March 13: MAKING DISTINCTIONS
In your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect. 1 Peter 3:15 (ESV)
A great benefit of refraining from self-defense in the face of criticism comes when someone inquires about your hope. This is an open door that could not be opened any other way. Some translations are written sanctify the Lord God in your hearts or set Christ apart, acknowledging Him as holy. This is actually a practical way of gaining a better understanding what is important to Him.
We can look through the Old Testament and see that the problems that arose among God’s people are really no different from the problems we have today. The LORD spoke through Ezekiel to point out that there were problems among the leadership that adversely affected the congregation at large:
Her priests have violated My law and profaned My holy things; they have not distinguished between the holy and the unholy, nor have they made known the difference between the clean and the unclean; and they have hidden their eyes from My Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them. Ezekiel 22:26
The striking parallel of this indictment to our day provides undeniable proof of the prophetic quality of the Scriptures. It is the special duty of leaders in the church to provide Bible-based instruction concerning the worship of Almighty God. The divine requirements are all about building discernment and making distinctions that guide us with righteousness. Observance of the weekly Sabbath, woven directly into Creation itself, was cluttered with cumbersome man-made rules, making it a burdensome, dreaded day. Jesus demonstrated proper Sabbath-keeping, which freed His followers to rest and be renewed, physically and spiritually. The seventh day of every week is a temple in time. Also, our bodies are His temple. Part of our worship includes eating only of that which is clean.
The essential backing for the gentleness and respect with which we are called to treat all people is prayer; this includes praying for ourselves (James 1:5). The worldly, pagan influences of today are laced with things intended by Satan to physically and spiritually render us incapable of discernment. Nearly all of them have been “normalized,” even among the leadership in Christian churches. But intimacy with Him necessarily requires believing His word – all of it. Every faith that is founded and grounded in that word will come through testing intact. Faith must be tested, for this is how our initial faith becomes our solid, unshakable possession.
… strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, “We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.” Acts 14:22