Living in the Father’s Favor: Avoiding the Bite of Spite
Matthew 5:10-12 10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
You’re blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. (MsgB)
Intro: According to Voice of the Martyrs, Christians are being persecuted for their faith around the world today. More than 70 million Christians have been martyred for their faith since 33 AD. This year an estimated 160,000 believers will die at the hands of their oppressors and over 200 million will be persecuted, arrested, tortured, beaten or jailed. In many nations it is illegal to own a Bible, share your faith, change your faith or allow children under 18 to attend a religious service.
-David Barrett of the World Evangelization Research Center writes, “In one part of the globe, over 10,000 Christians have been killed every year since 1950, due to clashes with anti-Christian mobs, infuriated relatives, state-organized death squads, and so on.”
Barrett’s statistics in fact reveal that deaths of Christians for their faith have shown a marked upsurge since the 1900’s when there used to be around 35,000 a year to the last few years when the figures are up around 260,000 a year!
-Paul’s words to Timothy ring true: “All who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”
-The truth is that there are only two realms in this world – the Kingdom of God/Light and the dominion of darkness. And all those who have chosen to walk with Jesus are going to be traveling in a different direction and marching to the beat of a different drum beat from those who live according to this world.
-The beatitudes have been called paradoxical statements of joy. Blessed are the persecuted certainly seems paradoxical. How can persecuted people be blessed? Can you imagine someone saying, “I thoroughly enjoy being mistreated and harassed. Let’s rejoice together for the pain and discomfort it brings”? No one in his or her right mind finds pleasure in pain.
-It is likely that Christians might experience persecution for claiming to be followers of Jesus. The world is becoming increasingly hostile to those who profess Christ. Persecution is no longer what happens to missionary overseas or to the Christian in the 3rd world – it can now happen at work, at school, at home, and even at church.
-In September 1999, Larry Ashbrook walked into the Wedgwood Baptist Church in Fort Worth, TX and opened fire during a Wednesday night services killed (7).
-In April 1999, two teenage gunmen walked into at Columbine High in Littleton, CO, and shot the students they knew were Christians. On that fateful day, Cassie Bernall was in the library when the gunman burst into the room and asked her, "Do you believe in God?" Among her final words she said “Yes!” and stepped in God’s arms. Also on that day, Rachael Scott stepped into eternity for her faith. What’s interesting is that a year earlier, Rachel penned these words in her diary: "I’m not going to justify my faith to them, and I’m not going to hide the light that God has put into me. If I have to sacrifice everything, I will. I will take it. If my friends have to become my enemies for me to be w/ my best friend Jesus, then that’s fine w/ me.
-I know that these and other stories of martyrs seem far removed from us, but for millions of Christians in our world today, persecution is the norm, not the exception. How should we approach it? If we are not being persecuted, does that mean we are any more or less spiritual than those who are? Here’s the main thought of the message:
Prop: Those who endure ill treatment from others for their faith will experience royal treatment from their Father in heaven.
TS: Let’s take a look at a few basics of persecution and try to find out how the Lord wants us to understand and prepare for it.
I. Causes of Persecution
-Our text gives us at least 2 main causes of persecution: 1. How we live- righteous living; and who we love- Christ. We will discuss these, but as we look at the early church and try to see why many of them were persecuted, we can see 2 main causes.
A. Political- Christianity incompatible with a true patriotic citizen
-One of the greatest causes of the hatred against Christians in New Testament times and following was that even though they were the most loyal citizens, their supreme loyalty was to Christ, not the ruling government. No Christian would ever consent to worship Caesar, nor to offer any incense on the shrine of Diana. It seemed a small thing to some, but Christians would not entertain any compromise, even if it meant saving their own lives.
-The loyalty to Christ which the martyrs displayed was believed by the authorities in the state to be incompatible with the duties of a Roman citizen. Patriotism demanded that every citizen should united in the worship of the emperor, but Christians refused to take part in the worship on any terms, and so they continually lived under the shadow of a great hatred, which might find expression at any time.
-The Roman Empire claimed to be a kingdom of universal sway, not only over the bodies and the property of all its subjects, but over their consciences and their souls. It demanded absolute obedience to its supreme lord, that is, to Caesar. Christians could not satisfy this patriotic demand, b/c unlimited obedience of body, soul and spirit is due to God alone, the only Lord of the conscience. So arose the antagonism of the government to Christianity.
