"Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. - Matthew 5: 10-12 (ESV)
Perhaps Jesus saved the most difficult for last. We simply do not understand true persecution in this country. There are Christians martyred every day for their faith while we whine if an atheist sues to remove the Ten Commandments from a courthouse. John Hagee actually preached last Christmas that if there were any atheists who didn't like to hear "Merry Christmas" they could get on a plane and get out of his country. Wow, that is some approach to evangelism. That is not very merciful or meek. What it is however is Christian arrogance at its finest. It pretends that it is being persecuted. Do you honestly believe that if Jesus Christ walked the earth today that He would celebrate Christmas? Seriously? Do you think He would deny a sinner flowers if He were a florist or a cake if He were a baker? I do not see Jesus shunning many sinners in the Gospels. I see Him eating with them. Sharing the Good News with them. Being merciful to them as He was to me. Beloved, hear me very clearly. When the unsaved pass laws that do not pay homage to biblical values that is not persecution. When a pastor sits in a Iranian prison for years on end for his faith - that is persecution.
I say this because I am worried. You see, persecution is coming. It will reach these shores and the church will have to finally decide if its tax exempt status is more important than the Gospel. Believers will have to come out from among her or be found in Sodom when judgment comes. We are going to be reviled. We are going to be spoken falsely of. Evil will be spoken against us. While these things will be difficult to endure; endure them we must. So far it seems we prefer to strike back. The world reaches out to arrest Jesus and we want to draw our swords and cut off their ear screaming, persecution! Yet he who lives by the sword will die by it. We are not supposed to be fighting with the world even if they are picking the fight. Look at the example of Paul:
King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you believe."And Agrippa said to Paul, "In a short time would you persuade me to be a Christian?"And Paul said, "Whether short or long, I would to God that not only you but also all who hear me this day might become such as I am--except for these chains." - Acts 26: 27-29 (ESV)
Facing a pagan ruler who could control his very life or death, Paul preaches the Gospel. Rejoice and be glad when we face persecution because this life is temporary! They can only kill this body but Jesus holds my soul! Notice here in conclusion that Jesus compares us to the prophets of old who were persecuted. What does this teach us? That we are supposed to be about proclaiming thus sayeth the Lord! That is who is truly persecuted. Not merely those who say they are a Christian but those who are speaking and living the Good News.
This is who the kingdom of heaven is for beloved. These are not easy teachings yet this is the first recorded set of teachings from our Lord and Savior. We often gloss over them because we have heard them before but today is a day to take stock. To take inventory of our lives and see where we fall short of the standard God has outlined here for us. Compare what is laid out here to what you hear preached every week and if they are oppositional, run like your life depends upon it because it just might. We can grow so complacent in our walk. We can do our spiritual calisthenics and think we are in shape but the reality is that every now and again we need a Beatitude adjustment. We need to check our spiritual poverty and see if we truly mourn over our own sin. We need to check our meekness levels and see if we are indeed loving mercy. We need to check our holiness through the purity of our heart and see what it is we are hungering and thirsting after. We need to check if we are indeed peacemakers or breakers while we get ready for the coming persecution. These are the things that determine if we are indeed sons of God. If we are in position to inherit the earth and see the kingdom of heaven. Forget the staged altar calls and canned pseudo-prayers. Are we bearing fruit in keeping with the repentance we are claiming? Is there a difference in who we are? Are we prosperous in the things of Christ? These are the questions that we ought to face every day as believers. Lessons from the Sermon on the Mount.
Reverend Anthony Wade - March 13, 2015
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