SUFFERING FOR THE CAUSE OF TRUTH

1 Peter 1:14 But and if ye suffer for righteousness’ sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled;

Matthew Henry Commentary

To suffer for the cause of truth, a good conscience, or any part of a Christian’s duty, is a great honour;

the delight of it is greater than the torment;

the honour more than the disgrace;

and the gain much greater than the loss.

HE BROUGHT ME TO THE BANQUETING HOUSE

A comforting word for the Lord’s suffering children …

Song of Solomon 2:4 He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love.

Barnes Commentary:

His banner – … the bride, transplanted from a lowly station to new scenes of unaccustomed splendor, finds support and safety in the known attachment of her beloved. His “love” is her “banner.” 

Gill Commentary:

He brought me to the banqueting house, … Or “into” it (q). The “house of wine” (r), as it is literally in the original;

and may design the Gospel feast in the house of God, where there is plenty of the wine of Gospel truths, and provisions of rich food, with which believers are sweetly refreshed and delightfully regaled:

and his banner over me was love; signifying, that she was brought into the banqueting house in a grand, stately, and majestic manner, with flying colours; the motto on which inscribed was “love”;

THE LORD IS MY MIRACLE

Awesome!

Jehovahnissi – The Lord Is My Banner

Exodus 17:15 And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovahnissi:

Gill Commentary

and he called the name of it Jehovahnissi: which signifies either “the Lord is my miracle” who wrought a miracle for them in giving them the victory over Amalek, as well as, through smiting the rock with the rod, brought out water from thence for the refreshment of the people, their children and cattle;

or ”the Lord is my banner“: alluding to the hands of Moses being lifted up with the rod therein, as a banner displayed, under which Joshua and Israel fought, and got the victory.

This may fitly be applied to Christ, who is both altar, sacrifice, and priest, and who is the true Jehovah, and after so called; and who is lifted up as a banner, standard, or ensign in the everlasting Gospel, in order to gather souls unto him, …

- and a direction to them where they shall stand, when to march, and whom they shall follow;

- and to distinguish them from all other bands and companies,

- and for the protection of them from all their enemies, see Isaiah 11:10.

- These words were inscribed upon the altar, or the altar was called the altar of Jehovahnissi, in memory of what was here done;

THE HILL OF COMFORT IS THE HILL OF CALVARY

“The place which is called Calvary.

Luke 23:33 And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left.

The hill of comfort is the hill of Calvary; the house of consolation is built with the wood of the cross; the temple of heavenly blessing is founded upon the riven rock-riven by the spear which pierced his side. No scene in sacred history ever gladdens the soul like Calvary’s tragedy.

Is it not strange, the darkest hour

That ever dawned on sinful earth,

Should touch the heart with softer power,

For comfort, than an angel’s mirth?

That to the Cross the mourner’s eye should turn,

Sooner than where the stars of Bethlehem burn?

Light springs from the midday-midnight of Golgotha, and every herb of the field blooms sweetly beneath the shadow of the once accursed tree. In that place of thirst, grace hath dug a fountain which ever gusheth with waters pure as crystal, each drop capable of alleviating the woes of mankind. You who have had your seasons of conflict, will confess that it was not at Olivet that you ever found comfort, not on the hill of Sinai, nor on Tabor; but Gethsemane, Gabbatha, and Golgotha have been a means of comfort to you. The bitter herbs of Gethsemane have often taken away the bitters of your life; the scourge of Gabbatha has often scourged away your cares, and the groans of Calvary yields us comfort rare and rich. We never should have known Christ’s love in all its heights and depths if he had not died; nor could we guess the Father’s deep affection if he had not given his Son to die. The common mercies we enjoy all sing of love, just as the sea-shell, when we put it to our ears, whispers of the deep sea whence it came; but if we desire to hear the ocean itself, we must not look at every-day blessings, but at the transactions of the crucifixion. He who would know love, let him retire to Calvary and see the Man of sorrows die.”

Spurgeon

OF SECONDARY IMPORTANCE

“Live near to Jesus, Christian, and it is a matter of secondary importance whether thou livest on the mountain of honor or in the valley of humiliation. Living near to Jesus, thou art covered with the wings of God, and underneath thee are the everlasting arms.”

Spurgeon

BE OF GOOD COURAGE

Psalm 27:14 Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.

Gill Bible Commentary:

Be of good courage;

the saints have need of courage, considering …

the enemies they have to grapple with;

the corruptions of their own hearts,

the enemies of a man’s own house;

the worst of all, Satan, and his principalities and powers;

and men of the world, and a world of them:

and they have great reason, notwithstanding, be of good courage, since God is for them;

Christ is the Captain of their salvation;

the Holy Spirit, that is in them, is greater than he that is in the world;

angels encamp around them;

they are provided with the whole armour of God;

they are engaged in a good cause, are sure of victory, and shall wear the crown of righteousness;

and it follows, …

and he shall strengthen thine heart;

that is, the Lord will do it, as he has promised to them that wait on him.

THE GREATEST TRIAL …

I have experienced family estrangement because of my Gospel witness. At the moment it is the cause of my deepest pain. Even so I have no regrets because the Gospel seed was planted and it can only do them good. I pray and hope that seed will bloom one day before it’s too late and hell will be their only portion. 

Mark 10:28-30 Then Peter began to say unto him, Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee. And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel’s, But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.

Matthew Henry Bible Commentary:

The greatest trial of a good man’s constancy is, when love to Jesus calls him to give up love to friends and relatives. Even when gainers by Christ, let them still expect to suffer for him, till they reach heaven.

Let us learn contentment in a low state, and to watch against the love of riches in a high one.

Let us pray to be enabled to part with all, if required, in Christ’s service, and to use all we are allowed to keep in his service.

Dear relations. Father and mother, wife and children, brethren and sisters. In these, as much as in any temporal blessing, the comfort of life is bound up; without these the world would be a wilderness; …

yet, when we must either forsake these or Christ, we must remember that we stand in nearer relation to Christ than we do to any creature; and therefore to keep in with him, we must be content to break with all the world, and to say to father and mother, as Levi did, I have not known you.

The greatest trial of a good man’s constancy is, when his love to Christ comes to stand in competition with a love that is lawful, nay, that is his duty.

It is easy to such a one to forsake a lust for Christ, for he hath that within him, that rises against it; but to forsake a father, a brother, a wife, for Christ, that is, to forsake those whom he knows he must love, is hard. And yet he must do so, rather than deny or disown Christ.

Thus great is the loss supposed to be; but it is for Christ’s sake, that he may be honoured, and the gospel’s, that it may be promoted and propagated.

