How to Cope with Criticism

Adrian Rogers was a motivator, an encourager, and a leader of the faith. He was also passionate about presenting scriptural application to everyday life circumstances, and you'll hear that in today's message.

Now, let's join Adrian Rogers. All right. Take God's Holy Word and turn with me please to Acts chapter 23. We're continuing our study in the book of Acts entitled, That Old Time Religion. I want to tell you folks, if you practice the old time religion, you're going to get some old time persecution. Did you know that?

If you don't know it, you better learn it. I want to talk to you today about how to cope with criticism. Not just any criticism, but criticism that you will receive if you stand for the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, I wonder if you are indeed enduring criticism for Christ. If not, don't pat yourself on the back, for the Bible says, Yea, and all that live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.

There's no way, no way in this world of once born men can you be a twice born man, a woman, and survive without being criticized. You cannot live godly in this kind of a world without being criticized. The Lord Jesus said, Yea, blessed are ye when men shall revile you, not if, but when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely for my name's sake. Rejoice and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in heaven.

Now, it must be false, and it must be for his sake. Some of us get criticized for things we really deserve to be criticized about. Amen? But if you are criticized for standing for the Lord Jesus Christ, if you are persecuted, praise God, that's exactly the way it ought to be, and the Bible says, great is your reward in heaven. Now, sometimes what we get is not persecution, it's punishment. Now, do you know the difference between persecution and punishment? Persecution comes when bad men persecute us for doing good. Punishment comes when good men punish us for doing bad.

Now, we have to learn the difference. Some of us, the punishment we get, we deserve. But I'm talking about those who suffer for righteousness' sake, those who, because of their stand for the Lord Jesus Christ, are misunderstood, maligned, persecuted, sometimes physically accosted.

Jesus said, rejoice and be exceeding glad. Now, the apostle Paul knew what it was to be criticized, castigated, and condemned. As a matter of fact, the scripture that we're about to read to you out of this 23rd chapter of the book of Acts has the apostle Paul who is standing before a high court.

Now, the high court is the Sanhedrin. Now, these were not just a normal group of people. They were extremely powerful. This was the same group that had caused Jesus to be put to death. It was the same group that had caused Stephen to be stoned.

Now, I want to remind you of something else. Paul used to be a member of this group. Paul was one of the few people who was a member of the Sanhedrin. And now he's no longer a member of the Sanhedrin.

They look upon him as a traitor, as a turncoat. And now he's standing before this council. So, let's pick up our reading here and look, if we will, in verse 23, and Paul earnestly beholding the council.

Now, let's just don't go any further than that right now. And Paul earnestly beholding the council. That is, he's looking them straight in the eye. He's standing there with confidence. He's standing there with poise.

He's standing there with conviction. And said, Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day. And the high priest, Ananias, commanded them that stood by him to smite him on the mouth.

That is, slap his face. And Paul said unto him, God shall smite thee, thou whited wall. For sittest thou to judge me after the law, and commandest me to be smitten contrary to the law? And they that stood by said, Reviolest thou God's high priest? Then said Paul, I wish not, brethren, that he was the high priest. For it is written, Thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy people. Evidently, Paul did not even know that the man who was speaking to him at this particular time was the high priest.

He certainly was not acting like a high priest. The apostle Paul was criticized, he was persecuted, physically abused for his stand for the Lord Jesus Christ, and yet he went through this criticism triumphantly. Now you are going to be criticized if you live for Jesus, especially in the last days. You are going to be persecuted if you live for the Lord Jesus, so I think it would behoove you today to pay a lot of attention to the message.

Because I'm going to show you how to cope with criticism and to have peace in persecution. You're going to be able to do it exactly the same way that Paul did, and let me mention the three things that come out in our passage of scripture that really show me what Paul had in his life that enabled him to cope with criticism. Number one is what I want to call a righteous life. A righteous life.

Look in verse one. Paul in verse one speaks earnestly or speaks of his conscience. He says, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day.

Now the apostle Paul had a righteous life. That righteous life came out of a good conscience. Now what is conscience? Conscience is that inner voice, that judge that God has put within our breast that accuses us or excuses us for our actions. Now conscience can't make you be good.

