Word of Salvation – Vol. 36 No. 32 – August 1991
Persecution
Sermon by Rev. S. Voorwinde on Matthew 5:10-12
Reading: John 15:8-16:4; Acts 5:29-42
Introduction
‘Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.’
About 20 years ago I spent a weekend in Grand Rapids, Michigan. As many of you know, it’s the Jerusalem of Reformed Christianity in the United States today. On almost every street corner you have either a Reformed church or a Christian Reformed Church. And on the Sunday afternoon I was able to attend a young people’s Bible study group that was going through 1Peter. And that whole letter of Peter’s is really an explanation of this last Beatitude. It’s all about persecution and Christian suffering. And as those young people were reading about the ‘fiery trails’ that Peter was talking about, one of them made this remark: ‘Compared to those early Christians we’ve really got it made, haven’t we?’ And the whole group nodded their approval. But that attitude raises a question in my mind, a question that is raised by the hymn that was in the Psalter Hymnal but is no longer in the BoW:
Must I be carried to the skies
On flowery beds of ease,
While others fought to win the prize
And sailed through bloody seas?
Are there no foes for me to face?
Must I not stern the flood?
Is this vile world a friend to grace,
To help me on to God? (Hymn 465:2,3).
In other words is it possible to be persecuted and to suffer as a Christian if you live in the Bible belt of Grand Rapids, Michigan, or even if you live in Geelong which one visitor described as ‘the most Christian city in Victoria”? Is it possible to be persecuted for Christ’s sake in the relative safety and ease of countries like Australia, America and Western Europe?
And the answer to that of course depends on how you define persecution. Obviously there are countries where people are imprisoned for their faith or where they are martyred. And there were times when Christians suffered in concentration camps or were burned at the stake. Persecution can be a very violent thing. But it can also come in more subtle forms – not as violent but just as real. A man may lose his job. Or he may be persecuted by sneering and jeering and laughter as he enters a room. Or it may take the form of a kind of whispering campaign. The persecution that Jesus refers to in vs.11 wasn’t violent but it still hurt: ‘Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.’
Surely insults and slander can hurt just as much as kicks and blows. There is no end to the ways in which the persecuted may suffer.
So you can suffer persecution whether you live in Australia or America or whether you live in China or Iran or Vietnam. When you live in this world, human nature is the same and Jesus’ teaching is the same. If you are a Christian then persecution will be inevitable. This is one of the characteristics of the Christian every bit as much as meekness, mercy, peacemaking and hungering and thirsting for righteousness. For a Christian persecution in unavoidable.
But let me hasten to add that perhaps there is no Beatitude where we have to be quite so careful. There is no Beatitude that is so liable to misconstruction and misunderstanding. And there is certainly no Beatitude that has been so frequently misunderstood and miss-applied. So today I want to be very careful and proceed very, very cautiously, and again I want to do basically three things:
1. To show what this Beatitude does not mean.
2. To define and illustrate Biblical persecution.
3. To apply this to our present situation.
So then three things:
1. What it does not mean.
2. What it does mean.
3. How it applies.
To begin with then, I want to devote a whole point to a set of negatives. Maybe that’s unusual but it shows how careful we have to be. And to be quite frank with you I must confess that none of what I say here is original. I have borrowed all these negatives from Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones’ book on the Sermon on the Mount. What he says I believe is very helpful so I have made no attempt to be original.
For a start let us remember that Jesus says: ‘Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake.
It does not say: Blessed are those who are persecuted because they are objectionable.
It does not say: Blessed are those who are having a hard time in their Christian life because they are being difficult.
It does not say: ‘Blessed are those who are being persecuted as Christians because they are seriously lacking in wisdom and are really foolish and unwise in what they regard as being their testimony.’
A number of years ago I read the story of a woman who once gave her testimony, and when she got up to speak this is what she said: ‘Once I was a withered branch, but now I’m a blooming Christian.’
Well, if that’s how you give your testimony you can expect a bit of ridicule. Obviously you get the humour but you shouldn’t miss the point. So often there are Christian people who are suffering mild persecution simply because of their own foolishness, because of something either in themselves or in what they are doing.
And then again Jesus didn’t say: ‘Blessed are the persecuted because they are fanatical or over-zealous.’ Fanaticism can lead to persecution, but fanaticism is never commended in the N.T. Again we must be careful that we do not bring unnecessary suffering upon ourselves. We are to be ‘wise as serpents and harmless as doves.’
