THE REALITY OF CHRISTIAN PERSECUTION
(Part 2)
Acts 4:1-4
Here in America we are blessed to possess religious freedom. For the most part, we are able to share the Gospel without the fear of being imprisoned for doing so. However, when we are faithful to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we will face opposition and maybe even persecution.
The Apostle Paul declared that “all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.” (2 Timothy 3:12). Knowing this reality, we are able to be bold witnesses of Jesus with full assurance that the rewards far outweigh the risks. We may endure trials and tribulations when we are faithful to our responsibility to be witness of the Savior, but we can be certain that any hardships that we face will certainly be worth it if God is glorified and His Kingdom is advanced.
We must never lose sight of the fact that eternity is on the line and there are multitudes of lost people who need to hear the life changing message of salvation through Christ. This was certainly the case for the Apostles. For the remainder of their lives they would be opposed, seized, arrested, persecuted, exiled, and even killed for their service to Christ. However, because of their faithfulness, the Kingdom was advanced and the number of the Church increased considerably.
Last week we began to examine “The Reality Of Christian Persecution”. Today I would like to continue to consider that subject. In this passage, Peter & John are arrested as a result of peaching Jesus to the crowd that had gathered at Solomon’s Colonnade. This crowd had gathered in response to the miraculous healing of the lame man at the Beautiful Gate. (3:11-26) When the religious leaders learned of the work of the Apostles, they were furious, and they persecuted the servants of Christ.
- In part 1 of this message, we saw that:
CHRISTIANS WILL FACE OPPOSITION & PERSECITION AS THEY MINISTER FOR THE LORD
- Persecution is a reality for many faithful Christians. This passage reveals:
A. THE SOURCE OF CHRISTIAN PERSECUTION
In those days, the Sadducees were the leaders of the Jews and the Apostles’ message blatantly contradicted their stated beliefs. The Sadducees resented the fact that the apostles were teaching the people at all; they felt that this was their responsibility. The message that Peter & John preached also infuriated the “captain of the Temple”. “The priests, Sadducees and the Captain of the Temple” were not only upset that they were teaching, they were furious because what they were teaching.
- This leads us to:
B. THE REASON FOR CHRISTIAN PERSECUTION
Verse 2 says that they were “greatly disturbed that they taught the people and preached in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.”
If the message that Peter & John preached was true, then the Sadducees were incorrect in their teaching concerning the resurrection of the dead. Furthermore, if the Apostles’ message was true, then the religious leaders were indeed guilty concerning the death of Christ. Because of this, the authorities “laid hands on them, and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening.” v3
- We also saw that:
THERE ARE VARYING DEGREES OF OPPOSITION & PERSECUTION AGAINST CHRISTIANS
- When considering the entire context of the book of Acts, we can learn much about Christian persecution. We see that:
A. SOMETIMES PERSECUTION IS VERBAL
After the Sanhedrin convened the next day, they decided to threaten the Apostles verbally. Their threats did not intimidate the Apostles and they continued to preach Jesus to the crowds in Jerusalem. It would not be long before they were summoned to stand before the council once again. This time, they would be beaten as a result of their service to Christ. This shows us that:
B. SOMETIMES PERSECUTION IS PHYSICAL
In the remainder of chapter 4 and on into chapter 5 we are told that the Gospel continued to spread and multitudes were converted. This did not escape the attention of the religious rulers; in fact, it infuriated them; so much so that they persecuted them physically.
Christians all over the world face verbal and physical persecution; Furthermore, many of them have (and others will) lose their lives as a result of their stand for Jesus. This leads us to the fact that:
C. SOMETIMES PERSECUTION IS FATAL
Since the early days of the church, millions of Christians have been persecuted to the point of death in an effort to suppress the Gospel message. However, in many instances Christian persecution has served to advance the Kingdom of Christ. This shows us that:
GOD IS SOVEREIGN IN THE MIDST OF CHRISTIAN PERSECUTION
Because of the faithfulness of the Apostles, many Jews were converted. - v4 However, many of those who heard the word believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.
God used His faithful servants to grow Christ’s Church. Those early Christians were empowered by the Holy Spirit and faithful to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Even though Peter and John were now imprisoned and enduring opposition and persecution, God had not abandoned them. In fact, He had placed them in a position to reach the leaders of the Jews with the Gospel.
