Tag persecution

Introduction

What are you going to do when the consequences of keeping company with Christ come home? We cannot be so naive as to think that periods of peace will last always. Indeed, it is not wise to ignore the advisories and admonitions of Scripture regarding persecution:

• Positive Perspectives on Persecution (Matthew 5:11-12 – part of the profile of a prize winner) ¹¹ “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. ¹² Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Persecution is an indicator of imminent great reward

• Promises of Persecution (2 Timothy 3:12 – more than a high probability) Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.

Persecution is an indispensable part of godly living

• Purposes of Persecution (1 Peter 4:14-16 – promotion of God’s glory; Romans 5:1-5; James 1:1-2 – purifying of character) ¹⁴ If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified. ¹⁵ But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people’s matters. ¹⁶ Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter.

Persecution is an instigation of glory for God. The persecutor pushes the persecuted into worship.

All of these words from Scripture are helpful insofar as they keep me from falling into despair. But what are we to do when it is our day to pay for following Jesus? If you think this question is little more than the rhetoric required for opening this message consider the following:

• Sang-chul: North Korea – The Story of Pastor Han, (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGqEgxkF7I8)
• BBC News, Christian Persecution at Near Genocide Levels (https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-48146305)
• Persecution, Pastor Left Hospitalized After Attack by Religious Fanatics in Northern India (https://www.persecution.org/2020/10/08/pastor-left-hospitalized-attack-religious-fanatics-northern-india/)
• The Gospel Coalition, Is There Really Anti-Christian Discrimination in America? (https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/anti-christian-discrimination-america/)

Do not be deceived into thinking that modern persecution of Jesus followers is fiction, or that it is random, or that it is seldom, or that it is remote. The opposition to following Christ is real, it is frequent, it is progressing, and it is local. (In fact, it can become very personal. If your devotion to Christ is getting in the way of someone’s ungodliness, they will intentionally injure you with the goal of getting you to stop standing your ground, to stop stating the truth, and to stop promoting their repentance.) What should we do? Thank God for the Bible! His word is telling us the perspective to have and the plan to execute when adversity arrives; the precedents and guidance are found in the history of our faith as recorded in Acts. Specifically, we need to study the writings of Luke in Acts; there are principles for us in this book. Concerning the situation in Jerusalem, J. B. Polhill writes

The opposition to the Christians had been gaining momentum throughout chaps. 4–6. It came first from the Jewish officials in the arrest of the apostles and the two hearings before the Sanhedrin. The first resulted in a warning (4:21); the second, in a flogging (5:40). With the Hellenist Stephen came a third Sanhedrin trial, and this one resulted in death for the Christian witness (7:58–60). The new factor was that this time the officials had the backing of the people (6:12)

Polhill, J. B. (1992). Acts (Vol. 26, p. 211). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.

In Acts 8 we are reading about the intolerance that was heaped on the early Hellenists (Greek-speaking Jews) because of their grand view of God and their promotion of Jesus. They insist that God is global in His concerns and that the true temple of God is not a location on earth (Isaiah 66:1-2) but the moving body of Christ. They have the audacity to say that the purpose of the law in preparing for the coming of the Christ has been fulfilled (Galatians 3:24) in Jesus of Nazareth and that now the relationship between Jew (or Gentile) and God will not be based on the law of Moses. The former things had become items of pride for many Jews; the idea that the law and temple were no longer needed was threatening to the egos, empires, and economies of people who had learned to use the law and the temple for self-promotion.

The Hellenist vision of an “unbounded God” was intolerable, particularly for the “Zionists” of the Diaspora-Jewish synagogues; and they unleashed their fury on these Greek-speaking Christian “radicals” in their midst.

Polhill, J. B. (1992). Acts (Vol. 26, p. 211). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.

These new perspectives coming out of the Jesus community were threatening to people who used the religion to ruthlessly control others, stay in power, feed their appetites for vain glory, and line their pockets. They saw no choice but to rid their communities of the new sect of Jesus followers.

