A few days back a pastor, Stephen McAlpine, wrote a blog about the danger of joining a "sexular church" -- a church that affirms same sex marriage and sexual relations. A couple of days later, he wrote about the blowback from that entry. It wasn't positive. He wrote, "How much support will non-affirming Christians get – and I mean publicly – from their supposed brothers and sisters who are in the affirming camp? Zero. Nix. Nada." That is, "supposed brothers and sisters" won't support those who oppose their own affirmation of homosexuality and same-sex marriage.
I don't offer that as an argument; I offer it as an illustration. The specifics are not the point. It's simply an example. Christians who stand firm on God's Word because they trust God will, according to God's Word, be persecuted. Not a question. Not a guess. A certainty. The form, the intensity, the magnitude ... all may vary, from the very mild to the extreme, but that it will happen is not in doubt.
Here's the problem. When I say that, some think, "Whiner." When Christians who believe the Bible say, "All who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted" (2 Tim 3:12), the rest mock us as alarmists and complainers. And maybe some of us are. That is not my point. We who believe are not in the dark about how to respond to mild or intense persecution. We're supposed to rejoice (Matt 5:11-12). We're supposed to become stronger, endure better, become more hopeful (Rom 5:3-5). We are supposed to count it all joy (James 1:2-4). Christians, we will be persecuted for our faith, but don't see that as a bad thing. We understand that it's in our best interest when allowed by and measured by the hand of a loving God who only wishes our best. Persecution is not a bad thing to a believer. Don't make that mistake.
3 comments:
Not only is persecution not a bad thing, it's good. It's a sign that you're standing with Christ. For as the world hated Christ, it will hate us. If it doesn't hate us, that means they see us as them.
I prefer to say that Christians are being persecuted for their faith. It's pretty obvious given how many must defend themselves in court these days against the immoral. Then of course there are in this day and age Christians being more violently persecuted in other countries. And then there is the lower level persecution of the day to day mockery and dismissal of those of faith. These describe various degrees of persecution common in the world today.
I would agree it isn't a bad thing for Christians on a spiritual level. Such suffering is, as you say, something we should all expect. But it is a bad thing when it comes from others who claim to be Christian while defending that which is starkly opposed to God's Will. It's bad for them, for they are of whom Christ spoke in Luke 12:48. Those who claim to have "seriously and prayerfully" studied Scripture but act contrary to it's clear teachings, while at the same time admonishing those who defend those teachings...yeah...really bad for them.
Here's someone who understands persecution and finds that it has led to a strengthening of resolve within his denomination:
https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2023/07/a_black_pastor_speaks_truth_to_power_in_berkeley.html
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