…I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.
Matthew 16:18
We have been exploring ways that Christ has been building His Church
First, Christ’s Church was established by the Holy Spirit at Pentecost in Acts 2.
Second, Christ’s Church expanded evangelistically, both through preaching and through writing the New Testament.
Now for a third way in which Christ builds His Church: Christ’s Church experienced persecution. Persecution is almost always an ingredient in the strengthening of the Christ’s Church and growing individual believers in faith. Our culture has experienced peace (no real persecution) for a long time. Christians in other places in the world have suffered persecution all along.
As a result of not experiencing persecution, Christians in our culture have grown soft (relative to our persecuted brothers and sisters in Christ). As the Church in America has been spared persecution, the American church been compromised and even perverted. As it stands, the days of no persecution may be drawing to a close. No one likes that prospect, but consider this: Christ’s Church is always strongest and most devoted to Christ when it suffers persecution.
The next generation of Christians is likely to see our religious freedoms disappear and persecutions begin. If that is God’s will, it will be painful, but it will be the means of separating the true Christians from the imposters. People will not endure persecution for something that is not real and important.
And by the way, persecution come not only from outside the Church. Sadly it comes also from within “the church,” historically when false churches persecute true Christians. Sadder still, it happens when people in the church wrongly judge, speak ill of, and cause division within the church.
Though the Lord uses persecution to strengthen His Church, those who persecute or divide His Church will be held accountable for their misdeeds!
How real is your faith? How important is it? How willing are you to be hated, persecuted, or even martyred for Christ? If being popular and liked are at the top of your priorities, you will not last—and you will turn in fellow believers to save your own skin.
Besides living and dying to save His people, Jesus rose. Jesus ascended. Jesus sent the Holy Spirit, and Jesus is establishing His Church.
Next time: the vital importance of the church.