“Finally then, brothers, we ask and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us as to how you ought to walk and please God (just as you actually do walk), that you excel still more” (1 Thess. 4:1)
I want to ask you a difficult question that serves a good purpose. What is the worst thing that could ever happen in your earthly life?
Is it a loaded question? Yes. But I ask it to prepare you for some heart-searching. Some might say that nothing could be worse than losing their job or livelihood. Others may insist that the worst thing would be a particular kind of death, like being drowned or buried alive. And there very well may be some who would say that the worst thing is the loss of a child or loved one. We can understand all of these answers. Whatever your answer to the opening question may be, hold on to it for a second. I want to tell you a story that should really be more well-known.
Is it a loaded question? Yes. But I ask it to prepare you for some heart-searching. Some might say that nothing could be worse than losing their job or livelihood. Others may insist that the worst thing would be a particular kind of death, like being drowned or buried alive. And there very well may be some who would say that the worst thing is the loss of a child or loved one. We can understand all of these answers. Whatever your answer to the opening question may be, hold on to it for a second. I want to tell you a story that should really be more well-known.
A Suffering Slave Girl
In the second century, Christ’s church was no stranger to intense persecution, and perhaps the worst of it came under Emperor Marcus Aurelius. A particularly extraordinary account of this persecution in Lyons, France, has been preserved through the centuries. It contains a report of the suffering of a young slave girl named Blandina (Needham, 87-88).
Blandina was seen as a meager slave to the Roman Empire, but to the Kingdom of God, she was an heir with Christ. Blandina was arrested and interrogated in order to gather more information about other Christians in the Lyons region. Roman authorities had also demanded that she renounce her faith in Christ and swear by Pagan idols. On both accounts, Blandina refused. Consequently, Blandina was viciously tortured.
Though small and frail in appearance, Blandina was stalwart in her resolve and constitution. Though she endured fierce whippings and men searing her skin with hot irons, the torture she faced did nothing to make her recant. The authorities believed they had nothing left to do but to hoist her up on a pole and feed her to wild beasts. To the shock of every watching eye, no beast touched her. So the Romans threw little Blandina back in prison.
Day after day, Blandina continued to suffer the violence of her tormentors, yet to no avail against her faith in Christ. She was determined to remain faithful to her Redeemer and encouraged others to do the same along the way. Eusebius records that Blandina “encouraged her children like a noble mother, and sent them (other Christian martyrs) ahead in victory to the King.” Blandina finally passed from this world when she was wrapped in a net, trampled, and repeatedly gored by a wild bull. She never caved. She never recanted. She died with strength and honor.
Blandina is just one among countless other Christians who died unthinkable deaths in the name of their Savior. Why on earth would the saints throughout church history, such as Blandina, be willing to suffer such horrific fates? I believe the answer is relatively simple. They had a definitive answer to my introductory question. Nothing they could ever lose or suffer could be worse than to dishonor or displease the One Who saved their soul. The worst thing that could happen was not the loss of material goods or loved ones. It would be to bring any measure of reproach to the name of their Lord. This is why martyrs, through the ages, were willing to suffer immeasurable pains. As our older brothers and sisters in the faith, they remind us of the essential truth that Christ is supremely worthy of a life lived for His pleasure and His pleasure alone.
The desire to please God innately resides in every believer. But without constant renewal (Rom. 12:2), the desire to please God can vacillate and even wane. The winds of temptation rage relentlessly against us; without vigilance, our hearts can be split into two as we seek to live for God and for self simultaneously. A stringed instrument may be well-tuned today, it may very well need to be tuned again tomorrow. Likewise, our hearts stand in constant need of being tuned to their true purpose.
I hope to reorient your hearts to preach solely for God’s pleasure with two Scriptural themes:
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The Worthiness of Christ
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The Worship Christ Deems Worthy
This article will focus on the former.
The Worthiness of Christ
Is this not the linchpin of Christianity? Remove the sufficiency and supremacy of Christ, and everything else collapses… especially the preacher’s pulpit ministry. But even the best of preachers feel the allure of competing interests. The pulpit can be used to elevate ourselves rather than our Savior, for demonstrating talent rather than declaring truth, and for politicking rather than proclaiming. The truth is that many fanbases have been built from behind a pulpit, and even the most faithful preacher is susceptible to the glitter of this fool’s gold. Only a firm grasp of the worthiness of Christ (and the unworthiness of self) can ground us to stand against these temptations.
So why do we long for the approval of men? Perhaps it is how their approval might translate to material profit. Maybe we long for acceptance. Or we may want the approval of certain men simply because we admire them.
While I understand the pull these fleshly desires can have, we cannot but pause to ponder the sheer vanity behind them.
For instance, men may profit you in material goods, but does not Christ profit us infinitely more? Hebrews 9:15 says, “And for this reason He is the mediator of a new covenant, so that, since a death has taken place for the redemption of the trespasses that were committed under the first covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.” Through Christ, we have a promise of an eternal inheritance. Peter further describes the nature of our inheritance in 1 Peter 1:3-4, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and unfading, having been kept in heaven for you.” Did you read that? My brother; read it again. The mightiest men on earth can only offer us that which is corruptible, defiled, and fading. Yet our inheritance in Christ is incorruptible, undefiled, and unfading. Would you trade an indestructible inheritance for trinkets?
