Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness

Based on Matthew 5:10

Khen Lim

Image courtesy of doxologia.ro

Introduction

Whenever we speak of persecution of Christians, we automatically look toward our fellow Christian brothers and sisters in the Middle East or in many parts of the African sub-continent whose sufferings are well documented for years. To stretch a little further, we’ll have to include Pakistan as well and in recent news, with Xi Jinping installed as China’s new eternal emperor – no term limitations, in other words – Chinese Christians are under a new wave of persecution that is far worse than even the days of Mao.

Today in China, we hear of crosses on public display that are forcibly taken down with authorities also demolishing churches citing a lack of proper building licences as their excuse. They are also trespassing Christian homes not only to destroy altars, crosses and pictures of Christ but also to confiscate all copies of Bibles.

While these are frightening enough, they are today’s headlines whether we like it or not. At any rate, these are the persecutions we know of because they’re in the news or at least, they’re the ones published by those who are willing to report them. But what about those that are too subtle to be immediately noticeable? Those that are so interwoven with everyday life that we might not even talk about anymore? What do they look like? Exactly how many of us have been victimised by them?

The centrepiece of the contemporary Christian persecution in so-called civilised modern society is political correctness. It is the most powerful springboard for all forms of politically-sanctioned Christian persecution in many parts of the developed world. It is the most immense psychosocial cantilever to act against Christianity. It can even force Christians to comply with the do’s and don’ts of the progressive socialist leftist political spectrum. Call them whatever you want but it is their dogma that Christians are to abandon their God and kowtow to their ‘standards’ of amorality that bind the way we speak, act and think.

So what has all this to do with Christians today? In a word, this is also persecution, although not the type that worries organisations like Voice of the Martyrs. While the things that Christians have to endure in the Third World continue to send chills through our spine, repression against Christians in the developed countries is persistently underplayed for political convenience. Most of the politicians on either side of the spectrum don’t respond out of fear of reprisal and the threat of career loss and so they often look the other way.

The less-reported persecution wave against Christians is varied and dependent on the country in question. In many parts of the EU and North America, kind Christian charity is fast fading away because such generosity opens oneself to scathing mockery and humiliation if you’re lucky; court charges if you’re not. Beautiful gestures like praying for others is simply asking for trouble today as Christian nurses are discovering in the U.K. Even college footballers in America are finding this out the hard way.

That universal symbol of Christ and Christianity – the cross – is so resented and under much threat in the secular world as well. Here in Muslim-dominated Malaysia, it’s a focal point of anti-Christianity to the degree that even crosses in school crests – a sign of Christian roots – were forcibly removed. Crosses emblazoned on the outside of church buildings came in for harsh rebuke, with Islamic authorities citing ‘confusion’ when Muslims see them. Despite the constitutional guarantee, it seemed publicly-visible crosses are an anathema to society. It’s not that Christians would collapse in a heap should the cross be removed. Rather, it is a religious right. It is a faith tampered by those who are intolerant and unaccepting of the right of Christians to practise what they believe in. This right is now up for debate, it seems. And invariably, that outcome of such debates goes only one way.

Without the right (political) connections, building a church from scratch is unimaginably hard because government authorities make it so. It’s the same with openly distributing Christian tracts. Even slipping Christian message literature in the letterbox is verboten and could cause unnecessary uproar even if they’re clearly marked as being unsuitable for Muslim consumption. In America, atheists parading as lecturers often warn their students that if they are followers of Christ, they would find it hard to pass their studies unless they renounce their faith. Questions concerning Christian rights are often not entertained.

Christians are also forced to accept practices that are against our faith. With the previous Obama government’s Affordable Care Act (notoriously called Obamacare), Christian organisations had to put up with making contraceptives available to their employees if they want to avoid trouble with the government. In some states, Christian students in school face the discomfort of accepting gender-neutral bathrooms with girls viewing it as a potential threat to their safety.

One of the most egregious things to affront Christians is our love for the family, which fawning liberals accuse of being hatred towards gays, lesbians and same-sex marriages. In other words, to say that we love our family is, in their eyes, an admission that we detest and condemn homosexuals. It’s a forced-on bigotry just because we cite the Bible’s disapproval of such sexual lifestyle. Clearly, it is unacceptable that we agree to disagree.

Across America, Christian bakeries, florists and wedding planners have been finding out how this fallout impacts their business survival. With the tenacious ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) and SPLC (Southern Poverty Law Centre) and others in hot pursuit, many Christian small businesses are falling apart at the seams, buckling under the pressure of bankruptcy as a result of serious legal threats from atheists. In other words, being persecuted is proving to be hideously costly in more ways than one.

Even a seemingly harmless sharing of a Bible verse in a school classroom can get liberals completely unhinged and yet it is acceptable when teachers use class time to introduce Quranic studies. And when these same teachers mock and denounce Christ by going to the extent of trampling on the Bible, they defend their behaviour by saying it’s a freedom of expression protected by the First Amendment. But when Christians defend their faith using the same First Amendment, it is unacceptable.

If that’s not persecution, I don’t know what is.

The Eighth Beatitude

In Matthew 5:10-12 (NIV), Jesus said:

“God blesses those who are persecuted because of righteousness for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way, they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

In plain language, God rewards those who are persecuted for doing right with the Kingdom of Heaven just as He does when we are mocked and persecuted for following Christ. Jesus tells us to be happy and glad instead because a great reward awaits us in heaven. He also asks us to remember that there are those who had gone before us who were also persecuted.


Image courtesy of Catholic Answers Forum

That was then. Jesus’ Eighth Beatitude on persecution was without a doubt very relevant in those times of great uncertainty. Christians in the first century were slaughtered almost indiscriminately. John Fox’s ‘Book of Martyrs’ tells us that the earliest persecution began under the five-year rule of the murderous Nero in 67AD. It was he who ordered Rome to be set on fire. In his book, Fox said, “he [Nero] wished the ruin of all things before his death.” When his conduct was brought into question, Nero simply raised his finger and pointed at the Christians, blaming them for the fire. His accusation was apparently founded on two reasons. Firstly, he was intent on ridding himself of the blame and secondly, he believed that by persecuting the Christians, he could boast of his power, pointing to Nero being quite aware of the incredible strength and influence Jesus’ disciples had on his people.

It was of course Nero who led the way to the martyrdom of Christians. It was he who devised barbaric ways to persecute early Christians. In eschewing the usual traditions, he pleasured himself with the most morbid and gruesome ways to execute Christians. In one horrific example, he compelled Christians to put on garments that were liberally coated with paraffin before forcing them to walk to one of his gardens. There, he had them lit on fire so that in the midst of their shrieking and screaming, the gardens could be brightly illuminated.

But that was more than two thousand years ago. Exactly how relevant is the Eighth Beatitude in today’s cultural climes? Is Jesus’ teaching about persecution as outdated as the ruins of Corinth suggest? Is the world more accepting, more tolerant and more accommodating of Christianity? To answer this, let’s look at two perspectives.

The global view

Image courtesy of Raymond Ibrahim

I’ve obviously covered this to some extent earlier on already. There is no doubt that the global view on persecution continues unabated. Even as we have grown more educated and have adopted a more sophisticated lifestyle, people in general are no less persecuting of Christians. There seems to be a seamless continuum from the ancient times to today when it comes to how Christians continue to be repressed.

In an Open Doors report, 7,000 Christians were killed in 2015 alone because of their faith. That figure is about 3,000 more than the year before. It also noted that Christian persecutions are rising alarmingly in the regions of the Middle East, Africa and Central Asia. 2016 was, according to the report, the “worst year yet.”

“Countries in South and Southeast Asia rapidly rose to unprecedented levels and now rank among such violent areas as the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa,” he says.

And despite all this, not all media organisations are interested in reporting such horrendous persecution, the likes of which cost tens of thousands of lives in many other parts of the world. Open Doors tell us there are at least fifty countries around the world where a Christian life is too hard to live. In his book entitled, ‘The Global War on Christians’ (Allen, 2016), John Allen says so many in the West are ignorant of the worldwide persecution of Christians. He calls it, “the most dramatic religion story of the early twenty-first century, yet one that most people in the West have little idea is even happening.” But I think he’s specifically referring to those who aren’t Christians because most of us are painfully aware of all this.

