We must stand with Christ, no matter how difficult and costly it may be to do so. Here’s how we stand when persecution arrives.
I am not here to sound the alarm of doom. I am no prophet of despair.
But I am a concerned follower of Jesus, and one who wants His church to faithfully and joyfully reflect the purpose we’ve been handed by our Savior.
What I’m about to write will sound alarmist. It will sound as though I’m directly contradicting what I wrote in the first sentence of this post. But please bear me out. Please read all the way to the end.
Here’s my message to you today: there is a time approaching – and approaching quickly – when our Christian faith will be tested as it never has been before. There is a time coming when we will need to choose between following our Savior and having a comfortable life. It is coming much faster than you or I probably realize.
I’m speaking to YOU, America. If you’re a follower of Christ Jesus living in the United States (or anywhere else in the Western world), you should listen to me.
Our Problem
Droves of men and women are leaving the church every year. Old church members are dying, and young ones are not falling in line to replace them.
Don’t believe me? The numbers don’t lie.
Our society has become critically infected by toxic individualism, where each person seeks to create his or her own bubble world. This is resulting in widespread dysfunction across all spheres of life, from economics to government to education to religion to family.
Social institutions are crumbling at their foundations. Confusion is reigning supreme. Political instability and moral arguments are threatening to rip this country apart at its seams.
And what is the Church doing?
Christians in today’s America are largely (though not exclusively) falling into one of two camps:
- They’re changing their beliefs, practices, and narratives to fit the “emerging culture”; or,
- They’re cowering behind oaken doors and debating carpet colors while their church hemorrhages attendees at the rate of dozens or even hundreds per year.
On one side of the fault line, we’ve got churches that are literally shape-shifting with every gust of wind in the storm. On the other side, there are those who are so set in their ways that they would rather die than change.
Both churches will fail.
One will fail due to its lack of conviction, and the other will fail because it simply dies out.
Neither is healthy. Neither will be effective.
This is our problem and our coming crisis: that Christianity is losing its influence. It is losing its ground. There is no way around it. You cannot “dress up” the data and say that there is no problem. To do so is to stick your head in the sand.
If you’re a Christian, you must admit that your faith is losing its prominence in America and in much of the rest of the Western world.
What will result from this?
Lots of things.
For one, we are likely to see the introduction of something hitherto not seen in the United States: official, legal persecution of Christian faith. We’re also likely to see an increasingly hostile public attitude towards the faith, where people regard Christianity as (at best) an outdated relic of another time, or (at worst) a dangerous and hate-filled set of beliefs that must be stamped out at any cost.
We will see a world where true Christians become increasingly isolated and ostracized from the mainstream of society. Those “Christians” who do manage to stay within society’s good graces will have adopted a set of beliefs and practices so different from that of Biblical Christianity that it will be debatable as to whether or not they’re truly Christian.
Are you concerned yet? You should be.
The Coming Era
Here’s the rub: there’s no hard, fast solution. There is no magic pill or silver bullet.
Societal forces are at play here that dwarf the capacity for any one person (or even any one group of people) to deal with. We’re witnessing the result of decades of social decay and dysfunction. We’re seeing a living example of ,”…Sin when it is fully grown brings forth death (James 1:15).”
Society will continue to grow more and more hostile to God. Open criticism of Christianity will become more and more commonplace. Christian beliefs will be more and more disdained by the mainstream culture. Churches will continue to lose influence, and many buildings will continue to shutter their doors and never re-open.
This is the world we live in. This is our new normal.
Are we living in the last days? Many think so. There are many Christ followers (particularly older ones from more traditional backgrounds) who herald the “imminent return of Jesus.” That may certainly be the case, though it’s also possible that this is just another chapter in God’s perfect plan for the world.
Regardless of whether the Rapture comes next year or next millennium, our responsibility will remain the same. Our solution remains the same. Here it is:
We are to keep on being the Church.
