Articles
How to Forsake Christ
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Then Jesus said to them, "All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: 'I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.'" (Matt. 26:31)
Then all the disciples forsook Him and fled. (Matt. 26:56)
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Following Jesus' arrest, the apostles did not denounce Him. Unlike His enemies, they did not attack, curse, spit upon, or beat Him. Instead, they simply ran away. When pressed to identify himself as a disciple of Jesus, Simon Peter denied that he even knew Him. The text bluntly summarizes their behavior: They "forsook Him and fled."
The apostles were not evil men. They loved Jesus, and were convinced that He was their Messiah. They were horrified at what was happening to Him. But none of them had the courage to stand up and be counted when it really mattered. Consequently, Jesus had to face His fate alone, abandoned by those who were closest to Him.
In an age when being a faithful Christian is no longer a resume enhancement but a badge of shame, we face a similar dilemma. Cultural institutions are applying enormous pressure to force our faith underground. The most obvious example is in the area of sexual morality. Christians are now required, not merely to tolerate sexual depravity, but to celebrate it, endorse it, and promote it. Any word of opposition to this narrative will result in ridicule, censure, banishment from social media, loss of employment, even civil penalties. We are fast approaching a time when public defense of the Biblical model of sexuality will be criminalized.
We now stand where the apostles once stood: Do we openly defend our Lord and His teaching on this vital topic, whatever the cost? Or do we meekly go along with the cultural tsunami and thereby save our skins? Like the apostles, we do not have to denounce Christ or repudiate our faith to forsake Him. All we have to do is run away.
Following the resurrection, when the apostles finally realized the larger scope of God's plan, they redeemed themselves by becoming fearless apologists for the faith. Most of them died a martyr's death in defense of what they believed. The question that confronts us today is not, "What do we believe?" but rather, "Are we willing to stand up for what we believe?"
Jesus awaits our answer.
--David
