“THE COURAGE OF FAITH”
We are living in an era of scarce courage. Few pastors display anything like the courage they sometimes preach and teach about from God's Word. Instead, there is terrified compliance with the illegal, unconstitutional, unethical, immoral, and certainly antichristian edicts demands that we not worship according to the dictates of our consciences.
Webster’s New Universal Unabridged
Dictionary defines
courage as, “The quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face
difficulty, danger, pain, etc., without fear; bravery.”[1]
This is a clear instance of a supposedly authoritative source being wrong.
From the time I was a little boy, from
movies that I watched to books that I have read I have always known that
courage is almost never displayed in the absence of fear. Quite the contrary,
the admirable characteristic about courage, real courage in the face of danger
and adversity, is that courage overcomes fear. I have never met a soldier or
sailor who met the enemy in battle who did not admit to fear, even those who have been
highly decorated for acts of heroism and bravery at the risk of their own
safety. Therefore, even so well known an expert as Webster’s Dictionary can get
it wrong sometimes.
Let me amend Webster’s definition to a
working definition that I will use. Courage, being
synonymous with bravery, is that quality of mind or spirit that enables a
person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc., despite fear.”
That said; let me now admit that I have a
topic, an issue, a theme to set before you that has been brought on by observations
I have made along the way in my ministry.
What would you say about a young man who
is terrified at the thought of discussing spiritual things with a pastor, but
is willing to join the military and lay his life on the line in combat? What
would you think about a guy who is willing to face bad guys every shift as a
patrol officer, but breaks out in a cold sweat at the thought of a low-key
discussion of spiritual matters? I once had a discussion with a gang-banger, who was seemingly unafraid to face guys with loaded weapons,
but who could not bring himself to carry a Bible to school, so intense was his
fright.
You might be tempted to label the person
who is fearless in the face of life-threatening danger courageous, if you did
not also consider the complete absence of moral courage to tote a Bible or
discussion spiritual matters. So, what is a soldier, if he will face shooters
and IEDs in Iraq or Afghanistan, but is scared witless of a conversation with
the only pastor he has ever known over a cup of coffee? Is such a man brave, or
is such a man a coward? Is he courageous, or is he gutless?
What about the pastor of a Church who bows in terror before a government official who dictates against reason and righteousness that he may not lead his congregation in public, gathered, worship without risk of fine or arrest? Is that not fear of man rather than fear of God, even when he disguises his fear as "following the leadership of the Holy Spirit"?
I submit to you that there are two
entirely different realms of conduct in which courage and cowardice can be
displayed. There is that realm of existence where the challenge to be faced is
a threat to physical safety and well-being, and then there is that realm of
existence where the challenge to be faced has to do with spiritual safety and
well-being. To be sure, these two realms can easily overlap and intersect, such
as when a Christian is threatened with torture or martyrdom in an effort to
coerce compromise or apostasy. However, the cowardly refusal to so much as
carry a Bible to school begs the question of physical danger so much that a
bully’s fear of someone’s questioning look or a sniff of laughter exposes his
true nature.
Shall we grant, then, that there are
some big bad boys out there who are courageous in the face of weapons fire,
courageous in the face of unseen threats to life and health, but who are sadly
lacking what we might refer to as moral courage? As well, are there not people
who are small and frail who are quite timid in the face of physical danger, but
who display incredible moral courage to stand up for what is right and to speak
up for God when opportunities present themselves?
Therefore, while we must always show
proper respect to someone who has displayed physical courage in defense of the
helpless at great risk to their own lives, I believe I can establish the
greater worth to mankind, to our nation, and to the cause of Christ, of those
who rather display moral courage. These are those who display courage in the
classroom, who stand up for what is right in the public square, who are willing
to suffer the verbal attacks of the faceless mob, and who are willing to face jail time for conducting public worship.
Among those who display what I term
moral courage are those who exhibit the courage of faith. I am not sure I have
ever seen or read any treatment of the courage of faith by a preacher or
commentator, but it is a topic that has weighed on my mind for a number of months now, particularly as I have contemplated the obvious terror that some
display at thought of discussing spiritual matters or standing up to government prohibition to worship according to the dictates of our consciences. Oh, I am sure that many who
are lacking the courage of faith conveniently conceal their fright from
themselves in a ballet of self-delusion and rationalization. However, what
other explanation can be advanced to explain what appears to be a complete lack
of courage?
If you will consider Hebrews chapter 11,
there are a few verses that reasonably show what we would call the courage of
faith:
Notice Hebrews 11.8: “By faith Abraham,
when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an
inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.” No one is
saying that Abraham was the only man who ever left home with an uncertain
destination. However, the Bible does point out that what Abraham did he did by
faith, and our own reason suggests that such a move in the face of danger and
uncertainty displayed courage. I think this is an example of the courage of
faith.
