Up Against The Wall

Locked in a dark room without food and water, 14-year old Susan was left to die… by her father! What could make a father do such a thing…? This has been the fate of many because they will not give up on their belief in Christ.

Early Christianity began as a sect among Jews, and according to the New Testament account, Pharisees, including Paul of Tarsus prior to his conversion, persecuted early Christians. Persecution is an intrinsic part of Christianity. In Acts 4:1- 32 are some tremendous insights that we can learn from the way the Apostles handled persecution. For the early church, persecution was a blessing. That is still true today--persecution is a blessing to all churches and all believers.

Acts 4 records the beginnings of the efforts within eleven years to persecute the church in Jerusalem. They were really the beginning of all the persecution that the church has endured for nearly two thousand years.

As time has progressed, Satan's persecution of the church has become more subtle. The techniques he uses to persecute Christians are not as obvious as they used to be. However, they are very effective. In one way or another, the Christian church is always being persecuted. The persecution can be political, personal, or religious. The church has always suffered persecution, but it is more subtle today than it used to be.

Today, Satan usually directs persecution not to a person's physical body, but to his ego. He focuses on pride, the desire for acceptance, or the desire for status. That's very effective. Satan doesn't often threaten a Christian by saying, "If you witness, I'll cut your head off." He threatens a believer by saying, "If you witness, you might lose your job, your status--or someone might think you are abnormal." The techniques Satan uses today have a tremendous effect in a subtle way. That is not to say that there are no places in the world today where there is still physical persecution of Christians. There are, alright, but the subtle system is more evident in our society today.

If you fear being ridiculed when you talk about Christ, examine yourself and find out why. Who benefits from your fear? What would be the results in your life and the lives of others if you did not talk about Christ? What would be the results if you did share about Christ? Which results are more important to you? Which results are more important to God? Ultimately, whether or not you are willing to confront people about their need for Christ will be related to how willing you are to put aside self and serve God. When you share what the Bible teaches with an unbeliever, make sure that you are honest in everything you say. Don't modify the truth to please other people! When you find yourself persecuted for Christ, trust God and be sensitive to His guidance in the situation. If you do that, God will be glorified (1 Pet. 4:14)!