Enduring under persecution

Paul knew all about the persecution of believers back in Judea. Why? Because at one time he had been their chief persecutor. But he was brought to faith by the Lord Jesus, who brought his Word to Paul. And so Paul joined the Christians. He began to suffer. He says that the unbelieving Jews killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and they drove us out (1 Thessalonians 2:15). I want you to notice that this is not a peculiar emphasis of Paul. He is not just writing to the Thessalonians and saying, You know, I’m going to emphasize the ability to endure under hardship because that’s your problem. In fact, this is found throughout the Bible. The person who, if anyone, most emphasizes the necessity of enduring under persecution of true faith—accepting and embracing hardship—has got to be the Lord Jesus Christ himself.

Now here is the point that Paul is making to the Thessalonians. It is not an evidence of true and saving faith—the mighty working of God in your life—for you merely to have an initial response of joy to the gospel. This is the folly of so much of our revivalism. We construct everything in a manipulative way—we even admit that we are doing it. Somebody walks down the aisle, they say a prayer that we put the words in their mouth, we have the music just right—and what do we do? We tell them that they are Christians. The Bible says that that is not an evidence of truth. So far as it goes, it may be good.

But the real testing of faith comes through enduring under hardship and persecution. That is how we know the Word has taken root in our life. That is where we see God’s Word working mightily within—for salvation. Well, let me ask you: Are you willing, then, to endure persecution for your faith in Jesus? Are you willing to remain faithful to Christ, to live in accordance with his Word, even if it means being shunned and ridiculed? Because, my friends, it will mean that. Even if it means that you can not be cool, that you have to be an outsider, not an insider, in the world. Maybe—even coming to a country near you—maybe actual persecution: losing your job, false imprisonment, maybe even the shedding of blood. We would not be the first Christians to endure that kind of persecution. Here is the question: Are we willing to endure it? Jesus says the only true faith is that which is willing to suffer with him: He who would save his life will lose it, Jesus said, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it (Luke 9:24). There is no other Christianity.

And so, are you and I willing to miss out, maybe, on worldly pleasures that we could have had, that we might live boldly for Jesus? That we, like the Thessalonians, might not just be in the world but really be working through the world and really having an impact for Christ—yielding ourselves, happy to make sacrifices? It is no sacrifice at all. It is for Jesus and his kingdom. We are here together to do the work of the Lord. That’s how Christians have made an impact in the world. That is how we stand today—next to Martin Luther—holding fast to the Word of God before the world, declaring: Here we stand. We can do no other. Well, Luther was one who stood firmly on God’s Word, and he would go on to be used by God to change the world. I want to say to you that every Christian who takes his or her stand—yes, under persecution—with God’s mighty Word working within will be used by God to make an eternal difference in this world.¹

Richard D. Phillips