Taking Up the Cross
Can I die for my faith? Do I love the truth that much? After reading Foxe’s Book of Martyrs, this is a question that screams out from every smoldering pile of ashes in the book’s pages.
The description of Master John Hooper is a recurring theme throughout the book:
Even as he began, so he continued unto his life’s end. For neither could his labour and painstaking break him, neither promotion change him, neither dainty fare corrupt him. His life was so pure and good, that no kind of slander could fasten any fault upon him. He was of body strong, his health whole and sound, his wit very pregnant, his invincible patience able to sustain whatsoever sinister fortune and adversity could do. He was constant of judgment, a good justicer, spare of diet, sparer of words, and sparest of time: in house-keeping [hospitality] very liberal and sometimes more free than his living would extend unto. He bare in countenance and talk always a certain severe grace, which might, peradventure, be wished sometimes to have been a little more popular in him: but he knew what he had to do best himself. Pg. 192. Yet it was his excellent character and sound Bible doctrine that caused his burning at the stake in early February, 1555.
These martyrs had been transformed by the Bible and Bible Christianity. They were real powerhouses. That is why they were burned. It was as Paul said, “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” (2Tim. 3:12). That means that I may not have anything to worry about, in terms of martyrdom. If I’m not having the holy walk with Jesus that they had, my personal religion will be so dead that I won’t stand out enough to be accused of heresy. I will never be dragged into court and have to face the command to recant. They won’t recognize me as a threat to false religion. Would you feel insulted?
Do I walk in meditation of Jesus, His beautiful righteousness and wonderful love? Do I love His life, His law? Do I walk by such faith in Him that my love endures the hardest life, “seeing Him who is invisible.” (Heb. 11:27).
Are we “seeing” Him, though He is in a far country? Is our most intense desire: “I shall see Him, but not now: I shall behold Him, but not nigh”? (Num. 24:17). Are we really beholding His precious soul and His tenderest spirit so that we are being changed into His same beautiful image? 2Cor. 3:18. Is He breathing into our nostrils His breath of life and making our souls live? Are we receiving the Holy Spirit? Jn. 20:22. The care and compassion He had for the people who lived two thousand years ago, do we translate this to a love He has for us today? Do we know that He ever lives to love us and intercede for us? Heb. 7:25.
We are to appropriate all the scriptures, written so long ago, for our case today. Does He do to you today, as He did the rich, young ruler, “Jesus beholding him loved him”? (Mk. 10:21). Would He do that to YOU? Would He love you that much? Can we claim that precious promise for ourselves? Dare we? I guarantee you that Satan says you can’t, that you aren’t worthy. He resists anyone and everyone trying to make peace with God through Christ. Zech. 3:1.
Imperceptibly influences affect the mind, and form the character. If the mind does not appropriate high and holy influences, it appropriates those that are low and debasing. If there is not a growth in piety and grace, there is a growth in worldliness and sin. RH, April 9, 1901 par. 14. We are to appropriate the righteousness of Christ through studying His matchless charms, which are His merits. It was this gospel that martyr and Doctor of divinity Hugh Latimer loved to preach:
On the Sunday before Christenmas day coming to the church, and causing the bell to be tolled, he entereth into the pulpit, exhorting and inviting all men to serve the Lord with inward heart and true affection, and not with outward ceremonies: meaning thereby how the Lord would be worshipped and served in simplicity of the heart and verity, wherein consisteth true Christian religion, and not in the outward deeds of the letter only, or in the glistering show of man’s traditions, of pardons, pilgrimages, ceremonies, vows, devotions, voluntary works, works of supererogation, foundations, oblations, the Pope’s supremacy; so that all these either be needless, where the other is present, or else be of small estimation, in comparison. Foxe’s Book of Martyrs, p. 265.
Appropriate the love of Christ for yourself and the righteousness witnessed to in the Bible. It is in this kind of personal friendship, daily enjoyed and daily witnessing His character, that we appropriate His love and His high standard, which prepares us to be commissioned by God to speak for Him, even to the forfeiture of our property, to physical harm, and even to death (if that is God’s will).
We return to the lovely Master Bishop Hooper. At His execution, after two fires went out and he was burnt only at his lower body, but still very much alive:
The third fire was kindled within a while after, which was more extreme than the other two: and then the bladders of gunpowder brake, which did him small good, they were so placed, and the wind had such power. In the which fire he prayed with somewhat a loud voice, ‘Lord Jesus, have mercy upon me; Lord Jesus, have mercy upon me: Lord Jesus receive my spirit.’ And these were the last words he was heard to utter. But when he was black in the mouth, and his tongue swollen, that he could not speak, yet his lips went till they were shrunk to the gums: and he knocked his breast with his hands, until one of his arms fell off and then knocked still with the other, what time the fat, water, and blood, dropped out at his fingers’ ends, until by renewing of the fire his strength was gone, and his hand did cleave fast, in knocking, to the iron upon his breast. So immediately, bowing forwards, he yielded up his spirit.
