Lesson 346 - Senior
Memory Verse
"Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you" (Matthew 5:11, 12).
Cross References
I The Servant and His Master
1. Jesus warned His disciples of coming persecutions, [MAT:10:16-18], [MAT:10:21-23]; [MAT:24:9-14]; [LUK:21:12], [LUK:21:16-17]; [MIC:7:5-6]; [MAK:13:9], [MAK:13:12-13].
2. Jesus advised His disciples that God would inspire them with the proper words for their defence when they were persecuted, [MAT:10:19-20]; [LUK:21:13-15]; [EXO:4:10-12]; [JER:1:6-9]; [DAN:3:16-18]; [JHN:7:46]; [MAK:12:34].
3. Jesus explained to His followers the great lesson that the servant is not greater than his master, [MAT:10:24-25]; [LUK:6:40]; [JHN:13:13-16]; [JHN:15:20].
4. The disciples were told not to fear those who were able to kill the body, but to fear Him who could destroy the soul in hell, [MAT:10:26-28]; [LUK:21:18-19]; [JAM:4:12]; [PS:119:120]; [ECC:5:7]; [JER:5:22]; [AMO:5:6].
II Trouble at Ephesus
1. Opposition to the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ was instigated by Demetrius, a silversmith, [ACT:19:21-28]; [2TM:4:14]; [2TM:3:11-12].
2. Paul's companions were seized by a riotous mob and held captive, [ACT:19:29].
3. Paul was prevented by friends from entering into the theatre with the mob, and endangering his life, [ACT:19:30-31]; [ACT:21:12]; [JHN:11:8].
4. The town clerk finally quieted the mob and dismissed the people, thereby preventing harm from being done to the disciples, [ACT:19:32-41].
Notes
Perils of Discipleship
It has been said, "Adversity is always the test of moral principle." It has certainly been the test of the quality of salvation in the hearts of those who follow Christ. Some have possessed true salvation but fainted under persecutions, and turned back from following Jesus.
Jesus never encouraged anyone in the false hope that the way of God was particularly an easy one, or one that did not demand solemn decisions and serious responsibilities. The parable Jesus told of the man who began to build a tower and was not able to finish because of a lack of preparation should be a warning to all those who rashly attempt to be His disciples. (
Men of the world often gain followers for some cause and stir up momentary enthusiasm for it because they do not tell the true hazards of the cause for which they are taking enlistments. God does not tell half-truths, nor does He gain enlistment for His cause by neglecting to tell of future hardships. God speaks the truth without colouring or embellishing it in favour of the Gospel cause. God knows that only those who are fully purposed to serve Him regardless of the consequences will endure hardships until they win the crown of life, and prove themselves true disciples of the Lord.
Jesus unhesitatingly told His disciples they would have to suffer great persecution for His name's sake. Inasmuch as we are forewarned by God of coming difficulties we need not be caught unawares, and can say with Paul, "I am set for the defence of the gospel" [PHL:1:17]). Otherwise, Satan, the enemy of God and His people, might easily make the children of God believe that God had forsaken them when opposition arose against them.
The history of the Christian Church bears ample evidence of the great extent to which Jesus' warning of persecution has been fulfilled. Tradition states that John the Beloved was the only one of the twelve Apostles who did not die a martyr's death. Millions more have since given their lives for the Gospel rather than deny their faith in God.
Christ and Beelzebub
Why are Christians persecuted? This finds a ready answer in the Word of God. Jesus said: "If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you." (Read [JHN:15:18-25].)
God's condemnation of sin is the irritant in men's souls which often results in their rising up in devilish anger against Christ, against the Spirit of God, and against all those in whom dwells the Spirit of God. Satan was the first transgressor against God; and when Adam and Even disobeyed God, sin and evil entered into the soul of mankind. The forces of Satan, and the majority of the world's systems have been against God and Christ, and against His people ever since. (Read [PS:2:1-4].) So long as sin is in the hearts of men; so long as that great serpent, the devil, is loose in the world; so long as ungodly men do not acknowledge their obligations to Christ; so long will persecution continue to arise against God, His Son, His people, His cause, and His kingdom. It is true: "If the world hate you, . . . it hated me before it hated you."
Master and Lord
When persecution is strong against the people of God the question naturally is asked: Why does God permit His people to suffer great harm and injury, when He could prevent it if He would? The Bible is not explicit regarding the answer to this question. Much of the reason why God permits persecution will have to remain unanswered until the great day when God shall make all such secrets known to His people.
