BECAUSE OF MY CHAINS
Fourteen years ago,
Christians in Romania struggled with oppression as the communist dictatorship
kept the church under its thumb through a consistent program of threats,
imprisonment, and even torture, for those who dared to stand openly for
Christ. Last week during our time of
ministry there, we heard some of the stories and saw some of the secret places
believers had to meet to study God’s Word.
After the last martyrs had died at the hands of government officials,
after the last students had been executed for their protests, freedom came to
the land. Six hundred and fifty
evangelical churches were functioning at that time and now there are
approximately fourteen hundred. As
persecution and oppressive measures were taken to squelch the work of the Lord,
the resulting depth and dependence upon the Lord established roots that
continue to bear much fruit.
Last summer in
Korea, the effects of martyrdom in the church during the days of Japanese
occupation prior to WWII are still evident in the prayer life of Christians in
that nation. Present day China claims
religious freedom to the international community, but still jails, tortures and persecutes many who they
believe need to be “re-educated” in the ways of the Party. One recent account of a man named Zhang
Yi-nan reports that he has been sentenced to two years in a labor camp because
“he has a mind problem. He is too superstitious…”
and writings in his prayer journal considered to be “anti-Party, anti-Socialist”
in nature justifying his labor camp sentence.
Every age has
had its own atrocities to record in the area of religious persecution--from the
Romans of the first century, down through the ages to the Inquisition, to the
persecution of Protestants, to the persecution and death of Wycliffe and Hus, Hudson Taylor, the murder of Jim
Elliott and the others with him by the Auca Indians, and to countless others of
whom the scriptures say…Hebrews 11:33-38.
Jesus Christ
concludes the Beatitudes with these words about persecution, "Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of
righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."(5:10) Not just
any kind of persecution, but those who are persecuted for the sake of
righteousness will be blessed.
All around the
world today we hear of men and women of God who are suffering dearly because
they will not surrender their confession of everlasting trust in the Son of
God. But where is the persecution in
our church, in our city, and in our nation?
THESIS: "If you try to imitate Christ, the world will praise you; if you become Christ-like, it will hate you."
(Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones)
I. PERSECUTION IS INEVITABLE FOR CHRISTIANS
--There can be no
question that Christians should expect to experience persecution if they choose
to follow Christ with their whole hearts.
A. The testimony is clear
--If we are honest
when introducing someone to Christ, we will never try to mislead them into
thinking that when they turn their lives over to Him all their troubles will
disappear.
1. The Testimony of Christ
--Jesus never
downplayed the cost of being His disciple.
2. The Testimony of Scripture
--Throughout the
Scriptures, the evidence is clear that when a person chooses to walk with the
Lord in righteousness, suffering and persecution will not be strangers to him.
3. The Testimony of History
--Throughout history,
in the Old and New Testaments, in the annals of modern church history, and
wherever any have dared to stand for righteousness, they have been persecuted
for it.
--A choice to live
for Christ will not allow us to remain untouched, unaffected, by a system of
thinking which is by nature slanted against righteousness.
1. Inevitability of Going against the Grain
of a Fallen World
--We cannot help
going against the grain of the world if we are committed to living the way
Christ would have us live--conformed to His character, the very character for
which He died!
--If we have not
suffered persecution because of our life in Christ, we have reason to ask
ourselves how our lives are related to the world…
--In contrast to
…or…in concert with?
--Three reasons we
live against the grain (based on Jeremiah Burroughs, 1646):
a. You will not follow their pagan practices
--Have you noticed
how "bugged" people get when you refuse to go along with their
unrighteousness?
b.
You will not compromise with the times
--When we have the
truth of God's word as our standard, we are not subjected to continual shifts
in our position on right and wrong.
--As the times change, so should our
morality,
some have said.
c. You will not tolerate unrighteousness in those who pretend to know God
--Perhaps the most
galling of all is the Christian's position that no one can know God unless he
is righteous, and no one can be righteous unless he has been forgiven by Jesus
Christ and cleansed of all unrighteousness.