Allen does make a point that all of us know saying, “Christians today indisputably are the most persecuted religious body on the planet” and he offers up some compelling evidence for this. Using statistics from Open Doors, he tells of 100 million Christians who face interrogation, incarceration, torture and/or death on the basis of their faith in Christ. Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary’s Todd Johnson cites 100,000 Christians have been killed every year for the past ten years. That translates to an average of 11 Christians killed every hour of the day, month and year.

With Christians constituting 30 percent of the world’s population, Christianity is by far, the largest religion as well. Yet 80 percent of all atrocities that victimise people of faith are aimed at Christians. Another scholar puts the figure at 90 percent of people killed because of their Christian religion. In a space spanning seven years, from 2003 to 2010, terrorist attacks directed at Christians increased by a whopping 309 percent and since the time of Christ, no fewer than 70 million have been martyred. Of these, 45 million were in the 20th century, laying undoubted proof that more Christians had lost their lives due faith in the previous century than in all of the past nineteen centuries put together.

Note: The top ten according to Open Doors’ 2017 World Watch List (WWL) is North Korea, Somalia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sudan, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Yemen and Eritrea. However, over a 25-year span, the list changes to include Saudi Arabia, Maldives, Vietnam and China.

Open Doors’ other findings and reported trends are stark and worryingly real:

-        For the last fourteen years straight, the North Korea of the Kim dynasty continues to be an exceptionally dangerous place for any living Christian. They are not to be underestimated.

-        From their 2017 list, Islamic radicalism remains the biggest source of oppression and conflict against Christians in 35 out of 50 countries. And it’s not going to stop anytime.

-        Christians are the most obvious scapegoats when dramatic religious nationalism and government insecurity rears its head. This makes Christians the easiest target when it comes to anti-minorities.

-        The trend of worldwide Christian persecution continues to rise, dominating the total number of persecution incidents in the top fifty riskiest countries.

-        Pakistan has quickly become the world’s fourth most violent against Christians, exceeding even northern Nigeria, which themselves witnessed an increase of more than 62 percent of Christians killed.

-        In the same 2017 list, the little unassuming landlocked nation of Mali in West Africa has risen to dominance in the least flattering fashion by becoming the worst for Christian persecution.

-        Asia has eclipsed every other region in the world as the new hub of brutal Christian persecution. The continent witnessed worrying spikes in countries like Bangladesh, Laos and Bhutan with Sri Lanka being the latest to join the list for the first time.

-        The world total of Christians experiencing high, very high or unimaginably high degrees of persecution has escalated alarming to a mind-boggling 215 million.

Image courtesy of everydayforlifecanada.blogspot.com

The Barnabas Fund, a British body formed to support Christians highlights the ten most aggressive forms of persecution against Christians in ascending order of severity:

-        Social discrimination

If a Christian woman marries a Muslim man, she is expected to convert to Islam. The same applies when a Christian man marries a Muslim woman. In certain countries, Christianity in particular is not redeemable.

-        Institutionalised discrimination

As I said earlier, getting government permission to build or repair churches is at best, very difficult. Their idea is to eventually eradicate all churches. For now, they will begin by minimising the numbers as best as possible.

-        Employment discrimination

It isn’t just prejudice against ethnic groups but Christians are finding it difficult to join the police or armed forces or even public services. Some countries practise religious polarisation to intentionally make Christians as unemployable as they can.

-        Legal discrimination

Christians who are in dire need of aid are often refused by courts with the legal fraternity unwilling to represent them even though they are victims of discrimination. Out on a limb, Christians don’t stand a chance in any legal battle.

-        Discrimination against mission work

Many countries don’t welcome Christian missionaries. Some have already been kicking them out or they’re suppressing them. In some cases, missionaries are harassed, arrested before being deported. All this are done to halt the spread of the Gospel.

-        Discrimination against religious conversion

To prevent their people from accepting Christ, countries establish anti-blasphemy and/or anti-apostasy laws that make conversions a punishable crime possibly amount to death. Authorities who accuse Christians of blasphemy or religious defamation invariably are from countries with Islam as their state religion. No doubt, striking fear among the people is a good way to stifle Christianity.

-        Discrimination against corporate worship

Not just the Saudis but now, the mainland Chinese authorities suppress corporate worship by destroying as much of the network of house churches. Called Three-Self churches, these are the only ones China sanctions because the messages to the congregation are fully controlled.

-        Forced back-conversion

In some countries, Christians in failed marriages are often pressured to recant and then re-embrace their original religion. Not surprisingly, statistics reveal that more often than not, they are originally Muslims.

-        Individualised discrimination

In many countries throughout the world, when it comes to deadly violence as a form of expression of religious discrimination, Christians are very often the most likely to be individually targeted. Such violence has seen many Christians killed even in broad daylight in public.

-        Community-wide discrimination

It isn’t just individuals; discrimination against the entire church by the local communities is also widely occurring. Anything from resentment and oppression to serious persecution, riot and violence can take place.

And so, from the global viewpoint, Jesus’ Eighth Beatitude is just as relevant today as it was so many millennia ago. Be it on an individual, corporate or worldwide basis, the persecutions have no ceased. There has not been a moment in time where there was an appreciable gap where Christians around the world could enjoy peace and harmony. Indeed, persecution is everywhere for the Christians. It is also inside some churches where the congregation is forced to compromise their belief because of some discriminating or politically correct policies.

The Eighth Beatitude remains no less important today and it continues to hold precious value for hundreds of millions of our Christian brothers and sisters who live subjugated lives for the sake of Christ. They are the ones who have lost their freedom and come under surveillance in everything they do and say. For them, they live their lives in accordance to the Eighth Beatitude.

Of sinful nature and of new creation

Image courtesy of Pakistan Defence

If there are any references to the currency of modern-day persecution, three passages in the New Testament could shed some useful light. The first comes from the apostle Paul in his letter to Timothy:

“Yes, and everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. But evil people and impostors will flourish. They will deceive others and will themselves be deceived.” (2 Tim 3:12-13, NLT, my emphasis)

The emphasis I have added to the above passage indicates that persecution was as valid then as it is still today. Paul says, “everyone who wants” as a way of including us in this millennium. The second one also comes from Paul:

“After preaching the Good News in Derbe and making many disciples, Paul and Barnabas returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch of Pisidia where they strengthened the believers. They encouraged them to continue in the faith, reminding them that we must suffer many hardships to enter the Kingdom of God.” (Acts 14:21-22, NLT, my emphasis)

Paul’s reminder that to “suffer many hardships” is a way to enter the Kingdom of God is tangible today. It is a reminder that still makes sense today. In the Gospel according to John, Jesus brings us up to the third:

“If the world hates you, remember that it hated Me first. The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you. Do you remember what I told you? ‘A slave is not greater than the master.’ Since they persecuted Me, naturally they will persecute you. And if they had listened to me, they would listen to you. They will do all this to you because of Me, for they have rejected the One who sent Me.” (John 15:18-21, NLT)

Without a doubt, we can still relate to Jesus’ words then as they are today. What we do know is that whether it was then or now, there is an extraordinary heavy price to pay in loving Christ. We will endure hatred. We will weather all forms of persecution. And the world will reject us just as they rejected Jesus.

Also in the Book of Matthew, Jesus echoes something similar:

“Students are not greater than their teacher and slaves are not greater than their master. Students are to be like their teacher and slaves are to be like their master. And since I, the master of the household, have been called the prince of demons, the members of my household will be called by even worse names!” (Mt 10:24-26, NLT)

And then, two verses down, Jesus adds:

“Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Mt 10:28, NLT, my emphasis)

Just as they resonate then, these words are equally as vibrant today. Jesus asks us to fear nothing since our souls cannot be touched because they belong to God. The eye-opening part of what Jesus says is the level of expectation. When He says, “those who want to kill your body,” it is said with an assured anticipation that it will happen. We are, in other words, expected to die or at least suffer the wrath of the world.

