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The blessing of persecution

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#12 in the Sermon on the Mount series

Persecution

I have put off writing about this Beatitude because it is uncomfortable to think about persecution as being part of God’s plan for me or my family. I would like to be able to subscribe to the belief that with enough faith, I can live a comfortable life without problems. This message of prosperity and comfort is the message of the TV preachers, but unfortunately, it is not the message of Jesus.

Jesus doesn’t promise unlimited blessings or comfort in this life. Jesus promises a cross, hardship and persecution. Continuing in the Sermon on the Mount he says:

Matthew 5:10–12 — 10 “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. 12 “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Notice that Jesus puts some qualifiers in his statement. First we are only blessed if the accusations are false. Christians are called to live exemplary lives and any accusations of evil should have no truth to them. In my lifetime many highly visible leaders and teachers in the church have fallen into sin and have been publicly disgraced and ridiculed. This ridicule is not a cause for reward.

Secondly, the persecution that is blessed comes from accurately representing Jesus Christ. Notice the phrase at the end of verse 11, “because of me.” Many things have been done in the name of Christ of which Jesus does not approve; these are justly condemned. For example, much of the rhetoric of Westboro Baptist Church in Kansas is contrary to Scripture and as Paul would say, “their condemnation is just.” These folks misrepresent the name of Christ and any persecution they receive is not a cause for rejoicing nor will it be rewarded in Heaven.

Why would God allow persecution of those He loves? This is a difficult question in general and it may be impossible to answer why any particular instance of persecution is permitted. Yet Scripture does give us some clues as to why we may be called to suffer.

Later in this same discourse, Jesus tells us that we are to allow the light of the Gospel that is within us to shine so that men may “see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). In the history of the church, those who have borne unjust persecution for the sake of Christ have demonstrated the good works of which Jesus speaks.

Because we live in a fallen world, everyone, believer and unbeliever alike, has to endure hardship and trials. How we respond to those trials is an indication of where our faith and hope are placed. When a Christian is falsely accused as a result of his faith, God can use the Christian’s response as a testimony to his accusers and the spectators of God’s power to change lives. The blessing comes as a result of being used by God as a light to draw others to Jesus.

While we may wish to live a quiet life free from conflict and hassle, Jesus tells us here that our desire may not be in his plan. No healthy person looks for suffering, but we should not be surprised if we find ourselves in hardship as a result of our relationship with Jesus.

In John 16:33 Jesus tells us “In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” We can be blessed as a result of persecution because Jesus has overcome the world. In Christ we are on the winning side.

The Light that can be found – reflections on a lyric by 3 Doors Down

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3 Doors Down Logo

The song “When I’m Gone” by 3 Doors Down begins this way:

There’s another world inside of me
That you may never see
There’re secrets in this life
That I can’t hide
Somewhere in this darkness
There’s a light that I can’t find
Maybe it’s too far away…
Or maybe I’m just blind…

What struck me about this lyric is the comparison with light and darkness. The Bible uses this same image in describing the light of the Gospel (Gospel means “good news”) shining in the darkness of the world. In Matthew 4:16 it says, “The people who were sitting in darkness saw a great Light, And those who were sitting in the land and shadow of death, Upon them a Light dawned.”

There are two problems identified which cause someone to not see the light. The first is blindness: “The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it” (John 1:5). This is the starting point for all of humanity. We are all born in spiritual darkness. God shines the light of his love into that darkness and we have to choose our response to it. The difference between believers and unbelievers is that believers choose to respond to the light of the Gospel.

The second problem is willful blindness: “This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil” (John 3:19). Some choose to reject Jesus Christ and remain in darkness. Often this rejection is in reaction to the behavior of some who claim to follow Jesus. I empathize with this reaction and would like to offer a response.

Even though believers have responded to the Light, Scripture teaches us that until death or rapture some of the darkness remains in us and we say and do things that are wrong. True believers do not think themselves better than unbelievers. Even the Apostle Paul, the writer of much of the New Testament, struggled with this. He writes, “For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want” (Romans 7:19).

