On numerous occasions in the Gospels, Jesus mentioned the word \u00abcross.\u00bb This does not refer to the wooden cross he bore for our salvation. In fact, wherever he mentioned the word \u201ccross,\u201d he was referring to the cross that we, as disciples, should bear. It is, in fact, this cross and bearing it that marks us as his true disciples. Let us examine this statement based on the Word of God:<\/p>\nMatthew 16:23-25<\/strong> Looking at the quotes above, we can see that following Christ can lead us into conflict with society, with those we are close to\u2014even with our parents or children. As unpleasant as that may be, it is Christ whom we must follow. In fact, no one can be a disciple of Christ unless they have taken up their cross, accepting and bearing the consequences of their Christian faith.<\/p>\n It is especially important to pay attention to these words and to make a firm decision in our hearts to follow Christ and the Word of God, whatever the cost and regardless of what people, their philosophies, and theories may teach. It may not be pleasant for the flesh to act in this way. We all want to be accepted by everyone, but sometimes that is not possible, because it would mean compromising between God and His Word. We must not turn back and withdraw in such cases, but carry our cross, relying on our faith. What is stronger? What is more valid? People, their theories and opinions, or the Word of God? People\u2019s theories come and go, but the Word of God remains forever. Let me give you an example: in our time and in our \u00abChristian societies,\u00bb most non-Christians believe that the world came from nothing and evolved on its own. Does the Word of God support this argument? A review of the first chapters of Genesis shows that this is not the case. It was God who created all things. Hebrews summarizes it as follows:<\/p>\nHebrews 11:3<\/strong> What the world says (the theory of evolution) contradicts what God\u2019s Word says. What should we do as Christians? It\u2019s very simple: we believe in God\u2019s Word! If God says something, then we believe what He says! The key word here is: \u00abbelieve,\u00bb \u00abby faith,\u00bb as Hebrews states. Does the Word of God say this? If so, we believe it, without paying attention to what the people around us say, even if we seem ridiculous according to their beliefs. As R.T. Kendal states:<\/p>\n \u00abEvery generation of Christianity bears its own scars, through which the believer\u2019s faith is severely tested. For example, in the first generation of the church, this concerned the argument that Jesus of Nazareth was the fulfillment of the Old Testament. This was particularly the stigma that the Jews faced when they confronted the establishment that upheld Temple worship. At the end of the first century, the crucial question was whom to pray to: Christ or Caesar\u2026.In Luther\u2019s time, the debate was whether a person was justified by faith or by works. These are just a few examples\u2026for I could go on indefinitely. \u00bbThe most hotly debated question in every age concerns what is true, but it is also what makes the minority appear foolish and causes the believer to be perceived as mad\u201d (R. T. Kendal, Believing God, Authentic Classics). <\/strong>)<\/p>\n What would have happened if we had had to defend salvation by grace in Luther\u2019s time? We would have been called fools, and we might even have lost our lives. But even then, we would have stood up to uphold what God\u2019s Word says, bearing the cross and accepting the stigma. What I want to say in this article is simple: carry your cross. Believe in God\u2019s Word 100%. Accept it as the sole authority governing your life. Do not water down the message to make it conform to what society says. Do not abandon what God says in His Word in order to gain the acceptance of others. Many Christians have done so. Many Christians, when it came to the debate over Creation versus evolution, for example\u2014one of the most hotly debated issues of our time, perhaps the most debated, which makes the believer look like a fool\u2014chose to water down the message and compromise their faith. They want to believe in both evolution and God\u2019s Creation. However, that is not what the Word of God teaches. You don\u2019t have to prove something in order to believe it. You must find it in the Word of God. Does the Word say that? If so, believe it. If not, do not believe it, regardless of what others\u2014we\u2019ll call them the \u00abexperts\u00bb\u2014may say. It is a childlike faith, and it is about what pleases the Father.<\/p>\n Below are additional passages that help us see that being a disciple of Jesus Christ does not mean accepting the possibility of being persecuted because of our faith. They also show us what we must do:<\/p>\n2 Timothy 3:12<\/strong> Shalom!<\/p>\n Pasteur Cl\u00e9mentine<\/p>\n <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1154,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"disabled","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"disabled","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3430","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-enseignements-biblique"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t
\n\u00abBut Jesus turned and said to Peter, \u00bbGet behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; for you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.\u2019 Then Jesus said to his disciples, \u2018If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.\u2019\u201d<\/strong>\nMatthew 10:33-39<\/strong>
\n\u00abBut whoever denies me before men, I will also deny him before my Father in heaven. Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man\u2019s enemies will be the members of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; whoever does not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever tries to save their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.\u00bb<\/strong>\n2 Timothy 3:12<\/strong>
\n\"Now all those who want to live godly in Jesus Christ will be persecuted.\"<\/strong>\n
\n\u00abIt is by faith that we understand that the universe was formed by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.\u00bb<\/strong>\n
\n\"Now all those who want to live godly in Jesus Christ will be persecuted.\"<\/strong>\n2 Timothy 4:2-4<\/strong>
\n\u00abPreach the word; be ready in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and encourage\u2014with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when people will not endure sound teaching, but having an itch for what pleases them, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths\u2026<\/strong>\nJohn 17:14<\/strong>
\n\u00abI have given them your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.\u00bb<\/strong>\n1 Thessalonians 3:3<\/strong>
\n\"That no one may be shaken in the midst of present afflictions; for you yourselves know that we are destined for this.\"<\/strong>\n