Bible Studies

May God Sustain The Church Age Jeremiahs

by Doug Laird 
02/17/22
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May God Sustain The Church Age Jeremiahs

Thank God, we already have God’s answer to that prayer request.

In Matthew 16:18 NASB we read,” I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock (Peter’s statement of faith) I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.”. In Matthew 24:14 NASB we read, “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.”
In order for these things to happen, the unadulterated Gospel Message, encapsulated in John 3: 16, 18, has to be preserved and isolated from all the “additives” that religion has added to it throughout the course of the Church Age.
An additive is anything that religion requires in order to obtain (John 3: 16, 18) or to retain (Romans 8: 1) eternal life, beyond placing one’s faith (trust, confidence) is the Person (John 8: 24) and in the atoning (1John 2: 2) Work that the Lord Jesus Christ finished (John 19: 30) on the cross.

In Hebrews 12:6 we read, “For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, And He scourges every son whom He receives."

If divine discipline is to be minimized, there is the need for post salvation discipleship. Discipleship involves the daily taking in, the daily meditating on, and the moment-to-moment application of the Word of God.

By a Church Age Jeremiah, I am referring to the type believer who takes a stand for God, knowing, and in spite of, all of the inevitable consequences that such a lifestyle will bring (2Tim. 3: 12) to his or her door.

Jeremiah was an Old Testament prophet who continually spoke of impending divine judgment, holding the clergy and the general population accountable. He and his preaching were neither popular nor was it appreciated. In fact, it resulted in physical abuse and systematic persecution from the religious establishment and the very people he wanted to edify.

Jesus spoke of the same treatment being in store for those who choose to follow him (John 15: 18, 19/John 16: 2).
A Church Age Jeremiah is a born-again believer who is willing to take a stand for God, in spite of inevitable rejection and or persecution from family (Luke 14: 26), apostate religious authority (1Tim. 4: 1), and hostile secular authority.
Be it right or wrong, going against the current of familial tradition and social trends will generate persecution in any culture.

Apostate religious establishments and hostile secular authority have a long history of collaboration. The ironic part in all of this collaboration, is that both the religious and the political partners involved, actually believe they are carrying out their divinely ordained destinies by purging their establishments, empires, and nations of anyone who challenges their leadership, or who they perceive to be a threat to their own security (John 16:2/Romans 13: 1: 4).
Jesus was innocent, but was never-the-less falsely convicted of blasphemy by religious authority and handed over to secular authority for execution. When their religious position failed to achieve their objective, they then projected Him as being an enemy of the state (Rome).

Church Age Jeremiahs will likewise suffer rejection from apostate religious families, people, organizations, and hostile secular authority when they take a stand promoting and or defending what God and His Word has to say.

Weary believers are bound to ask why should it be that they are to face relentless adversity when they are only trying to carry out the individual (1Cor. 12: 11) part in the plan that God has in mind for him or her.
The short answer is found in 1Pet. 5: 8.

“Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour (1Pet. 5: 8 NASB).”

The devil can do nothing (Romans 8: 1) to take away the irrevocable (Romans 11: 29) gifts and benefits of the eternal life that a born-again believer has already received.

But to the extent that God allows, the devil can do much to destroy and to discourage (Luke 8: 14) the potential p-r-o-d-u-c-t-i-v-i-t-y (Luke 8: 15) of one’s post salvation spiritual life.

The devil does so via distractions and or adversity, whichever one would most likely take his intended target away from the plan that God has in mind.

“The *seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to maturity. The seed in the good soil, these are the ones (born again believers) who have heard (believed) the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast (being saved/edified themselves), and bear fruit (saving and edifying other souls) with perseverance (Luke 8: 14, 15 NASB parentheses mine).”

This *seed is the unadulterated Gospel Message for salvation and accurate Bible Doctrine for discipleship.
“The slaves of the landowner came and said to him, 'Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have *tares?' And he said to them, 'An enemy has done this!'…”. (Matt. 13: 27-28a NASB).”

The *tares are the false doctrines and practices that are sown among the good seeds (Gal. 3/2Tim. 1: 4). In every denomination and local assembly there is bound to be both seeds and tares coming from the pulpits.

Individual members of the local assembly or ministry must become an Acts 17: 11 type of believer, developing the ability to distinguish between accurate and false teachings and practices being promoted by any given pulpit.
In the secular world, employees receiving cash are NOT trained to spot counterfeit money so much by keeping up with the latest counterfeit version, but by being able to verify the real thing. In the same way, by learning accurate doctrine, the advancing disciple develops the ability to spot a false teaching or practice.

Diagnosing an issue will not do one much good if He or she doesn’t take steps to correct it (James 1: 22).
Sad to say, but many would-be disciples, in fear of social or familial rejection (Luke 14: 26), will develop a Luke 5: 39 response, choosing fellowship with people rather than fellowship with God.

“And no one, after (being accustomed to) drinking old (traditions of men) wine wishes for new (correct or more accurate teachings and practices); for he says, 'The old is good enough (Luke 5: 39 NASB parentheses mine).”
Rev. 2: 4 refers to such choices as committing spiritual adultery, forsaking his or her first love, the Lord Jesus Christ.
I am not suggesting that you leave a local assembly just because you don’t agree with everything taking place. Born again believers are all equally and forever saved, but individually at different levels of spiritual maturity. No two individuals, let alone an entire congregation, are going to agree on everything.

