PODCAST
Staking It All on the Truth
February 23rd, 2015
Mark 8:27—9:1
Justin was what we might call a seeker. He was raised by pagan Roman parents in the early second century AD near ancient Shechem in Samaria. He searched for the meaning of life in study of the leading philosophies of the day: the discipline of Stoicism, the scientific approach of Pythagorean thought, and pursuit of the ideal in Platonism. None of these satisfied his longing for truth.
One day Justin met an old man who told him about Jesus Christ. “A fire was suddenly kindled in my soul,” Justin later wrote. “I fell in love with the prophets and these men who had loved Christ; I reflected on all their words and found that this philosophy alone was true and profitable. . . .And I wish that everyone felt the same way that I do,”*
Some years later in Rome Justin was arrested for teaching about Jesus Christ. When he was given the opportunity to renounce his faith Justin replied, “No one who is rightly minded turns from true belief to false.” For that commitment Justin was beheaded, a faithful witness to the truth of God revealed through His Son, our Savior.
* Mark Galli and Ted Olson, 131 Christians Everyone Should Know, (Broadman & Holman, Nashville: 2000), 49-51.
Author: Duane C. Brush
Tags: Commitment
February 23rd, 2015 at 11:25 pm
Thank you for the inspiring story! Many of God’s people are facing similar persecution today! Let’s pray for them.