Faith Sacrifices Without Fear

“By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God, than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin; considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing Him who is unseen” (Hebrews 11:24-27).

Imagine what Moses gave up when he chose to be counted with his Hebrew brothers instead of his Egyptian foster family. Adopted into the royal household of the greatest nation in the world, Moses likely enjoyed a life of privilege that few have ever known. He “was educated in all the learning of the Egyptians, and he was a man of power in words and deeds” (Acts 7:22). Philo writes that Moses “was skilled in music, geometry, arithmetic, and hieroglyphics, and the whole circle of arts and sciences” (cited in Pulpit Commentary on Acts 7:22). Josephus even claims that Moses commanded the Egyptian armies in battle against Ethiopia (Antiquities 2.10.2).

But Moses left it all behind, “choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin.” Surely that choice was not an easy one. Whether or not Philo and Josephus are correct, we can be sure that Moses gave up a great deal in the way of earthly things. He chose rags over riches, persecution over power. He turned his back on the only life he had ever known. He “forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king.” Why? Because he regarded “the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt…For he looked to the reward…For he endured as seeing Him who is invisible.”

Jesus said, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me” (Matthew 16:24). The image of taking up a cross conveyed one message: suffering. Like Moses, our decision to follow the Lord means making sacrifices. Yet by faith we make those sacrifices willingly, having chosen what is real and lasting over “the passing pleasures of sin.” By faith we make those sacrifices without fear, because we trust in what we cannot see. That is how Stephen could endure death (Acts 7:54f), how Paul endured imprisonment, and how others of old endured terrible persecution (see Hebrews 11:35-38).

A few years ago I baptized a young lady named Karen. She had been raised a Lutheran, and after she was converted her parents all but disowned her. It hurt her deeply, but Karen patiently carried that cross, “considering the reproach of Christ greater riches.” If we choose to follow Jesus, it will involve times of hardship, trial, and sorrow. Even our own families may turn against us (see Matthew 10:34-37). But faith sees beyond the suffering to the glory that awaits. Faith does not fear ridicule, loss, persecution, or even death, because none of those things can take away the hope to which it clings.

“And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, ‘I believed and therefore I spoke,’ we also believe and therefore speak, knowing that He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus, and will present us with you…Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:13-18).