PERSECUTION

Stories of martyrdom reflect the history of Christianity, for in the face of persecution Christianity has had its greatest witnesses. In this century alone, more Christians have been martyred than in all previous centuries put together. Christians continue to suffer death, torture, rape and discrimination for their faith.

Persecution may be incited by religious and political leaders. This type of persecution is growing in South Asia as there is increasing identification of the state with a particular religion. Christians are regarded with suspicion as adherents of a “foreign” religion and are treated as second-class citizens. But persecution also takes place at much lower levels of society if Christianity is viewed as a threat to a particular community’s way of life. Where the gospel is seen as a threat to economic structures and an obstacle to exploitation, people may resort to mob violence. In close-knit societies where a family’s reputation is all-important, those who convert to Christianity may be killed by relatives or forced to marry non-Christians.

None of these types of persecution are new. The Israelites endured slavery and exile. Faithful prophets were hated and persecuted. So were the apostles and other members of the early church. In Ephesus the threat the growing number of Christians posed to the local economy led to riots (Acts 19:23-41). Jesus himself suffered at the hands of political and religious authorities. He was rejected by his family (Mark 3:21) and predicted that the same thing would happen to his followers (Matt 10:16-42).

Jesus’ teaching on persecution was revolutionary. He described those persecuted for righteousness’ sake as “blessed” (Matt 5:10-12) and taught that suffering is a privilege that is part of being his disciple. He also promised that “the gates of death will not prevail” against his church (Matt 16:18). True to his word, the church in Asia refuses to be destroyed. It has become one of the fastest-growing churches in the world, sending out thousands of missionaries.

Mission and persecution are inseparable. In fact, persecution is part of God’s plan, as Jesus demonstrated by his own example of obedience to the cross (Luke 24:25-27). He faced persecution of the worst kind and warned his followers to expect nothing less (John 15:18-25). The cross is our symbol of victory and our lives must be lived in the hope of the resurrection (1 Cor 15:19).

Not all suffering can be defined as persecution. Sometimes we suffer because we are human (Job 5:7), because of something we have done wrong (1 Pet 4:15), or because of circumstances that also affect our unbelieving neighbours. True persecution involves suffering inflicted simply because we follow Christ. Those who are enduring such suffering have to draw comfort from the Lord’s promise of life as the victor’s crown to those who are “faithful even to the point of death” (Rev 2:10).

We sometime wonder why God allows part of his church to be persecuted. We cannot always know the answer to that question. What we do know is that God can use persecution to purge and refine the church (1 Pet 1:6-7). We also know that persecution develops perseverance and character (Rom 5:3-4; Jas 1:2-4). Someone has even said that persecution of one part of the church allows other parts of the church to know what true Christianity looks like.

The classic biblical responses to persecution are flight, fight or faith. There are times when the wisest thing to do is to flee (Matt 2:13-15; 10:23). God can use this response, as seen in Acts 8:1-4 where persecution resulted in the scattering and spreading of the church. The second response is to stay and fight, as Paul did in Acts 22:25-29 where he exercised his legal rights. The third response is faith: enduring persecution with prayer, standing firm and being faithful unto death (Rev 12:11).

There are four things we should do when we face persecution:

• Remember that God has absolute control over the events of history (Acts 4:27, 28). We may not understand his ways, yet we must trust that he is in control (Isa 55:8).

• Consider suffering for Christ a privilege and an honour, accepting persecution and being obedient in tribulation (Acts 5:41; 2 Tim 3:12). God will not take us through more than we can bear and will never leave or forsake us (Rom 8:31, 35-39).

• Forgive our oppressors (Luke 23:34; Col 3:13) and not retaliate, for vengeance belongs to God (Deut 32:35; Rom 12:19-21).

• Continue to testify and spread the gospel in the midst of persecution (Acts 5:29; 8:1). We can do this when we understand persecution as a process which refines and matures our faith (Jas 1:2-4) and makes us overcomers in Christ Jesus (Rev 12:11).

Godfrey Yogarajah