First,
the whole world of Noah’s day was so sinful that God appointed Noah to build an
ark so he could save a representative of all his creation and start over again.
After decades of building, by the time the ark was completed, only eight human
beings believed God and were carried to safety.[1]
At
least ten of Joseph’s eleven brothers conspired to sell him into slavery because
of their deadly jealousy. Joseph endured slavery, and then imprisonment, before
he rose to the place of Egyptian Prime Minister next to Pharaoh. God used him
to save his father, his eleven brothers, and their household.[2]
Joshua
and Caleb were the only two of twelve spies who came back from scouting out the
Promised Land with their report that it was as wonderful as God had said, and
that God would surely deal with the giants of the land as he had promised. The
other ten spies turned a whole nation to rebel against God, refuse to trust him
in the receiving of their gift, and bring on themselves another forty years of
wandering in the wilderness.[3] Joshua and Caleb were the only two from that generation who joined
the next generation in inheriting God’s promise.[4]
David’s
men were greatly outnumbered by Saul’s army, and yet, because David was a man
after God’s own heart, and Saul was a man after his own self-interest, David’s
success was in the tens of thousands, while Saul’s was only in the thousands.
Saul left a legacy of rebellion, while David left a legacy of contrition that has
helped many to rest in God’s redemptive love.[5]
Jesus
said that there would be many who traveled the wide road to destruction, while
few who found the narrow road to eternal life.[6] Since the majority are on the road that leads to death, I would
rather travel with the few who have been made alive in Jesus Christ. In the
end, over the centuries, the few who find this narrow road will add up to “…a great multitude that no one could
number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing
before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm
branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation
belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’”[7]
When
Jesus told his disciples that he was going up to Jerusalem to be arrested,
mistreated, and crucified, he was outnumbered 12-to-1. All his disciples were
against the idea, expecting Jesus to save Israel from Roman domination. On one
occasion, Peter stood up and said that it would never be.[8] Jesus made it clear that the majority were listening to Satan,
while he was doing his Father’s will. Eleven of the twelve disciples lived to
see Jesus’ salvation and completely changed their minds about his crucifixion.
The one disciple who betrayed him went out and killed himself. I am one of
those Jesus saved because of the redemptive work he accomplished through his
suffering and death. I am thankful he did his Father’s will even when he stood
alone doing so.
There
are times when the church is in such unity that “the full number of
those who believed were of one heart and soul.”[9] This
unified majority-like fellowship included the carrying out of church discipline
against sin. When Paul wrote the Corinthians about dealing with an unsettled
sin-issue in the church, he expected full cooperation.[10]
When he spoke of what to do after the discipline was put into effect, he said, “this punishment by the
majority is enough.”[11]
On
the other hand, there were times when the church was divided between those who
were obeying God and those who were not, and it was necessary for there to be “factions among you in order that those who
are genuine among you may be recognized.”[12] Paul spoke of a time when “all
who are in Asia turned away” from him,[13] and he wanted Timothy to join with him in “in suffering for the gospel”.[14]
The main point
I am sharing is that we cannot judge whether or not we are doing God’s will
based on whether the majority are for us or against us. We must seek God in his
word and prayer to be sure that we are walking in “the obedience of faith”.[15] Sometimes
the whole church will seem to agree as we join God in his work together. Other
times, we may feel like a solitary prisoner for the Lord locked away where we
can bear no fruit. However, the testimonies of Joseph and Paul in the
Scriptures, and Richard Wurmbrand in our day, show what living, fruit-bearing
testimonies can come from men who endure prison, hardship and loneliness to
stay on the narrow way that leads to heaven.
The conclusion
of the matter is to spend so much time in God’s word and prayer that we are the
sheep who hear Jesus’ voice and follow him where he leads.[16]
Once we have that voice-to-ear connection with Jesus, we will not be swayed by
how many are for us or against us. Living within sound of his voice, under the
smile of his face, will be the only thing that matters.
From my heart,
Monte
© 2013 Monte Vigh ~ Box 517,
Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8 ~ in2freedom@gmail.com
Unless otherwise noted,
Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English
Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good
News Publishers.)
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