The Christian Life // The Persecuted

The Christian Life // The Persecuted

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 (Matthew 5:10-12).

What is Persecution? //

To persecute literally means to put to flight. The idea here is that there is such a mistreatment of these Christian individuals that their lives are at risk and they have to flee. Now we must ask ourselves, why does this concern us? To even mention persecution in a Western Christian setting seems silly. Have you been poked fun at for your Christian beliefs? Have you suffered for you Christian stance? At most, we may see a little ridicule from classmates or co-workers but we hardly understand the reality of persecution…yet.

Persecution, however, is a contemporary issue. If you are to assess the global situation, persecution is far greater in this moment than in other period of time. Here are the staggering facts by the numbers:
* More than 43 million Christians have been killed for their faith since the crucifixion of Jesus.
* It's been estimated that more Christians have been martyred in the 20th Century than in all the prior 1,900 years combined.
* There have been more than 26 million documented cases of martyrdom in this century alone.
* More than 200 million Christians in over 60 nations face persecution each day, 60% of these are children.
* 150,000 to 165,000 are martyred each year.

The best way that I can show you that this applies to us is from the Bible. First, there are always going to be things in the Bible that our experiences disagree with. You have to understand that God’s Word is more authoritative than our experience. So, we take Him at His Word. Second the Bible makes very clear that persecution in the life of the believer should be viewed as normal. “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed” (1 Peter 4:12-13). Peter is saying here that suffering should be anticipated, normative, and rejoiced over. Suffering persecution because of righteousness sake is a mark of true Christianity. Further, Paul gives a devastating and sweeping remark about persecution: “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Timothy 3:12). That is why Don Carson says, “This final beatitude becomes one of the most searching of all of them, and binds up the rest; for if the disciple of Jesus never experiences any persecution at all, it may fairly be asked where righteousness is being displayed in his life.” The true Christian should be prepared to suffer for the Name’s sake and rejoice that they are counted worthy. That is why Jesus prepares us for it by reminding us that persecution is a mark of genuine Christianity. We stated before that the beatitudes list eight characteristics of the Christian that has been born again. Persecution is the eight and final mark of the true Christian.

How do we Respond to Persecution? //

Persecution for righteousness sake should not be confused with persecution of any other form. It is possible to be persecuted for many other reasons and we should not rejoice over those trials. For instance, Christians can have a less than desirable attitudes and rub others wrong. They can also be obnoxious or over-the-top. Christians can even be un-compliant with rules, regulations, or social norms. In these cases any persecution is deserved and warranted. We do not want to rejoice in this unnecessary offensiveness. I love to constantly remind myself that I am a missionary to our culture. I should be willing to be flexible in whatever ways necessary to reach the culture that I am in—as long as I do not bend or break God’s clearly defined borders. Sometimes popular “Christian culture” does the exact opposite. Sometimes Christians oppose the culture for the sake of opposition. This is not persecution on account of righteousness, it is persecution on account of arrogance.

Jesus qualifies the blessing with the statement, “because of righteousness.” Jesus wants to be clear that what He is commending is a person who hungers and thirst for righteousness and actually lives it out. Righteousness is the act of being right with God. It means that the person lives the way that God intends. It implies that the person is living a holy and godly life. This godly life will be in opposition to the ways of the world. The Kingdom of God is backwards from the world. It is like oil and water; the two do not mix. No matter what, they are distinguishable from one another. The Christian will always be unique in this world. He is called an alien and stranger here. That is why persecution is a reality, because the Christian is operating on a different set of values and those values are offensive.

Persecution is uniquely tied to Christ. “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me” (Matthew 5:11 emphasis added). In addition to having a different set of values, we also have a different object of affection—namely, Christ. We love Christ for a multitude of reasons one of which is his justifying work on the cross. The Cross is foolishness and offensive. We must remember that in a world that justifies itself, humility will be hated. Everyone is trying to prove themselves in some way. We either prove ourselves by being very good or being very bad. We can either keep the moral commands of our society—religion—or we can blatantly break them—disobedience. But Christians live a third way. Christians are justified by the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. They are justified by the grace of God apart from works so that no one may boast. Pride causes us to desire a boast. We want to prove that we are good people. We want to prove that God owes us eternity. So long as we associate with this third way—the Jesus way—we will always be misunderstood and mistreated. Paul understood this well when he said; “For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are an aroma that brings death; to the other, an aroma that brings life. And who is equal to such a task?” (2 Corinthians 2:15-16). We are the pleasant fragrance of Christ to those being saved… but we are the stench of death to others. We have to recognize that associating ourselves with Christ means that we will be offensive to all. Jesus said, “if the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first” (John 15:18).

Rejoicing //

Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you (Matthew 5: 12).
Gary Smalley has written a book called Love Languages. In it he explains how each of us has a primary language in which we receive and communicate love to one another. Mine is words of affirmation. This means that when someone pays me a compliment or says something nice or positive, I feel loved. It can be small and insignificant but to me, it’s huge. But Smalley points out that the negative is true regarding love languages. So, I have found that criticism is devastating. I once received a critical letter regarding my ministry and my character. I was crushed. So how is it, that Christ calls me to rejoice when others say all kinds of evil against me? The answer is caring more what God thinks than what others think. “Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ” (Galatians 1:10). When we are persecuted for righteousness sake we are saying that we care more about God’s opinion than man’s.

Our response to persecution should be that of rejoicing. It is counter intuitive to think that persecution should lead to rejoicing but there is a principle to be learned here: Christ is the treasure, He is the Reward. This may not have been immediately recognized by the disciples, but later the Apostles crystallized this concept. “[The religious leaders] called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name” (Acts 5:40,41) The Apostles knew that suffering for Christ was an honor because His honor is far more valuable than their comfort. Paul knew this concept intimately. He suffered greatly for the Name’s sake yet said things like this; “For our light and momentary troubles[our persecutions] are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all” (2 Corinthians 4:17). No matter what we are currently going through, Christ is worth it. Paul again says; “What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ” (Philippians 3:8). Paul knew that Christ was the ultimate treasure and that even the comforts, pleasures, and benefits of this world were worth sacrificing to gain Christ. Paul takes it even a step further and desires persecutions: “I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead” (Philippians 3:10,11). Of all people, Paul knew persecution. He was in prison for his faith on several occasions. He was also beaten, shipwrecked and went through all sorts of hardships on account Christ. Yet, he wants to more intimately know Jesus by participating in suffering for Him. Peter too tells us that we should suffer for righteousness sake; “To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps” (1 Peter 2:21). And the writer to the Hebrews noted the disciples willingness to suffer for Christ; “You suffered along with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions. So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded” (Hebrews 10:34,35).

Persecution is a pathway to deeper experiences of Christ. First, persecution teaches us things that we could learn no other way. It teaches us holiness, righteousness, and obedience. Persecution weans us from the love of the world and reminds us that Christ is more precious.

Persecution, then, aligns us with a rich heritage of people that were willing to suffer for God’s sake. Jesus says, great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets before you. Prophets were men who spoke on God’s behalf.

Are you ready for it? //

Finally, we must ask ourselves if we believe that it will be worth it? Are we willing to associate ourselves with Christ even if it could cost us? Let me close with this story from Richard Wurmbrant’s diary:

“I remember my last confirmation class before I left Romania. I took a group of ten to fifteen boys and girls on a Sunday morning, not to church, but to the zoo. Before the cage of lions I told them, “Your forefathers in faith were thrown before such wild beasts for their faith. Know that you also will have to suffer. You will not be thrown before lions, but you will have to do with men who would be much worse than lions. Decide here and now if you wish to pledge allegiance to Christ.” They had tears in their eyes when they said yes.

The Christian Life // The Blessed People

The Christian Life // The Blessed People
Chapter 1
Poor in Spirit // theirs is the kingdom of heaven

Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven

In a similar sermon in Luke chapter six, Jesus leaves out “in spirit.” So in one sense it is true to say that the poor are blessed. Literally, blessed are those in poverty. The reason why this is true is because the poor are far more likely to have a relationship with God. Because of their material need, they are in constant prayer to God—Asking Him for daily bread, asking Him for tuition for the children, for clothes, and for safety from desperate people that could hurt or steal from them. The rich, on the other hand, can easily live as if God doesn’t exist.

This is unsettling but it is important to ask ourselves… Is it possible that we can go a whole day without even a thought about God? What about a whole week? The truth is we are rich enough that we do not have desperation for God to provide. I know where food will come from and I know that I have a place to stay. I do not worry about daily bread or daily provision. I’m fine. Or am I?
Jesus has a word of warning to us. Jesus says to the church in Laodicea; “You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see” (Rev 3:17-18). With riches come independence, pride, and arrogance. We operate without giving honor to God. But truth be told, there is no one that has what it takes within themselves to be spiritually rich. When we wrongly assume that we are spiritually rich Jesus reminds us that we are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. We are far worse than we can even imagine.

