Living Against the Current: Faithfulness to Christ in a World of Resistance

Summary

Living for Christ requires resisting cultural pressures, personal desires, and spiritual opposition. Judas serves as a warning that proximity to Jesus without obedience leads to betrayal. Faithfulness is sustained through spiritual disciplines and humility. Submission to God may bring loss, humiliation, or loneliness, yet Jesus endured all of this for believers and remains present, empowering them to live faithfully against the current.

The Cost of Living for Christ

Living for Christ is not an effortless drift down an easy stream, but constant resistance against our efforts by the world, the flesh, and the devil.

Faithfulness to Christ

You dare not drift with the flow of the popular cultural manifestations of the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life (1 John 2:16). Jesus persevered through the opposition of those forces. You can too by making faithfulness to Christ your highest priority.

You might be betrayed along the way (Mark 14:43-45). Some “friends” might trip you up or kick you when you are down.

Judas Is a Warning from Close Proximity

Judas was one of the Twelve. He preached, cast out demons, and healed the sick (Mark 6:12-13). That same Judas guided the arresting party to Gethsemane.

He planned to identify Jesus that night with a kiss on the cheek. He called Jesus “Rabbi.” That means “my master.” It was lip service without obedience.

You can live close to the source of eternal life and never experience it. It is sobering. If Judas could betray his Lord, you must ask yourself whether you believe the gospel.

Beware of camping beside the well of the water of life without drinking from it. Those who possess eternal life show it by consistently living against the current.

Guarding Your Relationship with the Lord

To avoid becoming a betrayer, maintain your relationship with the Lord by applying God’s word, prayer, fellowship, sharing your faith, and obedience. Slow spiritual leaks over time, rather than a blowout, can turn you into a Judas. Which of these five disciplines needs the most attention now?

Submission, Humiliation, and True Humility

Submission to God might lead to humiliation (Mark 14:46-49). Jesus, the Creator, was treated like a common criminal.

Submission to God required that He drink the cup the Father had given Him. The Scriptures had to be fulfilled (See Isaiah 53:12, Psalm 41:9, and Zechariah 13:7).

In another sense, no one can humiliate Jesus. No one can lower His self-esteem. For one who has already lowered Himself unimaginably to become a man, the difference between being a king or a criminal is insignificant.

No one can humiliate Jesus because He’s gentle and humble in heart (Matthew 11:29). It’s not fair-weather humility.

He’s equally at rest and peace when receiving praise or blame. True humility makes humiliation impossible. Pride underlies your fear of humiliation.

Forsaken Yet Never Alone

Your friends might forsake you if you submit to God. In Mark 14:50, we see the fulfillment of Jesus’ prophecy in Mark 14:27. The disciples all forsook Him and fled. Very soon, His Heavenly Father would forsake Him, too.

On the cross, Jesus tasted and drank deeply of the utter aloneness of hell in your place. In life’s loneliest situations, Jesus will not leave or forsake you (Hebrews 13:5).

Empowered to Live Against the Current

His healing presence and grace can empower you to live against the current. He never fails. You can depend on it! See additional free spiritual growth resources for Christians.   #freediscipleshipresources #freeevangelismresources #freechristianleadershipresources

God has empowered me to write His Power for Your Weakness—260 Steps Toward Spiritual Strength. It’s a free, evangelistic, devotional, and discipleship e-book. Pastors have used it in Malawi, Mozambique, and Zambia to lead 7,541 people to Christ and teach the basics of Christianity to 17,361 people. I invite you to explore and use it in your setting. 

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