That doesn’t mean we’re to keep being Baptists, Methodists, Episcopalians, Catholics, Reformed, Non-Denominational Christians, Presbyterians, or Lutherans.
Increasingly so, denomination will not matter.
What I’m saying is this: we’re to keep on being what Jesus Christ calls us to be. Gone will be the days of “safe” Christianity, where one attends church on Sundays, Bible study on Wednesdays, and posts inspirational Christian quotes on Facebook.
Gone will be the days of Christian billboards and Christian ideals being promoted in public. Christian books will gradually disappear from bookstores, and Christian radio stations will fall silent one by one.
The metaphorical landscape will become increasingly dry and bleak. If you’re expecting things to get easier, you are mistaken.
Taking the place of encouragement will be persecution. You will suffer for your faith. You will suffer the derision and exclusion of your co-workers, your friends, and perhaps even your family.
Many Believers in the United States have already experienced this.
You will suffer in the workplace, as unbelieving or even anti-Christian managers refuse to award promotions to you. There may even come a time when you are asked to renounce your faith or leave.
Furthermore, there is every chance that the government will enact laws that are unabashedly anti-Christian. Some laws in various cities and states have already trekked dangerously close to this. Laws may be passed which outlaw certain doctrines or curtail religious assembly.
Depending on the fervor of the anti-Christian sentiment being reflected in lawmaking, it’s possible that some Christian groups may be legally banned outright.
If you don’t think this can happen, you’d do well to examine the histories of nations such as Russia, China, Mexico, Germany, and Cuba. All of these nations went through (or continue to go through) eras during which their governments effectively criminalized Christianity.
Many of these nations were also “Christian nations” which had held their collective faith for centuries.
It happened there; therefore, it can happen here. And I will be the first to admit that the direction the United States is taking does not bode well.
There is writing on the wall, but whether this translates into merely increased hostility towards God’s people or an outright, full-blown persecution of them remains to be seen.
But I digress. There is a new era coming. Can you feel the winds of change? Can you feel the shift in the direction and the strength of that wind? Isn’t it apparent to you?
Therefore, We Must Stand
The early Church had to endure all manner of persecution. It endured persecution at the hands of the Jews and the Romans. Christians were ostracized, beaten, jailed, and killed.
Throughout much of Church history, various people at various times have suffered intensely for the Gospel. There are countries even today where merely proclaiming faith in Jesus can be a death sentence.
The American church has yet to experience such intense resistance.
In the United States, we have it in mind that “persecution” means being called names or being attacked on social media by an angry atheist. It can include that. But it is also so, so much more.
And regardless of how much persecution we have to endure, the call of Christ to His Church is the same: stand firm, follow Me, and show love.
That is our calling in a new era of persecution and hostility. We are called to hold firm to what we believe. We are called to stand in the power of our Savior, showing love and compassion to all people… even those who persecute us.
We are called to be salt and light, to spread the Gospel of hope, repentance, and love. We’re called to stand for Christ, even if it costs us our lives.
As a Church – as followers of Jesus – we must be prepared to deal with persecution when it comes. We must be prepared for the cost of losing friends, losing jobs, losing influence, losing money, and even losing our freedoms. We must be prepared to give our lives to Christ as a living sacrifice… where we may literally be called to die for Him.
That is our call. That is our duty. Following Christ demands our full obedience, even if that obedience means giving up everything we have.
In a way, the coming time of persecution presents an incredible opportunity for God’s people. Historically, the Church has always thrived under persecution. Historically, great and mighty things have happened when the crackdowns were at their most intense. Historically, Christ has always won.
And He isn’t about to start losing now.
As we submit fully to Him in a new era of hostility, we will bear an incredible witness to those around us. There will be something truly different about us. Others will notice. Our different way of life will truly be different, as our lifestyle is thrown into sharp relief with the lifestyle of the world.
Persecution is coming, but although this presents a challenging and difficult new life, it is not the end of the Lord’s work in America. Far from it.
God bless.