IS PERSECUTION A PART OF CHRISTIANITY?

Dear friend, it is good to study the Word of God, the Holy Bible, for as God's Word states in Deuteronomy 8:3b and Matthew 4:4, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word God has spoken."

Christianity is the only acceptable way of life as far as God is concerned. There are many religions that believe there are many ways to get to God but again, Christianity, becoming a follower of Christ Jesus, is the ONLY WAY TO REACH GOD.

Our Lord Jesus Christ says in Matthew 5:11-12, "Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.

Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you."

Apostle Peter states in 1 Peter 4:12-16, "Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.

If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified.

But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people's matters. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter."

Dear friend, from the Scripture references above, we see clearly that suffering as a Christian for Christ Jesus is a part of the experience His followers would be expected to follow in their journey through life to eternity with Christ Jesus in heaven.

As Apostle Peter says it, we should not see it as something unusual happening but rather we should give glory to God for standing up for the truth of Christ's Gospel Message of Repentance and Salvation.

Apostle Peter and our Lord Jesus Christ also make it clear that suffering should not be for the wrong that one has done but for the right that Jesus Christ has commanded us to do in His Word, the Holy Bible, and for the name of Jesus Christ to be glorified.

The reason why Christians would have to pass this route is because satan, the devil and father of lies and his demons are fighting to ensure that no one enters heaven since they have lost heaven forever due to their rebellion against their Creator, God the Father Almighty.

They therefore want everyone to perish with them in hell fire. This is why satan came to deceive Adam and Eve at the beginning to sin against God but God loves humans so much that He sent our Lord Jesus Christ to die on the Cross of Calvary to cancel out the deed satan had committed and now heaven is open ONLY to those who qualify to enter.

Those who qualify to enter must first believe and accept wholeheartedly what Jesus Christ  did on the Cross, repent of sin, evil and unrighteousness, and genuinely obey all that God has commanded in His Word, the Holy Bible.

Only those who do this will enter heaven and I tell you, from what I have come to believe and the testimonies of people from different continents of the world that Jesus Christ has shown heaven, it is a place of bliss, joy and absolutely beauty no sane person should miss because of a few years of sinful pleasure here on earth.

This is why satan and his demons continue to fight and deceive people to think and believe that there is no life after death, that there is no God, that there is no hell, that there is no sin and that there is re-incarnation.

This is why satan and his demons use every willing human being to torment and cause untold pain for others. Such willing humans in the hands of satan commit all sort of atrocities against their fellow humans because they are also demon possessed and are ready to destroy everyone, especially Christians who stand in their way for the truth of Christ Jesus according to His Holy Word, the Holy Bible.

Christians, therefore, who encounter such satan-inspired individuals who torment them should not be surprised because our Lord Jesus Christ has said such things would happen.

However, Christians should also do as our Lord Jesus has commanded in Matthew 5:43-45 "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy,' but I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use and persecute you,

that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust."

This sounds difficult and hard to bear especially for a Christian who has passed through untold hardship in the hands of a fellow human being; but recollect for a moment that we are only here on this earth for a while and then we move to eternity, a world without end.

Heaven is a place of perfect love where nothing defiled can enter. If heaven is such a place and we believe that whatever God has said is true FOREVER, then we must obey what God has commanded.

Dear friend, think for a moment of the pain and suffering the Lord Jesus Christ passed through in the hands of His own creatures just to give us Salvation and win Reconciliation with God for everyone.

Jesus Christ knew He would pass through this painful experience but because He loves us so much, He still went ahead because that was the ONLY WAY to achieve what He did for us, His sinful creatures.

Even as I write this message, there are people all over the world who in spite of what the Lord Jesus Christ did for us on the Cross many years ago, continue to commit sin of every kind - rape, murder, theft, hatred, calumny, malice, resentment, fornication, adultery, lies, perjury, false witness, betrayal, divorce, indecency, fraud, drunkeness, prostitution, armed robbery, violence, etc.

Despite all these atrocities, Jesus Christ is ever ready and willing to forgive once the sinner repents SINCERELY and comes to Him. Jesus Christ knows anyone who dies in sin will end up FOREVER in hell fire and this is why He is ever ready and willing to accept us once we use the free will He has given us and choose to follow and obey Him.

If the Lord Jesus Christ gives and continues to give us these examples, He expects us, Christians, to do same to our persecutors because He says the reward is great in heaven.

Dear friend, no matter how difficult this teaching is to accept, it is God who has decreed it and we can only obey because He has the final say in everything. So rather than hate your persecutors, pray for them, forgive them so that you too would be forgiven your many sins against God our Father (Matthew 6:14-15).

So, suffering persecution for Christ's sake is a part of the Christian experience to prepare us and help us to prove ourselves as worthy followers of Christ Jesus.

Let me end by asking you, dear friend, how else would you prove yourself and your faith as a Christian if there was nothing painful in this sinful world to happen to you?

May the good Lord bless you as you accept His Word today, act on it and share with others in Jesus' Precious Name, Amen.

Gabriel Ama.