MY HEAVENLY FRIEND

My Heavenly Friend

The precious Lord Jesus Christ is our friend. Oh, let us seek to realize this! It is not merely a religious phrase or statement, but truly He is our friend. He is the Brother ” born for adversity,” the one who “sticks closer than a brother.” Who will never leave and never forsake us.

How precious even on earth to have a heavenly friend, for this brings the joys of heaven in a little degree into our hearts now. This is just what our heavenly Father desires regarding His children, that they might be as happy as they are capable of being while here in the body. Have we entered into this, that the One who is “altogether lovely ” is ready hour by hour, to be our Friend?

When we cannot sleep at night, say to Christ, ” My precious heavenly Friend, wilt Thou give me a little sleep?” When in pain, say, ” My precious heavenly Friend, if it may please Thee, wilt Thou take away this pain? But if not, if Thou sees better that it should continue, sustain, help, and strengthen me, my precious heavenly friend!” When we feel lonely and tired, turn to the precious Lord Jesus; He is willing to be our friend in our loneliness. For sixty-two years and five months I had a beloved wife, and now in my ninety-second year I am left alone. But I turn to my precious Lord Jesus as I walk up and down in my room, and say, ” My precious Lord Jesus, I am alone, and yet not alone, Thou art with me; Thou art my friend; now Lord, comfort me and strengthen me, give to Thy poor servant everything Thou sees he needs.”

Oh, this is a reality, not a fable, that the Lord Jesus Christ is our friend. We should not be satisfied till we are brought to this, that we know the Lord Jesus Christ experientially to be our friend and habitually to be our friend. Just ponder this. Habitually, never leaving, never forsaking us, at all times and under all circumstances ready to prove Himself to be our friend.

He is willing not merely to grant this for a few months, or a year or two, but to the very end of our earthly pilgrimage. David, in Psalm 23 says: “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me.” Oh, how precious this is. For this “Lovely One” is coming again, and soon. Soon He will come again; and then He will take us home and there we shall be forever with Him. Oh, how precious is that bright and glorious prospect. Here again the practical point is to appropriate this to ourselves. “He is coming to take me-poor, guilty, worthless, hell-deserving me-He is coming to take me to Himself.” And to the degree in which we enter into these glorious things, the joys of heaven have already commenced!

– George Mueller

LET SUFFERING SAINTS REMEMBER …

2 Timothy 2:12 If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:

Barnes:

If we suffer, we shall also reign with him – The meaning is, that the members will be treated as the Head is. We become united with him by faith, and, if we share his treatment on earth, we shall share his triumphs in heaven;

Romans 8:17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

If we deny him, he also will deny us;

Matthew 10:32-33 Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.

Wesley:

If we deny him – To escape suffering for him.

Matthew Henry:

Let suffering saints remember, and look to Jesus, the Author and Finisher of their faith, who for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despised the shame, and is now set down at the right hand of the throne of God. We must not think it strange if the best men meet with the worst treatment; but this is cheering, that the word of God is not bound. Here we see the real and true cause of the apostle’s suffering trouble in, or for, the sake of the gospel. If we are dead to this world, its pleasures, profits, and honours, we shall be for ever with Christ in a better world. He is faithful to his threatenings, and faithful to his promises. This truth makes sure the unbeliever’s condemnation, and the believer’s salvation.

NEVER ALONE …

 

My Heavenly Friend, written by George Mueller

The precious Lord Jesus Christ is our friend. Oh, let us seek to realize this! It is not merely a religious phrase or statement, but truly He is our friend. He is the Brother ” born for adversity,” the one who “sticks closer than a brother.” Who will never leave and never forsake us.

How precious even on earth to have a heavenly friend, for this brings the joys of heaven in a little degree into our hearts now. This is just what our heavenly Father desires regarding His children, that they might be as happy as they are capable of being while here in the body. Have we entered into this, that the One who is “altogether lovely ” is ready hour by hour, to be our Friend?

When we cannot sleep at night, say to Christ, ” My precious heavenly Friend, wilt Thou give me a little sleep?” When in pain, say, ” My precious heavenly Friend, if it may please Thee, wilt Thou take away this pain? But if not, if Thou sees better that it should continue, sustain, help, and strengthen me, my precious heavenly friend!” When we feel lonely and tired, turn to the precious Lord Jesus; He is willing to be our friend in our loneliness. For sixty-two years and five months I had a beloved wife, and now in my ninety-second year I am left alone. But I turn to my precious Lord Jesus as I walk up and down in my room, and say, ” My precious Lord Jesus, I am alone, and yet not alone, Thou art with me; Thou art my friend; now Lord, comfort me and strengthen me, give to Thy poor servant everything Thou sees he needs.”

Oh, this is a reality, not a fable, that the Lord Jesus Christ is our friend. We should not be satisfied till we are brought to this, that we know the Lord Jesus Christ experientially to be our friend and habitually to be our friend. Just ponder this. Habitually, never leaving, never forsaking us, at all times and under all circumstances ready to prove Himself to be our friend.

He is willing not merely to grant this for a few months, or a year or two, but to the very end of our earthly pilgrimage. David, in Psalm 23 says: “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me.” Oh, how precious this is. For this “Lovely One” is coming again, and soon. Soon He will come again; and then He will take us home and there we shall be forever with Him. Oh, how precious is that bright and glorious prospect. Here again the practical point is to appropriate this to ourselves. “He is coming to take me-poor, guilty, worthless, hell-deserving me-He is coming to take me to Himself.” And to the degree in which we enter into these glorious things, the joys of heaven have already commenced!

SOME GREAT AND TRYING PROVIDENCE

Psalm 106:9 He rebuked the Red sea also, and it was dried up: so he led them through the depths, as through the wilderness.

Spurgeon:

The Red Sea in front of them.

This was not put there by an enemy; but by God himself.

The Red Sea represents some great and trying providence placed in the path of every newborn child of God, to try his faith, and the sincerity of his trust in God.

HAPPINESS

Ecclesiastes 2:11 Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun.

“Happiness arises not from the situation in which we are placed. It is only through Jesus Christ that final blessedness can be attained.”

Matthew Henry Commentary:

Solomon soon found mirth and pleasure to be vanity. What does noisy, flashy mirth towards making a man happy?

The manifold devices of men’s hearts, to get satisfaction from the world, and their changing from one thing to another, are like the restlessness of a man in a fever.

Perceiving it was folly to give himself to wine, he next tried the costly amusements of princes.

The poor, when they read such a description, are ready to feel discontent.

But the remedy against all such feelings is in the estimate of it all by the owner himself.

All was vanity and vexation of spirit: and the same things would yield the same result to us, as to Solomon.

