FOLLOWERS OF JESUS have faced trials and persecution ever since he said “Come, follow me” to his first four disciples. (Mark. 1:16-20) Going with him has always meant leaving behind an earlier way of life and living. Walking in his footsteps has been marked, from earliest days until now, with the trials that come as we separate from former work associates, friends, even family members. Jesus warns, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:26) Paul reminds “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” (Eph. 4:22-24)
The journey from sinner to saint is long and at times very arduous. For most, old habits, whether of thought or emotion or bodily senses, at first seem difficult to leave behind. God’s motivation for us to become more like Jesus leads him to impose fatherly discipline as an instrument of his love. The Hebrews author quotes Proverbs: “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.” (Heb. 12:5-6, Prov. 3:11-12) And he reminds us, intentionally and inferentially, of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. “In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.” (Heb. 12:4) But this same author also records the persecution that early Christians faced, many of whom were Jewish converts who were maltreated, sometimes severely, by their former friends and relatives and by the synagogue leaders in their areas. “Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. 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.” (Heb. 10:30-34)
The Book of Hebrews was written by an unknown author, highly likely to a Jewish audience, and its ‘tabernacle’ terminology (cf. Heb. 8:2–5, 9:2–26) dates it to the mid 60’s, before the Roman destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem and the great diaspora that followed. The persecution that began after these times did indeed bring the widespread shedding of Christian blood, first to the A.N.E., and over two millenniums of time, to the entire world. *Martyrdom specifically for faith in Jesus extinguished the lives of approximately fourteen million people from A.D. 33–1900; in the twentieth century alone there were another twenty-six million. **In the first twenty years of the twenty-first century, a hundred-thousand Christians a year have been martyred, some two million in all.
People fortunate enough to live in modern first-world countries have little concept of Christian martyrdom as it takes place in third-world countries. The Christian aspect is downplayed and overshadowed by references to economic deprivation, famine, unstable governments, famine, and disease. The freedoms enjoyed by the first-world nations, primarily of the western democracies, are historically founded upon Christianity and its powerful influence extending from Rome as a world power out through modern western Europe and America.
The current Christian populations of this fading hegemony have not tasted personally of true persecution, but that blissful ignorance may be drawing to a close. The second quarter of the twenty-first century is showing powerful signs of the disintegration of true democracy and free speech with the rapid and pervasive rise of the ideological left in opposition to the ideological right. If we are wise enough to look at these issues, first historically and then biblically, we may develop a new understanding of the times in which we live and the reality of the issues that we face as Christians. Whether it be the policies and politics of Rome, or medieval kings, or the now-possible sunset of democracies, all have foundered on lack of unity; inevitably and inexorably, the collapse has come from two primary influences—syncretism, and unsound fiscal policies. Syncretism was Israel’s great failing and sin, the worship of many false gods imported into the culture; unsound fiscal policies were rooted in divisions in leadership created through syncretism. These same pyrrhic forces work their way through every culture, for they are rooted deeply in mankind’s sin nature.
These forces should not work their through Christianity, though they do. Jesus told us, “My kingdom is not of this world.” (John 18:36) In the current loud voices of the left and the right, a still small voice is beginning. Against the vortex of cacophony, it whispers “let us take the middle road.” Many of the more moderate first-world Christians are repeating this, or nodding their heads in agreement, and in this, they find some hope.
Perhaps this is a good thing, but it is still not the best thing. God doesn’t call us to the left, or the right, or the center; he calls us to himself. It is a different way entirely. He has called us to himself through Jesus. As we look at the bible, as we look across the history of Christianity, the ones who take this path do so at the risk of being ostracized. When they do so at time of high tension between the left and the right, they do so at the risk of being persecuted by both. Paul warns, “If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.” (Gal. 5:15)
There is no middle ground in a war, and in our current cultural wars, even the high road—perhaps especially this road—will be viewed with suspicion and a ready will towards persecution. The Lord said, “Whoever is not with me is against me” (Matt. 12:30), and this same viewpoint, but from a far lower order, is true of the strident voices of anger. To take a stand for Jesus is to stand against the world. It could cost us something.
Q. What is my deepest foundational principle?
* “Christianity,” J. D. Long.
** Gordon-Conwell University.
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