CHRISTIANS AND PERSECUTION

 

CHRISTIANS AND PERSECUTION

 "WE ARE COUNTED AS SHEEP FOR THE SLAUGHTER"

(I am writing this because of the severe persecution against Christians that many of our brothers and sisters in Christ have and are enduring, especially lately in various parts of the world.  The following study is for those of us who are currently enjoying the peaceful existence of life without hostile opposition.) 

"And He said to them all, 'If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.'" Luke 9:23.

"Yea, for Your sake are we killed all the day long; we are counted as sheep for the slaughter." Psalm 44:22, Romans 8:36

 "Yes, and all who will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution."         2 Timothy 3:12

  "And you shall be hated of all men for My name's sake: but he that shall endure to the end shall be saved." Matthew 10:22

  Dear friends, persecution is part of the package in our faith in Jesus Christ. Like repentance and faith, it is non-negotiable. All who choose to follow Jesus may face this. It is part of the cross for following Christ. We are His sheep in a world that is inherently hostile to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God: "And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lies in wickedness (in the power of the evil one)." 1 John 5:19.

  As the return of Jesus draws closer and this Gospel is continually spreading deeper into every corner of the earth, we can expect the opposition to also increase to the point Jesus described in Matthew 10:22. We know that we, His people, have been delivered from the wrath of God through the blood of Christ, but not from the wrath of the spirit of the anti-Christ which is in the world. Since the birth of the Church in the book of Acts, Christians have suffered persecution of all kinds to this day, and apparently within the last century it has been increasing again. Should any of us expect to be exempt? That has been included in the contract of faith since we signed on. Where each one of us fits in the timeline of this picture we can speculate, but we know that we must be prepared for anything the Lord allows to come our way, because His Kingdom will not stop growing, nor will our adversary rest.

 What are some things the Bible has to say about persecution, other than that we should anticipate it? 

 - It is a by-product of the clash between the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of darkness. Jesus openly exposed this when they took Him in the garden, "Then Jesus said to the chief priests, and the captains of the temple, and the elders which were come to Him, 'Have you come out, as against a thief, with swords and staves? When I was daily with you in the temple, you stretched forth no hands against Me: but this is your hour, and the power of darkness.'" Luke 22:52-53. Notice how deeply the satanic forces had penetrated their society, though the people had no idea that it did and that they were under the influence of satanic agendas and being used by Satan, "...yes, the time comes, that whosoever kills you will think he does God service." John 16:2. "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." Ephesians 6:12.

  Up to today, what makes it difficult to navigate is that many or most of them do not realize what they are doing and that they are slaves to their own enemy, which is why Jesus prayed, "...Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." Luke 23:34.  This is the attitude we must embrace toward those, our persecutors, who desperately need Jesus' salvation as much as we do, and by His grace and in His love we shall. Stephen, the first Christian martyr, did so when they were stoning him to death, "And he kneeled down, and cried out with a loud voice, 'Lord, lay not this sin to their charge.' And when he said this, he fell asleep." Acts 7:60

- To be persecuted for the name of Jesus is an honor (if through genuine humility). "And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name." Acts 5:41 "Blessed are you, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for My Name's sake. Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you." Matthew 5:11-12

  You realize that we are not to look for persecution, especially not to provoke people unnecessarily; then we deserve any retaliation. All God expects of us is to love people the way He does, and to glorify Him in all that we do. There may come a day when you are selected by Him to suffer reproach for His name's sake. That would be an honor and a credit to your walk with Christ. Whatever He calls us to do, He gives us the grace to endure it, as He did for the first disciples and is doing for those who are suffering persecution today.  May we earnestly remember them in our prayers.

- There are different forms of persecution. Not all persecution is blatantly obvious, like physical abuse for being a follower of Jesus. Often persecution is ridicule and mockery. There are also the more subtle forms. For some people, you may be ostracised or excluded from your family or a social setting because of your faith. For someone, you may not get an opportunity at a job because of your faith. A youth may get the lowest spot on a team or not make the team because of their faith. You may be ridiculed because you will not engage in or submit to an immoral or unkind activity. You may be persecuted or falsely accused because you are still a virgin and chose to remain so until marriage because you fear disobedience to God. Through it all, please consider this: some of those who may be ridiculing you are secretly hoping you succeed because in their heart they admire your stand, and you give them hope and are a light for a better way of life. Once I saw some guys in the back alley doing drugs. I confronted them and told them it was a sin against God. One of the guys began to mock and rail on me. It ended quickly with them walking away, except for that particular fellow. He privately told me that he was a Christian too. May the Lord have mercy and set him free.

WHAT DOES GOD MEAN BY..."Yea, for Your sake are we killed all the day long; we are counted as sheep for the slaughter." Psalm 44:22, Romans 8:36? What, therefore, is God's purpose through all of this? Why are we sometimes subject to defenceless brutality? Jesus Himself set the stage for our example; 

 "He was oppressed, and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth: He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as  a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so He opened not His mouth." Isaiah 53:7 

 Our battle is not against people, but against the powers of darkness, and our duty is to glorify our Savior and King, Jesus, by responding as He did; we overcome evil with good, not by hate and violence. The Lord wants to free the souls captured by the powers of darkness, even those who are our tormentors.

