“Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matthew 5:10-12).
We live in a nation where we think little of suffering for Christ. But the promises of persecution are as certain as other promises of God. We are not suffering because we are not living godly in Christ: “Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Timothy 3:12). This nation is more civil than it was before and more civil than other nations have been. But maybe the problem is the “Church” being less godly rather than the nation being more tolerant. Perhaps we are wrong on what it means to be godly and so what we think of as godly is really being like the world and not the godliness found in Christ Jesus. Our forefathers thought godliness included telling unbelievers the truth about God and their sin even if it offended and brought persecutions. This article will come out the day after Reformation Day, and so is an effort to remind us of what true godliness is. In our day we think that we have to be gracious and speak of moral defects rather than sin to be godly. We think we have to be “kind and gracious” to heresy. Biblical godliness and kindness teach the truth about God, sin and repentance. Unbelievers truly hate God and if they are comfortable with what we teach we are doing something wrong. The enmity toward God will come out if we are teaching the truth as godliness demands of us.
Another thing we need to recognize is that persecution usually comes from religious people. Let us not deceive ourselves into thinking that we will escape insults and persecution from denominational leaders if we stand for truth. Let us not think that if we are accused of heresy and of being unkind that we are in fact being unbiblical. If men and women during the time before the Reformation and the time of the Reformation would not have thought the Scripture and the truth were worth getting kicked out of their pulpits and the “church” as a whole, the Reformation would not have happened. Until we get over the fact that being gracious and winsome is not the instrument of bringing true revival we will have been trapped with the mindset of false religion and the world.
I would like to bring short stories from Reformation and Scripture to remind us what is really needed if true revival and reformation in our day is going to happen. Let’s look at the example of Jesus in Luke 4. He went into the desert to be tempted and He was full of the Holy Spirit. He returned and began to teach the Word of God:
“15 And He began teaching in their synagogues and was praised by all. 16 And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read.17 And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book and found the place where it was written, 18 “THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR. HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES, AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED, 19 TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD.” 20 And He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. 21 And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” 22 And all were speaking well of Him, and wondering at the gracious words which were falling from His lips; and they were saying, “Is this not Joseph’s son?”
What we notice is that when He was teaching He was praised by all (v. 15). On a Sabbath day He went into the synagogue and read the Word of God. All were still speaking well of Him and wondering at the gracious words He spoke (v. 22). Notice that the text tells us at this point all were praising Him and were wondering at His gracious words. But notice what happened very shortly if you keep reading the text in Luke: “28 And all the people in the synagogue were filled with rage as they heard these things; 29 and they got up and drove Him out of the city, and led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city had been built, in order to throw Him down the cliff.” What happened between verse 22 and verse 28? Did Jesus stop being love itself? Did He suddenly stand up and say obnoxious things to these people? No, he applied the word of God to their false religion. Applications of the Word of God will make people mad. Again we notice that this is in a religious setting. Religious people get very angry when their basis for righteousness or salvation is disturbed. It has always been that way and it always will be. The Word of God tells us that. An effort to make peace may be an effort to keep the truth of God’s Word quiet.
“Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Timothy 3:12). “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. 12 “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matthew 5:11-12).
Jon Huss was born in Bohemia (modern day Czech Republic where the Karaseks minister). He began to see the truth of the Word of God and spoke fiery words against the priests and their sinful practices. He was outraged at the sale of indulgences and when asked to quiet down he replied like this: “Shall I keep silent? God forbid.” Four times he was excommunicated and once was in exile for two years. He was invited to the Council of Constance in October 1414 by Pope John XXIII. He was arrested within one week despite being promised safe conduct. He was accused of being a wicked man and a heretic. On July 6, 1415 with shouts and jeers “the church” committed his soul to the devil. He was pushed by a crowd through the streets of Constance and wrapped by the neck to a stake. It was then set ablaze and he died singing these words: “Jesus, Son of the living God, have mercy on me.”
Was Huss killed for being like Christ or not? We are told in our day that we are to be like Christ and admonished to be gracious and winsome at all costs. Huss would certainly have been accused of being unlike Christ in our day, and yet when we compare his life and death with that of Christ we can see that Huss was the one like Christ. When Huss spoke with fiery words against the doctrine and the practices of the religious elite of his day, he was condemned by them and yet he was like Christ who spoke fiery words against the religious elite of His day. We must wonder if people today are being like the modern version of Christ or like the One set out in Scripture.
“Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Timothy 3:12). “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. 12 “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matthew 5:11-12).
William Tyndale was born around 1494 in England. Just ninety years before his birth “the Church” had banned the only English Bible in the world. That translation was the work of John Wycliffe and to have a copy of it was a crime. Tyndale decided to translate the Bible from the original languages into English so that it could be read by all and that all Englishmen could hear the voice of God in it. He had to leave England as this was dangerous. He went to Germany where he possibly studied under Martin Luther for a time and then finished the New Testament in 1525. He went on to Antwerp where he finished the first five books of the Old Testament. In Belgium he met up with some English merchants. It was here that he was betrayed and was taken to a cell in a castle for eighteen months where he suffered a lot in the cold. He was charged with maintaining that faith alone justifies and believing that forgiveness of sins and the mercy of God were in the Gospel and was all that was needed for salvation.
Tyndale knew that he would die and that it was just a matter of time. However, despite his body shaking from the cold and with poor light for writing, he worked to complete the English Bible. In August of 1536 he was condemned as a heretic and defrocked. Then in early October he was led from prison to the stake. Fastened to the stake and surrounded by brush and logs Tyndale prayed this: “Lord, open the King of England’s eyes.” The final prayer was heard when two years after Tyndale’s death King Henry authorized the distribution of a Bible which was primarily Tyndale’s work. Tyndale’s dream and prayer had come true.
There will be no true revival or reformation in our time until God raises up men and women who are ready to stand for God’s Word with their reputations and lives. The Bibles we have in our possessions have in one sense been brought to us by the blood of the martyrs. The true Gospel has been brought to us by a succession of men who either died or paid dearly for preaching and standing for the Gospel. We must know that until we love God and His glory enough to be slandered and accused by the world and religious leaders alike we will not see the power of God come down in our day. If we are so focused on being winsome and gracious as the way of being peacemakers we will never see what it truly means to be like Christ. True revival and true reformation are brought about when men and women grow weary of being nice and from holding in the fire that is in their hearts and bones and they began to proclaim the Word of God regardless of the accusations. We need the fire of God to come down on us so that when we speak men will not wonder at our gracious words but want to kill us. That is to be like Christ.
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