Having food and raiment, let us therewith be content.

His wisdom remained with him; a strong understanding, with great human knowledge.

But every earthly pleasure, when unconnected with better blessings, leaves the mind as eager and unsatisfied as before.

Happiness arises not from the situation in which we are placed. It is only through Jesus Christ that final blessedness can be attained.

THE BATTLE RAGES ON

Many long years, I lived my life,

A stranger from the Lord,

Until one day I heard it said,

That there was something more.

* * *

So much I didn’t understand,

But truth I wanted most,

So when I prayed, the Lord He heard,

And sent the Holy Ghost.

* * *

My life was changed, never the same,

My soul no longer lost,

What joy and peace, but oh dear friends,

There also was a cost.

* * *

The day the Lord became my Friend,

The world became my foe,

Including those of my household,

Jesus they didn’t know.

* * *

A tug of war, “come back to us,”

Their silent battle cry,

My heart reply “come to the Lord,

Or in your sins you’ll die.”

* * *

I’ve been transformed, I won’t conform,

Love for this world is gone,

But not my love for these dear ones,

The battle rages on!

Cathy White – 2008

2 Peter 2:20 For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.

MY SOUL AND MY BELLY

Psalm 31:9 Have mercy upon me, O LORD, for I am in trouble: mine eye is consumed with grief, yea, my soul and my belly.

Gill:

… yea, my soul and my belly; perhaps he could not eat his food, or digest it, which brought upon him internal disorders, and even brought his soul or life into danger.

Spurgeon:

Yea, my soul and my belly [or body].” Soul and body are so intimately united, that one cannot decline without the other feeling it. We, in these days, are not strangers to the double sinking which David describes; we have been faint with physical suffering, and distracted with mental distress:

Barnes:

And my belly – My bowels: … The effect of his grief was to exhaust his strength, and to make his heart sink within him.

WHOM HAVE I IN HEAVEN BUT THEE

In bad times, and even in good times, it is really only the Lord Jesus Christ who satisfies the deepest yearnings of our soul.

Psalm 73:25-26 Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever.

HE ENDURED

Hebrews 11:24-27  By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward. By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.

Matthew Henry Commentary:

God’s people are, and always have been, a reproached people. Christ accounts himself reproached in their reproaches; and thus they become greater riches than the treasures of the richest empire in the world.

for he endured, … 

afflictions, reproach, and menaces, with patience and courage;

his mind was not broken with them, nor overborne by them;

he expected divine help, and persevered;

and so do such, who are called by the grace of God:

THE SWORD

Matthew 10:34 I came not to send peace on earth, but a sword.

Spurgeon:

The Christian will be sure to make enemies. It will be one of his objects to make none; but if to do the right, and to believe the true, should cause him to lose every earthly friend, he will count it but a small loss, since his great Friend in heaven will be yet more friendly, and reveal himself to him more graciously than ever.

O ye who have taken up his cross, know ye not what your Master said? “I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother; and a man’s foes shall be they of his own household.”

Christ is the great Peacemaker; but before peace, he brings war. Where the light cometh, the darkness must retire. Where truth is, the lie must flee; or, if it abideth, there must be a stern conflict, for the truth cannot and will not lower its standard, and the lie must be trodden under foot.

If you follow Christ, you shall have all the dogs of the world yelping at your heels. If you would live so as to stand the test of the last tribunal, depend upon it the world will not speak well of you. He who has the friendship of the world is an enemy to God; but if you are true and faithful to the Most High, men will resent your unflinching fidelity, since it is a testimony against their iniquities.

Fearless of all consequences, you must do the right. You will need the courage of a lion unhesitatingly to pursue a course which shall turn your best friend into your fiercest foe; but for the love of Jesus you must thus be courageous. For the truth’s sake to hazard reputation and affection, is such a deed that to do it constantly you will need a degree of moral principle which only the Spirit of God can work in you; yet turn not your back like a coward, but play the man. Follow right manfully in your Master’s steps, for he has traversed this rough way before you.

Better a brief warfare and eternal rest, than false peace and everlasting torment.

See also … THE SWORD – A Poem

A WORD FOR THE PERSECUTED

A Word for the Persecuted

A Sermon

(No. 1188)

Delivered on Lord’s-Day Morning, August 16th, 1874, by

C. H. SPURGEON,

At the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington

“What if thy father answer thee roughly?”—1 Samuel 20:10.

IT WAS NOT AN UNLIKELY THING that his father would answer Jonathan roughly. Saul had taken great umbrage against David, while Jonathan his eldest son, on the contrary, loved David as his own soul. Jonathan could hardly think that his father really meant harm to so good a man as David, and he expressed to David that opinion, and then David, to be prepared for the worst, put to him this question, “What if thy father answer thee roughly? “It did so turn out. Saul answered his son with bitter words, and in the desperation of his anger he even hurled a javelin at him to smite him; …

yet Jonathan did not forsake David, he clung to him with all the faithfulness of love, and until his death, which was much mourned by David, he remained his fast and faithful friend

Now, this question of David to Jonathan is one which I wish to put this morning to all believers in Christ, especially to the younger ones who have lately entered into covenant with the great Son of David, and who, in the ardor of their hearts, feel that they could live and die for him.

I want to put before them the supposition that they will meet with opposition from their dearest friends, that perhaps their father, brother, husband, or uncle will answer them roughly, or perhaps their mother, wife, or sister will become a persecutor to them. What then? What will they do under such circumstances? Will they follow the Lord through evil report? “What if thy father answer thee roughly?” Remember that this supposition is a very likely one.

There are a few Christians so favourably circumstanced that all their friends accompany them in the pilgrimage to heaven.

What advances they ought to make in the sacred journey! What excellent Christians they ought to be! They are like plants in a conservatory—they ought to grow and bring forth the loveliest Bowers of divine grace.

But there are not very many who are altogether in that case.

The large proportion of Christians find themselves opposed by those of their own family, or by those with whom they labor or trade.

Is it not likely to be so?

Was it not so from the beginning?

Is there not enmity between the seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman?

Did not Cain slay his brother Abel because he was accepted of the Lord?

In the family of Abraham was there not an Ishmael born after the flesh, who persecuted Isaac, who was born after the Spirit?

Was not Joseph hated of his brethren?

Was not David persecuted by Saul, Daniel by the Persian princes, and Jeremiah by the kings of Israel?

Has it not ever been so?

Did not the Lord Jesus Christ himself meet with slander, cruelty, and death, and did he not tell us that we must not look for favor where he found rejection?

He said plainly, “I came not to send peace upon the earth, but a sword;” and he declared that the immediate result of the preaching of the gospel would be to set the son against the father and the father against the son, so that a man’s foes should be they of his own household.

