Suffering Rejection
 
by Dr. Ken Matto
 
(Psa 141:8 KJV) But mine eyes are unto thee, O GOD the Lord: in thee is my trust; leave not my soul destitute.

Last week I received an E-mail from a cousin of mine in California that her sister underwent quadruple bypass surgery. From the E-mail I was told that she was doing well and was being transferred to a rehabilitation center for the rest of her recovery. I was glad to hear that she is making very good progress. I only have one problem with this scenario. My cousin’s sister is my godmother and she lives five blocks from my home. Not one person in my extended family even called to let me know that she would be undergoing such an operation. You see I have become an outcast in my family since I did not attend my brother’s annual Christmas party for the whole family. It’s not that I don’t want to see the family but it is because of my leg situation. So instead of them understanding my present situation, I am treated like a castaway as if I wanted a bad hip and and two bad knees.

This is how the world thinks especially toward Christians. This is nothing strange as the Bible warns us that the world will treat us like refuse. (1 Pet 4:4 KJV) Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you: When we were of the world, the world loved us because we held no opposition to the ways of the world but now that we have become saved, the ways of the world are as evil to us as our ways are to the world. This not only includes those friends we used to run with but this also includes our immediate and extended family. Whenever we name the name of Christ, the opposition will mount instantly, even from family members. They will tolerate you at family functions but the rest of the time you will be persona non grata which means “a person unacceptable or unwelcome.”

These people who choose to separate from us because of our testimony are going to experience the ultimate separation on the last day. In Matthew 25:31-46, we read that there is going to be a great separation of the sheep and the goats. Those unbelievers who chose to separate from us in this life are going to regret that action and they will realize what they did on that day. (Mat 25:33 KJV) And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then it will be too late to make amends. Unfortunately, in this present world we must share it with the unbelievers and since true Christians are in the minority, we will be the object of much unwarranted prejudice. Have you ever experienced being left out of things or being avoided? I am sure we all have unless you belong to a family in which all are saved. Those of us who are the only ones saved in our families will understand what it is like to be made the outcast. If you are the only one saved in your family, don’t you feel relief when you enter your church on Sunday where you can freely discuss the things of the Lord without someone telling you to shut up?

There is another aspect of Christianity in which you will experience increased prejudice not from the unbelievers but from the believers. If you truly have set your mind on the things of God and God begins to respond by opening your spiritual eyes to biblical truth that other believers just cannot accept, you will be castigated for that too. That goes on everyday around the world. Christians who study the Word and choose to believe the Bible rather than preachers or theologians, will face the wrath of average and liberal Christianity. Now I am not speaking of things like new revelation or interpretations which are far fetched, I am speaking of the truths we have right in front of us. For example, if you say to an average Christian that God has predestined His Elect from the foundation of the world, you will be attacked. Yet, there is ample biblical proof for this teaching. (Rev 13:8 KJV) And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. This verse is just one which teaches that God wrote the names of those He planned to save in the book of life before the Earth was created. Even if you show them this truth in black and white, you will still be condemned.

Tell the average modern version advocate that the King James Bible is better than the English Standard Version and you will be condemned for that too. After all, R.C. Sproul says it is a good translation but then again he was on the translating committee so he gets a nice royalty check. The fact that the Christian who chooses to study and ask questions is being chastised by other Christians should never deter us from consistently studying the Bible with a good investigative attitude and the deeper we get into God’s Word, the more truth will be revealed to us. Remember, the Holy Spirit is going to lead us into all truth and that truth will be rejected by many Christians. Why is biblical truth so rejected in the body of Christ? It is because the majority of Christians refuse to study and delve into God’s Word, as we are commanded to do. Most Christians that I have come across in my life source their Christianity in Catechisms, Confessions, Commentaries, and theology books. On PalTalk I hear these people consistently argue their points from Confessions rather than from the pages of Scripture. This is why we have a biblically illiterate Christian body. Do you see Muslims studying commentaries about the Koran instead of the Koran? The answer is no because they want the author’s thoughts in their head to guide them.

Christians must do the same thing. They must get into the Scriptures and allow the thoughts of God to permeate their thinking. This way God can begin to build the body of Christ in a very strong manner. Can you imagine if Christians first read the Scriptures and made commentaries and confessions second? We would be doing things correctly because the Bible would be judging these writings instead of them sitting in judgment of Scripture. One of the best investments we can make is a King James Bible without man’s commentaries in the center columns or side margins. The commentaries tend to meld with the Scriptures and after a while when we quote them, we mix them together without realizing it.

The sorry fact is that no matter what your situation is, whether you choose to really become a student of the Word or if you are just an average Christian, you will face opposition from both believers and unbelievers. This is a guarantee that I can give without reservation. It is a guarantee the Scriptures give. (John 15:20 KJV) Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. Notice in this verse what the Lord Jesus Christ is conveying to us. If they have kept His saying, they will keep ours that is if they are in line with the Scriptures, then we will not receive opposition but the flip side of that coin is that if they have not kept His Word, then we will face opposition. Persecution will come and it will come in all forms. Recently I have faced mocking on Paltalk whenever the subject of the King James Bible comes up and I get on the mike and speak. I understand where they are coming from because they have all swallowed the lie of textual criticism, so anything that goes against their theologians should be mocked. I hate to say it but there are many juvenile Christians passing themselves off as mature but you only need to listen and you will know why they act the way they do. When you want their opinion on something, they have to quote someone else.

It is a shame that these are the ones who normally lead the charge against the Bible based Christian and have the most followers simply because they sound so intelligent. It is the same in the churches, those who inundate themselves with theology will always seem to come against the Bible. This will only get worse as we approach the last day so just remain vigilant against those who attempt to break you down. In fact, the Lord even warned us about such happenings. (Mat 10:36 KJV) And a man's foes shall be they of his own household.
Just take up a study of the Scriptures and you will see just how many foes you will make just within the body of Christ, never mind the unsaved world. Many a Christian has been removed from churches for being troublemakers just for opposing divorce and remarriage or the drinking of alcohol. I have heard people try to make cases for drinking by stating that there is nothing in Scripture forbidding us to drink. (Prov 23:31 KJV) Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. This verse states that we are not even to look at the wine and looking comes way before drinking it. So if God commands us not to look at the wine then how can one say that there is no prohibition in Scripture for drinking?

Well let me conclude by saying that if you truly uphold the teachings of Scripture, you will receive opposition and rejection from both unbelievers and nominal Christians. It is something that all of us will face. When it comes, it may cause us a little discouragement but know that the Bible warns us about it and that the Lord Jesus is there to strengthen us. When we study the martyrs, we see the great strength they had at the moment of their martyrdom, in fact, many of them sang hymns and Psalms at the moment of their promotion to Heaven.

That comes from a true and strong relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. So even if you are persecuted for upholding the truth, never back off, because you will be vindicated by the Lord Jesus Christ. (Isa 55:11 KJV) So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. This verse does not only apply to general evangelism but it also applies to the propagation of the true Word in the life of the individual believer. When you bring the truth of God to an individual or a group, the Word will permeate it and the Lord will guide the results or in the case of unbelievers and recalcitrant Christians, consequences. So do not lose heart when those times come but know that you are in good company with those who have gone before us. (2/4/05)

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