Passionate religion

Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it" (Luke 9:23-24).

Suicide bombers. Almost daily, the news tells us of Islamic men and women who willingly blow themselves up to kill others. We struggle to understand what motivates these people; what could possibly drive a human being to set aside the instinct for survival and willing dedicate himself to a violent end?

The answer is: religion. In cities around the world, there are Moslem clerics giving fiery sermons aimed at creating suicide bombers. They preach that Allah hates unbelievers and that he will send them to hell when they die. They preach that unbelievers are the enemies of Islam and are out to destroy Allah’s chosen people, either by military force or by enticing them with an impure lifestyle. They preach that Allah will reward every Moslem who gives up his life fighting to protect Allah’s children from unbelievers. Through their sermons, some Moslem clerics are convincing their listeners that heaven is the reward Allah gives to those who die while killing unbelievers. And who are these unbelievers? Hindus. Jews. Christians.

This just boggles our minds. How can anyone get so passionate about their religion as to throw away their lives because of it? After all, religion is just a small part of American life—an hour in church on some Sundays, maybe a prayer before meals or at bedtime. For Americans, church life is casual. Bible study is optional; so is time spent in daily devotions. It doesn’t matter how you dress when you enter church to ask the King of the universe for favors. It doesn’t matter how much money you donate to the support of God’s church—presumably, He’s happy with whatever spare change you have rattling around in your pocket. As to the Ten Commandments? Sure, they’re a good suggestion for how to live life, but come on, aren’t they a little out of date? Certainly there must be times when they don’t apply.

The reason that we can’t understand a Moslem’s life and death devotion to his religion is because we are apathetic; we don’t take our Christian religion as seriously as we should. Living in a country where the government guarantees freedom to worship as we want has lulled us into complacency. Worshiping the Lord openly has often demanded that Christians be willing to sacrifice their lives. The New Testament speaks of many who were put to death by the Jewish religious establishment because of their faith. Emperor Nero of Rome executed Christians in ways that he found ‘entertaining’—dressing some in animal skins and then turning wild dogs loose on them; mounting others on poles and then burning them alive to provide illumination during the evening; and crucifying still others. Some years later, Emperor Diocletion dedicated 8 years to the goal of trying to exterminate every Christian in the empire, killing over 100,000. It was not until the reign of Constantine the Great that Christians were guaranteed freedom from persecution by the rule of law.

Christians also died for their faith during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Following the death of Mohammed, the warriors of Islam mounted a holy war that killed uncountable numbers of Christ’s followers as they took control of the Holy Land, northern Africa, Spain and eastern Europe. The conflict between Moslems and Christians continued through the Crusades, and was still a threat in Martin Luther’s day. In Japan, after years of mission work and international trade, the government became fearful of the people being contaminated by outside influences, and closed its borders to all foreigners. Japan subsequently made it illegal to be a Christian, and thousands of Japanese Christians were executed for refusing to abandon their faith.

Modern times are no different. During the Boxer Rebellion, thousands of Chinese Christians were killed for their faith by their neighbors. The Communist government of Russia systematically taught its citizens that Christianity was old fashioned and opposed progress, then arrested and sentenced to death those who still held to their faith. Christians currently living in and near India are being beaten, arrested, and are losing their lives at the hands of Hindu extremists. Throughout history, all around the world, Christians have been called upon to give their lives out of loyalty to their Savior.

So I ask you: how passionate are you about your relationship with Jesus? In ancient Rome, Christians had to gather in the city sewers in order to worship secretly; how much do you appreciate being able to dress up to honor God when you worship Him? In Communist Russia, people had to find a place to pray where no one could see them and turn them in; how much do you appreciate being able to pray whenever you want? In Tokugawa Japan, the Bible was a forbidden book; how much do you appreciate that copy of the Bible in your home, waiting to be picked up and read? In Baghdad and in scores of other cities overseas, Christians put their lives at risk to gather in a church to worship the Savior; how much do you appreciate the freedom to attend church on Sunday to sing praises to God, in comfort and safety?

