Run, Fight, or Stand: How to Respond to Persecution

Run, Fight, or Stand: How to Respond to Persecution

Acts 23:12-24:27

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NEW CITY CATECHISM #26

What else does Christ’s death redeem?

Christ’s death is the beginning of the redemption and renewal of every part of fallen creation, as he powerfully directs all things for his own glory and creation’s good.

PASTORAL PRAYER

Thanksgiving: Assurance of salvation

We can know we have eternal life because we’ve heard and believed

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The Spirit testifies with our spirit that we are God's children.

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Sermon

SERMON

What’s your natural response to a fire drill? If you’re like me, you don’t take them very seriously. I remember hearing the alarm sound in my college dormitories and instead of using the drill as an opportunity to truly prepare for a fire, I used the opportunity to hang out with my friends a little past the early curfew in my strict Christian college. These are the people who say or think, “this isn’t relevant because it’s never going to happen to me.”

Although I can’t relate, I imagine there’s another extreme response to fire drills: those who take them too seriously. Think Dwight Schrute on The Office. Although I’ve never met such a person, I suppose there could be someone who takes them so seriously they feel guilty because they never deal with actual fire. These are the people who say or think, “this is so relevant that I must be doing something wrong if it’s not happening to me.”

In the middle of both extremes lies the purpose of fire drills. They’re not a meaningless waste of time, nor are they meant to cause guilt. They are intended to instruct so you’re prepared before the fire starts.

I think those two extremes represent the ways most Western Christians approach the topic of persecution. Some of us think, “this isn’t relevant because it’s never going to happen to me.” As a result, we tune out entire portions of Scripture. Other Western Christians hear about persecution and feel guilty. “Why am I not going through this? Am I really a Christian? I must be doing something wrong if this isn’t happening to me.”

Turn in your Bibles to Matthew 5. We’ll spend most of our time this morning in Acts 23-24, but before we get there, I want to show you what Jesus says about persecution. My desire this morning is to approach the topic of persecution the way we should approach fire drills. The Bible’s teaching on persecution is not a meaningless waste of time, and it is not meant to cause guilt. It is intended to instruct so you’re prepared before the fire starts.

It will help if we begin by defining what we mean by persecution. In Matthew 5:10-12 Jesus says, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (11) “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. (12) Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

In verses 10 and 12, Jesus promises a reward for those who are persecuted. In verse 11, He shows us what persecution looks like. Notice two characteristics of persecution based on these examples. First, persecution is not limited to physical mistreatment. Some have accused American evangelicals of having a “persecution complex.”ii https://www.au.org/church-state/september-2018-chuch-state-magazine/featured/presecution-complex-religious-right. Accessed June 15, 2020. Like the boy who cried wolf, American evangelicals are crying “persecution!” “persecution!” when there is no persecution. They argue that persecution is real, but rare. It’s certainly not something that happens in America. It happens when Christians are burned at the stake or beheaded for their faith, but anything less is just another Christian crying wolf. But if you consider Jesus’ words here, it’s obvious that His view of persecution is much broader. Persecution is not merely torture or martyrdom. It can include verbal insults, gossip, and slander.

Second, persecution is limited to the hostility you face as a Christian. Not hostility you face because you’re a jerk. Or hostility you face because you’re a Trump supporter, or because you’re a Republican, or you don’t wear facemasks in public, or you live in Poquoson, or you support police officers, or you’re white, or straight, or rich, or conservative. It’s hostility you face because you identify with Jesus.

These characteristics of persecution prompted Open Doors USA, a non-profit ministry that supports persecuted believers in more than 60 countries, to define Christian persecution as: “any hostility, experienced from the world, as a result of one’s identification with Christ.”iiii “What Is Persecution?,” Open Doors USA, accessed June 22, 2020, https://www.opendoorsusa.org/what-is-persecution/.

Agreeing on a definition of persecution is good, but it won’t prepare you to face persecution. Like a good fire drill, I want to instruct you so you’re prepared before the fire starts. To do so, let’s consider Paul’s example in Acts 23-24.

We last left Paul in Jerusalem in the middle of another angry mob. He’s still in chains, as the Roman tribune tries to decide what to do with this strange man who’s caused such a ruckus in his jurisdiction. As the story continues, we’ll see the persecution of Paul intensify. We’ll also from Paul’s example how to be prepared before the fire starts. With God’s help, I want to show you Three Responses to Persecution based on Paul’s example in Acts 23-24.

Sometimes We Can Avoid Persecution (23:12-35)

Our story begins with a dark conspiracy. A group of Paul’s Jewish opponents gather in secret to swear an oath to one another. They swear not to eat or drink until Paul is dead. I like to imagine it took place in the seedy part of town, in a dark room backlit with neon lights and, thick with cigar smoke. Their plan is simple: with the help of the religious leaders, they’ll lure Paul into an ambush.

The Sanhedrin, translated the “council” in many English Bibles, was basically the Jewish religious supreme court. They decided judicial matters related to the Jewish law. The Romans didn’t like to get involved in disputes about the Mosaic law, so it would make sense for these conspirators to request a trial at the Sanhedrin. But when Paul is on his way to the council, this band of forty conspirators will be waiting to ambush him and slit his throat.

All that changed when Paul’s nephew heard about the plan. We don’t know this young man’s name and we’re not exactly sure how he heard. But regardless, he had the decency to warn Paul about the conspiracy. What should Paul do? Should he rebuke his nephew? Should he remind him that it must be God’s will for him to be persecuted? Should he go boldly and bravely to the Sanhedrin, knowing full well he’ll be ambushed along the way?

Look at Paul’s response in verses 16-18, Now the son of Paul's sister heard of their ambush, so he went and entered the barracks and told Paul. (17) Paul called one of the centurions and said, “Take this young man to the tribune, for he has something to tell him.” We learn in verse 26 that the tribune in Jerusalem at the time was a man named Claudius Lysias. As tribune, Lysias commanded an entire Roman cohort, which was a group of 600-1000 soldiers. In occupied territories like Jerusalem, the tribune functioned kind of like a chief of police. Now why would Paul want his nephew to talk to Lysias? Because Paul was hoping to avoid death by ambush. Because sometimes its right to avoid persecution.

Is that last sentence a surprise to you? Perhaps you’re not a Christian and you’ve just assumed that Christians are always supposed to be like doormats who just take whatever troubles come their way and never run away or fight back. Perhaps you’re a Christian and you’re relieved because you’ve never heard that it’s sometimes right to avoid persecution. Perhaps you’re skeptical because this doesn’t align with what you’ve always thought. Don’t take my word for it, consider a few examples from God’s Word.

When He was a baby, Jesus’ family avoided persecution by hiding from King Herod in Egypt. Even as an adult, Jesus occasionally withdrew to avoid persecution:

Matthew 12:14-15—the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him. Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there.

Luke 4:29-30—they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff. But passing through their midst, he went away.

John 8:59—they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself

Acts 8:1 tells us after Stephen’s martyrdom, Christians avoided persecution by fleeing Jerusalem. In Acts 9:25, Paul avoids persecution in Damascus being lowered from the city walls in a basket. When Jesus sent out His disciples on mission, He told them in Matthew 10:23—When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next . . . . The great “Hall of Faith in Hebrews 11 includes those who “were put to death by the sword” in verse 37 and those who “escaped the edge of the sword” in verse 32.

In 1527, the bubonic plague struck Wittenberg, Germany, where the famous Reformer Martin Luther was pastoring. The University was closed, students were sent home, and many residents self-quarantined to avoid the deadly sickness. Meanwhile, a fellow pastor asked Luther if it was ever right to flee a deadly plague.

