The Good Life: Matthew 5:10: “Blessed Are Those Who Are Persecuted for Righteousness’ Sake…”

Unlike Christian believers in many nations, we in the United States probably haven’t experienced much persecution for our faith. So how can we share the blessing of the eighth Beatitude?

Matthew 5:10: “BLESSED ARE WHOSE WHO ARE PERSECUTED FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS’ SAKE, FOR THEIRS IS THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN.”

INTRODUCTION

The disciples who listened to Jesus that day when he gave them the Sermon on the Mount would pay a high price for their faithfulness.
So in the last Beatitude Jesus is preparing them for the persecution they were going to experience because of their faithfulness to him.

According to tradition, only one of the 12 disciples was not required to give his life for his faith. That was John, who lived into old age and died a natural death.
The history of the early Church records the death of many believers—old and young, men and women.
Some died by mob violence. Some were executed by government officials. And many suffered death by being torn in pieces by wild beasts in arenas for the amusement of spectators.

Some of those who suffered for their faith rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer for their Savior. They remembered the words of Jesus who said, “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven.”
And sometimes their unbelieving neighbors, seeing their faithfulness and trust, decided that the faith they died for must be true and became Christians.

Let us not forget our debt to those martyrs of the faith.
If they had not been willing to remain faithful to death, the name of Jesus would have been forgotten.
We would never have learned of God’s love for us.
The knowledge that Christ died for us and rose again for our salvation would never have come down through the ages and reached us.

We have probably not experienced much persecution.
I can only imagine what I might have done if I had been faced with the choice of denying Christ and living or confessing him and dying for my faith.

I. But sometimes, even in our culture, sincere believers may suffer a kind of persecution.

In many circles it’s not considered “cool” to be “religious.” In other situations unrighteous conduct is expected.

I think of believing high school students who face isolation or ridicule because they don’t go along with the crowd.
I think of college students may hear the Bible and the Christian faith ridiculed by their professors.
I think of politicians who tell the truth and as a result may lose elections to those who tell people what they want to hear.
Of business people who, because consider the welfare of their employees and customers, may lose out to unscrupulous business people who think only of profits.
Sometimes faithful employees have been penalized for refusing to go along with unethical practices.

II. But now I want to talk about the real persecution that hundreds of thousands of Christian believers face right now in our world.

Here are some of the news stories I have picked up from the news during the last few weeks.
If you use the internet, you can find more stories of persecution every day.
[Use as many of these items as seems appropriate.]

In Malaysia there is a big movement going on to deny the right of Christians to use the Malay word for “God” in their publications. Gasoline bombs have been thrown at churches, and they have been burned to ashes.

Christian communities have thrived in Iraq almost since the time of Christ, but the war in Iraq is quickly extinguishing the Christian faith in Iraq as Christians have been killed and others are being forced to flee the country as refugees to avoid death. One 14-year-old boy was actually crucified.

Christian girls in many Islamic nations have been kidnapped and forced to marry Muslim men. Children have been taken away from Christian parents and given to non-Christian relatives.

The greatest danger to Christian believers in the world today is to Muslims who dare to profess faith in Christ.
They are accused of “apostasy,” which is a crime punishable by death in 8 countries: Iran, Yemen, Afghanistan, Somalia, Mauritania, Pakistan, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia.
In other Muslim countries, where it’s not illegal to become a Christian, authorities look the other way as Christians are killed.

A Muslim shopkeeper in Pakistan was arrested and imprisoned because a competing shopkeeper falsely accused him of burning a Koran. He was arrested under their “blasphemy law.” In such disputes the Christian is almost always considered to be in the wrong.

A Christian man and his son have been in hiding in Egypt for many months, afraid to come out in public because they have been told they will be killed if they do.

In Saudi Arabia there are “religious police” who keep constant watch to insure that no one is carrying a Bible or wearing a cross or gathering even in groups of three or four to study the Bible.

There are believers in these countries, but many are forced to believe secretly because they know if they openly confess Christ they will be killed.

Some Muslims have decided to become followers of Jesus because they have seen the courage and faith of persecuted Christian believers. They say, “Look, they are willing to die for their Faith! It must be true!”

But the country most hostile to the Christian faith is not a Muslim country, but North Korea where many believers are now in prison and many have been executed.

In one state of India recently Christians have been attacked by Hindu mobs who seek to force them back into Hinduism. A Christian family was burned to death when their house was set fire by a screaming mob. Many were forced to flee to the forest and try to survive in the wild.

In Laos, Christians, who refuse to worship the ancestral gods, have been robbed of their livestock and farms and forced out of their villages.

III. So what can we do?

A. We can hold up these persecuted brothers and sisters in prayer.
The author of Hebrews was writing at a time when many believers were being killed or imprisoned.
In Hebrews 13:3 he writes, “Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them; and those who are ill-treated, since you also are in the body.”
They may not know that we are praying for them, but God will make our prayers give them strength.
We can pray that the lives of the persecuted believers will be so pure and loving and righteous that others will see the Truth they confess.
We can pray that the Faith will not die out in these nations where there are so few believers.

B. And we should give thanks to God that we are not faced with such terrible choices as they are but can worship freely and speak of our Lord to others.

C. And, most of all, we can make use of our opportunities for worship and fellowship and service.

It is sad that so few in this care facility come to worship services and Bible studies.
Many here have gone to church in times past and consider themselves Christians. But they no longer practice their faith in fellowship with other believers.
And yet it is so easy, and there’s so little cost to us to be faithful to our Lord.

This story comes from the early days of Christianity, during the terrible persecution of the emperor Diocletian.

It was the year 304. A group of 49 Christian believers was meeting secretly in one of their homes in Abitene, a town in what is now Tunisia. Among them was Senator Dativus, the priest Saturninus, the virgin Victoria, and the reader Emeritus.
They were gathered to celebrate the Lord’s Supper.

Suddenly, soldiers burst in and arrested them. They were taken to Carthage to Proconsul Anulinus to be interrogated.

When the Proconsul asked them if they kept the Scriptures in their homes, the martyrs answered that they kept them in their hearts.

As they were tortured, they bore witness to their Lord. As Emeritus was being tortured the Proconsul asked him: “Why have you received Christians in your home, transgressing the imperial dispositions?”
“Sine dominico non possumus” (we cannot live without Sunday), answered Emeritus. Emeritus explained that without the gift of worship and fellowship Christians simply could not live.

On that day 49 followers of Jesus gave their lives because they refused to deny their Lord by refusing to gather together in worship.

We read this in the book of Hebrews (10:23-25):

“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering,
for he who promised is faithful;
and let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works,
not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some,
but encouraging one another,
and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”

CONCLUSION

In all of the Beatitudes, Jesus is the great example:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit…” Jesus was humble; he is poor in spirit.
“Blessed are those who mourn….” Jesus is the “man of sorrows”; his heart is moved by the sorrows of the world.
“Blessed are the meek…” Jesus is meek and lowly in heart—always gentle with the weak and sinful.
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness…” Jesus always hungered and thirsted to do the will of the Father.
“Blessed are the merciful…” Jesus is merciful; he said, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.”
“Blessed are the pure in heart…” Jesus is pure in heart; he was always obedient to his Father.
“Blessed are the peacemakers…” Jesus is our peacemaker; he made peace by the blood of his cross.
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake…” Jesus suffered and died that he might bring us to God.

The surest way to experience the truth of these beatitudes is to keep our eyes on Jesus.

As we worship Jesus, as we love Jesus, as we obey Jesus, we gradually become more and more like him.
Christ is formed in us and he lives through our lives.
Then the blessedness Jesus promised will fill our lives.