Grit (part 1)

Does it feel like Christians aren’t as tough these days?

My wife and I have been re-watching an old show on Discovery called “Surviving the Cut.” It details the 8-12 week training programs of some of the most elite units in our military (Army Ranger, Marine Recon, Marine Snipers, Air Force Pararescue, etc.)

In most of the schools, only half make it through!

It’s inspiring to see the determination of these soldiers.

It’s also fascinating to watch what breaks them and makes them quit.

The Ranger school is famous for making the soldiers ring a bell to announce their decision to end the course.

Think about it! These aren’t just random guys that showed up on a Tuesday to try out to be a Ranger. These are highly skilled, committed soldiers that somehow reach a mental or physical barrier to the extent they are willing to ring a bell in front of all their peers and end their pursuit of this dream.

Ringing the Bell

It’s even sadder in ministry when a student or laborer “rings the bell” on their commitment to walk deeply with Christ and labor.

But it feels like more and more students are quitting these days. They don’t want to pay the price required to labor for the Lord.

Eugene Peterson recognized this when he said,

“There is a great market for religious experience in our world; there is little enthusiasm for the patient acquisition of virtue, little inclination to sign up for a long apprenticeship in what earlier generations of Christians called holiness.”

Eugene Peterson

Everyone wants to be a “Ranger,” but not everyone is willing to put in the effort.

Should you compromise your standards? Should you lower the bar to allow more people to stick around? Or do you keep the bar high and risk pushing everyone away?

A Different Breed

I’ve recently read through biographies of famous missionaries like Hudson Taylor, Adoniram Judson, and John Patton. It’s been incredibly humbling for my own life thinking about the struggles that they went through and the sacrifices they made. They lost children to illness. Spouses passed away. They endured imprisonment. They risked their lives when countless people told them it wasn’t worth it.

I can’t help but think, were they just a different breed than us?

Were they Rangers and we’re just something else; something less?

How do we get back to that type of commitment? How do we build that type of grit toughness, passion, perseverance, a sense of energy into ourselves and our disciples?

Here’s why this is important. The vision of building laborers for Christ is not getting any easier. I don’t know if you pay much attention to the world, but we’re not headed towards some sort of Christian utopia. It’s going to get more difficult to be a follower of Jesus in the world.

On top of that, I don’t want to build disciples who labor for 3 years and then ring the bell.

I want you to labor for 50 years!

If you’re going to carry this torch of the Great Commission and be faithful to pass along the gospel to the next generation, you’ve got to be tough. You have to be firmly planted in Christ.

If you're going to carry this torch of the Great Commission and be faithful to pass along the gospel to the next generation, you've got to be tough. Click To Tweet

You can’t constantly be deciding whether or not you’re going to ring the bell.

You need Godly Grit.

Learning Grit from God’s Word

We’re not the only people to wrestle with spiritual toughness.

The author of the book of Hebrews was writing to an audience of believers who were wavering. The whole book of Hebrews is famous for the warning passages written to the believers that are in danger.

They are contemplating ringing the bell. They are complaining. Some have stopped meeting together (Heb. 10:24-25).

To give them a boost the author says, “Hey guys, how about a little history lesson. Let me tell you about some believers who’ve had it rough! He walks through what we call the hall of faith in Hebrews 11 and shares about the commitment believers had made to God throughout history.

And then he comes to our passage in Hebrews 12:1-3:

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, for the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Hebrews 12:1-3

Here he’s going to describe what godly grit looks like in a laborer.

There are 4 qualities of a laborer with godly grit. Over the next few weeks we will cover these qualities together. Use these posts with your disciples and cover one of the topics each week.

1. GODLY

The first quality that’s necessary for a laborer to have grit is Godliness.

Christians get fired up about a LOT of things these days. We want to be cutting edge. There are lots of seminars about church growth. We’ll spend all kinds of time reading the latest secular leadership book trying to glean any principle that will make us sharper, more effective, or cool. We’ll put all kinds of passion into politics that some think might gain influence in the world.

I rarely see the same energy and effort put into growing in godliness.

The verse says, “Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.“

The Christian life is compared to a race. If you’re going to make it the distance in this race you want to be lightweight and unrestricted.

But the author says there are hindrances that weigh us down and sins that trip us up.

Grit never “Arrives”

If you’ve been a Christian for long, or especially if you are on staff with a ministry, there is a tendency to think you’ve “arrived” in your holiness.

Nothing is more dangerous.

The author of Hebrews says to be men and women who persevere, you’ve got to be serious about your holiness.

Hudson Taylor is an incredible example of a man who took his sin seriously. While he was already on the field, he was still sensitive to sin. Listen to this…

He said this,

That sounds a lot like Paul who called himself the chief of sinners. Those are the words of someone committed to throwing off what hinders. It’s poor in spirit. It’s godliness.

If you want to make it in this race, and persevere, you’ve got to be that sensitive to sin and have that type of hunger to be sanctified.

Put it Into Practice

Grit Killer #1 — PRIDE

When it comes to this area of godliness there is a grit killer that has to be addressed — your pride.

Pride is what makes you think you’ve “arrived.” It is the attitude that doesn’t take the hindrances to your walk with God seriously.

Paul feared pride in 2 Corinthians 12:20 says,

For I am afraid that when I come I may not find you as I want you to be, and you may not find me as you want me to be. I fear that there may be discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, slander, gossip, arrogance and disorder.

2 Corinthians 12:20

Take a look at that verse again.

That’s a pretty convicting list!

Jerry Bridges calls several of those “respectable Sins” because they hide below the surface. They don’t seem as serious as the obvious “big” sins we all know and can name.

But they entangle! They add weight to your race.

Have you lost some sensitivity to sin and hindrances in your life? Do you allow things you know hold back your walk with God to linger in your life?

What “respectable sins” do you need to repent of?

Fighting against the sin of pride and throwing off hindrances to your relationship with Christ is the necessary first step for any laborer seeking to be steadfast and labor with grit.

Next week…

Next week I’ll cover the next quality of a laborer with grit. The posts would be great to cover over the course of a few weeks with your disciple. Cover each quality and pick and application to work on with them each week.