The latest Pew Poll in the United States indicates a decline in Christian numbers and a uptake of what if called the “Nones” who has no religious affiliations. While polls should not be taken as empirical evidence; they can be manipulated to get certain results; there is no doubt Christianity is under fire. In Sweden artwork reimagines Adam and Eve with nude gays portraying the couple. In Syria a new genocide of Syriac Christians is underway by the same Turks who committed the Genocide of 1.5 Million Armenian Christians. In China and Canada, house churches and bible studies in homes are raided. In Ethiopia Christians are killed during worship services. In America scandals have caste doubt on organized churches, and social issues are eroding religious freedoms. The world at large is becoming a hostile place for us Christians, but this has always been so:
“We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. 9 We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. 10 Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.
11 Yes, we live under constant danger of death because we serve Jesus, so that the life of Jesus will be evident in our dying bodies. 12 So we live in the face of death, but this has resulted in eternal life for you.
13 But we continue to preach because we have the same kind of faith the psalmist had when he said, “I believed in God, so I spoke.”[a] 14 We know that God, who raised the Lord Jesus,[b] will also raise us with Jesus and present us to himself together with you. 15 All of this is for your benefit. And as God’s grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory.
16 That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are[c] being renewed every day. 17 For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! 18 So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.” (2 Corinthians 4:8-18).
The Twenty First Century is fastly becoming the most persecuted period of Christians in history. According to Open Doors, persecution and hatred of Christians has exceeded the years of The Great Persecution of the Church by Emperors Caligula, Nero, Domitian, and Diocletian in the years 100-312 A.D.! It is not without a reason that our God and Savior Jesus Christ warned:
“They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God. They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me. Yes, I’m telling you these things now, so that when they happen, you will remember my warning. I didn’t tell you earlier because I was going to be with you for a while longer.” (John 16:2-4).
“Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.” (Matthew 24:9-13).
Our Lord promised these times. We must become wise as serpents and gentle as doves among these wolves, “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and gentle (innocent) as doves.” (Matthew 10:16). This means to be shrewd or cunning as angels (serpents, seraphim) and do as Richard Wurmbradt did when question by Gestapo in Romania they said “we are going to our brother’s will and Testament” instead of “we are going to read the epistle and testament of our brother in heaven the Apostle Paul.” The gentle as doves hearkens to the Holy Spirit who appears like a dove (Luke 3:22), and that we must lean into acting as the Spirit would have us behave; “walk in the spirit, not the flesh.” (Galatians 5:16).
The time when we can paint our Lord Jesus’s name on a building or have a fish (Ichythus) on our motor vehicles maybe at an end. I am not saying hide Christ, but we need to be shrewd and listen to the Holy Spirit’s whispers. Remember the wolves are many now and they like their master the devil are seeking ones to devour (1 Peter 5:8). So remember what Jesus our God said, “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me.” (Matthew 24:9). Amen.
Comments
Post a Comment