In writing to Timothy, Paul made it clear that the life of a Christian would involve persecution: “Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Timothy 3:12). During the first century and at various times and places throughout history, Christians have faced severe persecution for their faith. In this country, generally speaking, any persecution we may have encountered for our faith has been minimal. However, as our society and civil leaders become increasingly ungodly, the likelihood that we will see more severe persecution in the future becomes more of a possibility. When threatened with physical harm, imprisonment, or some other type of abuse, it is tempting to do nearly anything to stay “on the safe side” and avoid it. Yet no matter how dangerous it may become to be a faithful Christian, there are greater dangers in compromising in order to avoid persecution.
The Hebrew writer reminded the brethren of persecution they had already endured and encouraged them to remain faithful.
“But remember the former days, when, after being enlightened, you endured a great conflict of sufferings, partly by being made a public spectacle through reproaches and tribulations, and partly by becoming sharers with those who were so treated. For you showed sympathy to the prisoners and accepted joyfully the seizure of your property, knowing that you have for yourselves a better possession and a lasting one.
“Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised. For yet in a very little while, He who is coming will come, and will not delay. But My righteous one shall live by faith; and if he shrinks back, My soul has no pleasure in him. But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul” (Hebrews 10:32-39).
The Hebrew writer contrasted two groups of Christians – those who “endured” persecution (Hebrews 10:32) and those who would “shrink back” from it (Hebrews 10:39). He commended these brethren for enduring “a great conflict of sufferings” (Hebrews 10:32) They were also willing to show “sympathy to the prisoners.” This was not referring to common criminals; instead, these were their brethren who had been arrested and put in prison. Despite the danger that would exist from being numbered with them, they did not distance themselves from these brethren.
These Christians had endured ridicule, tribulation, imprisonment, and the seizure of their property (Hebrews 10:33-34). The Hebrew writer told them, “Do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward” (Hebrews 10:35). A little later in the book, they were encouraged to be willing to suffer as Jesus did: “So, let us go out to Him outside the camp, bearing his reproach” (Hebrews 13:13). They had “not yet resisted to the point of shedding of blood” (Hebrews 12:4); yet as Jesus was willing to endure this for them, they needed to be willing to offer their lives for Him.
However, not all of them would be willing to endure this sort of persecution. While some were commended for sympathizing with their brethren in prison, others were not even willing to assemble with the church (Hebrews 10:25). They would “shrink back” rather than endure the sufferings that were coming upon them. Yet the Hebrew writer made it clear that those who would do this would not be pleasing to God. He wrote, “But My righteous one shall live by faith; and if he shrinks back, My soul has no pleasure in him” (Hebrews 10:38). To “shrink back” in this way by abandoning the faith in order to avoid persecution leads to “destruction” (Hebrews 10:39).
Why would this be seen as “safe”? This is about physical safety. In order to avoid harm and protect themselves and their family, some would stop assembling, teaching, and doing other things that would identify them as Christians. They could preserve their physical safety, but it would come at a cost.
Why This Is Tempting
The reason why the enemies of Christ and His people often use persecution is because it is so effective. Why is it tempting for Christians to abandon or compromise their faith when persecution arises?
There is a natural desire for self-preservation – Jesus said that the “second” greatest commandment in the Law was to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39). It is significant that He did not simply say that we are to love our neighbor. He said we must love them as ourselves. God created us with a natural tendency to care for and protect ourselves. This was the basis for Paul’s instructions to husbands to “love their own wives as their own bodies…for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it” (Ephesians 5:28-29). This is how God made us; yet we must carry out this desire in a way that honors and pleases Him, not in a way that causes us to forsake Him.
As a side note, we need to recognize that there is a difference between avoiding persecution and fleeing persecution. When persecution arose in Jerusalem, the disciples were “scattered,” and “those who had been scattered went about preaching the word” (Acts 8:2, 4). These brethren did not hide out in their homes and try to give no impression that they were Christians; instead, they went elsewhere and continued the Lord’s work. Avoiding persecution involves compromise and backing down. Fleeing persecution means doing God’s work elsewhere. At times, this could be necessary.
We are afraid to lose what we have gained in this life – The more we have in this life, the more we have to worry about. The wise man wrote, “The sleep of the working man is pleasant, whether he eats little or much; but the full stomach of the rich man does not allow him to sleep” (Ecclesiastes 5:12). The “working man” is only responsible for himself and only has his work before him. The “rich man” – who would typically have the “working man” laboring for him – has more responsibilities, more operations to oversee, and more potential for loss. If he is a good man, he would also be concerned with the “working man” and making sure that he is able to pay him for his labor as he should. We have been abundantly blessed in this country. The poorest among us are rich compared to many around the world. Such prosperity is “the gift of God” (Ecclesiastes 5:19); even so, it is temporary. We must not allow our blessings in this life to cause us to forsake the one who blessed us, even in times of opposition and persecution.
We can convince ourselves that we will be bold later – People tend to procrastinate. Rather than tackling an unpleasant task now, we often put it off until later. Perhaps we think it will be easier later or it will just go away. Regardless of the reason, what we ought to do often is left undone because we put it off. This same mentality can exist when it comes to standing up for our faith in the face of persecution. It will not be easy or pleasant. Maybe we hope conditions will change and the persecution will go away. Whatever the reason, we can be tempted to convince ourselves that we will take a stand later; we just do not want to do so right now. This was the same mentality as the rich man in Jesus’ parable (Luke 12:16-21). Though the parable was addressing his attitude in valuing his physical possessions over his spiritual well-being, the principle also applies to our discussion here. The rich man said, “I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have many good laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry’” (Luke 12:19). He thought he could focus on the condition of his soul later; but in reality, he did not have any more time (Luke 12:20). In the same way, when we face persecution, we may be tempted to think we can focus on faithful service to God later and abandon it for now.
Why This Is Dangerous
Persecution threatens us with danger for being a Christian. Yet there are greater dangers that come when we avoid persecution. Let us notice a few of these.
We are not pleasing God – Regarding the one who “shrinks back,” God said, “My soul has no pleasure in him” (Hebrews 10:38). We should not take this thought lightly. Just before these verses we have been studying, the Hebrew writer said, “It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:31). We can look through the examples in the Old Testament that show how God punished those who were disobedient and who rebelled against Him. These examples were given to show that God is willing and able to punish those who are not faithful to Him. Those who persecute Christians want to frighten them into abandoning their convictions; yet for those who recognize who God is, it is far more frightening to turn against Him.
We will be tempted to become more like the world – When Jesus warned His disciples about how and why the world would hate them, He said, “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you” (John 15:18-19). The reason why the world would hate (and eventually persecute) the disciples was because the world hated Jesus. He called them to be different from the world. Jesus said, “If you were of the world, the world would love its own” (John 15:19). This means that in order to avoid or escape persecution, Christians would need to conform to the world – something we must not do (Romans 12:2). Yet in order to blend in with the world to avoid persecution, we would necessarily have to adopt at least some of the sinful practices of the world to serve as “proof” that we are “of the world” so they will accept us and not persecute us.
We will be hiding our light from the world – In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lamp stand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:14-16). One of our responsibilities as disciples is to let our light shine in such a way that we point others to Him. However, if we conform to the world in order to avoid persecution, we will not be showing the example to others that the Lord expects of us.
What to Do Instead
Understanding that it is better to be right with God regardless of the consequences, what should we do?
Rather than being displeasing to God, we need to offer ourselves as a living sacrifice to Him – Paul told the brethren in Rome, “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship” (Romans 12:1). In offering ourselves as a sacrifice, we are giving our lives to Him. During times of severe persecution, this could even include giving up our lives for Him. Yet even if this happens, we must remain faithful. The Lord admonished the church in Smyrna: “Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, so that you will be tested, and you will have tribulation for ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life” (Revelation 2:10). No matter what we may have to suffer in this life, there will be a reward in the end if we will hold onto our faith.
Rather than becoming more like the world, we must become more like Christ – Peter encouraged the Christians to whom he wrote to look to the example of Christ in how to deal with the sufferings that come from living as a Christian: “For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps” (1 Peter 2:21). In calling us to be faithful in the midst of persecution, the Lord is not requiring anything of us that He was not willing to endure Himself. Therefore, as we endure persecution, we “share the sufferings of Christ” (1 Peter 4:13). If we remain faithful through this, we will be “blessed” (1 Peter 4:14).
Rather than hiding our light, we should continue to be an example for good – Even though Peter told the brethren that they would face persecution, they were still to set an example to those around them. He wrote, “Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation” (1 Peter 2:12). It could be that by doing good in the face of suffering, we may influence our oppressors to the point that they eventually turn to the Lord.
Conclusion
The goal of persecution is to get Christians to deny or be silent about their faith. Sadly, this often works. Whether we face severe persecution or not, let us be faithful regardless of the consequences. We need to have endurance in order to be faithful until death and receive the reward that the Lord has promised.
