by Samuel E. Ward

Part 4: We Shall Be Witnesses

July 28, 2013

stand-firm-carry-your-cross-part-4

Introduction

Persecution: The World Scene

Johan Candelin, director of the Religious Liberty Commission and represents Christians at the United Nations Commission for Human Rights in Geneva, reports that . . .

· More than 200 million people in over 60 nations are being denied their basic human rights for one reason only: they are Christians.

· The main reason Christians are being persecuted today is the simple fact that Christianity is growing fastest in countries where human rights are being violated or do not exist.[1]

Candelin offers this question as a test as to what constitutes true persecution.

"If a person changes their religion to the majority religion of the country, will things get better for them?"

If the answer is "yes," then it seems that the persecution is solely on religious grounds. And by persecution I mean the lack of full human rights, together with some kind of suffering.[2]

Candelin continues by noting that,

Literally hundreds of thousands of people today are being killed, brutalized, sold as slaves, imprisoned, tortured, threatened, discriminated against and arrested solely because they are Christians. They are being subjected to persecution and suffering, the extent of which we can hardly begin to comprehend, because of their faith. They ask us to shatter the silence and use our voices to express their cries. This plea is directed at us, wherever we are, today.[3]

According to Candelin's observations of how persecution progresses, he indicates that "Persecution seems to pass through three phases:

The first is disinformation. Disinformation begins more often than not in the media. Through printed articles, radio, television and other means, Christians are robbed of their good reputation and their right to answer the accusations made against them.

The public opinion that easily results from being constantly fed such disinformation will not protect Christians from the second step, which is discrimination. Discrimination relegates Christians to a 'second-class' citizenship with inferior legal, social, political and economic standing than the majority in the country.

The third stage is persecution. Once the first two steps have been taken, persecution can be practiced without normal protective measures taking place. Persecution can arise from the state, the police or military, extreme organizations, mobs, paramilitary groups, or representatives of other religions.[4]

B. Persecution: The American Scene

The updated edition of the Survey of Religious Hostility in America has documented what they note as a "radical shift in our culture's worldview that started with the rise of secularism following World War II and has accelerated with each passing year of the twenty-first century."

In their survey they admit that theirs is not an exhaustive presentation of all incidents of religious hostility in America, they do document "over 600 incidents of religious attacks and hostility in the United States—most of which occurred within the past 10 years.

Some of the examples they cite of increasing religious hostility include:

· A federal judge threatened "incarceration" to a high school valedictorian unless she removed references to Jesus from her graduation speech.

· City officials prohibited senior citizens from praying over their meals, listening to
religious messages or singing gospel songs at a senior activities center.

· A public school official physically lifted an elementary school student from his seat and reprimanded him in front of his classmates for praying over his lunch.

· Following U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' policies, a federal government official sought to censor a pastor's prayer, eliminating references to Jesus, during a Memorial Day ceremony honoring veterans at a national cemetery.

· Public school officials prohibited students from handing out gifts because they contained religious messages.

· A public school official prevented a student from handing out flyers inviting her classmates to an event at her church.

· A public university's law school banned a Christian organization because it required its officers to adhere to a statement of faith that the university disagreed with.

· The U.S. Department of Justice argued before the Supreme Court that the federal government can tell churches and synagogues which pastors and rabbis it can hire and fire.

· The State of Texas sought to approve and regulate what religious seminaries can teach.

· Through the Affordable Healthcare Act ("ObamaCare"), the federal government is forcing religious organizations to provide insurance for birth control and abortion inducing drugs in direct violation of their religious beliefs.

· The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs banned the mention of God from veterans' funerals, overriding the wishes of the deceased's families.

· A federal judge held that prayers before a state House of Representatives could be to Allah but not to Jesus.[5]

We Will Be Witnesses—Acts 1:8

I. This Is More Than a Prophecy—It Is a Fact.

(Acts 1:8 NIV) "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

A. We Receive Our Power to Witness from the Holy Spirit.

B. We Are a Part of the Mission to Share Christ with the World.

C. We Begin Where We Are and Reach Out.

II. This Is More Than an Option—It Is an Obligation.

A. We Must Work Through Our Timidity, Luke 9:26.

(Luke 9:26 NIV) "If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels."

B. We Must Be Ever Ready to Acknowledge Christ Before Men If We Want God Christ to Acknowledge Us, Luke 12:8.

(Luke 12:8 NIV) "I tell you, whoever acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man will also acknowledge him before the angels of God."

C. We Must Never Disown Christ Before Men So That We Will Not Be Disowned by Christ, Luke 12:9.

(Luke 12:9 NIV) "But he who disowns me before men will be disowned before the angels of God."

III. This Is a Path Which Includes Persecution.

A. Persecution Will Be a Part of Every Christian's Walk to Some Degree, 2 Tim 3:12-13.

(2 Tim 3:12-13 NIV) In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, {13} while evil men and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.

B. Persecution Will Sift True Disciples from False Ones, Mark 4:16-17.

(Mark 4:16-17 NIV) Like seed sown on rocky places, [some] hear the word and at once receive it with joy. {17} But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.

C. Persecution Will Result Great Blessing to All Who Endure to the End, Mat 5:11-12.

(Mat 5:11-12 NIV) "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.

D. It Will Take a Variety of Forms.

1. Rejection, and when it happens, remember Heb 13:5-6

(Heb 13:5b-6 NIV) God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." {6} So we say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?"

2. Insults, and when it happens remember 1 Pet 3:9

(1 Pet 3:9 NIV) Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.

3. Attacks from Your Enemies, and when it happens, remember Mat 5:44-46.

(Mat 5:44-46 NIV) But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, {45} that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. {46} If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that?

4. Betrayal of Friends, and when it happens, remember Mat 24:10-13.

(Mat 24:10-13 NIV) At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, {11} and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. {12} Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, {13} but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.

5. Abandonment by Friends, and when it happens, remember 2 Tim 1:15; 2 Cor 4:8-9.

(NIV) You know that everyone in the province of Asia has deserted me, including Phygelus and Hermogenes.

(2 Cor 4:8-9 NIV) We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; {9} persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.

6. Humiliation and Undeserved Torture, and when it happens, remember Rom 10:11-13; 1 Pet 1:6-7.

(Rom 10:11-13 NIV) As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame." {12} For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile--the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, {13} for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."

Christians shall have the last word and will receive the eternal blessings which will overwhelm all the humiliation and torture they may have received for Christ's sake.

(1 Pet 1:6-7 NIV) In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. {7} These have come so that your faith--of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire--may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

7. Underserved Death, and when you face it, remember, Paul's state of mind in 2 Tim 4:6-8.

(2 Tim 4:6-8 NIV) For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. {7} I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. {8} Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day--and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

Conclusion:

A Warning to Complacent Churches (those who foolishly think that persecution could never happen to them):

(1 Cor 4:7-14 NIV) For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not? {8} Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! You have become kings--and that without us! How I wish that you really had become kings so that we might be kings with you!

{9} For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like men condemned to die in the arena. We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to men. {10} We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, we are dishonored! {11} To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. {12} We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; {13} when we are slandered, we answer kindly. Up to this moment we have become the scum of the earth, the refuse of the world. {14} I am not writing this to shame you, but to warn you, as my dear children.

[1] Eternal Perspective Ministries. http://www.epm.org/resources/2010/Feb/24/persecution-christians-today/

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Ibid.

[5] Family Research Council http://downloads.frc.org/EF/EF12H29.pdf