God's Longsuffering and Our Diligence

Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected;

but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which

Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.

—Philppians 3:12—

Numbers 32 shows us that the tribes of Reuben and Gad were satisfied with not crossing the Jordan into the promised land. The essence of their attitude is revealed in verse 5 when they say, “Do not take us over the Jordan.” Moses’ reply sounds visceral—“Shall your brethren go to war while you sit here?”

In our own assessment of things, it may not seem to be so bad that Reuben and Gad wanted to remain on the east of Jordan. Their argument is that they have a lot of livestock and the land they were already occupying, with the rest of Israel, was good for livestock (vv. 1–5). But, again, Moses sees their disposition as discouraging to the rest of Israel as they were poised to displace the Canaanites and possess the land as God was giving it to them (Num. 15:2; Deut. 7:1–2). And this, to me, seems to be the issue: God had promised Israel, including the tribes of Reuben and Gad, a possession in Canaan; and here they were saying that they’d rather have something else. They were happy with the shortcut.

As the rest of this plays out, the armies of Reuben and Gad pledge that they will help their brethren in the upcoming battles against the Canaanites. Moses sternly warns them, “But if you do not do so, then take note, you have sinned against the Lord; and be sure your sin will find you out” (Num. 32:23).

One of the clear lessons we can take away from this is about God’s longsuffering. Here He wanted to bring them all into the promised land, a land “flowing with milk and honey” (Lev. 20:24). They were satisfied with the shortcut.

God has promised us a dwelling place in His house (cf. John 14:2–3; Heb. 11:13–16; Php. 3:20–21). And although we don’t know exactly what all this entails, or how we will experience it in its fulfillment, we know Him and therefore trust that He will do what He’s promised (cf. Heb. 6:13–20).

“Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure” (1 John 3:2–3).

We need spiritual stamina. We don’t know how long this journey in life under the sun is going to be; we don’t know when the Lord will come again or when we will pass from this life, but we can be prepared (cf. 1 Pet. 1:6–9).

Preparation involves diligence. “Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord” (Rom. 12:10–11).

And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises (Heb. 6:11–12).

But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith (2 Pet. 1:5).

Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth (2 Tim. 2:15).

Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Pet. 1:10–11).

Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless; and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation (2 Pet. 3:13–15).

Never give up! Be patient and trust in the Lord completely (James 5:7–12; Heb. 11:6). “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Cor. 15:58).

Caring Enough to Confront (Matthew 18:15-17)

“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector” (Matthew 18:15–17).

The hardest commands are more likely the ones we understand completely but really struggle in accomplishing. I believe that what Jesus says here in this passage is one of those difficult commands because it’s a lot easier to talk about someone than to talk to someone, especially when we feel that we’ve been wronged.

I’ve learned the hard way that talking to someone is, in the long run, the better thing to do … always. There’s never a wrong time to do the right thing.

Many of the problems we endure are self-made: whether we think someone said something negatively about us, or we think they don’t like us — a lot of times these issues are in our own minds. Maybe we misunderstood what someone said, or we took umbrage because of a perceived tone in what they said: “I don’t like the way he said that to me!” Sometimes our immaturity manifests itself in these things.

Again, and always, there’s never a wrong time to do the right thing. And the converse is equally true: There’s never a right time to do the wrong thing.

The key sometimes to walking “in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love” (Eph. 4:1–2) is doing what the Lord commanded in Matthew 18:15 — “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone.”

By the way, what Jesus said here not a divine suggestion: it is the Lord’s command with how we’re to work together. The point is in gaining one’s brother!

I’m not sure exactly what’s at the heart of our not wanting to talk to one another: maybe it’s pride (where we want to hang onto things to the point we feel justified in our bitterness), or maybe it’s simple foolishness (we just don’t know any better, and don’t want to know or do any better) . We might actually defend ourselves by saying that we don’t want to get hurt; well, apparently, we’re already hurting: and misery loves company. Maybe it’s cowardice (Rev. 21:8).

