Commitment under persecution

This portion of our study is designed to help us with persecution. This study will identify where persecution might come from, deal with ways of recognizing it, and will attempt to give methods of handling it when it arises.

The most obvious source of persecution comes from the world. We will remember that there are two spiritual fathers, God and Satan. If we are doing the will of our Father in Heaven then it will constantly put us in conflict with the children of the other father, the devil. Because of the nature of wrath that possesses and fills the hearts of Satan’s children, persecution naturally arises and we should be prepared for it.

Sometimes persecution is easily recognizable. In fact, many times it is well organized and deliberate. There are a number of groups that promote abortion, the destruction of the home, the overthrow of morality, abandonment of traditional values, and even devil worship. These groups inevitably clash with the Christian element when they come into contact with each other. In fact, these secular groups seek out confrontations with Christians and do all they can to deride, harass, and even abolish Christians from our society. Tragically, many that call themselves Christians cave into these forces, sometimes they even become a part of these forces, and ultimately lose all semblance of Christianity from their lives. One cannot approve, for example, the willful destruction of unborn children and still truly remain a Christian. Neither could one support groups that attack the home, the very first institution given by God to man, and still be a Christian. It is not possible to set aside the will of God, morality, and the like and still find favor with God. One deceives himself if he so tries.

Another wave of persecution comes in the form of infiltration. The world is trying to get to Heaven on Satan’s devices. We see in the world today the ordaining of homosexuals in some religious orders (or perhaps I should say religious disorders). We see the demand to allow women to fill roles that Christ reserved for men. We find many groups that want to allow homosexual and lesbian marriages, thus tearing down the home that God gave as a basis for human society, and attacking the very foundation of morality itself. These things have previously persecuted the church from the outside. Now they are trying to subvert the church by contaminating it with their perverse thinking and actions from the inside. This is a part of our persecution, to be overcome by modern day Balaamites and be seduced by the adulterous nations which surround us. We must simply not allow this to happen!

One of the means which Satan and his followers employ to harass and persecute the church is the arm of the government. Lets reflect back nearly two thousand years ago to the time of the apostle Paul. At this time it was very dangerous to be a Christian. If you were ardent you might be beaten, stoned, tortured, or even fed to wild beasts. Christian women were sometimes turned over to gladiators in the arena for their pleasure while the crowd watched on and cheered. Then they would be brutally murdered and discarded like so much refuse when the atrocities had ended. Tears literally fill my eyes when I consider these horrible events which occurred to my fellow Christians. I simply don’t wish to dwell on them because it upsets me too much. But we do need to be aware that there are, as history demonstrates, no limits to the persecution which the children of the Devil will use against the children of God.

Government persecution of Christians began in ancient Rome but has never ceased to exist. While there have been some governments that have viewed Christians in a favorable manner, that has generally not been the case. Some governments have simply tolerated the Christian element. But many governments have been actively aggressive against followers of Christ. Even in our world today, such countries as Iraq, Iran, and other Moslem based countries are very hard on Christians. Even modern day Israel persecutes Christians through some of their laws. Although the stonings in Israel have ceased, the persecution is alive and well.

Today the majority of Christians do not really understand how intense persecution can become. We in this country have been shielded to a large degree from wholesale persecution and have been lulled into believing that it cannot happen to us. What a tragic and foolish position to take. In fact, shortly we will discuss how persecution is, in reality, at the Christian door step even as I write this book.

As Christians, we need to consider how intense our persecution may become and prepare for it. There may be the time that all that I own will be forfeited if I claim Christ as my savior. It may be that my life will be taken if I will not publicly renounce God and all that is just and right. It could even be that one of my children might be used as a hostage to make me reject Christ, his life depending on my decision.

Are we, as God’s children, prepared to make such decisions? Are we built up in the faith (Colossians 2:6,7) to such a degree that we can function righteously under this type of pressure? Many, I’m afraid, could not survive. They have simply not prepared for these eventualities and the battle against Satan at this level would be more than they could withstand.

