Promises about persecution?
No!! Who wants to hear about promises about being persecution?
The past three weeks, I have shared some promises that we can meditate on when we are feeling discouraged. This past year, there have been many times when the news has been gloomy, people have been sick, and it is tempting to take our eyes off of God and focus on our problems.
When we feel down or if we are upset, we always need to turn to God and remember what He has promised.
The promises we shared the past three weeks are the following:
- For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee. Isaiah 41:13
- For this God is our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death. Psalm 48:14
- Is any thing too hard for the Lord? Genesis 18:14a
- For with God nothing shall be impossible. Luke 1:37
- Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? Genesis 18:25c
- And the Lord, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed. Deuteronomy 31:8
- The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth. Psalm 145:18
- For the Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. Psalm 84:11
- The Lord is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him. Nahum 1:7
- And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 2 Corinthians 12:9
- Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. John 14:27
- But the Lord is faithful, who will strengthen you and will keep you from evil. 2 Thessalonians 3:3
- But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. Isaiah 40:31
However, there are also promises about suffering persecution if you are living godly, righteous lives.
Look at this verse:
Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. 2 Timothy 3:12
Here, God promises that if we live godly, we shall suffer persecution. Up until recent days, many Americans have not suffered persecution for living godly. Some people have lost jobs for not compromising their beliefs. Some people may have been mocked, but most of us have not faced the persecution that Paul and Timothy had to face in Bible times.
But we never know when that may change. Already, there are rumblings about how saying that certain lifestyles are sinful will be considered “hate speech” and will be censored and laws condemning such speech are on the horizon.
But should we be surprised about this happening? No, for when we live godly, we will live contrary to a godless culture — even if those people in a godless culture say they are God-followers. We know that people cannot be true Christians (or little Christs) if they purposefully love and support choices that go against God’s Word. God Himself says this in His Word:
- Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 1 John 2:15
- The Lord is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous. Proverbs 15:29
- Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Isaiah 5:20
But instead of being upset that we may be persecuted, God tells us that we should rejoice!
That seems impossible. Who would be able to rejoice about being persecuted? Yet, Jesus told His disciples to rejoice when they were persecuted, slandered, and hated if it was done for His sake. And He also gave them a promise. He told them they would be blessed and they would have a great reward in heaven.
Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. Matthew 5:11-12
We know all of the apostles suffered persecution — and most of them were martyred for their faith! This was not just a dramatic speech. This was Jesus preparing His disciples for what was to come.
Peter, who history says was martyred upside down on a cross because he did not think himself worthy to die as Jesus had died, also told us to expect persecution:
Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified. I Peter 4:12-14
Here was a good thought on these verses:
“Beloved” marks the beginning of a new section of the letter (cf. 1 Pet. 2:11). Suffering is the norm for Christians, not a surprising exception. To suffer as a Christian is a call to rejoice as a disciple of Christ, and such joy is the prelude to the joy that is to come at the return of Christ (when his glory is revealed).
Crossway
These may not seem like comforting promises. Yet they should be. When we are persecuted for righteousness sake, then this fact assures us of many truths:
- We know we are His. (John 15:18-20)
- We know we are living godly. (2 Timothy 3:12)
- We know that we have an eternal home. (Matthew 5:10-12)
- We know that we are bringing glory to God. (I Peter 4:12-14)
- We know that His grace is sufficient. (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)
- We know that we are becoming more like Christ who was also persecuted for righteousness sake:
If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. John 15:18-20
So when we see evil being glorified and the righteous being scorned — don’t despair! God has said this will happen. He says we should live godly and that when we do, we should expect persecution. When we receive that persecution, we should rejoice. We are in good company. The righteous prophets, the apostles, and Jesus Himself were all persecuted for righteousness’ sake. They are all in heaven now, and we will join them one day.
Let’s not be ashamed when we reach our eternal home. Let us come with joy knowing that we were faithful to the One who paid the ultimate price to rescue us from our sins. He alone is Who we need to worry about pleasing. The wicked will get their punishment. Until then, let us join together in prayer that many would come to repentance, let us strive to live holy lives, and let us seek to bring our Savior glory in everything we do and say.
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- Do NOT link up recipes, reviews, giveaways, diy, or crafts.
- Link up to three posts that have not been linked up to this linky previously!
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If you link up, we would love if you put this button somewhere on your blog (sidebar, post, or party page) or provide a text link so that others can also find these great posts.