Thus was he three quarters of an hour or more in the fire. Even as a lamb, patiently he abode the extremity thereof, neither moving forwards, backwards, nor to any side: but he died as quietly as a child in his bed. Ibid. p. 213.
Why read Foxe’s Book of Martyrs? Listen to what Ellen White wrote.
Some will be imprisoned because they refuse to desecrate the Sabbath of the Lord. —PC 118 (1907). LDE, p.149.
As the defenders of truth refuse to honor the Sunday-sabbath some of them will be thrust into prison, some will be exiled, some will be treated as slaves. To human wisdom all this now seems impossible, but as the restraining Spirit of God shall be withdrawn from men and they shall be under the control of Satan, who hates the divine precepts, there will be strange developments. The heart can be very cruel when God’s fear and love are removed. —GC 608 (1911). LDE, p. 149.
If we are called to suffer for Christ’s sake, we shall be able to go to prison trusting in Him as a little child trusts in its parents. Now is the time to cultivate faith in God. —OHC 357 (1892). LDE, p. 149.
Many Will Be Put to Death
The best thing for us is to come into close connection with God and, if He would have us be martyrs for the truth’s sake, it may be the means of bringing many more into the truth.—3SM 420 (1886). LDE, p. 149.
Many will be imprisoned, many will flee for their lives from cities and towns, and many will be martyrs for Christ’s sake in standing in defense of the truth. —3SM 397 (1889). LDE, p. 150.
There is a prospect before us of a continued struggle, at the risk of imprisonment, loss of property and even of life itself, to defend the law of God. —5T 712 (1889). LDE, p. 150.
Men will be required to render obedience to human edicts in violation of the divine law. Those who are true to God will be menaced, denounced, proscribed. They will be “betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends,” even unto death. —PK 588 (c. 1914). LDE, p. 150.
We are not to have the courage and fortitude of martyrs of old until brought into the position they were in. . . . Should there be a return of persecution there would be grace given to arouse every energy of the soul to show a true heroism. —OHC 125 (1889). LDE, p. 150.
The disciples were not endowed with the courage and fortitude of the martyrs until such grace was needed.—DA 354 (1898). LDE, p. 150.
How to Stand Firm Under Persecution
We shall find that we must let loose of all hands except the hand of Jesus Christ. Friends will prove treacherous and will betray us. Relatives, deceived by the enemy, will think they do God service in opposing us and putting forth the utmost efforts to bring us into hard places, hoping we will deny our faith. But we may trust our hand in the hand of Christ amid darkness and peril. —Mar 197 (1889). LDE, p. 150.
The only way in which men will be able to stand firm in the conflict is to be rooted and grounded in Christ. They must receive the truth as it is in Jesus. And it is only as the truth is presented thus that it can meet the wants of the soul. The preaching of Christ crucified, Christ our righteousness, is what satisfies the soul’s hunger. When we secure the interest of the people in this great central truth, faith and hope and courage come to the heart. —GCDB Jan. 28, 1893. LDE, p. 151.
Many, because of their faith, will be cut off from house and heritage here, but if they will give their hearts to Christ, receiving the message of His grace, and resting upon their Substitute and Surety, even the Son of God, they may still be filled with joy. —ST June 2, 1898. LDE, p. 151.
Did you catch her statement, “The disciples were not endowed with the courage and fortitude of the martyrs until such grace was needed”? Let’s not deceive ourselves into thinking that we can claim this as a promise while disregarding her other statements, “The preaching of Christ crucified, Christ our righteousness, is what satisfies the soul’s hunger. When we secure the interest of the people in this great central truth, faith and hope and courage come to the heart.”
Christ in Righteousness by Faith, His beautiful holiness, is what she declares we need in order for our faith to stand in the big troubles ahead. This is what Hugh Latimer taught, and got him burned at the stake. But through it, Christ sustained him in his death. And the Lord Jesus will sustain us today if we put our faith, all of our time and effort, in knowing Him and appropriating His love to “them then” for “us now.”
