Principles of Christian Persecution

In the late ‘90s, I ministered at a church in one of the states of the United States of America. I learned from one of the elders of that congregation that President Clinton was preparing at any time to declare martial law, and that he would round up Christians in the United States and place us in concentration camps.

Nothing of the sort ever happened.

Shortly after 9-11, I sat across the table from a minister who informed me that at any time, President Bush would send forces to “kick my door in” and haul me off, with other Christians, to concentration camps.

It never happened.

Now, we are looking into a new year, and there are many predictions as to what the new year has in store. In a most recent prediction, I heard that President Obama is ready to round up Christians and place us in FEMA camps. Because this is the story during every American presidency, I am not too worried about it, to be frank. However, it is worth noting, that even in the United States, our freedom to speak our beliefs and to practice our faith openly is slowly but surely eroding. The left-wing ideology that now rules this country promises us that we will always be permitted to speak our opinions, unless our opinions are contrary to left-wing ideology. In that case, our opinions are simply not tolerated. “Either you agree with gay marriage,” they tell us, “or you are either homophobic or full of hate.” At the same time, liberals HATE us for what we believe. That would indeed make liberals the biggest batch of hypocrites on the face of the earth. “Either you tolerate us,” they proclaim, “or you will not be tolerated!”

The fact of the matter is that Christians in the United States may not always have the freedom to worship and express our beliefs as we do today. Our nation currently has leaders in power who stand for every rotten thing under the sun. I am optimistic in hoping that the freedoms we enjoy today will always be enjoyed, but I am realistic in admitting that our enjoyment of such freedoms may not always be the case. Understanding that Christians may not always have the freedoms we enjoy today, let me give a few principles regarding persecution given to us by the word of God.

1. Christian Persecution is a Fact. In John 15:18, Jesus said to His disciples, “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.” In John 15:20, Jesus stated further, “If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you.” Jesus stated plainly that the world would hate and persecute us, and we should therefore expect it. As a matter of fact, Christian persecution exists throughout the world today. Many of my American readers do not understand this. We think that if it is not happening in the United States, then it is not happening. But there is no Muslim nation where Christians enjoy freedom, the most hostile of those nations being Iran, Pakistan, Sudan, and others. In China, the true Christian church meets underground, in opposition to the Chinese government. Christian persecution is a fact – Jesus said it would happen, and throughout the world, it is happening.
2. The Church is Appointed to Tribulation. I Thessalonians 3:3 makes this very clear. Now, some assume that because the church is appointed to suffer tribulation, the church is therefore appointed to suffer in the Great Tribulation. While I Thessalonians makes it clear that the church is appointed to suffer affliction, I Thessalonians also makes it clear that the church is not appointed to wrath (I Thessalonians 5:9). Jesus identified the Great Tribulation as a time of wrath in Luke 21:23. In I Thessalonians 1:10, Paul states that we have been delivered from the wrath to come. We are certainly delivered from hell, which is the wrath of God according to Revelation 14:10, but the wrath of which is speaking is not hell. Paul is rather speaking of the day of the Lord (I Thessalonians 5), which includes the Great Tribulation. So, while we are delivered from the wrath to come in the Great Tribulation, the church is not delivered from suffering in general, but is rather appointed to it. However, the gates of hell shall not prevail against the church. The church is a gospel ship that was designed for troubled waters! Some worry when waves of persecution beat against the ship. Do not worry – the church was built for persecution. The church grows in persecution.
3. Persecution Accompanies Revival. Every pastor would like to see revival. But remember – after 5,000 souls were added to the church in Jerusalem, the apostles stood before the council. Evangelism and revival run parallel to persecution.
4. One Man’s Persecution is Another Man’s Strength. In his letter to the Philippians, Paul writes in Philippians 1:14, “And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.” Let me paint a picture of the scene. It is New Testament times. Young preachers are tip-toeing around, trying not to arouse the Roman government for fear of persecution. But one day, these young preachers hear that Paul, the old man, had been imprisoned for the sake of the gospel. When these young preachers heard that, they decided that if Paul, the old man, wasn’t afraid to do time in a dirty dungeon for the gospel, then they could preach regardless of consequences! Paul’s persecutions gave them boldness!
5. The Presence of False Prophets Accelerates Persecution. Jeremiah the prophet preached that Judah was to go into Babylonian captivity. This landed him in prison in Jeremiah 20. The reason for their persecution against Jeremiah was because Jeremiah’s message sounded extreme. Why did Jeremiah’s message sound so extreme to them? It is because there were false prophets who were preaching that Judah would NOT go into captivity. As more and more churches accept the gross sin of homosexuality, you can expect the message of the Bible to sound more extreme to those in authority. Persecution is sure to follow.
6. The Religious Leaders are Usually the Persecutors. There are exceptions to this generalization, but it is often the case that the religious people are the ones who do the persecuting. Religious Cain killed Abel; Pashur the false prophet placed Jeremiah in the prison; the Pharisees delivered Jesus to Pilate to be crucified; and the Pharisees and Sadducees persecuted the early church in the book of Acts. When persecution arises, do not look for religious lost people to come to your aid; they will be doing the persecuting!
7. The Persecuted Enjoy a Degree of Fellowship Unknown to Others. Few men suffered like Paul the apostle suffered. Yet few men enjoyed the fellowship of the Son of God as Paul did. If those who are persecuted will allow it to be so, the Son of God will be closer to them in persecution than at other times. Paul, who tells of his sufferings in II Corinthians 11, also gives us his heart’s cry in Philippians 3:10 – “That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings.”
8. God Gives “Great Grace” to the Persecuted. In Acts 4, persecution heated up against the church. Yet Acts 4:33 tells us, “Great grace was upon them all.” Many of us Americans allow the thought of persecution to worry us. Know this – should that hour come, God will give us the grace to stand for Him no matter the cost.
9. Persecutors are Usually under Conviction. In Acts 7, when Stephen was stoned, those who cast the stones were “cut to the heart.” One of the men present at Stephen’s stoning was Saul of Tarsus. He was eventually saved. Always remember that those doing the persecuting are wrong, and they usually know it! They can’t stand the thought of it! We should pray for the salvation of persecutors.
10. The Persecuted Have a Great Reward. In Matthew 5:12, Jesus said, “Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.” When you are persecuted for the sake of the gospel, great is your reward in heaven!
11. Persecution Tests what is in the Heart. How serious am I about serving God? Let persecution come and everyone around me will find out! What if our freedoms were suddenly taken away? Would that change your determination to serve God? As for many Christians, I need not wait until persecution comes to find out how serious they are about their service to God; I just wait until midweek service. Some of the same Christians who assure me that they would stand firm in the midst of heavy persecution cannot attend midweek service because they are “too tired.”
12. The Footmen and the Horses. In Jeremiah 12:5, God says to Jeremiah, “If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied, then how canst thou contend with horses?” The illustration is a war-time illustration. The footmen are the soldiers on foot. When the battle intensifies, then the horsemen come. God says to Jeremiah, “If you cannot survive the foot soldiers, what will you do when the battle grows hotter, and the horsemen come?” That is a good question for many of our churches today. If we cannot stand what little pressure we have now, what are we going to do when the pressure intensifies?