The Gospel in Real Life

None of us enjoy opposition or criticism. I hope I’m speaking for all of us. If you do enjoy opposition and criticism, you’re sick man. Get help. Opposition and criticism are the unfortunate, but sometimes unavoidable byproducts of our attempts to serve God and to please him. They can arise from within the church or they can originate from without, but regardless, we can rest assured that they will arise as long as we are seeking to advance the gospel and please the Lord. The real question isn’t, “Will they arise?” The real question is “How do we respond when they do arise?” Spurgeon was once quoted as saying, “If we cannot believe God when circumstances seem to be against us, we do not believe Him at all.” He’s right.

One of the greatest enemies of effective ministry is the temptation to second-guess myself. I had a friend in high school who was always second-guessing himself and as a result, he never really accomplished anything noticeable. Assuming all else is equal and I’m not moving in an unbiblical direction or running rough shod over someone to get my way or to sinfully prove a point, second-guessing my decisions can lead to paralysis. Not physical paralysis, but to a paralyzing of my ministry. Quite often we find ourselves in the position of having to make quick decisions based on the limited information at hand, and once we do, those who oppose our decision or feel the need to be critical us become vocal and feel the need to let others know that they don’t agree. When something like that happens, we may be tempted to become fearful and anxious about our decisions and we may fall into the trap of constantly second-guessing ourselves. Even if it’s not a snap decision, but something that we’ve wrestled with for days, weeks, months, or years, and are finally convinced that the Lord wants us to move in a particular direction, someone who disagrees or even opposes us may surface and suddenly become vocal in their opposition. If I become fretful and anxious every time someone disagrees with me and that leads me to start second-guessing the decisions I make, I run the risk of paralyzing my ministry by indecision. Another quote that is attributed to Spurgeon lends itself nicely to our discussion, “Our anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow, but only empties today of its strength.”

When we consider the Apostle Paul and his attitude toward opposition and criticism, we find great encouragement. In his farewell to the Corinthian churches, he mentions the opposition that he is facing in Ephesus at the time he is writing. Look at what he says,

But I will stay in Ephesus until Pentecost, for a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries. (1 Corinthians 16:8-9)

Where the ESV says “there are many adversaries”, the NIV says, “there are many who oppose me.” Paul ministered in the face of great opposition and with many adversaries who were critical of his ministry and no doubt, his day-to-day decisions. But Paul’s attention wasn’t on them. He mentions them almost in passing. His attention is where it should be; it is on the open door that Lord had placed before him for effective ministry. A byproduct of effectual ministry is those who oppose it. Paul wasn’t surprised by it, nor was he intimidated by it. He didn’t spend his time second-guessing himself or looking back and fretting over past decisions. He pressed ahead for his prize and reward in Christ (Philippians 3:14). I love his gracious words to Corinthians earlier in the same letter:

This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found trustworthy. But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. For I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God. (1 Corinthians 4:1-5)

Those who opposed Paul and were critical of him didn’t seem to matter much to Paul. He considered it a very small thing to be judged by the Corinthians. Why? Because Paul didn’t spend his time looking back over his shoulder and second-guessing, or fretting over past decisions and choices. That’s his point when he said, “I do not even judge myself. For I am not aware of anything against myself.” That’s a good example to follow in life and in ministry. I can choose to fret over past decisions and actions to the point where I become so critical of myself by listening to those who are critical of me, that I become frozen in my tracks and unable to move ahead because of fear. Or, like Paul, I can choose to not dwell on the past in an unhealthy way, but to keep pressing ahead without looking back, trusting in the Lord, not in any human court, to judge righteously. Even though we are not paralyzed by second-guessing ourselves, and we experience the freedom to move ahead in life and ministry, we are not flawless or blameless in doing so, or as Paul put it, we are not acquitted, but we gladly entrust all judgment to the Lord Jesus because he alone knows our heart and motives and he alone will judge justly, not for condemnation, but for commendation! That is liberating! It liberates me to serve him with confidence, knowing that I don’t need to fear or second-guess my decisions and choices and in the end – at the second coming – he will judge justly. The lesson for me in all of this is to learn to not pronounce judgment on myself or others, but to wait until the Lord comes to disclose the purposes of the heart. That is something he alone can do. I need not be paralyzed or consumed with second-guessing my decisions and actions in the Lord. “A man who does nothing never has time to do anything” – C. H. Spurgeon