Christian Persecution

2023

15 Christians Worldwide are killed every day because of their faith

12 Church buildings are attacked daily

12 Christians are unjustly arrested or imprisoned daily

5 Christians are abducted daily

Matthew 5:10–12 “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

Acts 5:41 “The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.”

We Can Rejoice In Persecution Because We Know That It Is A Demonstration Of Our Identity.

The point of the latter part of verse twelve where it says, “…for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you,” is that persecution identifies us as a part of the faith. If we never experience ridicule, criticism or rejection because of our faith, we have reason to examine the genuineness of it

Few men have understood this better than Dietrich Bonheoffer. Bonheoffer was a Lutheran pastor imprisoned during WWII for his stand against Adolf Hitler and the Nazis. He was executed by the direct order of Heinrich Himmler in April 1945 in Flossenburg Concentration Camp only a few days before it was liberated. While imprisoned he wrote; “Suffering, then, is the badge of true discipleship. The disciple is not above his master. Following Christ means…. Suffering because we have to suffer…. Discipleship means allegiance to the suffering Christ, and it is therefore not at all surprising that Christians should be called upon to suffer. In fact, it is a joy and token of his grace.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer. “The Cost of Discipleship.”

We Can Rejoice In Persecution Because We Know That God Uses Persecution To Refine Us.

Peter warns believers that persecution is the furnace in which God refines and purifies us and removes the impurities from our lives. “In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, (8) whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory.” (1 Peter 1:6-8)

We Can Rejoice In Persecution Because We Know of The Promise Of Rewards.

The promise of verse twelve is, "Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven.” Some Christians consider it less than spiritual to think in terms of rewards, yet the writer of Hebrews wrote (11:26) that even the great man, Moses chose to suffer affliction with the people of God because “he looked to the reward.”

Jesus reminds all of His followers that they must determine their values from a perspective of eternity. The apostle reminds the church at Corinth of this when he wrote

2 Corinthians 4:16–18 “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”