The Christian faith is militant, bold, and unapologetic. Scripture has a wealth of evidence that shows that this is so. Jesus said: “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household' (Matthew 10:34-36). He also said: "“If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me" (Matthew 16:24).
These commands by Jesus shows that He expects nothing less than total and absolute sacrifice for Him, as followers of Jesus, nothing but a total surrender of one's life for Him, following His Commands. For Jesus said "If you love Me, keep My commandments" (John 14:15). This does not mean to keep His Commands in a legalistic way, by simply keeping rules as religious people make it out to be, but to obey Him in all ways, out of a heart that truly loves Him.
As simple as this command is, great militancy is required to be able to do so. For such obedience contends with the lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes and the pride of life (1 John 2:16) which are the three loves that hinder a person from loving Jesus. These are loves, rather than mere powers or forces, because the flesh loves to be under the lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes and the pride of life. Once one starts to entertain any of these loves, they become even stronger, to the point of being unable to be satisfied. This is when a person becomes a reprobate, where God gives a person over to his or her darkened mind (Romans 1:27-29). For lust is the love of one's own carnal desires. It is a type of love, but of an evil kind. It is perverted and there is nothing good or pure about it, for it goes against the Spirit. Such lust does not and cannot produce the love of the God, that which pleases God. For as the Scriptures say:
For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
(Romans 8:5-8)
Those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh because that is their nature, and they are not governed by the Spirit. Such people will live a life that is lead by the three loves, being the lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes and the pride of life. These loves evidently manifest in all aspects of a person, and also the Church. Crucifying these loves are necessary for one to fight the spiritual battle that one must fight to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, for it is only the violent who take it by force (Matthew 11:12).
What Scripture means when it says that only the violent take the Kingdom of Heaven by force is that much battle is needed to be done, in contending against these three loves or lusts, to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. This is in contrast to what the Church in the west now teaches, in prioritising the trivial, such as marriage and dating, and trivalising the priorities, being the Trinity, theosis, which is unity with God, self-sacrifice, and ultimately, martyrdom. Almost no where in the West in the Church being taught about pursuing theosis, self-sacrifice and martyrdom. This is not simply because there are no foreseeable prospects of martyrdom that it is not relevant. It is because Christianity in the West has become a religion in which one seeks Jesus for these merely earthly things, which are solely and ultimately within the Will of God as to whether He wants to give a person such things. That is how such things should be dealt with, and not pursued as priorities. Such was the case of the Rich Young Ruler who asked "Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” (Luke 18:18), to whom Christ commanded after affirming his keeping of the Law:
"You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me" (Luke 18:22).
The Scriptures say that he felt sad as a result of hearing this (Luke 18:23), not because he was emotional or merely because he misused his goods or possessions as some will try to make it out to be, in implying that there was nothing wrong with him living as rich man. It was because he loved his wealth and lived as rich person does, living for such things in ease and comfort that he felt sad, and therefore could not enter the Kingdom of Heaven. This is precisely the opposite of the life the Christ commands us, to give up all things, even our very lives (Matthew 16:24; Luke 14:26; Revelation 12:11). These riches themselves were precisely the problem. He could not but love these riches, rendering them to be the right eye that needed to be gouged out and the right arm that needed to be cut off (Matthew 5:29-30). He was sorrowful because he had every reason to be sorrowful.
Neither is Luke 18:22 an individual command that only applied to the rich young ruler. It applies to everyone, for all commands of Christ lay down how all disciples should live for Him. For Christ died for everyone who is in Christ, and the Church is one body in Christ:
Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned— (For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come. But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many. And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned. For the judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation, but the free gift which came from many offenses resulted in justification. For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.)
(Romans 5:12-17)
So, it follows that all His Commands commanding people to repent apply to all people, for all have sinned in Adam, taking on his nature in the exact same way as each other, for which sin is no respecter of persons, affecting all persons alike. Likewise, all who are saved are saved in Christ, taking on the exact same nature, and spirit. The command to give up all of oneself, including one's riches pertains to repentance and is therefore most applicable to all who want to follow Christ.
