2 Timothy 3:10-12: But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience, persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me. Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
Persecution is unpleasant but inevitable for Christians. Jesus told His disciples in John 15:20, “if they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you;”
Physical persecution was common for early Christians. After Paul’s conversion, he was “in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft”
(2 Cor. 11:23). He said, “Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep;” (verses 24-25).
We should remember, though, that persecution is not always physical. When Jesus said, “Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake” (Matt. 5:11), He referenced mental persecution. Christians are often ridiculed. The tenderheartedness of the meek and lowly can lead to oppression from the proud and greedy. Standing for the truth often angers those whose choices defy it (Gal. 4:16). Persecution can include being “made fun of,” falsely accused, or “un-befriended.”
Jesus summarized the cause of His disciples’ persecution in John 15:19: If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.
In the parable of the sower, Jesus said that the person who receives seed in “stony places”…that is, the one who has a shallow faith…will fall away when persecuted (Matt. 13:20-21). We must have a faith that endures persecution.
Enduring persecution is made easier when we remember God’s promises. While it is hard to consider oneself blessed when persecuted for faithfulness to Christ (Matt. 5:11), those who face this please God (1 Pet. 4:14), and those who endure will receive an eternal home in heaven (Rev. 2:10). The temporary suffering Christians face is “not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Rom. 8:18).
– Michael Hickox