In August… of 325 A.D. the Roman Emperor Constantine brought together leaders from churches all across the Empire to a city called “Nicaea” to discuss a new heresy that had risen called Arianism. Arianism was a cult led by a man named Arius who taught that Jesus was NOT God… but was merely a man. And Arius himself was at the conference. Now, there was another man at the conference named Nicholas. Nicholas had been imprisoned and tortured during the Great Persecution under the previous Emperor Diocletian (ruled 284–305), but he’d been released under the orders of Constantine and was invited to the conference at Nicaea. You probably wouldn’t have given Nicholas a 2nd thought… except he was better known as “St. Nick” – he was a godly Christian leader who was well known for his gifts to the poor… and who ultimately became renamed: Santa Claus. At one point in the debate about Arianism, Nicholas became angry because of comments that Arius was making about Jesus… and he just walked over and slapped Arius across the face. He was almost kicked out of the conference, but Constantine allowed him to stay if he apologized.
At the Nicene Council, there were 318 delegates… and fewer than 12 of those present at the council had not been tortured for their faith and lost an eye or a hand or limped because of crippled legs. (Vance Havner). Let me repeat that – OVER 300 of the Christians at the council of Nicaea had been tortured, imprisoned, and had lost hands, and eyes, and many limped as they entered the conference.
Christianity was NOT a healthy lifestyle for those people.
And Jesus was very plain that this was the kind persecution that Christians could expect. In John 16:33 Jesus said: “In this world you will have trouble."
In Matthew 10:17 Jesus warned His disciples: "Be on your guard against men; they will hand you over to the local councils and flog you in their synagogues.”
And in John 16:2 Jesus said: The hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God.
Jesus was saying: being a Christian was a dangerous proposition.
There was a deacon named Stephen who was stoned to death for preaching the Gospel. And the apostle James was executed by being killed by the sword.
Then there was a man named Saul. We’re told that after Stephen was stoned to death “Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison.” Acts 8:3
And later, Saul (who was later called Paul) noted that “On the authority of the chief priests I put many of the saints in prison, and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them. Acts 26:10
And, of course, once Paul became a Christian and preached about Christ he said that “Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned. II Corinthians 11:24-25
And ultimately, it’s said that Paul was beheaded for his faith.
When Jesus told His followers they would need to take up their cross and follow Him, He was telling them that DEATH was a very real possibility.
An early Christian writer named Jerome noted that “The church of Christ has been founded by the shedding its OWN blood, not that of others; by enduring outrage, not by inflicting it.
Now, I might have missed the memo on this, but when I was baptized into Christ at the age of 12 I don’t remember ever being told that if I took my faith seriously, there might be a chance I could end up being persecuted, or losing a job, or being arrested for my faith and thrown into jail, or even come face to face with somebody who wanted to hurt me or kill me.
Nobody told me those were possible outcomes for my life, because that’s not a real popular message. In fact, a lot of preachers who avoid hard topics like that, and instead will offer self-help messages about 10 ways you can live a happier life; or 12 ways to have a better marriage. Some preachers take it even further - teaching that God wants us to prosper in our health, in our family, in our relationships, in our business, and in our careers. (Joel Osteen). That’s the heart of the health & wealth gospel.
Now, I understand the appeal of that type of preaching … I really do. And I believe that WHEN WE PRAY – if God wants to make us rich, He can make us rich; if He wants to heal us, He can heal us; and if He wants to make us important, He can make us important.
But Jesus never promised that type of thing. Someone person said that: There are 3 things Jesus NEVER promised – that you’d be healthy; You’d be wealthy; You’d be successful.
But there were 3 things Jesus DID promise - You will be hated; You will have trouble; and you will suffer.
Now – that said – there’s an odd comment that Jesus makes in our text today:
“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” Matthew 5:11-12
Think about that for a minute: There’s a strong possibility that (as Christians) we’re going to be insulted; we’re going to be persecuted; & people are going to say all kinds of evil things against us. And that’s going to be… a blessing for us? And when that happens - we should rejoice and be glad???
Well, let’s take that apart for a second.
1st Jesus said that People were going to give us a hard time because … we were Christians. Why would they do that? Well, they would do that because we belong to Jesus. Jesus said: “If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. John 15:19
Folks will hate us because they hated Jesus first!
Someone once noted that – as Christians – we want to be like Jesus. We want to do good stuff for people in need. And so, we want to be (if you will) the hands of Jesus and the feet of Jesus to the world around us because we know that will please Him. But if you want to be the hands and feet of Jesus, you need to remember what they did to Jesus’ hands and feet.