One minister asked in a lesson the question, “Today, is the church growing or just swelling?” He was pointing out that the church is being filled with nominal Christians and that they cannot survive the rigors of the life ahead if persecution intensifies. They simply have accepted Christianity on a limited basis because it is easy and the rewards are great. But if the ease leaves so will the nominal Christians. It has been God’s pleasure in history to occasionally weed His people through persecution whenever they became lax and we had better consider what may be just over our horizon in our Christian lives.

I fear that many of my brethren would be lost if such persecution arose. Many of them are ready to give up God at a moment’s notice if life’s events don’t go their way. Many is the nominal Christian that has blamed God for the bad events in his life rather than giving God praise for the good things that have occurred. We forget God when times are good and criticize Him when times are bad. Its a tragic faith that gives its God credit only for the evil and never for the good.

But if life’s simple random happenings can so easily discourage us and shake our faith to its foundations, what would full scale persecution do? The numbers in the church, I’m afraid, would be decimated and only the stalwart few would remain to continue the battle against the forces of Satan.

We are fortunate that we don’t suffer such persecution. But there is still a great battle waged by our government against Christian values and practices in our nation. Consider for a moment the educational system. Children are required to attend public schools unless some other source of education for them can be arranged. But within that system they are taught values and concepts that are at total odds with Christian values and concepts. Consider the following:

Evolution:

Evolution is a devil’s lie. There is no scientific fact that demands belief in evolution as opposed to special creation. Yet secular forces teach our children that they are a chance result of random conduct on the part of natural forces. They are not created in the image of God; They simply occurred in the same manner as dogs, cats, or even butter beans. This philosophy destroys Christianity. Mankind cannot properly appreciate where he is headed until he fully understands where he came from. If God is, He is all that matters. If God is not, then nothing really matters at all. If evolution is true then there is no real difference between the cooing of a baby and the gurgling of a cesspool.

Morality:

I should really say here that immorality is the thing to be considered. In many schools sex is taught biologically but not morally. By that I mean children are taught the mechanism of sexual relationships and not the moral values that regulate them. Taught as pleasure but without responsibility, no wonder the illegitimate birth rate and abortion rate among teenagers is so high in our present day society. Government’s answer to this problem is to provide condoms, birth control pills, and “responsible sex” education to prevent pregnancy. What should be taught is the morality involved but this simply is not a solution in the mind of government. In truth, responsible sex takes place only between people married to each other. That’s what God teaches but man will have nothing to do with such a philosophy.

Abortion:

Government advocates abortion through many avenues. It sometimes funds abortions with tax money; It sometimes issues gag orders to prevent Christians from speaking out against incidents in particular settings; It sometimes arrests peaceful Christians because they are protesting, in a non-violent way, near a clinic that is presently and actively murdering unborn children. Our government actively persecutes those that oppose the wholesale slaughter of our children every year at the hands of the abortionists.

Pornography:

Through the NEA (national endowment of the arts) our government on a federal level funds pornography. Its documented, unquestioned, and undenied. It has funded live pornographic performances on stage. It has funded the publishing of homo-erotic picture books. It has even funded anti-Christian works including, but not limited to, the desecration of images of Christ. This is persecution by government in the rawest form, to force Christians to help fund those very things which go against the foundation of its faith in God and submission to His will.

This list could continue for many pages but this serves to demonstrate the sad situation that we as Christians face in today’s society. We are, as Lot was, surrounded by a society which hates God and His principles (II Peter 2:4-9).

The Christian does not have to tolerate this wholesale persecution by the government. Christians should take part in changing the way things are by voting, actively supporting candidates that have positive views and ideas, campaigning against secular humanists that are seeking election or appointments where they can continue to bring about spiritual deterioration, and even seek office themselves. We need to be active politically. We must be active politically. God destroyed Israel and Judah because of a lack of involvement on the part of the righteous in society against the wicked. He will destroy us also. God does not tolerate ignorance or apathy. The complacent Christian is an affront against God (Read the book of Hosea).

Persecution from the world comes not only in violent ways or in political ways. It also comes through public media. Many is the time that the minister caught in adultery or some other sin is paraded on the nightly news for all to see. Many is the time that the alleged Christian is displayed as ignorant, confused, or simply deluded. Seldom, if ever, do we see a news story about some good work accomplished by the efforts of Christians. The truth is, however, that most of our early schools, hospitals, and benevolent works were brought about by those that had at least in some way been motivated by Christianity. Christianity is always good for a society; Seldom is it the other way around.

Mass media often persecutes the Christian by distortion of the true facts. It might be made to seem that the Christian is trying to get involved in that which is not his business. This deceptive practice is used in such issues as abortion. Christians are told that a woman has a right to control her reproductive practices. But the Christian has never denied that. We believe that a woman can either practice abstinence or use protection if she wishes not to conceive. But once conception has occurred, she has reproduced! The pro-choice advocates distort the true choices by their terminology. They are not arguing for the woman to control her reproductive choices; They simply state that for effect. In truth they are pro-choice. But what is the choice? The choice they defend is the alleged right to choose a live baby or a dead one. That’s pro-choice!!! The Christian DOES have the right and the responsibility to oppose such an evil practice in society.

So many other ways does the world persecute Christians that one becomes tired just trying to identify them. But one thing is for sure. True Christians must be involved in withstanding these sources where we find them and openly rebuking them; Through the media, through personal contacts, through politics, through involvement, through education of others, and even through the courts when necessary (read again Titus 1:9-11).

In closing these thoughts I want to remind you that great persecution is at our door step and will surely come if we do nothing about it. Christian schools and churches are being attacked through oppressive tax actions in some states. Prayer in public is sometimes even being punished (and not only at publicly funded functions). Special restrictions are being brought against certain schools of religion if they fail to submit to unwarranted government intervention. Some parents have been denied the right to adopt because of their “Fundamental” religious views. Ironically, just this week an adoption in California of a little girl by lesbians was allowed by their courts. What a tragic life that little girl will experience in the hands of wicked and perverse individuals rather than in the home of a loving, Christian family.

We quite often find ourselves mildly persecuted by our very own friends. Sometimes we do not even recognize it. This part of our study will be brief but please consider these listed items and consider your friendships in light of this list.

1. Friends that tease us because of our religious convictions or practices.
2. Friends that mock us because of the “cost” of religion in what we give up or what we contribute to the cause of Christ.
3. Friends that challenge our sincerity in being committed to Christ.
4. Friends that try to confuse or trick us so that we do, say, or think things that violate the Christian experience.
5. Friends that look for an opportunity to point out our inconsistencies and weaknesses in an effort to convince us that we are not truly Christians at all.
6. Friends that are unfair in their judgments concerning our actions or our motives for those actions.

Looking at this list one would wonder why we would call anyone that fits this list a friend in the first place. These things don’t seem the actions of true friends. The truth is, they aren’t the actions of true friends. They are the actions of the children of Satan in order to get us to abandon our present family and become a part of theirs. Only by so doing will they become our true friends. But in so doing we will give up our hope in Christ and eternal happiness. This we must never do. If someone on our friend list appears on the above list, we should remove him from our friend list and be careful in the future who gets to be on our friend list in the first place. We must be careful about our friendships.

Some of us have been blessed with really great families. They are dedicated to God, supportive of us, and are concerned about our continued faithfulness to Jesus. But there are many more that have families that are divided against them because of religious differences or a total disregard for anything religious at all. These Christians are daily challenged by this situation and need extra strength just to hold on to the truth. Those of us that are exempt from this challenge need to be supportive of those that face it daily in their lives. We also need to be vigilant and look for these people since often times we allow the needs of our spiritual family to go unnoticed.

But what about those of you that face this problem? What should you do? Most of my book is written from first hand experience. This part will not be. But I did talk to those in this situation that have been successful in dealing with this problem and, along with my counseling experience, maybe I can give some small measure of insight that will help you deal with this source of potential persecution.

1. Never argue religion with a family member with which you disagree. Arguing generally is not good in the area of religion even when it is not a family member. I doubt that a heated argument ever led anyone to Christ. It is much more likely to drive them away.
2. Never allow them to get you to compromise. If you ever had a possibility of teaching them, you will lose it if you compromise, even if you compromise only once.
3. Never drag them to your preacher so that he can “straighten them out”. You will only embarrass them, make them defensive, and put your minister in an uncomfortable position. They must first want to be taught before it can possibly occur.
4. Spend lots of time in prayer. This really helps. I promise. Even if they never respond in an affirmative manner, your own peace can be enhanced and your mind somewhat rested once you have turned them over to the Lord.
5. Meditate on the reality that we have physical and spiritual family members. It may be hard to understand but, in reality, all earthly relationships end at the grave. Whenever my father dies, he will cease to be my father. When my mother died, she ceased to be my mother. Such is true of all physical relationships. They all end at the grave because the flesh ends at the grave. If in eternity I am to be related to someone such as my fleshly father, then that relationship must be a spiritual one because that’s the only type of relationship that reaches beyond the grave. If I am lost and my earthly father is saved, he will feel no loss of a family member because we will be in different families. Though this may seem strange or foreign, its just the way it is.

Often if our families are in religious error or have no religious ties whatsoever, they will find us hard to understand. Its not so very necessary to try and make them understand. In fact, no one really understands the Christian life until he has truly lived it for a while. That being the case, do not become discouraged because they do not understand. I seriously doubt that they have that capacity while outside Christ.

Since our families sometimes do not understand the Christian scheme of things, they may try to get us to abandon it or at least lighten up. This we must never do. We must remain not only faithful but extraordinarily firm in our commitment to Christ. If we are pressured by family members to sin, we must withstand. I would rather abandon totally a family member on earth than to abandon my spiritual Father in Heaven (and sometimes Christians do have to give up family ties on earth to retain Christ).

Sometimes persecution comes from within the church. Sometimes groups of brethren get together and make up rules which the scriptures do not contain. They may oppose Bible school, communion cups, or even orphan homes and other benevolent works. I know one man that was withdrawn from by one such group because he was divorced and remarried and his divorce was scriptural according to Matthew 19:9 and other texts. But they had decided that divorce even for adultery was not acceptable so they withdrew from this man. Consequently this man, a good man, left the church of our Lord (though I doubt that this group was in reality a part of the new testament church). We may suffer persecution at the hands of the church.

If we are involved too actively in the Christian cause, we may be referred to as a radical or a fanatic. I was once called a fanatic by an elder in a congregation of the Lord’s church in the Atlanta area because of my steadfastness. A situation arose at their congregation where the teenagers were talking and acting up during communion. The elders decided that it would be good to have the teenagers sing quietly during the communion so that they could not continue to act up. Someone from that congregation asked how I felt about the situation. I told them that if the purpose of communion did not hold the attention of the teenagers then neither would the singing. I also pointed out that it would be distractive and was certainly not authorized in the scriptures, making it a dangerous practice. I suggested that the solution was not to appease the teenagers but rather to discipline them. One of the teenagers was the child of this elder and he was offended that I “suggested” that the discipline that was needed had not been administered. He called me a fanatic. But that’s okey. They stopped this highly questionable practice and that was all that really mattered. If he should think me a fanatic, I could not care less. Most of the time when I hear the term fanatic used it is synonymous with deeply faithful.

This demonstrates that persecution can come even from elders. We do well to remember Paul’s warning in Acts 20:28-30 that there would be elders that would leave the faith and take whole bodies of Christians with them. I have seen it happen. We must follow our elders when they are faithful. But even they must be withstood if they should stray from the truth.

But whatever the source, whether the world, friends, family, or even the church and its leaders, we must never allow persecution to cause us to lose sight of Christ and our goal of Heaven in eternity. One last suggestion is that, with all such problems, a good prayer life helps and is, in fact, essential to our spiritual well being.