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- I've often heard it said by
well-meaning church folk how wonderful it is that we live in a society free
from persecution.
- But do we really live in such a
society?
- My father recently told me of how he
was harassed by his boss for reading his Bible in his personal office space while
waiting for clients.
- We have heard on the news of both
Trinity Western & Crandall universities & how they have been harassed
by the media & the GLBT community for their so-called intolerance &
hate mongering because of their mutual stance on sexual purity & the
definition of marriage.
- Even more recently, we have heard of
the federal Liberal leader, Mr. Justin Trudeau, who will require all liberal
members of Parliament to vote pro-choice on the abortion issue, which means pro-choice
is now the official Liberal party line, & in a country where there's no
abortion law an infant can be aborted at any point in the pregnancy.
- Mr. Trudeau, as Rex Murphy has put
it, has forced an "irreconcilable, moral choice" while promoting the
ongoing "open season on religiously inspired belief."
- Under the law, we live in a free,
democratic nation, so we believe.
- We believe we have freedom of
religion.
- However, we have that freedom as long
as it has zero impact on public policy & public life & is kept behind
closed doors.
- Influential atheists, secular
politicians, & other so-called experts often picture Christians as fools &
idiots who follow religious myths.
- Persecution in the West is not
coming, it is already here!
- How are we in the church to respond?
Is there a word from the Lord Jesus for the Christian about this?
- Indeed, there is, & it comes to
us in the shape of the letter to the Church of Smyrna.
- The ancient city of Smyrna is located
56 km northwest up the coast from Ephesus, & is now the modern city of
Izmir.
- Smyrna was a prosperous center of
trade rivaling only Ephesus.
- It was a proud & beautiful city &
had earned the right to freely govern itself.
- It was famous for its Golden Street so
named as it was lined with temples to the Greco-Roman gods.
- Smyrna was among other notable cities
to have constructed a Temple to the Emperor Tiberius, & while under the
rule of Emperor Domitian, every Roman citizen was required to burn incense to
Caesar once a year declaring Caesar as lord!
- The city also had a powerful, prominent
Jewish population which was actively opposed to the Christian church.
- To survive & thrive in such a
city one had to be able to conduct business freely, but when harassed, shunned,
abused on two sides making a living could become near impossible.
- So What did the Lord Jesus have to say to the church of Smyrna that can
help us live confidently today?
- What
was the suffering of the Smyrna Christians like?
- Besides the anti-Christian cult of
Caesar & the hostile Jewish population, what else was there?
- First, according to verse
nine, there was poverty. "I
know your tribulation & your poverty," said Jesus.
- For time out of mind, committed
Christians have been known for their honesty in business which would've
excluded them from the dishonest gain of shady & unscrupulous business
practices.
- Their Roman & Jewish neighbors
may have refused to do business with them.
- To practice an illegal religion in
those days meant that you had no rights.
- Finding & keeping gainful
employment would have been difficult once exposed as a Christ follower.
- Roman authorities could ransack your
home at the mere suspicion or suggestion that you followed the Nazarene.
- Second, imprisonment. As Jesus said, "Behold, the devil is about to
throw some of you into prison" (v.10).
- Prisons in those days were nothing
like they are today.
- They were often like the prisons
which you see in movies set in the Middle Ages: cold & damp, with shackles,
stocks, dirt, filth & disease.
- But many prisons over the last 2000
years have become holy places through the prayers, praises, hymns & songs offered
& sung by the saints that occupied them.
- Third, death. The Lord Jesus told them, "be faithful unto
death."
- The opposition to the truth of Jesus
Christ experienced by the church of Smyrna was so fierce that some among them
were martyred.
- The most famous martyr of the early
church was Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna; he was installed as Bishop by none other
than John the apostle.
- Polycarp refused to swear oaths to
Caesar & on February 2, 156 A.D. was burned at the stake.
- Fourth, they were slandered, as Jesus said, "I
know...the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a
synagogue of Satan".
- The Jews of those days spread all
kinds of falsehoods about Christians everywhere.
- Those who hate the truth will slander
& accuse Christians of all kinds of things because of that hatred.
- The secular culture around us today
accuses Bible believing Christians of being homophobic, meaning that we fear
& hate homosexuals, but this is not true.
- We do not fear or hate homosexuals,
rather we disapprove of their lifestyle much the same as we would disapprove of
any other lifestyle which the Bible names sinful.
- The Lord Jesus said that the Jews of
Smyrna were a synagogue of Satan because the devil is the original slanderer
& accuser, in fact, that is exactly what the word, Satan, means.
- Slander is not an easy thing to bear.
Repeated ongoing slander, bullying, & name-calling can break anyone's
spirit.
- To be misrepresented &
misunderstood by those who engage in idle talk, rumor, gossip, & innuendo
can leave deep wounds.
- The church of Smyrna was called to
suffer. They had experienced tribulation, poverty, slander, prison & death,
but the Lord Jesus told them that there was more testing & tribulation to
come.
- What
of us, are we called to suffer?
- The Scriptures reveal that the Lord
Jesus told his first disciples that they were blessed when people insulted, persecuted, & made false
accusations against them because of him.
- "Woe to you," said Jesus,
"when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false
prophets" (Luke 6:26).
