Articles
Are You Ready?
Not long before Jesus was taken away to be crucified, He told the disciples, “All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night” (Matt. 26:31). To this, Peter insisted, “Even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble” (Matt. 26:33). Luke's record tells us Jesus then told Peter, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren” (Luke 22:31, 32). Again, Peter insisted, “Lord, I am ready to go with You, both to prison and to death” (Luke 22:33). Peter certainly seemed to be sure that he was ready to go with Jesus through whatever might have come, but we know the truth that Peter denied the Lord three times, just as Jesus said he would, and fled from Him just as the other disciples did.
Hopefully, we see from this example that saying what we will do does not always mean we will do what we say. Hopefully, we see that saying we are ready doesn't necessarily mean we are ready. As Christians, we must be truly prepared for many things that may come our way, and it would be beneficial to think about some things for which we should be always ready.
Ready to Answer. (1 Pet. 3:15) Peter's admonition for all disciples is that we “sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear.” The admonition is to be ready to give an answer for our faith, being able to tell others why we believe and present the evidences for why they should, too.
True faith is based on evidence, and has substance (cf. Heb. 11:1), and not merely a warm feeling inside. Faith is not [as our dictionaries now define it] "belief without evidence," but belief based on evidence — the evidence and testimony God has given to us in His revealed and written word. The evidence given is sufficient to cause one to believe (cf. John 20:30, 31), so we cannot claim God's word is not enough. As Paul wrote, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Rom. 10:17). If we have faith, we must be ready to defend it. Are you ready?
Ready to Give. (1 Tim. 6:17-19) Paul's charge to Timothy was that he “Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.” As much as we might want to deny it, most of us in this country would qualify as “those who are rich in this present age” and, as such, we have a responsibility to also be “ready to give.”
While we rightly focus on the spiritual side of giving others what they need, we should not overlook or even ignore altogether the physical needs of our fellow man. We have been charged by God to work that we might “have something to give him who has need” (Eph. 4:29), and personally and individually involved in “distributing to the needs of the saints” (Rom. 12:13). To do this, we must have the needs of others in mind, and we must prepare and set aside some of what we earn so we may do just that. Are you ready?
Ready to Preach/Teach. (Rom. 1:15) In Paul's opening words to the brethren in Rome, he expressed his desire to come to them, and revealed how he had been hindered before, but now, “I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also.” A study of Paul's life would show that Paul was, indeed, always ready to preach and teach. It didn't matter if it was in the synagogue (Acts 17:1, 2; Acts 18:4), a riverside (Acts 16:13), before governors and kings (Acts 24:25; Acts 26:1ff), and even in the house of a jailor (Acts 16:32, 33).
As disciples, we have been given the charge of being “able to teach” (2 Tim. 2:24-26), and to do so means we must be prepared — ready — to do so. Disciples should be ever grateful for the salvation they have obtained, and be just as gracious in passing on that message of salvation to others that they, too, might be saved. We must “not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality” (Jas. 2:1), but take the word of salvation out to all lost souls that they may know of the grace of God, and of the salvation that was made possible by the blood of Jesus Christ (Eph. 1:7). Before they can believe, though, someone has to teach them (Rom. 10:13, 14). Are you ready?
Ready to Die. (Acts 21:13) When Paul was headed to Jerusalem after traveling through the various regions preaching the gospel, Agabus came, took Paul's belt, bound his own hands and feet, and warned, “Thus says the Holy Spirit, ‘So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man who owns this belt, and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles,’” and the others pleaded with Paul not to go. To this Paul replied, “What do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus” (Acts 21:11-13). This would not be the only time Paul was imprisoned, and not the only time his life was in danger, but He was ready to do whatever he had to do in the spread of the gospel.
We have long enjoyed the freedom in this country to practice our faith as the Lord has specified — all without fear of harm or threats against life — but those days are quickly looking like it may not continue. Religious extremists who do not tolerate anything but their own faith and rules are threatening Christians in other countries with death [and following through on their threats], and it seems like they have already advanced in their efforts to bring their efforts to us. We may think "that will never happen to me," but I probably don't have to list the things that now happen on a regular basis that we all thought "would never happen" just a few years ago. If the day comes when you are threatened with death for refusing to deny Jesus Christ, what will you say and do? Remember, Peter also said he was ready to die with the Lord, but did not live up to his vehement insistence that he would. Though we now say we are ready to die for the Lord, we must not think that it would never happen, and act as if it will never happen. It may very well happen. Are you ready?
The necessity of preparing for these things should be a high priority for those who claim to be followers of Jesus Christ, and the necessity demands we prepare ourselves — we must be ready. But to prepare means we must think about these things now, so when the time comes we don't have to stop and think about it, or try to find the courage then to do or say what we should. Now is the time to prepare for answering for our faith, to give to those in need, to teach and preach to lost souls, and to die for our faith in Christ Jesus. Are you ready?
One more thing: Since we know, as Christians, that Christ is coming again, and that we face judgment after this life, it would also be wise to be ready for that day, too. The thing is, we don't know when that day is, for “the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night” (1 Thess. 5:2). We don't know when He will come, so we must be ready in case it is today. Are you ready?
As we look to the future, let us be prepared. Let us be ready. —— Steven Harper
