A Godly & Biblical View Of Persecution

Jun 08, 2024

As we seek to understand the scriptural teaching on persecution, it is important to understand, first of all, that the New Testament is not overly concerned to answer the question of suffering in general-that is, suffering as a consequence of living in a fallen world. That is assumed. Rather, most of its passages dealing with suffering have to do with suffering on account of righteousness. As I have studied many of the classic books on suffering, I have noticed that this fact is hardly ever stressed. This is to be expected, I suppose, since Christians in the West today have little or no experience of persecution per se.

Because the biblical texts on persecution cannot readily be applied to a setting where there is little or no persecution, there seems to be a tendency for preachers to misapply these passages to situations of general physical, psychological or spiritual suffering. This misapplication has subsequently been turned back upon the text itself, so that the application influences the interpretation. As a result, the typical Bible student in the West never even suspects that the texts that deal with pain and suffering may be dealing with suffering for righteousness' sake rather than suffering on account of sin.

The Western hegemony in theological and biblical studies and the dominance of its published literature have only magnified and propagated this unintended misunderstanding of the link between persecution and discipleship. Scripturally, there is no discipleship without persecution: to follow Christ is to join him in a cross-carrying journey to reconcile the world to the Father. That this journey is set in the context of conflict, self-sacrifice and suffering is alluded to as early as in Genesis 3:15, when the Lord affirms that Satan's judgement, accomplished through human instrumentality, will bring deliverance to the offspring of the woman but will involve pain. The serpent's head will be crushed, but in the process the heel that crushes it will be bruised. This truth is illustrated in the very next chapter, when the first murder takes place after an act of worship. Cain's sacrifice is rejected by God while Abel's is accepted, and out of jealousy-a common reason given in scripture for persecution-Cain kills his brother. It is obvious that the New Testament regards this murder as much more than the consequence of sibling rivalry or a family squabble that got out of control. Jesus clearly saw it as a martyrdom (Matthew 23:35), as did the apostle John (1 John 3:12), who explained that it happened because Cain's acts were evil and Abel's were righteous. The murder was a result of the conflict between the world and those who belong to God (1 John 3:13).

Persecution is hardly an exclusively New Testament phenomenon. Numerous passages refer to the suffering inflicted on the people of God throughout the historical narratives. The psalms of lamentation address the issue of the suffering of God's people probably more clearly than any other part of scripture. The Book of Job tells how the man of God suffers on account not of sin but of righteousness and is required to trust God in the face of this paradox. This train of thought is amplified by the call of the prophets to look ahead to the day of the Lord, believing that history is under the control of an Almighty God who, from the foundation of the world, has set his plans in motion to reconcile the world to himself.

All of this is brought into focus with the coming of Jesus Christ, the revelation of God.

Through him we see that sacrificial love is in the very nature of God. To suffer and die to accomplish his purposes was not unexpected-he could not be God and do anything else. Weakness, suffering and sacrifice are God's modus operandi. This is how he achieves his ends: not through strength,through compulsion, but through love, through invitation. In the process, the Servant of God suffers and dies; and so do those who follow him. This is to be expected-this is God's way of reconciling the world to himself. A cross-centred gospel requires cross-carrying messengers. When Jesus declared, 'If anyone would come after me, he must deny more literally than we are used to doing. The demand of Jesus on his followers is to tread the path of martyrdom. He was about to send his disciples out as sheep among wolves and had told them that they were likely to die in carrying out their ministry. To build his Church, his death was necessary, as he points out in Matthew 16:21. This is the foundation. Without Jesus' death, there is no redeemed community. But just as his cross was needed to establish his Church, so our crosses are needed to build it. Both are necessary. There is no better way to express it than the Romanian leader Josef Ton found: 'Christ's cross was for propitiation. Our cross is for propagation. To be called to follow Christ is to receive a call to suffer (see, for example, Acts 9:16 & 14:22; 1 Thessalonians 3 and 1 Peter 2:21 & 3:9 & 17).

It was this understanding that sacrifice, suffering and even death were the normal cost of discipleship that fuelled the evangelistic efforts of the first-century church. They did not expect to experience all the blessing of heaven in this world. They knew that by their faithfulness, even unto death, they were storing up rewards in heaven. Contrary to our belief that it is a blessing not to be persecuted, they knew that it is the persecuted who are blessed (Matthew 10-12). Rather than following our example of thanking God for the privilege of not suffering for him, they thanked God for the honour of suffering for his sake (Acts 5:41). They knew that in order to bring life to others, they must die; to see others experience peace with God, they would have to suffer violence, to express the love of God to a dying world, they would have to face the hatred of those they were seeking to reach. It is in this context that they talked of 'spiritual warfare': not victory over bad habits or psychological problems but the brutal reality of witnessing to the faithfulness of God in the face of suffering, sacrifice and death. It was only in this context that the purposes of God would be accomplished.

This is also the reality of persecution today. We continue the task of taking the gospel to the ends of the earth, knowing that he goes with us and we do not suffer alone. In all our afflictions, he is afflicted; and just as Jesus demanded of Saul of Tarsus, so he asks of today's persecutors, Why do you persecute me?' The knowledge that nothing can separate us from Christ's love (Romans 8:35), that the Spirit prays for us when we can only groan in agony (Romans 8:26-27) and gives us his words in the face of our accusers (Matthew 10:19-20), provides the help the disciples of Jesus require to remain faithful witnesses. God has provided all that is necessary for us to stand firm. Yes, there may be fear, but by God's grace it need not control us. Yes, there may be terrible suffering, but suffering is not the worst thing that can happen to the child of God--disobedience to the Father is.

It is worthwhile to reflect on the words of Peter: 'It is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God' (1 Peter 2:19). In these words, the apostle defines grace as suffering due to one's faithfulness to God. As we read the accounts of those who have suffered for the sake of Christ, we might be justified in saying that from the world's perspective those who endure persecution are heroic; but from God's perspective they are recipients of grace. Peter stresses that enduring suffering is evidence that God is at work in our lives. There is no glory for the sufferer, no hero worship, no merit for the one who is able to endure hardship, no boasting of ones achievements. It is evidence of God's grace. It is all a work of God, from beginning to end. When people can suffer horrible persecution and endure, it is evidence that God has been at work.

Is it any wonder that near the end of Peter's epistle, written especially to instruct persecuted believers to stand firm in their faith, he writes: 'And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong firm and steadfast' (1 Peter 5:10)

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