- "If the world hates you,"
said Jesus, "know that it hated me before it hated you" (John 15:18).
- The apostle Paul wrote to his child
in the faith, Timothy, "Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in
Christ Jesus will be persecuted" (2 Timothy 3:12).
- The church is indeed called to
suffer, but suffering terrifies us, so much so, that we compromise our faith
& our obedience to the gospel of our Lord.
- The way we compromise our faith &
our obedience to the gospel comes from our typically Canadian passiveness.
- What do I mean by Canadian passiveness?
Instead of taking action, we vent or complain about things behind closed doors
& don't do anything about it because it doesn't affect us.
- When someone else is persecuted for
their faith, we're just glad it wasn't us.
- Our compromise comes in the things
that we have left undone or unsaid.
- Our only way out is to repent.
- When we agree with the actions that
other Christians have taken which have resulted in slander against them, then
we need to speak out, to stand up & be counted with them.
- We also often don't share our faith
the way we are called to share our faith because we are afraid of the reaction
of our neighbors.
- When we do deeds of compassion for
those in need, we need to do it in Jesus name without worrying about what
others think because "all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus
will be persecuted."
- I know this doesn't sound
encouraging, but I was just getting to that.
- How
did Christ encourage the church of Smyrna? & What comforts did Christ give
them?
- First things first, how did Christ
encourage the church of Smyrna?
- The Lord Jesus said two key things to
them to encourage them: one, "do not fear what you are about to
suffer," and two, "be faithful unto death and I will give you the
crown of life."
- Do not fear; be faithful.
- If there were ever two words of
encouragement that we need to hear today it is those words: do not fear; be
faithful.
- In times of fear & faithlessness
& in times when we are fearful & act faithless God says to us,
"Stop it!"
- Fear not; be faithful.
- Do what faithful people do in spite
of their fears: Face fear with courageous
witness & compassionate mission.
- "God gave us a spirit not of
fear but of power and love and self-control." (2 Tim 1:7, ESV)
- When persecution comes, I will fear
not & be faithful for Christ is my hope.
- What
comforts did Christ give the Christians of Smyrna?
- The Lord Jesus reminded them of
several things to comfort them:
-1. He is eternal – the first and
the last. The Lord Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the
end.
- Although everything else in the world
around us changes, Christ himself changes not, he is the same yesterday, today,
and forever.
- What have we to fear when we serve
the one who is eternal & who does not change?
- 2. He is victorious – who died
and came to life. The Lord Jesus appeals to John's readers to be faithful
unto death because he himself was "obedient to the point of death, even
death on a cross." (Phil 2:8)
- Jesus our Lord conquered death so
death should hold no terror for us.
- As Paul the apostle wrote, "We
are more than conquerors through him who loved us... Nothing in all creation
can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
(Rom 8:37-39)
- Because he is victorious, we are more
than conquerors & have nothing to fear.
- 3. He knows all things – I know
your tribulation. The Lord Jesus knows our troubles. He understands. He has
been there. He walks among the lampstands.
- He sees each church & each person
for whom he died, you & me, & he knows the troubles we face & he
cares beyond knowing.
- 4. He is just & fair – I know
your tribulation and your poverty but you are rich.
- The Lord Jesus sees things, all
things, as they really are.
- While the folks at Smyrna lacked
material wealth God saw in them an abundance of spiritual riches because of
their faithfulness to Jesus Christ.
- In God's economy, it's better to be a
rich poor man than a poor rich man.
- As Jesus said, "Store up for
yourselves treasures in heaven where moth and rust do not destroy and where
thieves do not break in and steal for where your treasure is there your heart
will be also." (Matthew 6:20-21)
- 5. He is in control – Behold,
the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested,
and for ten days you will have tribulation.
- The Lord Jesus is the one who sets
limits. Some would be thrown into
prison for 10 days; a limited number
of people for a limited time.
- The Lord Jesus knows our current
struggles & he knows our future trials.
- He has set limits on the Devil's
schemes because he reigns.
- 6. He is purposeful – that you
may be tested.
- The devil's purpose is to kill &
destroy but God's purpose in allowing testing in our lives is to refine us &
purify us.
- Persecution purifies & refines
the church strengthening her character & her faith even as a furnace
refines silver and gold.
- When we look beyond suffering to
God's purposes, then we can keep our heads up.
- 7. He is generous – I will give
you the crown of life.... The one who
conquers will not be hurt by the second death.
- The Lord Jesus has an incredible gift
awaiting those who fear not & remain faithful.
- Eternal life is not something we can
earn, it is a gift.
- Remaining faithful in the city of
Smyrna was no easy task. It took blood, sweat, and tears, but in the end Jesus
told them they would receive the crown of life & avoid the hurt of the
second death.
- By our efforts we cannot earn such a
reward, but by our efforts to remain faithful we open our lives to receiving
God's gracious gift.
- When persecution comes, I will fear
not & be faithful for Christ is my hope.
- Persecution in the West is not
coming, it is already here!
- How shall we respond?
- With Christ as our Victor; Christ as our
comforter; Christ as our strength; Christ as our encouragement, we can respond
in faith knowing that…
-
When persecution comes, I will fear not and be faithful for Christ is my hope.
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