Again, in my experience, after all is said and done, peace comes by confronting ones fears and talking to someone: the ideal situation would be to do a face-to-face, but sometimes calling and talking will work — it’s a lot more effective than texting or emailing because so much is missed or even read between the lines; when we are able to hear how someone is explaining themselves or talking to us, it leaves a lot less room for dangerous ideas.

In Luke 17:3–4, Jesus said: “Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him” (Luke 17:3–4).

Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil. … Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you (Eph. 4:25–27, 29–32).

In nearly every relationship we have in life under the sun, we’re going to find those moments where we test one another. We should realize that it’s not just that we have to be patient with others, but that others are being patient with us. As the apostle Peter put it: “Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing” (1 Pet. 3:8–9).

God is calling us to love — “We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19). “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. … Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him” (1 John 3:10, 15).

If we truly love our brethren, when they sin against (or we feel they have) then we will be honest enough and kind enough to confront them privately — Jesus said it, that settles it.

"Out With Doubt?!" You Better Check That Attitude

“Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted” (Matthew 28:16-17).

What?! Some of the 11 doubted? I think today we’d toss the doubters out on their ears!

At Corinth (really no surprise there) some did not believe in the resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:12). Paul does not simply ignore this as he spends a lot of time defending the reality of the resurrection, but he doesn’t withdraw from them either. Today preachers would vilify this church on Facebook. (It takes too much time, effort, and love to talk to people face-to-face.)

I mention these things because doubt is normal, and it may be that we sometimes doubt and feel that if we let anyone know about our doubts that we’d be criticized. The truth is we would probably be criticized, but that’s other people’s problem as they struggle with their own insecurities.

The apostle John said this:

Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. (1 John 3:18-20)

 “God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything.”

When we doubt — notice that I said WHEN and not IF — we should trust that God is longsuffering and that his longsuffering is our salvation (2 Peter 3:15). And so, with doubt should hopefully come a desire for a greater comfort: not necessarily more knowledge, but more love, mercy, and faith.

The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!" And the Lord said, "If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you. "Will any one of you who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field, 'Come at once and recline at table'? Will he not rather say to him, 'Prepare supper for me, and dress properly, and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat and drink'? Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded? So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.'" (Luke 17:5-10)

Written For Our Instruction

“For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” (Romans 15:4)

There is so much comfort and power in God’s word, that we do ourselves an extreme disservice by not making the time and effort to read and study it (2 Timothy 2:15). “The sum of Thy word is truth, and every one of Thy righteous ordinances is everlasting” (Psalms 119:160). As Jesus said, “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32).

THROUGH ENDURANCE

The word “endurance” used here in the ESV is from the Greek word hupomonē which is also translated patience, perseverance, or steadfastness. I believe the statement here is about our own endurance: in other words, that we are to be steadfast. 

“And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach—if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven …” (Col. 1:21-23).

“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Cor. 15:58).

Satan wants us to give up. Whether he tempts us to quit from difficulties in life outside the fellowship of our brethren, or from our brethren, Satan doesn’t care: he simply wants us to fail. But our failure will mean our eternal and deserved damnation (Rom. 6:23).

Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart, saying, “There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God, and did not respect man. “And there was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, ‘Give me legal protection from my opponent.’ “And for a while he was unwilling; but afterward he said to himself, ‘Even though I do not fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal protection, lest by continually coming she wear me out.’” And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge said; now shall not God bring about justice for His elect, who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them? “I tell you that He will bring about justice for them speedily. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:1-8)

“Be patient, therefore, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains. You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand” (James 5:7-8).

THROUGH THE ENCOURAGEMENT OF THE SCRIPTURES

God—by means of His word provided to mankind by means of the Holy Spirit moving men (2 Pet. 1:21; 1 Cor. 2:9-16; 2 Tim. 3:16-17)—speaks to us now. “Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come” (1 Cor. 10:11).

When Jesus was being tempted by the devil (Matt. 4:1-11; Luke 4:1-13) He defended Himself by quoting the word of God! We need to do this ourselves, but we can’t do so successfully if we choose not to read it at all. “And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete” (1 John 1:4; see 2:12-14). We must read to know, and know to do. We do not accidentally serve the Lord; it is deliberate action He seeks from us (Heb. 11:1, 6; Eph. 5:7-11).