Chapter 1 A Consecrated Life - Far Eastern Bible College

“Your fire will burn only for a time and will soon be extinguished.
There is a fire you know nothing about: the fire of the judgment to come
and of eternal punishment, reserved for the ungodly.”
The governor was amazed and immediately gave orders for
Polycarp to be burned alive. Just before the fire was lit, Polycarp prayed
“O Father of thy beloved and blessed Son, Jesus Christ. . . . I bless Thee
for counting me worthy of this day and hour, that in the number of the
martyrs I may partake of Christ’s cup, to the resurrection of eternal life
of both soul and body in the imperishability that is the gift of the Holy
Spirit . . ..” When he finished his prayer, the fire was lit and great flames
shot up. What a wonderful testimony!
Now having this kind of willingness is perhaps the hardest part of it
all. To be able to make the irrevocable decision of submitting to death
without any hesitation at all, for Christ’s sake, is not easy for anyone to
do. There are some who may hastily and without thinking, boast today
that they are quite willing to die for Christ, but when the situation really
comes, they quickly back out of it. Let us be careful to think through the
whole thing carefully: whether we really are willing to sacrifice our life
for Christ. Even Peter and the other disciples at the Last Supper claimed
with heroic spirits that they were most willing to give up their lives:
Peter answered and said unto him, Though all men shall be
offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended. Jesus
said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this night, before
the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. Peter said unto him,
Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee.
Likewise also said all the disciples (Matt 26:33–35).
We know all too well what happened after that: When Christ was
really arrested, all the disciples left him except for John. Peter, who had
been the most outspoken in his boasting, denied that he even knew
Christ at all, three times. Please be careful not to repeat the same
mistake by hastily boasting that you are most ready to die for your Lord
anytime. Carefully count the cost and prayerfully beg the Lord to grant
you the strength and courage you need from God to do His will.
And, more important than that, if you want to be willing to die for
Christ, you first must be willing to live for Him. If you are not willing
96 A Consecrated Life