Lesson 14: A Christian View of Persecution

► What did the apostle Paul mean when he said that he died daily?

Paul’s statement is in 1 Corinthians 15:31. How does the context help us understand what he meant?

Paul was not talking about dying to sin daily. The passage describes how he constantly risked his life for the gospel. Verse 30 said that he was in danger all the time. When he said he “died daily” he meant that he risked his life every day; he daily surrendered his life to the dangers of his ministry.

Christianity was founded by Jesus Christ, who died for his witness to the truth. From the beginning, the Christian community has had conflict with enemies of truth. Sometimes that conflict has caused violent persecution. Jesus said that to be his follower was like taking up a cross to follow him to death (Matthew 16:24). He said that if we are ashamed of him before the world, he will be ashamed of us (Mark 8:38). He said that the world hates believers for the same reason that they hated him (John 15:18).

Jesus told his disciples to expect persecution (Matthew 10:19, 23, 24:9).

Because of the inevitable conflict between Christians and the world, the apostle Paul said, “All that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution” (2 Timothy 3:12).

The apostle Peter said that believers should not be surprised at persecution as if it is a strange thing to happen (1 Peter 4:12).

The apostle John said that believers should not be surprised that the world hates them (1 John 3:13).

Paul considered his own suffering for the gospel to be a continuation of the suffering of Christ (Colossians 1:24). Christ suffered and died to provide the means of salvation; Paul suffered to carry the gospel so sinners could believe and be saved.

Jews were the first persecutors of Christians; they especially persecuted Christian Jews. (Acts 7, 8:13).

In the first generations of the church, Gentile converts in various countries experienced persecution from friends, family, and local governments because they would not worship local gods.

In AD 250, the Roman Emperor Decius ordered the persecution of any who would not worship Roman gods and the emperor. Roman persecution happened in various places and at various times until 313, not always throughout the whole empire. Christians were punished with imprisonment, loss of property, exile, and sometimes death.

Throughout the centuries of the church, Christians have suffered in many places. Sometimes persecution was because Christians would not participate in the worship of other religions. In other places governments demanded absolute loyalty and did not accept any religion.

Persecution and martyrdom have increased in modern times. Statistics of martyrdom are difficult, because war and other violence are not always easy to distinguish from persecution. Estimates range from 10,000 to 150,000 martyrs per year. Some scholars estimate that a total of 70 million Christians have died for their faith throughout history, including all professed Christians of any denomination.[1] The majority died because of government persecution; millions of others have died because of persecution from other religions, primarily Islam. Millions have been killed by the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church.

[1] Todd M. Johnson, “Christian Martyrdom: A Global Demographic Assessment,” 2012. Accessed at https://archive.gordonconwell.edu/ockenga/research/documents/TheDemographicsofChristianMartyrdom.pdf June 24, 2020.

The Greek word martyr literally means witness. Over time, the church came to believe that the ultimate act of witnessing was to die for the faith, so those who died in persecution were called martyrs in a way that other witnesses were not.

Martyrs were considered heroes of the early church.[5] The writer of the description of Polycarp’s death says, “We can never forsake Christ... nor can we ever worship any other... but we love the martyrs as disciples and imitators of the Lord.”

Cyprian (A.D. 200-258) said, “There is no greater blessing than to die as a martyr; to confess Jesus, in death itself, before executioners.” Cyprian himself suffered martyrdom.

Sometimes a believer realized in advance that God had chosen him to be a martyr. Often the revelation was a moment of transformation, inner peace, and spiritual exaltation.

Bishops Latimer and Ridley were burned in England in 1555 for preaching the gospel. As they waited for their trial, they were grieved when they heard of people giving up their faith. When they heard of a person being executed for his faith, they considered that event a victory for the gospel. A historian writes that before burning, Latimer said, “Be of good cheer, master Ridley, and play the man, for today by the grace of God we shall light a candle in England that shall never be put out.”[1]

The Bible tells us that Stephen had a face like an angel at his trial (Acts 6:15). Through history there were numerous cases of people who faced torture with such courage and joy that observers were converted. Some people who suffered for Christ said that they felt so much of the presence of God during torment that they were reluctant to see it end.

Many suffering believers told about dreams, visions, and experiences of the presence of Christ and the Holy Spirit.

Justin Martyr (A.D. 100-165), who wrote in defense of Christianity and finally died as a martyr, said this about the effectiveness of a martyr’s witness: “Now it is evident that no one can terrify or subdue us who have believed in Jesus over all the world. For it is plain that, though beheaded, and crucified, and thrown to wild beasts, and chains, and fire, and all other kinds of torture, we do not give up our confession; but the more such things happen, the more do others and in larger numbers become faithful, and worshippers of God through the name of Jesus.”[2]

Tertullian (approximately A.D. 150-230) said, “The oftener we are mown down by you, the more in number we grow; the blood of Christians is seed.”[3] This statement is often quoted as, “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.”

► Does persecution always help the growth of the church, or does it also hinder the spread of the gospel?

Jizya is a tax that many Muslim nations through history collected from people in their nation who were not Muslims. The idea of the tax comes from the Koran. The tax meant that people who were not Muslims did not really belong in the nation and had to pay for the privilege of living there.

► What do you think would be the effect of Jizya on evangelism?

For centuries, Alexandria in Egypt was the intellectual center of Eastern Christianity. It was the city of Athanasius, one of the greatest ancient defenders of Christian truth.