--Such a position invites persecution from all who reject the
uniqueness of His salvation.
2. Absence of Persecution among the Comfortable in a Cushy Culture
--Why does there seem
to be so little persecution of Christians in our culture?
a. Elevation of Tolerance
--Our culture idolizes
tolerance
--It has been
thought to be intolerant to persecute someone for his beliefs in our culture,
so the persecution has had to take subtle forms and has had to justify its
existence by stating different reasons for persecution than righteousness.
--Even Christ was
accused of sedition, treason against Caesar, not accused of being "too
righteous" although that was the real charge!
b. Absence of Righteousness
--Our churches
tolerate unrighteousness
--Too many churches
and Christians are not persecuted because they have too little righteousness to
notice, too little to draw any attention.
c. Love of Reputation/Ease
--Fair weather
Christians seldom endure for they love their ease!
--They only make a good showing while the
going is easy.
II. PERSECUTION IS INSTIGATED BY CHRISTLIKENESS
--The key to Jesus'
words here about persecution and blessedness is found in the cause of the
persecution--RIGHTEOUSNESS, which is nothing other than CHRISTLIKENESS.
A. Persecution for THE WRONG REASONS
--People are
persecuted for all kinds of things other than righteousness.
1. Persecuted not for…
a. Being Objectionable
--Maintaining a way
of speech and life that is offensive and objectionable is not covered by the
term "for the sake of righteousness".
b. Doing Wrong
--When we do
something contrary to God's will and suffer for it, that is not blessed.
c. Being Fanatical
--Doing things
clearly beyond the scope of biblical principles to stand up for righteousness
is also outside the realm of blessedness.
d. Endorsing a Cause
--Righteous people
often embrace causes that may bring persecution on themselves which have
nothing to do with the righteousness of Christ.
e. Believing Correctly
--We may even be
persecuted for believing the right things, but if there is no righteousness in
our lives which brings on the persecution, then we have not suffered for the
sake of righteousness as Christ intended.
2. Persecution is not God’s Way of Punishing Us
--When our character
begins to outwardly manifest the character of Christ, we will be persecuted by
those who hate the things of God.
--Persecution is not a way for God to
punish us for being sinful!
·
It is not as a consequence of our
unrighteousness…but as a reaction to our Christ-likeness!
B. PERSECUTION FOR CHRIST-LIKE CHARACTER
--The primary reasons
we should expect to suffer for the sake of Christ is that we are so like Him
that the world around us cannot hate Him and leave us alone—they will include
when they target Him!
1. Conformed to His
Image
--When our lives are
so like Jesus that His characters is inseparable from ours, then we should
expect that such a distinctive life will invite opposition.
2. Committed to His
Will
3. Contending for
the Faith
4. Courageous in His
Service
C. PERSECUTION FOR SOVEREIGN PURPOSES
1. The Refinement of
the Vessel
2. The Progress of
the Gospel
3. The Expansion of
the Body
As
hard as it for us to grasp, and as painful as it is to hear of their suffering,
the fact remains that whenever the church undergoes persecution, the body of
Christ grows in depth and breadth.
Surface commitments are uprooted and exposed, half-hearted faith cannot
withstand the heat and withers—but genuine trust in our glorious Savior sinks
its roots deep into the well-spring of Living Water and flourishes in the way
it bears fruit and overflows with joy.
"If you try to imitate Christ, the world
will praise you; if you become Christ-like, it will hate you." (Lloyd-Jones)
Will you still live
for Christ when days of persecution fall upon you? The only way to prepare for that is to live each day willing to
suffer the loss of all things for the sake of Christ…then for you, like Paul,
“to live is Christ and to die is gain.”
Paul made it clear that our suffering and
the persecution we endure for Christ’s sake serve to advance the gospel by
giving others more courage to speak the word of God. We grow in our trust of Him and others come to know Him through
our witness! Whether in life or in death, may we be found faithful!
Providence
Baptist Church
© David Horner 2003
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