The next negative comes from an entirely different category. This text surely doesn’t even mean: ‘Blessed are those who are persecuted for a cause.’ There is a difference between being persecuted for righteousness’ sake and being persecuted for a cause. Often the two do become one, and many of the great martyrs and confessors of the church were at one and the same time suffering for righteousness’ sake and for a cause. But it does not mean that the two are always identical. Perhaps the events in Poland over the last decade are a good illustration. Obviously Christians in that country have suffered. But were they suffering for Christ’s sake or for the sake of the Solidarity Union? Were they being persecuted for righteousness or for a cause? These are difficult questions. In fact they can only be answered by the people directly involved. We cannot answer those questions. Still there is an important point to bear in mind and here I want to quote Dr. Lloyd-Jones directly:
‘If you and I begin to mix our religion and politics, then we must not be surprised if we receive persecution. But I suggest that it will not of necessity be persecution for righteousness’ sake… I am not saying that a man should not stand for his political principles; I am simply reminding you that the promise attached to this Beatitude does not apply to that.’ (p.132).
Finally I have just one more negative. This Beatitude does not even say: ‘Blessed are those who are persecuted for being good, or noble, or self-sacrificing. This Beatitude does not say we are blessed if we suffer for being good or noble, for the simple reason that you probably won’t be persecuted for being good. And I doubt very much that you will ever be persecuted for being noble. As a matter of fact the world generally admires and praises the good and the noble. It only persecutes the righteous.
So then what does it mean to be persecuted for righteousness’ sake? What is persecution in the Biblical sense? Now that we have seen what it does not mean, our next question is what it does mean. What does this Beatitude mean?
Let me put it like this. Being righteous, practising righteousness, really means being like the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake are persecuted for being like Him. And what’s more, those who are like Him will always be persecuted. Remember the words of Jesus we read in John 15:
‘If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember the words that I spoke to you: “No servant is greater than his master”. If they persecuted me they will also persecute you.’ (vss.18- 20).
I know that for most of us these words don’t go down very well. They stick like a bone in your throat. By nature we all love to be loved and we hate to be hated. So this kind of preaching rubs us the wrong way. It calls upon us to stand apart, to be different, and sometimes to be isolated or lonely. A few weeks’ ago it was our delight to witness two young people professing their faith. And when they professed their faith they were not only saying ‘yes’ to the salvation that is through Jesus, but they were also saying ‘yes’ to the suffering that is for Jesus. It’s inevitable, it’s unavoidable that the two should go together – salvation and suffering go hand in hand. As Paul said to Timothy: ‘Everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted’ (2Tim.3:12).
You see, it’s a categorical statement. There are no if’s or but’s. There are no qualifications: ‘Everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.’ This last Beatitude is the most searching of all. Are you suffering persecution? That’s the story of the righteous down the ages. At the very dawn of history there was Abel who was persecuted by his brother Cain. And what was the motive for that murder? We don’t have to guess because the Bible tells us.
1John 3:12: ‘Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous.’
Abel was the prototype of all those who were to be persecuted for righteousness’ sake. He was murdered for the simple reason that he was righteous.
And think of others in the Old Testament who suffered persecution. Think of all that Moses went through or what David suffered at the hands of Saul. And then there was Jeremiah in a muddy dungeon and Daniel in the lion’s den. These men were persecuted not because they were difficult or over-zealous, but simply because they were righteous.
In the New Testament we find exactly the same thing. Think of the apostles and the suffering they had to endure. But, of course, the supreme example is our Lord Himself. Here He is in His utter, absolute perfection. Never was there anyone so gentle and so kind. But look at what happened to Him. By His righteousness He exposed the world for what it was. He exposed the religious hypocrites of His day for what they were. And all they could do was to cry out:
‘Away with Him! Away with Him! Crucify Him! Crucify Him!’
That’s where His righteousness got Him – on a cross between two criminals. How strange! How ironical! And yet how revealing! The world just couldn’t cope with a perfect human being. Here was someone who was absolutely righteous and people simply couldn’t handle it so they tried to get rid of Him. What a tragic reflection on human nature! Someone shows up our wickedness so He gets exterminated.
But the moment of man’s greatest misery is also the moment of God’s greatest glory. The crucifixion of Christ was both the worst event and the best event that ever happened in the history of the human race.
‘Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.’
Why? Is it because of their suffering? Do they deserve heaven because they suffered for it? No, it was because Jesus was persecuted for righteousness’ sake that He opened the kingdom of heaven. If he had not been persecuted for righteousness’ sake, if He had not suffered the cross, then no amount of our suffering would have opened heaven for us.
