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Persecution: Normal and Expected
Persecution: Normal and Expected
“If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also.” – John 15:20
In a recent conversation with Pastor Vic regarding the church in persecution, he asked me to write the devotion knowing we would be hearing a message on this subject. After giving some thought, my mind was drawn to an article written by Nik Ripken, author of The Insanity of God. I was Nik and Ruth’s pastor in California during their overseas service in a closed country. Over a nearly ten-year period of travel around the world interviewing believers in persecution, the resulting stories made their way into that first volume. Having experienced Nik’s persecuted church workshop on several occasions, I decided to include exerts from that article.
When Nik began gathering these interviews and learned of widespread persecution on several continents, he was compelled to ask these pastors and lay leaders, “Why have you cheated us in the West? Why haven’t you written these stories down? Where are the books that chronicle your faith in persecution? These stories are worthy of a movie. These are Bible stories come to life! Why have you not shared these lessons learned?”
As the questions were asked, these men and women sat in stunned silence. Finally, one brother stood up, took the interviewer by the arm, and drew him to the end of the large room by the eastern window. Looking out he asked: “Sir, when your sons were growing up, how many mornings did you take them to the window and say, ‘Look, boys, the sun is coming up in the east this morning?’” The interviewer responded to the obvious silly question with “Well, I never once did that because the sun always comes up in the east!” Gently, the wise brother made his point: “Sir, that is why we talk little of our persecution and suffering. That is why we have not written our stories down. And that is why we have not made a movie. Our persecution is always with us. It simply comes as we walk with Jesus. It is like the sun coming up in the east.”
Normally, when we send a person or a group out on mission, we begin our prayer for their safety. Safety under daily circumstances, such as travel to/from the field and to be free from illness such as drinking contaminated water. However, we must understand that our mandate is to take the gospel to the ends of the earth and many times that will seem like the gates of hell. During my time at the International Mission Board, our department sent thousands of people to the mission field. I stood before them, especially the 20-something Journeymen and told them that I assured their parents that the IMB would keep them safe. I went on to say that was a lie. The fallen sinful world in which we live has inherent danger with some that we can guard against and some we cannot. But persecution is another story. Nik goes on to share three principles that we must clearly understand.
First, persecution is normal for those who follow Jesus. Scripture makes this point from beginning to end. It is, quite simply, like the sun coming up in the east. Persecution is neither good nor bad—it just is. Certainly, Christians are not to seek persecution. But, at the same time, Christians need not give in to it as a crippling fear with attempts to avoid at all costs.
Second, conversion is the primary cause of persecution. That may sound strange, but consider this simple truth: When people come to Jesus, persecution results. And the only way to stop persecution is to keep people from coming to Jesus. Conversion and suffering for the faith are simply two sides of the same coin. Many Christians in the West hold to a missiology of suffering that is, at the very least, biblically inconsistent. Believers in persecution ask for prayer that they be found faithful in the midst of persecution, that they be bold in their witness, and that God would use their suffering to bring others to himself. They do not ask for others to pray that their persecution end.
Third, even when missionaries do everything right, the result of a bold and culturally-astute witness will be the persecution, suffering, and martyrdom of others. That’s the result of “the mission enterprise.” Tertullian boldly proclaimed that the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church. Church history has proven this time after time.
The Purposes of God? What do we do when Joseph is wrongly accused and thrown into Pharaoh’s prison? What about Paul and Silas in the Philippian jail? Practically speaking, what do we do when that happens today? We protest and contact governments and United Nations officials. We demand that the person be freed. We righteously claim that rights have been violated. We point out that no crime has been committed and we say that we will settle for nothing less than release. We threaten sanctions. And that’s all understandable.
But what if God has determined that he needs this person in jail for a season? Or, at the very least, what if God determines that he will use this time of imprisonment for some special purpose? What if we spring this person too soon—before it is understood that Joseph can interpret Pharaoh’s dream or that Paul’s jailer has heard the gospel? What if we rescue him, only to discover that we have been working against the purposes of God?
Of course, we dare not be careless here: no believer has the right to be silent when another believer is suffering! The Church in the West has no right to ignore the suffering of brothers and sisters around the globe. But even so, there is a God-given wisdom that will lead God’s people to understand that there are times to allow Christians to remain imprisoned for the sake of God and his kingdom. God can and will reveal exactly when those times come.
For eighty percent of the Christian family in our world today, persecution remains as common as the sun coming up in the east. Surely, persecution is never to be sought nor fearfully avoided. But when it comes, each follower of Christ is invited to embrace it, to see it as normal and expected, and to pray that God might somehow use it for his purposes and ultimate glory.
If you have not read The Insanity of God by Nik Ripken, I would encourage you to do so. We have copies in our church library.
We trust the Lord as we continue to pray for our brothers and sisters around the world,
Glenn Prescott
Israel, A Chosen People
Israel, a Chosen People
“I ask, then, has God rejected His people? By no means! … God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew.”
Romans 11:1-2
In light of all that has recently happened in Israel, it’s important for me to write to you a reminder of the place of Israel in the purposes of God. It’s very important to remember that the conflict now erupting into full view of the world is as ancient a conflict as exists in the world. The struggle between Israel and the native people of Palestine, goes all the way back to biblical times of Israel struggling in armed battle with the Philistines. The struggle way back then was between basically the same two groups of people over the same piece of land.
The question that should arise in all our minds is, “How can the Jewish people still exist as the same Jewish people so many thousands of years later?” The Philistines, the Babylonians, the Assyrians, the Greeks, the Romans, etc. are all ancient history now. The people groups exist by hereditary line, but the cultures, customs, and religions have long since faded away. But not so with the Jews. They still exist as they basically did thousands and thousands of years ago, on the same land, and as a nation. There is much that could be said concerning the history of Zionism and the founding of modern Israel, but the basis of this modern and enduring existence is Romans 11. In Romans 11 Paul spends an entire chapter explaining how the “the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable” (Romans 11:29). By walking through this chapter, we get a basic understanding of how, even in the post-resurrection church age, the people of Israel are still a chosen people. They will endure, by promise, until Jesus comes again. There is plenty of mystery here, but there is a basic reality that God will never allow this chosen people to be destroyed. He has purposes yet to save many of them for His glory. Let’s briefly walk through this chapter.
- (v. 1-2) Paul makes clear that in adding/opening the salvation of God to gentile nations, He has not rejected His people, Israel.
- (v. 3-6) Reference is made to the days of Elijah, when Elijah felt utterly alone – thinking he was the last godly person alive! This was false. God reminded Elijah, and Paul is reminding the reader here, that though most Jews had rejected Jesus as the Messiah, there was a “remnant” of Jews that did believe. Those Jews who were being saved, were not being saved by the law but by grace through Jesus as Savior. These Jews were being saved by grace in the same manner as Gentiles.
- (v. 7-10) Those whose obtained salvation were of the elect, those chosen of God. This points to the reality that those who were saved from the Jewish nation were not those of standing, or those of highest education, or hardest working, or from the right family – the salvation of God is always unconditional. We bring nothing to God that can commend ourselves to Him. We bring our sins, and He is willing to forgive by grace – Jew or gentile.
- (v. 11-16) Paul speaks to the trespass of the Jews (the crucifixion of Jesus, the Son of God) as opening salvation to the gentile world. But he does not give up hope for the salvation of more Jews. In a way similar to the past rebellion of the Jewish nation, the Lord never gives up seeking after this special people He has put His favor and promises upon. Paul indicates that the salvation of Gentiles through Jesus will cause some of the Jews to look again at the claims and promises of Jesus. But the salvation coming to Gentiles is not a new salvation. The covenant promises made to the Jews are the “root” of our salvation. This “root” grows up and is fulfilled and completed in the life and ministry of Jesus. What was symbol, becomes reality. What was hoped for is fulfilled. There is continuity between the covenant promises made to the Jews and the salvation extended to Gentile people in Christ.
- (v. 17-24) This section speaks to our attitude toward the Jewish nation. Not all of the Jewish nation will be saved by grace, but still they are a favored and chosen people. Paul uses the language of “branches broken off” as the unbelieving Jews removed from the Kingdom of God, making room on the trunk for Gentiles to be added into the salvation of God. However, those who have been added in must not be arrogant, but thankful. We must not be spiteful toward the Jews, but thankful that we have been included in the promises and choosing that were at first exclusive. The later portion of this section speaks with hope of unbelieving Jews being brought again into the salvation of God. These later believing Jews are spoken of as “natural branches” grafted back into the salvation of God.
