PERSECUTION

Christians are persecuted for the sake of righteousness because of their loyalty to Christ. Real loyalty to Him creates friction in the hearts of those who pay Him only lip service. Loyalty arouses their consciences, and leaves them with only two alternatives: follow Christ, or silence Him. Often their only way of silencing Christ is by silencing His servants. Persecution, in subtle or less subtle forms, is the result.

Sinclair Ferguson
The Sermon on the Mount, 1997, p. 41, by permission Banner of Truth, Carlisle PA.

Persecution is simply the clash between two irreconcilable value-systems.

John Stott
The Message of the Sermon on the Mount, IVP, 1978, p. 52.

How did Jesus expect His disciples to react under persecution? (In Matthew 5:12 He said), “Rejoice and be glad!” We are not to retaliate like an unbeliever, nor sulk like a child, nor lick our wound in self-pity like a dog, nor just grin a bear it like a Stoic, still less pretend we enjoy it like a masochist. What then? We are to rejoice as a Christian should and even “leap for joy” (Lk. 6:23).

John Stott
The Message of the Sermon on the Mount, IVP, 1978, p. 52.

Even in our time, as the Jewish human rights activist and Hudson Institute scholar Michael Horowitz has observed, "The mounting persecution of Christians eerily parallels the persecution of Jews…during much of Europe's history." Worldwide, an average of 159,000 Christians a year are now losing their lives because they believe in Jesus, with 200 million to 250 million believers suffering physical and political persecution, and an additional 400 million not being able to practice their faith freely! And it is shocking how a scandal of silence has covered up this worldwide persecution of Christians.

Scott Hafemann

Why is There So Much Pain and Evil in the World? by Scott Hafemann taken from The God of Promise and the Life of Faith by Scott Hafemann, copyright 2001, Crossway Books, a division of Good News Publishers, Wheaton Illinois 60187, www.crosswaybooks.org, p. 145.

Suffering as a Christian is a sign that God is powerfully at work in our lives. Longing for our final redemption, suffering for doing right, and being persecuted for our faith are all evidence that God has begun the good work of making us like Christ. Our suffering consequently becomes a great encouragement to our faith, since those who share in Christ's sufferings know that they will also share in his resurrection (Matt. 5:11-12; Rom. 8:17; Phil. 3:10).

Scott Hafemann

Though we mourn this persecution and must resist it vigorously, it is crucial to recognize that such suffering is not the consequence of being out of God's will but is a direct result of the work of God's Spirit in the lives of His people.

Scott Hafemann

[In explaining his imprisonment, the Apostle] Paul subtly notifies his readers that proclaiming the mystery of Christ crucified is more likely to open the door to a prison cell for them instead of the door to financial and social success.

David Garland

Violent persecution focuses the mind on the fact that the kingdom of this world is an enemy to the kingdom of God. When there hasn’t been any persecution for a long time – as in our part of the world – many Christians start expecting the world to be a friend. They slip into seeking the world’s approval instead of God’s.

J. Budziszewski

Being misrepresented, slandered, reviled, persecuted, and wrongfully accused is an inevitable part of being a Christian. We must expect to suffer unjustly. Our lives confront the culture we live in. We live as aliens in the world, and it should not surprise us when the world is hostile toward us (1 John 3:13). We were called for that purpose. In this world we will have tribulation (John 16:33). It goes with the territory.

John MacArthur

The Book on Leadership, 2004, p. 130.

A work that has little opposition from the antagonistic system of Satan is one that is doing little work for the Lord… The devil’s greatest opposition is the Lord’s greatest work.

John MacArthur

1 Corinthians, Moody, 1984, p. 465.

The history of persecution of God’s people shows that the chief persecutor has been false religion. It is the purveyors of error who are the aggressive enemies of truth, and it is therefore inevitable that, as God’s Word predicts, the final world system of the antichrist will be religious, not secular.

John MacArthur

Matthew 16-23, Moody, 1988, p. 307.

We are to reflect Christ in all that we say and do. And the Christ of Scripture is the humble, suffering servant who, in spite of great opposition, false accusations, and public ridicule, remained faithful to the heavenly calling.

David W. Hegg

Appointed to Preach, Christian Focus Publications, 1999, p. 70.

The wicked enemy is so inveterately opposed to the Divine majesty that he would gladly, if it were possible, overturn the throne of God. As he utterly despairs of accomplishing that object, he throws out all his venom against the elect, employs every expedient, and exhausts all his devices to enslave those whom the power of God has torn from his grasp. He assaulted the first Adam in Paradise. He made an attempt on the second Adam in the wilderness, but his efforts were foiled. Disappointed in that expectation, he bends all his attack on those whom Christ has claimed to be his own.

Herman Witsius

Therefore, I bind these lies and slanderous accusations to my person as an ornament; it belongs to my Christian profession to be vilified, slandered, reproached and reviled, and since all this is nothing but that, as God and my conscience testify, I rejoice in being reproached for Christ's sake.

John Bunyan

Grace Abounding, Evangelical Press, 2000, p. 143.

To make converts, we are tempted to play down the difficulties and play up the peace of mind and worldly success enjoyed by those who accept Christ. We will never be completely honest with our hearers until we tell them the blunt truth that, as members of a race of moral rebels, they are in a serious jam, and one they will not get out of easily. If they refuse to repent and believe on Christ, they will most surely perish. If they do turn to Him, the same enemies that crucified Him will try to crucify them.