The focus of Church teaching in the west is ultimately about how to live a 'blessed' life, measured by how much treasure, pleasure, comfort and ease one can enjoy. Few do not understand, or even care to understand what the fundamentals of the true Christian faith are, being that of the Trinity, theosis, self-sacrifice for the sake of Christ, and ultimately martyrdom. This simply demonstrates how mammonised the Church nowadays is, in wanting to have their ears tickled, coming to Jesus for what they can get from Him, rather than because they truly love Jesus.
Those who truly love Jesus will want to know the truth, because not only in Him in there truth, but He is the Truth (John 14:6). So, if one loves truth, one will unite with the Truth, not only refusing to give lip service to His Commands, but actively pursue Him, who is the Truth and fight anything that goes against the Truth.
The foundation of the Truth is that of who He is, being that He is the Triune God. Anyone who neglects this will have the wrong understanding of God, Christ and the Holy Spirit, and hence of Salvation, from the beginning. For the Trinity is the very Nature of God Himself, which determines the Way of Salvation, the Truth about Jesus Himself, and the Life (John 14:6).
The love of Jesus is manifest in one's desire to be truly united with Christ. One's unity with Christ is shown by one's obedience to His Commands (John 14:15), including one's hatred for sin. This hatred for sin manifests in its fullness only when one is filled with all manner of zeal in fighting all evils for the sake of Christ. For sin is not simply a 'personal matter' as the Reformers made it out to be. Those who approve of sin, whether actively or passively, despite not actually participating in them, are also just as guilty of such sins (Romans 1:32).
The highest form of obedience to Christ is to give up one's whole self for him (Matthew 16:24). Such is the greatest manifestation of love for Christ. For who would give up what he has and enjoys, unless he was doing it for the sake of someone he loves? It is to devote the whole of one's life to Him and Him alone, in not just denying the pleasure and treasures of the world, but only doing His Will, being led wherever He leads.
The ultimate proof that one truly loves Christ is that one is willing to lay down one's life for Him: "And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death" (Revelation 12:11). One must hate one's very life, in being willing to give it up for Christ. Such is the beauty of martyrdom, where one stays faithful to Christ right to the very end for the sake of Christ. For just as Christ died for us out of His great love for us, and we likewise die for Him, out of our great love for Him.
This is the heart of Christian militancy, which seeks only to please Christ, live for Christ, do all things for Christ, and die for Christ alone. Nothing else has a place in a person's life unless it is for the glory of Christ, out of one's passionate and zealous love for Him.
These commands by Jesus shows that He expects nothing less than total and absolute sacrifice for Him, as followers of Jesus, nothing but a total surrender of one's life for Him, following His Commands. For Jesus said "If you love Me, keep My commandments" (John 14:15). This does not mean to keep His Commands in a legalistic way, by simply keeping rules as religious people make it out to be, but to obey Him in all ways, out of a heart that truly loves Him.
As simple as this command is, great militancy is required to be able to do so. For such obedience contends with the lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes and the pride of life (1 John 2:16) which are the three loves that hinder a person from loving Jesus. These are loves, rather than mere powers or forces, because the flesh loves to be under the lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes and the pride of life. Once one starts to entertain any of these loves, they become even stronger, to the point of being unable to be satisfied. This is when a person becomes a reprobate, where God gives a person over to his or her darkened mind (Romans 1:27-29). For lust is the love of one's own carnal desires. It is a type of love, but of an evil kind. It is perverted and there is nothing good or pure about it, for it goes against the Spirit. Such lust does not and cannot produce the love of the God, that which pleases God. For as the Scriptures say:
For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
(Romans 8:5-8)
Those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh because that is their nature, and they are not governed by the Spirit. Such people will live a life that is lead by the three loves, being the lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes and the pride of life. These loves evidently manifest in all aspects of a person, and also the Church. Crucifying these loves are necessary for one to fight the spiritual battle that one must fight to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, for it is only the violent who take it by force (Matthew 11:12).
What Scripture means when it says that only the violent take the Kingdom of Heaven by force is that much battle is needed to be done, in contending against these three loves or lusts, to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. This is in contrast to what the Church in the west now teaches, in prioritising the trivial, such as marriage and dating, and trivalising the priorities, being the Trinity, theosis, which is unity with God, self-sacrifice, and ultimately, martyrdom. Almost no where in the West in the Church being taught about pursuing theosis, self-sacrifice and martyrdom. This is not simply because there are no foreseeable prospects of martyrdom that it is not relevant. It is because Christianity in the West has become a religion in which one seeks Jesus for these merely earthly things, which are solely and ultimately within the Will of God as to whether He wants to give a person such things. That is how such things should be dealt with, and not pursued as priorities. Such was the case of the Rich Young Ruler who asked "Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” (Luke 18:18), to whom Christ commanded after affirming his keeping of the Law:
"You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me" (Luke 18:22).
