“And then this guy called me a ‘Bible Thumper’. Boy, we sure are persecuted as Christians.”
“My coworker called me a Jesus freak! I’m just glad I get to suffer for the name of Christ.”
“You Christians are so weird!”
“Wow, I just get called all kinds of names for being a Christian, I’m really having a hard time”.
“They called me intolerant! The struggle is real”.
“Wow, there are gay people out there, and they want us to let them get married! Paul warned us about this persecution, I tell you what!”
Really? Are we serious?
Meanwhile, 2000 years ago men and women wearing that same name of Christ were fed to lions in the Coliseum and it was commonplace. So commonplace that the coliseum was the movie theater of the day. People actually brought their kids to see how many people would die, and how creative their deaths would be.
Christians were crucified by the hundreds by virtue of the name they wore. They dwelt in catacombs, in the tombs of the dead to avoid capture. Their home was the tomb of their rotting Christian predecessors.
The persecution was so massive that Paul advised Christians to remain unmarried in 1 Corinthians 7. Jesus lamented for the women who would be pregnant and nursing in those days of persecution.
The apostle Paul himself was responsible for the death of many Christians. Jews would throw stones at Christians until they were dead. Bashing their heads in with large rocks, breaking bones all over their bodies.
Many times families were forced to watch the deaths of their families before being subjected to the same fate.
Paul would later have his head cut off in Rome for the name of Christ.
John the baptizer had his head chopped of either by sword, ax, or saw. His followers and friends had to retrieve his headless, lifeless body from Herod’s prison and bury it.
Matthew the tax collector was killed by halberd, a spear-like weapon with a large blade portion at the end, at Nadabah in A.D. 60.
The Psychopathic Nero had Christians coated in wax and lit them on fire to illuminate his garden. The smell of burning hair, skin and fat and the screams of human burning seemed to be no problem. His enjoyment of the garden was unaffected, maybe even enhanced. The vile Nero also had Christians sewn into the skins of animals and fed to dogs and other beasts.
Under Roman emperor Domitian in A.D. 81, it is reported that ten thousand Christians were put to death. Ten thousand living humans killed for Christ.
In year 192, Christians were killed by having hot tar poured on their heads, were burned at the stake and were immersed in boiling water until dead.
Today Christians complain about burning their tongue on their $5 coffee.
The things we call persecution in the 21st century are trivial. Absolutely trivial. We aren’t being nailed to crosses. We are not being boiled alive, lit on fire or having boiling tar poured on our heads. No one has their heads severed from their shoulders or gets shot by archer firing squads. Christians aren’t being fed to wild animals anymore.
We get made fun of a little bit, then call it persecution.
We get called a name or two and call it suffering. Reprehensible. We should be thankful for the peace and ease we have.
Is there real persecution out there for Christians? We don’t hear about it in America if there is. Sure, there’s the occasional Church shooter, but that doesn’t mean there is widespread persecution against the Church. There are shootings at secular events as well, Churches aren’t being singled out.
One day there could be true persecution again, but not today. Probably not tomorrow. Humans have actually become more peaceful over time.
The next persecution to arise will purge the weak. It is our job to make sure we aren’t weak, and that we don’t forsake the Church if and when it does arise. We could just as easily forsake the Church. We need to be mentally prepared to stay committed regardless of pain or death.
If there does arise another persecution against Christians, I dare you to find Joel Osteen and his sycophants.
I dare you to find him still “worshiping” God now that it is so longer convenient. I challenge you to find faithful Christians who were a part of the emotionalism movement of the second millennium. Emotionalism will not be able to survive persecution.
Jesus gave a parable about a sower (Matt 13), and one kind of seed fell on stony ground. It came up quickly and died because it had no strong roots. This represented people who would receive the Word with joy and endure for a while. But when persecution arises, they wither to nothing. This is the seed of emotionalism, it rises up then dies when the cross becomes heavy.
Thankfully for those seeds on the stony ground, there is no persecution.
It’s easy to be a Christian in America. No one kills us because we wear Christ’s name. No one crucifies us. Sure, we get called a name or two, or we get made fun of a bit, but that is the extent of our troubles.
We should be careful when we say we are persecuted for the Church or that we are suffering for the name of Christ, because I guarantee you that we do not even know the meaning of suffering.