- Have you ever been "persecuted for the sake of righteousness?"
- What are your thoughts on the first century( and others) Christians and the difficulties that they faced?
- What verses come to your mind about persecution and us being willing to face them?
I believe that people in earlier times were very cruel for standing up for CHRIST’s sake. Even in some countries, people are being shot on the spot just for saying they are a Christian. People were tortured very harshly and very unjustly for standing up for GOD. We should be able to do the same thing as those people have done, and stand up for what we believe in and that is GOD. If we don’t, we show ourselves as cowards and not being able to be a man like biblical examples have shown us. We have to realize that GOD is on our side no matter what if we are HIS child. Some verses come to mind on standing up for CHRIST:
ReplyDelete1. 2 Cor. 11: We see here from Paul of many cruel and unjust punishment and treatment for being a child of GOD, and yet he is still standing up through all of that horrible treatment and going out and preaching GOD’s word even though he knows he could be killed.
2. Daniel: We see that even though he is supposed to worship the King and basically forget GOD totally. But even with all the threats and hardships of the lion’s den and with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abendego in the furnace, they all still stand up and act on what they believe in and still put GOD first in everything because they knew HE would be with them in their hardships and HE was.
3. Rom. 8: 31: Paul clearly tells us that when we have GOD on our side, man can do nothing to us, so it is very obvious that we should not be afraid for one second because GOD will be with us as HE was Daniel and Paul.
GOD tells us multiple times in the Bible that HE will be with us when we go through hardships for HIS sake, and we are also told that if we do lose our lives for HIS sake, can be confident of a home in Heaven with HIM. So we should not be afraid and ALWAYS be willing to stand up for the sake of CHRIST.
Concerning my personal persecution, I think I received more in high school than I do now. I occasionally get the, "why do you go to church two days a week" comment, but besides that, it seems as if folks have an appreciation for God on a very high level, even if they don't follow his commandments on a lower level. I have had many instances lately in which non-christians have said positive things to me, which has overshadowed all recent memories of negativity. And, no one has ever made a negative comment or joke about me reading the Bible during my lunch break. I have it pretty easy!!
ReplyDeleteConcerning first century Christians, I'm embarrassed to say that I don't know whether or not I would have been able to stand-up for Christ if my life, or the life of my son was put in jeopardy. I am very thankful I was not put in that situation, and need to let God know more frequently how thankful I am...I don't know how they did it. I honestly don't know where these comments put me in God's eyes, which saddens me, as I'm embarrassed to feel this way.
I John 5:3 - if he tells us His way is not burdensome, we can know doing it His way will work better for us in the long run. Not that it's easy, but that's the defining verse for me. He is fully aware that we will receive backlash for some of our beliefs, but still knows it will not be burdensome. The thoughts the Devil gives us is what makes it burdensome in our minds, not the backlash.
The worst "persecution" I have received is being called water boy by a baptist preacher that I used to work with.
ReplyDeleteChristians in the U.S. truly face nothing today like the first century Christians did. Does that mean that we don't show Christ enough in our daily lives? We should thank God every day for the freedoms that we have through our example and it could very well happen that because of our walk with God that we face persecution.
2 Tim. 3:12 says: Yea and all that will live Godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
I believe this to be true. But I also know that God has a purpose for us and we will be made stronger through the persecutions that we face.
Paul says in 2 Cor. 12:10 that he took pleasure ....in persecutions and in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then I am strong.
If I stop to consider what persecution the early Christians went
ReplyDeletethrough I feel that I have never really ever been persecuted (at least
not in comparable way). I think that I'm not persecuted much today
because I'm afraid of being persecuted. I can't say I really put my
neck on the line on a regular basis. There's an old saying that there
are two things you shouldn't discuss, religion and politics. If we
adhere to that we aren't going to get into those "uncomfortable"
situations. Sometimes we need to speak up but it is a hard thing.
Much like suppressing our emotions, it can be easy to just bottle it
up. Then we simply become apathetic and unemotional about standing
for the truth.
The early Christians... What a brave, courageous, spirited, diligent,
virtuous group of people. First, many of these people abandoned
Judaism and Paganism to follow something very new. They had to know
when they did this it would be the end of life as they knew it. Many
of their friends, families and countrymen would be against them. What
courage and faith they displayed just in that act. Then we understand
that the governments turn against Christianity and blamed them falsely
for things. They were driven out of their homes. They had them
beaten, tortured and killed in ways more agonizing that we can
imagine. Yet, Christianity has prevailed. I think this is a
testament to the great faith people have had through the years and of
God Himself. It shows that know matter what, God will never be
defeated! We can be victorious but we must stand with Him always!
Most of us (if not all of us) can't even begin to relate to what these
people went through. Many of us have come from Christian homes. We
have never had much opposition to deal with. We have in many ways
been sheltered by the church albeit for our good and preservation.
However, when we read about these people, we should let it inspire us
and prepare us for any form of persecution that may come our way.
When we read about the nature of God and the power He has it should
help us to take courage in Him who strengthens us. We should pray
that we will be faithful and courageous just like these people if
difficult times come upon us.
Scriptures: Paul (2 Cor 11:23-28), Encouragement from James (James
1:2-4), rejoicing they were worth to be beaten (Acts 5:40-42), The
teaching of Jesus (Mat 5:10-12)... There are so many others.
I cannot say I have ever been "persecuted for the sake of righteousness".
ReplyDeleteThe closest I ever came was when I refused to attend a comedy performance at the Loveland Stage Company because of the raw subject matter and several other members kidded me about it. (Not what I would call persecution)
The first century Christians were true heroes. They had strong convictions in what they believed and were willing to endure extreme hardship to remain faithful. Their examples are glorious.
II Corinthians 12:9 My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness"
James 1:1 Consider it joy, my brethren when you encounter various trials.
1. There is value in being persecuted. They make us stronger. We gain confidence for facing future trials
2. Not everyone suffers alike. Physical, emotional, in relationships, financial, even spiritual.
3. Some degree of suffering affects us all. Even if we live righteous lives, consider Jesus.
4. Persecutions are temporal. Even if for our entire lifetime, what is that compared to eternity?
5. We can "overcome" any persecution. Even if we are killed, it works to our ultimate benefit.
I cannot truly say I have been persecuted. When I was in school, I was known as a Bible thumper because I went to service three times a week and would not participate in activities that took me away from service. I would not go to classes to advance my position at work because they would have taken me away from service, and many thought I was stupid for it. I admire those in the first century and those in other countries who undergo persecution every time they walk out the door to worship God. I would hope that should I be called on to die for my faith that I could do so proudly for Jesus' holy name. I think of what Jesus said, that He would not allow us to be borne down with more than we could bear. But always I look down the road at the light of heaven ahead and think of the time I will be with Him and others I have loved here on earth forever.
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