So the persecuted are blessed not because they deserve heaven, but because they are going there. Persecution is a reminder to the Christian that he is going to heaven. As Jesus said: ‘Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven.’
So suffering and persecution have always been the lot of those who have followed their suffering Messiah. In the Book of Acts we find the apostles learning this lesson very quickly, and in their suffering they also knew what it was to rejoice and be glad. Think of that remarkable verse at the end of Acts 5:
“The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name’ (vs.41).
They suffered and then rejoiced. And so it has been down the centuries. That’s always been the paradox of the Christian life – joys and suffering, songs and tears, blessedness and mourning. Think of the early Christian martyrs. Think of the Reformers. Think of missionaries in our own times.
Suffering is the badge of true discipleship. The disciple is not above his master. Following Christ means suffering because He had to suffer. That is why Luther reckoned suffering among the marks of the true church. The Augsburg Confession, one of the Lutheran creeds, defines the church as the community of those ‘who are persecuted and martyred for the Gospel’s sake.’ Discipleship means allegiance to the suffering Christ, and it is therefore not at all surprising that Christians should be called upon to suffer. In fact, it is a joy and a token of his grace (Stott, p.53).
And now in my third main point I’d like to come to some specific application. And again I must ask the question: Are you suffering, or have you ever suffered, for righteousness’ sake?
How does it happen? The answer is simple because this is the last Beatitude. Are you a Beatitude man? Are you a Beatitude woman? Are you a Beatitude young person?
Are you poor in spirit?
Do you mourn?
Are you meek?
Do you hunger and thirst for righteousness?
Are you merciful?
Do you have a pure heart?
Are you a peacemaker?
How can you know? How can anyone be expected to understand himself so well that he can answer these questions?
Well, no one has that degree of self-understanding. Have you ever tried to give yourself a mark of 1-10 on meekness, or mercy or peacemaking? It just can’t be done. So Jesus gives us a very objective test. Are you being persecuted? You see, if you are living out the Beatitudes, if you’re a Christ- like person, if you’re truly righteous, you won’t necessarily win a popularity contest, but you’ll be persecuted. And when that persecution comes, you’ll be able to say:
‘Hey, I’m a Beatitude man, I’m a Beatitude woman. I must be a Christ-like and righteous person after all.’
There can be no greater proof that the Beatitudes are a living reality in your life. Therefore, my brother, my sister, rejoice and be exceedingly glad.
Maybe you find that this is a new and exciting way of thinking. But there is a danger I need to warn you of. There will be the temptation to go looking for persecution. But that of course misses the point. If you are truly righteous it will come. The righteous are persecuted because they are different. That was why the Scribes and Pharisees hated our Lord. There was something about Him that condemned them. He made their righteousness look very shabby. That was what they disliked.
The righteous may not say anything they do not condemn people with words. But just because they are what they are they condemn people. They make them feel unhappy and shrivel into nothing. That’s why they are hated and persecuted.
Do you know what it is to be persecuted for righteousness’ sake? To become like Christ you have to become light. Light always exposes darkness and therefore the darkness hates the light. You are not to be offensive. You are not to be foolish. You are not to be unwise. You are not even to parade the Christian faith. You are not to do anything that calls for persecution. But by just being like Christ you will find persecution becomes inevitable. And when that persecution comes, remember that in a sense you have the final proof of the fact that you are indeed a Christian and a citizen of the kingdom of heaven.
But there is another side to this coin as well. Jesus not only pronounces a blessing, but in Luke 6 He adds a ‘woe’ as well:
‘Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for that is how their fathers treated the false prophets.’ (vs.26).
And doesn’t all of this test our definition as to what the Christian is? Don’t we tend to think of the ideal Christian as someone who is nice and popular and easy to get on with?
And he never offends anybody? But if this last Beatitude is true, that is not necessarily the real Christian at all, because the real Christian is a man who is not praised by everybody. They did not praise Jesus Christ and they will never praise the man who is like Him. If you think you’re a Christian simply because you’re so popular and everyone likes you, then maybe it’s time to think again.
Conclusion
Brothers and sisters, the Beatitudes describe Christ and they also describe the Christian. In fact every Beatitude is for every Christian. How do you rate? If we do well we will be persecuted by the world. If we don’t do well we’ll probably be persecuting one another. There’s been plenty of that in church history and there’s a lesson to be learned. It seems that Christians always manage to get persecuted. If they are not persecuted by the world, they are perfectly capable of persecuting one another. And we don’t want any of that, do we?
AMEN