Matthew 16:21 - 28

This is one of the famous moments Peter puts his foot in his mouth. He genuinely thought he understood God’s plan for God restoring His Kingdom. While his spontaneous outburst is a bit brash, it comes from an honest place. Perhaps it is a good episode for us to ponder because I wonder, “Do we have the right expectation for the Kingdom.

24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.25 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, and whoever will lose his life for my sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life? Or what will a man give in exchange for his life? 27 For the Son of Man will come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and then he will render to everyone according to his deeds.

I want to dig in here because I believe these verses speak volumes to our own day, to a day when we, who have chosen to follow Jesus as the Absolute, are struggling.

In the West, many Christians feel as is the world is crazy. Worse than crazy. We feel as if the forces in power are actively seeking to throw out God. Many actions at the local, state, federal, and international levels are nothing short of an affront to Almighty God. 

There is now a frequent question couched in an all too familiar lament—how do we live in such evil times?

Let me put a sharper point on it: If we live in a country that is actively seeking to throw off God, do we really obey the government?

Take the United States for example. Christians readily acknowledge separation of Church and State. However, we correctly understand that idea to be about not having a state-funded and run church/denomination. We embrace freedom of religion and cherish the idea that we, as a nation, live under a sovereign God. We believe it is the Lord who gives and the Lord who takes away—not the government.

We have for years sat under Romans 13:1-7. Today we ask, “How do we live in a country with a godless government?”

There are four-steps to my answer.

The first is in line with what I shared regarding Matthew 16:16-18 and Peter’s profession that Jesus is the Christ. We must first understand the real choice put before us. It is not bigoted Absolutism versus gracious Relativism. No, it is a choice between living in, through and for God OR living in, through and for Man.

Let’s say you choose to live in, through and for God. Great! What does it look like? Is it the church?

In this second bit I highlighted that range of communities that can live in, through and for God. Further, when they do, they prosper as the Bible describes prospering. 

The third bit is to stand on and lean into the sovereignty of God. Most Christians read the Old Testament and completely understand that God’s timing is long. He allows evil king after evil king to completely mess up the nation of Israel. There are good kings that offer brief respites, but it never lasts. Further, he sends pagan nations, the likes of Babylon and Assyria, to punish his people for their godlessness. 

We seem to have no problem with reading about how God behaved that way in the Old Testament. We don’t seem to make the connection today.

Imagine the faithful Jew living in those days. Read again the prophets and their lament as they watch it all unfold. The sad and sober point is that as followers of God, we are living in his cosmic drama. We know how it ends. We also know that the “middle acts” of the play are hard to watch, and even harder to be a part of.

Which leads to this fourth bit which is, “When I find myself in a community, nation, etc. that is not living in, through and for God, what do I do? The Bible in fact tells me to obey rulers.

This is especially difficult for followers of Jesus who are living through a change from living in a community that once sought to live in, through and for God—and is now hellbent on abandoning him. The blatant twisting of Scripture by religious leaders to justify themselves no longer leaves us stunned. We have witnessed so much distortion, now we merely shake our heads. Our concern for those swallowing false teaching is reaching a boil. The outright offense to God smacks us in our face.

Here is where Jesus, right as he is proclaimed Messiah, right as he announces the church—lays out what our expectation should be. We should expect not heaven on earth. No, we should expect suffering. We should remind ourselves that he calls us to take up our cross. 

When we have lived in a country, or a church, or a community, where a bit of the kingdom has been present, when we see it being lost—we grieve. We must remind ourselves that following Jesus means conflict with comfort and involves self-denial, even forfeiting our lives. We don’t often preach much on this subject.

So what do we do? How do we live? We follow Scripture.

Scripture in this regard is bounded by two limits: Romans 13:1-7 and Acts 5:29.

In Romans 13, we are told to be subject to authorities and in Act 5 we are told to personally not sin against God—even it that lands us in jail or worse.

In the United States I think this means we continue to wage the battle. We educate ourselves on the issues and the powerbrokers of the day. We get involved in the political struggle. And this will cost us. It will cost of money, friends and influence. It will mean we may have to leave certain groups, or if we stay, we not stay-silently. 

If we are personally forced to a limit, to choose God’s way, or not, we choose God’s way. For each of us, where the limit is, is a personal choice.

This seems terribly hard, in part because we are coming out of a season where we as a nation largely obeyed God – in our churches and in our country. Yet we know the following: God will not bless our sin. He will discipline us.

I sat at dinner in Shanghai with a number of Chinese friends. I, the American, was lamenting to new tougher restrictions the government was proposing. An older Chinese man was with us—a man who had spent many years in prison for his faith. He said, “These laws are not from the government. They are from God. Chinese Christians are not tough enough for the persecution that is coming. God is using the government to make us tougher, so when real persecution comes, we will be ready to take the Gospel to the world.”

I believe that was a “drop the mic” moment. He is right.

My conception of what God is up to is way too small. I lament the loss I am experiencing way more than I lament larger injustices happening in my own day around the world. God’s vision goes beyond:

o   A perfect church,

o   A perfect country,

o   A perfect denomination…

All of those are bound in time and space. In Christ Jesus God is reconciling the world to himself – not bound by time or space. 

We like Peter are in a constant struggle with our own flesh and the world – and we as followers of Jesus will not see the completion of the task short this side of eternity or this side of the Lord’s return – and yet we who cling to the Absolute, to Jesus, the Way, the Truth, the Life – will live with Him and all creation forever.

One of the way through, as we take up our cross, is to have the right expectation.