It can't make you be bad. It's just the alarm that goes off when you are bad, or it's that peace that affirms you when you do right. Now we hear people say, let conscience be your guide. Well, you can let conscience be your guide sometimes, but not all of the time. You can only let conscience be your guide to the degree that God guides your conscience. You see, the Bible mentions all kinds of conscience. Paul here said, I have a good conscience. Well, how do you have a good conscience? Look, if you will, over here. Just turn the page and look in chapter 24 in verse 16 with me.

Paul mentions it again. And he says, and herein do I exercise myself to have always a conscience void or free of offense toward God and toward men. Now what is a good conscience? A good conscience is a conscience that is free of offense toward God and toward men. Now, friend, if you don't have that kind of a conscience, you'll never be able to stand criticism, and you'll never be able to endure persecution. A conscience free of offense toward God and toward men. Is there in your heart right now any, any unconfessed sin?

Any? If so, you don't have a good conscience. Your sins are an offense unto a holy God.

And you'll not be able to stand criticism if you are not as pure as the driven snow. Now let me ask you a question. Is there any problem between you and a brother or sister that you've not made right? I'm not talking about what they have done to you. I'm talking about what you have done to them.

Have you offended somebody? Is there anybody who can point a finger of accusation at you and say something about you that you have not endeavored to make right, that you've not confessed, that you've not repented of, that you've not made restitution about? If so, you don't have a good conscience. You don't have a good conscience. You see, listen folks, it is a clear conscience. It is a good conscience that enables you when people criticize you or persecute you to say, that's all right. I know there's nothing between my God and I. I know there's nothing between my brother and I. Fire away.

It's okay. You see, Paul said, I'm standing here with a good conscience. And that gives you a tremendous liberty. It gives you a tremendous freedom.

You don't have to worry about somebody saying, hey, what about this and what about that, see? We can't be sinless, but folks, we ought to be blameless. You know what that means? When we do sin, we confess it, we forsake it, we make it right, we make restitution. If we bring our gift to the altar and remember there that our brother hath ought against us, we leave our gift at the altar and we go and we make it right with our brother. Does that seem like that's too much to be right with God and right with man?

Is that too much? Folks, that's the element. That's basic Christianity. And when you have that, it's amazing, amazing how you can stand criticism. But if you don't have it, you see, if your conscience bothers you, then criticism will bother you. When Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden and they sinned, they wounded their conscience, they hid from God and God came walking in the midst of the garden and cried out, Adam, where art thou? And Adam and Eve were in the trees and the bushes hiding themselves from God. Adam said, I hid myself.

Why? His conscience condemned him. Do you know why folks don't like to get in a worship service? Do you know why they don't like to be in a praise service? Do you know why they don't like to hear you talk about Jesus? Do you know why they don't like to hear the Bible preached? Their conscience bothers them, and they run from God just exactly as Adam and Eve ran from God there in the Garden of Eden. That's the reason some folks just don't enjoy coming to church. You get right with God, you'll enjoy the worship services. If your conscience bothers you, you'll feel condemned every time the preacher preaches. You'll feel like he's talking right to you.

You say, why do you get so personal? It's just simply that conscience that is bothering you. I heard of a deacon who used to sit on the front row and say, Amen, Amen, Amen, and the preacher's like that. That just encourages preachers. After a while, this deacon got some sin in his heart in his life, and rather than being on the front row, he found himself back on the back row, almost out of the church. One time the preacher met him in the vestibule and said, Deacon, don't you know how you used to sit up front and say, Amen? You used to enjoy the service.

Now you just seem to try to get as far back as you can. Why is that deacon? And the old backslidden deacon said, Don't you know that saying Amen to a preacher is like saying sickum to a bulldog? He said, Pastor, it's hard to say sickum to a bulldog when he has you by the seat of the trousers. Folks, David sinned against God, and his conscience was wounded, and he tried to run from God, and he tried to get away from God.

I imagine that David, after he committed adultery and murder, if they'd had telephones in that day, every time the phone rang, he'd have jumped that high. He'd see two people over here whispering, and he's wondering, Are they talking about me? You see, folks, when you're right with God, there's no unconfessed sin. When you're right with your fellow man, nothing that you've not made right, then criticism, criticism doesn't bother you. Now, you have to have a good conscience. There's all kinds of conscience. Let me show you what the Bible has to say about conscience. Let's just put a little parenthesis in here and study conscience for a moment. Did you know the Bible says you can have a defiled conscience?

