Sometimes Christians get down. They’re human, still susceptible to the same emotions as everyone else. They might even think they’re down because they are Christians. Perhaps they’ve endured some loss of job opportunity because they would not fudge the numbers to look better. Or they lost some friends because they could not indulge in the entertainments that the friends favored. Or maybe they have a heavy case of the ‘Why?’ questions–as in “God, I’m going through a hard time, why aren’t you answering my prayers?,” or “Why are the wicked going from strength to strength, while I suffer with illness and setback?”
In low moments that the devil might whisper: “It’s just not worth it to be a Christian, is it?” At times like that we should turn to God, tell him how we feel and affirm our faith in Him even though the feelings of faith and joy are not there.
There’s also another thing to do–remember those scriptures that tell us how good we really have it, even though we don’t feel it in the present moment.
The writings of the Apostle Paul consist of 13 books of the New Testament. They are placed together, starting with Romans and ending with Philemon. In these writings, which are inspired by the Holy Spirit, as is all scripture, there are some breathtaking statements about the very high place Christians have. For the sake of brevity, let me deal with just two.
1. We are co-heirs with Christ.
Romans 8:17 says, “Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.” This is incredible: co-heirs with Christ! I could understand it better if Paul said we were sub-heirs under Christ, or recipients of some kind of trickle-down benefit, but it says we are ‘co-heirs’ with Christ. We want to say: ‘This is too much!’ and we would be right; it is too much. We might also say, ‘We don’t deserve it’–that would be true as well. We are getting better than we deserve. When we are feeling down we should be encouraged by remembering this. No matter what we endure in this world, we will have future glory that is beyond comprehension.
2. We will judge the world and angels.
The church in Corinth, for those who know something of the New Testament, was a problem church. It had a lot of sins and a lot of corrections that needed to be made. While reading it one might get the feeling that Paul is trying to redeem a dump. But the sins of the individuals in it did not wreck the whole beyond repair. Despite its failings it was still Christ’s church and Paul didn’t give up on it. He dealt with its problems one by one. I think the book of 1 Corinthians, more than any other Bible book, seems like a spiritual troubleshooting manual.
One of their problems was that they were suing each other before the pagan authorities. 1 Corinthians 6:1-3 says: “If any of you has a dispute with another, dare he take it before the ungodly for judgment instead of before the saints? Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases? Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life!”
Paul’s answer is not to sweep disputes under the rug, but to handle them in-house. Have a Christian, or group of Christians, judge the matter.
For one thing, it was a bad witness to take their lawsuits before pagan judges. It would make Christianity seem no better than average society.
But the more explicit reason Paul gives for avoiding taking the lawsuits outside the church is that the church is equipped to handle this matter within itself. The justification Paul gives is surprising: in the future Christians will judge the world and will judge angels. Therefore, judging disputes between believers in the church is small potatoes in comparison.
Judging the world and judging angels–that’s part of a Christian’s future. How are we going to judge the world and angels? What’s the extent of our authority? What rewards or punishments will we give? We aren’t told. Heady stuff, but no details. We are just told of the fact that it will happen.
Perhaps the reason we are not given the details is that God didn’t want us getting lost in those details. He just stated an awe-inspiring fact so that we will be encouraged and ennobled in the present-day world.
God wanted us to know how high our status was and that it will be even higher in the future. This world, which now seems to have the upper hand, is passing away. One day we will judge it. Angels are presently higher than us but will one day be under us. We will judge them too. So, when we are feeling down, treated unfairly, powerless and overlooked, God wants us to know this.
When I was a preacher, I knew that a sermon must be more than just teaching. There had to be an application, a ‘based on the scriptures, do this’. The application, depending on the text, may be do something (have faith, live rightly) or not do something (sin) but sometimes it might be just to realize something–to think about something. Often it is to take something we already knew deep down and bring it again to the forefront. And by realizing that thing again, we will be improved and encouraged.
And here is something to realize: if we are co-heirs with Christ, and will one day judge the world and angels, we should be encouraged no matter our social/economic/education status. No matter the hard times we have been going through. What matters is being in Christ. Then these world-beating benefits are ours.
We have these truths but might not feel them. Present-day troubles might drown them out. But the facts remain. And God reminds us of them because he wants us to realize something–that we have a high place while we are in this world, and it’s going to get even higher in heaven. We should take comfort in this until that day when faith becomes sight.