What will you give up?

[emorhconom esor]

How much are we willing to sacrifice for our faith? Many say they are ready to lie their lives down to spread the Gospel, yet how many truly mean that? It is time for us, as Christians, to be honest with ourselves about how much we are willing to give up for God. Are we truly willing to become martyrs for Him? Are we willing to endanger our families for Him? Are we ready to put our spouse and children's lives on the line because of our commitment to His commandment? This is what many missionaries and underground believers must ask themselves, and it is time for us to ask the same question. What are you willing to sacrifice to pick up your cross and follow Him?  

[Daughter of Xion]

Thank you for bringing this matter up. God has charged us all the with the job of spreading His gospel to all creatures (Matt. 28:19-20), and it is a responsibility not to be taken lightly. Thanks!  

[emorhconom esor]

OtakuKat

Thanks for this reminder. It's hard to really think about these questions when you live safely in the U.S., but they're important nonetheless.

BillieAnneDestiny

Thank you for bringing this matter up. God has charged us all the with the job of spreading His gospel to all creatures (Matt. 28:19-20), and it is a responsibility not to be taken lightly. Thanks!

Ya'll are missing the point. This is not a reminder or a matter to be brought up. These aren't rhetorical questions. In an the anonymous communitity that is gaia, you shouldn't be afraid to be honest while answering these questions.  

[kesuke uchiha]

I dont know if its a bad thing or a good thing.....but I would gladly give my life a thousand times over for even the most trivial of tributes to God....
of course...I am a man of action...and I would fight far before I fall
but I do not view my life as worth ANY more than anyone else's...nor do I view my life more important than even the smallest speck of God's will  

[emorhconom esor]

kesuke uchiha

I dont know if its a bad thing or a good thing.....but I would gladly give my life a thousand times over for even the most trivial of tributes to God....
of course...I am a man of action...and I would fight far before I fall
but I do not view my life as worth ANY more than anyone else's...nor do I view my life more important than even the smallest speck of God's will

To be martyred is a good thing. In Revelation it says martyrs will get special privileges that others don't in Heaven. Quick history fact: All the apostles were martyred except John, who died of old age due to the fact he survived Rome's attempt to martyr him by boiling him alive in oil.  

[Aquatic_blue]

These are definitely good questions that we all need to think about, even if they may be difficult to acknowledge. The best part is that no matter what happens, we know that we have a Heavenly home to go to 3nodding

I definitely agree with OtakuKat because when the time comes where someone perhaps holds a gun to our face, or threatens our life in any manner and says, "Do you believe in God?" (although of course with martyrdom, the circumstances may vary) - that's when we truly know what we believe because our life is right then at stake. Some people may say, "I would die for God!" and when their life is threatened, they may say, "No, I don't believe in God." There's a difference between thinking about what we will do and what we will actually do when/if that moment comes.  

[Aquatic_blue]

emorhconom esor

kesuke uchiha

I dont know if its a bad thing or a good thing.....but I would gladly give my life a thousand times over for even the most trivial of tributes to God....
of course...I am a man of action...and I would fight far before I fall
but I do not view my life as worth ANY more than anyone else's...nor do I view my life more important than even the smallest speck of God's will

To be martyred is a good thing. In Revelation it says martyrs will get special privileges that others don't in Heaven. Quick history fact: All the apostles were martyred except John, who died of old age due to the fact he survived Rome's attempt to martyr him by boiling him alive in oil.

What verse is it in Revelation that says martyrs will get special privileges that others won't get in Heaven? I don't believe I've come across it before so I'm only curious.

Even though John wasn't the only one to die due to martyrdom, it probably felt that he lived the life of a martyr since he had been exiled to the Island of Patmos. If the boiling him in oil part were true (I'm not sure if we can be 100% sure as some call it legend), I am sure he would definitely be scarred for life physically and possibly emotionally.  

[amk1998]

One of the two final commandments Jesus Christ left his apostles was,' Love each other as I have loved you.'
Therefore it is a Christian responsibility to give up even our lives for our neighbours, no matter what faith they ascribe to or even if they have a faith at all. Jesus himself said that he did not come for the righteous but to redeem all his lost sheep - prostitutes, corrupt tax collectors, pagans, and the like. We should try to be like Jesus all the time. We will fall along the way but remember God does not seek perfection. We should just try to be as perfect as possible and hope and pray that we may pass into his Kingdom when the Day of Judgement comes. I personally believe I would give it all up for God but no-one knows what will happen when the moment comes.
May the Lord be with you.  