- (v. 25-32) There has been a “partial hardening” of Israel while many Gentiles are brought to salvation. The indication is that when the full number of Gentiles chosen of God for salvation has come, there will be a fresh wave of Jews brought to salvation – and then the end of all things will come. We should consider Jews “beloved for the sake of their forefathers” (v28b). We remain hopeful, like the Apostle Paul, that unbelieving Jews will one day recognize Jesus as the Messiah. We pray that one day this chosen and favored people will look up from the law, culture, and rituals to see Jesus for who He is – and believe!
- (v. 33-36) This closing doxology recognizes the mystery of what is at work, but praises God for His salvation!
The conclusion of these things is that the conflict in the middle east is not between two morally equivalent people groups warring for land and resources. This struggle has much larger spiritual realities at work. There is spiritual warfare at hand in this conflict. Hamas – as agents of militant Islam – have attacked Israel. These two groups are locked in an irreconcilable struggle with spiritual dimensions. As Christians we must side with Israel. We must recognize God’s preserving graces over the Jewish people. Though we pray for the salvation of Jew and Muslim alike, we must never side against the chosen people of the Lord.
Oh, the depth of the riches and the wisdom and the knowledge of God,
Pastor Vic
Renewing Your Mind with RC Sproul
Renewing Your Mind with R.C. Sproul
“Have no fear of them nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.”
1 Peter 3:15-16
It’s very important that we are able to explain why we believe in Jesus as our Savior and Lord. It’s especially important that we are able to explain why Christian belief is distinct from other major world religions. Islam is one of the major religions of the world and is growing rapidly in certain parts of the world. I have included a link below to the “Renewing Your Mind” podcast. In this episode James Anderson gives an excellent presentation comparing and contrasting Christianity and Islam. I know you will find it educational and helpful in sharing Christ with those influenced by Islam.
Podcast: Christianity and Islam
If you enjoyed this episode, please continue on with the rest of the week as Anderson covers other important issues in apologetics – making a defense for Christian faith and practice.
Soli Deo Gloria,
Pastor Vic
Creation Ex Nihilo
Creation Ex Nihilo
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”
Genesis 1:1
“By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.”
Hebrews 11:3
In my sermon to you this past week I spoke about the necessity of believing in the biblical account of creation. I want to continue to press your faith and thinking in this area. I urge you to reconsider and reject the accepted thinking of western European culture that the origin of the world is evolutionary random time and chance. I will first explore some basic arguments related to intelligent / Divine design of the world, then connect these thoughts to some of the implications that you personally are not a product of random time and chance.
First, the biblical account of creation aligns with the scientific reality that matter is not eternal. All that exists had a beginning somewhere in the distant past. But science can give no reasonable explanation for how the world and everything in it went from not existing to existing. The Bible does. This is called creation ex nihilo, or creation from nothing. What is seen was not made out of things that are visible. God as Creator is the beginning explanation of the world. It’s not sufficient for secular science to put forth an explanation of the world that has no plausible beginning. This is not a step you can skip.
Second, in the progression of matter from non-living to living, there is again no reasonable or plausible explanation given within an evolutionary framework. The move from non-living to living is not a simple step-by-step progression. The simplest form of life is the single cell. It’s called “simple” because it is the smallest and most irreducibly complex, but it is not simple. Life progresses from the single cell to radically more complex forms of life, but the single cell has a threshold of life. The single cell can no more exist with half of its parts than you could exist with half of your organs. The single cell’s processes function as a system, similar to your body’s processes functioning as a system. Many years ago, when science was ignorant of the complex life processes of a cell, the smallness of a cell could pass for simplicity. In our day, such thinking is willful ignorance. There is again no reasonable explanation for how the life processes of a single cell could partially form, and the idea such processes would just “appear” by chance would be a leap of faith far more unfounded than believing in God. The Bible tells us that these processes were designed by God and put into motion by His living power. One Living Being creating another living being.
Third, even if you believe counter to reason that matter is eternal and that it is possible for all life processes of a single cell to click into place out of inorganic matter, you are left with the still enduring problem of humanity as a product of evolution. Early evolutionists were at least honest about where this struggle leaves us as human beings – facing the twin animalistic realities of survival of the fittest and natural selection. In evolutionary thinking human beings have risen up from the apes through an agonizingly long process of the weak and “unfit” dying off, while the smartest and strongest thrive and reproduce. This process has supposedly brought us to the high form of human development in which we now exist.
