Persecution

June 12

I Kings 9-10

Psalm 71:9-16

Proverbs 15:24-26

Acts 8

Persecution

“Now Saul was in hearty agreement with putting him to death.  And on that day a great persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, and they were scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.  And some devout men buried Stephen and made loud lamentation over him.  But Saul began ravaging the church, entering house after house, and dragging off men and women, he was delivering them into prison.  Therefore, those who had been scattered went about, proclaiming the good news of the word.”  Acts 8:1-4 LSB

This was the beginning of how the gospel of Jesus was spread throughout the world.  It is interesting that God was using Saul (Paul) to accomplish His purposes even before He became a believer.  Verse 3 explains that after the stoning of Stephen, the first Christian martyr, Saul began to go house to house dragging people off to prison who were believers in Jesus.  As a result, people began to flee to other areas of Judea and Samaria and eventually throughout Europe and Asia.  Those who were scattered proclaimed the good news about Jesus to those areas.  If the church had not been persecuted, the gospel may not have spread as quickly.  It is amazing that the new believers didn’t run away and keep their mouths shut about their faith.  Instead they boldly told others about Jesus.  Saul thought at the time that throwing the believers in prison would stop the message from spreading, but it had the opposite effect.  It has been that way throughout the history of the church.  The more extreme the persecution and the more danger that is associated with telling people about Jesus, the faster it spreads and the more people come to faith.  it is also true that the easier it is to tell people about Jesus and the more acceptable it becomes to spread the good news, the more complacent people become resulting in fewer people coming to faith. 

Today, in China, North Korea, Iran and many other nations hostile to Christianity, the underground church is alive and well.  There are thousands of people coming to the Lord every year despite extreme persecution and danger to those who profess to be Christians.  In the United States and Europe, where freedom of religion is available, fewer and fewer people are believing because Christians are not actively sharing the good news about Jesus.  When believers suffer for their faith, their faith is strengthened leading to a deeper commitment.  When the church is persecuted, the believers come together to support each other giving them a sense of unity and shared purpose.  This creates a powerful witness to those around them that can lead to more opportunities to testify about the difference Jesus has made in their lives.  God’s faithfulness and the presence of the Holy Spirit is evident in the life of persecuted believers which often causes others to seek and find Jesus.  Persecution also creates an urgency to tell others because the time is short and the opportunities are rare.  Pray that we will not become complacent but will boldly tell others about Jesus while we are free to do so.