[CheyenneServant]

Yes, I would.  

[Blaise-Ingram]

I have a mission that I need to complete before I die someday. So I guess I've already given my life to God, I made a promise with him about something that I can't tell anyone about because it's really just between us and no one else, but I have a mission to complete.

As for how much more I am willing to give God, in addition to my life's work? I'll give what he asks of me. And I know he has plenty to ask. So that is what I will give.

I don't really have an answer like "oh I'll stop giving when i'm dying, that's too far." or "my firstborn child" or "i'll go out there and preach on the hilltops until someone arrests me and then I'll stop" or anything like that... I'm just doing my best to follow God's word and Jesus' teachings.

Maybe someday you guys will find out what I'm working on. I hope everyone does, it's really big and while I still need to work to get there... That will be my cross to bear, and I probably will go down for it. To what extent, I don't know. Best case scenario, I'll get slander and hatred from everyone all over the world for speaking out and representing Christ. Worst case scenario, people actually want to kill me for my beliefs. I'm willing to accept that, and I know it's inevitable. But if it means thousands, or even millions of people can be turned to God, I'd put my life, my livelihood, and everything I own down for that.

I'm trying to work up into a high-ranked position where I will have contact with millions of people and they will all hear what I have to say, but most importantly what God has to say. I hope to be effective in spreading the teachings and love of Jesus in the streets and outside of the church, even if I'm not very good at it right now. I'm still working on it.

So the answer to your question, to what extent am I willing to give? To the extent that God asks of me. That is my answer.  

[Blaise-Ingram]

Aquatic_blue

emorhconom esor

kesuke uchiha

I dont know if its a bad thing or a good thing.....but I would gladly give my life a thousand times over for even the most trivial of tributes to God....
of course...I am a man of action...and I would fight far before I fall
but I do not view my life as worth ANY more than anyone else's...nor do I view my life more important than even the smallest speck of God's will

To be martyred is a good thing. In Revelation it says martyrs will get special privileges that others don't in Heaven. Quick history fact: All the apostles were martyred except John, who died of old age due to the fact he survived Rome's attempt to martyr him by boiling him alive in oil.

What verse is it in Revelation that says martyrs will get special privileges that others won't get in Heaven? I don't believe I've come across it before so I'm only curious.

Even though John wasn't the only one to die due to martyrdom, it probably felt that he lived the life of a martyr since he had been exiled to the Island of Patmos. If the boiling him in oil part were true (I'm not sure if we can be 100% sure as some call it legend), I am sure he would definitely be scarred for life physically and possibly emotionally.

I feel that martyrdom is useless because it cuts your life short of being able to preach the gospel to more people who will actually listen. Sure, Jesus was technically a martyr, but that was God's plan for him and the fulfillment of the prophecy. That was the point.

For a normal human being to be martyred accomplishes nothing. Spreading the Gospel to people who need it doesn't work if you're six feet under. Because you're dead. Being dead is pretty useless when you need to spread the Gospel, and your death won't send a message to non-believers or make them think differently. They'll think you're an idiot before they kill you, and after you're martyred, they'll still think you're an idiot. So it accomplishes nothing when trying to teach others about Christ.

BUT there is such a thing as non-physical martyrdom, which is where you end up suffering from slander and hatred that other people give you. That's something that happens to pretty much any Christian that openly defends God's word. This can either happen because the Gospel is not being communicated tactfully and your credibility has been injured because of it, OR you can be communicating the Gospel to them clearly and they just have prejudices or just hate the message they hear or don't want to hear it. Therefore they direct nasty sayings towards you. :C  

[Aquatic_blue]

Blaise-Ingram

Aquatic_blue

emorhconom esor

kesuke uchiha

I dont know if its a bad thing or a good thing.....but I would gladly give my life a thousand times over for even the most trivial of tributes to God....
of course...I am a man of action...and I would fight far before I fall
but I do not view my life as worth ANY more than anyone else's...nor do I view my life more important than even the smallest speck of God's will

To be martyred is a good thing. In Revelation it says martyrs will get special privileges that others don't in Heaven. Quick history fact: All the apostles were martyred except John, who died of old age due to the fact he survived Rome's attempt to martyr him by boiling him alive in oil.

What verse is it in Revelation that says martyrs will get special privileges that others won't get in Heaven? I don't believe I've come across it before so I'm only curious.

Even though John wasn't the only one to die due to martyrdom, it probably felt that he lived the life of a martyr since he had been exiled to the Island of Patmos. If the boiling him in oil part were true (I'm not sure if we can be 100% sure as some call it legend), I am sure he would definitely be scarred for life physically and possibly emotionally.