However, this animalistic view of humanity is impossible to square with the enduring human conscience and resident sense of natural moral law. The majority of human beings from every developed culture – those furthest from animalistic tendencies – know that it is morally right and good to live counter to natural selection and survival of the fittest. We have hospitals because we know in our hearts we should not just leave behind the sick to die. We have nursing homes because we know we should not just eliminate the elderly and infirm as a form of natural selection. We have rejected eugenics as a culture because we know in our souls it is immoral to breed human beings for better characteristics like we do cows and horses. Human beings relate to each other with a sense of morality and ethics in a way that animals do not. We have a sense of justice imbedded in our hearts that is not present in animals. Evolution has no explanation for our beginning, the origin of life, or the resident reality of moral ethics in the human heart.
Fourth, without question scientific laws indicate that the world is moving from order to disorder. The world is not getting better, it’s getting worse. Animal species are not forming but are going extinct. Ecosystems are not getting healthier; they are slowly decaying. In our day there is a strong sense of this decay, to the point that many fear an impending end of the world through ecological decline. However, this reality is exactly counter to the idea of evolution – that things are getting better and better. You can’t have it both ways. If we are in decline, at what point did the world shift from evolving to devolving? Why would this shift have occurred? The Bible explains these realities and gives an account of a designed world that began in goodness and moral innocence but has been in decline ever since the rebellion of humanity. The biblical account aligns with what we experience every day.
Next, are basic realities of the world we experience everyday that defy the idea that all around us, including ourselves, is a product of incremental, unguided, time and chance processes. The world is filled with animals that are “irreducibly complex.” This line of thinking is the same as the impossible leap from non-living to living. An irreducibly complex animal is one that cannot possibly have reached its current state through progressive development. It either exists as it does, or it would die. There is no possible, convenient, transitional form that would have gradually shifted from one state to the next. One of my favorite examples is the woodpecker. I’ll let you look this one up yourself, but the short of it is that without the completely unique tongue, brain, and eye structure it possesses it would die of starvation or brain damage. All three parts of this astonishingly intricate system must be in place for the woodpecker to eat and not kill itself beating its head against a tree. We hear these birds all the time in the woods around us, and their existence defies all evolutionary odds. There are countless other examples.
The artistry of the world must also be mentioned. I have spoken to the engineering and moral complexities of the world, but the world around us does not only “work” – it’s beautiful! God is the original engineer and artist. The artistry around us defies all explanations of the world rising up from random processes, and especially an explosion (bang). Nothing random displays the symmetry and artistry displayed everywhere in nature. Nothing beautiful ever comes from an explosion. Even after thousands of years of humanity carefully logging and studying the biology of the world, we are still discovering new flowers, birds, insects, and fish. We are surrounded in the world by expansive living beauty. It’s a beauty that we can steward and cultivate, but not a beauty we can replicate.
Lastly, I would like to speak to your place in this world and how vital it is to see yourself as created with purpose by God, rather than coming into this world by chance. The more you accept evolutionary thinking, the more you will enter moral and identity crisis. Evolutionary thinking sets you at odds with your own soul. We are all born with a moral sense and a sense that our lives have purpose, but evolutionary thinking tells you that you’re just an animal and morality is a social construct with no actual reality. Evolutionary thinking tells you it is by mere chance you were born as you are, but through medical technology and “advanced” cultural sensitivities, you can change who you are and become who you may want to be. You can evolve yourself to create your own reality. This sounds good, but just like standard evolutionary theory, it grates against reality in trying to press the God of the Bible out of your life.
The Bible teaches us that God not only created the world but caused you personally to come into existence. The Lord God is the author of life. By His purposes He has fixed certain aspects of your life that He providentially intended to be a part of your life and identity. These are not random accidents, but by divine providence. There are at least four things about each of our personal identities that spring directly from God as our Creator. God has caused you to:
- Be born as the gender you were born. God intended for you to be a man or a woman by His choice, not your choice.
- Be born with certain physical characteristics. Some tall, some short, some bald, some hairy, some light, some dark, etc. We do not choose our physical characteristics.
- Be born to the parents you were born to. God placed you in your family.
- Be born in the country and time you were born in.