 "You have heard that it has been said, 'You shall love your neighbour, and hate your enemy.' But I (JESUS) say unto you, 'LOVE YOUR ENEMIES, BLESS THEM THAT CURSE YOU, DO GOOD TO THEM THAT HATE YOU, AND PRAY FOR THEM WHICH DESPITEFULLY USE YOU AND PERSECUTE YOU."                Matthew 5:43-44 

We are already purchased for Heaven, but they are still lost and perishing and being held prisoners by the devil and his kingdom, whom they are unwittingly serving. However, we can only do it through Jesus and His love. For the most part, we just hang on by faith to the grace of God. The apostle Peter, who knew the suffering of opposition and persecution, wrote this to us:

"Therefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to Him in well doing, as unto a Faithful Creator."            1 Peter 4:19

 God gave Corrie Ten Boom's sister Betsie, who died in the Nazi concentration camp, a vision to use a former concentration camp to heal and rebuild lives, including the German people. What a demonstration of the heart and love of God, and of how evil is overcome by good. "Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil by good." Romans 12:21. Apparently, the more Christians were persecuted and killed by the Romans, the more Romans turned their lives to Jesus. Tales have been told of Roman soldiers dropping their weapons and joining the Christians as they were being fed to the Lions.

 We are a part of the growing Kingdom of God in Christ Jesus and all that comes with it. Through the opposition, threats, aggression, and turmoil that follows, as disciples of Jesus "as sheep to be slaughtered," under the command to turn the other cheek and love our enemies, we patiently endure.  Though it looks unbearable and our seeming helplessness, through it all, there is great news: "... he that endures to the end shall be saved."  Matthew 10:22. 

"BE FAITHFUL UNTO DEATH, AND I (JESUS) WILL GIVE YOU A CROWN OF LIFE." Revelation 2:10

There is always HOPE. "Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, 'My way is hid from the Lord, and my judgement (justice) is passed over from my God?' Have you not known, have you not heard, that the Everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, faints not, neither is weary? There is no searching of His understanding. He gives power to the faint, and to them that have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fail: but they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk and not faint." Isaiah 40:27-31 

What are some of the parameters the Lord gives us facing persecution?

We can flee - "But whenever they persecute you in this city, flee to the next. For truly I say to you, you shall not have finished going through the cities of Israel, till the Son of man comes." Matthew 10:23

"...And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem, and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles." Acts 8:1

We can choose to avoid unnecessary confrontations if that is the Lord's will. 

"And when Paul would have entered in unto the people (enraged against them at Ephesus), the disciples did not allow him." Acts 19:30. Obviously. Paul did not argue with them.

We cooperate with the authorities wherever we can without compromising our faith.

"And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered and said unto them, 'Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen unto you more than unto God, you judge. For we cannot  but speak the things which we have seen and heard.'" Acts 4:18-20

"For if I be an offender, or have committed anything worthy of death, I refuse not to die: but if there be none of these things whereof these accuse me, no man may deliver me unto them. I appeal to Caesar." Acts 25:11. Paul used the justice system to defend himself against false accusation. You must realize that the same authority he appealed to was the one that had him executed; but his mission was primarily to testify, not just to the people, but to the rulers (Acts 9:15). Any self-preservation is an added bonus.

WE CAN ALWAYS PRAY AND CRY OUT TO THE LORD

"Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer. From the end of the earth will I cry unto Thee. When my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the Rock that is higher than I. For Thou hast been a Shelter for me, and a Strong Tower from the enemy. I will abide in Your Tabernacle forever. I will trust in the covert of Your wings. Selah." Psalm 61:1-4

What can we do for those who are being persecuted?

 First, foremost, and always, we pray for them. Remember when Peter was being held in prison for execution? "Peter therefore was kept in Prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church for him." Acts 12:5. He was miraculously delivered because it wasn't his time yet.

 We are not to be ashamed of people in prison or who are being persecuted for their faith. Instead, we are to encourage and help them wherever and however we can. 

"The Lord give mercy unto the house of Onesiphorus; for he often refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain: but, when he was in Rome, he sought me out very diligently, and found me. The Lord grant unto him that he may find mercy of the Lord in that day: and in how many things he ministered to me at Ephesus, you know very well." 2 Timothy 1:16-18

 Know that if we step out in such a manner for someone in persecution, we are exposing ourselves to face the same or associated treatment. But Jesus Christ is Lord of and over ALL!

FINAL THOUGHTS

 Storms eventually pass; some are taken in the storm, and some make it through, but one thing is for certain for all of us: "For the world passes away and the lusts thereof: but he that does the will of God abides forever!"         1 John 2:17

 No matter what may happen, and regardless of all the speculations, we want to be able to say as the apostle Paul said, "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness which the Lord, the Righteous Judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love His appearing." 2 Timothy 4:7-8