I really want to find that verse in the Bible that promises no persecution and violence for Christians. I want to claim it and hold it up to God so Christians will never die for their faith again.
Unfortunately, I can't find it. I find just the opposite. Hebrews 11, the Bible's brief biography of God's best of the best, is difficult to read: "Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented" (vv. 35-37). This is how God treats his friends.
Jesus sent out the Twelve for an Israel-wide-revival, promising healings and miracles for everyone - oh, and persecution. In Matthew 10, Jesus, in one of the most discouraging "Win One for the Gipper" speeches, said: "Be on your guard against men; they will hand you over to the local councils and flog you in their synagogues" (v. 17), "when they arrest you" (v. 19), "put (you) to death" (v. 21), "all men will hate you" (v. 22), "when you are persecuted" (v. 23), "do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul" (v. 28). Thanks, Jesus. Can't wait.
Some of those friends liked persecution. Like Paul: "That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong" (2 Cor 12:10). Paul thought it built character. Maybe he was right.
Persecution is inevitable. Even Jesus couldn't escape it. In fact, he became the poster child for persecution, the rallying cry of others who would die for their faith. Revelation speaks of martyred souls crying out for justice now and in the future (6:9-11).
Persecution is necessary for the advancement of the gospel. The death of Stephen in Acts 7 caused the gospel to spread to distant lands. Today in China, where persecution of Christians is high, the church is exploding in growth as those outside the faith see believers sacrificing their lives and their bodies.
But don't worry, persecution is not a problem.
"Can anything separate us from the love Christ has for us? Can troubles or problems or sufferings or hunger or nakedness or danger or violent death?.... Nothing above us, nothing below us, nor anything else in the whole world will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Rom 8:35, 39)
Sin is the problem, and we're here to help people overcome it even if it means risking our own lives.
By: Max Lucado
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