-These results, hatred and persecution, were, in such circumstances, inevitable; they were "the outcome of the fundamental tenet of primitive Christianity, that the Christian ceased to be his own master, ceased to have his old environment, ceased to hold his old connections with the state; in everything he became the servant of Jesus Christ, in everything owing supreme allegiance to the new empire, and the Supreme King, Jesus Christ. `We engage in these conflicts,’ said Tertullian, `as men whose very lives are not our own. We have no master but God’" (Workman, 195). [ISBE Bible Dictionary]
B. Exclusivity of Christianity- no compromise, Christ only. Jesus said that those who were persecuted because of Him were the blessed ones.
-Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, “When a man encounters Jesus, he will do one of two things. Either he must die, or he must put Christ to death.”
-Persecution in the early church was not an accident which could have been avoided. It was the necessary consequence of the principles embodied in the pagan Roman government, when these came into contact and into conflict with the essential principles of the Christian faith. Persecution came because of the claim which the Christian faith makes, and cannot help making, to the exclusive allegiance of the heart and of the life. This claim was such that it allowed no compromise with paganism. To receive Christ into the pantheon as another divinity, as one of several--this was not the Christian faith. To every loyal follower of Christ compromise with other faiths was an impossibility. An accommodated, blended Christianity would itself have been false to the only true God and Jesus Christ whom He had sent, and would never have conquered the world. To the pagans there were many gods, but to the Christians there was only one God the Father and one Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world (1 Cor 8:5,6). The essential absoluteness of the Christian faith was its strength, but this was also the cause of its being hated.
-One scholar writes, "By a correct instinct, paganisms of all sorts discerned in the infant church their only rival. So, while the new Hercules was yet in the cradle, they sent their snakes to kill him. But Hercules lived to cleanse out the Augean (Ahjeean) stables" (Workman, op. cit., 88). So the cause of persecution against Christians was essentially their unyielding commitment to Jesus Christ. John 15:18 says, “If you find the godless world is hating you, remember it got its start hating me.” (MsgB)
II. Forms of Persecution
(1) Verbal - People would revile them and would say all manner of evil against them falsely, for Christ’s sake (Mt 5:11).
(2) Emotional & Mental - Contempt and disparagement: John 8:48 The Jews answered him, "Aren’t we right in saying that you are a Samaritan and demon-possessed?"; "If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more them of his household!" (Mt 10:25). Name calling/slander can take a mental and emotional toll.
(3) Social – Simply because of their loyalty to Christ, many were forcibly isolated from the company and the society of others, and expelled from the synagogues or other assemblies for the worship of God: “Blessed are you when men hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man.” (Lk 6:22); "They shall put you out of the synagogues" (Jn 16:2).
(4) Physical - Illegal arrest and confiscation of goods, and death itself.
-Persecute (dioko) to drive away by physical abuse, harassment, or unjust treatment.
-One source says, “The world knows of the Christians who were flung to the lions or burned at the stake; but these were kindly deaths. Nero wrapped the Christians in pitch and set them alight, and used them as living torches to light his gardens. He sewed them into skins of wild animals and set his hunting dogs upon them to tear them to death. They were tortured on the rack, scraped w/ forceps; seared w/ hot brass plates affixed to the tenderest parts of their bodies; eyes were torn out, parts of their bodies were cut off; their hands and feet were burned while cold water was poured over them to lengthen the agony. These things are not pleasant to think about, but these are the things an early Christian had to be prepared for, if he took his stand w/ Christ.
-The strange title, "the third race," probably invented by pagans, but willingly accepted by the Christians without protest, showed with what a bitter spirit the pagans regarded the faith of Christ. "The 1st race" was called the Roman, Greek, or Gentile. "The second race" was the Jews; while "the third race" was the Christian. The cry in the circus of Carthage was Usque quo genus tertium? "How long must we endure this third race?"
-TS: So, every imaginable form of persecution was aimed at believers in the first few centuries after Christ. What was the result of such inhumane and cruel treatment?
III. Results of Persecution
(1) It raised up true witnesses for the Christian faith. Men and women and even children were among the martyrs could not be forced into denying Christ.
