All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted
All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted
2 Timothy 3:12 Persecution of Christians happens every day, from martyrs dying for the faith in places like Iran and Pakistan to snarky comments from atheists on Facebook
"The Lapidation (stoning) of Saint Stephen", by Rembrandt, 1625
“Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”
2 Timothy 3:12 NASB1995
What is persecution? The dictionary defines it as “a program or campaign to exterminate, drive away, or subjugate a people because of their religion, race, or beliefs.” The early Christians were persecuted, with many of them becoming martyrs for Christ. For most of history, the Jews have been persecuted — the Holocaust of the 1930s-40s was just one of many attempts to exterminate the progenitors of the Christian faith.
Persecution comes in many forms, and it is still going strong in the 21st century. In many Muslim countries, publicly professing faith in Jesus Christ is considered blasphemy and is punishable by death. Persecution of Chinese Christians has escalated drastically in the 2020s, with “worship” of Chinese President Xi Jinping being mandated.
While that hasn’t happened in the USA and other traditionally Christian countries — yet — there are many people who absolutely despise those of us who believe (I know, I used to be one of them!). All it would take is a further deterioration in the political and social situation here and abroad, and Christians everywhere could be targeted not only for abuse, but their very lives threatened.
In fact, it may already be that bad. A 2019 report ordered by British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt described Christian persecution worldwide as being “at near genocide levels.”
A street preacher. Image from Christ Is All blog.
I had my Saul years. I used to enjoy mocking street preachers when I worked in downtown Denver, and doing horrible things like taking pocket testaments that were being handed out for free, then very pointedly tossing them into trash cans. Was I persecuting Christians? Yes. I wanted them to be a non-believer like me, subjugating them with a secular, worldly life. I thank God each and every day that I had my “road to Damascus” moment and saw the light of Jesus Christ.
This week, I saw a perfect example of the subtle type of Christian persecution we see in this and other countries. Barb and I have been taking part in what are called the “Conquerer Challenges”, a series of virtual exercise goals that one can participate in. Once you’ve worked out, walked, run, swum, or cycled a particular “distance” and enjoyed Google Street View images of the actual or virtual trail, you receive a medal. It’s a great incentive to exercise!
Well, this being Holy Week, the group behind the Conquerer Challenges introduced a new challenge called “The Jesus Trail”. This is a 39-mile walk from Nazareth to Capernaum, a rather light challenge, but one filled with historical and spiritual significance. Many people were thrilled to see the challenge — in fact, someone posted today that “The Jesus Trail is packed with people” who are all making their way through the distance. However, the comments left by others were dismaying to say the least. Here’s a sampling:
“This is such a beautiful medal! But I'm a very very convinced atheist - raised in a very catholic household, so the fact that religion was always forced down my throat, if I liked it or not, ruined that whole thing for me. So I couldn't stand to hang a medal in my home with "Jesus Trail" imprinted on it… I like the design of the medal very much. But the word Jesus is a negative trigger for me. It just rings the same bell as if I would put a cross up my wall.”
“Not a religious person, so will be giving this a pass”
“I hope that means you will cover other religions, too? Would be very interested in a Buddhist, Jewish, Hindu and Muslim challenge for balance...”
“I'm an atheist and would happily walk the Jesus trail, Buddha's journey, Zeus's path, or Ra's steps - it's not about the religion, but the real places where the fictional characters allegedly hung out.” (author’s emphasis)
Many of the really nasty comments are now gone, so the administrator for this Facebook group must have deleted them! It got so bad that the creators of this exercise challenge had to post a “disclaimer”:
“We understand that the inclusion of religion in our challenges may have caused some unease among our community members. Our top priority is to create an environment where everyone feels accepted and valued, regardless of their personal beliefs or cultural backgrounds. We would like to let you know that the Jesus Trail Virtual Challenge was initiated based on the immense interest and requests from our community members. Our objective was to highlight the stunning natural and cultural heritage of the Galilee region and offer an enjoyable and enriching experience for participants worldwide. We hope that our community members can appreciate the beauty and history of this area without any unintended offense.”
Fortunately, there were many others who came to the defense of Christianity. I had to agree wholeheartedly with this commenter:
“Wow, considering Jesus was always preaching peace & love, He sure gets a lot of hate mail, which is interesting. I can never understand how people are incapable of just scrolling past something that doesn’t agree with them.”
When Paul wrote this verse in his second epistle to Timothy around 65 AD, he described a time much like ours and cautioned Timothy with these words:
“For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these.”
2 Timothy 3:2-5 NASB1995
Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? We will be persecuted; of this, Paul had no doubt. It’s how we handle that persecution that is the big question. Are we willing to die for our faith as Stephen did, or will we deny Jesus? Ponder this question, as you might be called upon to make that decision sooner than you think.
Heaven On Wheels Daily Prayer:
Father, I know through these words of your servant Paul that I will suffer persecution if I live with godliness in Jesus Christ. I thank You that Your grace is powerful enough to repel any attack that the enemy of my soul can make, and that nothing can ever separate me from the love of God in Christ Jesus. In the name of my Savior Jesus Christ I pray, AMEN.