Titus chapter 1 and verse 15, unto the pure, all things are pure, but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure, but even their mind and conscience is defiled. Now, that's the reason that you can't let conscience always be your guide because your conscience is like a thermostat. It can be set to operate anywhere. You know, it's like a sundial.

You can look at a sundial with a flashlight and make it register any time at all. And if your conscience, if your conscience is defiled, then you can't let your conscience be your guide. Somebody says, well, my conscience doesn't bother me. Well, that doesn't mean what you're doing is right. It just simply may mean that your conscience is defiled.

You've set it at the wrong standard. Now, not only can you have a defiled conscience, you can have what the Bible calls a seared conscience. First Timothy chapter 4 and verse 2, the Bible speaks there of some having their conscience seared with a hot iron. It's like you take that branding iron and you put it down on that quivering flesh and it burns that mark on that flesh of that animal.

That animal is seared. He's branded with a hot iron. There's no feeling there at all. You can take that brand mark and put a needle in it. He won't feel a thing because the nerve endings have been burned out. Now, you can do the same thing with your conscience. You can so sin against your conscience that your conscience, it burns out and it doesn't operate. The Indians used to say that conscience is like an arrowhead within every man's breast. When you do bad, the arrowhead revolves around and the sharp corners hurt you.

But the Indians said if you do bad long enough, the sharp corners wear off and you don't feel it anymore. When I was a kid, I read a story about an old prospector who had a watchdog. In the middle of the night, the dog growled and barked and the old prospector told the animal to be quiet and went back to sleep. The old dog growled and barked again and the prospector cursed him.

The third time the animal barked, the old prospector got up and shot his dog and went back to sleep only to be murdered in the night by the intruder that the dog was trying to warn him of. So many people actually crucify their conscience. So many people kick their conscience to death. It's what the Bible calls a seared conscience.

You see, you may have a warped conscience. The Bible calls that a defiled conscience or you may have a deadened conscience. The Bible calls that a seared conscience. I suppose the worst kind of a conscience is what the Bible calls an evil conscience in Hebrews chapter 10 and verse 22. The Bible speaks of an evil conscience.

Do you know what an evil conscience is? An evil conscience is a conscience that literally approves evil. I mean, do you know that some people are so warped and so twisted that they actually call good bad and bad good? Isaiah chapter five and verse 20, woe unto them that call evil good and good evil, that put darkness for light and light for darkness, that put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. People can get so warped, so distorted that they don't know the difference between right and wrong and they actually think that wrong is right and right is wrong. Woe unto them that put good for evil. That is an evil conscience and some people think it's all right to butcher babies. Woe unto them. Woe unto them that put good for evil and evil for good and people today will play enough tricks on their mind to get so far away from that which is right and that which is wrong that they literally approve evil with seemingly a good conscience.

But I want to tell you something, folks. You may have a defiled conscience, you may have a seared conscience, you may have an evil conscience and if you have any of those, you will not be able to cope with criticism, not in the Bible way. But the apostle Paul said that day, I stand here with a good conscience. When you have that, when you know that your life is void of offense toward God and void of offense toward man, then you can cope with criticism and you can have peace and persecution, not only peace, you can have joy.

So step number one, step number one, if you would learn how to cope with criticism, if you would learn how to stand in these days, you must have a righteous life. Number two, the second thing that enabled Paul to stand as he did that day was not only a righteous life, but a resurrected Lord. Look, if you will, here in verse six. When Paul perceived that the one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee. Of the hope and resurrection of the dead, I am called in question. Now Paul knew something. He knew that it wasn't really Paul they were upset with. It wasn't he himself that they were aiming their barbs at, it was his Lord.

He said, I know why I'm here. I am suffering this criticism. I am enduring this persecution because of the hope of the resurrection of the dead. I have been preaching the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Let me tell you something about the resurrection of Jesus Christ. That is a disturbing truth. It is a truth that disturbs, I mean you think about it, just think about it.