Maybe you hope to accrue acceptance from others through your preaching. Men may accept you for a season, but how fleeting is that acceptance? What security is there in man’s approval? Isaiah 2:22 says, “Stop regarding man, whose breath of life is in his nostrils; For why should he be esteemed?” Man’s approval is a snare (Prov. 29:35). God’s approval is a shelter (Prov. 16:7). Would you prefer a snare or a shelter?
Perhaps you desire the approval of certain men because you admire them. But is there anyone more admirable, more noble, more excellent, more majestic than Christ? Hebrews 1:3 calls Christ “the radiance of His (God’s) glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power; who, having accomplished cleansing for sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.” There is none higher. None greater. None purer. None better. Will you admire men above your Redeemer?
So why do we long for the approval of men? Perhaps it is how their approval might translate to material profit. Maybe we long for acceptance. Or we may want the approval of certain men simply because we admire them.
While I understand the pull these fleshly desires can have, we cannot but pause to ponder the sheer vanity behind them.
For instance, men may profit you in material goods, but does not Christ profit us infinitely more? Hebrews 9:15 says, “And for this reason He is the mediator of a new covenant, so that, since a death has taken place for the redemption of the trespasses that were committed under the first covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.” Through Christ, we have a promise of an eternal inheritance. Peter further describes the nature of our inheritance in 1 Peter 1:3-4, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and unfading, having been kept in heaven for you.” Did you read that? My brother; read it again. The mightiest men on earth can only offer us that which is corruptible, defiled, and fading. Yet our inheritance in Christ is incorruptible, undefiled, and unfading. Would you trade an indestructible inheritance for trinkets?
Maybe you hope to accrue acceptance from others through your preaching. Men may accept you for a season, but how fleeting is that acceptance? What security is there in man’s approval? Isaiah 2:22 says, “Stop regarding man, whose breath of life is in his nostrils; For why should he be esteemed?” Man’s approval is a snare (Prov. 29:35). God’s approval is a shelter (Prov. 16:7). Would you prefer a snare or a shelter?
Perhaps you desire the approval of certain men because you admire them. But is there anyone more admirable, more noble, more excellent, more majestic than Christ? Hebrews 1:3 calls Christ “the radiance of His (God’s) glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power; who, having accomplished cleansing for sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.” There is none higher. None greater. None purer. None better. Will you admire men above your Redeemer?
A Trip to Heaven’s Throne Room
Perhaps no text of Scripture is more fit to orient our hearts to the worthiness of Christ than Revelation 5. In this majestic scene, John beholds the throne room of Heaven and watches the dilemma of dilemmas unfold before his eyes. A seven-fold sealed scroll containing the very plan of God to redeem a fallen creation waits to be opened. But who is worthy to break the seals of this scroll? Who is worthy to open it? To John’s devastation, not one creature in Heaven or Earth was found worthy.
We know what happens next. John, through watery eyes, sees a Lamb appearing as though He had been slain. He takes the scroll into His hand, and worship bursts forth from the throngs of Heaven. Christ is worthy to open this scroll! He purchased His right to do so with His own blood, and He will receive the reward for His suffering.
You may have read this passage countless times, but it would do your soul some good to read it once again:
Dear brother, ask yourself if your pulpit ministry is aligned with the anthem of Heaven. Is the worthiness of Christ the never-ending song playing in your hearts as you study and preach His Word? If Christ is the only One worthy to open the scroll, it follows that Christ is the only One worthy of your ministry labors.
Christ is worthy. And if there is nothing worse for the believer than to displease Christ, then there is nothing better than for the believer to please Christ. My fellow preachers, do not lose sight of the worthiness of Christ. Remember His condescension to be born of a woman. Remember His life. Remember His cross. Remember His rising. Remember His ascension. Gaze on the glorious Christ, and aim the entirety of your ministry toward His throne.
We know what happens next. John, through watery eyes, sees a Lamb appearing as though He had been slain. He takes the scroll into His hand, and worship bursts forth from the throngs of Heaven. Christ is worthy to open this scroll! He purchased His right to do so with His own blood, and He will receive the reward for His suffering.
You may have read this passage countless times, but it would do your soul some good to read it once again:
“Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elders; and the number of them was myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, ‘Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing.’ And every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying, ‘To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be the blessing and the honor and the glory and the might forever and ever.’ And the four living creatures kept saying, ‘Amen.’ And the elders fell down and worshiped” (Rev. 5:11-14).
Dear brother, ask yourself if your pulpit ministry is aligned with the anthem of Heaven. Is the worthiness of Christ the never-ending song playing in your hearts as you study and preach His Word? If Christ is the only One worthy to open the scroll, it follows that Christ is the only One worthy of your ministry labors.
Christ is worthy. And if there is nothing worse for the believer than to displease Christ, then there is nothing better than for the believer to please Christ. My fellow preachers, do not lose sight of the worthiness of Christ. Remember His condescension to be born of a woman. Remember His life. Remember His cross. Remember His rising. Remember His ascension. Gaze on the glorious Christ, and aim the entirety of your ministry toward His throne.
