Is Living Your Faith Really Worth It?

Sermon preached at Our Savior on June 27, 2010 for the 5th Sunday after Pentecost. Sermon text: Genesis 39:6b-12,16-23  

"No good deed goes unpunished." That's a phrase that's often used to explain the strange way that this sinful world often works. Good deeds, of course, are supposed to be rewarded. When you do something good, when you do what's right, things are supposed to go your way.

But sin came into this world and sure made a mess of things. Sin, going against God's commands, has turned everything we would expect to happen upside-down. No, good deeds are not a guarantee of a good outcome or reward. Sometimes, that good deed done with the best of intentions, ends up costing you -- and hurting you -- big time.

Think of a time when you did something nice for someone. A little favor here, a little help there. And instead of getting thanked for it, the person got mad at you. And now, when you started out trying to be nice, trying to do something good for someone -- this is the thanks you get! It turned into a big fight. And it's enough to make you think that maybe doing nice things for others isn't really worth it.

No good deed goes unpunished. That phrase sometimes rings true even as we look at our life of faith, even as we look at our relationship with our God. As Christians who rejoice in having a Savior, we try to withstand temptation. We try not to sin. And sometimes when we stand up to temptations in that way it works out really well. Maybe you were tempted to drive too fast on the 219, but you resisted, knowing that it's right to obey the law. And as you rounded the next curve, there was a police officer who would've pulled you over for speeding. But you weren't speeding, and because you resisted temptation, things went better for you.

That's not how it always works, though. Quite often, it works in the opposite way. You live out your faith, you let your light shine, and your life just gets miserable because of it. That's what happened to Joseph in our text from Genesis. Joseph's case is going to remind us of the  problems we encounter. We'll be reminded of the crosses we are called on to bear as Christians. It makes us ask ourselves the question I'm asking you all today: Is living your faith really worth it? 

All Men Will Hate You

In my Bible reading for today (I’ll post about Bible reading plans sometime in the future), I came across a section I always forget about.


In John 12, Jesus had just finished raising Lazarus from the dead. Obviously, this boosted Jesus’ popularity for a time, and everyone was buzzing about him. The Pharisees and Jewish leaders, though, made plans to kill Jesus because of this. (Jn. 11:53)

The part I always forget is that when Jesus goes back to Mary and Martha’s house after this, Lazarus is there, too.  He’s also become somewhat of a celebrity. In our day, the paparazzi probably would’ve been all over their house.  But not everyone was happy Lazarus was still around:

When the large crowd of Jesus learned that Jesus was there, they came, not only on account of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. So the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well, because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus. (Jn. 12:9-11, ESV)

That never ceases to amaze me. They wanted Lazarus dead! He was guilty of receiving Jesus’ gift of life, and they wanted him dead because of it.

I suppose this shouldn’t surprise me. Jesus himself told us that this is how our lives as Christians would be. He said, “All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.” (Mk. 13:13) We Christians can expect the hatred of the unbelieving world. Does it mean people will seek to kill us? We pray that won’t happen, but we should expect there to be difficulties and troubles in our lives because of our faith.
That’s what Jesus was talking about when he said, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” (Mk. 16:24) This is the biblical teaching of the Christian cross. Following Jesus means trouble, it means difficulties for us in this world. But take heart; Jesus has overcome the world! (Jn. 16:33) We stand firm to the end not by our own strength but by his. That’s why we continue in his Word, because that is where the Holy Spirit strengthens our faith for the troubles of our life.

I’m surprised thinking of Lazarus being a target because Jesus gave him life. Well, we’re a target, too.  But thankfully, Jesus has given us life, too! (Jn. 10:28)