The Scriptures say that he felt sad as a result of hearing this (Luke 18:23), not because he was emotional or merely because he misused his goods or possessions as some will try to make it out to be, in implying that there was nothing wrong with him living as rich man. It was because he loved his wealth and lived as rich person does, living for such things in ease and comfort that he felt sad, and therefore could not enter the Kingdom of Heaven. This is precisely the opposite of the life the Christ commands us, to give up all things, even our very lives (Matthew 16:24; Luke 14:26; Revelation 12:11). These riches themselves were precisely the problem. He could not but love these riches, rendering them to be the right eye that needed to be gouged out and the right arm that needed to be cut off (Matthew 5:29-30). He was sorrowful because he had every reason to be sorrowful.
Neither is Luke 18:22 an individual command that only applied to the rich young ruler. It applies to everyone, for all commands of Christ lay down how all disciples should live for Him. For Christ died for everyone who is in Christ, and the Church is one body in Christ:
Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned— (For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come. But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many. And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned. For the judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation, but the free gift which came from many offenses resulted in justification. For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.)
(Romans 5:12-17)
So, it follows that all His Commands commanding people to repent apply to all people, for all have sinned in Adam, taking on his nature in the exact same way as each other, for which sin is no respecter of persons, affecting all persons alike. Likewise, all who are saved are saved in Christ, taking on the exact same nature, and spirit. The command to give up all of oneself, including one's riches pertains to repentance and is therefore most applicable to all who want to follow Christ.
The focus of Church teaching in the west is ultimately about how to live a 'blessed' life, measured by how much treasure, pleasure, comfort and ease one can enjoy. Few do not understand, or even care to understand what the fundamentals of the true Christian faith are, being that of the Trinity, theosis, self-sacrifice for the sake of Christ, and ultimately martyrdom. This simply demonstrates how mammonised the Church nowadays is, in wanting to have their ears tickled, coming to Jesus for what they can get from Him, rather than because they truly love Jesus.
Those who truly love Jesus will want to know the truth, because not only in Him in there truth, but He is the Truth (John 14:6). So, if one loves truth, one will unite with the Truth, not only refusing to give lip service to His Commands, but actively pursue Him, who is the Truth and fight anything that goes against the Truth.
The foundation of the Truth is that of who He is, being that He is the Triune God. Anyone who neglects this will have the wrong understanding of God, Christ and the Holy Spirit, and hence of Salvation, from the beginning. For the Trinity is the very Nature of God Himself, which determines the Way of Salvation, the Truth about Jesus Himself, and the Life (John 14:6).
The love of Jesus is manifest in one's desire to be truly united with Christ. One's unity with Christ is shown by one's obedience to His Commands (John 14:15), including one's hatred for sin. This hatred for sin manifests in its fullness only when one is filled with all manner of zeal in fighting all evils for the sake of Christ. For sin is not simply a 'personal matter' as the Reformers made it out to be. Those who approve of sin, whether actively or passively, despite not actually participating in them, are also just as guilty of such sins (Romans 1:32).
The highest form of obedience to Christ is to give up one's whole self for him (Matthew 16:24). Such is the greatest manifestation of love for Christ. For who would give up what he has and enjoys, unless he was doing it for the sake of someone he loves? It is to devote the whole of one's life to Him and Him alone, in not just denying the pleasure and treasures of the world, but only doing His Will, being led wherever He leads.
The ultimate proof that one truly loves Christ is that one is willing to lay down one's life for Him: "And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death" (Revelation 12:11). One must hate one's very life, in being willing to give it up for Christ. Such is the beauty of martyrdom, where one stays faithful to Christ right to the very end for the sake of Christ. For just as Christ died for us out of His great love for us, and we likewise die for Him, out of our great love for Him.
This is the heart of Christian militancy, which seeks only to please Christ, live for Christ, do all things for Christ, and die for Christ alone. Nothing else has a place in a person's life unless it is for the glory of Christ, out of one's passionate and zealous love for Him.
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