7 Ways God Responds to the Persecution of His People

I came across this moving video about Christian persecution around the world:

https://vimeo.com/187841772

The organization which produced this video, Under Caesar’s Sword, was researching how Christians around the world respond to persecution.  That’s a worthy subject of study.  You can read the results of their valuable research here.

In this post I share my thoughts about another important type of response to persecution.  How does God respond to persecution?  This topic is closely related to the topic of how Christians respond to persecution.  I view my thoughts here as complementing those in the Under Caeser’s Sword report.

In considering this topic my primary resource is God’s Word, where God Himself reveals His response to persecution.  My thoughts are also shaped by the incredible privilege the Lord gave me and my family to live in Indonesia for fourteen years, from 1996 to 2010.  Many Christians were killed for their faith on the island we lived on.  We personally knew Christians who were beaten for their faith by their own families.  Nearly every Indonesian Christian we knew had a family member or close friend who had witnessed violent persecution against Christians.  We listened to many stories and spent many hours in prayer with our brothers and sisters in Christ.  As a result, I was constantly thinking and praying about issues related to persecution. I also was frequently discussing these issues with others, both locally, and through a worldwide network of Christians serving in similar circumstances.  And, perhaps most relevant to this blog post, I was constantly alert to the vast amount of material in God’s Word which addresses persecution.

Based on all this, I have summarized below 7 of God’s responses to the persecution of Christians.

1.  Protection from evil

And pray that we may be delivered from wicked and evil people, for not everyone has faith. (2 Thessalonians 3:2 NIV)

In answer to our cries for protection and because of His great love, God protects His people from evil. He does this at two levels.

In many ways and places, God works to allow His people to escape harm.  Many times there were plots to kill the Apostle Paul, and through various providences God allowed him to escape.  Sometimes working through governments, sometimes through other Christians, sometimes through other sympathetic neighbors, and occasionally through angels, God protects His people.  And yet, we know that on many other occasions He allows His people to experience persecution, sometimes even unto death.

At a deeper level, God allows nothing to harm His children (Luke 10:19).  The promise “nothing will harm you” refers to God’s guarantee that in the end persecution will do no eternal harm to any of His children. Even if we are killed we are totally safe in His loving arms.

2.  Provision of strength and courage to persevere

But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one. (2 Thessalonians 3:3 NIV)

God gives us the strength and courage we need to face whatever persecution we experience.  Sometimes, this comes in the form of a miraculous feeling of peace and security in the midst of dangerous situations.  At other times, we feel fear and trembling, yet underneath the fear we are anchored by a deeper and stronger hope.

3.  Use of persecution to increase gospel witness

Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel.

As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ.

And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear.

 (Philippians 1:12-14 NIV)

One of the beautiful and surprising ways that God uses the persecution of Christians is to spread the gospel of Christ.  Hearing about the courage of persecuted believers gives all of us greater courage and motivation to share God’s love and truth.  And those directly involved in carrying out the persecution have many times been moved to accept the Lord.

4.  Providing guidance to His people

Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. (Matthew 10:16 ESV)

Christians serving God in a hostile and dangerous world must constantly make difficult decisions.  Do I flee or stay put?  Is this an occasion to wait quietly and patiently or to speak up boldly? Who do I trust with what information?  God provides guidance.  He gives us principles in His Word.  He speaks to us through other believers.  His Holy Spirit guides our thoughts.  His holy providence directs our paths.

5.  Dreams and other supernatural help

One day at about three in the afternoon he had a vision. He distinctly saw an angel of God, who came to him and said, "Cornelius!" (Acts 10:3 NIV)

I was blessed with the opportunity to hear the stories of quite a few Muslims who had become followers of Jesus.  Many of these courageous believers shared that at some point they had a dream which helped them to accept Christ.  I believe that God gives extra help to people who are facing the greatest dangers and opposition.  Some of this help comes in the form of supernatural dreams and other miracles.

6.  Future vengeance which promotes current perseverance

God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you (2 Thess. 1:6 NIV)

We are called to pray for those who persecute us (Matthew 5:44).  We forgive.  We seek their salvation.  Knowing that God will eventually settle all scores, paying back those who never repent and never find forgiveness in Christ, frees us from worrying about revenge ourselves.

7.  Focusing His people on His promises for future glory

Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.

Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

 (Matt. 5:11-12 NIV)

A close friend of mine who also was blessed to serve among persecuted Christians shared with me a dream he once had.  I may not get the details perfectly right, but I remember the gist of his dream.  He was in a crowded room full of people in Heaven.  All of a sudden they all shouted, “It sure was worth it -- following Jesus!”

The suffering we experience is being used to prepare us for glory.  Sometimes in our weak moments we may wonder if it is worth it.  But ten thousand years from now no Christian who has suffered for Christ and the gospel will doubt for a single second that it was worth it.  We will be rewarded and God will be glorified.

Hebrews 13:16 And do not forget to do good and to share with others . . .

What Does the Bible Say About Women Pastors?

