7 Ways to Prepare for Persecution

 

"I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away.”

- Jesus (John 16:1 ESV)

Jesus warned his followers that we would face various types of opposition, persecution, and suffering for Him and for His gospel. He did not tell us this to scare us, but to prepare us and strengthen us so that we would not be taken off guard by persecution when it comes and then fall away.

Some Christians in the US feel that we may soon be facing increased persecution. When I write about the possibility of Christians facing increased persecution, I am of course referring to conservative, evangelical Christians. Progressive Christians who largely conform to worldly and popular views are unlikely to be persecuted. They pose no threat to the world’s ways of thinking and living.

There are certainly some signs and trends that support the view that increased persecution may be coming. For example, the percentage of people holding to a biblical world view has been declining and has declined especially drastically among the youngest adult generation (you may read recent articles on this topic here and here). As evangelical Christians become a smaller minority, we also become more vulnerable to persecution. At the same time, it is becoming increasingly common for people in our culture to view those of us who hold to a biblical sexual ethic as being not merely wrong but evil. When I speak of a biblical sexual ethic, the main issue in terms of opposition and potential persecution is holding to the biblical teaching that homosexual actions are sinful actions. Because they believe we are evil, in their minds this may justify using all kinds of means including government laws enforced by police to suppress our views. Also, the recent violence and rioting carried out by people largely hostile to conservative Christian views indicates a level of hatred that could easily be turned into persecution. People who are willing to burn buildings when they are not yet fully in control of government will likely use oppressive laws, prisons, and the full force of the state to suppress their enemies if they do gain more control of our government. And they may.

Far more important than attempting to read signs and trends in our culture and society, the Bible teaches us that we should expect persecution until Christ returns. The relative lack of severe persecution in the US has been a happy anomaly to the norm around the world today and throughout history. That we should expect persecution to be the norm until Christ returns is taught in many passages of Scripture. Here are some examples:

ESV John 15:18 "If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 20 Remember the word that I said to you: 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.

ESV 2 Timothy 3:12 Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,

ESV Matthew 10:21-22 Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, and you will be hated by all for my name's sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

Based on the Bible’s warnings, it is wise to prepare for persecution whether or not the trends and signs we now see in the US lead to greater persecution in the near future.

The Basis for the Advice in this Blog Post

The advice I share below for preparing for persecution is based mostly on two sources of unequal importance:

1. My own experiences related to living for 14 years in a location where there was widespread and severe persecution of Christians.

2. Far more importantly, the teaching and examples we find in God’s Word related to persecution.

In terms of my own experience, by God’s grace neither my family nor myself were ever the victims of violent persecution. But we were blessed to know and serve with Christians who persevered in their faith despite losing jobs, being expelled from their families, being beaten, and being in danger of death. During the years we lived overseas, on the island we lived on, hundreds of Christians were slaughtered for being Christians. Churches and Christian villages were burned to the ground. In the city we lived in there were many instances of something they called “sweeping.” It involved radical Muslims setting up roadblocks on major roads and searching all vehicles for Christians. They beat those they found and sometimes destroyed their vehicles. These types of roadblocks were sometimes set up in front of a university I attended as a graduate student and later taught at. In the minds of the Muslim extremists, symbols connected with America and Christianity were all tied together. On one occasion they bombed a McDonald’s that my family often ate at and on another they bombed a KFC that my family often ate at (but I don’t think we were specific targets in those cases). We knew people who were taken in and questioned by police because they were sharing the love and truth of Christ with their neighbors. And we, too, were sharing the love and truth of Christ with our neighbors, including our Muslim neighbors. We were also plugged into a network of Christians who shared God’s love and truth in other dangerous places around the world. So, we were constantly thinking about, praying about, and ministering in a setting of intense persecution. A large portion of the world’s population lives in such settings. This made us much more aware of just how much of the Bible was written to help us face such opposition.

Much of the Bible was written in settings of persecution. Throughout the Old Testament false prophets often vastly outnumbered faithful ones. God’s people suffered persecution and oppression while in slavery in Egypt and again when taken into exile by Assyria and then Babylon. In the New Testament, opponents of the Gospel seek to kill first Jesus Himself and then His followers. His followers are hunted down, imprisoned, beaten, threatened, and killed. In fact, several books of the New Testament were written while Paul was unjustly imprisoned. So, it’s not surprising that we find lots of encouragement and help in the Bible for Christians facing persecution.

