How Did Saints React to Persecution?

As I said on Monday, the first-century believers reacted to persecution differently than the world's people would have. In this way, they proved that God's supernatural power helped them.

We read in the fourth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles that the members of the Sanhedrin told the disciples not to preach that Christ was risen and sent them out. Those disciples told their friends what had happened and then they prayed.

Acts 4:31 (BBE) shows how God answered them. "And when their prayer was ended, the place where they were was violently moved, and they all became full of the Holy Spirit, preaching the word of God without fear."

In the next chapter, the disciples ran afoul of the Sanhedrin again. After some discussion, Sanhedrin members  beat the disciples and sent them away. Acts 5:41 (BBE) says, "So they went away from the Sanhedrin, happy to undergo shame for the Name."

But is there no occasion where Christians can claim our lawful rights? Paul and Silas did that in Acts 16:35-37 (BBE) after being unlawfully imprisoned. "But when it was day, the authorities sent the police, saying, 'Let these men go.' And the keeper said to Paul, 'The authorities have given orders to let you go: come out now, and go in peace.' But Paul said to them, 'They have given us who are Romans a public whipping without judging us, and have put us in prison. Will they now send us out secretly? no, truly, let them come themselves and take us out.'"

So, when can we claim our rights? Only when the law of the land allows it. Many times in the New Testament, believers suffered punishment without having any legal remedy. We read about that in 1 Peter 3:17 (BBE) which says, "Because if it is God's purpose for you to undergo pain, it is better to do so for well-doing than for evil-doing."

And as we read in Hebrews 11:37 and 38 (BBE), many faithful followers refused to escape persecution in favour of gaining a better reward. "They were stoned, they were cut up with knives, they were tested, they were put to death with the sword, they went about in sheepskins and in goatskins; being poor and in pain and cruelly attacked, Wandering in waste places and in mountains and in holes in the rocks; for whom the world was not good enough."

Because we faithful Christians are attacked, even by those who call themselves faithful to God, I'm writing a book called You Think You're Going to Heaven? As Jesus warned his disciples in John 16:2 (BBE), "They will put you out of the Synagogues: yes, the time is coming when whoever puts you to death will have the belief that he is doing God's pleasure." How sad that earnest folks still end up doing Satan's work.

On Saturday, I hope to publish a post about people's contentious attitudes.