What do we learn from all of these Bible passages? One sure thing is that Christian persecution is still alive. Two thousand odd years did nothing to dim its occurrence. In fact, it seems to be even more devastating in recent years. Paul’s statement, “everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution” rings many uncomfortable bells today, affirming that the vividness of the global scenario.

In both 2 Timothy and Acts, Paul evinces conviction in his understanding that the nature of Christian faith is readymade for conflict with man’s sinfulness. He underlines the utter incompatibility between the Christ way of life on the one extreme and the mindset and cultural demagoguery of a sin-wrecked world on the other. One is, of course, rooted in the nature of the new creation in Christ while the other is steeped in the behaviour and sentiments of the fallen man.

To suggest that this opposition of forces has gone out of date is folly. Just as oppression undergirded the Early Church, it paints the same picture today, offering a complexion of persecution on a scale no less intimidating than it was. This simply makes it inescapable and inevitable that who we are alone would is deeply offensive to many people and the world at large would punish us just because of the very essence of our beliefs and the principles of life that we uphold.

So, just as our predecessors in faith had willed themselves to prepare for persecution then, so we must too do the same today. The fact that hundreds of millions of Christians continue to die around the world every year tells us that Jesus’ words still ring true. These are the people who made it their live to put God first whether in private or in public and for that, they are put to the sword in one way or another.

And without a doubt, we would all face that at some point. The hard thing to accept though is that we have no knowledge of when our faith will be bitterly tested. The challenge we face might be our end, yet, we know not when. In the same way, we have no clarity as to whether any of us will be called to do His will in some hostile place where our Christian lives will hang by a thread. Neither do we really want to be tested to the end of our lives just because we must stand in principle to uphold Christ.

So what does the Eighth Beatitude teach us?

Persecution defined

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From what we now understand of the Bible, an unpersecuted Church is non-existent. In the post-Christ years, such a church didn’t exist and couldn’t have existed anywhere in the world. In our language, a ‘persecuted church’ is a church that is harassed and oppressed. It is a church that experiences the killing of Christians who die because of their faith simply because society cannot get itself to accept or embrace them. Christians lose their lives on the account that we are different, different because we prefer to believe in Jesus Christ as our Saviour.

Scripture records a significant amount of oppression suffered by God’s people in both the Old and New Testaments. In the Old particularly, we read of ancient Jews who were constantly harangued and/or attacked by numerous neighbouring tribes. In a Bible’s who’s who, they included the Philistines, Amalekites, Ishmaelites, Moabites, Hagarites, Edomites, Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Midianites and Jebusites.

The interesting thing about these tribes is that they have emerged today as contemporary major players in the explosive Middle East region, which feature jihadists and Islamic fundamentalists who make up the fabric of the Arabicised Muslim world. These tribes have now fanned out among the populations of countries including Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Egypt, Libya, Sudan, Morocco and Tunisia. Don’t forget the Philistines who now prop up the faux nation of Palestine as well.

Other than the marauding tribes, remember the Assyrians and Babylonians who later conquered the divided Israelites. They too were pagans who turned their backs to God and by doing that, they were at complete odds with the Israelites who chose to worship the One True God.

In much the same way, the New Testament tells us of how the Pharisees took it upon themselves to persecute Jesus because He opposed and rejected the oppressive legalism they prescribed to His people. And even after His death, resurrection and ascension, Christians continue to be oppressed. That lull never came. Instead the violent reactions against Christians had escalated to become the first major organised persecution of the Early Church.

Also in the New, we learn of one of the Pharisees’ most zealous antagonists. His name was Saul of Tarsus, who was exceptionally learned in the ways of the Jewry and Rome. Here was a man who eventually fell off his horse and was stunningly converted to Christianity. We know him better as the Apostle Paul.

Following his conversion, Paul began his walk for Christ, embarking on missions for the Gospel in the midst of a Roman Empire whose policy was to terrorise the Christians. It didn’t take too long before Nero began to execute apostles like Paul and Peter. Paul was beheaded because as a Roman citizen, he was allowed to die with his dignity intact. Simon Peter, on the other hand, was believed to be crucified upside down in a Roman arena.

But of course, there weren’t the only ones. Killing Christians became a macabre procession and a hideous form of entertainment for Roman patrons, looking for the thrill of watching Christ’s believers die. If they weren’t tortured or set on fire, their end came facing hungry lions looking for their next meal with an often raucous audience thirsting for their blood.

When it looked like Christian oppression could finally come to an end with the ratification of the Edict of Milan signed by Constantine the Great (272-337AD), which guaranteed freedom of religion for all, it ultimately didn’t last for long. Having ground to a temporary halt, the Roman Empire’s notorious systemic oppression continued elsewhere and before long, it was all back in full swing.

John 15:20 is a timely reminder that as the world persecuted Jesus, they will also persecute us too. Even so, Christ left a promising reminder for those of us who are prepared to endure the persecution till the end. That message says:

“God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are My followers. Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way.” (Mt 5:11-12, NLT)

And for all the great trials we, whose faith we invest in Christ, go through, here are Paul’s reassuring words:

“Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean He no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity or are persecuted or hungry or destitute or in danger or threatened with death? (As the Scriptures say, ‘For Your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.’) No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ who loved us.” (Rom 8:35-37, NLT)

Why the persecutions

Now that we can conclude that persecutions are here to stay, some Christians might ask the obvious – why do they exist and why have we to face them? From the previously quoted passages in the Bible, it’s tempting to say we already know the answer but at the same time, we must understand that not all persecuted Christians draw blessings from God. This is why Matthew 5:10 is especially significant:

“God blesses those who are persecuted because of righteousness for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Mt 5:10, NIV)

In this passage, Jesus identified the persecuted among us Christians as those who suffer because of righteousness and not because of any other reason. To be persecuted is not enough but to be persecuted for the very right reason holds key to God’s blessings. In other words, even as all Christians suffer at the hands of others, it doesn’t imply that God would bless us unequivocally because the reason is important.

If we are punished because of our morally unacceptable behaviour or that our rudeness got ahead of us, surely God will not shower us with His blessings. Similarly if we defrauded the whole nation, told lies about it and pretended that it was someone else’s fault, it is perfectly within His right to not treat us kindly. But, on the other hand, if we are persecuted because of our steadfast love for Christ, God’s response to us underlines the importance and relevance of the Eighth Beatitude.

To attain a better understanding, let’s briefly review the structure of the Beatitudes.

Righteousness, the cornerstone of Beatitudes

Image courtesy of Touch of Faith Ministry

In studying the structural nature of the Beatitudes, we may discern two interesting formations. Of the eight Beatitudes, there are two distinct groups of four and each one of them ends with an allusion towards righteousness. In Matthew 15:6, the first group ends like this:

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be filled.” (Mt 15:6, NIV, my emphasis)

As for the second group in verse 10, the ending is identical:

“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Mt 5:10, NIV, my emphasis)

The first three Beatitudes lead us to the fourth, which talks of the hunger and thirst for righteousness. These three are an embodiment of a kind of ‘divine voidness’ that describes an impoverished spirit, mournfulness and a meekness that leads us to submit ourselves to God. This voidness in the first three Beatitudes helps us to visualise a deep sense of longing, which is what the Fourth (Beatitude) talks about when Jesus uses the words ‘hunger’ and ‘thirst.’

In contemporary English, when we talk about something we lack that we need, we can describe it as having developed hunger pangs for. In other words, if you are for want of something you desire much of, you will then develop strong hunger pangs for it. You will yearn very much to take possession of it. You will in fact search high and low, near and far, wanting very much to find it at all costs.

In the second group of three Beatitudes – from verses 7 to 9 – we see an opposite effect. There is no talk of voidness here. Instead we have a strong sense of fullness akin to a feeling of having accomplished something of great importance. At this point, the hunger and thirst that was talked about earlier is, by now, properly satiated by an abundance of mercy, purity of heart and the keen ability to make peace with people.

