Preparing For Persecution IX

 When the rubber meets the road, the choices one has at their disposal are binary. We either do one or the other: stand our ground, flee, remain faithful, or renounce our faith. Bookish people call it an acute stress response, but it boils down to having only two choices at your disposal and availing yourself of one or the other.

Of all the emotions Peter and John may have felt as they stood before the high priest and his retinue, I don’t believe fear or surprise was among them. They’d been forewarned that such things were in their future and told not to worry about what they should say. Even while Jesus still walked the earth, He spoke to them of the time of persecution that was coming, a time when they would be brought before people of power and influence. Had they not heeded Christ’s warnings, they would be beside themselves standing there, being accused of what amounted to heresy in a land ruled by religious elites.

Matthew 10:17-22, “But beware of men, for they will deliver you up to councils and scourge you in their synagogues. You will be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you. Now brother will deliver up brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved.”

There was no ambiguity in Christ’s words. He prepared His disciples for a time when they would be brought up before councils, governors, and kings, when they would be scourged and put to death as a testimony to all who would witness their faithfulness, whether Gentile or Jew.

What Jesus warned was not for a specific time period, but rather, it was a warning to all who would follow after Him until the day of His return. Persecution did not end with the age of the early church. It continues to this day, and if you happen to live in a nation where, as yet, persecution has not been ratcheted up, be thankful for this grace, but prepare for its eventuality, for Jesus said you would be hated by all for His name’s sake.

The day will come when there will be no safe haven, no peaceful harbor to keep us cocooned and carefree from the enemy's machinations because when Jesus said all, He meant all, and not just some or most. Persecution should come as no surprise to the modern-day church if the modern-day church heeded the words of Jesus. It’s not something that will come out of left field, unbeknownst or unexpected. When it arrives, we will have the same binary choice as the early church, wherein we either renounce Him or endure to the end, for no third option will be available to us.

Because, for the most part, the church has been driven by profit and growth over the last few decades, we’ve been sold a bill of goods and taught to believe that Christianity is this big tent where inclusivity and acceptance rather than repentance and righteousness were the driving forces. We’ve consistently compromised the truth of Scripture for the sake of numbers, ignoring the words of Jesus when He said that He did not come to bring peace on the earth but a sword and that a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.

There is a dividing line between those of the world and those of the household of faith, and try as some might to blur that line or insist it does not exist, Jesus said otherwise.

The only reason the godless are playing nice with the church is because they have yet to amass the necessary power to try and destroy it. The only reason you are not being brought before governors and kings as yet is because those who would see you put to death do not possess the necessary clout to do so.

That’s just fearmongering; that’s all it is. I see plenty of people with COEXIST stickers on their cars, and we’ve evolved since the times when, just because you held a different view or had a different opinion on a matter, you were considered someone’s lifelong enemy. Oh, really? Have you seen the world you live in lately? Have you seen how polarized everyone has become? Have you noticed how willing some are to resort to violence when you make a compelling, logical argument against their pet dogma?

The point of this study isn’t to tell you where we are but where we’re headed. If you’ve ever shot skeet, it’s called leading the target. If you aim at where your target is, you’ll always miss it. You have to aim for where your target will be, not where it is. We’re discussing future events, and by future, I don’t mean decades down the road, but rather more near-term because all the pieces are in place, and the wheels are beginning to turn.

Before continuing our journey, I also want to make it clear that the purpose of discussing the topic of persecution isn’t to cause fear but to prepare you and flesh out the topic through a Biblical prism. We can either believe what the Word says and prepare for it or hope the Bible is wrong and the things of which it warns will never materialize. The disciples had the same choice to make in their day. Peter and John could have ignored the warnings of Jesus and been dumbstruck when they found themselves standing before the religious upper crust of their time, but they did the wise thing and heeded His warnings. They had been prepared for what was unfolding, and that kept them from being anxious, fearful, or trepidatious. 

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr.