Faith without any deceit

God is the one and only true God. He is self-sufficient and self-sustaining, omniscient and omnipotent; He possesses His own unique image and blood. The word of God is immutable. He has sworn upon Himself in giving His word, and thus God surely fulfills His word. Hence God’s word can give us eternal faith.

Among literature genres of novel, poetry and essay, the genre that is closest to the Bible is essay. Novels are primarily based on fiction, while poetry is overall metaphoric. However withessays, the writer writes only the truth with his honor or even his life at stake. Any writing that involves lies or exaggeration cannot be considered an essay. In that sense, the Bible is a form of an essay. With their honor and lives at stake, the writers of the Bible documented exactly what God revealed to them. In the same way, our faith is in holding steadfast to the experiences God gave us to the end.

There mustn’t be any deceit in our faith. When news spread that Jesus of Nazareth performing great wonders, many crowds gathered. Yet Nathanael wasn’t convinced; instead he said, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” for his faith was founded on the prophets’ prophecies. Jesus accepted him as a true Israelite in whose faith there is no deceit (Jn 1:47).

According to the prophecies of the prophets, Christ had to be born in Bethlehem, not Nazareth.Yet it wasn’t enough that He was born in Bethlehem; Christ had to come from the root of Jesse, as a descendant of David. For Nathanael, who was waiting for the fulfillment of the prophecies, Jesus of Nazareth was not in his interest. Whilst numerous people came to Jesus only becauseof what they had seen Him display, Nathanael’s faith, which was without any deceit, was enough to draw the Lord’s attention.

Faith comes from the word of God. Even if the majority of people voice the same idea, it is irrelevant to our faith if it is not in line with God’s word. This is also the reason Jesus gave this warning to His disciples, “Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it” (Mt 24:26). We must deeply consider the verse which says, “You shall not follow a crowd to do evil” (Ex 23:2).

The duty that is accompanied by persecution

The principle of majority rule, which governs democracy, is not the way of God. Instead, the truth is in fact shunned by the majority. When Jesus was teaching His disciples about blessings, there was a point He highlighted: He said, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Mt 5:10-12).

Christ came to the earth to be killed. He said, “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also” (Jn 15:18-20). It is also reemphasized in 3 John 3:13 saying, “Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you.” Ever since the founding of the church, persecution against Christians has never ceased, and even at this present time, Christians in many parts of the world are losing their lives for the sake of their faith.

Historically, persecution against Christians was even present within the church. According to some records, after Christianity became the state religion of Rome, the number of people murdered by the authorities whilst receiving baptism in Jesus’ name was more than 50 million over the period of 1200 years. Thus it is needless to even mention the persecution received from other religious groups. While there are many different religions in the world, Islam is the only religion to be founded on the purpose of destroying Christianity.

It is clear as to who is controlling the persecutors, pulling the strings behind the scenes. The goal of persecution is in separating people from Christ and His church. The separator is none other than the Devil. Diablo, a term used to indicate the Devil, itself carries the meaning ‘to separate and destroy’. The act of persecuting others in order to separate them from Christ and His church comes from the Devil. People do such things unknowingly because they do not have the truth in them (Jn 8:44). The same applies to those who cannot overcome but fall when persecutions come. Since they have no truth in their hearts, they lose their faith when faced with persecutions. As the Israelites trusted in the prophecies with faith that was without any deceit, Christians ought to rely on the truth with faith that is devoid of any deceit.

Christians believe in the fact that Jesus is Christ. Christ is the name of the duty Jesus received from God when He came down to the earth. Just as He was commissioned, He suffered on the earth, died on the cross, resurrected and ascended into Heaven, and thus saved us. This path which Christ has taken, must now become ours to follow. Since He received God’s testimony that He is the Son of God, we also need to receive that same testimony; since He was put to the death, we also have to follow that path. Romans 8:9 says, “Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.” This means that if anyone is a man of Christ, his spiritual DNA must be identical to that of Christ.

We have been commissioned by God to be persecuted together with Christ. For example, a person will walk with a limp if his foot neglected its duty; he will become blind if his eyes abandoned its duty. Since God has commissioned us with the duty to be persecuted for the sake of the name of Jesus Christ, we must be determined to sacrifice our lives for that name. We need to remember what Jesus said: “Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it” (Lk 17:33).

Jesus Christ is God who was with God from eternity past (Jn 1:1). The words which proceed from His mouth give us faith. Romans 10:17 says, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Jesus did not speak those words out of His own will, but rather, He spoke just as the Father had commanded Him to. Hence, if anyone does not accept His words, those words willjudge him on the last day (Jn 12:47-50). Thus it is a very grave issue for one to depart from the words of God.

We should not regard our own souls as worthless, when God so treasures them. There should be no deceit in our faith. A person, who has experienced the word of life, should not be shaken by the deceitful acts of irresponsible people trying to come between him and God. No matter how successful and prosperous such people might be in the world, that should not be mistaken as the standard of faith. To be blessed and joyful in the Holy Spirit does not refer to being successful in everything you put your hand to or accumulating monetary gain. Instead, one could in fact,experience difficulties in the world on account of God’s word. Even so, our souls in Jesus Christ must never be shaken. In any circumstances, we need to remember that our faith is God-given and persevere to the end.

The hope of the first resurrection

Until the total number of people who lay down their lives for the Word of God are complete, persecution will continue. Revelation 6:9-11 says, “When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. And they cried with a loud voice, saying, ‘How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?’ Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed.”

Concerning this number that has to be filled before the return of Christ, Revelation 7:4 says, “And I heard the number of those who were sealed. One hundred and forty-four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel were sealed”, and then verse 9 says, “After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands”. For the Israelites, a number of 144,000, while for the Gentiles, a great multitude that no one can number, will finally be avenged at the return of Christ.

To be persecuted is most unfair and unjust. The day when justice will be served and thepersecuted avenged, will be on the day Jesus Christ returns. Until then, we must patiently endure. Jesus said, “And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved” (Mt 10:22). He also said, “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved” (Mt 24:9-13).

We have the hope of the first resurrection. Revelation 20:4-5 says, “And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.” The first resurrection is not for anyone to partake in. Only those who have been slain for their testimony of Jesus and the word of God will receive the glory of the first resurrection.

When people try to shake our faith, we shouldn’t waver according to our emotions. Whatever other people say, we must ensure that they are in accordance with the Bible. The Bereans, as described in the Bible, listened to Paul’s preaching and read the Scriptures to check whether it was in accordance with the prophecies of the prophets. By that they received faith (Ac 17:11-12). Their faith was not of deceit which fluctuates with emotions, but rather, their faith was noble, founded on the word of God. They clearly knew who Jesus is, in whom they believed.

We must be blessed and joyful in the Holy Spirit. On the night that Jesus was captured, Peter asserted that he would die with the Lord. However, in the end, he denied the Lord three times. There should not be any deceit as such in our faith which we have received after being born again through the Holy Spirit. Jesus whom we believe in was treated by people as a heretic. Nevertheless, we must become true Christians who are ready to sacrifice our lives in following Him.