Knowing that the crowd had been witnesses of this miracle and that they would be infuriated if they harmed Peter & John, coupled with the reality that they could not punish these men for such an act of kindness, they threatened the Apostles and commanded them to cease preaching in Jesus name. Even though they faced persecution for preaching the Gospel, their labor was not in vain; for “many of those who heard the word believed”.
The great work that God did through His servants shows us several important truths about His sovereignty in the midst of Christian persecution. First of all we see that:
1. GOD DIRECTS HIS SERVANTS
The Apostles were in this situation because they were obedient to the direction of the Holy Spirit. They knew that persecution was not just a possibility, it was a probability. But, they obeyed the Lord in spite of the danger. There may be times when God puts us in situations where we will be opposed and even persecuted for our faith. In these instances, we must be faithful and obedient to God’s call on our lives.
The Apostles were called to be witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria and even to the ends of the earth. In the same way, we have been commanded to be witnesses of Christ wherever God has placed us. Regardless of the consequences, we must surrender to God’s will and follow the direction of the Holy Spirit.
- Not only does this passage show us that God directs His servants, we also see that:
2. GOD PROTECTS HIS SERVANTS
The Apostles knew that death was a real possibility. Keep in mind they have been summoned to appear to the very people who were responsible for the execution of Jesus just a few weeks earlier. However, they were not intimidated by the Sanhedrin; in fact, Peter boldly declared that they were responsible for the death of God’s Messiah.
The Apostles found themselves in a place very similar to that of the Three Hebrew Children when they boldly declared to Nebuchadnezzar that “their God would deliver them from the fiery furnace, and even if He didn’t they still would not bow and worship his false idol.”
The Apostles were willing to die if that was God’s will for their lives. But they were confident that God would not allow them to be killed until He had used them to accomplish the task that they had been assigned. The remainder of Acts shows us that some of them did die as a result of their service to the Lord. James was martyred very early on, but his brother (John) lived to be in his nineties. Stephens’s ministry was very short, but it was so powerful that God is still using his life and testimony 2,000 years after his death. The reality is that some lives and ministries are very short, others are much longer, but ultimately God is sovereign and not one of His servants will face martyrdom unless He allows it.
- God directs His servants; He protects His servants and in the process:
3. GOD USES HIS SERVANTS
Though the Apostles faced intense persecution, God used them to accomplish a specific task. As we saw at Pentecost (and we will see throughout the remainder of this book) the Apostles and other Christians did not have the ability to save a single soul. But they were the instruments that God used to reach multitudes with the life changing message of the Gospel. Because of their courage and faithfulness, many people came to faith in Christ.
God’s plan involves us taking that message and sharing it everywhere we go. Just as He used those early Christians, He can use us to proclaim the good news of Salvation through Jesus Christ. When we are bold and obedient in the face of opposition and persecution, the Gospel will spread and the Kingdom will be advanced.
- This leads us to the fact that:
4. GOD MULTIPLIES HIS SERVANTS
The religious leaders sought to stop the spread of the Gospel. However, their plan failed and numerous new believers were converted. These people the joined the work and the number of the Disciples continued to increase. Many in that crowd were saved and in response they reached other people who in turn continued to reach even more people.
That same Gospel message has been handed down for generations and it has reached us and we have been saved as a result. If we will surrender to Christ and seek to be servants who obey the Great Commission, God will use us to multiply the number of His servants.
This passage makes it clear that when we devote ourselves to this task, opposition and persecution are a reality. However, persecution does not negate our responsibility to share Jesus with the lost. In fact, Church history proves that evangelism leads to persecution and that persecution often opens the door for even more evangelism.
When a Christian is faithful in the midst of opposition and persecution, this proves the genuineness of their faith. And God can use your faithfulness to reach lost people with the Gospel and it may lead to their salvation. Therefore, we must be willing to endure persecution and the Apostles show us that we can even rejoice in the midst of it.
I pray that you have been saved, if not, I implore you to repent and believe in Jesus for salvation. If you have, I encourage you to be bold and faithful, devote yourself to the great commission and share Jesus with the world around you. Resolve to be involved in evangelism, even knowing “The Reality Of Christian Persecution”.
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