When I discuss women pastors in this blog, I am referring to women in pastor positions which involve teaching men in a group and/or exercising authority over the whole church, including men.  This would include all Senior Pastor positions.  I am not addressing women serving as a pastor over women’s ministries or children’s ministries, which I believe the Bible allows.

I am convinced that the Bible does not allow women to serve as pastors.  There are three main reasons.  Each reason provides strong evidence on its own, and when combined these three lines of evidence leave no reasonable doubt in my mind about the Bible’s position on this issue.

1.  The Consistent Biblical Example

In the Bible, all the examples of people who were called by God to teach gathered groups His Word were men.

In addition to offering sacrifices and serving in the temple, God assigned the priests to “teach the Isrealites all the decrees the LORD has given them through Moses” (Leviticus 10:11).  The Old Testament priests were all men.

The twelve apostles were called to teach God’s Word.  They were all men.

We don’t know with certainty who God inspired to write some of the books of the Bible.  But the Bible names many of its own authors.  Of the approximately 30 named authors of the Bible, every one of them is a man.

In fact, there is not a single, clear, explicit positive example anywhere in the Bible from Genesis to Revelation of a woman teaching the gathered people of God.

What about Deborah, you ask?  No, the Bible only says she judged by sitting under a tree and settling the disputes of people who came to her.  I’m not saying it’s impossible that she taught gathered groups God’s truth, but the Bible does not explicitly state this.

What about women prophets?  No.  There are women prophets in both the Old and New Testament.  However, the Bible consistently separates the role of prophecy and the role of teaching.  In the New Testament, if any prophecy was given in a church meeting, the prophecy was to be evaluated by others (1 Corinthians 14:29).  During this evaluation, the women were to be silent (1 Corinthians 14:34).

What about Priscilla?  No.  Along with her husband, she privately taught Apollos, which is different from teaching the congregation as a pastor.

There really is not a single example in the Bible of a woman serving in a role that is equivalent to the job of a Senior Pastor.  Was this merely an accommodation to cultural norms?  No. Jesus Himself appointed the twelve apostles, and Jesus had the authority and courage to go against cultural norms, and He often did! Many women were among Jesus’ followers, and they serve as very positive examples and beautiful, powerful witnesses.  However, for the role of teaching the whole church His truth, Jesus chose twelve men.

#2  The Church is Like the Family

The Bible clearly and repeatedly teaches that the husband is the head of his family.  The Bible teaches this by teaching that children should obey their parents, and by teaching that the husband is the head of his wife (Ephesians 5:23).  This truth is also seen in the verses which instruct wives to submit to their husband’s leadership (Ephesians 5:22, 24; Colossians 3:18; 1 Peter 3:1).

It makes sense that leadership in the family prepares one for leadership in the church, which is God’s family.  In fact, the Bible makes good leadership of one’s family a requirement for pastors:

1 Timothy 3:4-5 He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God's church?

The church IS family, so it is appropriate that since God appoints men to lead in their families, He also appoints men to lead in His churches, which are our spiritual families.

#3 The Explicit Teaching of the Bible

The wording and context of 1 Timothy 2:12 are so clear and simple that this verse should settle the dispute about women serving as pastors. The context of this verse is a letter with instructions about conduct in a local church (1 Timothy 3:14-15).  Just four verses after 1 Timothy 2:12, Paul begins to give instructions for choosing elders (whom the Bible also calls pastors or overseers in other places).  So this verse does not mean that women cannot teach men math or physics or history, and it doesn’t even mean that a woman can’t teach a man something from the Bible in a private setting.  It means that women can’t teach men in the gathered church setting as a Senior Pastor does.  I’m not saying this is the only application, but it is certainly the primary application.

Those who come from an egalitarian viewpoint have endlessly attacked this verse by combinations of distorting its obvious meaning and denying its Biblical authority.  Then, after endless attacks, they basically say, “This verse is so controversial, we shouldn’t base our conduct on it”. In this way they undermine not only this specific teaching, but the authority, clarity, and trustworthiness of God’s Word in general.

One of the most common attacks on this verse is to claim that it was only meant to apply to a specific situation in Ephesus, where Timothy was instructing the church. However, the reasons Paul gives for His instruction in 1 Timothy 2:12 are found in the next couple of verses and have nothing at all to do with a local situation in Ephesus:

1 Timothy 2: 12  I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet.

 13 For Adam was formed first, then Eve;

 14 and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor.

Since Paul bases His instructions on events related to the creation of Adam and Eve and their fall, his instructions must apply to all of us.

Finally, in addition to 1 Timothy 2:12, two other verses state that overseers/elders must be the husband of one wife (1 Timothy 3:2 and Titus 1:6).  Obviously only a man can be a husband.

Conclusion & A Resource for In Depth Study

The direct teaching of Scripture, the Biblical role of men as the head of their families, and the consistent example of the whole Bible, all demonstrate that only men should serve as pastors.

If you desire to study this topic in greater depth I recommend purchasing Wayne Grudem's book Evangelical Feminism and Biblical Truth.  This topic is not going away soon, so this book could be a good investment.

Hebrews 13:16 And do not forget to do good and to share with others . . .