The description of Master John Hooper is a recurring theme throughout the book:
Even as he began, so he continued unto his life’s end. For neither could his labour and painstaking break him, neither promotion change him, neither dainty fare corrupt him. His life was so pure and good, that no kind of slander could fasten any fault upon him. He was of body strong, his health whole and sound, his wit very pregnant, his invincible patience able to sustain whatsoever sinister fortune and adversity could do. He was constant of judgment, a good justicer, spare of diet, sparer of words, and sparest of time: in house-keeping [hospitality] very liberal and sometimes more free than his living would extend unto. He bare in countenance and talk always a certain severe grace, which might, peradventure, be wished sometimes to have been a little more popular in him: but he knew what he had to do best himself. Pg. 192. Yet it was his excellent character and sound Bible doctrine that caused his burning at the stake in early February, 1555.
These martyrs had been transformed by the Bible and Bible Christianity. They were real powerhouses. That is why they were burned. It was as Paul said, “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” (2Tim. 3:12). That means that I may not have anything to worry about, in terms of martyrdom. If I’m not having the holy walk with Jesus that they had, my personal religion will be so dead that I won’t stand out enough to be accused of heresy. I will never be dragged into court and have to face the command to recant. They won’t recognize me as a threat to false religion. Would you feel insulted?
Do I walk in meditation of Jesus, His beautiful righteousness and wonderful love? Do I love His life, His law? Do I walk by such faith in Him that my love endures the hardest life, “seeing Him who is invisible.” (Heb. 11:27).
Are we “seeing” Him, though He is in a far country? Is our most intense desire: “I shall see Him, but not now: I shall behold Him, but not nigh”? (Num. 24:17). Are we really beholding His precious soul and His tenderest spirit so that we are being changed into His same beautiful image? 2Cor. 3:18. Is He breathing into our nostrils His breath of life and making our souls live? Are we receiving the Holy Spirit? Jn. 20:22. The care and compassion He had for the people who lived two thousand years ago, do we translate this to a love He has for us today? Do we know that He ever lives to love us and intercede for us? Heb. 7:25.
We are to appropriate all the scriptures, written so long ago, for our case today. Does He do to you today, as He did the rich, young ruler, “Jesus beholding him loved him”? (Mk. 10:21). Would He do that to YOU? Would He love you that much? Can we claim that precious promise for ourselves? Dare we? I guarantee you that Satan says you can’t, that you aren’t worthy. He resists anyone and everyone trying to make peace with God through Christ. Zech. 3:1.
Imperceptibly influences affect the mind, and form the character. If the mind does not appropriate high and holy influences, it appropriates those that are low and debasing. If there is not a growth in piety and grace, there is a growth in worldliness and sin. RH, April 9, 1901 par. 14. We are to appropriate the righteousness of Christ through studying His matchless charms, which are His merits. It was this gospel that martyr and Doctor of divinity Hugh Latimer loved to preach:
On the Sunday before Christenmas day coming to the church, and causing the bell to be tolled, he entereth into the pulpit, exhorting and inviting all men to serve the Lord with inward heart and true affection, and not with outward ceremonies: meaning thereby how the Lord would be worshipped and served in simplicity of the heart and verity, wherein consisteth true Christian religion, and not in the outward deeds of the letter only, or in the glistering show of man’s traditions, of pardons, pilgrimages, ceremonies, vows, devotions, voluntary works, works of supererogation, foundations, oblations, the Pope’s supremacy; so that all these either be needless, where the other is present, or else be of small estimation, in comparison. Foxe’s Book of Martyrs, p. 265.
Appropriate the love of Christ for yourself and the righteousness witnessed to in the Bible. It is in this kind of personal friendship, daily enjoyed and daily witnessing His character, that we appropriate His love and His high standard, which prepares us to be commissioned by God to speak for Him, even to the forfeiture of our property, to physical harm, and even to death (if that is God’s will).
We return to the lovely Master Bishop Hooper. At His execution, after two fires went out and he was burnt only at his lower body, but still very much alive:
The third fire was kindled within a while after, which was more extreme than the other two: and then the bladders of gunpowder brake, which did him small good, they were so placed, and the wind had such power. In the which fire he prayed with somewhat a loud voice, ‘Lord Jesus, have mercy upon me; Lord Jesus, have mercy upon me: Lord Jesus receive my spirit.’ And these were the last words he was heard to utter. But when he was black in the mouth, and his tongue swollen, that he could not speak, yet his lips went till they were shrunk to the gums: and he knocked his breast with his hands, until one of his arms fell off and then knocked still with the other, what time the fat, water, and blood, dropped out at his fingers’ ends, until by renewing of the fire his strength was gone, and his hand did cleave fast, in knocking, to the iron upon his breast. So immediately, bowing forwards, he yielded up his spirit.