Did he not carefully inquire of every recruit who wished to enlist in his army, “Have you counted the cost?”

Have you not admired his perfect honesty and admirable caution in dealing with men, when he bids them remember that if they follow him they must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and be content to be hated of all men for his sake?

He warns us not to expect that the disciple will be above his Master, for if men have called the Master of the house Beelzebub, they will assuredly confer no sweet titles upon his household.

Since our Lord has forewarned us, it is well for us to stand ready for the trial which he predicts, and to ask ourselves whether we are ready to bear oppression for Christ’s sake. I press the question upon you who think of avowing yourselves believers, for most likely it will come practically home to you, and it is well when you begin to build a house to calculate whether you will be able to finish it.

There are very many of God’s servants here, whose life is made bitter by the continual worry they endure from their ungodly relatives and associates.

Often do they sigh for the wings of a dove to fly away and be at rest.

I feel the deepest sympathy with them, and it is not only with the intention of forearming the younger ones, but with the hope of cheering and consoling those who have been long in the fiery furnace, that I shall speak this morning upon this text, “What if thy father answer thee roughly?”

I. Our first point is this, WHAT YOU MAY DO, what there is a possibility of your doing, should your friends answer you roughly.

In the first confidence of your love to Christ you go and tell father of your conversion; well, what it he should ridicule it all?

You run to mother, and communicate your change of heart; what if she should scoff at it?

You tell a little of your heart to some friend; what if that friend should turn again and rend you?

I will tell you what perhaps you will do, though I earnestly pray that you may do no such thing. You may “by-and-by be offended.” I mean that you may leave Christ altogether, because you cannot bear his cross, and though willing enough to go to heaven with him if the way were smooth, it may be that, like Mr. Pliable, finding that there is a slough to be got through, you will turn your back upon the good country and return to the City of Destruction.

Many have done so. Our Lord’s parable of the seed sown in stony places teaches us that many shoots which promise fair for harvest, perish when the sun arises with burning heat because they have no root. Observation confirms this statement. If yonder fair-weather professors of religion could have been daily hailed with general acclamation, they would, after a certain fashion, have continued steadfast; but inasmuch as they have met with rebuffs and chills which they never bargained for, they have cast off all religion and joined with the fashionable world.

To such the earthly father is dearer than the Father who is in heaven;

the brother after the flesh is dearer than that Brother who is born for adversity, and

the ungodly husband is more precious than the everlasting bridegroom; …

and so they desert their Lord.

Or, it may happen to you that, instead of being by-and-by offended, you may continue for awhile, but you may gradually give way, and at last yield altogether. There are many among us who could bear to lose our heads at a stroke for Christ, but to be burned at a slow fire—ah, that would try us! And if that slow fire lasted not for a day or so, but for weeks, and months, and years!

How then?

If, after much patient endurance, the cruel mockings still continue, if the hard words and bitter speeches never cease—how then?

Surely, unless grace sustains us, the flesh will clamor to be rid of this uneasy yoke, and will look out for some by-path by which it may escape the rigor of the rough road and go back again to the world. Grace will hold on and out to the end, but nature at her best, with firmest resolutions, has only to be tried up to a certain point, and it will surely yield. This is what we may do; but may God grant that we may be preserved from such a wretched course of action, for, if we do give way because of opposition from ungodly friends, it involves tremendous guilt. To give up religion because of persecution is to prefer ourselves to florist, to be selfish enough to regard our own ease rather than this glory, to consult our own peace rather than his honor, though we have said that we love him beyond all else for redeeming us by his blood. It will show that we love him not at all, but are ungrateful, false, and hypocritical. With all our true professions, if we flinch from persecution it will prove that we only want our price, and, like the traitor Judas, we too will sell our Master, not for thirty pieces of silver possibly, but to escape ridicule or avoid ill-will.

It will become clear, also, that we prefer the praise of man to the approval of God. A smile from a face which is soon to die we value at a higher price than the love of God, or the Redeemer’s approbation. Peter for a moment was more affected by the question of a silly maid than by his allegiance to his Lord, but how dreadful to fall into that condition deliberately, and think more of a man that shall die, and of the son of man that is but as a worm, than of the Lord our Maker and Judge, who alone is to be feared. Is not this folly, treason, and dire iniquity?

To forsake the Lord through persecution is to set time before eternity, to barter heaven for this world’s pleasures, to renounce eternal life for a few hours of ease, and to involve ourselves in endless misery rather than endure a stupid jest or a senseless jibe. It comes to that. Many a man has had life and death set before him, the life has been shaded with the cross, and the death has been gilded over with transient merriment, and he has chosen the everlasting death with its glitter in preference to eternal life with its momentary trial. May God grant we may never be of so insane a mind, for if we are, we shall be numbered with those mentioned in the Revelation, of whom it is said that “the fearful,” which is being interpreted the cowardly, “and the unbelieving, the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars”—for that is the class of persons with whom cowards are membered—“shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death” (Revelation 21:8), from which death may the infinite mercy of God deliver us. Like true soldiers may we buckle on our harness and resolve that let the battle rage as it may, through divine grace we will not desert our colors. We prefer death itself to the disgrace of forsaking a cause so true, a doctrine so pure, a Savior so gracious, a Prince so noble, and so worthy of our most loyal service.

But if left to ourselves we may fall into what is as bad as open apostasy. When we find the father, or the wife, or the friend answering us roughly, we may make a pitiful compromise between Christ and the world. I warn you solemnly against this above everything else. It has the look of being the prudent and proper thing to do. “Can I not please men and please God? May I not go a little way with Christ and a little way with the world?” O soul, if you attempt this you must fail, and moreover you will have chosen the roughest road of all, for if a man serves God, and serves him thoroughly, he will meet with many comforts to balance his crosses; and if a man serves Satan thoroughly he will enjoy whatever poor comfort is to be got out of sin; but if he goes betwixt and between he will feel the discomforts of both, and the pleasures of neither. Running the gauntlet on board ship is not worse than attempting to be friends with Christ and Satan at the same time. I believe many a professing woman has given way at first to her ungodly husband, where she should have been decided, and she has embittered all the rest of her life; and many a husband, many a son, many a man of business, has been undecided in a minor matter for peace sake, and from that very moment the other side has never believed in his sincerity, and having given an inch, the world has demanded its ell, and there has been an end to all liberty henceforth. If you yield a single point of honesty or true religion, the unconverted will not believe in you as they would have done if you had been firm throughout; men respect a thoroughbred Christian, but nobody has a good word for a mongrel. Be one thing or the other, either hot or cold, or Christ will reject you, and the world too. If a thing be right, do it; if you resolve to serve the Lord, do it, offend or please; and if, on the other hand, you prefer the service of Satan, do at least be honest enough not to pretend to be on the Lord’s side. Remember the challenge of Elijah, “If God be God, serve him; if Baal be God, serve him;” but do not attempt a compromise, which will end in a miserable breakdown. Mark Antony drove two lions yoked together through the streets of Rome, but no Mark Antony could ever drive the lion of the tribe of Judah and the lion of the pit in a leash together. They will never agree. Be ye warned, then, against falling into the meanness of compromise, for compromise is nothing better than varnished rebellion against God, a mockery of his claims, and an insult to his judgment. May the grace of God keep us from this, for left to ourselves we shall fall into this snare.