The purpose of pointing out these things while discussing creation, is to firmly ground the idea that God has purpose for your life. You are not a random accident. Your personal meaning will not be created by your own doing, it will be found by coming into relationship with your Creator through Jesus Christ.
We all struggle with aspects of ourselves that we cannot change. Every person has things about their appearance they don’t like. The direction of our lives is often not clear. Sometimes we are at odds with our parents, and sometimes we grieve over the time and place we were born in the world. But there is purpose and direction through Jesus Christ. God has designed tremendous diversity into the world, and we ourselves are part of that diversity. Each of us as individuals, but with specific abilities and strengths. We will come to appreciate these differences and be at peace with who we are not by rebelling against God, but by drawing near to Him through Jesus Christ. In Christ we can rest and enjoy the fullness of creation around us, stewarding the world, and living in harmony with God’s will.
May we often consider the reality of God as Creator and give Him glory,
Pastor Vic
Guatemala Mission Trip
Guatemala Mission Trip – September 2023
“For ‘everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching. And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!’” – Romans 10:13-15
My daughters and I just came back last week from a mission trip to Guatemala with our brothers and sisters from Redeemer Stafford. Our brother Justin Woodruff led this trip of twelve folks and the group consisted of members from Redeemer Spotsy, Redeemer Stafford, as well as a brother in Christ from Charleston, South Carolina. We spent a week in and around the city of Chiquimula, Guatemala where we had the incredible opportunity to work with a missionary and his wonderful team. Daniel and his family have lived in Chiquimula as missionaries with Eyes Wide Open Ministries for approximately 15 years. It was apparent soon after our team got to the mission center that the Lord has been working mightily through Daniel and his team. The Lord has provided Daniel with the ability to build a network of local pastors who preach the good news of Jesus Christ in the surrounding towns and villages in the lowlands and the mountains around Chiquimula.
We spent four days driving to four different villages within an hour to three hour drive over a mixture of paved and narrow, rocky mountain roads to meet with pastors of local churches with whom Daniel has built lasting relationships over several years. Upon meeting with these pastors, we split our team into several groups in order to visit the homes of both believers and non-believers within these towns alongside members of these local churches. Whenever we visited these homes, we always took a package of an assortment of food to try to meet some of the essential needs of the people and their families. However, the food was the least that we could share with them. More importantly, we had the humble honor of encouraging other brothers and sisters in Christ with the sharing of verses in Scripture and with prayers to the Lord concerning the very real hardships that many of them faced on a day to day basis. We also were able to thankfully share the gospel of Jesus Christ with those who never knew our Lord. In several of these instances, the Lord worked the miracle of salvation in the hearts of individuals, both young and old, by the power of his Spirit. It was an absolute time of celebration and joy each and every time we saw the Lord work in this gracious manner!
We also had the opportunity to visit the local hospital in Chiquimula where we were able to hand out clothing, toiletries, and pillows to men, women, and children who were being treated there. As we spoke with and prayed over these folks, of whom many were in bad condition, we had the privilege of seeing the Lord call several individuals to repentance and salvation right there in their hospital beds. Once again, it was an incredible time of joy for God’s goodness! And finally, the men of the mission team were able to meet with a group of police officers who Daniel and his team meet with regularly to conduct Bible studies together. We were able to give our testimonies and share about the pre-eminence of Jesus Christ from Colossians 1 with the group, many of whom were yet to be followers of Christ, before we prayed over them for the Lord’s hand of protection and blessing.
For me, what was so unique about this mission trip from the others that I have been on in the past is that the spreading of the gospel was at the forefront of the entire effort. The gospel was preached in local homes. The gospel was preached in the local church on two occasions. On one of these occasions, our very own brother Justin was asked to lead the baby dedication of two local families. The gospel was preached by the bedside of patients in the hospital. And the gospel was preached in Daniel’s youth ministry, the local elementary school, and the local police Bible study. In all of it, the saving grace of Christ was proclaimed and the Lord, in turn, manifested his loving grace by calling several to be his children. This trip was a reassurance of the critical importance of Jesus’ command in Matthew 28:19-20 to “make disciples of all nations.” I hope that we all may be able to go together as brothers and sisters in the near future to spread the good news of the gospel, for Jesus abundantly revealed that “all authority in heaven and earth has been given to [him].” (Matthew 28:18) May we serve and follow our good Lord fervently!
May the Lord Bless and Keep You,
Paul Sok