Jesus said: "It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord." With that statement we shall have to be content. God did not relieve Jesus of the ordeal of suffering the great persecution that came against Him. There was greater good to be accomplished by Jesus' suffering at the hands of wicked men than could have been accomplished had God prevented such persecution. It is true in a lesser degree with the individual Christian. God can prevent all manner of persecution, in whatever manner it might arise, against any and all His people, but He often permits it. It may be difficult for the finite mind to see what good can come from persecution when great harm and injury is seemingly being done to the members of the body of Christ, and when the preaching of the Gospel is being hindered, and even stopped. Be that as it may, God's Word is true and we can trust in it for time and eternity, and safely hazard our lives for its truth. "Remember," Jesus said, "the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you."
Our faith in God need not be shaken, then, if persecution, even unto death, should come our way. "If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household?" Neither should we think it strange if when doing good we are accused of doing evil. (Read [MAT:12:24-28]; [ISA:5:20].)
Word of Our Testimony
The Bible states that the word of our testimony to those who might be our persecutors is of the utmost importance. Jesus counselled His disciples not to give thought what they would say when accused unjustly. It would be given them of God what to speak, and it would not be they who spoke, but it would be the Spirit of God in them speaking the wisdom of God. He said: "For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist" [LUK:21:15]).
Jesus told them, "It shall turn to you for a testimony" [LUK:21:13]). Paul spoke of Jesus, "who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession" [1TM:6:13]). Finally, in Revelation we read: "And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death" [REV:12:11]). While we may not understand the full significance of giving to wicked men our testimony of the saving grace of Jesus Christ, it is undoubtedly of tremendous value and importance that it be done, and done as Jesus said, with the Spirit of God speaking through us the words of God.
We know that God does not do evil that good may come. God does not let His people be persecuted merely that they might testify to wicked men. There are greater issues involved than just that, but that the testimony of a Christian is of great importance in such times cannot be denied.
Fear God
What shall the Christian do when threatened with death because of his allegiance to Christ? "Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." These would be foolhardy words, perhaps, if anyone other than Jesus Christ had spoken them, but they are words of justification and authority when spoken by Him. God sees all issues in their proper value. He does not take a light attitude concerning men's lives, for it was God who commanded, "Thou shalt not kill." Yet men must be willing, if need be, to give up their lives for the truth of God and for the salvation purchased by Christ rather than to compromise in favour of sin and falsehood.
Although being destroyed in this mortal life at the hands of wicked men may seem like the ultimate of all catastrophe that can happen to us in the land of the living, yet God tells us not to be afraid of mortal death, or what man can do to us. The great fear of men's hearts should be toward God who can and will cast both the body and soul of sinners into hell. The very worst that man can do is to inflict a certain amount of physical pain and suffering upon the human body for a short season. God can cast men into a place of eternal suffering, where there is no limit to pain and suffering, and where there is no end to it. But the Christian, knowing that whatever must be suffered for Christ will be but for a little while at most, can be firmly set for the defence of the Gospel, even unto death. "Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints"; and if pain be suffered here for the name of Jesus, God will heal our hurts and wounds, and eternity shall bring forth its blessings for those who remain true to God until the end.
Brother Against Brother
In this very day God's Word is being fulfilled literally as Jesus said: "And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death." In Communist China and Korea, and other nations under the rule of Russia, it is a daily occurrence that some members of the family will rise up and denounce the others for Christian beliefs or opinions, which are against Communism.
In China and Korea, families have been slaughtered because they were known to have been friendly with Christians, or possessed a Bible or hymnbook. The day of the warfare of the Christian against sin, the world, the flesh, and the devil, is not yet past. Jesus' warnings and counsels are as timely today as they were when He first spoke them to His disciples, "It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord."
Questions
1. Why do persecutions arise against Christians?
2. Why did they persecute Jesus?
3. Why did God permit wicked men to persecute Jesus?
4. Can God prevent men from persecuting His people?
5. Why does God often permit His people to be persecuted?
6. What are Christians to say when they are being mistreated?
7. What should a Christian do when his life is threatened?
8. Whom should we fear the most?
9. What is the most harm that man can do to us?
10. What can God do to men that men cannot do?
11. What do you think Jesus meant when He said, "It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master"?