Luther began his lengthy response by refuting the idea that it is never right to escape harm. He wrote: “By such reasoning, when a house is on fire, no one should run outside or rush to help because such a fire is also a punishment from God. Anyone who falls into deep water dare not save himself by swimming but must surrender to the water as to a divine punishment. . . . Likewise, if someone breaks a leg, is wounded or bitten, he should not seek medical aid but say, “It is God’s punishment. I shall bear it until it heals by itself.” Freezing weather and winter are also God’s punishment and can cause death. Why run to get inside or near a fire? Be strong and stay outside until it becomes warm again. We should then need no apothecaries or drugs or physicians because all illnesses are punishment from God. Hunger and thirst are also great punishments and torture. Why do you eat and drink instead of letting yourself be punished until hunger and thirst stop of themselves? Ultimately such talk will lead to the point where we abbreviate the Lord’s Prayer and no longer pray, “deliver us from evil, Amen,” since we would have to stop praying to be saved from hell and stop seeking to escape it.iiiiii Martin Luther, “Whether One May Flee From A Deadly Plague,” in Luther’s Works, Vol. 43: Devotional Writings II, ed. Jaroslav Jan Pelikan, Hilton C. Oswald, and Helmut T. Lehmann (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1999), 119–38.

The truth is, sometimes it’s okay to walk (or run) away from persecution. For some Christians that means leaving their hometown or country. For others it means running away from their families. For you and me, it could mean shutting down a business or ministry instead of being forced to violate our consciences. It could mean withdrawing from public service because “the dogma lives loudly within you.”iviv “Feinstein: ‘The Dogma Lives Loudly within You, and That’s a Concern,’” Washington Post, accessed June 22, 2020, https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/politics/feinstein-the-dogma-lives-loudly-within-you-and-thats-a-concern/2017/09/07/04303fda-93cb-11e7-8482-8dc9a7af29f9_video.html. It could mean forever signing off from social media. Sometimes walking or running away from persecution is right.

One writer suggests two benefits to avoiding persecution:vv Adapted from Paul Schlehlein, John G. Paton: Missionary to the Cannibals of the South Seas (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 2017), 126–27.

Avoiding persecution can magnify God’s glory

In the Scriptures, God rescues His children by earthquakes, from lions, through fire, through shipwrecks, from poison, by converting their enemies, through angelic armies, through feats of superhuman strength, through plagues, with whales and worms. In this story, God rescues Paul through the ears and mouth of a young man, the quick thinking of a Roman official, and the unrivaled muscle of a Roman army. No matter how He does it, God gets the glory.

Christian, it’s not necessarily wrong to look for a way to avoid persecution. It could be that God is choosing to glorify Himself in your rescue.

Avoiding persecution can reassign God’s missionaries

Avoiding persecution is not necessarily job abandonment. It’s not necessarily desertion. It’s often God’s means of reassigning His children to new fields of ministry. The early church didn’t begin spreading outside of Jerusalem until after they run away from persecution. When Paul visits a new unreached area, it’s usually because he was forced to avoid persecution in the previous city.vivi Eckhard J. Schnabel, Paul the Missionary: Realities, Strategies and Methods (Downers Grove, Ill: IVP Academic, 2008), 197. It was only after fleeing the dangers on the island of Tanna that missionary John Paton enjoyed fifteen fruitful years on the island of Aniwa.viivii Schlehlein, John G. Paton, 127. Had Protestant pilgrims not fled religious persecution aboard the Mayflower, you and I may not have been raised in a nation where the Gospel is freely preached.

Christian, it’s not necessarily wrong to look for a way to avoid persecution. It could be that God is preparing you for a new assignment.

Sometimes the right response to persecution is to avoid it. But notice I said sometimes. Not always, sometimes. Every individual in the examples I gave would eventually submit to persecution without running. Although Luther argued Christians could flee plagues and persecution, he didn’t. Although John Paton fled persecution on the island of Tanna, he didn’t flee persecution on Aniwa. Christians fled persecution in Jerusalem, but endured it across the Roman empire. Paul fled in Damascus, but he would die a martyr in Rome. The disciples were instructed by Jesus to flee, but all but one would die as martyrs for the gospel. And Jesus, who avoided death by stoning would eventually submit to death by crucifixion.

In other words, although running may be the most comfortable response to persecution, it is not the only response.

