Do I avoid persecution?

 

Yesterday we attended my cousin’s funeral, along with 800-1000 other people. The retired pastor who led the service talked to the crowd as if all of them believed in the afterlife and put their faith in Jesus. Was this a form of universalism and his theology? Or was this a way of making them think about what they did believe and how they respond to the Savior? Or was this a way to avoid conflict? He did quote John 14:6 but left off the part that says, “No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Some would say a confrontational gospel message has no place in a gathering of grieving people. Others think this is the best time because those people are also thinking about their own mortality, even wondering where their loved one has gone, and where they will go. They are looking for answers.

MacArthur’s devotional topic is the avoidance of persecution by silence. If no one knows I am a Christian, no one will challenge me or abuse me. This attitude is in direct contrast to Jesus’ words: “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:10)

Saying what I believe is tied to salvation. It is a declaration giving evidence to genuine faith:

If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” (Romans 10:9–11)

Faith in Christ is not only a ticket to heaven; it is for this life too. God is my refuge and strength for the onslaughts of life, including any rejection or ridicule I might experience. Not admitting that I have faith in Him is like slamming the door in His face. It is rejecting His power to take care of me by taking that issue into my own hands.

MacArthur says such avoidance can lead to extreme efforts to hide faith, such as approval of the world’s standards, laughing at its jokes, enjoying its entertainment, and smiling when God is mocked. Self-protection means refusing to confront sin or tell people that Jesus is the only way to Heaven. It mean living so no one can distinguish me from unbelievers and will accept me as ‘one of them’ without persecuting me, at least not for my faith. However, Jesus said:

Woe to you, when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets . . . . For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. (Luke 6:26-9:26)

What a terrible price to pay for popularity and for taking personal protection into my own hands. Far better to take a stand for Christ. If I live with Beatitude attitudes, I am opposing Satan’s lies and the sinful attitudes all around me. That can lead to persecution, but fearing it denies God’s grace and power to protect me and enable me to endure harsh treatment. He promises to take care of me just as He promised Joshua:

No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. (Joshua 1:5)

Jesus, I realize persecution identifies me as a believer. So does being able to share my own struggles along with Your answers. I can be silent to avoid persecution, but I can also invite negativity by talking freely about You as if You have made me perfect and my listeners are not. That negative reaction is not persecution but a justifiable resistance to a prideful, holier-than-thou attitude. For me, it is just as much a rejection of grace as trying to protect myself with silence. I need to be open about my faith, but not smug, as if I have reached a pedestal that others are not worthy to stand upon.

In other words, persecution is about rejecting the gospel, but resentment against self-promotion is not persecution. God can use such negative responses to teach me to glorify Him, not myself, but I cannot claim to be persecuted for Jesus’ sake.

For what credit is it if, when I sin and are beaten for it, I endure? But if when I do good and suffer for it I endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. For to this I have been called, because Christ also suffered for me, leaving me an example, so that I might follow in his steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. (1 Peter 2:20–23, personalized)

MEDITATE on Matthew 5:10–12 and identify what persecution is and is not.

 

 

In His hands . . .

Exodus 9; Job 27; Luke 12; 1 Corinthians 13

We plan to do a little traveling soon. Is the latest virus threat something to worry about? I’m not saying this spreading flu is God’s judgment on the earth, nor am I saying that those who get it are particularly targeted. However, after reading Exodus 9, I am saying that God can inflict or protect according to His will.

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, “Let my people go, that they may serve me. For if you refuse to let them go and still hold them, behold, the hand of the Lord will fall with a very severe plague upon your livestock that are in the field, the horses, the donkeys, the camels, the herds, and the flocks. But the Lord will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, so that nothing of all that belongs to the people of Israel shall die.” ’ ” (Exodus 9:1–4)

Lord, my life is in Your hands.

The rest of the chapter tells of two more plagues. One is dust that causes boils. The other is hail that is so violent that all people and animals outside of shelter will die. The Lord said:

“Now therefore send, get your livestock and all that you have in the field into safe shelter, for every man and beast that is in the field and is not brought home will die when the hail falls on them.” Then whoever feared the word of the Lord among the servants of Pharaoh hurried his slaves and his livestock into the houses, but whoever did not pay attention to the word of the Lord left his slaves and his livestock in the field . . . . And the Lord rained hail upon the land of Egypt. There was hail and fire flashing continually in the midst of the hail, very heavy hail, such as had never been in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. The hail struck down everything that was in the field in all the land of Egypt, both man and beast. And the hail struck down every plant of the field and broke every tree of the field. Only in the land of Goshen, where the people of Israel were, was there no hail. (Exodus 9:19–26)

Lord, this is a warning: Don’t play in traffic. While God is in charge of all the earth and can protect His people from danger, I am to listen to Him and be responsible. Take care of things like getting enough sleep, washing my hands and staying away from places of danger. The devil would have me ‘jump off a cliff’ to show that God protects me, but that is not God’s idea.

Jesus backs up trusting the Lord, even to realizing that He controls the details of my life. In Luke 12 He says:

“I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him! Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows . . .  And he said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? (Luke 12:4–7; 22-26)

Lord, my life is in Your hands.

Instead of thinking and worrying about myself, God wants me to care about others, wanting His best for them. His best is patience, kindness, without envy or boasting, arrogance or rudeness. This love is not easily provoked or resentful, nor does He clap when others sin. Instead, He rejoices with truth, puts up with us, trusts that His will is done, and endures without end. All the things I know or can do are not as important as having God’s attitude toward other people. Instead of being anxious about me, myself, and I, God asks me to live for Him in such a way that others see what He is like by the way I care about them.

Apply: Do not let fear, selfishness, or the media distract me from trusting God with my life. Instead, pour out His love trusting Him to take care of everything else whatever way He sees fit.