I will tell you what you may do also, and I pray that the Holy Spirit may lead you to do it. You may take up humbly, but firmly, this decided stand:—“If my father answer me roughly he must do so, but I have another Father who is in heaven, and I shall appeal to him. If the world condemn me, I shall accept its condemnation as a confirmation of that gracious verdict of acquittal which comes from the great Judge of all, for I do remember it is written, ‘If the world hate you ye know that it hated me before it hated you’ and ‘If ye were of the world, the world would love its own; but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.’” Be it ours to endure hardness as good soldiers of Jesus Christ. May we count the reproach of Christ greater riches than all earth’s treasures. Never may a coward blush defile our cheek because we are ashamed of Jesus; far rather may we be willing to be made a gazing-stock than for a moment think of turning aside from our Beloved Lord. False or fearful may we never be; firmly and calmly, with the confidence of a love which cannot falter, let us cleave to our Lord, even though all men should forsake him:—

“Oh, learn to scorn the praise of men!

Oh, learn to lose with God;

For Jesus won the world through shame,

And beckons thee His road.”

II. The second head is WHAT THE TRIAL WILL, DO FOR US IF WE ARE HELPED TO BEAR UP UNDER IT. “What if thy father answer thee roughly? “First, it will grieve us. It is by no means pleasant to be opposed in doing right by those who ought to help us in it. It is very painful to flesh and blood to go contrary to those we love. Moreover, those who hate Christians have a way of putting their revilings so that they are sure to make us wince. They watch our weak points, and with very wonderful skill they turn their discoveries to account; trained by the old master of all malice, they are not slow to ply their lash where we are most tender. If one thing is more provoking than another, they will be sure to say it, and say it when we are least able to bear it. It may be they are very polite people, and if so, your refined persecutors have a very dainty way of cutting to the bone, and yet smiling all the while. They can say a malicious thing so delicately that you can neither resent it nor endure it. The art of persecuting has been so long studied by the seed of the serpent that they are perfect masters of it, and know how to make the iron enter into the soul. Do not be astonished, therefore, if you are sorely vexed, neither be amazed, as though some strange thing kind happened unto you. The martyrs did not suffer sham pains; the racks on which they were stretched were not beds of ease, nor were their prisons parlours of comfort. Their pains were agonies, their martyrdoms were torments. If you had sham griefs you might expect counterfeit joys; let the reality of your tribulation assure you of the reality of the coming glory.

The opposition of your friends will try your sincerity. If you are a hypocrite you will soon yield to opposition. “The game is not worth the candle,” say you, and you will be off, and for the church’s sake very likely it will be a blessing, for the wheat is all the better for being rid of the chaff, and if the wind of persecution can blow you away you are chaff. The rough answers of opponents will try your faith. You say you believe in Jesus: now we shall see if you do, for if you cannot bear a little trial from men and women, surely you will not be able to bear the worse trials from the devil and his angels. “If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how easiest thou contend with horses? and if in the land of peace, wherein thou trustedst, they wearied thee, then how wilt thou do in the swelling of Jordan? “If you cannot bear the trials of life, how will you endure the ordeals of death?

Persecution will try your love to Jesus. If you really love him you will cheerfully stand in the pillory of reproach with him, and when enemies have filth to hurl you will say, “Throw it upon me rather than upon him: if there is a hard thing to be said, say it about me rather than against my Lord.”

“If on my face for his dear name

Shame and reproach shall be,

I’ll hail reproach and welcome shame,

For he’ll remember me.”

It will try your love, I say, and so it will all your graces in their turn; and this is good for you. These virtues will not increase in strength unless they are brought into action; and if they are not tested, who is to know of what sort they are? Your valiant soldier in quiet barracks at home could fight, no doubt, but how do you know till he has passed through a campaign? He who has charged up to the cannon’s mouth, he who is adorned with a sabre cut across his brow, and bears many a wound beside, which he gained in the service of his king, he is brave beyond question. Good gold must expect to be tried in the fire, and these oppositions are sent on purpose that our faith, and our love, and all our graces should be proved genuine by enduring the test.

The rough answers of those who should be our friends will keep us awake. I think it was Erskine who used to say, “Lord, deliver me from a sleepy devil”; and truly it is a prayer well worth praying. When everything goes on smoothly, and nobody ridicules us, we are very apt to be off our guard, but when we are stung by undeserved reproaches and insults, and when for our love we receive only anger or unkindness, we are not very likely to go to sleep. Such afflictions drive you to your knees. Perhaps you have read the story of Mr. Eraser, one of the ministers in Ross-shire, who had a cold, unfeeling woman for a wife; she was very cruel to him, and would never allow light or fire in his study, so that he had actually worn two holes in the plaster at the ends of his room, where his hand had touched as he paced to and fro in the dark. At a meeting of ministers who were not of his mind in divine things, one of them thought to make sport of him by remarking that he would no doubt very heartily agree with the toast of “Health to our wives.” To their astonishment he answered, “Mine has been a better wife to me than any of yours has been to you, she has sent me to my knees seven times a day, when I would not otherwise have gone, which is more than any of you can say of yours.” Personally I should greatly prefer not to have such a perpetual blister applied to me, but had the good Physician appointed me so severe a trial, I doubt not that he would have had good reason for it. Out of what men call weeds the wise man extracts a medicine, and out of these bitter trials the Lord produces a sacred tonic which braces us for a higher life of communion with himself.

Trials from the enemies of Jesus confirm our faith. Those who are never tried usually possess a poor, tottering faith, but trial, especially persecution, is like the rough March wind which goes howling through the forest, and while the young oaks are almost torn up by the roots at first, it loosens the soil for them, and they send out more rootless, till they get such a firm grip that they defy the hurricane. That which shakes them at first strengthens them afterwards. The tried saint is the bold saint, and the firm saint; therefore take the rough answer joyfully, and look for good results from it. A little persecution for the church in England would be a grand thing for her. We have fallen on very velvety days, when zeal for God is rare and decision for truth scarcely to be met with. The church has made terms with the world, and goes to sleep, Satan rocking her cradle. Many a man professes to be a Christian, who is nothing better than a baptized worldling, and many a man sets up to be a minister of Christ who is a mere reader of other people’s sermons, and a hireling who cares not for the sheep. The fan of persecution, if it purged the threshing floor of the church, would bestow great benefits upon her.