How to Prepare for Persecution

With that long introduction, I’m now ready to share some thoughts about how to best prepare for the possibility of increased persecution in the future. There’s one key principle. In order to prepare to persevere and remain faithful and fruitful as a Christian facing persecution in the future, we should focus on being good, faithful, fruitful Christians in the setting we are in now. I’m sorry if that doesn’t sound exciting or doesn’t sound like some special secret key, but it is in fact powerful if actually applied. In a way, it is an application of this verse:

ESV Luke 16:10a “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much . . .”

If we are faithful to God in a less difficult situation where we face relatively little persecution, we will be faithful to God in more difficult situations where we face intense persecution. Here are 7 specific applications of this principle.

1. Actively worship and serve together with other Christians

The author of Hebrews wrote about both the importance of meeting together and the reality of persecution in chapter 10 of that great book:

 

ESV Hebrews 10:²⁴ And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works,

 ²⁵ not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

. . .

³² But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, ³³ sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated.

In settings of persecution where Christians have limited ability to meet openly, or where meeting openly carries risks and dangers, Christians need courage to stay committed to worshiping and serving God together in community. It is vital that everyone use whatever gifts God has given them to do their part. The best way to prepare for this is to be committed and active in church, Christian small groups, Bible studies, and ministries now. We were blessed to see Christians continue to attend church meetings even at times when churches were being bombed and attacked in the Muslim nation that we lived in. If you aren’t actively worshiping at a local church now when the cost is just a few hours out of your busy schedule, what makes you think you will be more likely to do so if churches in your community are sometimes bombed or if the secret police occasionally show up and haul people off to jail?

2. Worship in small home groups

There is no record of any building being built specifically to serve as a church during the first generation of Christians described in the New Testament. They often met in homes:

ESV Acts 2:46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts

ESV Romans 16:5 Greet also the church in their house. Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in Asia.

ESV 1 Corinthians 16:19 The churches of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Prisca, together with the church in their house, send you hearty greetings in the Lord.

ESV Colossians 4:15 Give my greetings to the brothers at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house.

ESV Philemon 1:1-2 Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, To Philemon our beloved fellow worker and Apphia our sister and Archippus our fellow soldier, and the church in your house

 

The Bible certainly does not require us to have church meetings only in houses. Nor do I think that would be wise. There are many benefits to having church buildings. However, in a setting of persecution, small meetings in homes have proven to be much more able to endure. Therefore, I think it is wise for most Christians to gain some experience with home Bible studies and worship.

As with the other six ways of preparing for persecution, meeting in homes is not beneficial only if persecution increases. Having participated in many home Bible studies and worship times, I can attest that  home-based Christian meetings often produce a deep level of fellowship, intimacy, openness, and church family bonding. I am not saying that these things do not happen in congregations that meet regularly only in buildings, but there does seem to be something special about home groups. I would highly recommend them even if there was no risk of persecution. If intense persecution does come, these groups may quickly become the main centers of faithful Christian fellowship, worship, encouragement, and ministry. Examples from history and around the world today support this.

3. Personal Bible study and meditation

We need inner strength to stay true to God and His mission. This is true for all of us, but in some ways it is more obviously true when facing persecution. One way God strengthens us is through His Word. The Psalmist prayed:

. . . strengthen me according to your word! (Ps. 119:28b ESV)

We should develop the discipline of reading, thinking about, and studying the Bible now. It will not be easier to do so if we ever find ourselves in a setting where simply having a Bible could bring persecution of various types. We should be so thankful that we live in a time and place where the Bible is widely and easily available to us in our language. What a tragedy if we don’t take advantage of this. If we are meditating on God’s Word daily, we will be far better prepared to face whatever trials life brings, including any persecution we might face.

4. Devotion to prayer

All Christians are called to “Devote yourselves to prayer” (Colossians 4:2, NIV). In addition, there are numerous examples of prayers throughout the Bible that take place in a context of persecution or that are especially relevant to persecution. Here are some examples:

ESV Acts 4:29 And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness,

ESV 2 Thessalonians 3:1-2 Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you, and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men. For not all have faith.

ESV Romans 15:30-31 I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf, that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints,

ESV Ephesians 6:18-20 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.

Being devoted to prayer now will bring many blessings now, and will also prepare us to face any increase in persecution that God chooses to allow for His Kingdom purposes. Further, even if we never find ourselves in a setting of intense persecution, many of our brothers and sisters around the world are living and serving God in such settings today. Praying for them is one valuable way to “Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body” (Hebrews 13:3 ESV).

5. Don’t compromise with the world.

“If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up." – Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (Daniel 3:17-18 ESV)

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to compromise and bow down to the golden image. But before they faced this intense test, they had faced a less intense situation where they were asked to compromise. In the first chapter of Daniel, they, along with Daniel, had refused to eat food that was at that time forbidden to God’s people. Passing that first test, prepared them for more difficult tests in the future.

