“Indeed, all who desire
to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” 2 Tim 3:12
It’s a common theme in
scripture stories that those who are the heroes of the faith go through hard
times because of their choices to do what God says is right. Joseph relayed
dreams God gave and his brothers’ let their jealousy and hatred result in selling
him into slavery. Later, when he refused to sleep with his master’s wife, she
got him thrown in prison.
Moses was mocked by
Pharaoh and disbelieved by the Israelites when he came at God’s command to
deliver the people. Later, the same people would repeatedly rebel against his
leadership.
David would not kill
Saul when he had a chance and had to stay on the run. A city David rescued
turned on him and would have betrayed him if he hadn’t escaped.
Daniel wouldn’t stop
praying and found himself in a lions’ den. Jeremiah wouldn’t stop prophesying God’s
judgment and, in turn, was thrown in a cistern and later carried off against
his will to Egypt by his own people, where he died.
In the New Testament, we
are not surprised that the scriptures that reveal a Savior who was wrongly
tried, convicted, and executed would continue the theme. Peter was repeatedly
jailed and eventually martyred. Paul’s list of hardships at the hands of Jewish
people in almost every city he visited included being arrested, beaten with
rods, put in prison, and stoned with rocks until they thought he was dead.
James was beheaded, and John was exiled. Tradition tells us that all the
apostles were martyred except John. Stephen was killed because of his strong
faith and a sermon that correctly diagnosed Israel’s chronic unbelief.
We might somehow miss
the lessons the stories might be trying to tell other followers of Jesus, and
so there are a number of pointed statements to let us know that these people
were not exceptions but examples. The scripture above is perhaps the most
succinct and pointed. It isn’t saying
that you might pay a price for godliness, but you will.
Are you paying any
price? Have you?
Maybe you are and it’s
obvious. Co-workers mock you, and the more you show a forgiving spirit and a
prayerful attitude, the more they laugh. Some of you may have lost a job, an
opportunity, a court case, an award, and it is directly attributable to
unbelievers not liking what you say and do. These aren’t made up
circumstances—I know people who have experienced all these and more.
Maybe you are and it’s
not obvious. The realm of spiritual warfare goes far beyond the active
oppression of other people. You may be oppressed in spirit, or finding yourself
in a great season of temptation. The forces of evil, your true enemies, may be
at work behind the scenes in events or circumstances that bring pain into your
life. God does his work in us so that all things are his tools to bring about
his glory and our good (Romans 8:28), but that was true for Job also, and we
know that his “persecution” was from Satan himself.
If you are being
persecuted, the Bible gives us some fairly straightforward words of
instruction.
We are to rejoice,
because this is a confirmation of our “blessed” state as a true child of God.
You should count yourself as one who can stand in the same company as the
prophets and others I mentioned earlier (check out the Beatitutes—Matthew
5:1-12 –for a good reminder of this).
We are to pray for the people
who may be persecuting us (Matthew 5:44), asking God to use our testimony and our
non-resistance as a means of showing them the truth and bringing them to
repentance.
We may, if we are trying
to fulfill God’s calling, need to leave (the Bible says “flee”) a place of
resistance and persecution to go to another place where they will receive us
and we can serve (Matthew 10:23). This was Jesus’ word about the mission of the
disciples to Israel until he comes, and it may especially fit for missionaries
and preachers who find a hostile audience—they may need to go where the hearers
are more receptive.
Maybe you aren’t being
persecuted. You need to ask yourself why.
Perhaps you have been, have
come through it, but you are in a moment of respite. Praise God for that. The
Bible doesn’t say it’s going to be persecution 24/7 for everyone. We should
always thank God when there is a time of rest, of refreshment, and of renewal.
But get ready. True and lasting rest only comes in Christ’s presence, not here
on earth.
Maybe persecution came to
you after an initial excitement about trusting Jesus, and caused you to retreat
from any total commitment to pursuing Christ. You’ve settled for an “under the
radar” faith. Watch out; you may be one of those for whom persecution is about
to kill the seed of faith. The parable of the seed, sower, and soils (see Mark
4:16-17) is a special warning for you.
You might be the kind of
person who can see when trouble is coming, and you find any way you can to
avoid it. If people are going to mock your faith, you don’t talk about it. If
everyone else is cheating, you don’t say anything, and maybe you do just enough
to go along that no one would say you aren’t part of the crowd. And you
certainly wouldn’t say that the Devil is attacking you—as long as you keep
things quiet, you’re fine. There’s a problem with that, though. You fit into
the category of people Jesus describes in Matthew 10:33—those who won’t
acknowledge him before people. In that passage there is some very bad news for
you—if you fail to acknowledge Jesus before men (Jesus calls it “denying him”),
you will not be acknowledged by him before the Father in the time of judgment.
Maybe you are enjoying
life to the full; you are using your talents, being successful, and nothing is
standing in your way. Your biggest worry is how to capitalize on all your
success. You aren’t worried about persecution, and figure that people need to
chill and just not get so worked up about spiritual stuff. You’ve found that
your success and your ability to get ahead keep you out in front of any
problems that might come your way. Hey, you are in the Bible—your story usually
as the heading, “The Parable of the Rich Fool” and you can find it in Luke
12:15-21.
So, what
opposition/persecution/suffering/difficulty is yours right now or has been your
regular experience for the sake of Jesus and the Gospel? It’s a pretty
important question for which to have an answer, don’t you think?