Rough speeches, too, will have this good effect upon genuine Christians, it will lead them to plead for those who utter them. I remember a good man who used to say of a certain swearing fellow who took delight to vex him with his horrid taunts and oaths, “Well, after all, I might forget to pray for him, but he reminds me of it, for he will not let me go by without a curse.” If our friends were all very smooth-spoken, and concealed their enmity to Christ, we might entertain a false hope about them, and we might not pray for them; but when we see that the old nature is there, and very rampant, it drives us to intercession for them, and who can tell but what the Lord may give us their souls as our reward?

Certainly opposition has another good effect, that it drives those subject to it into the truly separated path; they are known to be Christians, and proclaimed as such by their revilers. I do not think it is a bad thing, young man, when you go to that warehouse that they should advertise you as a Christian by crying out “Halloa, here comes one of the Methodist sort.” It is good for you to be known. If you are what you should be, you will not mind being labelled, nor being tested either. It will help to keep you right when temptations arise; and it will frequently deliver you from trials of a more fascinating kind; for, suppose they forsake your company because you are a Christian, will not that be well? Those who leave you on that account are a very gainful loss. An honorable lady, now with God, when she joined this church told me how after her baptism many of her aristocratic friends had ceased to call upon her, or invite her to their houses. I congratulated her upon it, for it rendered it all the easier for her to select her own company. Her real worth of character and kindness of spirit soon won back all who were worth having, and the rest were happily removed. Such as shun you for following the Lord are persons whom you yourself might shun. We gain nothing by the love of those who love not God.

One good effect of being persecuted at home is this, it makes you gentler abroad. If, my brother Christian, you have those at home who make you unhappy, if you are a wise man you will be the better ably to have patience with outsiders. Men wondered why Socrates was so patient with his pupils, and so good-tempered, but he ascribed it to having been hardened by the opposition of others, by being schooled at home by his shrewish wife, Xanthippe. Perhaps you will have the greater patience with those who scoff, and the greater sympathy with those who are scoffed at, from having had your share in the common lot of the saints. Thus to you as to Samson, out of the eater cometh forth meat, and out of the strong cometh forth sweetness. This lion roars upon you, but the day shall come when you will find honey in it, and bless the name of the Lord.

III. My third point is, HOW SHOULD YOU BEHAVE UNDER THE TRIAL? May the Holy Spirit enable you to act very discreetly as well as decidedly. Never court opposition. God forbid we should do so. Some zealots seem bent on making religion objectionable. The cup we hold to a sinful world is in itself repugnant enough to fallen nature; there can be no wisdom in making it yet more objectionable by presenting it with a scowling face. It is as well when you have medicine to give to a child to show him a piece of sugar too: so let your kindness, and cheerfulness, and gentleness sweeten that which the world is not very likely to receive anyhow, but which it will the less resent if you present it with love, showing a desire to live peaceably with all men, and to consult the comfort of others rather than your own.

And then endure whatever you have to endure with the greatest possible meekness. There was a farmer whose wife was very irritated with him because of his attending a dissenting place of worship, and joining with Christian people. She often declared that she would not bear it much longer, but he was very patient, and made no harsh reply to her. One day she fetched him out of the harvest field, and said, “Now it is come to this; you will give up those people, or give me up”; and she brought out a web of cloth and said, “Now you take half of this and I’ll take the other half; for I am going.” He said, “No, my dear, you are welcome to it all. You have always been a very good industrious wife, take it all.” Then she proposed taking a part of their household goods and settling everything for a final separation, but again he said, “Take all there is. If you will go away take everything you like, for I should not wish you to be uncomfortable; and come back again whenever you please, I shall always be glad to see you.” Seeing that he talked in that way, she said, “Do you mean me to go?” “No,” said he, “it is your own wish, not mine. I cannot give up my religion, but anything else I can do to make you stay and be happy, I will do.” This was too much for her, she resolved to cease her opposition, and in a short time went with her husband to the place of worship, and became herself a believer. This is the surest way to victory. Yield everything but what it would be wrong to yield. Never grow angry. Keep cool, and let the railing be all on one side. There was a poor godly woman who used to attend the ministry of Mr. Robinson, of Leicester, and her husband, a very coarse brutal man, said to her one day in his wrath, “If you ever go to St. Mary’s church again I’ll cut both your legs off.” He was a dreadful man, and equal to any violence, but on the next occasion of worship his wife went as aforetime. As she came home, she commended herself to the care of God, expecting to be assailed. Her husband said to her, “Where have you been?” “I have been to St. Mary’s church,” said she. With that he felled her to the ground with a terrible blow on the face. Rising up, she gently said, “If you strike me on the other side I shall as freely forgive you as I do now.” She had been a very passionate woman before conversion, and had been accustomed to give her husband as good as he could send, and therefore he was struck with her gentleness. “Where did you learn this patience?” said he. Her reply was, “By God’s grace I learned it at St. Mary’s.” “Then you may go as often as you like.” Presently he went also, and the war was over. There is nothing like meekness. It will conquer the strongest.

After bearing with meekness return good for evil. For creel words return warmer love and increased kindness. The most renowned weapon for a Christian to fight his antagonists with is that of overcoming evil with good. Evil to evil is beastlike, and no Christian will indulge in it; but good for evil is Christlike, and we must practice it. I think I have before told you the story of the husband who was a very loose, gay, depraved, man of the world, but he had a wife who for many years bore with his ridicule and unkindness, praying for him day and night, though no change came over him, except that he grew even more bold in sin. One night, being at a drunken feast with a number of his boon companions, he boasted that his wife would do anything he wished, she was as submissive as a lamb. “Now,” he said, “she has gone to bed hours ago; but if I take you all to my house at once she will get up and entertain you and make no complaint.” “Not she,” they said, and the matter ended in a bet, and away they went. It was in the small hours of the night, but in a few minutes she was up, and remarked that she was glad that she had two chickens ready, and if they would wait a little she would soon have a supper spread for them. They waited, and ere long, at that late hour, the table was spread, and she took her place at it as if it was quite an ordinary matter, acting the part of hostess with cheerfulness. One of the company, touched in his better feelings, exclaimed, “Madam, we ought to apologize to you for intruding upon you in this way, and at such an hour, but I am at a loss to understand how it is you receive us so cheerfully, for being a religious person you cannot approve of our conduct.” Her reply was, “I and my husband were both formerly unconverted, but, by the grace of God, I am now a believer in the Lord Jesus. I have daily prayed for my husband, and I have done all I can to bring him to a better mind, but as I see no charge in him, I fear he will be lost for ever; and I have made up my mind to make him as happy as I can while he is here.” They went away, and her husband said, “Do you really think I shall be unhappy for ever?” “I fear so,” said she, “I would to God you would repent and seek forgiveness.” That night patience accomplished her desire. He was soon found with her on the way to heaven. Yield on no point of principle, but in everything else be willing to bear reproach, and to be despised and mocked at for Christ’s sake. In hoc signo vinces—by the cross patiently borne thou couquerest. “This is a hard saying,” says one. I know it is, but grace can make the heaviest burden light, and transform duty into delight.