Note the powerful imagery here – from nothingness in verses 3 to 5 to fullness in verses 7 to 9. We can see that our yearning in the first group leads to the much anticipated attainment of righteousness in the second, reflected in mercy, purity and peacemaking. And the result of all this is – as verse 10 says – persecution for the righteous. For all the great things we do for and in Christ, persecution awaits us even as – or because of – we have come so far in having achieved much to His glory.

To summarise, the Beatitudes begin with a longing for righteousness to fill a profound emptiness in us. Once we attain this righteousness, the world sees us fit for persecution for as it hates Christ, it also hates us. But in having achieved righteousness and then facing persecution as a result, God lays in wait with His blessings in store.

One other interesting way to look at this righteousness is to compare verse 10 with 11. In the former is the phrase, “because of righteousness” while in the latter, Jesus says, “because of Me”:

“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Mt 5:10, NIV, my emphasis)

“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.” (Mt 5:11, NIV, my emphasis)

Both verses talk of righteousness but verse 11 reframes it differently although they refer to the same thing. In other words, Christ is righteousness. And righteousness is Christ or to be Christ-like. What we learn is that real righteousness – the type that trumps whatever it is that the scribes and Pharisees thought it was – will always involve Jesus. Such righteousness requires us to be deeply engaged in a relationship with Him:

“For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Mt 5:20, NIV, my emphasis)

Real righteousness is not a means to its own end. In itself, it does not accomplish anything worthwhile on its own. Without the true purpose at heart, righteousness for its own sake is completely meaningless. But righteousness done for Jesus’ sake is entirely different. The mercy, purity and peacemaking of a disciple of Christ can only come from Christ and is done purely to honour Him. It is said in John 15:5 (NLT) that, “apart from Me, you can do nothing.” It is only “those who remain in Me and I in them, will produce much fruit” (Jn 15:5a, NLT). It is therefore our relationship with Jesus that shapes the true and inimitable character to righteousness.

But then why are the righteous persecuted? Or why is righteousness persecuted? Why is doing good by God such a bad thing in the eyes of the world? Why do people persecute those of us who have a relationship with Christ? Why do people hate us when we endeavour to be merciful, pure in heart and peaceable? Why is living for Christ’s glory such a detestable thing to others? How are all these so offensive to them?

Let’s revisit the Book of Luke:

“‘No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money.’ The Pharisees, who dearly loved their money, heard all this and scoffed at Him. Then He said to them, ‘You like to appear righteous in public but God knows your hearts. What this world honours is detestable in the sight of God.’” (Lk 16:13-15, NLT)

In verse 13, Jesus was clear on one important thing – we cannot have our eyes focused on God while still being a slave to material wealth. To Him, it’s either one or the other. In other words, He wants us to make a choice – Him or money. It’s either that we detest one and love the other or it’s the other way round. In the end, we have to make the all-important choice between God and material wealth.

And then in verse 14, Luke tells us how the Pharisees mocked Jesus for what He said about choosing between God and material wealth. It’s a powerful testimony to how it is that Jesus’ view was so overly offensive to the Pharisees. In much the same way, if we lay bare the Eighth Beatitude to a man of the flesh, his response would be the same – disbelief, shock horror, laughter and then the mockery. Jesus’ views and attitude were an insult to the Pharisees then as they are to the world today. So long as people devote their adoration to money, they would turn their backs on God and when they do this, they would take the opportunity to hate those who can’t and won’t see things their way.

In verse 15, Jesus would have startled the Pharisees when He chided them for their pretentiousness. He then said that no matter what they did to hide their true self, the Father would know their unmasked character from inside out. In other words, there was no hiding. None of us can run away from God who knows us better than we know ourselves. We can all fool fellow men with what we say, do and act but it wouldn’t have mattered because to God, we are too transparent to hide behind anything. And in the end, the ways of the world will always be repugnant to Him.

And there lies the crux of the issue, which righteousness has forced us to face up to. Just as Christ has given us a need to set ourselves aside to Him and learn righteousness from Him, there are also those whose love for the things of the world is too overpowering for them to take God seriously. In the two, there is profound conflict. It’s like the sinking cold and the rising hot air meets in the sky, producing bolts of lightning and a powerful thunderclap. When the love for Christ meets the passion of the world, persecution arises. That’s when the world responds violently towards those of us who prefer to place our trust in Jesus.

To people like the Pharisees, Jesus’ words are toxic. His way of life. His teachings of love. His exhortation to righteousness. All of these are anathema to those who think they know better. When Jesus said, “no one can serve two masters,” He actually wasn’t saying it dismissively of others. He was neither offensive nor insulting. Quite the contrary, in fact.

Just like He was living out the Beatitudes Himself, Jesus had said that with a merciful and pure heart. He was trying to instil peace in us, safe in the belief that we must hold fast to the things of God. But this is not what the Pharisees of the world want to hear. They detested the truth. They shunned Jesus and eventually drove themselves to the conviction that He must be put down. And through man’s self-justification, the Son of God was persecuted.

Righteousness meets the world

By now, the Bible points us to the inevitability of Christian persecution for those of us who live righteous lives. Doomed though this may sound, God’s blessings make it worth the while to endure it. This persecution is real enough, of course. After all, it is something that is pervasive throughout the world.

Persecution, as we know, will come packaged differently. As Christians, we are reviled and sneered at. Christianity, to many, is a disease so contaminating that it must be kept at arm’s length. What we say or do can cause outrage. So no one wants to hear a word from us. We are toxic to others and so are our love of Christ. People reserve the worse condemnation for us. They tell us we are undeserving of their sympathies. And there will be scoffs aplenty. People will use parodies to mock our Christian conduct. There will be endless pithy jokes that are cruel and insulting.

And then with the Internet outreach, bigotry against Christians will go viral before we can even blink an eye. Before long, thousands become millions who will join the chorus of hate, heaping even greater pressure on all of us to shrink into oblivion. If good fortune deserts us, scathing mockery might turn into something even deadlier. Lives could then be seriously compromised. We could be dead.

In recent decades, Christians have weathered increasingly vicious socio-political forces that deny us of our desire to live righteously and to conduct our lives with true Christian priorities. These forces I talk about are varied but they are all examples of today’s decadence and self-indulgence. For this article, I will restrict these to just a few of the more outstanding ones.

Hedonistic sex

Image courtesy of The Ethics Centre

How wrong can society be if 67 percent of respondents in a 2016 U.S. survey actually think that sex between unmarried partners is morally acceptable? What about how only 33 percent of American respondents view gay and lesbian relationships as unacceptable in 2017 when that figure was 20 points higher sixteen years earlier?

Another disturbing statistic revolves around the sorry fact that 34 percent of respondents in the U.S. considers pornography to be morally acceptable. And of course, any sexual hedonist cannot but find himself an adherent of abortion. Although vast numbers of Americans consider abortion abhorrent, as high as 49 percent actually call themselves pro-choice, which means that they either leave it to the woman to decide on ending the pregnancy or they outright support abortion.

Of course, sexual hedonism is just a broad term. If we look beyond the surface, we can see all sorts of examples that tie us all to a commonly held view of morally loose attitudes. In modern society, sex isn’t just between two people married to each other. Today, sex is literally everywhere. It’s premarital. It’s adulterous. It’s extramarital. It’s swinging. It’s in wild abandonment. There is such an abundance of sexual proclivities beyond the mainstream aided and abetted by an immoral and insatiable media bent on carnal sensationalism.

Don’t forget also that the days of man with woman are now bitterly challenged. In the worst case of sexual hedonism, we are faced with an outgrowth of homosexuality, transsexuality, sadomasochism, bestiality and incest not to mention sexual harassment (including non-consensual sex), the likes of which we now have the Me Too Movement to endure with its signature brand of self-importance and self-justified persecution. Many of us seem to have overlooked the fact that women can be as morally inept as men when it comes to sex as a means of opportunism.

In stark contrast to all the perpetuated lies surrounding sex, the biblical view of adultery is any form of sexual activity that takes place beyond the boundaries of a committed marriage. Don’t even get me started on the other view that we commit adultery just by the perverse thoughts we have of the other person (Mt 5:28).

In the Book of Hebrews, the Apostle Paul says:

“Give honour to marriage and remain faithful to one another in marriage. God will surely judge people who are immoral and those who commit adultery.” (Heb 13:4, NLT)

Being the Creator of sex, God wants it to be within the exclusive reserve of every marriage not because it’s otherwise ‘filthy’ or ‘bad’ but because sexual union committed between a man and a woman is unique, exclusive and a joyous event. In fact, sex is meant to be a holy mystery, a powerful bonding agent that tells of the true relationship of a man and a woman bound in marital union unlike anything else. To have sex beyond these divine confines will be akin to using the church’s sanctuary for a coming-of-age party or worse, taking the wine meant for Holy Communion and completely inebriated. All of this explains why the Bible often compares idolatry to the sin of fornication or adultery.

Alcoholism

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Alcohol is another of society’s truly powerful and influential wrecking ball. Even taking into account all the narcotic drugs combined, alcohol alone still kills more teens. Of the three leading causes of deaths of youths between the years of 15 and 24 – accidents, homicides and suicides – alcohol is the undeniable underlying factor. Youths who imbibe alcohol are 7½ times likelier to end up consuming illegal drugs and fifty times more inclined to dive into cocaine than those who abstain.

According to a CDC (Centres for Disease Control and Prevention) report in 2010, as many as 88,000 people – 62,000 men and 26,000 women – die from alcohol-related causes annually, making alcohol the third leading preventable cause of deaths in America. The burden of alcohol misuse and abuse in America in that same year has cost the country $249 billion alone.

There are more statistics than any of us care to count and all of them show alcohol’s dark and deadly side. Though temperance is an aspect of the Christian view, both Scripture and tradition teach that alcohol can also be seen as a gift from God to be enjoyed. After all, Jesus did make wine (Jn 2:3-11) – but overindulgence leads to drunkenness that is sinful and abhorrent in God’s eyes.

At the same time, Proverbs 20:1 does remind us:

“Wine produces mockers; alcohol leads to brawls. Those led astray by drink cannot be wise.” (Prov 20:1, NLT)

Habakkuk 2:15 is equally as condemning:

“What sorrow awaits you who make your neighbours drunk! You force your cup on them so you can gloat over their shameful nakedness. But soon it will be your turn to be disgraced. Come, drink and be exposed! Drink from the cup of the Lord’s judgement, and all your glory will be turned to shame.” (Hab 20:15-16, NLT)

Naturally, if we’re avowed teetotallers, there’s no chance of alcoholic abuse. Paul says:

“‘I have the right to do anything,’ you say – but not everything is beneficial. ‘I have the right to do anything – but not everything is constructive.’ ” (1 Cor 10:23, NIV)

Overeating

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In a world gone terribly wrong in so many horrific ways, overeating does seem like a minor issue. Sadly, it isn’t for a number of reasons. Other than the obviously serious health problems, it’s the stunning number of people whose lives are overshadowed by overeating. The National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders (NAANAD) puts the figure at eight million Americans who suffer from anorexia nervosa, bulimia and related eating disorders. That’s about 3 percent of the U.S. population.

In a report by the Colorado-based Eating Recovery Centre, more than 30 percent of the entire American adult population is obese. Perhaps even more startling a fact is the Journal of American Medicine’s (JAMA) citing of 17 percent of children between the ages of 2 and 19 who are obese. Interestingly, the outcome of all this overeating might raise a few eyebrows. The organisation called Obesity Action says obese individuals face a 20 percent chance of depression, increasing to 44 percent if the individual is Caucasian and college-educated.

There are enough reasons not to overeat. The Book of Proverbs offer a good one:

“Do not carouse with drunkards or feast with gluttons for they are on their way to poverty, and too much sleep clothes them in rags.” (Prov 23:20-21, NLT)

What is interesting with this passage is that the writer lumps overeating and overindulgence in alcohol together with the view that both are just as bad. To him, overindulgence in the drink is as detestable as substance abuse. Both point to the substance having more control over the person than he has over it. The passage in Proverbs proves that God considers it a critical issue, reminding us that both the glutton and the drunkard are headed for poverty.

Christianity encourages us to embraces self-control or moderation as a way of preventing overeating from controlling us. Remember what Paul wrote in his letter to the Corinthians:

“If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall. The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, He will show you a way out so that you can endure.” (1 Cor 10:12-13, NLT)

Materialism

Image courtesy of International Business Times

Wherever you look, people are becoming more obsessed with material wealth. U.S. research not only confirms this but worse, it has now gone far beyond the shores of America. Materialism across in China is blatantly out of control with a fanaticism that everything else in life is secondary. In Malaysia, the situation isn’t far different. Just as nice and expensive cars maketh a man, so do, it seems, upmarket smartphones, exclusive handbags and shoes, branded clothes, Swiss watches and even lingerie.

A survey by market researcher Harris Interactive discovered that 71 percent of individuals between the ages of 8 and 18 say they would be happier if they had more money at their disposal to spend. Of these, those in the 13 to 18 year-old segment score significantly the highest when it came to materialistic attitudes. And that’s in 2007; one can imagine what they’re like eleven years later!

It’s unsurprising that American consumers splash out as much as $23,631,000,000 on imported toys alone and in the process, use an average of 12.7 credit cards per household. Little wonder then that Americans are running out of room to store their possessions. According to the trade group, Self-Storage Association, the country now operates a staggering 1.9 billion square feet of personal storage space outside the home with nearly 40,000 facilities just to cater to families with too many material possessions.

Across the pond, a survey by French market research company Ipsos revealed that the Chinese are by a huge country mile, markedly more materialistic than anyone else across any part of the world. Polling some 16,000 adults in 20 countries, it was 71 percent of Chinese respondents who agree that measuring success by the things they own is a vital yardstick. At that number, the Chinese has plenty of daylight separating them from the Americans and Canadians (20 percent) with the Swedes (7 percent) very far back in the list.

These findings were also well substantiated by considerable online discussion, drawing over 23,000 commenters according to news portal Sina. One commenter said that money was “all-powerful” and having it means “honour, women and power.” Another one said, “In China, money can achieve many things that it can’t in other countries … so it seems that so-called capitalism or socialism is just an empty slogan. The social ideology is even more practical than in capitalist nations.” With such surprising attitudes, it’s little wonder that in 2012, research organisation Euromonitor International confirmed that China had surpassed France as the world’s third biggest power in luxury consumerism.

For any Christian to be so materially engaged is morally wrong. That doesn’t, however, mean we cannot possess material things. What that means is that material obsessiveness is perilous. Any such obsession – which often leads to idolatrous behaviour – that detracts from God is not only bad but it is also sinful and displeasing to Him. Moses says in the Book of Deuteronomy:

“…you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul and all your strength.” (Dt 6:5, NLT)

And he goes on to add:

“And you must commit yourself wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” (Dt 6:6-9, NLT)

God is serious about obsession in any form – much less materialism – because it takes our attention away from Him. Instead, He wishes for us to not only be attentive in a holy sense to Him but to also ensure that we hand this down to the generations after us, beginning with our own children. Jesus also considers this with utmost importance, calling it the first and greatest of commandments (Mt 22:37-38). Therefore a preoccupation with material wealth bothering on obsessive paranoia is extremely dangerous to mental health. To God, any form of obsession shuts Him out and therefore is nothing less condemning than idolatry.

Image courtesy of The Christian Post

The perspective with all these is that there is a righteous way to deal with such excesses and sin. We know that issues like alcoholism, adultery, homosexuality, obesity and materialism are symptomatic of even larger and graver sins. To stand righteous against them is not incorrect. To adhere to a Christian life will help us to stay on the right side in the light of the many social ills in the world. But when we take a righteous stand, we also make ourselves vulnerable to criticism (or much worse than that). It doesn’t take long for someone to come along and question our ‘motives’ or chastise us for being ‘holier than thou.’ No doubt someone will brand us with labels; ‘prude’ would be just one of them.

