Is suffering persecution normal for a Christian?
The Bible tells us in Matthew 10:22-25, “And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved. But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come. The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord. It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household?”[1]
It seems evident that every Christian must undergo some type of persecution to follow Christ. Jesus said that He came to bring a sword and not peace, when He stated in Matthew 10:34, “Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.”[2] He did say that governments would hate believers in Matthew 10:18, “And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles.”[3] But furthermore, He said that also family would hate each other because of Him in Matthew 10:21, “And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death.”[4]
The verses above may be an extreme circumstance, nevertheless, we see in our own day and time that this happens. All one has to do is pick up an issue of Voice of the Martyrs or visit www.persecution.com/ to see the evidence that certain Christians are persecuted in this era.[5]
But the question is not are some murdered or tortured for Christ, but it is, “Is suffering persecution normal for a Christian?” We know that not every Christian does undergo such suffering as do the ones in the Voice of Martyrs magazine, but nonetheless, I do still believe that every Christian, who is true to the faith, suffers persecution to come degree. I speak this from experience. I am hated by my family, because I tell them the truth. I am the only one in my biological family, which seems to have committed to Christ as my Lord and Savior. In doing so, I try to live to my utmost ability in obeying Him. My family has a great tendency to gossip or be the talebearer, which Leviticus 19:16 so prohibits, as it reads, “Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people: neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbor: I am the LORD.” I have started, in the past few months, to stop them when I see that they are gossiping, and to also admonish them. I have done this, because the Lord, as good as He is, has shown me how much this hurts a person. There were two counts of slander posted on me and one, which I posted on someone else, and God was kind enough to admonish me and show me what He meant when He wrote in Proverbs 18:8, “The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.” Now, I say that I am hated for that, because my family doesn’t understand that I only desire to follow God, but they honestly have told me that now I appear to think that I am better than them, and have found this to be true in other cases, as well. When the group at work wants to go out for drinks, but you want to go home to retire to a quiet night of Bible study, the rumor mill starts to churn there, as well. Christians don’t necessarily suffer violent persecutions, but nevertheless, they are there.
Darrell Bock says in his book, Acts: Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament, That Christians do have to suffer persecution, and must persevere. He uses such verses as Philippians 1:28-30, 1 Thessalonians 3:3, 2 Thessalonians 1:5, Romans 8:17, and 2 Timothy 2:11 to prove his point.[6]
I am going to place the text of each of these verses below.
* Philippians 1:28-30 - And in nothing terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God. For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake; having the same conflict, which ye saw in me, and now hear to be in me.[7]
* 1 Thessalonians 3:3 - That no man should be moved by these afflictions: for yourselves know that we are appointed thereunto.[8]
* 2 Thessalonians 1:5 - Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer.[9]
* Romans 8:17 - And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.[10]
* 2 Timothy 2:11 - It is a faithful saying: For if we were dead with him, we shall also live with him.[11]
The verses, which Bock uses, make it clear that every man must suffer for the sake of Christ. I say that these verses make it clear, because such words as no man and we are used.
Furthermore, we are told by the Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 6:17, “Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.”[12] And Jesus, Himself, said, as He was praying to the Father, in John 17:14, “I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.”[13] So keeping in accordance with that, I reiterate what I said above; that not necessarily will every Christian be imprisoned and suffer physical violence, but since Christians are commanded to obey and follow Christ, and to be separate from the world, to come out and be clean, then they are always going to be looked upon with an evil eye by the outside world, which do not have the Spirit of understanding as to why the Christians behave as they feel they must, and thus persecution is often emotional or mental, but it is always there.
John MacArthur wrote, “The suffering of Christ sets the standard for the suffering of Christians. The greater our suffering for righteousness in this life, the greater our glory in the life to come.”[14] And he goes on to say, “Scripture clearly states that Christians will suffer for their faith (Matt. 5:11-12; 10:17; 24:9; Luke 21:12; John 15:20; 16:2; 2 Tim. 3:12).”[15]
So with keeping all this in mind, the conclusion is that we, who are called out of the world, to be separate with Him, must follow His example, and also suffer as He suffered. We looked at 2 Thessalonians 1:5 and saw that we must undergo suffering for our righteousness, in order to be counted worthy of the kingdom of God. Every single person must be tested, and testing comes by suffering. Job was tested and suffered loss. Abraham was tested and suffered, as he agonized whether to sacrifice his son or not, Noah suffered persecution, as he was mocked, when building the ark, so it isn’t even just a New Testament thing, but everyone in the Old Testament also suffered for Christ. All who follow Him must suffer. I will leave you (on this section) with the parable of the seeds:
Behold, there went out a sower to sow: And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up. And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth: But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit. And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some a hundred. And he said unto them, He that has ears to hear let him hear.[16]
In this parable, one sentence reads, “But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away.”[17] This verse indicates that someone heard the Gospel, and was persecuted and when the persecution became too heavy, the person’s faith withered, because they had no root in their Christian belief and walk. It was only surface, but this parable demonstrates the conditions, which believers must go through in their walk with Christ, and their root must be deep, in the good ground, because persecution will come and that root will be plucked away if not.
Is God involved in the suffering of a Christian, both regular suffering and persecution?
