The Bible tells us that all those who desire to live a godly life will experience persecution. Here’s a look at how we should handle persecution as followers of Christ.
I went on a mission trip when I was a sophomore in college. While on the trip, our team took an evening to watch a movie called The Insanity of God.
I don’t remember a whole lot of the film, but I do remember the story of a man named Dmitri.
Dmitri’s Story: a Life of Persecution
Dmitri was a Russian pastor who served the Lord during the days of the Soviet Union’s harsh crackdown on religion. He was arrested one evening when Communist officials broke into his house during a religious service.
The Soviet government had him transported to a state prison 600 miles away. The prison was filled with 1,500 hardened criminals.
The next 17 years would be the toughest years of his life.
During that time, he was relentlessly beaten and tortured by prison guards for his faith. He was also mocked and hated by the other inmates, who were convinced that Dmitri’s continued worship of Jesus was nothing more than a make-believe fantasy.
But Dmitri persisted.
One day, the guards discovered a piece of paper in Dmitri’s cell. On the paper, he had written down every Bible verse and promise of God that he could remember. The guards were irate. They started to drag Dmitri from his cell, fully intending to kill him.
But suddenly, all 1,500 prison inmates came to the front of their cells and raised their hands in worship, singing the same song that Dmitri had sung every morning during his 17 years at the prison.
Shocked, the guards froze in their tracks. They stared at Dmitri and said, “Who are you?”
Dmitri looked them directly in the eye and replied that he was a child of the living God.
Shortly after this incident, he was released.
All Who Desire to Live a Godly Life Will Experience Persecution
Dmitri was, quite simply, a man who desired to live a Godly life. His focus was not on the world.
His focus was on God.
The apostle Paul found himself in the same boat. A fiery evangelist during the time of Rome’s fiercest persecution of Christians, Paul was often arrested, beaten, tortured, and ostracized for his faith.
In 2 Timothy 3, he wrote these words:
Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. [2 Timothy 3:12-13, ESV]
If anyone was familiar with persecution, it was Paul. In fact, the letter of 2 Timothy was written during a period of imprisonment for Paul, likely from a prison cell. Paul spoke often about his experience with persecution and his time spent “in chains.”
But why, really, was Paul persecuted so intensely?
It’s for the same reason that many of Christ’s followers have been persecuted throughout history: because the world hates them. The world is at enmity with God.
Jesus Himself tells us that the world hated Him first. Therefore, it will hate His followers as well.
If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. 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 15:18-19, ESV]
This is the fundamental reason behind persecution: the world hates God. If we love God and keep to Him, the world will hate us by association.
That is a fact.
When Paul was writing the letter of 2 Timothy, he did not say, “Those who desire to live a godly life might be persecuted.” Instead, he asserted it as an inarguable truth.
All those who desire to live a godly life WILL be persecuted.
God and the world do not see eye to eye. Therefore, there will always be deep conflict between them.
What Does Persecution Look Like?
If you’re a Christian in the United States or much of the rest of the Western world, you are probably unfamiliar with the level of persecution that Paul and Dmitri endured.
You’ve probably never been arrested, beaten, or imprisoned for your faith.
You’ve probably never gone to sleep with the nagging worry that your door would be kicked down in the middle of the night by the secret police.
But even for those of us who live in nations that prize freedom of worship, persecution is still to be expected. It simply changes forms.
Persecution might look like others disliking you for your faith. If you put Jesus first, then you’re likely to become an outcast among many groups in society. You may have others who ridicule you or make fun of you for your devotion to Christ.
People may bash you for your unwillingness to participate in the same activities they do.
Persecution might also look like being discriminated against in the workplace. It is becoming increasingly common for employers and managers to see devoted Christians as “Jesus freaks,” who will try to force their religion on others at every opportunity.
As a result, practicing Christians are often passed over for promotions. Some may even be fired for things related to their beliefs.
In recent times, a worrying trend in the United States (and much of Europe) has been a trend towards restricting religious liberty in the field of business. There are many laws being passed that outlaw “discrimination” against people of un-Biblical sexual lifestyles.
Although these laws may be well-meaning, they have the effect of forcing Christian business owners to cater to lifestyles that they do not support.
If the Christian sticks to his beliefs, he may face severe financial penalties or even lose his business.
Indeed, persecution of Christians in many Western nations is on the rise. Whereas Judeo-Christian morality used to be the expected norm in the West, this morality is fast becoming hated and even persecuted. Our nations are becoming increasingly hostile to Christians because they are becoming more and more worldly.
Simply remember what Jesus said: the world hated Him first, and it will hate us too.
