And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets— 33
who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,34
quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. 35
Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. 36
Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment.37
They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated— 38
of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. 39
And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, 40
since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.
What do people mean when they use the phrase, “You have to live in the real world”? Is it not true that most often they are speaking about what they perceive to be
reality; The real world as we see it…as it rolls out before us? The real world, the world we see and have to live in. If it is meant as a barb it would be a reference to living according to the way things are in the world of sight.
But what is the “real” world? What is the ultimate reality? Is it merely based on what we see…is that what is real? Or is there something that is unseen that is directing
what is seen? And if that is the case, and we know that it is, in fact we have staked our lives on the FACT that what is unseen is ultimate…then would it not make sense to live to THAT world? To live in the real world would be to live according to a reality
that has not yet been revealed in fullness to the life of sight.
We would be correct to infer that for us to live in the real world is to live according to things unseen, not the things we can see, touch, smell, taste and hear.
There is more to it than that.
Our text begins with, “what more can I say…” What follows is a brief overview of the period from the Judges to the heroic resistance of the Maccabees.
Some of the references are obvious to us, for example, “shutting the mouths of lions” is a reference to Daniel, “quenched the fury of the flames” to Shadrach, Meshach,
and Abednego, “women received back their dead” to the two instances in Kings, one with Elijah and the other Elisha. Other references are less clear.
The inclusion of people like Samson and Jephthah should be deeply comforting for both those who heard the sermon first preached as well as for us. These men remind
us, as did our study with Rahab, that living faith, true faith, can coexist with massive imperfections.
There are many issues we could address from these verses. We have for example a number of people mentioned who were filled with faith and suffered for it greatly.
And they are mentioned in the same breath as those who had the same kind of faith and rose to prominence. Why do some people trust the Lord and their life seems to be highly blessed and successful while others with the same quality and kind of faith, suffer
greatly?
I have often wondered if James’ family didn’t ask the same questions when they watched Peter get arrested but God dispatched an angel to get Peter out of prison. Around
the same time, James gets arrested and is murdered. Did James’ family wonder…why Peter and not our beloved James? James was a godly man, a disciple, one who followed the Lord faithfully as did Peter. So why Peter and not James?
Related of course is the discussion around “success”. What is a successful Christian life? Are those folks whose faith led them to the gallows or to their life’s end,
less successful than those whose faith landed them in positions of influence and prominence? We are quick to answer the question with a resounding no. However, we are not quick to embrace the Lord’s decisions for us, for our lives, when they are not what
we had planned or hoped for.
What if the Lord has for you a quiet life? What if your faithfulness is going to be unseen by most people, undiscovered and unknown? Or what if the Lord has for you
a life of difficulty, being misunderstood, or even a life of suffering?
Maybe the Lord is going to glorify Himself through you by laying you low…allowing the consequences of your sin and your humbly receiving them from His hand, to be
part of the humiliation of your life’s experience…but again for His glory. Are you ok with that?
But what I want us to consider is a more broad point, namely, what is worldliness? I think that is where the text is pushing us. When we think of worldliness we usually
think of someone who dedicates themselves to the pursuit of money, leisure and ease. We are accustomed to describing a person who is caught up with desiring and seeking what the world has to offer as a
worldly person.
This has become of course the Christian anathema. You might be called many things but if someone says you are worldly…well, that is incredibly insulting. But again,
I think we might be missing the point of what the Bible describes to us as worldly.
Worldliness is not merely doing the things that people who do not love the Lord do…or pursuing what they pursue. I am using the term in a more serious, a more profound
sense and, to be candid, a much more convicting sense.
To merely point at external behaviors as being what it means to be worldly can easily set me to side-stepping certain actions so as to avoid, not being worldly, but
not LOOKING worldly. In other words, I might be the most worldly person in the room and if I avoid certain actions, no one would ever know. So what then does the Bible mean when it speaks of worldliness?
To be continued…
Prayer: Father, I pray that by Your word would have authority over all aspects of my life. Give me humble submission to all that You have said. Sanctify me by truth,
Your word is truth. Regardless of where obedience takes me, I will praise You for your love and faithfulness made evident in the promises You have given me in Christ Jesus my Lord, Amen.
Hymn: How Firm a Foundation