Here let one also remark that to this gentle endurance there must be added by the persecuted Christian much exactness of life. We must be very particular when such lynx-eyes are upon us, because if they can find us trespassing they will pounce upon us at once. If it is only a little wrong, a thing which they would not have noticed in anybody else, they will magnify it and raise quite a clamor about it. “Ah, that is your religion,” say they, as if we claimed to be absolutely perfect. Be watchful, therefore, walk circumspectly, do not put yourself into their hands; let them have nothing to say against you save only upon the point of your religion. Nothing bathes opponent) like integrity, truthfulness, and holiness: they long to speak against you, but cannot find a fair opportunity. Take care that you daily pray for grace to keep your temper, for if you fail there they will boast of having conquered you, and will assail you again in the same way. Ask for grace to be patient, and say as little as you can, except to God. Pray much for them, for prayer is still heard, and how knowest thou, O believing woman, but thou mayst save thy unbelieving husband? Only watch on and pray on, and a blessing will come.

IV. In DOING ALL THIS WHAT COMFORT MAY YOU EXPECT? You may have this for your comfort, that the persecutor is in God’s hands. He cannot do more than God lets him, and if God permits him to annoy, you may cheerfully bear it. Next, remember, if you keep your conscience clear it is a great joy. Conscience is a little bird that sings more sweetly than any lark or nightingale. Rough answers outside need not trouble you while within there is the answer of a good conscience towards God. Injure your conscience and you lose that consolation; preserve it from evil and you must be happy. Remember that by patiently enduring and persevering you will have fellowship with the grandest spirits that ever lived. You cannot be a martyr and wear the blood-red crown in these days, but you can at least suffer as far as you are called to do: grace enabling you, you may have a share in the martyr’s honors. “Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.”

Remember, too, that if you have extraordinary troubles Jesus will be doubly near to you. This is the greatest comfort of all, for in all your afflictions he is afflicted. You will find his presence in the ordinances to be very delightful. Those stolen waters which he gives you in secret fellowship are very choice, those morsels which you get by stealth, how sweet they are! The old covenantors said they never worshipped God with so much joy as in the glens and among the hills when Claverhouse’s dragoons were after them. The living is very refreshing to the Lord’s hunted harts. His bosom is very soft and warm for those who are rejected of all men for his sake. He has a marvellous way of unveiling his face to those whose faces are covered with shame because of their love to him. Oh, be content, dear friends, to watch with your Lord.

You have the sweet thought also that you are doing more good where you are than if you were placed altogether among the godly. Yonder light, set up in mid ocean on the Eddystone rock, see how the storm sweeps around it, and the waters leap over it, threatening to put out its flame, but shall the light complain? Standing where it is, beaten by the Atlantic rollers, and braving the full fury of the storm, it is doing more good than if it were set up in Hyde Park for my lords and ladies to look at. The persecuted saint occupies a place where he warns and enlightens, and therefore suffers. He is like an advanced guard, to whom the place of danger is the place of honor: only let him ask for strength to bear and forbear, and he shall have glory at the last. Remember the rougher the road the sweeter the rest, and the greater the suffering the brighter the crown at the last. Those who have to bear most for Jesus will be those to whom he will most sweetly say, “Well done, good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.”

Ah, brethren, if you have a little rough language to put up with, what is it, compared with what many of the Lord’s afflicted ones have to endure? I will tell you a little incident bearing upon that point, and then have done. Yesterday the postman brought me, amongst many others, a letter from Australia, which I prize more than any that have come to hand for a long while; it has touched my heart, and when you hear it you will not wonder. It is written at the desire of a man who is described by the gentleman who writes for him in the following terms: “I have known the writer for near eight years, during which time he has been quite helpless, being paralyzed, he has had one leg cut off, the sight has left his eye, he cannot move hand or feet; as he is placed on his bed so must he lie and endure the annoyance of flies, or anything that may molest him. So that I am sure you will be pleased to be the means of giving comfort to such an one, and yet he is mostly rejoicing; and few are more apt to teach and exhort those who come to see him, and direct them to suitable portions of God’s word far their reading.” Now this poor man, who has been helpless ever since the year 1858, or sixteen long years, writes me thus: “Being moved by the Holy Spirit I send you these few lines to thank you for the benefit I have received by reading your sermons. In the year 1850 I was brought to the knowledge of the truth, and found peace through believing in Jesus. In 1858 I met with a serious accident, so that I was not able to earn my bread, but trusting in the Lord he has led me in the right way. In 1866 it pleased him to confine me entirely to my bed. I bless his Holy Name that I can say I am bound by the cords of his love, that he has upheld and comforted me through all my long confinement, and enabled me to rejoice in hope of his glory; and the reading of your excellent sermons, which privilege I have enjoyed for some years, having been a source of great comfort and delight to my soul, causing me to soar on high and enjoy sweet communion, I am constrained by love to send you this acknowledgment, hoping that perhaps you may be cheered a little by it in your arduous labors; and if our heavenly Father see fit, this my testimony to his faithfulness may be blessed by him to the comfort and encouragement of some afflicted ones in your flock, as I know that all these things work together for good to them that love God.” Think of this unselfish sufferer having a letter written to comfort me. One would have thought he needed comforting himself, but the Lord so cheers him that, instead of asking for consolation, he does not mention in his letter that he has lost his leg, or that he is paralyzed, or has lost his sight. He only tells me of his joy and peace. Now, if children of God in such extremities can yet bear testimony to his faithfulness, are you going to run away because some foolish person or other sneers at you? Will you in cowardly fashion desert the standard because fools point their fingers at you? If so, are you made of the same stuff as the true saints? Have you the same backbone of divine grace as they? Assuredly not. May the Lord in his infinite mercy give you such a sound conversion that, whatever trial comes, you may still sing, “Yet will I rejoice in the Lord and glory in the God of my salvation.”

