“Give me Scotland, or I die” -John Knox.
Revelation 21:8 “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”
Cowardly men are a plight in the modern church of Christ. Christ has given us a warning in Revelation 21:8. The KJV renders it fearful, and the ESV reads as cowardly. There is much to be said about cowardly men today, but we should be courageous as followers of Christ. I would contend that cowardly men will have no part in the kingdom of God according to Revelation 21:8. This is a warning from our Lord that we are to be men of valor, men willing to lay all earthly ambitions aside and pursue our God.
At the boys' home, we had a term the boys loved to use "say it with your chest," meaning say what you need to say, be brave, and stand up when needed. When we "say it with your chest," I would always encourage them to be gentle in their dealings. This saying did not mean they avoided conflict, but they engaged it diplomatically. They understood that communication was crucial for building and repairing their relationships. They were brave and stood for what was right, defending their person and others.
Proverbs 31:8-9
Open your mouth for the mute,
for the rights of all who are destitute.
Open your mouth, judge righteously,
defend the rights of the poor and needy.
"Say it with your chest" did a lot for these young men. It taught them that sometimes they must be brave and engage in a conflict worth fighting. This was primarily done on a personal level, face-to-face. As Christians, we strive to be peacemakers and not Firestarters. We strive to engage in these conflicts to restore the church's unity. Our primary function as followers of Christ is to walk peacefully among all men. Knowing this, we should strive to be men of peace and avoid pop shots at our fellow brethren. When these pop shots do come, we should strive for unity. Our unity is found in Christ, so what does Christ have to say about the peacemaker? He said they are blessed and shall be called the sons of God.
Matthew 5:9
"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
The cowardly are not, so they are cursed and are the sons of Satan. There is a clear distinction between someone who labors in a conflict to establish peace and one who labors in a conflict to develop chaos. One is after the manner of Christ, the other after the manner of Satan. As godly men, we strive to be peacemakers. Sometimes peace is made through conflicts, but much like Christ, we will suffer at the hands of cowardly men until we die or Christ returns.
"Desperate times call for faithful men and not for careful men. The careful men come later and write the biographies of the faithful men, lotting them for their courage."
-Doug Wilson
We see this in Numbers 13 when the twelve spies enter the land of Canaan. This was a blessed land the Lord had been preparing for Israel since he entered into covenant with Abraham. The land flowed with milk, honey, massive clusters of grapes, and giants. Two faithful spies say we can take this land trusting in the promise of Christ. The other ten were shaking in their boots. Saying you know there are descendants of Anak there. Giants can crush us as we are weak people, and they are strong.
Caleb said, "Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it."
Caleb engaged the congregation and said we could overcome these giants and occupy this great land. In Numbers 14, the congregation becomes fearful of those who inhabited the land. Cowardly men produce work for faithful men. Our motto here at MBC is "to a 1000 generations". This takes faithful men who can build and prepare for the future, just like Caleb looked at Canaan and saw the great blessings of the promised land. We can look to Christ and see the great blessing of the gospel going to the nations. It does not matter what stands in the way of Christ, for He is the conqueror of all.
Psalm 2:8
Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.
As faithful men in Christ, we are to engage the nations with the gospel of Christ. Our work here on earth is to be the herald of the truth revealed in scripture. When the rest of the country is faithless, we must be faithful. We stand on the promises of Christ. We stand with confidence and courage that Christ will reach the nations. It is by Christ's hand that the heathen will be His inheritance. Let us not be fearful and unbelieving like the ten faithless spies. Let us have the courage of Caleb and say this nation is Christ. Now more than ever, we need faithful men standing and combating the evils of this faithless world for future generations we preach Christ.
When we look at the following chapter, Numbers 14, Caleb's report went right over the heads of the congregation of Israel. Israel's faithlessness was on full display. They rejected the goodness of the promises land on the word of faithless cowardly spies. The people will attack the leaders when faithlessness or cowardice is in the church, much like Israel did to Moses and Aaron. They even might say it would be better if I were still in the slavery of sin or that I return to my old nature as God has abandoned us. Let us choose a faithless leader to lead us back to the land of slavery. When cowardice occurs in the local congregation, it produces quick judgments. Their quick decisions are motivated by self-preservation or faithlessness. Numbers 14:4 "Let us choose a leader and go back to Egypt." This was an immediate response from the nation of Israel.
Numbers 4:5, we see Moses and Aaron fall on their face before the congregation in complete awe of their lack of faith and cowardice. Then we see two prominent young leaders stand up and encourage the assembly of the faithfulness of the Lord. The two young spies' plea was, "do not fear them." Their stand on God's faithfulness was costly as the congregation of Israel was ready to stone them in verse 10. This mirrors the life of our Savior, Christ. Isreal rejected the faithful man Christ and picked up stones to stone Him. Isreal had seen great works done at the hand of Moses. Yet they still denied the promises offered by God; this is the same way they rejected Christ. The security of eternal rest, yet they crucified Christ.
John 10:31-42
Numbers 14:8-9
If the Lord delights in us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land that flows with milk and honey. Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not fear the people of the land, for they are bread for us. Their protection is removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them."
"If the Lord delights in us," Christ delights in His elect. Not based on our self-righteousness but on what He accomplished on the cross. The Lord delights in weak men clinging to the promises of Christ!
May we be found faithful.
Revelation 21:8 “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”
Cowardly men are a plight in the modern church of Christ. Christ has given us a warning in Revelation 21:8. The KJV renders it fearful, and the ESV reads as cowardly. There is much to be said about cowardly men today, but we should be courageous as followers of Christ. I would contend that cowardly men will have no part in the kingdom of God according to Revelation 21:8. This is a warning from our Lord that we are to be men of valor, men willing to lay all earthly ambitions aside and pursue our God.
At the boys' home, we had a term the boys loved to use "say it with your chest," meaning say what you need to say, be brave, and stand up when needed. When we "say it with your chest," I would always encourage them to be gentle in their dealings. This saying did not mean they avoided conflict, but they engaged it diplomatically. They understood that communication was crucial for building and repairing their relationships. They were brave and stood for what was right, defending their person and others.
Proverbs 31:8-9
Open your mouth for the mute,
for the rights of all who are destitute.
Open your mouth, judge righteously,
defend the rights of the poor and needy.
"Say it with your chest" did a lot for these young men. It taught them that sometimes they must be brave and engage in a conflict worth fighting. This was primarily done on a personal level, face-to-face. As Christians, we strive to be peacemakers and not Firestarters. We strive to engage in these conflicts to restore the church's unity. Our primary function as followers of Christ is to walk peacefully among all men. Knowing this, we should strive to be men of peace and avoid pop shots at our fellow brethren. When these pop shots do come, we should strive for unity. Our unity is found in Christ, so what does Christ have to say about the peacemaker? He said they are blessed and shall be called the sons of God.
Matthew 5:9
"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
The cowardly are not, so they are cursed and are the sons of Satan. There is a clear distinction between someone who labors in a conflict to establish peace and one who labors in a conflict to develop chaos. One is after the manner of Christ, the other after the manner of Satan. As godly men, we strive to be peacemakers. Sometimes peace is made through conflicts, but much like Christ, we will suffer at the hands of cowardly men until we die or Christ returns.
"Desperate times call for faithful men and not for careful men. The careful men come later and write the biographies of the faithful men, lotting them for their courage."
-Doug Wilson
We see this in Numbers 13 when the twelve spies enter the land of Canaan. This was a blessed land the Lord had been preparing for Israel since he entered into covenant with Abraham. The land flowed with milk, honey, massive clusters of grapes, and giants. Two faithful spies say we can take this land trusting in the promise of Christ. The other ten were shaking in their boots. Saying you know there are descendants of Anak there. Giants can crush us as we are weak people, and they are strong.
Caleb said, "Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it."
Caleb engaged the congregation and said we could overcome these giants and occupy this great land. In Numbers 14, the congregation becomes fearful of those who inhabited the land. Cowardly men produce work for faithful men. Our motto here at MBC is "to a 1000 generations". This takes faithful men who can build and prepare for the future, just like Caleb looked at Canaan and saw the great blessings of the promised land. We can look to Christ and see the great blessing of the gospel going to the nations. It does not matter what stands in the way of Christ, for He is the conqueror of all.
Psalm 2:8
Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.
As faithful men in Christ, we are to engage the nations with the gospel of Christ. Our work here on earth is to be the herald of the truth revealed in scripture. When the rest of the country is faithless, we must be faithful. We stand on the promises of Christ. We stand with confidence and courage that Christ will reach the nations. It is by Christ's hand that the heathen will be His inheritance. Let us not be fearful and unbelieving like the ten faithless spies. Let us have the courage of Caleb and say this nation is Christ. Now more than ever, we need faithful men standing and combating the evils of this faithless world for future generations we preach Christ.
When we look at the following chapter, Numbers 14, Caleb's report went right over the heads of the congregation of Israel. Israel's faithlessness was on full display. They rejected the goodness of the promises land on the word of faithless cowardly spies. The people will attack the leaders when faithlessness or cowardice is in the church, much like Israel did to Moses and Aaron. They even might say it would be better if I were still in the slavery of sin or that I return to my old nature as God has abandoned us. Let us choose a faithless leader to lead us back to the land of slavery. When cowardice occurs in the local congregation, it produces quick judgments. Their quick decisions are motivated by self-preservation or faithlessness. Numbers 14:4 "Let us choose a leader and go back to Egypt." This was an immediate response from the nation of Israel.
Numbers 4:5, we see Moses and Aaron fall on their face before the congregation in complete awe of their lack of faith and cowardice. Then we see two prominent young leaders stand up and encourage the assembly of the faithfulness of the Lord. The two young spies' plea was, "do not fear them." Their stand on God's faithfulness was costly as the congregation of Israel was ready to stone them in verse 10. This mirrors the life of our Savior, Christ. Isreal rejected the faithful man Christ and picked up stones to stone Him. Isreal had seen great works done at the hand of Moses. Yet they still denied the promises offered by God; this is the same way they rejected Christ. The security of eternal rest, yet they crucified Christ.
John 10:31-42
Numbers 14:8-9
If the Lord delights in us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land that flows with milk and honey. Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not fear the people of the land, for they are bread for us. Their protection is removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them."
"If the Lord delights in us," Christ delights in His elect. Not based on our self-righteousness but on what He accomplished on the cross. The Lord delights in weak men clinging to the promises of Christ!
May we be found faithful.
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