Sometimes We Should Resist Persecution (24:1-21)

The rest of Acts 23 shows how the Jews’ plot to kill Paul is thwarted by Lysias, the tribune. He sends Paul to Caesarea by night, guarded by a battalion of 470 soldiers. Lysias chooses Caesarea not only because it’s about 65 miles away from Paul’s conspirators in Jerusalem, but because it’s the headquarters of his Governor, a man named Felix.

Even though Paul has avoided persecution by ambush in Jerusalem, his persecution isn’t over. In Caesarea he faces persecution by false accusation. The story continues in Acts 24:1-9—And after five days the high priest Ananias came down with some elders and a spokesman, one Tertullus. They laid before the governor their case against Paul. (2) And when he had been summoned, Tertullus began to accuse him, saying: “Since through you we enjoy much peace, and since by your foresight, most excellent Felix, reforms are being made for this nation, (3) in every way and everywhere we accept this with all gratitude. (4) But, to detain you no further, I beg you in your kindness to hear us briefly. (5) For we have found this man a plague, one who stirs up riots among all the Jews throughout the world and is a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes. (6) He even tried to profane the temple, but we seized him. (8) By examining him yourself you will be able to find out from him about everything of which we accuse him.” (9) The Jews also joined in the charge, affirming that all these things were so.

Before we go any further, remember that Paul really is experiencing persecution in these verses. He’s not being physically assaulted, but he is being falsely accused. And Jesus Himself included false accusation as a type of persecution. Look again at Matthew 5:11-12—“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.” (12) Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

It’s easy to dismiss this as not real persecution, until you’ve been falsely accused. But notice, this is not mere false accusation, but false accusation on Jesus’ account. That’s what Paul faces in Acts 24, and it’s what Christians have faced for two thousand years.

In the early church, Christians were falsely accused of being atheists because they worshipped an invisible God and rejected the pantheon of Roman gods. They were falsely accused of cannibalism because during the Lord’s Supper they feasted on the body and blood of Christ. viiiviii Andrew McGowan, “Eating People: Accusations of Cannibalism Against Christians in the Second Century,” Journal of Early Christian Studies 2, no. 4 (1994): 413–42, https://doi.org/10.1353/earl.0.0202. They were falsely accused of polyamory and incest because they called each other “brother” and “sister” and were a community marked by love. ixix McGowan. They were falsely accused of infanticide during the reign of Emperor Caius Caligula.xx Mark Jackson, Infanticide: Historical Perspectives on Child Murder and Concealment, 1550–2000 (Routledge, 2018). They were falsely accused of burning Rome by Nero.

Today we’re falsely accused of being anti-choice, anti-science, backwards, bigoted, chauvinistic, deplorable, hateful, ignorant, immoral, intolerant, naïve, prudish, radical, racist, repressive, and sheltered. Sometimes individual Christians are guilty of this and more. If these accusations are ever true of us, we should repent. But being a Christian does not necessarily mean these accusations are true. So how should we respond to the persecution of false accusation?

Sometimes the right response is to resist. Sometimes it’s right to fight back. Look at how Paul does that in Acts 24:10-21—And when the governor had nodded to him to speak, Paul replied: “Knowing that for many years you have been a judge over this nation, I cheerfully make my defense. (11) You can verify that it is not more than twelve days since I went up to worship in Jerusalem, (12) and they did not find me disputing with anyone or stirring up a crowd, either in the temple or in the synagogues or in the city. (13) Neither can they prove to you what they now bring up against me. (14) But this I confess to you, that according to the Way, which they call a sect, I worship the God of our fathers, believing everything laid down by the Law and written in the Prophets, (15) having a hope in God, which these men themselves accept, that there will be a resurrection of both the just and the unjust. (16) So I always take pains to have a clear conscience toward both God and man. (17) Now after several years I came to bring alms to my nation and to present offerings. (18) While I was doing this, they found me purified in the temple, without any crowd or tumult. But some Jews from Asia—(19) they ought to be here before you and to make an accusation, should they have anything against me. (20) Or else let these men themselves say what wrongdoing they found when I stood before the council, (21) other than this one thing that I cried out while standing among them: ‘It is with respect to the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial before you this day.’”

From Paul’s defense, we uncover two principles about resisting persecution.