Thus was he three quarters of an hour or more in the fire. Even as a lamb, patiently he abode the extremity thereof, neither moving forwards, backwards, nor to any side: but he died as quietly as a child in his bed. Ibid. p. 213.
Why read Foxe’s Book of Martyrs? Listen to what Ellen White wrote.
Some will be imprisoned because they refuse to desecrate the Sabbath of the Lord. —PC 118 (1907). LDE, p.149.
As the defenders of truth refuse to honor the Sunday-sabbath some of them will be thrust into prison, some will be exiled, some will be treated as slaves. To human wisdom all this now seems impossible, but as the restraining Spirit of God shall be withdrawn from men and they shall be under the control of Satan, who hates the divine precepts, there will be strange developments. The heart can be very cruel when God’s fear and love are removed. —GC 608 (1911). LDE, p. 149.
If we are called to suffer for Christ’s sake, we shall be able to go to prison trusting in Him as a little child trusts in its parents. Now is the time to cultivate faith in God. —OHC 357 (1892). LDE, p. 149.
Many Will Be Put to Death
The best thing for us is to come into close connection with God and, if He would have us be martyrs for the truth’s sake, it may be the means of bringing many more into the truth.—3SM 420 (1886). LDE, p. 149.
Many will be imprisoned, many will flee for their lives from cities and towns, and many will be martyrs for Christ’s sake in standing in defense of the truth. —3SM 397 (1889). LDE, p. 150.
There is a prospect before us of a continued struggle, at the risk of imprisonment, loss of property and even of life itself, to defend the law of God. —5T 712 (1889). LDE, p. 150.
Men will be required to render obedience to human edicts in violation of the divine law. Those who are true to God will be menaced, denounced, proscribed. They will be “betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends,” even unto death. —PK 588 (c. 1914). LDE, p. 150.
We are not to have the courage and fortitude of martyrs of old until brought into the position they were in. . . . Should there be a return of persecution there would be grace given to arouse every energy of the soul to show a true heroism. —OHC 125 (1889). LDE, p. 150.
The disciples were not endowed with the courage and fortitude of the martyrs until such grace was needed.—DA 354 (1898). LDE, p. 150.
How to Stand Firm Under Persecution
We shall find that we must let loose of all hands except the hand of Jesus Christ. Friends will prove treacherous and will betray us. Relatives, deceived by the enemy, will think they do God service in opposing us and putting forth the utmost efforts to bring us into hard places, hoping we will deny our faith. But we may trust our hand in the hand of Christ amid darkness and peril. —Mar 197 (1889). LDE, p. 150.
The only way in which men will be able to stand firm in the conflict is to be rooted and grounded in Christ. They must receive the truth as it is in Jesus. And it is only as the truth is presented thus that it can meet the wants of the soul. The preaching of Christ crucified, Christ our righteousness, is what satisfies the soul’s hunger. When we secure the interest of the people in this great central truth, faith and hope and courage come to the heart. —GCDB Jan. 28, 1893. LDE, p. 151.
Many, because of their faith, will be cut off from house and heritage here, but if they will give their hearts to Christ, receiving the message of His grace, and resting upon their Substitute and Surety, even the Son of God, they may still be filled with joy. —ST June 2, 1898. LDE, p. 151.
Did you catch her statement, “The disciples were not endowed with the courage and fortitude of the martyrs until such grace was needed”? Let’s not deceive ourselves into thinking that we can claim this as a promise while disregarding her other statements, “The preaching of Christ crucified, Christ our righteousness, is what satisfies the soul’s hunger. When we secure the interest of the people in this great central truth, faith and hope and courage come to the heart.”
Christ in Righteousness by Faith, His beautiful holiness, is what she declares we need in order for our faith to stand in the big troubles ahead. This is what Hugh Latimer taught, and got him burned at the stake. But through it, Christ sustained him in his death. And the Lord Jesus will sustain us today if we put our faith, all of our time and effort, in knowing Him and appropriating His love to “them then” for “us now.”
posted by David | 10:23 AM
2 Comments:
David,
I read this post and its one of the best among the posts you have.
people fear to mention persecution yet its a reality. I felt so much consoled by your statement How to stand amidst persecution and you mentioned. "We shall find that we must let loose of all hands except the hand of Jesus Christ". Also
"The only way in which men will be able to stand firm in the conflict is to be rooted and grounded in Christ".
David, they strong statement and my prayer is Lord help stand firm in you and be rooted deeper in you.
Daniel
Thank you for your comment, Daniel. Persecution is very real and soon to be at our doorstep. I do want to be strong when it comes.
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