We have a tendency to take God and His gifts for granted because they have come to us freely. We were raised to believe that there is no such thing as a free lunch, that the only things of value are the things we sweat for. God’s provision of grace through His Son Jesus is a gift; there is nothing that you or I can ever do to earn what Jesus died to give us. Peter states, Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God (1 Peter 3:18). Our Savior offered up His life 2,000 years ago, but that one act of sacrifice has paid for every sin of every person throughout history. Jesus Christ the Righteous One died for every one of us, the unrighteous, so that we could be brought to God—brought not in fear of being punished, but brought in confidence that He will forgive us and make us His own dear children. Jesus did all this by shedding His blood, divine blood so powerful that it has left nothing for us to do save utter a humble "thank you, Lord Jesus." We are saved exclusively by the gift of Jesus’ life given from the cross.

Since Jesus has done all the work of making us right with God, it is tempting to become a libertine. A libertine does whatever he wants because he doesn’t fear the consequences of his actions. Since Jesus takes away the fear of hell, it is easy to take a laid-back attitude towards religion. "I’m going to heaven anyway, so why sweat struggling against temptation? Why spend every Sunday in church? Why make time for frequent Bible study? Why take time out of my busy schedule each day to pray? Why give 5 or 10 percent of my income to keep ministry programs going? Jesus has done all the heavy lifting; why not sit back and eat, drink and make merry until I’m finally invited into heaven?" With an attitude like this, apathy is sure to grow—apathy towards the church, towards Christian living, even towards God Himself.

How does our Lord feel about spiritual apathy? Consider these words of Jesus to the congregation in Laodicea, written in Revelation chapter 3: I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm--neither hot nor cold--I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, `I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

In these verses, Jesus advises the spiritually apathetic to do three things. First, He recommends seeking gold from God that is refined by fire; this is a reference to faith, which only becomes pure by going through the trials of spiritual testing (1 Peter 1:6-7). Jesus wants you to take your faith seriously, to be concerned about its strength so that it will not fail in times of trouble. Second, He says to wear white clothes in order to hide your shame; this is a reference to the robe of righteousness which Jesus gives to all who believe in Him, the gift of His righteousness that covers our sins and allows us to shine like childrfen of God, pure and blameless in His sight (Isaiah 61:10, Philippians 2:14-15). Third, our Lord prescribes salve for your eyes, that you might see; this is a reference to being given the light of knowledge, the knowledge that comes from God, which enables His people to know the truth and sets you free from the blind ignorance of sin (John 8:32).

Faith, Christ’s righteousness, and knowledge—these are what’s needed to shrug off spiritual apathy. It starts with faith—trust that Jesus has truly freed you from your sins because He loves you immensely. When you have such trusting faith, it allows you to grasp Jesus’ gift to you—the gift of His righteousness, given us through His divine blood shed in sacrificial death. With these gifts, you are ready to explore God’s Word and understand the heavenly truths that sin tries to obscure.

How do these gifts oppose apathy? When you truly realize how terrible sin is and how angry it makes the eternal Ruler of the universe, when you realize how utterly polluted your life is with sin, when you realize what a tremendous sacrifice God made in shouldering the burden of your sin that you might be freed of it, when you see the bright eternal future that the Savior has gifted you with by His death and resurrection, it is impossible to sit back and go "ho, hum." You can only take your salvation for granted if you allow the reality of who you are, and what Jesus has done for you, to fade from your thoughts.

How much of high school math do you remember? How much of what you learned in history? Can you still handle a ball or run like you did when you were part of an athletic team? How much do you remember from going through Confirmation? How much of what you memorized then is still with you? The plain truth is this—if you don’t keep your skills honed through regular use, you will eventually lose them. The only way to avoid spiritual apathy is to work at keeping your faith life active. Worship every week, in your home town or wherever you’re visiting. Seize every opportunity to study the Bible alone or as part of a group. Pray continually. Re-memorize the verses you have lost and make a commitment to add new ones. Make support of the church a top priority, whether it be through the words of your mouth, the strength of your hands, or the money God has made you responsible for. A person who jogs every day is not nearly so tempted to sit around and get flabby as is a person who rarely gets any exercise; when you stay active in the faith, it will be easier to resist spiritual inertia.

We may detest religious fanatics who kill in the name of their god, but we can still learn something useful from them. Religion means more to them than life itself; our Lord looks for an equally passionate commitment from us. If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. May the love of Christ fill every corner of your life, and may your love for Him inform your every thought, word and deed.