Good Christians Go to Jail

How We Got Here

Perhaps the most burning question on most Christian’s minds today is, “How can I be a good Christian?” “How do I live a life pleasing to the Lord?” Fortunately for us, we live in the age of the internet, and so I Googled this very question to find some answers. Here are some common things I found from wikiHow, Billy Graham’s website, beliefnet, and a few others:

Pray constantly

Read your Bible daily

Go to Church

Avoid sinning and obey God (very helpful, /s)

Evangelize

Be charitable (give to charity, volunteer, etc.)

Accept Jesus Christ

These seven things were on almost every list I looked at. Some other good ones that I really liked that were less common include:

Avoid materialism

Read Christian thinkers (Lewis, Augustine, Athanasius, etc.)

Spend time with Family

Forgive Someone

Take a walk

These are all certainly very good suggestions. They’re things that we see Jesus and the apostles do over and over again. Jesus certainly prayed, he was very familiar with scripture, he went to synagogue, he definitely avoided sinning and obeyed God, he spread the gospel, he was the most charitable man to ever walk the earth, and I would hope that Jesus Christ accepted Jesus Christ. He also avoided materialism, he was familiar with some Jewish thinkers and Rabbis from his time, he spent some time with family, he forgave a lot of people, and he took more than a few walks.

One glaring omission from all of these lists, however, something we see Jesus, the apostles, and the prophets do over and over again, is go to jail. When you really think about it, this seems like a pretty glaring omission! All of the great saints in the Bible went to jail. Joseph was sent to prison, Jeremiah was thrown down a well, John the baptist was sent to jail, Jesus got the death penalty, and of course, Paul found himself in prison more than once. Even in the history of the Church, many of the great saints spent at least a night or two in prison. Martin Luther had a warrant out for his arrest, Bonhoeffer was sent to a concentration camp, and Martin Luther King Jr. was imprisoned many times. So why don’t we teach more of our Christian children to go to jail?

Of course, going to jail is not in and of itself a good thing. As Paul himself says, “I pray that all might become such as I am, except for these chains”. But that leaves the question: Why do so many good Christians wind up in jail? I am going to suggest to you that this question has a lot to do with the idea of Christian Testimony. But to understand why, we’ll need to take a closer look at Paul’s own testimony to King Agrippa.

Apologia: Structure of the Defense

This is a pre-trial before sending Paul before the Caesar in Rome.

Paul immediately shows off his rhetorical skills: speech is highly structured and follows educated technique

Prooemium: Paul flatters Agrippa and sets out the basic issues

Narratio: Paul gives a basic overview of some background details in narrative form

Prothesis: Paul sets out his thesis, or main argument, which he is about to defend (v. 21-23)

Refutatio: Paul defends himself here against possible opponents (e.g. Festus)

No Proofs Needed: The Power of Testimony

Typically in a speech, the next step would be to move on to “proofs”, i.e. arguments in favor of your thesis

Paul gets cut off and can’t finish his argument

No argument was needed, Agrippa is already convinced of Paul’s innocence

Reason and arguments are generally less convincing than a good personal Testimony (i.e. Paul’s narratio)

Testimony is one of the most powerful tools of evangelism Christians have

Paul’s Three Part Testimony

Paul’s testimony can be broken down into three parts

One: Life Before Christ

Paul lives a life of rage and anger

He persecuted Christians and was working against God

Good legal defense: he slyly places legal blame on the very people accusing him of illegal activity

Many of our own testimonies may start this way (e.g. a life of sin, addiction, depression, etc.)

Two: Meeting with Jesus

All of this changed when Paul met Jesus

Paul realizes he was sinning and fighting against God (i.e. “kicking against the goads”)

Paul receives a calling (i.e. Apostle to the Gentiles)

From Darkness to light: new understanding on life

From Satan to God: new allegiance

Forgiveness of sins: freedom from past life

Place among the saints: freedom toward new life

Many testimonies follow this pattern as well

Jesus encounter

Conviction of Sin

Calling

Receive a new kind of life

Three: Obedience to Jesus

Paul’s testimony doesn’t stop at the Damascus road, it keeps going

Paul now continues to live out his call

Testimony, then, is not a single life event, but a life long journey

Many testimonies stop at meeting Jesus, but they need to keep on to walking with Jesus

When many of us think of “testimony” we think this means “conversion story”, but this is only part of what Paul means by it

Your Christian testimony is not just the one time you met Jesus, it’s your entire life.

A Living Testimony

We must have a living Testimony.

What landed Paul before Agrippa was not the Damascus road experience, rather it was what he did with his life after that experience

Likewise, Paul’s vision was not what convinced Agrippa of his innocence, but Paul’s obedience to that vision

This is why testimony will often lead to Jail, and even sometimes to death

Being a living testimony means actually being obedient to that meeting with Christ in your life, i.e. it means living like Jesus is Lord

If we live like Jesus is Lord, then we should know that Lord Jesus often butts heads with other “lords”

Shane Claiborne story

If we live a life of holy love, holy justice, and holy mercy, we will inevitably come into conflict with a world that values none of those things.

The power of Christian testimony is in a transformed life, a life that is now unafraid to do what is right and good, even if it means hardship for us.

Many testimonies sound like prosperity gospel today

Paul’s testimony was “Jesus changed my heart”, but also “Jesus got me sent me to jail”.

What is your testimony? Is it a story about how you once encountered Jesus, or is it something you’re still living to this day?