Day 19 - Keeping the Word of Christ's Patience
Because you have kept my word about patient endurance,
I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world,
to try those who dwell on the earth.
Rev 3:10 (ESV)
The One Comprehensive Antidote Against the Poison of Temptation
There is one antidote against all temptation, one thing that both protects us from temptation and delivers us from it. That one thing is "keeping the word of Christ's patience" as Owen calls it. The wording comes from the King James Version of Rev 3:10: "Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth." (KJV) Owen argues that if Christ did this for the church at Philadelphia (which Rev 3:10 was originally directed to), Christ will do this for all His church. But what in the word does it mean to "keep the word of Christ's patience?"
What is "keeping the word of Christ's patience?"
We should first notice the action is the action of "keeping." "Keeping" is obeying. Simply put the one comprehensive antidote for temptation is obedience.
But, of course, the obedience is specific to obeying "the word of Christ's patience." Now that phrase is a bit obscure, not exactly clear on first read. We should note that it is "Christ's word" (or "the word of Christ"). That is, we are to obey what Christ has said. Further, it is the word of Christ's "patience." Now this could be the word about Christ's patience with us (so the KJV translation) or it could be Christ's word calling us to be patience (so the ESV translation). While Owen favors the prior (that it is about Christ being patience with us), the emphasis would seem to be that it is Christ's word calling us to patient endurance. In either case, the root call here is for obedience of Christ. And this is the point of emphasis we must see. There's a word play here to help us remember: If we "keep" (obey) Christ's word, then Christ will "keep" us from temptation.
But, of course, the obedience is specific to obeying "the word of Christ's patience." Now that phrase is a bit obscure, not exactly clear on first read. We should note that it is "Christ's word" (or "the word of Christ"). That is, we are to obey what Christ has said. Further, it is the word of Christ's "patience." Now this could be the word about Christ's patience with us (so the KJV translation) or it could be Christ's word calling us to be patience (so the ESV translation). While Owen favors the prior (that it is about Christ being patience with us), the emphasis would seem to be that it is Christ's word calling us to patient endurance. In either case, the root call here is for obedience of Christ. And this is the point of emphasis we must see. There's a word play here to help us remember: If we "keep" (obey) Christ's word, then Christ will "keep" us from temptation.
To keep Christ's word, three things must be true of us.
1) We must know Christ's word.
2) We must value Christ's word.
3) We must carefully and closely obey Christ's word.
If we do not know what Christ has said and what Christ has called us to do and obey, they we will never be able to keep Christ's word.
2) We must value Christ's word.
Just because we know Christ's word, does not mean that we necessarily consider it of any value. If we are going to keep Christ's word we must place supreme value on it. That is we must treasure it, we must consider it so valuable that we won't let go of it. Like a briefcase full of jewels handcuffed to us, we must be bound to Christ's word because it is so valuable to us.
3) We must carefully and closely obey Christ's word.
This is not a call to a vague obedience. This is a call to pay attention to every aspect of Christ's word and obey all of it. If we neglect our obedience in one area, temptation is sure to visit us in that area. Disobedience leaves us exposed to temptation and the attack of Satan. Obedience serves as a wall of protection.
Our Challenge
Do you obey Christ's word in its entirety? As Owen puts it, we have "to make it the business of [our] life to pursue universal obedience to Christ...Wherever we fall short of this, there temptation is sure to enter."