When we speak of someone being the product of their age, we refer to some blind spot, sin, or character deficit that is characteristic of the people of that time. While this is an interesting inquiry, it’s equally interesting to ask the same question of ourselves. What sins, oversights, and sinful character traits silently haunt us from the shadows, only to be revealed by forthcoming generations?
Some sins tend to monopolize our attention to the exclusion of other, subtler yet no less deadly offenses. When contemplating a life of holiness, certain sins move to the top of the list, while others never make the list.
One such list might look like this: unbelief, murder, sexual immorality, idolatry, and lying. In fact, these appear in a list from Revelation 21:8, which states that such people’s portion will be the lake of fire, the second death. Nothing surprising there; it’s a list we are familiar with. Yet, there is an additional item I didn’t mention—cowardice. The cowardly will share in the lake of fire. Are cowards really counted alongside the sexually immoral? Yes. Cowardice is a sin that tends to be absent from our lists but bedevils our days. We are, unfortunately, a society of cowards. Will our progeny look back on us and marvel at the lengths we went to avoid persecution, suffering, and the very trials through which we enter the kingdom of heaven (Acts 14:22)?
When considering the opposite of cowardice, we often conjure images of brave men and women performing heroic acts based on their abilities, something akin to modern superhero or war movies. However, Christian bravery isn’t entirely like the world’s bravery. Christian bravery calls men and women to follow Jesus. It calls them, primary, to suffer, to pick up their cross and follow Jesus. It is a call not to conquer but to suffer (Mark 8:34-38). Christian bravery is not grounded in the abilities of the brave, but in the providence and promises of God to us in the midst of suffering.
It is difficult to overestimate the role fear and cowardice play in our prosperous American lives. The fear of losing comfort, ease, enjoyment, and entertainment slithers into many of our decisions. While these things in themselves warrant no guilt, if our actions begin to form out of fear over the loss of them, our hearts require correction. How many more adoptive and foster families would be formed, missionaries and pastors commissioned, and hungry and thirsty fed if we set aside our fear of suffering and loss of comfort? How might our actions change if we were unconcerned with the approval of unbelievers? The comforts of this present age are deceitfully dangerous (Matthew 13:22). Our fear of loss of comfort, privilege, and abundance represents an error in spiritual accounting. The greater dangers lie in the possession of such things, not their absence. Riches are more dangerous than the suffering of poverty (Luke 16:25, Matthew 19:23-24, Luke 6:24, Luke 12:21, James 5:1-6). Yet, out of the fear of the loss of them, we cling to the very things that can kill us.
Fear of rejection also weighs heavily upon us. As “tolerance” expands, conformity to the norms of this world presses in harder and harder. The wider culture’s disposition toward Christianity is shifting from friendly to hostile at an alarming rate. There can be profound consequences for failing to toe the popular social line. Social media can amplify the effects of such pressures, encouraging us to trade “in Him” for “accept me.” How often have we played Peter by denying Christ (or justified the “reasonable” distancing of ourselves from him) out of fear of rejection by our family, coworkers, friends, or acquaintances, all the while forgetting that Jesus will deny us before God if we deny him before men (Matthew 10:33)?
As the cultural shift accelerates, American Christians’ willingness to suffer for the sake of Christ (Philippians 1:29) must also increase. To put aside cowardice is to take up the cross and follow Jesus. It will mean laying aside preferences, comforts, and the esteem of friends, colleagues, and Instagram followers. It will mean living as sacrifices (Romans 12:1) until the point of death, if necessary, so that we may receive the crown of life (Revelation 2:10). Such things will serve as distinguishers between the world and the people of God, as we fill up the sufferings of Christ (Colossians 1:24) and love one another (John 13:35).
Unfortunately, while Christians are recognizing the need for increased bravery, it’s often accompanied by a “based” attitude that is more concerned with dunking on others than suffering for them. This also is not the type of bravery we seek.
“Fear not” is a constant refrain in Scripture, but so is the call to suffer. Fear lies opposite of belief. In this way, cowardice is a form of unbelief. It fails to trust in God’s providence and promises. Cowardice at the prospect of lost comfort, prosperity, or property forgets that “no good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly” (Psalm 84:11). Cowardice in the face of potential persecution disregards God’s promises that “he has overcome the world” (John 16:33) and that he “works all things according to the counsel of his will” (Ephesians 1:11), even persecution.
So, how then might we add Christian bravery to our spiritual virtues and put aside cowardice?
First, the mortification of cowardice, like all sins, is a work of the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:13) and comes by faith (Galatians 3:3-5). Meditate on God’s promises, memorize them, study them, and preach them to yourself. Do not underestimate the jaw-dropping majesty of promises such as Romans 8:28 and it’s ability to enable suffering and bravery.
Secondly, meditate on the character of God, his actions in redemptive history, and providence both in your life and in the life of the universal church. Scripture is filled with the wonders of God, revealed in all of his acts and recorded in Scripture. Marvel at his providence on every page and reckon the same providence and favor to yourself on the merits of Christ’s work.
Thirdly, consider the surpassing worth of Christ relative to this world that is passing away. When tempted towards fear of the loss of something valuable, compare its value to the “surpassing worth of knowing Christ” (Philippians 3:8) and regard the former as rubbish.
Finally, ask. Pray fervently that God would remove your fear-filled heart and replace it with faith and love.”