The Sinner's Superheroes - It's All A Matter Of Faith

THE SINNER'S SUPERHEROES - IT'S ALL A MATTER OF FAITH

I would like in this issue to give hope and instill faith to those who are afraid to make the decision to accept Christ, to those who have recently done so, but think back on their past, and for those who, even having some maturity in their walk, may get a chink in their armor from he who plants seeds of doubt, knowing that as humans we have imperfections and are not always impervious to his (the devil's) darts. I would like to showcase some biblical figures, particularly a few with many sins on their record, but because of their faith, they are with Jesus and in heaven.

The first is one who knew Jesus only just before He died, and then he, too, died. The man called by many, "the good thief". Now this is quite the misnomer, because he was not a good thief at all, but rather he was the one of the two who asked Jesus to remember him when He comes into His kingdom, and then was promised paradise. So really, he was "the thief made good", because he died with a promise from Christ to be with Him there in paradise. Now this was just a typical thief for the most part; his sins caught up with him, and there he was, up ther on the cross next to Jesus'. He initially wasn't any better than those who were there at the scene, because like many there, he was mocking Him, as is documented in Matt. 27:44, and Mark 15:32. Now in Luke 23:40 - 43 is where I point out that this thief, who obviously lived a life sinful enough to warrant death on a cross, suddenly came up with faith enough to not only rail the other thief and his taunting of Christ, but to ask Him to remember him when He came into His kingdom! For that, he was rewarded with verification from Jesus that he would be there that day with Him in paradise! Takes a lot of those "Yeah, but..." doubts out of your mind, doesn't it?

Let's go with another person with many sins, only this one is from the Old Testament; how about David? Have you not heard how he killed Goliath (1 Sam. 17:50), after the sixth commandment was given from Moses that "...Thou shalt not kill" (Exod. 20:13)? And not only did he kill Goliath, but tens of thousands (1 Sam. 18:7)? And he killed after that 200 more for a form of dowry (1 Sam. 18:27)? And he further killed more, as is recorded in 1 Sam. 27:8 - 11 and 30:16 - 17. Even in 2 Sam. 8:1 - 18, David killed thousands upon thousands from Philistia, Moab, Zobah, Syria, and Edom. Well over 40,000 he slaughtered in his defeat of Ammon in 2 Sam. 10. As if these many killings were not enough sin, David also sinned in adultery (2 Sam. 11:2 - 5), and to make it worse, after finding out she was pregnant with his child, David had her husband Uriah killed, and sent the letter of instructions how to have him killed in Uriah's own hand! While all these sins are documented in the books of Samuel, despite all these, God's salvation was his. Understand that David had great faith, even before he was king of Israel. He would not harm Saul, the Lord's anointed (1 Sam. 24:6, 10 -12). For all that he did, God promised David his house, kingdom, and throne established for ever (2 Sam. 7:16). This was because David's faith pleased God. As Heb. 11:6 has it, it is impossible to please God without faith. One must believe He is and that He rewards. David praised God much, as in 2 Sam. 7:18 - 29, and don't forget the 73 Psalms David wrote concerning so many aspects of God, and much of it was praise to Him! David's song of his faith in God can be found in 2 Sam. 22:1 - 51.

The last I want to cover is Paul, once Saul. Before his conversion, Saul was into persecution of Christians. Acts 26:9 - 12 has Saul, now Paul, confessing to king Agrippa that before his conversion, he did everything he could contrary to the name of Jesus, shutting up saints in prison, having them put to death, punishing them in synagogues, and compelling them to blaspheme, even persecuting Christians in strange cities. Acts 7:57 - 8:1, 3 has him approving of the stoning of Stephen, a Christian, and documents that he went after Christians with such hatred, he was like a rampaging beast. Acts 9:1-6, 10 - 18, 21, however, explains his wonderful metamorphosis caused by Jesus Himself! After his incredible transformation, Saul, now Paul, became a great champion for Christ, full of faith. He blinded Elymas the sorcerer by the power of God, and when he healed a cripple in Acts 14:8 -20, the people of Lystra called him and Barnabas gods, but after he corrected them, there were visiting Jews who persuaded the people to stone him (ironic that he should learn how Stephen felt!), but later, surrounded by disciples, he got up and went to Derbe. Acts 16:16 -39 has a story of Paul driving a spirit out of a damsel, and ended up being beaten and given stripes for his good deed. Acts 19:6, 11-12 has it that God wrought many miracles up until his death, but what faith he suddenly had after his conversion! He was the first major missionary for Christ, making 3 journeys as His missionary that were so remarkable for any man in that time in history. His final journey was to Rome, where he was martyred.

So when someone thinks they've committed too many sins, that there's no hope for someone who has done so much wrong for so long, or that you can't do much at your age for the Lord, consider one of these superheroes of a sinner like you and me, who, despite when they realized they displeased God in their lifetime, had faith that He is and He rewards, and that they should do and say the righteous things with whatever time they had left. Especially look at the "good thief"; the only thing he could do was to defend Christ in His last hours before He died, and Christ's answer to his request to remember him was an invaluable reward to any who should hear it; (Luke 23:43) "...Verily I say unto thee, to day shalt thou be with Me in paradise."!

R U Bulletproof?

R U BULLETPROOF?

Ever see someone do a lot of things that amazed you they could perform them, and you say to yourself, "How'd they get away with (all) that? Or, "How did they perform that great feat, or those great feats? One would think some people "bulletproof", and perhaps, Phil. 4:13 comes to mind for some Christians. If we have the faith, indeed, His assistance makes us able to do all things through His strength.