If more persecution comes to Christians in the US, there will be many opportunities to avoid it by making compromises, some small and some large. I’m not talking about the good kind of compromise where you go along with something that you personally don’t prefer but which is not wrong or sinful. I am talking about compromise that would require you to do something you know God does not want you to do or to not do something that you know He does want you to do (later in Daniel, Daniel refuses to stop praying to God and is thrown into a den of lions as a result). We will need God’s strength to follow the example of Daniel and his friends and similar examples set by Christians who have suffered or even died rather than compromising.

Even now, there will be times and situations in which you are tempted to compromise. One area where there is already a lot of pressure on Christians to compromise concerns pressure to treat homosexual actions as completely acceptable rather than as a sin to be repented of and overcome. If you give into relatively small pressures to compromise now, it will be harder to face the fiery furnace if that time comes. If you have made some compromises already, repent and find God’s mercy and renewal and strength to stand firm next time. Peter did!

6. Be bold, be strong and courageous (gently and with love)

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9 ESV)

Staying true to God amid persecution requires strength and courage. The type of strength and courage we need is not natural, it comes from God. We also need boldness. We need the type of boldness that enables us to keep sharing God’s truth even when doing so may bring opposition and suffering. A Greek word for speaking openly and clearly without fear of what people might do is parresiazomai. It’s the name for this blog (admittedly not a name people are likely to remember, so from that point of view perhaps it was not the best choice – but it does reflect how I aspire, with God’s help, to write). Far more importantly than being the name for this blog, it is a result of being filled with the Holy Spirit:

ESV Acts 4:31 And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness [boldnesss translates parresia, the noun form of parresiazomai].

So, seek to live filled with the Holy Spirit.

7. Stay close to Jesus and remember His promises.

ESV Hebrews 12:1-2 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Jesus is our ultimate example when it comes to staying faithful while suffering for God’s will. If we stay focused on Him, we will be strengthened to face whatever trials may come. And remember His promises. We may suffer for a little while, but it will all be worth it:

ESV Matthew 5:10-12 "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. "Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

ESV 2 Corinthians 4:17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison

May God protect you, strengthen you, and shine through you. In Jesus Name, Amen.

 

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

 

 

For Further Reading:

Perhaps because of our experience living in a country where there was a lot of Christian persecution, or perhaps because I seek to base my blog on biblical truths and the Bible has a lot to say about persecution, I have a number of other blog posts on this topic on closely related topics. Here are some of them:

 

She gave everything for her church, will you?

 

Prophecy being fulfilled as we watch (about two prophecies that seem unlikely to both be correct, yet have been)

 

7 ways God responds to the persecution of His people

 

The book of Revelation is applicable and practical (although it contains revelation about the future, the book of Revelation is intended to help Christians face opposition and persecution TODAY)

 

Stephen’s Test of Faith, a movie that helps us relate to persecution

 

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in our modern world (a true story about three very courageous Indonesian Christian ladies, includes video clips)

 

Foot Theology (a fun, yet very serious, post)

 

In addition to persecution, I’ve written on many other topics that I pray will help God’s people. Many of my posts are devotional in nature. They are intended to encourage fellow believers to press on in following Christ and to keep growing in Him. One of my favorites in this category is: Sunflowers and Sonpeople. Another favorite devotional post was partly inspired by our family dog, Sadie.

I’ve written several posts on why I believe Christianity is true. One of these includes a poem I wrote. Another apologetics post compares the Bible to the Quran and the book of Mormon. I also have written posts discussing evidence from nature for God’s existence. See posts here, here, and here.

One of my favorite topics is prayer. One post is titled: Awesome, Wonderful, Powerful Prayer. Another post offers practical advice and encouragement for praying for people.

I was blessed with the opportunity to live and share in a Muslim majority nation for fourteen years. I’m passionate about seeing the gospel spread to all nations. One post answers the question: What’s so great about the Great Commission? I have one article on the TGC site where I share a simple, practical way to help Muslims understand the gospel.

While all my posts are based on biblical truth, some of them are specifically about Bible reading. I’ve written posts comparing Bible reading to watching the sun rise and to snorkeling at a coral reef.

Many posts are about specific Bible passages or books of the Bible. Here is an example:

Love in Romans

Sometimes I address tough questions people ask, like:

What does the Bible say about premarital sex?

Should Christians Call Jesus “Yeshua” and God “Yahweh”?

I’ve done my best to give Practical Advice for Battles with Sin and Temptation

And finally, I have a whole collection of posts on the nature of hell, which is a topic many Christians (and others!) struggle with. I have collected these in one location: Mark’s Resources on Hell