Lessons From the Early Church: Persecution meant growth and health
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I went with some friends to see the latest Christian movie in the theaters the other night. We sat in an air-conditioned building in large, comfortable, reclining chairs and watched a high-definition projected display while our brothers and sisters in other parts of the world sat in jail cells and torture chambers, or at least on a dirt floor hoping police don't discover their church gathering.
It strikes me as odd that in a country where movies appealing to "Christians" are cranked out several times a year, churches still struggle to grow. We've all heard the statistics about how Christianity is on the decline in the West. We are seeing the same historical pattern which led Europe into a post-Christian era play out here in America, even with a church on every corner and "Christian" movies in every theater.
By far the most successful of these has been "God's Not Dead," in which a college student undergoes the horrifying persecution of being verbally harassed by his professor. His life got hard, and his annoying girlfriend broke up with him because he wouldn't back down. Don't worry though, everything was fixed when a car ran over and killed the professor and the student went to a Newsboys concert. Nominal believers were given the opportunity to seem pious by affirming the existence of a deity to all the contacts on their phone via a mass text. Boy, did the spirit move. Persecution was overcome.
The church still struggles to grow in America.
"God's Not Dead" was such a success (and made so much money), "God's Not Dead 2" is scheduled for release in just a few weeks. In a clip, Reverend Dave (David A.R. White) tells co-workers at a pastor's brunch, "If we stand by and do nothing, pressure that we're feeling today is going to mean persecution tomorrow." — as if that were a problem.
Maybe our comfort is the problem.
While I am grateful for the opportunity to enjoy Christian-themed entertainment, I have no delusions that "God's Not Dead 2" will spark a revival and send moviegoers pouring into churches, having come to faith in Jesus. I don't even pray for it. I pray for the one thing that has consistently made the church grow and thrive over the past two thousand years: persecution.
For example, do you know where the church is growing the fastest in the world? India and China, where believers face the most systematic and consistent persecution in the world. In India, evangelists and missionaries dig their own graves before they begin to preach in a city because they are so regularly beaten or killed. In the book "Radical," author David Platt recounts the response of one such martyr. As he was being skinned alive by his persecutors, he exclaimed, "I thank you for this. Tear off my old garment, for I will soon put on Christ's garment of righteousness." This man, whoever he is, is my hero.
Last year, members of ISIS beheaded 21 Coptic Christians on a beach in Libya. When one of the martyr's brothers spoke on Egyptian radio, he expressed pride in his brother who was counted worthy of dying for Jesus. Another hero.
In fact, the idea that Christians would attempt to protect themselves from persecution through force of law is, in the context of history, completely new. Instead, healthy churches have historically embraced persecution. This was most true in the early church. Counterintuitively, the world's attempts to kill Christians actually caused more conversions than anything else.
In the Book of Acts, we see countless, brutal persecutions alongside incredible growth. Not only were these persecutions endured, but they were celebrated. Acts 5:40-42 records how Peter and John "rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name" after they were flogged. Paul and Silas sang praises to God from prison after being beaten in Acts 16. Paul later wrote to the church in the very city that imprisoned him, "I want to know Christ — yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death" (Philippians 3:10). God granted his prayer, and he was later beheaded in Rome.
In the middle of being fed to lions, stoned to death, and crucified and set ablaze to light the streets of Rome, Christians of the early church faithfully obeyed the Great Commission. They considered those who were killed "for the Name" to be their most venerated saints. They aspired to give up everything for Jesus because the very next day might have brought the opportunity to give up their lives. Where would they get such an insane idea?
Jesus said, "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you" (Matthew 5:11-12).
No wonder the early church — and every healthy church after them — welcomed persecution. They simply took Jesus' words seriously.
In America, we make movies about not being afraid to risk our grades or jobs to talk about Jesus, and our churches suffer. Elsewhere, brothers and sisters dig graves for themselves because they are delighted to risk their lives to talk about Jesus, and their churches explode with growth.
This is a lesson from the early church we desperately need to learn. Do you really believe persecution is an avenue to God's rich blessing, or do you think of it as something we should avoid? I pray I will someday be "counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name." I've already made my mind up. Will you join me? Will you join your brothers and sisters across the world?