We are all spiritual beggars. No one is so godly. There is none righteous. Spiritual bankruptcy is the first step towards being crowned with eternal riches. When we recognize our position as wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked we are beginning to see the entry way to Salvation. Spiritual bankruptcy moves us to sorrow over our sins.


Those Who Mourn // are comforted

Blessed are those who mourn
for they will be comforted

When you see your self first as spiritual bankrupt, you not only see your need for a Savior, you also so how pitiful you are. If you were to encounter God today, two things would happen. First, you would see how incredibly holy He is. Second, you would become painfully aware of how unholy you are. At least that is how the Bible describes it. In Isaiah six one of the most holy men of the day got to see a vision of the throne. When he realized what he was seeing he cried out, “Woe to me! I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty” (Isaiah 6:5). Then God made a provision for his unholiness. In the same when we begin to see our sinfulness and mourn over it, we will be comforted because God has made a way for our sin to be dealt with. We are comforted because Christ took the discomfort on the cross. He was tortured so that we could be set free. By His wounds we are healed—soul healed.

Peter had a similar experience to Isaiah’s. Jesus entered his boat in Luke chapter 5 and instructed them to let down the nets. There was such a miraculous catch of fish that the boat began to sink. “When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!”” (Luke 5:8). But Jesus told him not to be afraid and essentially said, ‘from now on you are going to be like me—you will be a fisher of men.’ Peter was staggered by the authority and holiness of Christ. His initial instinct was, “I am sinful.” We can be sure that if we truly experience the Risen Christ we will be very aware of our sinfulness. And with it there will be mourning. But, Christ promises comfort to those that mourn. If we shed tears of repentance Christ will comfort us with showers of His blessings.

We experience these blessing both now and forever. Those that are mournful of their sinfulness can receive immediate comfort at the cross of Christ. The cross is the place where Christ was punished and cursed for our sin. We go there to remind ourselves, in the words of John Newton, “I am a great sinner, but Christ is a greater savior.” This brings us comfort. But we also look forward to an eternal comfort. One day Christ will come and wipe away every tear and there will be no more death or suffering or mourning. Come Jesus.


The Meek // will inherit the earth

Blessed are the meek
for they will inherit the earth

Meek is a word that has fallen on bad times. We equate meekness with being spineless. We tend to think that what Jesus is teaching is that Christians are to be door mats that the world walks on. In some ways Christians will be walked on through persecution and other forms of mistreatment. However, Jesus is teaching something far greater than simply choosing to be mistreated. To be biblically meek is a desirable thing. At its core, meekness has to do with humility. Meekness is a form of humility that rightly assesses one’s relationship to God and others. Meek people trust that God is sovereign over all. No matter what the circumstance are, the meek declare that God is in control and He is good.

Moses was considered the meekest man alive. He knew that God was in control and that gave Moses an insane amount of bold humility. He was able to look to the best interest of others—even those that had ill-will towards him. He knew that God had his back so he was confident even when things weren’t going well. Do you have that sort of outlook on life? Are you able to say that God is good, and just, and for you? Do you have the ability to say that even if your world is falling down around you? For instance do you know that God is good even if you get a life-threatening disease? Or if you lose a loved one? A meek person is able to handle the realities of life in a fallen world because they see that God is in control. When someone mistreats them they know that vengeance belongs to God (Romans 12:19). In other words, God will settle all accounts in the end so the meek can put aside grudges and trust God’s justice. Does your character reflect meekness?

The meek will inherit the earth. God sees fit to bless those that are gently disposed and trusting in Him, to inherit the earth. While others are jocking for power, prestige, and position, the meek submit to authority (Romans 13). This may appear to have no benefits but in God’s economy the payoff is huge. He will ultimately bless those who entrust their lives and care to Him.


Those Hungry for Righteousness // they get their fill

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness
for they will be filled

When you see yourself as a sinner saved by grace experiencing repentance and forgiveness, you can’t help but crave more. The Christian that has experienced salvation is not satisfied with mediocrity in righteousness. When you taste in see that the Lord is good, you want more. Like a person who has tasted the best steak will quickly bring his friends back and order it again. The same is true with the Christian. They crave more righteousness. They desire more holiness and more of God’s will for their lives. They cannot be satisfied by partial obedience and partial holiness. They want what God wants.

Does this sound like you? Are you striving after God’s desire for your life? Are you pursuing holiness with the same effort that you pursue your other ventures? Is righteousness your constant resolution? The thing that you continually plan for and strive after?