The only difference is that believers have accepted the love and grace of Jesus Christ. If we are changed, it is a result of that love and grace changing us; we can claim no credit. While our motives may be improved sometimes our results are not. Some of the cruelest things ever said to me were said by believers. That is the icky truth.

My point is that believers still hurt people, say stupid things, struggle with addictions, act in selfishness and generally struggle with the same stuff the rest of humanity struggles with. This does not make the Gospel less true.

The fact that we are changed at all is testimony to the power of the Gospel.

If you are an unbeliever, I would ask you to consider Jesus based on what He said and did. He is the truth and the light. We believers are sometimes good reflectors and sometimes poor reflectors of his light. Please do not reject Christ because of our poor reflection of him.

I can tell you that life with Jesus, in spite of our failures, is good. Paul follows his lament about his own struggles with this statement, “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1).

No condemnation, peace, forgiveness. Life is good (not perfect) in the light. Please join us. The Light wants to be found and is always available.

A. W. Tozer on activity in the Church

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A. W. Tozer wrote in The Pursuit of God in 1949:

Gentle WindRight now we are in an age of religious complexity. The simplicity which is in Christ is rarely found among us. In its stead are programs, methods, organizations and a world of nervous activities which occupy time and attention but can never satisfy the longing of the heart. The shallowness of our inner experience, the hollowness of our worship and that service imitation of the world which marks our promotional methods all testify that we, in this day, know God only imperfectly, and the peace of God scarcely at all.

Too often this describes churches still today. We have web-based calendars to keep track of our church activities. Our worship is louder and more rhythmic. Our preaching may be supported by the latest in multimedia technology. But better organization, louder music and flashier graphics do not mean that the Holy Spirit is operative and that the Word of God, Jesus himself is the focus.

When God revealed himself to Elijah, it was in the “gentle blowing” (NASB) or the “still small voice” (KJV).

Can we pause all the activity, take a deep breath and listen for that gentle blowing?

Commission and commands – Priorities for the Church

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When thinking of the mission of the church, many will take the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20) as a starting point. In that commission, Jesus tells us to make disciples by baptizing them and teaching them. It is succinct and speaks directly to the issue. This is a good launch point for the mission of the church.

But this mission must be evaluated against something that Jesus said earlier in his ministry as being foundational. In Matthew 22:37-40, Jesus tells us that the two Great Commands are to love God and love your neighbor. He further states that “On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”

Disciples have to be made by people who first love God with their entire beings. The disciple making process cannot be our first love. “Soul winning” results cannot be our first love. Being in connection with people cannot be our first love. Disciple makers must first and foremost be those who love God.

Secondly, disciples are made by people who love people unconditionally. Not with a mushy anything-goes love, but with a dynamic (root meaning – powerful) love that draws people into relationship and makes them better.

Since these are the two Great Commands, since Jesus tells us that upon these commands all of Scripture depends, then I doubt that they can be over emphasized. I do not think that we can talk about them too much.

Disciples are not made by methods. Sure there are programs that have helped people explain their faith better. There is nothing wrong with being organized or using tools such as the wordless book. But we must remember that the tools and the programs do not bring people into relationship with Jesus Christ.

Followers of Jesus Christ bring people into relationship with Jesus Christ. Jesus does the saving, the believers make the introduction.

If you have seen my avatar on this blog or on a social network, you will immediately see that I am bald. If I let my hair grow out I would have an inverse Mohawk, a little on the sides and nothing on top. If I knocked on your door selling hair restoration oil, would you buy it from me? No, wisdom would dictate that you would not buy it since it is obviously not working.

In the same way, if we are not living out the two commands to love God and love our neighbors then why should anyone listen to our Gospel presentation? It is only when we live it out that it can be seen as good news.

I sometimes wonder if we did a better job of living out the two Great Commands, would we need to do altar calls? Would we need to sing one more verse of “Just as I Am” to let a few more come forward?

I know I’m being a little bit snarky here, but I’m trying to make a point. We sometimes put the cart before the horse. We work so hard at bringing people into the Kingdom only to have them find it a little bit run down when they arrive. We haven’t always maintained our first and most important love.

Lee Iacocca said, “The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.” Evangelism isn’t the main thing, Jesus is. We need to keep our priorities straight.

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