Persecution - then and now

Bonus! Today's discussion is also on Youtube if you'd rather listen/watch rather than read. Simply click here for the video/audio!

This upcoming Sunday we're going to focus on persecution, and how Great our God is. For more details about this upcoming Sunday, you can read or listen to yesterday's discussion by clicking here. 

Persecution Then

Incentivize stopping the gospel proclamation. That's the aim of persecution. To offer an incentive, a reason, a consequence, such that a person will change their behavior. The goal of persecution is to stop the actions of the target. We see this all over the book of Acts as the New Testament Church proclaimed Jesus life, death, resurrection, and ascension. 

The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people. They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people, proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. They seized Peter and John and, because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day. (Acts 4:1-3 NIV)

In Acts 4 John and Peter were put in jail to stop their preaching and preaching about Jesus' resurrection. They had only a few months previously witnessed (and ran away) when Jesus had been arrested by some of these same leaders in Jerusalem. Peter had denied Jesus when the accusations came thick and fast of his association with Jesus. Now, however, these two men were resolute, determined, and courageous in their faith. We may think that persecution is something only the most mighty proclaimers of the gospel faced. While it is certainly right for us to hold in high esteem the apostles, we must not forget that they were ordinary people like you and me! They were so ordinary, even their persecutors took notice of their uneducated and undignified status. 

When they [The Rulers & Elders of Jerusalem] saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. (Acts 4:13 NIV brackets mine)

Peter and John didn't have a special glowing aura around them designating them as "holier than thou". They had been with Jesus, and that reality is what made these unschooled, ordinary men different. Their closeness to Jesus brought about in them a disposition which was determined to proclaim the importance, the significance, the magnificence of Jesus as Lord. The earthly leadership in Jerusalem wanted Peter and John to cease and desist. 

“What are we going to do with these men?” they asked. “Everyone living in Jerusalem knows they have performed a notable sign, and we cannot deny it. But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn them to speak no longer to anyone in this name.” Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. (Acts 4:16-18 NIV)

The command came from a legal, authoritative body to cease proclaiming this name. Peter and John then had a choice, obedience, or disobedience to their present earthly leaders. Peter and John's response is remarkable coming from ordinary people, who had just lost their freedom by spending the previous night in jail. 

But Peter and John replied, “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.” (Acts 4:19-20 NIV)

For Peter and John their decision was immediate and bold. They clearly put the earthly leadership (who had just arrested and jailed them) on notice that their earthly threats and commands were juxtaposed with God's heavenly commands. Peter and John were released, returned back to the rest of the believers and reported all that they had been told by the rulers of Jerusalem. A prayer meeting broke out and we are told:

After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. (Acts 4:31 NIV)

For Peter and John, they got to return home from persecution relatively unharmed. Persecution can be as simple as demands to stop preaching or teaching about Jesus or as violent as beatings and humiliation. Paul and Silas suffered such persecution in Corinth:

The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates tore the garments off them and gave orders to beat them with rods. (Acts 16:22 ESV)

Peter, who had previously been ordered to stop preaching in the name of Jesus, was again brought before the leadership in Jerusalem for preaching only a short time after his first arrest. This time it was Peter and multiple other apostles who were brought up on charges (Acts 5:17-18). Upon declaring the resurrection and ascension of Jesus before the assembled leaders of the Sanhedrin (the same body that pushed for Jesus' crucifixion) Peter and the Apostles were again ordered not to speak in the name of Jesus, were flogged, and then released (Acts 5:29-40). 

Persecution of the New Testament church in the book of Acts is connected with the proclaiming of Jesus as resurrected, exalted Lord. Persecution was the response to the gospel by those who did not want to hear it and were willing and able to take action to coerce, convince, or condemn those who proclaimed Jesus as risen Lord. 

Persecution Now 

When it comes to persecution, not much has changed over the last two thousand years. Attempts to stop the declaration of the gospel occur today and are wide spread. Sometimes these are extremely heinous forms of persecution, and sometimes these are more subtle forms of persecution. If at any point you are reading through or listening to these persecution accounts today and thinking "well...why doesn't the person just do what they are asked? Why not just change their messaging, or update their word choice, or be a bit more subtle about their beliefs?" I want you to remember Peter and John from Acts. Remember their conviction in Acts 4. That is a shared conviction amongst Christian brothers and sisters throughout the world. Peter had denied Jesus three times, he would not deny him again via compromise or allowing circumstances to change his witness. Praise God for the faithfulness of God to strengthen his people two thousand years ago, and also today as the gospel goes forward!

A former law professor, Pastor Wang has been vocal in calling on the state to uphold religious liberties. Early Rain Covenant Church had been under pressure from the authorities for some time but matters escalated on Dec. 9, 2018. That night and the next day, police raided church members’ homes and arrested them. By the end of the week, about 150 church leaders and seminary students were in police custody, and the church had been forcibly closed.

Since then most of those arrested have been released, including Pastor Wang’s wife, Jiang (released June 11, 2019), and church elder Li Yingqiang (released Aug. 19 2019). However, several others including Pastor Wang and Deacon Tan Defu, remain incarcerated. Those who have been released remain under surveillance. In July 2019, the defense lawyer for Pastor Wang Yi was barred from meeting with his client and officials assigned different lawyers to his case, even though he specifically chose his own lawyers prior to his arrest.

Church members are very worried about their pastor and have received very little information about his condition or the progress of his case. Since the crackdown, some Early Rain church members have been sent back to their hometowns and banned from Chengdu. Others have lost jobs or been evicted. Church elder Su Bingsen was released in April 2019 and was flown home to Fujian in the company of security officials; his family was evicted from their home while he was in custody. Some of those who were released say they were abused and deprived of food and water.

Early Rain may have been targeted because of its open approach to church mission, which included posting sermons online and street evangelism. The church also ran a Bible school for about 100 students and had a primary school. Its meetings around the city regularly attracted more than 800 people each week. Pastor Wang himself has been a prominent campaigner for greater religious freedom. In 2018, he wrote a declaration signed by hundreds of Chinese pastors, which includes a statement of Christian beliefs and a call for an end to persecution; it also recognizes the Chinese government’s authority. Many of those in China who have signed the ‘Declaration for the Sake of the Christian Faith’ have suffered persecution since. (Read more about Pastor Wang here)

Persecution is in China, and it is in North America as well:

James Coates pleaded guilty to breaching bail and was issued a fine of $1,500, with his time spent in prison counting as credit for the fine, CBC News reported.

His congregation, GraceLife Church, has continued to meet for Sunday worship without complying with the province’s restrictions around capacity, masks, and social distancing.

Coates defended his stance before the judge saying, “I’m simply here in obedience to Jesus Christ, and it's my obedience to Christ that has put me at odds with the law. The court is aware that I'm contesting the legitimacy of that law but please, make no mistake ... I’m not trying to make a point. I’m not a political revolutionary.” 

Police vehicles blocked entrances to the parking lot of GraceLife Church in Edmonton Wednesday morning and temporary fencing was erected around the building. The congregation has met normally since summer 2020, despite requirements that church gatherings limit capacity, require masks, and practice social distancing.

Over the last nine months, the province’s health department fielded more than 100 complaints about GraceLife and conducted 18 inspections, resulting in multiple fines and orders to comply. Its pastor was arrested and spent a month in jail refusing the conditions of bail, that he agree to follow health regulations.

(Read more about Pastor Coates and GraceLife Church's barricading here)

While there is much more that could be said about both of these individual situations, I share them both to point to cases where, if Pastor Wang, or Pastor Coates, would simply change their convictions, they would be in compliance. Persecution is always about stopping, quieting, or muting the gospel proclamation. These two men of God are willing to submit themselves to the authorities for arrest and undergo all the loss of earthly happiness that accompanies imprisonment, all for the sake of declaring the gospel as best they can.