(2) It showed that the Christian faith is immortal even in this world. Of Christ’s kingdom there shall be no end. "Hammer away, ye hostile bands, your hammers break, God’s altar stands."
(3) It became an important means of preserving the true teachings of the person and of the work of Christ. It was in the ages of persecution that Gnosticism died, though it died slowly. It was in the ages of persecution that Arianism was overthrown. God in His wisdom had seen fit to permit these evils to happen, in order to change them into permanent good; the wrath of man was overruled to bring praise to God, and to achieve a more ultimate good, than if the persecutions had not taken place at all. God allowed this fury against the Christian faith to be kindled in the hearts of persecutors, bringing much affliction to believers. But the church remained safe, because persecution works for the ultimate good in the hand of God. As Tertullian said, "The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church." [selected from ISBE Bible Dictionary]
(4) Blessing- God’s favor on the persecuted, and blessing to His kingdom. The persecuted will inherit the kingdom of heaven.
-Adam is a young Christian in India. In his Hindu village, people were opposed to the gospel. One day Adam’s brother and wife became the first believers in the village. Although Adam wasn’t willing to follow, he observed their changed lives. They began to share the gospel w/ other villagers, but no one would listen. Then the beatings began. Every time the Hindus beat Adam’s brother, someone in the crowd believed in Christ. Eventually, Adam believed in Christ too, and began to suffer the same persecution as his brother. One day the villagers surrounded Adam, his brother, and the small group of new Christians. In rage they had prepared a huge pot of boiling water and were preparing to cook the Christians alive. Then one of the Hindus calmed the mob and said, "If we do this even more will become Christians," so they agreed to just beat the believers. As a result, others came to Christ and now theirs is a church of more than 35 families in the village. IMB
-We know that the blessing of persecution comes both now and later. The blessing now is that we are favored, highly regarded by God when we endure. The blessing now is also the growth of the kingdom, as others see our faith and believe. The future blessing is that the kingdom will belong to those who have been persecuted because of it.
-TS: Finally, how should we respond to mistreatment from others for our faith in Jesus?
IV. Response to Persecution
-Human tendency: revenge, resentment, self-righteousness
-The Bible gives us several better options: Matthew 5:12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven…; Don’t Be surprised (1 Peter 4:12-14); Endure- 1 Corinthians 4:12-13 “When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; 13 when we are slandered, we answer kindly.” Realize that you are not alone: Matthew 5:12 . . . And know that you are in good company. My prophets and witnesses have always gotten into this kind of trouble. (MsgB) (also 1 Peter 5:9)
-John MacArthur said, “Every faithful believer will have some resistance and ridicule from the world, while others, for God’s own purposes, will endure extreme suffering.”
-This doesn’t mean we seek it, but neither should we be surprised when it comes. In fact, while we can’t verify all the facts, church history and tradition tells us that the disciples fared no better than their leader, Jesus. Fox’s “Book of Martyrs tells us that…
*Peter was crucified, head downward, during the persecution of Nero.
*Andrew died on a cross at Patrae, in Achaia, a Grecian Colony.
*James, the younger brother of Jesus, was thrown from a pinnacle of the Temple, and then beaten to death with a club.
*Bartholomew was beaten w/ clubs, filleted alive, and crucified in Albanapolis, Armenia.
*James, the elder son of Zebedee, was beheaded at Jerusalem. It is said that on his way to be martyred, his accuser was so impressed by his courage and conviction that he repented of his sin, committed himself to Christ, and was then beheaded along w/ James.
*Thomas, the doubter, was run through the body with a lance at Coromandel, in the east Indies.
*Matthew was slain w/ a sword.
*Philip was scourged, thrown into prison, then hanged against a pillar at Heropolis (Abyssinia).
*Thaddeus was shot with arrows and possibly crucified.
*Simon died on a cross in Persia (now Iran).
*Only the Apostle John died of old age, in Ephesus at about one hundred years of age.
-So again, HOW SHOULD WE RESPOND TO PERSECUTION?
1. Sometimes we simply need to LEAVE.
Matthew 10:23 When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. (Paul in basket)
2. We need to GUARD AGAINST COMPROMISE.
-One way to end persecution is to become like those who would oppose you. We need to remember we are called to please and obey God and not men.