Questions for Consideration

1. How have you experienced persecution for your devotion to Christ, being godly, and being truthful? Are you willing to accept that it is part of the promises of God (2 Timothy 3:12) and consequence of keeping company with Christ (1 Peter?
2. The command and approved response to being mistreated for serving Jesus is worship (Matthew 5:11-12; 1 Peter 4:16) and giving thanks (1 Thessalonians 5:18). What are you doing with this command from Christ?
3. You have been counted worthy! Of what? Read all of these verses and then answer the question (Matthew 5:11-12; Acts 5:40-41).

Your persecution for following Jesus is your participation in the suffering that was once directed at the head. Now the body of Christ is suffering; you have been made part of that body through faith in Christ. To be included in that suffering is confirmation that you are His and that He is yours. Rejoice that you have been counted worthy to suffer shameful treatment for His name.

In His grip by His grace,
Roderick L. Barnes, Sr.

References

Polhill, J. B. (1992). Acts (Vol. 26, p. 211). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.

Sharing Problems with People of Faith (Acts 4:23-24)

²³ And being let go, they went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them. ²⁴ So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord and said: “Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them,

Immediately upon their release the apostles Peter and John went to their own (ἦλθον πρὸς τοὺς ἰδίους). [The word companions (NKJV) or friends (ESV) has been added for readability. However the text only says they went to their own.] In the company of their fellow Jesus followers they begin to share their experience. What did they share? The threats of the chief priests and elders were reported to their fellowship.

Jesus followers should be intentional and inclined to keep close company with committed Jesus followers… especially when they are being persecuted for Jesus following. (Psalm 1:1-2; Acts 4:23-24)

The companions of Peter and John are said to have raised their voice to God with one accord. What does this mean? Were they were all saying the exact same thing at the exact same time? The word rendered with one accord (NKJV) or together (ESV) is an adverb that literally means with one mind (ὁμοθυμαδὸν). Whether for a good reason (Acts 1:14; 2:1; 2:46; 8:6; 15:25; Romans 15:6) or a bad reason (Acts 7:57; 18:12), they had unity. It is likely that as one in the group was praying aloud the others were sounding out their agreement and support for the words being spoken. We do this by saying “amen” as a person speaks to God on behalf of a group we are in (1 Corinthians 14:16). One-accord praying happens when (1) the Lord’s people convene in His name to make requests (Matthew 18:19-20) and (2) they are unified in purpose. Where the prayers of a single righteous person are effective (James 5:16) there is a special presence and power associated with the gathering of God’s people unified in prayer:

• The One Accord of God’s People for His Purpose is Indicative of a Special Anointing (Psalm 133:1-2) — ¹ Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brethren to dwell together in unity! ² It is like the precious oil upon the head, Running down on the beard, The beard of Aaron, Running down on the edge of his garments.
• The One Accord Praying of God’s People for His Purpose is Especially Effective for Getting Answers (2 Chronicles 7:14; Matthew 18:19-20; James 4:3) — ¹⁹ “Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. ²⁰ For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”

Based on the promise of Jesus, this group, unified in purpose and under His person in prayer, will get results. As we consider the prayer we should note that it is very Jewish. It sounds like the worship literature of their Scriptures (Exodus 20:11; Nehemiah 9:6; Psalm 146:6); it begins with an acknowledgement of God’s power and role in the universe – Sovereign Creator.

By starting prayer with a recognition of God’s role in Creation the person praying declares an acceptance of the Lord’s right to rule and their own obligation to obey.

Questions for Consideration

1. Am I sharing the problems I face with other people of faith? Is it a community that I am committed to?
2. Is my fellowship unified in purpose? Can we clearly state our purpose?
3. Do we convene to pray?
4. In our prayers are we acknowledging God’s right to reign and our decision to obey?
5. Pray for your government; ask God to give them wisdom for their work and favor in the discharge of their duties.