How we view the sins of the world is very different from how the rest view them. We may value our chastity but as the statistics show, the world not only doesn’t care but finds nothing wrong with sexual liberation. Just as California has normalised cannabis consumption and given weed a more publicly acceptable impression, Hollywood and the general media have done the same with sexual immorality. Both of these have gain social inclusiveness to the level where concern shown by Christians will invariably attract mockery. Why do we even care, they venomously ask. So long as two consenting adults enjoy a romp in bed without the complications of being married, what is it to us, they question. What’s wrong with that, as if it’s perfectly okay to consume marijuana biscuits or indulge in a little smoke.

Christians who take a stand of righteousness against the many wrongs in life are opening themselves to pot shots and in the process, people view Christianity as an example of bigotry and therefore, needs to be confronted and eliminated. It seems that the more we rail against sin, the worse it gets. Our actions might even put other Christians at risk, which is why eventually, even our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ would quietly tell us to put a clamp on it. It’s better to go along with the tide than to cause too much trouble for everyone else!

The same applies when we talk about self-discipline in combating overeating. The very mention of this problem can draw accusations that we are body shaming others. A friendly advice about moderation in eating is to suggest that we are judging and victimising. And once someone decides to rail against us, social media will do the rest, fanning hatred against a well-intended and otherwise sincere Christian. Something innocent can snowball into something totally unnecessary and hurtful. At this point, any mention of Bible verses would just worsen matters.

It’s no different with materialism. It’s a free world, they say, which is another way to say that everyone has a right to do what they want with their money. That’s true but such justification doesn’t cure the social ill. What social ill are you talking about, they ask. Just like with the others, when we take it upon ourselves to address materialism (with the wrong people, that is), jealousy and hatred froth to the surface. Some people obviously don’t believe that there’s nothing wrong with spending tens of millions of dollars amassing a bewildering collection of handbags. Just as some can splash hundreds of thousands on a watch without questioning the purpose of it or pay a whole year’s wages on a single meal. How can such actions bring happiness, we ask.

The world has become grossly intolerant of questions levelled at their lifestyle. Being righteous simply makes them respond even more violently against us. We have come to a point in life where the world cannot understand the value in a loving relationship with God. They have serious difficulties in coming to terms with living an honest and happy life without the excesses. And so, it’s not hard for us to see why atheists and unbelievers are intolerant of the view that there is a heaven as much as there is a hell that beckon us in our after-life. To them, the concept of hell is as unacceptable as the moral code by which we live and adhere to.

A world that is headed for the pits is unstoppable and unsalvageable. Being righteous merely accelerates it or so that’s what it looks like. That’s because our walk with Christ puts us on the opposite side of sin, pride and evil. Where we are called to be meek and not take anything for ourselves, unbelievers relish the idea of everything that is the opposite. Where we are asked to be forgiving and merciful, the ruthless public demands blood and retribution in the finest display of vengeance without the conscience. Where we take steps to seek and secure peace, others call us naïve, innocent and unknowledgeable (stupid, even). Our worshipful adoration of God holds neither sense of reason nor purpose to those who don’t understand us.


Image courtesy of Getting Over Depression

The stark contrast between a righteous person and one who isn’t puts us between a rock and a hard place. Counsel them and we make things worse. Say nothing and people will accuse us of condoning. It’s a difficult place to be. If a righteous person sees laziness and negligence, how does he honour his obligation and dutifully respond? Is it his responsibility as a child of God to try straighten those who are on a crooked path?

Christians have a vested love in honouring God with our thoughts, words and actions. We bring reverence and glory to Him in our conduct with our family, friends, competitors and work peers. We fulfil our responsibilities at our workplaces to earn a decent honest wage. We think nothing of helping others because they are in need. We respond to crisis through our willingness to pray for others. As Christians, we are not to do things by half measures. We do not indulge in the temptation to defraud or immerse ourselves in corruption. For us, an honest day’s work is vital for our moral integrity because it is pleasing to God. Righteousness is bestowing on God our unstinting desire to be professional in the way we conduct ourselves at work. It also means we cannot allow ourselves to engage in lies, deceptions and subterfuge.

Christian righteousness comes at a price. That’s essentially what the message is in the Eighth Beatitude. With righteousness comes two possible outcomes. The Apostle John recorded Jesus saying this:

“All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.” (Jn 3:20-21, NLT)

In this, Jesus pronounces the two outcomes – when exposed by righteousness, man either hates or desires it. Immersed in evil, haters walk away from the light because light reveals their sin. And because they cannot otherwise hide, it’s preferable not to be anywhere near righteous people. That’s one outcome. With the other, godly men rise up and meet the light because in their righteousness, they have nothing to hide. Surrounded by light, righteous people come forth and show themselves. They openly confess that the good they do are not theirs but the work of God, all for His glory (Mt 5:16).

The blessedness of being persecuted


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“God blesses you when people mock you and persecuted you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are My followers.” (Mt 5:11, NLT)

Those with know little of Christ will have tremendous difficult wrapping their heads around that passage. Before they can even attempt to understand it, they would have been shell-shocked first. Even some Christians might find it an uphill battle trying to figure how it is that God sees our suffering as a good thing? How on earth could He bless us when we are under the full weight of persecution? Is it even possible that we can feel happy when all we receive is hatred, mockery and slander? How are we to be glad, knowing that persecution can lead to torture and death? Wouldn’t all this make us a bit of a masochist?

While unbelievers raise all these questions, they are probably unaware that Jesus endured persecution in unthinkable ways. Even as we ponder over how persecution can have deadly consequences, we forget that Jesus probably had death in mind when He said the above. It is now on record that many of God’s prophets had met their end under similar circumstances.

Jeremiah in 1 Kings recalls such an incident:

“Has no one told you, my lord, about the time when Jezebel was trying to kill the Lord’s prophets? I hid 100 of them in two caves and supplied them with food and water.” (1 Kgs 18:13, NLT, my emphasis)

Here, Obadiah, a devoted follower of God, did the righteous thing by hiding 100 of His prophets in two caves on hearing that Jezebel wanted them killed. With fifty in each cave, he also supplied food and water (v4). That’s righteousness but such was the risk that had he been caught, it would have cost him his life.

“Elijah replied, ‘I have zealously served the Lord God Almighty. But the people of Israel have broken their covenant with You, torn down Your altars and killed every one of Your prophets. I am the only one left and now they are trying to kill me too.” (1 Kgs 19:10, NLT, my emphasis)

After suffering humiliation watching all the prophets of Baal killed before the prophet Elijah, King Ahab beat a hasty retreat back to his palace and described the incident to Jezebel who came off her hinges. In her rage, she demanded his head. Frightened witless, Elijah took flight, fleeing as far as he could until he settled under a broom tree where he found restless sleep. When he met up with an angel some time later, he somehow had things to eat that gave him strength to endure the next forty days and forty nights. It was in that time that he made his way to Mount Sinai where a cave beckoned for him to retire for the night.

It was then that God asked the prophet, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” (vv1-9) In his reply, he spoke of his fear in light of how so many others (prophets, that is) had been killed before him. Being the only one alive was no consolation for someone whose life Jezebel wanted to end.

“But despite all this, they were obedient and rebelled against You. They turned their backs on Your law, they killed Your prophets who warned them to return to You and they committed terrible blasphemies.” (Neh 9:26, NLT, my emphasis)

Nehemiah was another prophet who spoke about persecution as he brought up the history of God’s people in prayer. In his account of God’s people, he recalled the part where His prophets were put to the sword for upholding His laws and beseeching the people to walk away from their sinful ways (vv1-25).