Job seems to show that God is involved in all suffering, which a Christian must endure. Persecution is done by the enemy, because Ephesians 6:12 says, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”[18] So anyone, who persecutes a Christian or makes them suffer, does so because they are influenced by the dark side, but they, themselves, are potential brothers and sisters in Christ.
The rulers of darkness and spiritual wickedness, which battles us must obtain permission from God, before doing so, and again, I submit Job as an example. Each time, Satan wanted to test Job, he had to stand before God and obtain that permission, and not only did God grant him permission, but also set some ground rules, as far as he could go in his persecutions. For instance, God said in Job 1:12, “And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.”[19] And He said in Job 2:6, “And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life.”[20]
So taking this into consideration, the first time Satan went to God, he was told that he could only touch the things, which Job cared about – but not Job. The second time that Satan went to God, he was told that he could harm Job in anyway, so long as his life was spared, so Satan imparted boils upon him, because Job 2:7 says, “So went Satan forth from the presence of the LORD, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown.”[21]
It is very clear through Scripture that God is always aware of what His servants go through in suffering for Him. There is the account of the earthquake, in which Peter and John escaped prison. Acts 16:26 records, “And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed.” Then there is the account of the angel assisting them from the prison, as Acts 5:19 tells us, “But the angel of the Lord by night opened the prison doors, and brought them forth.”
King David is a prime example of how the Lord is involved with those, whom are persecuted. Psalms 119:84 notes, “How many are the days of thy servant? When wilt thou execute judgment on them that persecute me?”[22] So God is fully aware of what is happening, and one day He will serve His just recompense.
Matthew 5:44-45 tells us:
But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.[23]
So while man is yet here, on this earth, it seems that God is very fair and patient with all men, waiting on them to repent, and in the mean time, He sheds His blessings on all. However, since we are told to pray for those, whom persecute us, to bless them and to do good to them, we are reminded in Romans 12:20 that God does have a plan, and that plan is His just recompense, “Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.” Therefore, God doesn’t want us to take judgment in our own hands, but to depend on Him, and He keeps all things recorded and will repay those whom make us suffer or persecute us in His appointed time, because it is written in 2 Peter 3:7, “But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.”[24] But we are reminded that He is waiting for all to ask for forgiveness, as it is also written in just a few verses further, in verse 9, “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”[25] So God would rather forgive and cast away sins than to deal with that heaping pile of coals.
Bock seems to indicate that God in involved as well. He uses the phrase term tribulation and says that it doesn’t just apply to the very end, but that the whole dispensation from the time Jesus first came to the end contains the birth pangs and sufferings, which all men must go through.[26] He further says that God allows these events, as he states that all men need to be encouraged and strengthened.[27] In doing so, helps the believer to overcome evil and continue in the faith.[28]
Oswald Chambers says not to calculate without God.[29] He reminds us that God has said, in John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”[30] God is in all aspects of the believer’s life. Chambers is saying never to calculate without God, because He is always there for the believer, and the believer should never do anything without Him.
This concludes that when the believer takes commits to Christ, not only is it a commitment of the believer, but also it is a covenant on God’s part. It is a relationship. God is always there to provide for the believer, but not only is He a provider, but He is the believer’s Father. When a child is hurt, the father always knows and is there to protect that child, and so it is for our Father in Heaven. The only difference is that He is able to wait, because He is the foundation of the Fruit of the Spirit, and thus, He is the author of longsuffering, and He is able to wait to punish those, who seek to harm His children, because He wants them saved as well. Never mistaken, however, that God is in control, He is omniscient and He is just.
[1] Matt. 10:22-25 KJV.
[2] Matt. 10:34 KJV.
[3] Matt. 10:18 KJV.
[4] Matt. 10:21 KJV.
[5] Voice of the Martyrs. http://www.persecution.com
[6] Bock, L. Darrell. Act: Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament. (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2007), 482.
[7] Phil. 1:28-30 KJV.
[8] 1 Thess. 3:3 KJV.
[9] 2 Thess. 1:5 KJV.
[10] Rom. 8:17 KJV.
[11] 2 Tim. 2:11 KJV.
[12] 2 Cor. 6:17 KJV.
[13] John 17:14 KJV.
[14] MacArthur, John. “Through Suffering to Triumph: The Suffering Jesus: An Example for Every Christian” http://www.biblebb.com/fil
[15] Ibid.
[16] Mark 4:3-9 KJV.
[17] Mark 4:6 KJV.
[18] Eph. 6:12 KJV.
[19] Job 1:12 KJV.
[20] Job 2:6 KJV.
[21] Job 2:7 KJV.
[22] Ps. 119:84 KJV.
[23] Matt. 5:45-45 KJV.
[24] 2 Pet. 3:7 KJV.
[25] 2 Pet. 3:9 KJV.
[26] Bock, L. Darrell. Acts: Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament. (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2007), 482.
[27] Ibid.
[28] Ibid.
[29] Chambers, Oswald. My Utmost for His Highest. (New York: Dudd, Mead and Co., 1935), 187.
[30] John 14:27 KJV.
©Kimberly Padilla, A.A. Religion
20 September 2009
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