Garry continued his series on ‘Looking For Heroes’ last night, studying Matt 5:10 which talks about being blessed when we face persecution. Once more, we saw again how Jesus’s teaching turns the world’s thinking upside down, for usually we shy away from persecution and can see no positive benefits in this.
The fact that persecution will be part of our Christian walk is inescapable (Matt 24:9, Luke 11:49, John 5:16, John 15:20, John 16:1-2, 1 Thess 3:4). It is not a question of ‘if we are persecuted’, but ‘when.’ This persecution is not because of our obnoxiousness or personality flaws, however; there is no merit in being punished for doing wrong! 1 Pet 2:18-23 makes it clear, though, that we need to submit not only to good masters but to those who behave wrongly so that we demonstrate to the world that God is our master and that we are dancing to a different tune.
Why are Christians persecuted?
In our Bible studies on 1 John 2:15-17, we looked at the fact that there are only two systems in place: the world’s or God’s and these are diametrically opposed to each other. Because we are part of the kingdom of light and are seeking to live in the light, there will be a clash with the kingdom of darkness. (John 3:19-21) We need to be sure of what we believe (Michael Card called this ‘bullet theology’, as in ‘What will you take a bullet for?‘) Not all beliefs are core and fundamental, but we need to be prepared to lay down our lives for Christ and for our brothers and sisters in Christ, even as Christ laid down His life for us. This world is developing many anti-Christian laws and we need to guard against the slow slide away from God’s truth.
What are the promises of persecution?
In many countries (such as North Korea, China and the Arab countries) there has been great persecution of Christians over the years and we need to understand the cost of following Christ, which can lead to martyrdom. Our faith needs to have strong roots so that it does not wither when persecution comes. (Matt 13:21) It needs to be an integral part of our lives, not an added clip-on extra that can be detached when the going gets tough.
Nonetheless, Jesus’s teaching is that those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake are blessed. We need to realise that the opposition, although filtered through people, is actually from a spiritual source, as Ephesians 6:12). God has given us many promises in our persecution: that nothing can separate us from His love (Rom 8:35), that we may be persecuted but will never be abandoned by God (2 Cor 4:9) and that there are rewards ahead. (Mark 10:28-30)
What is the point of persecution?
Christians in countries which have suffered much persecution have often grown stronger in faith and offer these insights into the benefits of persecution. They say that persecution ignites revival and helps the church to be strengthened and to grow. The church is purified through persecution and fruitfulness grows in what seem to us to be very unlikely conditions. When missionaries were forced to leave China, they feared for the spiritual health of the church there, but on their return many years later, they found that the church had grown numerically and believers were stronger in faith because they had learned to rely on God rather than on missionaries. Many Christians in these countries say that the church in the west is persecuted for our prosperity for this makes us weak. We need to understand that God is over all and uses all things to strengthen and to purify. We should not fear persecution but realise our God is so much greater than any opposition!