At the same time, if one’s choice of local assembly or source of spiritual edification is not providing you with the means to c-o-n-t-i-n-u-e to grow in the knowledge and in the application of the Word of God, something is wrong that needs to be addressed.

Just simply ask yourself (2Cor. 13: 5) from time to time, what is it that I now know, better understand, or can better apply about God or the things of God than what I knew, understood, or could apply, let’s say six months ago.
If the answer is nothing, is it because I am not doing my part by learning and applying the Word of God being promoted in my choice of local assembly or ministry, or is it because my local assembly is not doing its job (Matt. 28: 19, 20), teaching and making disciples of the Word of God?

"Discipleship is initially for the development of one’s own soul structure (Matt. 7: 24 - 27), but with the long-term objective of participating in the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20), evangelizing and or edifying OTHERS (1Cor.12: 7).
“Go (this means YOU) therefore and make (other) disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, (by) Teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age (Matt.28: 19, 20 NASB parentheses mine).”

Being a Jeremiah can take it’s toll if one tries to do it with the imitations of his or her human strength and abilities (Phil. 4: 13). God never intended for His servants to walk the walk alone (John 15: 5).

As one spiritually matures, the advancing disciple WILL find himself or herself developing an overwhelming compulsion to speak (Jer.20: 9) for God, by word or actions, regardless of earthly consequences.

When an advancing disciple fills his or her soul structure with divine knowledge (2Peter 3: 18), and God provides him or her with an opportunity to evangelize or edify someone else, remaining silent will not be an option. What once generated an ungodly sense of embarrassment (Luke 9:26) in the soul of a weak believer, becomes a welcomed opportunity (1Pet. 3:15) in the daily life of an advancing disciple.

At one point the Apostle Paul spoke of being pulled in two opposing directions (Phil. 1: 23 – 24).

“But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart (*die) and be with Christ, for that is very much better; yet to remain (here) on (Earth) in the flesh is more necessary for your (edification) sake (Phil. 1: 23 – 24 NASB parentheses mine).”

*Paul was referring to his death, and going home to be with the Lord (2Cor. 5: 8). He was not thinking about the Rapture here. If the Rapture we’re to take place, there would be no believers left behind to remain with!
Jonah did not want to go to preach a message of repentance and impending judgement to the people living in ancient Nineveh. He wasn’t asking the Lord to take him home to heaven. He just didn’t want to carry out the individual assignment that God had in mind and had revealed to him.

Many Christians decide what area or form of ministry that they want to involve themselves in, and then seek God’s blessings on their plans, rather than seeking and carrying out the plan that God has in mind.
Peter (Matt. 19: 27) wanted to what was in it (serving God) for him, and he had not yet even faced much of the adversity that the individual plan of God had in store for him.

So, where does this self-centeredness and weariness, come from?

Being focused on the promotion of self, to the exclusion of the commands of God and the interests of other people (Phil. 2: 3, 4), is an inherent part of the fallen nature (Romans 7) that is in ALL of us.
We were not the first of God's creatures to experience this.

Promoting self and seeking self gain above and beyond what God created him to be, was the desire of the devil in eternity past, BEFORE the creation of Man took place.

The devil was created as a cherub (Ezekiel 28: 14), serving in the very throne room of God in the 3rd Heaven. Desiring to be worshiped as God was, he led a failed rebellion with the support of angels who chose to follow him.
It has been the long-standing desire of the devil to establish a prosperous kingdom that is independent of God. His first attempt to do so within the angelic realm failed. After the creation and the Fall of Man, he has established a kingdom here on Earth (Luke 4: 6), but he, and it too, is destined for failure (Matt. 25: 41/Rev. 20: 10).
Until then, the spiritual battle here on Earth continues on between divine and evil (Eph. 6: 12) forces, with the eternal destiny of the individual souls of Man hanging in the balance.

The incarnation and atoning sacrifice made by the Lord Jesus Christ provided fallen Man with the means of reconciliation with God and His promises of eternal life (John 3: 16 and security (Romans 8: 1).
As of the Church Age, which one of two locations WHERE each individual human soul WILL be spending all of eternity is determined by each soul’s chosen response, after being presented with the Gospel Message (John 3: 16, 18).

However, the question of HOW (with or without reward and privileges) each believing soul will experience eternity is determined by the quality of one’s post salvation spiritual life.

This where the significance of having responded (or not) to the call to post salvation discipleship comes into view.
In each generation of each dispensation of human history, there has been, and continues to be, the need for the “Jeremiah” type of believer

Jeremiah spent twenty-three years preaching repentance and warning his generation of the divine judgement that was on the way. But no one would listen. The only thing he got for his efforts was heart ache and persecution.
Jeremiahs are willing to take on such challenges associated with maintaining and sharing the unadulterated Gospel Message.

Jeremiahs are willing to take on the challenges associated with the unpopular task of warning apostate and or back-sliding believers of the consequences that divine discipline can bring into one's earthly experience, and the impact that their choices will have on their eternal experience in eternity.