If I am addressing any one who has persecuted God’s saints in any way, let me say, “Mind what you are at; there are many things a man will bear, but if you meddle with his children it will stir his soul, that is a tender point with all fathers.” Nothing provokes the Lord like interfering with his children. Mind what you are at. And, oh, I pray the Lord, if you have done it ignorantly, really thinking them to be wrong, and only scoffing at them because you thought them hypocrites, may he that spake out of heaven to Saul, and said, “Why persecutest thou me?” let you see that you have really been wounding Jesus himself. May he make you see that those tears which you have forced from that faithful woman, and those sleepless nights which you have caused to that earnest man, were so much of evil done unto Christ, for which he will reckon with you at the last. Turn you unto the Lord Jesus, and may the Holy Spirit grant you to repent of this your wickedness, for Jesus is willing to receive and bless even you, as he did Paul of old. Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you also shall be saved. God bless you all, for Christ’s sake. Amen.

THE ANNULMENTS

James 1:22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

I was born again!

I was filed with the Holy Ghost!

I was washed in the blood of the Lamb!

It was then that I realized that the annulment I had been granted by the Roman Catholic Church was utterly useless and meant absolutely nothing. Nothing! The annulment had no validity before the Lord and the Catholic Church had no authority to annul my previous marriage of ten years. I had already been remarried for seven years and as a new believer this new revelation concerned me for quite some time. I finally understood from reading my bible, and from biblical counseling, that the Lord considered my present marriage valid. What a relief!!

So here I am relieved and going along my merry way when my brother, whom I love dearly, seeks and receives an annulment from the very same Roman Catholic Church! Not only that, he then decides to remarry in the Roman Catholic Church. Knowing what I know, what do I do under these circumstances? Do I keep silent or do I witness? Do I tell him this is wrong and then celebrate the wrong doing by attending the wedding? Doesn’t sound right to me.

After seeking the Lord and much soul searching I could not and did not attend his wedding. Most of the family, both Christian and non Christian, attended. Oh the pain! It was for me an act of love and a witness to the falsehood of Roman Catholic annulments. A book that I am currently reading on biblical separation states that true love does everything in light of eternity, regardless how unloving it may seem. So true. To let someone think that they or their actions are accepted by God when that is not true is not love.

Matthew Henry Commentary:

“If we heard a sermon every day of the week, and an angel from heaven were the preacher, yet, if we rested in hearing only, it would never bring us to heaven. Mere hearers are self-deceivers; and self-deceit will be found the worst deceit at last. If we flatter ourselves, it is our own fault; the truth, as it is in Jesus, flatters no man.”

Even the world understands this principle …

“Men stumble over the truth from time to time, but most pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing happened. Winston Churchill”

THE WEDDING

I am a born again Christian and my son was planning to be married in a Mormon church. The Church of the Latter Days Saints.

The dilemma I faced … should I attend the wedding?

My son first heard the Gospel years ago when he was in his teens. He pretty much wasn’t interested. I, on the other hand, had a radical conversion and witnessed to anyone and everyone who would listen. We were, and still are, at opposite ends of the spiritual spectrum.

As the years went by he would upon occasion ask for prayer because of some crisis that had arisen in his life but would soon withdraw again after things improved. This went on for a long time until he met the girl that he would marry. She is a lovely girl and I could see that her desire was to reunite my son with his family. They would visit us and on one of those visits she began talking about her church. I asked her what church she attended thinking perhaps that she could be a Christian. I tried not to react when she said she belonged to the Church of the Latter Day Saints. (Because of their extensive deviation from accurate biblical teaching, the Church of the Latter Day Saints falls into the category of a cult.)

A little history before I go on. When I was born again I was set free from the false Gospel of Roman Catholicism. I realize that no one considers Roman Catholicism a cult in this day of apostasy but it surely is a cult. Rome teaches a doctrine of works and sacramental salvation. Mary is central and eclipses Jesus, though many within deny this fact and many without are willfully ignorant of this fact. When I was born again I was delivered from Rome, Mary, Sacraments, the Mass etc. My husband and I were saved around the same time and we clearly and plainly witnessed to all of the family, both close and extended, when given the opportunity. They know our testimony and they know our stand. We shared the Gospel and no longer attended family baptisms, first communions, etc.

Back to the wedding at a Mormon Church. What should we, my husband and I, do? Should we attend and pretend all was well? What agonizing we went through as we prayed and sought the Lord for wisdom. A major concern was whether our attendance would be perceived as some sort of approval of Mormonism. After all family members knew of our strong stand against Catholicism. So I went back and forth. I’m going. I’m not going. I’m going. I’m not going.

We hesitantly decided we would go to the reception but not to the wedding ceremony to beheld at the Mormon church. We decided, I say, until we received the wedding invitation in the mail. An invitation that was sent out to everyone stating that my son’s parents and the bride’s parents were inviting all to a wedding being held at the Mormon Church of the Latter Days Saints. The invitation is what caused us to change our minds about attending the wedding.

Would our name on the invitation and attending the wedding be viewed as approval of the Mormon Church, where vows would be taken in the name of the Mormon Jesus? (The Jesus of Mormonism is blasphemously taught to be Lucifer’s brother.) Another concern was were we “inviting” people to a reception where alcohol was going to flow plentifully all night?

My husband and I are blood bought, Spirit filled children of God who evangelize whenever we can. What would the action of our attending the wedding speak to those observing, those who don’t understand the Gospel? What misconception might they embrace? So my husband and I, for the sake of the Gospel and for the sake of lost souls, decided it would be best not to attend the wedding.

An alternative …

I spoke to my son and suggested that we have a separate “wedding dinner” at some point after his formal wedding. He could invite whoever he wanted to invite and we could have a wedding cake and flowers etc. I told him that we would pay for the whole thing. He didn’t want to do that.

My husband and I were in the minority. Dear Christian friends and family took the opposite view. Some attended the wedding. The suffering I experience throughout the whole ordeal was intense. The pain I experienced the actual night of the wedding was intensely intense.

This happened a few of years ago. I continue to have a relationship with my son and his wife and I love them both very much.

Thank you for taking the time to read about my Christian experience as a born again believer. I hope it helps someone who may find themselves in a similar situation. When I was going through this very painful trial there was very little counsel available on the topic. We are living in a day when biblical separation is practically non-existent. We are told in the Bible to speak the truth in love and to be faithful to Jesus. That is what I/we have attempted to do. False gospels send people to hell. For the sake of others I would rather suffer myself than blur the line between truth and error.

Mormon teachings here …