Persecution, in some form or another, is unavoidable.
Standing During Persecution
Thankfully, the Scripture gives us encouragement when it comes to persecution. And our God, being a good Father, does not leave us out to dry.
Perhaps the greatest piece of encouragement comes at the end of John 16.
I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world. [John 16:33, ESV]
From this, we can glean a sort of recipe on how to stand during persecution. Here’s point number one:
1: Be anchored in the Word of God.
If you really want to be able to stand against the insults, hatred, and persecution of the world, you will need to be saturated with the Word of God. Notice how Jesus says, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace.”
If we desire strength to stand, we need to first look at the sayings of Jesus. And where do we find that? In the Bible!
The more we devote ourselves to reading God’s word and knowing Him, the more sturdy and anchored we will be in Him. Scripture tells us that faith comes by hearing the Word of God (Romans 10:17).
To stand during the trials of this life, we first must be rooted in the Word. We must know our God, having gained faith by hearing His Word.
2: Know that persecution is coming.
It is one thing to ride a bike when the training wheels are on. It’s quite another to ride a bike without the training wheels.
Oftentimes, we receive the Word gladly and we share it with others. We love the sweet fellowship. We love to talk about Christ with those who are our brothers and sisters in the Lord.
We need this fellowship – it is vital for our walk in Christ.
How disappointing is it, then, when we try to talk about Christ with someone at work or in public and they call us a religious freak? How much does that let the air out of our proverbial tires?
It’s easy to become discouraged when we expect the Christian life to be a cake walk. Aside from knowing our God, the second thing we have to do is this: we need to expect trials and persecution.
Life as a follower of Christ is not easy. It requires great sacrifice and endurance. Those who tell you that your life will magically get easier once you devote yourself to God are not telling you the whole truth.
Does our life get easier? In many ways, yes. We have the joy of fellowship with our Creator and with our brothers and sisters in Christ. But we also experience persecution. We will draw the hatred of those who don’t know God.
In many ways, life will get harder… significantly harder.
Will this be uncomfortable? Yes. Will it ever get easy? No. But we need to expect it. We need to know that it’s coming – for all of us. For every Christian, there will be experiences of persecution and difficulty. We should get ourselves used to this and acquainted with this fact.
We will have troubles. But…
3: Take Heart in Jesus
We can read the Word, engage in fellowship, and get acquainted with the fact that persecution will happen. But none of those things will do us much good if we aren’t constantly looking to Christ.
Jesus’ call at the end of John 16 is a call to assurance. It’s a call to rest. We don’t endure persecution on our own.
When you’re called names for your faith, you aren’t standing alone. When you’re excluded from groups or shut out of promotions, you’re not standing alone. You are not an island.
Jesus is always there.
But we have to look to Him.
When things get tough, we must look to Him. We must behold Him, keeping Him always in our sight. We must remind ourselves that He’s there to bear our burdens with us.
And, ultimately, He has overcome the world.
You see, it is easy to let the world get the best of us. Think back to Dmitri. Wouldn’t it have been so tempting for him to renounce his faith? Wouldn’t it have been tempting for him to look at the might of the prison, the guards, and the anti-Christian Soviet government, and simply lay down in defeat?
I don’t know about you, but I would have been tempted. And I’m sure he was as well.
Where is my God? He must have asked. Why have I been in prison for 17 years, away from my family for 17 years, unable to preach and unable to witness?
It is so easy to lose heart during persecution. It is so easy to behold the might of whatever is persecuting you – the government, your business, your friends, your family – and to be deeply discouraged.
But no matter how big the mountain may seem, Jesus has overcome it. He overcame everything when He died and rose again. When Jesus was nailed to the cross, killed, and then resurrected, He defeated the powers of darkness.
Does darkness still have a hold on our world? Yes. But it’s a temporary hold. It’s a slipping hold. Satan is losing. It may look like he’s winning; it may appear that Satan is busy making 1st downs while Christians are being sacked.
But Satan is losing.
And in the end, he will be exposed for what he is. His works will be destroyed and his power will be broken. All the persecution you endure will be compensated for and then some.
If you’re experiencing persecution, dear Believer, please know this: it is not for nothing. It serves a purpose. God has a reason and a plan. God will be with you.
He does not forsake you.
This life is temporary; it’s nothing more than a vapor… and then it is gone.
Your 60, 70, 80, or 100 years of struggle here are nothing compared to the glory that is to come.
So stand strong, Believer, and let us take up our cross after our Lord. Let us “strive on to finish the work that we are in.”
God bless you.