5 Things We Can Learn from the Persecuted Church

Over the past several years, our family has subscribed to The Voice of the Martyrs magazine. This free monthly subscription has radically informed and challenged our faith (I strongly encourage you to subscribe as well by visiting www.persecution.com). It includes articles and stories related to believers around the world who are currently being persecuted for their faith in Christ, along with challenging the reader to pray for these believers. Their inspiring and bold witness for Christ, even amidst the most horrific opposition and loss, has both encouraged and challenged my devotion to the gospel’s call on my life. Connecting with these believers via their testimonials has exposed the shallowness of my faith and motivated within me a greater passion for following Christ at all costs. While the abundant resources with which God has made us stewards can go far in supplying for these believers’ needs, the wealth of their experiences in faithfulness amid persecution is even more valuable to us.

As the coronavirus pandemic has most certainly altered the manner in which our church functions in ministry, that circumstances beyond our control would have such influence is not unprecedented. Since the very beginnings of the Church, society has always impacted the manner in which the church is able to function. One wonder of Christ’s establishment of His Church is that it is so malleable in the context of any given culture. While the truths of biblical doctrine are unchanging, the manner in which any individual church practices these principles can and must change. For instance, the need or size of facilities and budgets, or the times for meeting, or the style of leadership for any given church must fit the context of that community. So, what can we possibly learn from churches all over the world in which freedoms are stifled and persecution is rife? Their testimony to us deserves our hearing.

1. Nothing can stop Christ’s Church.

Genocide, famine, civil unrest, political oppression, and the ravages of war have and continue to wreak havoc upon the people of God in all parts of the world. Yet, church history has proven that in those places in which following Christ is most dangerous, the gospel spreads most rapidly. As Tertullian, the famous Christian apologist would write in AD 197, “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church…We spring up in greater numbers the more we are mown down by you…we multiply when you reap us.” May we find encouragement in knowing that since vicious persecutions cannot stop the gospel, then most assuredly a viral infection will not halt God’s work through His faithful followers (Romans 8:35-37).

2. Obedience to God is costly.

Jesus warned His disciples that they must “count the cost” when determining if they would follow Him (Luke 14:25-33). While the greatest sacrifice to following Christ in the U.S. might involve less sleep or absence from a leisure activity, for the persecuted Church, sacrifice for Christ is more extreme. In choosing to gather for worship, many will risk losing social standing, property, job security, freedoms, and even their very lives. As this pandemic has labeled those parts of culture as “essential” or “non-essential”, so true followers of Christ will be obedient to God in any and every manner…even at great personal risk. However, as we learn from persecuted believers, obedience to God does not demand foolish or indifferent behavior. Obedience is not incompetence.

3. Strength resides in fellowship.

For those believers who are a minority in their cultures, their reliance upon one another is strong. Since many are ousted from their families and isolated by their beliefs, their kinship with other believers is vital. Government orders which ban their gatherings leave them with no option but to disobey those unbiblical mandates (Acts 5:29). As we have been ordered for some time to cease our gatherings for the sake of health, I wonder if many in our churches will emerge with a greater yearning for Christian fellowship; or if for just as many, the uselessness of our gatherings is exposed.

4. God’s Word and prayer are invaluable.

Stories of believers who will go to extreme measures to attain copies of God’s Word abound in those places where Christianity is restricted. The testimonies of these believers prove their deep appreciation and dependency upon God in prayer. Since all other dependencies have been removed, and since the Bible and public prayer are in such short supply, their value to persecuted believers is immeasurable (Psalm 19:7-11). As those things upon which we so often rely, such as good health and economic security, have been exposed by this pandemic, will God’s Word and prayer take their rightful place in our lives?

5. Hardship is a gift.

Of all the prayer requests that are entreated to us by the persecuted Church, strangely missing is the plea for an end to their persecution. Rightly opposite, they actually claim that their hardships have sharpened their faith and promoted their witness. While they plead for prayers of perseverance and faithfulness, they have come to know that only through hardship will believers enter the Kingdom of God (Acts 14:22). Undoubtedly, this pandemic has placed much hardship upon many of us. However, is our greatest prayer an ending to our troubles, or the perseverance to endure in faithfulness to the gospel’s call upon us?

Jason