The blessing associated with this heart-attitude is that you get exactly what you want. Those that crave righteousness will get their fill. We must be careful to distinguish that this righteousness is not the same as the Pharisees and teachers of the law. They love to be patted on the back for their do-good-ing. The righteousness that we get as Christian’s, is the righteousness of Christ. The more we hunger and thirst for it, the more we experience it. Do you desire the righteousness of Christ? Do you think about it? Pursue it? Need it?


The Merciful // are shown mercy

Blessed are the merciful
for they will be shown mercy

A Christian is a person that knows that they have received mercy from God. It becomes natural then to extend mercy to others. God promises to continue the cycle by blessing you with mercy. This has been a tough one for me to totally get. For me it is a litmus test that shows how many degrees of religion I am living in. When you are religious you feel that you have earned your spot. So you look at others with contempt and anger. You judge others. You view yourself as better than them.
Christians should be people that are extremely merciful. They should be gracious and kind towards others—even people with severely unchristian attitudes and actions. We each are sinners saved by grace. What is to say that God cannot extend the same supernatural forgiveness to someone else as He did to us? So the person at school that we do not agree with becomes an object of mercy instead of an object of hatred. The person at work that never pulls their load and causes more problems for you becomes a cherished human instead of a dirty pagan. Christian are merciful. The religious are spiteful.

Christians want to see others blessed so they serve and bless. Christians step in to show mercy to others. We look for ways to mercifully minister to others. Whether that is leading a Sunday school class or packaging food for others in need. Christians should be generous with their time, their money, and themselves. God promises to continue to show us mercy when we are merciful to others.


The Pure in Heart // see God

Blessed are the pure in heart
for they will see God

Those that have experienced sorrow over sin, repentance, forgiveness, and righteousness are pure in heart. This is the most exceptional of all the blessings. It is the promise of seeing God. To have God’s face shine on you was a colossal blessing. To see His face was unthinkable. Christ is saying that those who are pure in heart will look on God. The Psalmist rightly contemplates; “Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? Who shall stand in his holy place? He whose has clean hands and a pure heart” (Psalm 24:3). When we are saved by faith in Christ we are declared pure. Christ washes us and we have the promise of seeing God.

Here is a good way to know if these blessings are gaining traction in your heart, do you want to see God? Are you beginning to see the magnitude of His beauty and holiness? Do you want to look on Him? Do you hope that one day He will look on you? Blessed are the pure in heart, because one day they will see God.


The Peacemakers // sons of God

Blessed are the peacemakers
for they shall be called sons of God

Peacemaker is a character trait of God Himself. He is making peace with rebels like you and I through the cross of Christ. Now the person who has participated in Salvation begins to take on the Character of God. Blessed are those who make peace. Essentially the Christian is able to step into situations and diffuse hostility. First, they are concerned with drawing other rebels into peaceful terms with the King. Christians tell others of the incredible offer and provision that King Jesus has made. They show others the Gospel by talking about it and living it. They care for the eternal wellbeing of their friends so they share the peace that has been made through Jesus.

On another level, Christians make peace with others. A Christian cannot live at odds with others and feel the smile of God. Christians are motivated to forgive others as Christ has forgiven them. They also are quick to see that the flaws of others are very similar to their own flaws. So they are more charitable when people let them down. They make peace not war with people. So they are called children of God.
Finally, Christians make peace between people. A Christian makes peace by stepping into relationships and mediating. A Christian is not comfortable with standing far off and watching friendships dissolve and marriages explode. Christians are compelled to love others and help others. They are able to make peace as they point people to forgiveness and reconciliation. Ultimately, the Christian points people to Christ who is the Prince of Peace. Christ is the Great remedy. Therefore, the Christian leads others to Him.

Are you characteristically a peacemaker? Do you love and desire peace for others?


The Persecuted // theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven

If you have tracked with me this far, you have seen that the Christian Life operates on a different plane from the world. In some ways the Christian Life is a blessing to the world as people begin to realize and live the way that God created them to. This can bring harmony. But, the Christian life also brings discord. The blessed ones—Christians—are so different from others that they are offensive. Righteousness rubs the wicked wrong. Jesus was murdered because of His otherness. He was so uniquely different and righteous that the religious leaders couldn’t stand Him.

In the same way Christians will be hated for their righteousness. It is part and parcel of kingdom life. This is not our home. We are not to be at total rest as we walk through this sin-marked land. There will be times when we will be misunderstood and mistreated on account of righteousness. At that point we have to trust that God is good and we will be rewarded. Never lose sight that God will one day grant you an eternal inheritance that will far outweigh your present suffering (Romans 8:18).


