Christian Living

---

November 21, 2011 – Taking a Stand

12 Indeed all who delight in piety and are determined to live a devoted and godly life in Christ Jesus will meet with persecution [will be made to suffer because of their religious stand]. – 2 Timothy 3:12 AMP

Paul was persecuted for his religious beliefs. He was beaten with rods three times. He was lashed with a whip five times. He was stoned and left for dead. He was even executed for his beliefs. And in today’s verse he says that all Christians who live a godly life will be persecuted.

I am by no means saying that all Christians are on the verge of being stoned. For example, here in the United States we have laws which allow religious freedom as well as protection from physical harm. However, some countries are not so fortunate, as Christians are forced to meet secretly behind closed doors. If these movements are discovered, many times their leader is either jailed or executed. Bibles are confiscated or burned. It’s hard to believe things like that happen. Some may not want to even admit the truth of these events, but Christians, in such situations are being persecuted the same way Paul was.

But today is not about physical persecution. Today I am speaking about the persecution that almost every Christian has gone through, at one time or another, in their life. It’s the pressure or the dissention you get from others. You can call it peer pressure, discord, or even arguments. Whatever you call it, it occurs more than you would probably like to admit.

New believers are especially susceptible to these outside influences. Family members, co-workers, even Christians doubt their new found faith. Mature believers may stand aloof from you, just as the disciples would not associate with Paul after his conversion (Acts9:26). Like the disciples to Paul, a mature believer could be afraid of your faith not being genuine. Apart from Christians, friends and family members can be especially critical. They can make cynical comments about your new faith, your church. They may call you names like “holy roller” or “religious nut.” Such comments can hurt, but look at Jesus’ words.

9 Then they will hand you over to suffer affliction and tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. – Matthew 24:9 AMP

Jesus spoke these words in a prophecy about the end of the world. There is a time coming when Jesus’ followers will not be persecuted by just friends and family. At that time everyone will hate Christians. I believe this time is quickly approaching. I do not believe that time is here, but I merely mentioned it here to encourage new believers in their faith. I would hope from reading his verse that you can see that as bad as things may seem for you right now individually, that it pales in comparison to the fact that one day the entire body of believers will be hated worldwide.

For mature believers, I can say with a fair amount of certainty that there is persecution in your life also. Sure you friends are for the most part Christians. You are surrounded by believers at church. But do you still have co-workers or family to contend with, who knew you before you were saved? Do they still try to occasionally bring you back to the things of the world you died to? For both the new and mature believer there is only one remedy to living a godly life to those who persecute you: take a stand.

As a Christian, you must always be ready to stand up for your beliefs. If you believe the clerk at the grocery store shorted you twenty dollars in change, would you not address the issue? Would you not take a stand for what is right? If you find it so easy to stand up for twenty dollars, why then is it seemingly difficult to stand up for the God you claim to love? I think I may have the answer.

Society has taught us to stand up for what’s ours. If we have been robbed of twenty dollars, we take a stand in order to receive it back. But at the same time, we have also been taught that if someone persecutes our religious beliefs that we should not respond. They are entitled to their opinion as much as we are ours. That’s true. But why do we allow God to be offended and not defended? We defend our twenty dollars, but not God. What is the world coming to?

Do you live a life devoted to God? Do you defend your faith when people try to tear it down? It doesn’t take a theological discussion to take a stand. A simple “I’m a Christian and that’s not what I believe” is many times all it takes to stand up. Today a challenge may even come from the unlikeliest of places. Are you ready?

---

PLEASE ENCOURAGE AUTHOR BELOW LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE