Is Persecution Coming To America?
It seems that nearly every week someone tells me.." Persecution is coming....all Christians are going to be rounded up and marched to FEMA camps. Usually the ones orchestrating all of this rounding up and marching is Barack Obama and his evil henchmen.
My usual reply to this is to say; "Why would the Christians in this nation be rounded up and marched away into prison camps? We don't do anything!
We are probably the least likely to be rounded up for anything....it's hard enough to get us to all show up for Church!
Yet, I realize there is the threat of persecution upon the Church. It has always been there.......while in China many years ago, I met hundreds of Christians who would meet in fields, in the mountains, in tiny apartments in the cities etc. in secret because of the threat....no I take that back, it was not merely the threat
but the certainty of persecution that they faced. I met several who bore the scars and the deformities of having been in the Communist prisons there, who still wore smiles of joy because like the Apostles of old, they rejoiced "that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name."
In 1 Peter 3:13-17 we read:
"And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good? But and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye : and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled; But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ. For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing."
Persecution it is said is happening in America because Christians can't pray or read the Bible in public schools....yet every year for the last 3, I have gone to a public middle school in Downey Ca where I have preached to classes of students the Gospel of Christ with the approval of the administration.
In some cities it is true that crosses are forced to be removed, Christmas trees are removed ( although, I would hardly put the removal of a Christmas tree in the category of persecution), permission is refused to churches to do certain activities, and this is called persecution.
There have been some Christians arrested for public preaching and for passing out tracts which I would put in the category of religious persecution.
However, It is not persecution if the Republicans do not win, it is persecution if you are told you cannot proclaim the Gospel!
It is not persecution if you cannot have a live manger scene in a public place, it is persecution if you are told your church building has been seized by governments (city, county, state, federal) because of eminent domain. It is not persecution if you are not allowed to put a cross up on a mountain top in the desert. It is persecution if you are told you will be shut down if you continue to preach the truth of Gods Word.
Persecution has to do with suffering for the faith. it has absolutely nothing to do with not being allowed to have a church activity of some sort.
I do believe that persecution is coming. The reason I believe this is that there are many true Christians living in this nation who have grown weary of those who have turned the Christian faith in this country into simply another political action group.....because of this, Christianity has been marginalized and sidelined, because remember.....our guy didn't win! (Neither Mr. Romney nor President Obama were my guys for Biblical reasons).
We as Christians are no longer recognized as being those that have filled the city or nation with our doctrine, nor for turning the world upside down with the message of the cross!
We are known as those people who want every one to vote our way, sign our petitions, and allow us to put up manger scenes and say Merry Christmas rather than Happy Holidays.
Our churches for the most part are places where we can gather with our friends, eat a burger, drink a name brand coffee, hear a sermon, from a funny, relevant pastor, hear our kind of music, (although Christianized of course),
We are most certainly not in fear of being hauled off to prison, or beaten and even killed for preaching that Jesus alone is the way the truth and the life!
And since the subject of Hell and eternal damnation is not mentioned, there is certainly no danger of making satan and his forces mad enough to do anything to us. We are like the sons of Sceva in Acts 19 who after trying to cast a demon out of a man in the name of Jesus whom Paul preached, heard:
"And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?"
It is those that live Godly in Christ Jesus that will be persecuted not those who live nominal religious lives of hanging out at the church house. I believe that there is coming a movement among true believers who have not fallen asleep who are now ready to stand and proclaim not the message of morality, or politics but that there is only one hope and that is in Jesus Christ alone! There are no other ways to God......Islam is a lie, Buddhism is a lie, Hinduism is a lie....and all of the other "isms" that man has come up with in his effort to have religion his own way. The proclamation I believe is coming where Gods true people will declare that the Gospel is only found in the finished work of Christ.
1 Corinthians 15:1-4
Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.
Jesus is not a glorified man, He is God come in the flesh. He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords!
It is this message which satan hates, and those who belong to him in this world also hate. It is this message alone which if believed will change hearts and the actions of men. Nothing else will!
Persecution I believe is coming because those who truly know The Lord Jesus will proclaim this truth alone, because they must!
When the persecution comes, those who have only been trying to discover what purpose they are driven by, or that believe the role of Christianity is to simply love everyone and be tolerant of all others no matter what they may believe, will fall away. They will turn on, and turn in the true Believers in Christ....they will deny the faith that they never really had.
Persecution is a terrible thing for the ones physically enduring it, but it is a joyful thing as well, because Christ is glorified in those who truly are His.
Our great consolation will be the "Well done thy faithful servant, enter into the joy of thy Lord!"
Jim Miller