I feel that martyrdom is useless because it cuts your life short of being able to preach the gospel to more people who will actually listen. Sure, Jesus was technically a martyr, but that was God's plan for him and the fulfillment of the prophecy. That was the point.

For a normal human being to be martyred accomplishes nothing. Spreading the Gospel to people who need it doesn't work if you're six feet under. Because you're dead. Being dead is pretty useless when you need to spread the Gospel, and your death won't send a message to non-believers or make them think differently. They'll think you're an idiot before they kill you, and after you're martyred, they'll still think you're an idiot. So it accomplishes nothing when trying to teach others about Christ.

BUT there is such a thing as non-physical martyrdom, which is where you end up suffering from slander and hatred that other people give you. That's something that happens to pretty much any Christian that openly defends God's word. This can either happen because the Gospel is not being communicated tactfully and your credibility has been injured because of it, OR you can be communicating the Gospel to them clearly and they just have prejudices or just hate the message they hear or don't want to hear it. Therefore they direct nasty sayings towards you. :C

So, are you also saying that it's useless that almost all 12 of Jesus' apostles became martyrs? Was their act of expressing their belief useless? Did they choose that fate?

The thing is, if someone becomes a martyr they don't always choose it. Think about this scenario in a hypothetical manner, but truly think about it:

Let's say you're going about your every day life, everything is great and normal and as you are walking to your car to go home, someone puts a gun to your back or head and asks, "Do you believe in God?" Now, you have three choices. Say "yes", "no", or don't say anything at all. However, if you are forced to say something, that dwindles down into a "yes" or "no" question. When this happens, if you say, "No." and then get killed then what is God going to say when you meet face to face? You denied Him! It won't look good and it shows that truly in your heart that God wasn't your foundation. Even if you didn't get killed for saying "no", you would still be denying God. Now, if you say "yes", you may get killed and you may not, but if you die and God see's you face to face and you didn't deny Him even at the point of death - it would look a whole lot better because it shows that God is your foundation.

What about these people in other countries who have a dominate religion that isn't known for getting along with Christianity? The second someone in a non-Christian country believes in Jesus, their life is at risk. They want to save others and spread the word and they are doing their duty as a Christian - to spread the gospel. It's not a waste of time and they know the consequences for it, but Jesus won't look at them as less for becoming a martyr because they were doing what a Christian was supposed to do.

In life, we need to spread the gospel, but if we die spreading the gospel, what's to worry about? We have fulfilled our duty in life. Being a believer in God isn't about, "I'm doing whatever it takes to save my life here so I can live longer." It's more on the basis of:

Psalm 3:5

"I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the LORD sustains me"

Our life can end at any time and why we keep living is because the Lord sustains us. We are still to do our duty as Christians while we are alive, even if this means our lives are in utter peril due to spreading the gospel. If you're not spreading the gospel due to a fear of martyrdom then you are only hiding because you're too ashamed of the Lord because you're afraid at the things people will say. We are blessed when we are persecuted if it is in God's name so that wouldn't make sense to say "martyrdom is useless". We are blessed when we are persecuted because of God. Think about it - Jesus fulfilled a duty, a punishment that He didn't deserve. A punishment that He willingly took on for us! That was God's plan and perhaps Jesus couldn't have avoided it, but I have no doubt that Jesus could have tried to avoid it, but He carried through.

With martyrs - God has a plan for those who become martyrs. So if you say about Jesus, "That was God's plan for him." Then what about the martyrs out there that die because they spread the gospel? If that was God's plan for their life is that a waste of time?

Martyrdom accomplishes a lot more than people even realize. Some people see, "Wow, they fought until the end." There have been stories of people about to be killed for their beliefs and were released for some reason that was a miracle.

Also, if people make fun of you you're saying that's the Christians fault in your one reason of "This can either happen because the Gospel is not being communicated tactfully and your credibility has been injured because of it" (Your second reason has more accuracy than the first)? You say they are preaching the gospel wrong because people are thinking their stupid according to that first reason? No, this is completely inaccurate and untrue. Being persecuted is part of life for a Christian. Research these: 1 Peter 4:12 - 19, John 15:18 - 19, Matthew 10:22 (This one even says "You WILL be hated because of 'me' being Jesus). It is a guaranteed part of a Christian life. As I have heard it said, "If you are too comfortable as a Christian, you may be doing something wrong because serving God is all about coming out of your comfort zone." Just a few things to honestly think about.