“They took him prisoner and brought him back to King Jehoiakim. The king then killed Uriah with a sword and had him buried in an unmarked grave.” (Jer 26:23, NLT, my emphasis)

Like Nehemiah, Jeremiah was also conversant with Israel’s history of rebellion against God. He spoke of the people being resistant to His warnings and persuasions (vv1-19). In his account, he told the story of the prophet Uriah who initially had escaped the clutches of the evil King Jehoiakim only to be apprehended and brought to his palace where he thrust his sword into him (vv22-23). All Uriah ever did was to foretell a terrible disaster that loomed over his rule but rather than treat it as an opportunity to repent, he acted on his anger and killed the prophet.

All these prophets were persecuted for righteousness. They were killed because they followed and obeyed God. In the world we live in then as it is now, payment for righteousness is oppression leading to death:

“Then you will be arrested, persecuted and killed. You will be hated all over the world because you are My followers. And many will turn away from Me and betray and hate each other.” (Mt 24:9-10, NLT, my emphasis)

The world has little mercy for the righteous. In our discipleship of Christ, we learn humbly to submit ourselves to the pain and suffering in our daily walk with Him. That pain and suffering is because being followers mean what Jesus endured, we will do the same. In other words, as He is hated, we are too. If we think that’s pretty hard going, the Beatitudes tell us worse is to follow. That’s where we are to, figuratively speaking, smile as we suffer and be happy as we anticipate what heaven has in store for us. Many martyrs experienced this joy, which is why Jesus reminds us to reflect on the prophets of old (Mt 5:12).

Of course, unbelievers have no idea how this is achievable. To be happy and glad while we’re suffering sounds like words of a madman and indeed, if we do not know Christ, that’s what we’d think as well. But since we know, praise and worship Him and place all our trust in Him as our Saviour, we are fully invested in the One who knows the real deal more than anyone in this world. His insight into a life beyond death calls for a different reality we are yet to experience but are excited about. That is a paradigm the Bible has revealed to us as the place we’re all headed. And that is the Kingdom of God that the Lord tells us is worth all the persecution we can handle.

In a way, the Eighth Beatitude is God calling us to prepare for martyrdom. He is telling us that in truth, we ought not to be sad but to look forward with optimism because persecution is our ticket to real freedom in a paradise where there is no more suffering. Jesus says in the Book of John:

“Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God and trust also in Me. There is more than enough room in My Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with Me where I am.” (Jn 14:1-3, NLT)

Jesus’ promise is not a mystery; it is the stuff of ultimate joy. He assures us that in righteousness, suffering releases us for a future that is too indescribable for words, too amazing to try imagining and too powerful a thought not to be excited. Groaning under the weight of persecution is for the here and the now but in the miracle of faith, God offers us a bedrock assurance that not far from now, will more than compensate us for the hit we take for Christ.

So remember well, Jesus asks us not to be troubled any more but to lay our trust in Him. He tells us that He has gone to prepare a place for us in His Father’s house and we must trust Him unreservedly. This is, after all, a place where we will be with Him forever. With this kind of reward, what more can we ask!

Focusing on the reward of heaven

Image courtesy of Christianity Today

One striking thing about the Eighth Beatitude is the reward itself and the way Jesus words it. He says, “for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” in a tribute to those whose righteousness under persecution earn them the right to:

“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Mt 5:10, NIV, my emphasis)

Jesus’ real point here is to keep our eye on the prize. He wants us to hold dear in our hearts our real and enduring desire, which is incomparable to anything the world has to offer:

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth where moths and vermin destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven where moths and vermin do not destroy and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will also be.” (Mt 6:19-21, NIV)

Of course, it won’t be a walk in the park. For the treasures in heaven to be worth our while calls for incredible sacrifices on our part; incredible because the oppressiveness of our enemies will feel unbearable. In other words, the ultimate reward will not be ours without tears. Paul says, “our hearts ache but we always have joy” (2 Cor 6:10, NLT). No matter the trepidation, Jesus puts it in a way that it is the only goal worth pursuing in our lives.

And He, of all people, should know what He’s talking about because He encountered something similar in the Garden of Gethsemane where knelt before a boulder and bowed in humility while facing away from His disciples, blood trickled like sweat from His brow. Remarkably, Jesus was struggling to cope. He had trouble coming to terms with His own anguish but even so, joy settled in Him because He knew what He was aiming for. He was aware of what it took for Him to endure the cross. What He was on the brink of achieving not only fulfilled the will of the Father but would unshackle us from eternal bondage. He was about to give us the chance to be reunited with God. His was the definitive act of sacrificial love, the very one thing that would forever change the world.

The Eighth is like other Beatitudes. It is Jesus’ blueprint for righteous living and it was one of several reasons for His mission on earth. The Father sent Him to us to show us that there is a way home, a way where we would leave a broken world behind and head to heaven where we can live eternally in His divine presence. For that, He wills us to set our hearts right. He extols us to pin our hopes towards heaven. He exhorts us to live humbly for Him and to imitate Him. He motivates us to not be concerned about what we leave behind on earth because what heaven offers us is worth all the suffering we will have to endure. What Jesus promises, no one can match.

In setting our hearts right, Jesus offers us a clue here:

“Be happy about it! Be glad about it! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way.” (Mt 5:12, NLT, my emphasis)

The clue lies with the “ancient prophets.” Jesus mentioned them because of the persecution that befell them. After suffering, they died for God and righteousness. Their persecution was not in vain because of the reward Christ has promised. In remembering the prophets of old, we learn of their actions and more importantly, what they had to endure.

Paul recalls their sufferings:

“Some were jeered at and their backs were cut open with whips. Others were chained in prisons. Some died by stoning, some were sawed in half and others were killed with the sword. Some went about wearing skins of sheep and goats, destitute and oppressed and mistreated.” (Heb 11:36-37, NLT)

As unpleasant Paul’s account obviously is, the importance lies in their suffering. As great men of God, they endured horrendously for Christ. But they weren’t the only ones. While the Bible may mention a few, church history over the many centuries reveal so many who did the same and yet cried joyously as they burned at the stake or prior to being beheaded. These were extraordinary men and women who in ancient days offer up humble lessons for all of us today.

It would therefore make compelling sense and purpose to check out their testimonies for these are people whom we can imagine hearing them say, “It is better to suffer for the sake of Christ than to own the treasures of Egypt for we look ahead to His great reward” (Heb 11:26, NLT).

John Hooper (1495-1555)

Image courtesy of Christian Today

In the days following the death of the young and sickly King Edward VI (1537-1553), the clergy of the fledgling Church of England faced deeply uncertain times. As Bishop of Gloucester, Hooper was one among many who stood to lose much but to his credit, he felt he had done enough to show Mary Tudor (1516-1558), Edward’s step-sister and daughter of Henry VIII (1491-1547), his loyalty. By voicing his disapproval to Protestant attempts to prevent her rightful ascension to the throne.

But to Mary I, now Queen of England, Hooper was just another reminder of how her mother, Catherine of Aragon (1485-1536) had suffered under the hands of her own father. She saw in Hooper a man who was first a radical Protestant and an enemy of Roman Catholicism and secondly, a person who must face persecution. And now with the end of Edward VI’s short reign, his legislation on the church was also repealed. With that, Hooper’s bishopric was tragically over.

So while Hooper was flung into jail, the new England under renewed Roman Catholic rule, revived the heresy acts in December 1554. These acts viewed Hooper as a heretic. He was duly despatched to Gloucester where he was to be burned at the stake on February 9 1555. Naturally, all this came as a shock to him. After all, the people of Gloucester had long held him dearly in their hearts. They remembered his kindness towards the poor and disadvantaged.

On that fateful morning, Hooper rose early and began praying. When dawn broke, he asked to be left alone while he set about praying until the hour of his execution. On arriving at the stake, he knelt and prayed once more. As usual with Protestant prisoners during those times, he was offered a last chance at royal clemency if only he’d renounce his Protestantism. And like so many Protestants, he spurned it. Instead, he bravely asked his adoring public to join him in the Lord’s Prayer.

Three weeks to the day of his execution, Hooper had composed a letter to some of his friends. In it, he wrote, “Ye must now turn all your cogitations from the peril you see and mark the felicity that followeth the peril … Beware of beholding too much the felicity or misery of this world; for the consideration and too earnest love or fear of either of them draweth from God.” If ever there were any words that match Christ’s Eighth Beatitude, few approached these.