Do appeal to the proper authorities when resisting persecution.

Paul refutes the false accusations against him. He didn’t stir up the crowd, they did. He challenges his accusers to prove their accusations against him. He rebukes the Jews from Asia who don’t have the courage to face him in court. It’s not wrong to do this, especially since Paul is defending himself before the governor.

Today this could mean appealing to the conscience of the person who is persecuting you. It could mean standing up and defending yourself against mistreatment. It might mean appealing to your employer when you’ve faced unfair treatment at work because you’re a Christian. It might mean hiring an attorney to challenge a law that undermines your constitutional liberties. If you’re a Christian business owner forced to operate in a way that violates your conscience, you are free to appeal to the proper authorities for relief. It’s not wrong for individual Christians, local churches, or even entire denominations to challenge the state in court. But there’s another principle from Paul we must consider.

Don’t trade your testimony for relief from persecution.

In the face of persecution, we’re often tempted to take the easy way out. One way to do that is to flatter your persecutors. Notice the difference between how Tertullus and Paul address the governor. In verses 2-3 Tertullus says, “through you we enjoy much peace, and since by your foresight, most excellent Felix, reforms are being made for this nation, (3) in every way and everywhere we accept this with all gratitude.” Now that sounds very respectful until you realize, as one scholar says, that “his remarks had little resemblance to reality: Felix had the least peaceful term of any Roman administrator up until his time, was hated by the Jews, and was noted more for his bribe taking than his benevolence.”xixi ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2008), 2136. Today we would call Tertullus a brown-noser. This is flattery.

Contrast that with Paul who simply said, “for many years you have been a judge over this nation” (verse 10). Allow me step on your toes for just a moment. When American evangelical Christians address politicians (particularly those with the initials GOP) do we look more like Tertullus or Paul?

I came of age in the 90’s. Much of what I learned about the birds and bees came by reading the Kenneth Starr Report. I remember the way Christians consistently and repeatedly said “character counts” when a womanizer occupied the White House. Thirty years later, many of the same Christians have fallen over backwards to excuse another womanizer occupying the White House today. Some of the arguments that were used to condemn President Clinton in the 90s were reversed to defend President Trump over the past four years.

Now hear me, beloved. I am not saying it was necessarily wrong to vote for Trump given the options in 2016. And I am not saying it is necessarily wrong to vote for him again given the options in 2020. I understand the arguments. I agree with many who see his political opponents as a serious challenge to religious liberty, among other things. These are difficult decisions. But the question remains, are we more like Tertullus or Paul? With God’s help, we dare not do what Tertullus did. We dare not trade our testimony for relief from persecution.

Here’s the reason Paul is unwilling to trade his testimony for relief: what God thinks of him matters more than what anybody else thinks. He says in verse 16: “I always take pains to have a clear conscience toward both God and man.” Because he cares more what God thinks, he’s not going to sugarcoat his beliefs. He’s open and honest about his belief in the resurrection. He shares the Gospel with Felix, just like he did with the mob and the religious elites in Jerusalem.

Dear Christian, is your conscience clean? Can you honestly say that you have avoided the errors of Tertullus? That you’ve resisted persecution without trading your testimony? That you haven’t traded your trust in Christ for trust in a party, a president, or a platform? If you’ve fallen in these or other areas, what should you do? Confess and repent!

Remember the promise of 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” If your faith is in Christ, believe you are forgiven! Not because you’re worthy, but because Jesus is worthy. Because He lived a sinless life and died a sinner’s death. Because He rose from death and now freely forgives whoever trusts Him. Because you believe Jesus’ death covers the sinful ways you’ve resisted persecution.

If you’re listening and you’re not a follower of Jesus, perhaps you’re shaking your head at our hypocrisy. Perhaps that’s why you’ve rejected Christ. Perhaps you sympathize with Gandhi who reportedly said, “I “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”

I would challenge you not to reject Jesus because of the sins of His followers. You wouldn’t give up drinking water because it sometimes comes from rusty pipes. You wouldn’t reject Beethoven because his pieces are sometimes butchered. You wouldn’t give up watching football because some receivers can’t catch. Judge Jesus on His own merits, not based on His feeble, fallen followers.

