In 2016, a man named Joshua found himself in prison. He had never been in major trouble before and was finding it very difficult to adjust to life inside the prison walls. Other prisoners treated him poorly, he didn't have the resources to communicate with family and friends through letters, and the unit in which he was placed didn't have a telephone.
When asked about the experience, Joshua said, "My faith was shaken from its foundation. I was truly alone with no one to talk to or help me."
In time, he was moved to a new cell, yet he still didn't have phone access. But on a table, he found a copy of the New Testament, and he decided to actually read it. This was the first time in over a decade since he had read something from the pages of the Bible. And for the first time since he was a child, he felt like the content of Scripture came to life as he continued reading it.
When he was a child, his grandmother used to read the Scriptures to him. He also remembered how hard his heart grew toward God after she passed away. But as he read God's Word from prison, his heart began to soften and his ears became attentive to what the Lord was trying to tell him. He started listening to the Lord's counsel with the same kind of joy he had as a child. The Lord began using the stories of men who had unshakable faith to inspire Joshua and bolster his faith while he was in prison.
“I saw how the prominent people of the Bible, like Moses and David, made mistakes, got angry with God, yet they did not let their faith in Him become weak,” Joshua said. “When they hit troubles or doubts, they laid them in God’s hands. I saw how Job, though he suffered immensely, never wavered.” -https://cpministries.org/news/shaken-but-not-broken
With Joshua's testimony in mind, how would you describe your faith? Is it strong and unwavering? Does it resemble the faith of Moses, David, and Job, or do things feel a little shaky right now?
Psalm 112:6 speaks of a person who isn't easily shaken. There we read, "For the righteous will never be moved; he will be remembered forever." (Psalm 112:6)
This verse tells us that the righteous person will never be moved. Other translations say he will "never be shaken" (CSB) and he will not be "overcome by evil" (NLT). Taken together, the message is very clear. A person who has been made righteous by the Lord is not someone who can be easily swayed by the patterns, practices, and mindset of this fallen world. When the culture runs toward its latest form of decadence and immorality, the righteous person sees right through it because he or she has had their mind opened to the heart of God.
Do you desire to be righteous? Biblically speaking, what does it mean to be made righteous? How is true righteousness obtained?
I like the way Martin Luther explained how a person becomes righteous. He said, "Christ took our sins, and the sins of the whole world, as well as the Father's wrath on his shoulders, and he has drowned them both in himself so that we are thereby reconciled to God and become completely righteous." Our sin was placed upon Jesus. The holy wrath of God that we deserved was experienced by Jesus. And in its place, Jesus has given those who trust in Him the gift of His righteousness so we can experience an eternal relationship with God.
True righteousness isn't something we can find within ourselves apart from Christ's intervention in our lives. True righteousness isn't fostered through behavior change. Anyone who believes they can make themselves righteous through their actions doesn't understand their need for Jesus. Righteousness apart from Jesus is self-righteousness which leads to idolatry, legalism, and a lack of true repentance.
““The self-righteous never apologize” ”
Those who find their righteousness in Christ, won't be moved, shaken, or overcome by evil. On the contrary, they will rely on the strength Christ supplies to overcome evil in their lives and they won't get talked into the schemes the devil is regularly convincing this world to embrace. But followers of Christ are being empowered by His Spirit to develop a mature understanding of how righteousness is obtained and lived out in the midst of a fallen world.
““So that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.” ”
Observing the drift taking place in our culture at present isn't a comfortable thing for a true Christian to observe. It's hard to watch a generation of people destroy themselves as they search for hope in all the wrong places. But if our faith and understanding are anchored in Christ and the truth of His word, we won't be tossed around by the debased thinking of the day. We won't be persuaded to veer off the path of righteousness Christ has placed us upon. We won't be easily deceived by the lies of the evil one.
Most people on the face of the earth just follow whatever the prevailing notions of their day happen to be without giving deeper level thought to what's taking place around them. Their opinions are shaped by media, politicians, entertainers, and other people of influence. And I must confess that there have been plenty of seasons in my life, particularly during my youth, when I fell prey to that.
““Brothers, do not be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature.””