If that is true, and it is, I'm not saying if with a doubt in my mind. If that is true, that a man walked out of his grave, rose from the dead, you've got to deal with that, right? I mean if that is true, that Jesus Christ literally came out of that grave, if that is true, and it is, then that's a disturbing truth.

I mean you just can't be neutral about that. I have to agree with the person who said that if Jesus Christ is still in that grave, nothing really matters. But if Jesus Christ came out of that grave, nothing but that really matters. Now you think about it. I mean that is a disturbing truth.

You can't just say well, maybe he did, maybe he didn't, it makes no difference to me. I mean if you're a thinking person, you're going to have to face the fact of the resurrection, either it is true or it is not true. It is a disturbing truth. And not only is it a disturbing truth, it is a divisive truth. It is a truth not only that disturbs, it's a truth that divides.

Look if you will in verse seven. And when he had so said, there arose a dissension between the Pharisees and the Sadducees and the multitude was divided. For the Sadducees say there is no resurrection, neither angel nor spirit, but the Pharisees confessed both.

So you had here a classic confrontation. You have the Sadducees who didn't believe in demons or angels, didn't believe in a resurrection. Then you had the Pharisees who believed in demons and angels and the resurrection. So what you have is the fundamentalist and the liberals. And in this case, neither one of them knew Jesus. The only thing that got them together, they had all gotten together in a stop Paul movement. Have you ever heard the saying that politics makes strange bedfellows? All right, here's some strange bedfellows now. The Sadducees and the Pharisees who wouldn't give one another time a day have gotten together now to stop Paul.

And so Paul just kind of throws a bombshell in their lap. He says I'm here because of the hope of the resurrection. Now at that moment there arose a great division because there were some who did believe in the resurrection though they didn't believe in Jesus. They didn't believe he was the Messiah. Others who didn't believe in the resurrection at all. And the idea of the resurrection caused division. I'm trying to tell you this folks that when you preach the resurrection of Jesus Christ, really preach it, it's a disturbing truth, it is a dividing truth. A truth that disturbs, a truth that divides, there was a dissension there. Two things that oppose each other can't both be right.

Either he came out of that grave or he didn't. Now which side are you on? You just can't just ball it all up and say it doesn't really make any difference. Let's just all put our arms around everybody and say it's all hunky-dory, we all believe the same thing. No, no, no. When you take a stand for truth, you're gonna have a head-on collision with error.

Always. It's okay. That's why you get criticism.

But now wait a minute. It is a truth also that delivers. You see it was a truth that disturbed them.

It was a truth that divided them. But it was also a truth that delivered the apostle Paul. You see he said look, for the hope of the resurrection of the dead I stand here. Now Paul knew the same thing that was causing him persecution was the same thing that was giving him peace. Paul said you know you do what you want. As a matter of fact a little later down in this chapter there were some people made a vow they were not going to eat or drink or sleep until they'd kill Paul.

Paul said that's okay. There's a hope of the resurrection. You see when a man gets persecuted, when a man gets criticized if he can see through that empty grave to being one with the Lord Jesus Christ that Christ has conquered the grave then that helps him to stand. Now if you don't have that kind of a hope you're gonna cave in.

It's a truth that delivers. You are not ready to live until you're ready to die. And here the apostle Paul says okay I've got all you folks coming against me but I'll tell you who I've got. I've got a resurrected Lord. For the hope of the resurrection of the dead I stand here. Have you got that? Have you got that?

Do you have that bedrock assurance? You see Paul was morally clean and theologically clear. He had a righteous life and he had a resurrected Lord. And because of this they were coming at him. They were coming at him but they didn't move him.

They didn't blow him away. He stood there looking right in the face. He had something that enabled him to stand against criticism and to have peace and persecution.

I'll tell you a third thing he had. Not only a righteous life, not only a resurrected Lord but God gave him a reassuring lift. I want you to look if you will in verse 11 of this same chapter here. And the night following the Lord stood by him and said be of good cheer Paul for as thou has testified of me in Jerusalem so must thou bear witness also in Rome. Boy I really like that.

I really like that. You know what the Lord did to his man who was being persecuted? To his man who's being criticized, castigated and condemned. The Lord just came put his arm around the shoulder of Paul. I don't know whether this was a literal appearance of the Lord or a vision or just the Lord came to him just in his inner person. But the point is that Jesus is never more real to you when you stand for him, when you suffer for him.