Even though Christians may sometimes do it the wrong way, the fact remains that sometimes the right response to persecution is to avoid it.

Sometimes We Must Endure Persecution (24:22-27)

Paul avoids persecution when he alerts the tribune about the attempted ambush. He resists persecution when he defends himself before Governor Felix against false accusations. But Paul’s battle with persecution isn’t over. The story continues in Acts 24:22-27—But Felix, having a rather accurate knowledge of the Way, put them off, saying, “When Lysias the tribune comes down, I will decide your case.” (23) Then he gave orders to the centurion that he should be kept in custody but have some liberty, and that none of his friends should be prevented from attending to his needs. (24) After some days Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish, and he sent for Paul and heard him speak about faith in Christ Jesus. (25) And as he reasoned about righteousness and self-control and the coming judgment, Felix was alarmed and said, “Go away for the present. When I get an opportunity I will summon you.” (26) At the same time he hoped that money would be given him by Paul. So he sent for him often and conversed with him. (27) When two years had elapsed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus. And desiring to do the Jews a favor, Felix left Paul in prison.

Could you summarize the last three months of American suffering in a paragraph? You might be able to, but it would hardly seem appropriate to capture everything we’ve been through this year. But notice in one paragraph Luke summarizes two years of persecution. For two years Paul remains locked up in Caesarea. Yes, he’s given some liberty in prison and he’s allowed visits from his friends. Yes, he’s allowed to address Governor Felix regularly and he uses that platform to share the Gospel. But he’s still in prison. Because sometimes we must endure persecution.

Enduring persecution is an undeniable part of the Christian life. The night He was betrayed, Jesus told His disciples “Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours” (John 15:20). Near the end of his life, Paul wrote “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Timothy 3:12). We shouldn’t be surprised or discouraged when persecution comes. We should rejoice for another reminder that God always keeps His Word.

But here’s the million-dollar question: how do I know if I’m supposed to avoid, resist, or endure persecution? Let me propose two questions we ought to ask ourselves if and when we encounter situations like this. And by the way, the same principles apply to all suffering, not just persecution.

How can I best love my God?

This might seem really complicated, but I don’t think it is. If the only way to avoid persecution is to deny your Savior or the clear truths of Scripture, then the only right option is to endure. Receive it gladly. Rejoice that you have been counted worthy to suffer for Jesus. If resisting persecution requires you to sin, like flattering or bribing your persecutors, then don’t give in. Be faithful. Endure.

This could occur in countless different scenarios today. If the only way to keep your job is to agree with the culture’s redefinition of sex and marriage, then you forfeit your job. If the only way to keep your family together is to abandon your faith, let goods and kindred go. If the only way to get a license to perform weddings is by agreeing to marry anyone and everyone, then you stop performing government weddings. If the only way to keep your life is to deny your God, then you gladly lay down your life for the sake of the Gospel.

I realize this might sound hard, but if you truly belong to Jesus it’s not as difficult as it seems. I believe God gives an extra measure of faith for His children in these situations. Once John Paton was surrounded by cannibals threatening his life, but his faith didn’t waver. Later he wrote: “I realized that I was immortal till my Master’s work with me was done. The assurance came to me, as if a voice out of heaven had spoken, that not a musket would be fired to wound us, not a club to prevail to strike us, not a spear leave the hand in which it was held vibrating to be thrown, not an arrow leave the bow, or a killing stone the fingers, without the permission of Jesus Christ.”xiixii John G. Paton, The Autobiography of the Pioneer Missionary to the New Hebrides (Vanuatu), 1898 repr. (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 2016), 207. God will give you what you need precisely when you need it.

Frankly, I think the harder situations are those situations where there’s not a clear temptation to compromise the Gospel, deny Jesus, or sin to survive. That’s why navigating Covid-19 as a pastor was so hard. This wasn’t persecution of churches. That would’ve been simple. Situations like this required us to ask a second question:

How can I best love my neighbor?