That's why I'm grateful for the leaders the Lord has raised up throughout the course of history who show us there is a different option than just throwing our lot in with a world that drifts wherever the wind takes it.
Albert Moehler once said, "When the leader walks into the room, a passion for truth had better enter with him. Authentic leadership does not emerge out of a vacuum. The leadership that matters most is convictional—deeply convictional. This quality of leadership springs from those most deeply held beliefs that shape who we are and establish our beliefs about everything else. Convictions are not just beliefs; that is, they are not those beliefs that are merely held by us. Instead, convictions hold us in their grip. We would not know who we are but for these bedrock beliefs, these convictions, and without them we would not know how to lead." -https://tabletalkmagazine.com/article/2017/11/leading-with-conviction/
A great example of a biblical leader who wasn't easily swayed was John the Baptist. Jesus made that clear in His public statements about John. In Matthew's gospel we read, "As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?" (Matt. 11:7). Jesus made it clear that John wasn't like a shaky reed. He stood firm, no matter the cost.
In fact, we read in Matthew 14 that John was bound and thrown in prison because he confronted Herod about the fact that he was sleeping with his brother Philip's wife, Herodias. Soon after, John was beheaded because of his boldness in this matter, but yet here we are all these generations later remembering his name and holding him up as an example of faith worth taking inspiration from.
A friend of mine once said to me, "You never really die if people are still talking about you after you go." There are obvious theological limitations to that statement, but I do find the concept interesting to contemplate in light of what we're told in Psalm 112:6. In addition to the fact that the righteous person isn't moved or shaken by unrighteousness, we're also told that, "he will be remembered forever."
I often think about the ways in which the Lord allows us to impact others, and I think it's fascinating to consider that the influence of a godly life can extend far beyond the years of one's natural life. The testimony of what Jesus has done for you, in you, and through you can be passed down to the generations who come after you. It can be passed down to your own lineage and, like in the case of John the Baptist who didn't have children, your testimony can be passed down to those who aren't even related to you.
The testimony of what Christ has done on our behalf and the ways in which He has transformed us, is a testimony that reverberates into eternity. It's a story that can be told over and over again, forever. It's something we'll be praising Him for over the course of many thousands of years.
It's also something that I think we might want to consider sharing about now. Share your testimony to your children, grandchildren, and anyone else the Lord brings into your life. Take the time to write it down or record it in some other way. Several years ago, a friend of mine who was advanced in years decided to write out his testimony of how he came to know Jesus and what Jesus did in his life and in the lives of his family members. Soon after writing it all out, he passed away and that made those of us who knew him especially grateful to have a written record of God's goodness in his life.
So how can we leave a legacy that testifies to the fact that during our generation, we were not easily swayed by the craftiness and deception of the evil one? I think the answer to that question was given to us by the Apostle Peter when he wrote his first epistle to believers who were under persecution and being scattered as they were chased from their homes.
““Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.””
The first thing we need to do is prepare our minds for action. Our faith in Christ isn't merely something to be contemplated, it's meant to be lived out. We need to get ready to act upon what the Lord teaches us. We need to become men and women who put our Spirit-led convictions into action. The world doesn't need more theorists or critics, it needs action-takers whose hearts are fully devoted to Christ.
We're also called to be sober-minded. A sober-minded person is a man or woman who is filled with the Holy Spirit. A sober-minded person demonstrates self-control and discipline. A sober-minded person stays alert to the things that are dear to the heart of God and does not allow themself to come under the influence of anything that can alter their thinking in an ungodly way.
Finally, Peter challenges us to set our hope on Jesus. Jesus supplies the grace we need. Jesus is the One who has promised to return and restore creation. Jesus will one day reign upon this earth with perfect righteousness, and those who follow Him now will reign with Him then. The day is coming when we will experience the full effects of our salvation, and all creation will be restored by the One who made it perfect in the beginning.
Knowing this to be true, don't let yourself become easily swayed by your old nature or what the culture may be gravitating toward at any given moment. With the power Christ supplies, stand firm in the convictions so clearly taught in Scripture and illuminated by His Spirit. Become an unshakable force in an anchor-less generation.
© John Stange, 2022