You say he's not near to me. Well friend stand for him and you'll know what the Bible calls the fellowship of his suffering. The koinonia of his suffering. The Lord says you suffer for me then I'm gonna come near to you when Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego got in that fiery furnace Jesus jumped right in there with them. And the Lord just comes alongside of his servant when Jesus is there.

I mean when he's really there then you cope with criticism and he will be there if you've got these other two things. If you're morally clean and theologically clear you're gonna be spiritually close. I mean here's the Lord. The Lord is just there by him speaking to him.

I don't know where his other friends were. Paul is by himself here but not by himself because Jesus is there just when I need him. Jesus is near.

And what does Jesus do? First of all Jesus gives him a word of courage. He says be of good cheer.

The word cheer means actually courage. Paul don't be afraid. And our Lord gave him stamina. Our Lord gave him strength. Our Lord gave him might in the inner man.

It's not that Paul was so great it's that Jesus was so great. Jesus had said to Paul I'll never leave you nor forsake you and the Lord was there with him and the Lord will be there with you. He'll even tell you what to say. He says in his word don't worry what you're gonna say it'll be given you in that hour what to say.

God will give you the tongue of the learned. He spoke a word of courage and a word of commendation. He says Paul you've testified of me in Jerusalem. Thank you Paul. The Lord knew what Paul had done. Now Paul was in trouble.

I'm so glad that God is the judge and not men. Do you know if men had been the judge they'd say what's wrong with that preacher anyway? Why can't he stay out of trouble? You know everywhere Paul went there was either a revival or a riot and sometimes both. And some people would have criticized him for getting into trouble. They'd say you know evidently he's never read Dale Carnegie.

Why can't this guy stay out of trouble? I had a pulpit committee come to me one time they said you know we need a pastor for our church can you help us? I said I know just the guy you need. He is a fantastic preacher. Boy just tremendous. Well boy I had their attention and I said a theologian man this guy he is I suppose the world's greatest theologian has a great missionary zeal evangelistic spirit. Boy that I really had their attention. They were getting out their pens to write his name and address down but I said he's got health problems often sick and he's kind of old.

Well eyebrows went up a little bit. I said another problem with him he's been in jail several times. I began to shake the head. He's been in some street demonstrations and some riots.

Boy they were really shaking their heads now. They don't want him you know. They said we don't know whether he's the man we want or not.

I said well don't worry you couldn't get him. He's already in heaven. His name is Paul the apostle. Amen. Did you know the average pulpit committee wouldn't be hard enough.

He wouldn't be well met hail fella type of guy backslapping type of a guy. Hey folks you show me the guy who can rub shoulders with the people of this world and not rub any salt in their wounds. No offense no effect.

No offense no effect. Paul you've testified of me in Jerusalem. Thank you Paul. Thank you Paul. See there was a word of courage be of good cheer. There was a word of commendation and friend there was a word of confidence and you must bear witness also at Rome. What's God saying Paul they can't stop you.

Their little old criticism can't stop you. You're my man. You're going to Rome. Philippians 1 verse 6. He who hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.

Paul didn't know this song but I think if he'd known it he'd been able to sing through many dangers toils and snares I have already come. Tis grace hath led me safe thus far and grace will lead me home. Just as surely as you hear my voice just as surely as there's a God in heaven in this day and in this age if you live in modern society a godly Christ honoring spirit filled life persecution and criticism is going to come your way. All who live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution and may God help you at that time to have a conscience avoid of offense toward God and man a good conscience. May God help you at that time to have a bulldog grip on the truth that Jesus Christ is the Lord who walked out of that grave resurrected and may God give you a sense of the presence of the Lord Jesus who will come alongside you and say thank you and put his arm around you say I appreciate your faithfulness to me when that happens you will not only be able to cope with criticism friend you'll rejoice in it not that you go around baiting people with a messiah complex you just live right it'll come and God will help you and you'll be victorious all the way. If you would like to learn more about how you can know Jesus or deepen your relationship with him simply click the Discover Jesus link on our website lwf.org For a copy of this message or additional resources visit our online store at lwf.org or call 1-800-274-5683 Thank you