A Muslim army from Mecca invaded North Africa in A.D. 639. They later founded the city of Cairo in Egypt. Christians were required to pay high taxes and could not hold government positions, but they were not killed. Within a few generations, the percentage of Christians in Egypt was small.

► What does this history tell us about the possible negative effects of persecution?

► Does persecution benefit the church in any other way, besides possibly causing more conversions to occur?

Many of the ancient church fathers wrote that persecution has the effect of purifying the church. When church membership brings material benefits and status in society, a person may have the wrong motives for joining the church. When the church is persecuted, people join because of spiritual priorities.

Marvin Newell made these observations about the impact of martyrdom on other believers. “It [martyrdom] causes most to pause and ponder anew the extreme cost of discipleship. It forces many to question whether they themselves measure up to the highest standard of devotion to Christ and his cause. It motivates still others to abandon selfish plans and ambitions and turn to serve Christ in hard and difficult places. It creates a baseline for the Church from which to measure its worth – whether its activities are meaningful and truly important in light of eternity.”[4]

[1] John Foxe, Foxe’s Book of Martyrs (1883 edition)

[2] Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho, Chapter 110

[3] Tertullian, Apologeticus, Chapter 50

[4] Marvin Newell, “The Missionary Martyr: What We Learn from Those Who Gave Their Lives for the Cause of Christ.” Accessed at https://missionexus.org/the-missionary-martyr-what-we-learn/#myaccount June 24, 2020

[5]“From the outset the early church was persecuted first by the Jews, then the Greeks, then the Romans, then the barbarian hordes. In the modern period Christians of various traditions have continued to be persecuted, Armenian Christians by the Turks, Orthodox Christians by the Stalinists, evangelicals by Castro, Catholics by the Pol Pot genocide, and both Jews and Christians by the Nazis. Unfortunately, the list goes on, and seems to continue endlessly among Christian minorities in Ethiopia, Mozambique, South Africa, North Korea, Iran, Nepal, and Burma.”
- Thomas Oden, Life in the Spirit

► What would you think of a person who purposely tried to get himself killed as a martyr? Why?

The church admired the martyrs. Some people wanted to be martyrs and purposely tried to get themselves killed. The church did not approve of a person’s seeking martyrdom. If a person was not chosen by God to be a martyr, he might not have the strength from God to keep his faith.[1] Also, a person who provoked persecutors to kill him would bring danger to others.

Jesus told his disciples, “When they persecute you in one city, flee to another” (Matthew 10:23). This command tells us that it is right to avoid persecution.

The church believed that a martyrdom should be similar to the death of Christ. A Christian should not try to get himself killed, but be betrayed by others. The martyr’s behavior during suffering was to be like the Lord’s.[2] Also, the cause of the persecution should be right. “It is not suffering, but the reason for it that makes a martyr” (Augustine). The cause of martyrdom was to be a Christian’s witness or convictions.

[1] See the case of Quintus the Phrygian from the writing about Polycarp’s death.

[2]“I’m not angry at the one who did this. I’m telling him, ‘May God forgive you, and we also forgive you.’ Believe me, we forgive you.” These words were spoken by the widow of Naseem Faheem, after her husband was killed outside St. Mark’s Cathedral on Palm Sunday by a terrorist’s bomb (April 9, 2017).

Note to class leader: Ask the group to give examples of New Testament Scriptures about persecution. List the examples on a writing board if it is available. After they have listed many, teach the following material.

The New Testament was written to believers who knew the reality of persecution. The many references to persecution show that many Christians had experienced persecution and knew that it could happen to them in the future.

The book of Acts describes many events of persecution. Stephen was stoned, and persecution scattered believers from Jerusalem. Paul was a persecutor before his conversion.

The apostle Paul in his epistles sometimes mentioned the fact that he was a prisoner for the Lord (Ephesians 3:1, 4:1, 2 Timothy 1:8), said that he “fought wild beasts at Ephesus” (1 Corinthians 15:32), and that he risked his life constantly (1 Corinthians 15:31). Timothy spent time in prison (Hebrews 13:23).

The apostle Peter told his readers to make sure that they were never guilty of crimes, but to be glad if they suffered for righteousness (1 Peter 3:14).

The writer of Hebrews told his readers to remember those who were imprisoned (Hebrews 13:3).

Look at 1 Corinthians 1:8-10 together.

The apostles thought they would be killed, but they had already surrendered their lives to God, knowing that he would ultimately raise them from the dead.

We can imagine that believers in New Testament times often saw persecution or heard of persecution happening to believers in other places. To be a Christian was to live with the possibility (and sometimes the certainty) of persecution.

Though Christians anticipated the return of Jesus, they were told to expect persecution before that event. Prophetic passages of Scripture constantly reminded believers that persecution would be a reality in the last days (Matthew 10:17, 24:9, Luke 12:11-12, Revelation 6:9-11, 12:17, 13:15). A purpose of eschatology is to explain God’s sovereignty in a world where his people are persecuted, so that they can keep faith in him until his plan is finished.

(1) Writing Assignment: The Bible tells us to rejoice and be glad when we are persecuted (Matthew 5:12), yet we are to pray for quiet and peaceable lives (1 Timothy 2:2). How would you explain that apparent contradiction with principles from this lesson?

(2) Writing Assignment: How does persecution both help and hinder the church?

(3) Passage Study: Study 2 Corinthians 4:8-18. The apostles endured suffering, following the example of Jesus. They could endure because they experienced inner strength and renewal. They were willing to endure because they received spiritual life and looked forward to eternal glory. Write a summary of this passage.