What If Persecution Comes?
By: Pastor Ben Aguirre
For this blog I want to share two verses of scripture to help set the answer to my question.
2 Timothy 3:12 (NKJV)
12 Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.
And,
2 Timothy 1:7 (NKJV)
7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
For most of us in the Church today in America we have never really suffered persecution. We have at times been rejected, talked about, slandered, had doors slammed in our face, but persecuted? Not really. What we experienced was more like pressure than persecution.
That being said it is wisdom to realize that things may change in our Nation. And if it does how should we prepare?
It might help to know that God’s Word instructs us to “arm ourselves also with the same mind” (1 Peter 4:1) when it comes to the possibilities of suffering for our faith. We have been so good to teach so much about spiritual warfare, but have left out this powerful truth. The possibility of persecution is always on the table for the ChristIan.
This reminds me of when I first became a Christian. I heard all those sermons on the endtimes, the Tribulation, The mark of the beast and the antichrist beheading Christians. Although I don’t remember it being fearful I do remember it being sobering. I was saved with this possibility of how my life might end if I were to receive Jesus as Savior and Lord. While I do not support the use of fear or threats to move people to make decisions, I do support truth. When I was young we could see those things afar off. I think now we can see them much closer.
This is why I am sharing this with you. “Not to scare you but to prepare you”, in the event that things materialize in the way it seems like it’s heading.
In just one week we are already seeing a major change in our nation. The language that is being used from leaders and influencers is cause for alarm. What once was thought impossible is now possible. Religious liberties as we know them are on the chopping block.
What then, how will it affect me and my relationship with Christ? The answer is, it shouldn’t. Just because times change doesn’t mean that the Church should concede. We must draw closer to God, stay filled with the Holy Spirit, dive deeper in the Word and get stronger in our faith. I personally don’t think it is wrong to entertain a “what if” scenario if I am faced with a difficult choice concerning my faith, family or ministry. To “arm myself also with the same mind” is doing just that.
We must remember that Christians from all over the world and at different times have had these same challenges and stayed victorious. Victory for them was not suffering or even losing their life but rather they stayed true to Christ and His will for them.
As a minister and pastor of a flock I am compelled to guide toward the “Oasis of the Desert”, Christ with full understanding of what it may mean to walk the path we are currently walking. There is no better, safer more secure place than in the perfect will of God.
2 Timothy 3:12 (NKJV)
12 Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.
And,
2 Timothy 1:7 (NKJV)
7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
For most of us in the Church today in America we have never really suffered persecution. We have at times been rejected, talked about, slandered, had doors slammed in our face, but persecuted? Not really. What we experienced was more like pressure than persecution.
That being said it is wisdom to realize that things may change in our Nation. And if it does how should we prepare?
It might help to know that God’s Word instructs us to “arm ourselves also with the same mind” (1 Peter 4:1) when it comes to the possibilities of suffering for our faith. We have been so good to teach so much about spiritual warfare, but have left out this powerful truth. The possibility of persecution is always on the table for the ChristIan.
This reminds me of when I first became a Christian. I heard all those sermons on the endtimes, the Tribulation, The mark of the beast and the antichrist beheading Christians. Although I don’t remember it being fearful I do remember it being sobering. I was saved with this possibility of how my life might end if I were to receive Jesus as Savior and Lord. While I do not support the use of fear or threats to move people to make decisions, I do support truth. When I was young we could see those things afar off. I think now we can see them much closer.
This is why I am sharing this with you. “Not to scare you but to prepare you”, in the event that things materialize in the way it seems like it’s heading.
In just one week we are already seeing a major change in our nation. The language that is being used from leaders and influencers is cause for alarm. What once was thought impossible is now possible. Religious liberties as we know them are on the chopping block.
What then, how will it affect me and my relationship with Christ? The answer is, it shouldn’t. Just because times change doesn’t mean that the Church should concede. We must draw closer to God, stay filled with the Holy Spirit, dive deeper in the Word and get stronger in our faith. I personally don’t think it is wrong to entertain a “what if” scenario if I am faced with a difficult choice concerning my faith, family or ministry. To “arm myself also with the same mind” is doing just that.
We must remember that Christians from all over the world and at different times have had these same challenges and stayed victorious. Victory for them was not suffering or even losing their life but rather they stayed true to Christ and His will for them.
As a minister and pastor of a flock I am compelled to guide toward the “Oasis of the Desert”, Christ with full understanding of what it may mean to walk the path we are currently walking. There is no better, safer more secure place than in the perfect will of God.
Recent
Archive
2021
February
2020
No Comments