A Reason I Am Encouraged

I have reason to be encouraged by all the faithful men and women of Christ that have faithfully walked in the grace of Christ being the fragrance of the Lord among the world. They have loved Him and defended Him against those that have assaulted His name. When all have bowed to the negative influence of the culture they have stood for the Triune God. When all have stood up for the world they have bowed the knee to the King. Sure they sin and fail at times, but they always remember the precious Gospel of Jesus Christ and their faith in Him reminds them that are not only forgiven but clothed in the righteousness of Christ thereby declared righteous by our sovereign Judge and thus by the grace of God they strive for and persevere in holiness. I am sincerely thankful for such men and women. It is they that the Lord uses to encourage me to grow in Christ and to faithfully herald His Word.

As thankful as I am for such people they are not my focus right here. My focus of encouragement is the young men I believe that the Lord is training and raising up (even the ones that may be unaware) for the ministry. The young men who will be under-shepherds of Christ's sheep. The people He loves dearly and laid down His life for. These men not only submit to the Word of Christ but they love it. They cherish it and adore it. They are not afraid to share the Gospel with family members, friends and even strangers at the risk of ending or hindering any personal relationship that exists. They love to learn from the godly men of old that have gone on before us setting an example for us to follow in both doctrine and godly living. They love to stand on the shoulders of such men. These are uncompromising men who refuse to give in to the "spirit of the age" They understand or will come to understand that many of the people they minster to, or seek to minster to, will despise them and some even come to hate them. They theologically know that their Master taught them that they should expect to be hated since Christ was hated. But they will soon come to experience it in their labor for Christ. They understand or will soon come to the understanding that their joy is in Christ not in their own reputation.

Sure, they will sin and be tempted towards pride. They will early on eagerly and proudly enter secondary doctrinal arguments with the aim of simply winning the argument to demonstrate their own great and theological mind. They will be humbled when they come across a person more theologically astute and articulate than they are. They will soon learn that it is okay and commendable to change their theological positions for the better. Their is no shame in admitting they were once doctrinally and theologically wrong and repenting of it. This in turn will remind them to be more loving and gracious with those that are not as biblically mature as they are and how to be more patient and careful with those that disagree with them on secondary matters.

Just as thankful and encouraged as am for Luther, Calvin, Owen, Spurgeon, Machen, Lloyd-Jones upon whose shoulders I stand upon (among the great many others to many to mention) these young men will stand upon the Word of God and the godly men of old who have paved the way for us. After all it is one thing the have the shoulders to stand upon but just as equally important to have others to continue to stand for the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

These  young men are needed. They will be used of the Lord to lead the charge for the next generation in spiritual warfare. As many are trying to lead and take the church in new paths, these young men will be faithful in guiding her in the "old paths" (Jer. 6:16). I am extremely encouraged by such men. They will be on the front lines of battle leading the flock of God and protecting them from the wolves and even sometimes protecting the sheep from themselves. They will be used to herald the Gospel to bring the other sheep not yet in the fold. But they will face strong opposition from both outside of the church and from within her. They are the watchmen of Ezekiel 33 and warned not be the shepherds of Ezekiel 34.

I'm excited and encouraged for such godly young men. I know some of them and know of some of them. They are out there. The Lord is training and preparing them for His use. My advice to them is to stay the course. It will get rough at times. You will feel discouragement, grief, suffering, anger frustration, impatience among other things. Some of it will be your own fault while other times the fault of others. Remain faithful. As difficult as it may be remember that your labor in Christ is not in vain (1 Cor. 15:58). Love Christ, love sinners (believers and unbelievers), be humble and pursue holiness. Remember these divinely inspired words of the Apostle Paul:

You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, 2 and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. 3 Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. 5 An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. 6 It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops. 7 Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything. 

8 Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, 9 for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound! 10 Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. 11 The saying is trustworthy, for:

If we have died with him, we will also live with him;12 if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us; 13 if we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself (2 Ti 2:1–13).

May our sovereign Lord sustain you by His power and grace to use you for His glory!