Acts 4:19-20 19 But Peter and John replied, "Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God. 20For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard."
3. We need to LOVE OUR ENEMIES.
-God wants us to love our enemies and break the cycle of revenge. Instead of lashing out with anger, we are called by God to love those who mistreat us.
Matthew 5:44 Love your enemies….
4. We should PRAY FOR THOSE WHO PERSECUTE US.
-HURTING PEOPLE HURT OTHER PEOPLE. The person who injures you is often the victim of personal pain that may be buried and forgotten. They attack others in the same way they have been hurt. Likewise, many of those who may be the source of persecution are not believers; they are people who need Christ.
-Matthew 5:43-44 You’re familiar with the old written law, ’Love your friend,’ and its unwritten companion, ’Hate your enemy.’ 44I’m challenging that. I’m telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer. (MsgB)
-It’s hard to love people who are not loveable. Prayer helps us to love the unlovable people in our lives. Likewise, we are powerless to change people; however, prayer does more than change things. PRAYER CHANGES PEOPLE (ourselves included).
-We should love and pray for those who mistreat and abuse us because they are not our real enemies.
-Ephesians 6:12 For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood (NLT)
5. Take a STAND
-John 15:18-19 "If you find the godless world is hating you, remember it got its start hating me. If you lived on the world’s terms, the world would love you as one of its own. But since I picked you to live on God’s terms and no longer on the world’s terms, the world is going to hate you." (The Message)
-Romans 12:2, NLT "Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think."
-We read about places like Nigeria and Saudi Arabia and North Korea where Christians are being beaten and tortured and murdered for their faith in God. Where men are being killed in front of their families, where women are being raped and children are being sold into slavery, where people’s homes are being burned to the ground, because they refuse to renounce or reject Jesus Christ.
-These people are saying, “I don’t care what you do to me, but I will NOT turn my back on Jesus.”
[Some thoughts adapted from D. Greg Ebie, SC]
Conclusion: As we close I’d like to share a story told by Franklin Graham:
-Sámi Dagher had been a maitre’d at the world famous Phoenicia Hotel in Beirut before Lebanon’s terrible civil war. Just before the war broke out he left the hotel to plant a small church in one of the poorest areas of the city. When he approached the hotel manager to inform him that he was resigning, the following dialog occurred:
-"God has called me to preach," Sámi told the manager. "I’m leaving the hotel."
-"Leaving? You’re a fool! You’re crazy! A man in your position making good money, and you quit?"
-"I leave for something more important than money. I’m going to preach the name of Jesus Christ."
-"You’re going to give up this good position to preach for some god? You must be crazy. No! I’ll tell you the right thing to do. You stay here and make money, Sámi. I need you."
-"No, I can’t stay any longer. I’ve prayed and this is what I must do."
-Then the hotel manager grew angry and shouted, "I curse you! One day, Sámi Dagher, you will come to the threshold of my door, and you will beg for a crust of bread, and I won’t give it to you. I will let you starve! Do you hear my words? Not a crust!"
-Quite sometime later, during some of the heaviest fighting, Sámi heard a knock at his door. It was late at night, so Sámi told his wife and children to stay in bed. He answered the door himself. When he opened the door, the hotel manager stood before him.
-"I couldn’t sleep," the man said. "I wanted to see how you are doing and talk."
-Sámi made coffee and they discussed the old days they enjoyed at the Phoenicia. Sámi sensed the man had come for another reason, but the man wouldn’t say. Finally Sámi said, "My friend, it is late. Why have you come to me?"
-"Oh, nothing, Sámi. I just wanted to talk of old times."
-The man walked to the door and opened it. As he stood in the doorway with his head hung low, he turned to Sámi and said, "I have no food. I have not eaten for two days. Do you have anything you could spare?" Sami of course gave him something to eat.
-Someone put it this way: Move in the opposite spirit. When someone shows contempt and spite toward you, show genuine appreciation and kindness to them. When someone is abusive to you because of your faith in Jesus, don’t repay their evil with actions that reflect poorly on Christ. Move in the opposite spirit.
Romans 12:17-21 17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord. 20 On the contrary: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head." 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