The Blessed Ones //

Jesus is offering you this incredible blessing. He is declaring blessing not on the religiously superior, but on the lowly, despised, and mistreated. He is offering you a position in His kingdom and calling you to the Christian Life. Are you willing to submit to His salvation, His Kingship, and His ways? The key to this life is to respond to the Great Preacher giving this message. The One who is declaring the blessings is the One with authority to give them. He now freely extends them to you, are you ready for the Christian Life?

The Christian Life //

I'm sorry that I haven't been that industrious on the blog lately... I'm working on a bible study/book for our high school students called The Christian Life//

Here's the unedited intro:

Introduction //

The Gospel
The Sermon on the Mount can be a troubling message to some. Jesus takes the commandments that religious people try so hard to manage, and He ratchets them up to an insane level. We are left either feeling like the principles are unattainable, or at least unachievable in this life. But, that is to miss the crux of the message. Jesus is not teaching morality and asking us to live up to the mark, he is teaching perfection. “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly father is perfect” (5:48). And He is teaching a supernatural righteousness. “Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven” (5:20). The Pharisees and teachers of the law were in full-time training for righteousness. To surpass them would take more than simple hard work—it would take a miracle.

The miracle that it takes to fulfill the sermon is found in the One delivering the message. The only way to be perfect and to have a supernatural righteousness is to borrow it from elsewhere. The One who is delivering the message is the source of the Christian’s life. And He gives us His righteousness, His Life, New Birth.

The New Birth is described in Jesus’ list of eight characteristics or beatitudes. The first four show us the inward work of getting a new heart and the final four show us how that changes the attitudes and behaviors of the Christian. Blessed are the poor in spirit, the mourners, the meek, those who hunger for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, and the persecuted. But Jesus could have said, “blessed are those who are Christians,” for this is a descriptive list of those that have experienced salvation. From that point on, the rest of the message unpacks The Christian Life for us. But we must first see that Jesus is calling us to an authentic Christianity and not superficial obedience.

Religion vs. The Gospel
What Christ desires of us is a saving relationship with Him. Anything less is considered sub-par. Even if our outward behaviors look “christian” we must be careful that our hearts are changed and we are operating out of love for God. It is not enough to simply do the right thing. We need to do the right thing for the right reasons. We need to serve God for the right motives. Just like I need to serve my wife for the right motive. My wife’s love language is quality time. It can be difficult to make sure that I give her quality time because she is a nurse that works nights. We are on opposite schedules and work in different cities. So, I often try to manage my time with an excel spreadsheet. I lay out my week and plug in ministry time, time with friends, time with family, and time with Ash. But, Ashley doesn’t simply want me to block-off time for her… she wants me to want to spend time with her. Do you see the difference? I can give Ash time out of duty, or I can give her time because I love her and want to be with her. In the same way we can serve God out of duty, or we can love Him and want what He wants. Jesus teaches us this in His sermon. He contrasts the difference between religious service and Christian service. It has been noted that the summary of the whole sermon is that there are two ways to live: Religion or Christianity. One way is poisonous and treacherous, the other is life-giving and good. And, these two ways are found all over the whole message. We will see this as we journey together.

First Theological… Then Ethical
The Sermon on the Mount shows us what it means to be a Christian. Then, it draws out the implications of being a Christian. It is descriptive not prescriptive. This is a key to understanding the Bible and Christian living. In seminary they call this “imperative vs. indicative.” God always tells you who you are in Christ before He commands you to do something. He declares who you are then He asks you to act. This order is found all over the New Testament. Survey many of the New Testament letters and you will see this pattern. The first two thirds of the letters are primarily theological. Then, the last third is typically ethical. It is first theological then second ethical. In this sermon, Jesus first tells us who we are then he tells us what we should do. You are blessed of God because of His compassion, provision, and salvation…. Now live like a Christian. This may seem insignificant but it is huge. People that do not see their relationship with God as one that has been “blessed” to them, typically try to earn God’s favor. This strategy involves trying very hard to live out the commands of God to earn a right relationship with Him. In essence, this way of life causes you try to outweigh your bad by doing good. The hope is that at some point the good outweighs the bad and then God owes blessing. Jesus shows us that this mindset is not only wrong but toxic. The blessings come before the behavior. And to switch the order is to fall in line with the religious group that eventually killed Jesus. The Pharisees and teachers of law had mastered the commands of God, but they were appalled at the economy of salvation. God gifts those that do not deserve it. When we feel we have to achieve goodness through giving, praying, forgiving, and the like, we are attempting self-salvation. But, Christ shows us that we are blessed when we see our need of a savior, repent of sin, and experience heart change. The giving, praying, and forgiving all flow from the initial blessing. This is a radical view of the Christian life.