Look at verse 17: “By faith Abraham,
when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises
offered up his only begotten son.” Though Abraham was not concerned for
his own safety, there is no doubt that he feared for the life of his son Isaac.
Only the courage of his faith could overcome his undeniable fear for his son’s
safety.
Verse 23: “By faith Moses, when he was
born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a
proper child; and they were not afraid of the king’s commandment.” This verse
clearly attests to the courage of the faith of Moses’ parents.
Verse 27: “By faith he forsook Egypt,
not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is
invisible.” What overcame his fear of the wrath of Pharaoh? The courage of his
faith.
Did not David’s faith show itself as
courage when he faced Goliath? Did not Daniel’s faith show itself as courage
when he stood up to Nebuchadnezzar and told him the truth, when he stood up to
Belshazzar and told him the truth, and when he held fast and unwavering in the
lion’s den? As well, what about the courage of those three Hebrew’s faith in
the fiery furnace?
Then there was Paul, and Peter, and
James, and John in the New Testament, along with Stephen. Down through history
there are so many thousands whose names we will not learn this side of heaven,
whose courage of faith greatly glorified God and exalted the Savior. There was
Martin Luther, John Calvin, William Tyndale, John Bunyan, John Knox, and
Obadiah Holmes, beaten in
Boston on September 5, 1651, when he was given thirty lashes with a
three-corded whip, the executioner applying all his strength, for being a
Baptist. Those men displayed the courage of faith.
Faith is not always displayed by
courage, though it is frequently displayed by courage. Sometimes it is
displayed by the moral courage to stand up for what is right, to withstand the
facial expressions, the taunts, and the disapproval of those who are enemies of
the gospel. At other times it is displayed by the physical courage to stand up
to threats of torture, imprisonment, or even martyrdom. At other times it is displayed by disobeying a governor's order forbidding gathering for public, Scripturally mandated worship.
We must not presume that only the saints
display the courage of faith, for we have good evidence that not only do some
who are lost have a kind of genuine faith, but that they display what can only
be the courage of their faith. However, before I show you the courage of faith
in the life of someone who is not a child of God, I want to contrast the
courage of faith with a complete absence of such courage, because of the
complete absence of faith, in the lives of two people you are very familiar
with.
Adam and Eve sinned against God by
eating the forbidden fruit. You are familiar with the Biblical account of the
Fall in Genesis chapter three. Have you considered their motivation for hiding
in the bushes and attempting to conceal themselves from discovery? When God
asked him where he was, Adam responded in Genesis 3.10, by saying, “I heard thy
voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid
myself.” Therefore, Adam’s motive for hiding, and presumably Eve’s as
well, was fear. However, it must have been fear in the absence of any courage,
because courage enables a person to do the right thing even when he is afraid.
On the other hand, there is the example
of Abram, in Genesis chapter 12. Though there is no direct comment in Scripture
indicating Abram was fearful, I think it goes without saying that a long
journey for an old man to a place he has never been before, facing an uncertain
future, would require courage. Since Hebrews 11.8-10 declares to us that his
journey as well as his sojourn there was accomplished by faith, it is easy to
see the evidence of the courage of faith. Keep in mind that Abram was a lost
man at this time in his life. From Genesis 15.6, Romans chapter 4, and
Galatians 3.6, we know he did not come to saving faith for at least ten years. Thus,
Abraham’s journey, his compliance with what he knew to be God’s will for his
life, was prompted by the courage his faith displayed to go where God wanted
him to go, and to do what God wanted him to do, even before he was justified in the
sight of God!
This brings me to the lost who attend Church. Is
it not amazing that the lost are comfortable in their damnation, while at the
same time they are fearful of delivery and salvation? This is the deception of
sin and delusion of the devil to believe a lie. That said, it is undeniably
true that when a sinner comes under the sound of the Gospel and is given enough
faith by God to begin seeking the Lord while He may be found, real courage is
required to overcome the fear that exists, to negotiate the formidable issues
that each lost person has to deal with in order to simply come to Christ.
So, why is it the sinner will not seek
the answers to the questions that plague him? Why will she not ask the questions
that must be both asked and answered before she will come to Christ? No courage.
It requires courage to do scary things. It requires bravery to overcome
terrors. And it is the courage that results from God-given faith that makes it
possible for a sinner to forge ahead to the finish, to actually close with
Christ.
The courage associated with faith is scarce these days. I had hoped to see more of it from pastors of Churches in the face of government bullying. I am sad to say that I have been very disappointed.
[1] Webster’s New Universal Unabridged Dictionary,
(New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1996), page 464.