Paul didn’t avoid the ambush in Jerusalem because he was afraid to die. It wasn’t self-love that motivated him, it was neighbor love. He knew a successful ambush would likely mean the death of Roman soldiers, which would mean eventual retaliation. He didn’t want Jerusalem to face a bloodbath. Plus, he had been called by God to take the Gospel to Rome. If his Roman neighbors still needed to hear the Gospel, Paul needed to avoid persecution so he could tell them.

Paul didn’t resist false accusation in Caesarea because he was concerned about what people thought of him. He was motivated by neighbor love. He wanted his audience to hear the truth of the Gospel, and he knew false accusations could compromise his testimony. So he resisted because he loved his neighbor.

If persecution (or any other suffering) arises in your life, don’t just assume that enduring it is always the right approach. For some of you, it may be right to avoid persecution. In so doing you may be reassigned to a new area of ministry to serve neighbors you don’t yet know. For some of you, it may be right to resist persecution. In so doing you may clear the way for others to faithfully proclaim the Gospel.

Like a good fire drill, the Bible’s teaching on persecution is intended to instruct so you’re prepared before the fire starts. Sometimes we can avoid persecution, sometimes we should resist, and sometimes we must endure.

But I’d be remiss if I didn’t warn you of another fire that’s coming. Look with me again at Acts 24:25—And as [Paul] reasoned about righteousness and self-control and the coming judgment, Felix was alarmed and said, “Go away for the present. When I get an opportunity I will summon you.” Paul warns that the fire of judgment is coming. Governor Felix is used to being flattered and bribed, so naturally he’s alarmed. So much so that he literally tells Paul to “go away.”

Dear friend, you live in a world that loves to flatter you. A world that tells you you’re a snowflake, you’re special, you’re one-of-a-kind, you matter, you are worthy, you are lovable. All those things have their place but let me tell you this: a fire is coming. The fire of God’s judgment will burn hot and long. You will not escape if you wait until the fire starts. Now, and only now, is your chance. Now you can be rescued. If you repent and believe in Christ alone. Will you do that today?

CLOSING CHORUS

Call upon the name of the Lord

He’s our defender, our deliverer

Shelter in the midst of the storm

Jesus our Savior

He is King over all

BENEDICTION

1 Corinthians 15:55-58— “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

ENDNOTES

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i https://www.au.org/church-state/september-2018-chuch-state-magazine/featured/presecution-complex-religious-right. Accessed June 15, 2020.

ii “What Is Persecution?,” Open Doors USA, accessed June 22, 2020, https://www.opendoorsusa.org/what-is-persecution/.

iii Martin Luther, “Whether One May Flee From A Deadly Plague,” in Luther’s Works, Vol. 43: Devotional Writings II, ed. Jaroslav Jan Pelikan, Hilton C. Oswald, and Helmut T. Lehmann (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1999), 119–38.

iv “Feinstein: ‘The Dogma Lives Loudly within You, and That’s a Concern,’” Washington Post, accessed June 22, 2020, https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/politics/feinstein-the-dogma-lives-loudly-within-you-and-thats-a-concern/2017/09/07/04303fda-93cb-11e7-8482-8dc9a7af29f9_video.html.

v Adapted from Paul Schlehlein, John G. Paton: Missionary to the Cannibals of the South Seas (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 2017), 126–27.

vi Eckhard J. Schnabel, Paul the Missionary: Realities, Strategies and Methods (Downers Grove, Ill: IVP Academic, 2008), 197.

vii Schlehlein, John G. Paton, 127.

viii Andrew McGowan, “Eating People: Accusations of Cannibalism Against Christians in the Second Century,” Journal of Early Christian Studies 2, no. 4 (1994): 413–42, https://doi.org/10.1353/earl.0.0202.

ix McGowan.

x Mark Jackson, Infanticide: Historical Perspectives on Child Murder and Concealment, 1550–2000 (Routledge, 2018).

xi ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2008), 2136.

xii John G. Paton, The Autobiography of the Pioneer Missionary to the New Hebrides (Vanuatu), 1898 repr. (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 2016), 207.

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