Think about it: Jesus fed 1000s of people without asking for payment; He made the crippled to walk; He cured lepers of their leprosy; He gave sight to the blind, He healed the sick, & raised the dead. He did this all for people who were in need.
AND YET… THEY STILL nailed Him to the cross.
Why would they do that to Him? Well, they did that to Jesus because He got in their way. His very presence brought condemnation on them.
John 3:20 says – “Everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.”
And Jesus said “The world … hates me because I testify about it that its works are evil.” John 7:7
Now, the point is this - people are NOT going to hate you because of the good stuff you do. They’re going to hate you because of WHO you stand for. By your very attempt to follow Jesus you condemn the evil that people do.
ILLUS: About 100 years before the council at Nicaea, the Roman government arrested a 22-year-old Christian woman named Perpetua. The problem wasn’t so much that she worshipped Jesus. Her crime was that she would ONLY worship Jesus. She refused to worship any other gods. She didn’t even say others couldn’t worship their gods… she just wasn’t going to do it herself. As a result, she was found guilty of treason and sentenced … to die. Her intention to follow Jesus - and Jesus alone … condemned her.
And even more than that, the world around us knows that we believe certain lifestyles are wrong. Paul wrote in I Corinthians 6:9-11 “do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers (slanderers), nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”
Notice, Christianity condemns those behaviors. But Christians also had the audacity to the proclaim that these people could change – and not be like that anymore. They could be washed/ sanctified/ justified through Jesus’ name.
AND THAT OFFENDS MANY IN OUR CULTURE. And many will literally hate us… just like they hated Jesus. As Jesus said: The world hated Him because He testified that their works were evil.” (John 7:7) And so, the world is going to insult us, and persecute us and say all kinds of evil things against us - all because we follow Jesus.
(PAUSE) But then Jesus says something really odd – we are blessed when that happens. We should rejoice and be glad when we’re treated that way. WHY?
Well, notice what Jesus said would happen as a result of that persecution “Your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matthew 5:12) In other words – Jesus is paying attention to what you do for Him. Jesus said “Whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. Matthew 10:32
You see, when you boldly declare your faith - not because you’re proud or self-righteousness but because you LOVE Jesus… the evil people of this world will notice and will become offended.
But then… something else might happen.
CLOSE: What I’m going to tell you now is a truly tragic story. It’s an example of what can happen to believers who refuse to deny Christ. But it’s also an example of what can happen even in those situations.
Back in the late 1800s, an evangelistic fervor took hold in northern India - a place where people were classified by their castes, where headhunters ruled. Those who practiced Hinduism hated Christianity, and dozens and dozens of these missionaries were martyred.
In the 1880s, in the province of Assam, the village leaders in a small town
had the first converts to Christ (a husband, wife and 2 children) were arrested.
The village leaders demanded that the father renounce Christ, or see his wife and children murdered. When he refused, his two children were executed by archers. Given another chance to recant, the man again refused and his wife was stuck down. Still refusing to recant, the man was executed.
Witnesses later told the story to a Welsh missionary. The reports said that when asked to recant or see his children murdered, the man said: “I have decided to follow Jesus, and there is no turning back.” After seeing his children killed, he reportedly said, “The world is behind me, but the cross is still before me.” And after seeing his wife pierced by the arrows, he said, “Though no one is here to go with me, still I will follow Jesus.”
According to this missionary, when he returned to the village, he found that a revival had broken out, and those that had murdered the family… had become believers.
The accounts of the family that had been martyred in Assam were so astonishing that most Indian believers became familiar with it, and an Indian evangelist took the husband’s last words, and put them to traditional Indian music. The song immediately became popular in India, and remains a mainstay of worship music there to this day. (http://thecripplegate.com/why-we-sing-i-have-decided-to-follow-jesus/)
Eventually, American missionaries returning from India brought the song back with them. If you know it … sing it with me.
1) I have decided to follow Jesus (3 times) no turning back, no turning back
Consider the outcome of this man's sacrifice: 1) A revival broke out in that region; 2) The people who executed he and his family were converted to Christ; 3) His final words were immortalized in a song that is still popular in India and has caught the imagination of believers across the world... and 4) most importantly of all - he and his family have received a reward in heaven none of may yet understand. His sacrifice left a lasting impression one earth as well as in heaven.
INVITATION