A.W. Tozer

Romanian pastor Richard Wurmbrand spent 14 years in prison for preaching the gospel. Although his captors smashed four of his vertebrae and either cut or burned 18 holes in his body, they could not defeat him. He testified, “Alone in my cell, cold, hungry, and in rags, I danced for joy every night.” During this time he turned to a fellow prisoner, a man he had led to the Lord before they were arrested, and asked, “Have you any resentment against me that I brought you to Christ?” His response: “I have no words to express my thankfulness that you brought me to the wonderful Savior. I would never have it another way.” These two men exemplify the supernatural joy that can be experienced by believers who live on the edge of death as the result of being severely persecuted.

Our Daily Bread

Thursday, February 21.

Fasting, rather than fleshly efforts, should be one of our first defenses against “persecution” from family, schoolmates, neighbors, or coworkers because of our faith. Typically we’re tempted to strike back with anger, verbal abuse, counteraccusations, or even legal action. But instead of political maneuvering, gossiping, and imitating the worldly tactics of our enemies, we should appeal to God with fasting for protection and deliverance.

Donald Whitney

Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, 1991, p. 170, Used by permission of NavPress – www.navpress.com. All rights reserved. For more information please see the website www.BibicalSpirituality.org.

Wicked men seem to bear great reverence to the saints departed; they canonize dead saints, but persecute living.

Thomas Watson

A Puritan Golden Treasury, compiled by I.D.E. Thomas, by permission of Banner of Truth, Carlisle, PA. 2000, p. 52.

God examineth with trials, the devil examineth with temptations, the world examineth with persecutions.

Henry Smith

A Puritan Golden Treasury, compiled by I.D.E. Thomas, by permission of Banner of Truth, Carlisle, PA. 2000, p. 208.

The carnal mind is at enmity against God (Rom. 8:7), and the more His children are conformed to His image the more they will bring down upon themselves the spite of His foes. Being “persecuted for righteousness sake” (Mt. 5:10) means being opposed because of right living. Those who perform their Christian duty condemn those who live to please self, and therefore evoke their hatred. This persecution assumes various forms, from annoying and taunting to opposing and tormenting.

A.W. Pink
The Beatitudes and the Lord's Prayer, Baker, 1979, p. 56-67.

One of the greatest paradoxes in Christian history is that the church is most pure in times of cultural hostility. When things are easy and good, that is when the church most often goes astray. When Christianity seems identical with the culture and even when the church seems to be enjoying its greatest earthly success, then it is weakest. Conversely, when the church encounters hardship, persecution, and suffering…then it is closest to its crucified Lord, then there are fewer hypocrites and nominal believers among its members, and then the faith of Christians burns most intensely.

Gene Edward Veith

Tabletalk, v. 28, n. 8, p. 18, Ligonier Ministries, Used by Permission.

One would think that [persecution] would be an obstacle to church growth when joining the church meant a death sentence. And yet, the age of persecution was the greatest period of church growth in history.

Gene Edward Veith

Tabletalk, v. 28, n. 8, p. 18, Ligonier Ministries, Used by Permission.

Friendship with Jesus is costly. Faith alone saves, but saving faith is never alone. It is always accompanied by great sacrifices for Christ’s sake.

Richard Wurmbrand

The worst thing that can happen to a Christian is not persecution, physical injury, or death. In many respects, these are the best things that can happen to us. Jesus said that we are blessed when we are “persecuted for righteousness’ sake” (Matthew 5:10). Paul decided to “take pleasure in infirmities…for Christ's sake… For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10). Jesus said to His followers, “My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do” (Luke 12:4). This makes perfect sense, because for the believer, “to be absent from the body” is “to be present with the Lord.” None of these earthly threats should hold any sway over us whatsoever.

Jim Elliff

Why Should I Join a Church? Christian Communicators Worldwide, www.CCWtoday.org. Used by Permission.

We have no reason to be discouraged and cast down, if the religion we profess is not popular, and few agree with us. We must remember the words of our Lord Jesus Christ ... “The gate is narrow.” Repentance, and faith in Christ, and holiness of life have never been fashionable. The true flock of Christ has always been small... This is “the narrow way.” Surely it is better to enter into life eternal with a few, than to go to “destruction” with a great company.

J.C. Ryle
Commentary, Matthew 7.

The good man has his enemies. He would not be like his Lord if he had not. If we were without enemies we might fear that we were not the friends of God, for the friendship of the world is enmity to God.

C.H. Spurgeon

Treasury of David, Psalm 23.

If you have no opposition in the place you serve, you’re serving in the wrong place.

G. Campbell Morgan

If a doctor, able to help, were at the side of a sick person and promised to help him from his trouble and advised him how to combat his ailment or the poison he had taken, and if the sick person knew that the doctor could help him but nonetheless said: Oh, get out, I won’t accept your advice; you are no doctor, but a highwayman; I am not sick, nor have I taken poison; it will not hurt me; and if the sick person wanted to kill the doctor, would you not say that this fellow, who persecuted and wanted to kill his doctor, was not only sick but demented, mad, and irrational as well?... But this spiritual madness – that we do not want to accept help when God’s Son wants to help us – is ten times worse. Should our Lord God not be angry and let hellfire, sulfur, and pitch rain upon such ingrates? For besides being sinners, we are also so wretched as to reject help and chase away and kill those who urge us to accept it.

Martin Luther

Cited in: What Luther Says, by Ewald Plass, 1959, 2:695.