Consider Job in Job 1:9 - 11; the devil seemed to be complaining to God that he couldn't test Job because of the hedge God had around Job and all he had, suggesting Job had selfish motives in His blessings for serving Him. Do you feel a hedge around you and your things? And if perhaps a string of things go wrong for you, do you wonder if you're going through a "Job experience"?

Psa. 91:1 - 7 has the author proclaiming his trust in God, calling Him Refuge and Fortress. The author further trusts the Lord to remove him from the snare of the fowler, that is, the devil. Verses 5 - 7 proclaim our security in the Lord always, not necessarily in the physical sense, but definitely in the spiritual sense, which is vastly more important, even priceless. Matt. 16:26 provides insight from Jesus just how invaluable the soul is!

Imagine being king Hezekiah in the Old Testament in Isa. 38:1 - 6. Here you had a ruler sick and and near death, told by the prophet Isaiah he was going to die. This king, not wishing to be gone from the earth just yet, humbled himself before God, crying out his heart, and asked God to remember how he had lived prior to his sickness. The prophet returned with a guarantee from the Lord that he would live another 15 years! On top of this, the Lord said He would keep Hezekiah and his city out of the hand of the king of Assyria, and the Assyrians never even got close enough for Israel to see their shields! While they didn't have bullets in those days, I'd say the king and his city were at least Assyrian-proof.

Peter had Jesus' word in John 21:18 that he would live long enough to be old, but not that he would die a natural death, but that of a martyr. True to His word (as we knew He would be!), when Peter was imprisoned by Herod, in Acts 12:6 - 11 he is unchained by an angel and led from prison and thought it was all a vision until the angel departed from him. Peter did not die until 34 years after the crucifixion of Jesus, martyred the same year as Paul.

In Luke 10:1 - 12, 17 - 20, Jesus sends 70 disciples to go do what is today called doorknocking, and gives them specific instructions, advising them that He sent them as lambs among wolves. They returned to Him with great joy that they had power over devils, and Jesus assured them that He gave them power over everything the enemy had, and that nothing would hurt them, but even more wonderful for them was His assurance that their names were written in heaven! These 70 were "bulletproof" not only in life, but in death, and it was sealed with the promise of Christ Jesus!

Remember that we have an Advocate (1 John 2:1); Christ Jesus, and He is our Rock, just as He was in Luke 22:31-32 for the disciples. Jesus told Peter the devil desired him that he might sift him as wheat, and Jesus gave him comfort by telling him that He had prayed for him, that his faith not fail. Of all you who read this and have ever had a time in your life when you had little or no faith, that has to be some anxiety attack! How wonderful it is for us who believe to know in the present that we are bulletproof from the devil and the gates of hell in the blood of Christ Jesus who died for all our sins.

Eph. 6:10 - 20 tells us that we have armor; yes, armor of God! We have the devil for an adversary, and he's not alone. He's got his demonic hosts, principalities, powers, and rulers of the darkness of this world. We have the helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness, the sword of the Spirit, the sandals of the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, and the belt of truth. This is not to say that an armored Christian is invulnerable to attack and difficulties. Psa. 44:22 and Rom. 8:36 tell of great difficulties, not meant to be obstacles for the people of God, but He allows us to be tested by them. Remember Job? Here's a man who loved the Lord, a practiced godly man, and he is greatly tested by the devil's work against him. Now he doesn't know what's going on, and some friends condemn him as having done something wrong. Eliphaz tells him he's obviously being disciplined by God, and needs to repent. Bildad tells him he's suffering because of his sins, and calls Job a hypocrite. Zophar tells him he's suffering from his sinfulness and deserves much worse, and that he needs to repent. Got friends like these? Job did nothing wrong, but he was attacked by the devil, and his friends made him out to being a sinner. Great to have these friends, who put down your counsel, and hurl stones at you from their own glass houses. The devil will use your friends to see if you're bulletproof, too, and even your wife, as Job found out (Job 2:9). Also understand that while Job's test was extrinsic, that is to say, an attack on his physical external self and possessions, do not underestimate that the devil will not launch an attack of intrinsic nature, that is to say, on your mind. Satan may attack you with doubts, misinterpretations, delusions, paranoia...and you must wear the belt of truth and hold up the shield of faith against Lucifer's lies and fiery darts. Knowing the bible well and edifying one another in the faith, even yourself with the promises of God, give great strength to this shield.

Paul asserts that those who are in Christ Jesus are inseparable from God in Rom. 8:38 - 39. As we know Christ's salvation for us with open eyes, those who are saved cannot be separated from the love of God in Christ Jesus. Jesus Himself promised in John 10:27 - 28, "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me: and I give them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand."

Mark 4:6, 17 describes people who fall away in a parable Jesus tells, and later, He explains to His disciples His parable. There are some who will be tested, and may even be being tested now, and, if they have no root, if they are not genuinely saved, it will be known, because they will fall away from the faith. These will stop obeying the commandments, stop proclaiming the gospel, and walk the path of the lost because of persecution or great affliction. Even some will need only little affliction, and they will buckle. For those who are saved, we have 1 Cor. 10:2, which tells us God is faithful and won't suffer us a temptation we cannot bear, but make a way we can escape our test. Now in this understand Paul doesn't mean we get out of the test, but rather that we will be able to bear it, because God will give us the power. Don't forget the martyrdom of the apostles. They did not give up their faith, and were able to bear the death they had at the hands of their persecutors.

So now we understand that while the saved are not necessarily physically bulletproof, they are indeed spiritually bulletproof. Friends and family may be used by the devil to test that, and no matter how severe the test, God will give us the power to withstand the test, we who are genuinely saved. Our assurance is spoken by Christ; "neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand."! Oh, what a reason to praise God!