it applies here and now to our lives in ways similar to verse 35 above. Do we accept temporary deliverance or endure to a better resurrection? Do we give up and take the easy way out, or do we go on?

What loving parent has not been assailed by the torturous anxiety over a child in dire circumstances? What human, young or old, has not been subject to the torture of real or imagined loss, or humiliation, or lack of safety, or any other of a billion horrors that are part and parcel of being alive? What person would not be tempted to accept any way of escape?

And how each responds, ultimately, to that torture is indicative of what and how deeply each believes.

Sadly, whether we acknowledge it or not, physical life in this present age hangs on a gossamer thread. Our statistical chances of survival hinge on the most ephemeral, and uncontrollable "accidents" of fate: genetics, socioeconomic background, geography, culture, diet, and what the world sees as "luck".

But as Christians, we must believe that there is no such thing as "luck" or "accident" in an existence governed by an all-powerful sovereign Deity who rules over every conceivable minutiae of all of Creation.

And we must also conclude that there is a purpose, a divinely ordained and good purpose, in every event. We may not comprehend it this side of the grave, but if we believe that to be true, then we, like Paul must be persuaded that "that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." 

And "that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

This is the power of faith in earthly life, being more than a conqueror of those ancient and implacable enemies of life and peace, being able to know that despite what it may seem, we are always in the hands of a loving God.

If we truly believed what the Bible says about God and His relationship with us, His children by faith, then it is not that we will never be afraid, or doubtful, or weak, or anxious, but that ultimately those fears, doubts, weakness and torturous anxieties will not defeat us.