Good News Press - 6
The Blessings of Being Persecuted for the Cause of Christ Continued from Page 2
by Sean Gooding
So I ask: Are you ready? Am I
ready to suffer for the Lord? For
most of us the answer is more
worry for our children and wives.
If we die, so be it but we would
hate to see our loved one suffer
and by standing for the Lord we
put them in harm’s way.
of Jesus is nothing new and it is The nation of Israel hated
coming to North America.
Jeremiah; they hated his
words and actions. ZerubbaThe truth is for 2000 years—
bel was hated by the eneevery day somewhere in the
mies of Israel and they plotworld— someone has been suf- ted his death many times.
fering for naming the name of
Elijah was hated especially
Jesus. The attack on the people by Ahab and Jezebel. John
of the Lord has been full on for a the Baptist the last Old Tes“Blessed are those who are per- long time. It is now beginning to tament prophet was beheadsecuted for righteousness”
reach the shores of the “First
ed by Herod. For the Old
(verse 10).
World” and it is uncomfortable. Testament prophets, persecution was a part of their
It is important that we suffer for For the most part we still worthe right reasons. If we are arship freely in North America. Yet lives and often the reason
for their death.
rested for evil then our suffering in contrast to us here in North
is just. In Romans 13:1, we are America the BBC World News
Of course the ultimate persecuinstructed to be “subject to the
reported in November 2013 that tion came to our Lord and Savauthorities” as they are appoint- about 100,000 Christians die
ior who died for being a righted by God. However we are
each year under the category of eous man. The Pharisees hated
clearly taught in the book of
martyr. Time magazine reported this; they hated seeing true
Daniel that our submission to
in January 2014 that the number righteousness and godly living.
civil authority only goes as far
of “martyrs” had doubled from
They would rather kill off Jesus
as their submission to God’s au- 2012 -2013, the majority if these than repent and change their
thority.
happening in Syria.
lives, and this is the very attiWhen confronted with God’s law
vs. Man’s law we are always
called to obey God. There was
a time when obeying God’s law
was respected in the lost world
but as we move toward the return of the Lord, the respect for
God’s law and for those who
subject themselves to it is eroding.
Foxe’s Book of Martyrs is a
good resource for us to learn
about the sufferings that many
of our brothers and sisters endured for their belief in Christ.
There is another book called
Jesus Freaks put out by a band
named DC Talk. It gives an account of the suffering a lot of
martyrs. Suffering for the name
“For it is not you who speak, but
it is the Spirit of your Father who
speaks in you. Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will
rise up against parents and
cause them to be put to death.
You will be hated by all because
of My name, but it is the one
who has endured to the end
who will be saved.”
tude of the world today. They
would rather kill off the messengers of Jesus than humble
Your own enemies will be the
themselves and repent.
ones you love the most and who
claim to love you the most. This
Are you ready to suffer for the
will be hard to swallow for many.
Lord? I don’t know if I am, and So, are you ready to suffer for
each of us need to be ready in
the Lord? I ask the Lord to grant
the power of the Holy Spirit to
me the strength to be ready
suffer for the truth. We must de- when and if the time comes. I
pend on God to give us the
“Rejoice and be exceedingly
can’t do it in my own power and
power
to
suffer
and
to
endure
glad, for great is your reward in
neither can you.
heaven, for so they persecuted whatever comes our way. It is
will most often be talk, but if we Rejoice and be exceedingly
the prophets who were before
stay much longer on this fallen glad, for great is your reward in
you.”
planet the chance of true, hard heaven.
It is a reminder that suffering is core physical consequences for
www.mississaugamissionarybc.
to be expected in the work of
believing in Jesus is a reality.
com
the Kingdom and it happened to Here is another reminder from
the prophets whose writing was Jesus in Matthew 10:21-22:
missionarybaptistrecorded in the Old Testament.
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No one suffers for the Lord without reward. Those who have the
privilege of suffering for the Lord
are promised the kingdom of
heaven. In verse 12 of Matthew
goes on to bolster those that will
suffer by reminding them that
their reward will be great in
heaven: