Having examined a few basic principles regarding Christian persecution, I wish to very briefly look at the attitude believers should have regarding persecution.
- Pray Against It. In I Timothy 2:1-2, Paul exhorts Timothy to pray for kings, and for all that are in authority. Why? So that “we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.” We should not desire that persecution come our way. We should rather pray that we continue to live peaceably with government officials, obeying the laws of the land until those laws contradict the laws of God. There is nothing wrong with hoping that persecution never comes. As a matter of fact, we are commanded to pray to that end! Of course, if persecution does indeed come our way, we should not let it deter us from serving God. But we should not wish for it.
- Don’t Worry About It. In Matthew 10, Christ told His apostles that they would be delivered up to be persecuted. He then tells them in Matthew 10:19, “But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak.” What does “take no thought” mean? Does it mean to sit and worry about persecution until it gets here? Does it mean to tremble in your shoes because of fear? Absolutely not! I tell you what I am going to do: I am going to first pray that persecution does not come to the American church. I am going to then realize that persecution may very well come to us. Then, I am going to worry about it no further. If persecution comes our way, I have faith that God will give me grace. I am more concerned about lost people dying lost than I am about persecution coming. And that is the way it should be.
- Glorify God in It. Should persecution come, we should seek to find a way to give God the glory in it. Believers should use persecution for the purpose of winning souls and thereby giving God the glory. May we say with Paul, “we glory in tribulations also.”
- Benefit from It. In Romans 5:3, Paul says, “…knowing that tribulation worketh patience.” When persecution comes your way, you can allow it to make you bitter or make you better. Let us determine to glorify God in it, and let it work patience in us. We should seek to benefit from tribulation and persecution any way we can. We should use persecution as a means of drawing closer to Him.
