Man is guided in his thoughts, words and actions by his will. The key to walking in (living) the holy life is to submit one’s will to the rule of God through the Holy Spirit. The “spirit that is in man” is man’s spirit which God places in each and every person ever born. Man controls his individual spirit with which he forms his will. Unconverted man is self-willed. He thinks, says and does what his will tells him to think, say and do. This is why there is so much sin in the world and so much pain and suffering that results from that sin. The people of the world do not submit their wills to God so as to be led by His Holy Spirit. Only those who do so are the true sons of God (Rom. 1:14). Jesus said that there would be few of such people (Mat. 7:13,13; 22:14). In the previous posting we read where Jesus demonstrated this greatest of virtues on the day He was beaten and crucified when He asked the Father if there was any other way to save mankind. His will was to not be beaten and crucified. Hearing the answer, He said, “Not my will but your will be done.” Then He submitted His will to the will of His Father and paid the price for doing so.

One of the ways that unconverted man views those around him is to automatically view those unlike himself as having less value. This is especially true in the area of race and religion. Unfortunately it is normal in man to automatically reject those unlike ourselves outwardly without finding out what people are like inwardly–in the heart (mind) where it counts. We are told Scripturally that whatever is in the heart comes out of the mouth. Man cannot keep things to himself. What is in his heart, including his attitude toward people not like himself, will eventually be spoken.

In the spiritual realm rejection of those who are unlike ourselves spiritually is even more powerful than our automatic rejection of those who do not look like us. It takes a deep spiritual change of will for man to accept someone of a different religion while rejecting his/her religion. Invariably, what is inside will come to the surface. No matter what one’s color happens to be, it is one’s words from one’s heart (mind) that determines how others see him. Words carry a much more weight than physical considerations. One might accept another’s clothing style, but one’s words are what are judged. One can even allow for another person’s religion, as long as he keeps it to himself. I once had several Muslims in a class I was teaching. During our segment on religion I told them (privately) that though I rejected their religion totally, I admired their dedication to it and how the conducted themselves. Why? Because I had a will to walk as Christ walked (1 Jn. 2:6). Understand this, if I had made that statement in a Muslim country I would have probably not lived out the day.

Jesus accepted everyone as children created by God. Recall how He dealt with Nicodemus, a Pharisee and how Jesus dealt with the woman at the well and later with her fellow countrymen. He accepted them as fellow human beings even though they had bowed the knee to Simon the magician (Acts 8:9-11). By His Words the Lord won them over.

But normally that was not the case. It would be due to His Words that Jesus was rejected and crucified. The masses embraced what they saw Him do–heal the sick, raise the dead, multiply food, etc. However, His message brought about His death and the deaths of his apostles. Man likes diversity in life–to a point. House and car styles and colors, clothing styles, food, etc. are all welcomed in the name of diversity. But when it comes to the voicing of diversity within religion, not so much. One can live his religion to the hilt, as long as he does not talk about it. To be a child of God makes one decidedly different from others, even those of one’s own religion. The difference is highlighted by our words. Words come from the heart where we store the real us. When the words we live by inwardly are spoken, the best of friends and the closest of relatives can, and sometimes do, cause division.

Jesus was evidently well received for some 29 years. That all changed when He began to preach. Beginning with the religious leaders and seeping down to those who followed them, everything changed for Him following His baptism and the beginning of His ministry. Three and one-half years later He was hanging on a cross. HIs Words got Him killed. The masses who had hailed His entrance into Jerusalem a few years earlier joined the chorus crying out for the authorities to “crucify Him, crucify Him.”

It is due to what they say that true saints of God are rejected by the rest of professing Christendom. Having hundreds of versions of God’s church proves that diversity is considered good, until it comes to the speaking of words relative to that diversity. Jesus warned His followers that because the religious world hated His (ONE AND ONLY) message, the religious world would hate their message, for it would be the same (Eph 4:4-6). For this reason He tells us to “count the cost” of following Him. The Apostle Peter describes God’s true saints as being His PECULIAR treasures, His holy, pure and chosen people, His royal priesthood (1 Pet. 2:9/Titus 2:14). His true saints are His light to the world. Why are God’s people the way they are? Because they have a will to obey Him, which the rest of the world does not have. In First Peter 2:7,8 the apostle tells us why such people are rejected by the rest of the spiritual world–because they walk like their Master Who was a “stone of stumbling and a Rock of offense” for those who “stumble at the Word” of God. It was Christ’s Words that people stumbled over while He was on earth and which brought about His death. He warned His saints to expect the same treatment and for the same reason. The day is coming when the law will not protect true believers, but will instead bring the power of man down on them. Read Matthew chapter 10:14-42.

It was Christ’s Words–His message–that the Jews, particularly their religious leaders, rejected because their will was to reject anything that was alien to their religion. They did not have the will to obey the Holy Scriptures. The did have the will to obey men who spoke the words they wanted to hear. Their will was to make whatever their leaders said “the word of the Lord.” Nothing has changed.

That this attitude toward God’s Word would persist until Christ returns is pointed out in Matthew 10 where Jesus warns the apostles and those who follow them to be ready to be hated, despised and rejected by the church as well as the nation in which she exists. Why? Because of man’s will to reject those who disagree with him. This includes the Almighty and His Son.

My purpose in writing this series is to alert those who would obey Christ that persecution is a surety. As Jesus said, “… one’s enemies will be those of his own household” if one is determined to follow Him and dares to speak what is in his/her heart. One must have the will to do so and to accept the consequences. The son of God must also understand that those whose will takes them in another direction will be one’s spiritual enemies. Sadly, those enemies will be people who are the most dear to the saint’s heart. But through it all, remember what Jesus said in Matthew 10:22: “He who endures (persecution for righteousness’ sake) to the end will be saved.” Also remember what Peter said: “judgment begins in the church and only the righteous will be saved”. Let us control our will and focus on allowing Go to lead us in following Him.

Diversity is good in many areas of life, but not so in the spiritual realm. For the true son of God, there is only one true religion. God’s Word is His will in written form. America, in her quest for diversity, has become spiritually mongrelized. She will pay a terrible price for her spiritual whoredoms. L.J.