There Hooper now stood, drenched in the cold of the morning where the kindling reeds were too wet to get the fire going. And because of that, he was in greater suffering and for a much longer time than was expected. But still, he stayed quiet, speaking only to ask if the fire could be greater so he could die faster. In his great ordeal, many times he cried out, “O Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me and receive my soul!”

Hooper became the first bishop to be executed by order of Queen Mary I. Till today, his martyrdom is remembered and the place of his execution clearly marked.

John Rogers (c1505-1555)

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Like Hooper, Rogers was an English Protestant clergyman and also a Bible translator of renown. He was one of several who was behind the development of the epochal Matthew Bible, written in vernacular English. Working with the great William Tyndale (1494-1536) and others, he was a critical driving force in producing Bibles that were accessible by his fellow Englishmen. In the days of Henry VIII, Rogers’ translation work was important and much celebrated but under the reign of his daughter, he was reviled as a heretic and fit to be burned to death.

And so with the demise of Henry’s son, Edward VI, there was no one left to protect him, let alone his all-important Bible translation work. In 1554, Rogers was sent to Newgate Prison. There he shared the same cell with none other than John Hooper himself and also other Protestants. Like his friend Hooper, he was sentenced to death for heresy because he steadfastly denied the character of the Church of Rome.

To Rogers, death was welcome. Joyously even. The only fly in the ointment for him was that he was denied the desire to meet with his wife even for one final time. The offer of clemency was rejected and Rogers found himself burned at the stake in Smithfield in February 1555. And just like him, his superior, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cramner (1489-1556) joined him in death for the same ruthless reasons.

The French ambassador who witnessed the burning, Antoine de Noailles (1504-1562), remembered the adoration of the people for him that, as Rogers faced his fiery end, “even his children assisted at it, comforting him in such a manner that it seemed as if he had been led to a wedding.”

Under Mary I – often notoriously referred to as Bloody Mary – almost 300 Protestants perished at the stake. Burned under the resurrected heresy laws, many died in an era called the Marian Exile because of the refugees desperately fleeing England for safer shores with no hope of ever returning. One of them was John Calvin who, together with John Knox, Myles Coverdale, John Foxe and a few others, worked together to publish the famous 1560 Geneva Bible, also known as the ‘Bible of the Protestant Reformation.’

For all those, like Rogers, whom Mary consigned to the stake to be burned, died welcoming the kingdom of God. Even amidst intense pain surrounded by licking flames, all sang with unbridled joy, praising the Lord in anticipation of eternal life. No persecution could take that away from them. In dying, they saw their greatest opportunity to savour eternal life with all the rewards that Christ had promised them.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945)

Image courtesy of Crisis and Achievement

But of course, there were many beyond the days of Hooper and Rogers who followed the same path. Martyrdom extended well enough to modern times with, perhaps, the ordained Lutheran pastor, theologian and anti-Nazi dissenter Dietrich Bonhoeffer easily being the most famous.

Bonhoeffer was hanged in the Flossenbürg Concentration Camp in the Upper Palatinate region of Bavaria, Germany near the border with then-Czechoslovakia. As he took measured steps towards the gallows, he managed to say to Sigismund Payne Best, a fellow prisoner, “This is the end. For me, the beginning of life.”

The doctor at the concentration camp, Dr H. Fischer-Hüllstrung, wrote ten years later, saying, “Through the half-open door in one room of the huts, I saw Pastor Bonhoeffer, before taking off his prison garb, kneeling on the floor praying fervently to his God. I was most deeply moved by the way this lovable man prayed, so devout and so certain that God heard his prayer. At the place of execution, he again said a short prayer and then climbed the steps to the gallows, brave and composed. His death ensued after a few seconds. In the almost fifty years that I worked as a doctor, I have hardly ever seen a man die so entirely submissive to the will of God.”

In Christ was the promise of the Kingdom of God and in suffering, Bonhoeffer revelled in the anticipation of a life he had always dreamed about. Persecution merely made sure he would get there earlier.

Ivan “Vanya” Moiseyev (1952-1972)

Image courtesy of benhubbardart

Bonhoeffer isn’t alone. There was also a 20-year-old soldier in the Soviet Red Army by the name of Ivan Moiseyev whom his friends and family called Vanya. A Baptist by faith, Ivan’s last letter home was to urge his brother, Vladimir, to do his ‘bidding.’ He wrote, “Don’t tell our parents everything. Just tell them, ‘Vanya wrote me a letter and writes that Jesus Christ is going into battle. This is a Christian battle and he doesn’t know whether he will be back.’”

But that wasn’t all. He wrote on, saying, “I desire that all of you, dear friend, young and old, remember this one verse. Revelation 2:10 – ‘Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.’” It was as if he knew he was headed that way. With the persecution he was suffering under, only he felt how close he was by then, to death.

The next day, July 16 1972, Ivan had died. Not long thereafter, his coffin arrived at his parents’ home. The oddity was that it was strangely welded shut, meaning no one could view his body. Vladimir had tried frantically to discourage his parents from prying the lid open but it was all in vain. Once they succeeded in forcing it open, they all saw the brutality that Ivan had obviously suffered.

The physical markings told a gory story of severe and persistent torture. His chest had strange burnt marks as if he was electrocuted. There were swells and bruises all over his face and body. Heel marks left on certain parts of Ivan’s body told of how he would have been kicked while he laid on the ground. Right near where his heart was, there were six punctured marks. And yet, Soviet authorities officially claimed that he died of accidental drowning.

Ivan was a man set on a mission to complete for Christ. He knew it would be dangerous. Considering the atheistic anti-God communism, he held no fears in spreading the Gospel and was summarily persecuted by his army supervisors. In his letters home, he wrote of the cruelty he had to endure like the forced starvation or the violent abuse or how he was forced out of bed in the middle of a freezing night for interrogation before he was, once again, punished. In one of the letters, Ivan wrote that for two weeks, he was made to face the wintry nights wearing nothing but his summer fatigues.

Yet despite all the shocking punishments, God upheld him. And Ivan knew that. He viewed everything like a miracle but to him, the biggest miracle of them was how his testimony drove many of his peers in his unit to Christ. For that, the persecution was extreme.

Many more of these stories are astounding testimonies of those who were martyred for Christ. And they rank up there with the ancient prophets that Jesus reminded us of in the Eighth Beatitude. To the tune of many thousands, these are martyrs who graced the pages of Christendom from the Early Church through the many centuries. Even today, Christians keep dying in persecution to the glory of God. They preferred death to renouncing Christ.

In reflection, Matthew 5:12 says it all:

“Be happy about it! Be glad about it! For a great reward awaits you in heaven.” (NLT)

Let not the risk of persecution stop us from being true to Christ. As the Apostle John recounts:

“Don’t be afraid of what you are about to suffer. The devil will throw some of you into prison to test you. You will suffer for ten days. But if you remain faithful even when facing death, I will give you the crown of life.” (Rev 2:10, NLT, my emphases)

Fearlessly, we walk forth, comforted by God’s assurance that the reward justifies the persecution. Great is Christ’s promise that in deliverance, we will see the truth of the Kingdom of God. Of course, we cannot keep what we cannot hold on to but this world pales in comparison to the heaven Jesus speaks of. As Philip Henry – father to Matthew Henry – once said, “He is no fool who parts with that which he cannot keep, when he is sure to be recompensed with that which he cannot lose.”

He must be talking about the same thing.

Sources for further reading

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Allen Jr,, John L. (Mar 2016) The Global War on Christians – Dispatches from the Front Lines of Anti-Christian Persecution (New York: Image). Available at https://www.amazon.com/Global-War-Christians-Anti-Christian-Persecution/dp/0770437370/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

Are gay or lesbian relationships morally acceptable? (Statista 2018) Accessible at https://www.statista.com/statistics/226147/americans-moral-views-on-gay-or-lesbian-relations-in-the-united-states/

Bethge, Eberhard (Feb 2000) Dietrich Bonhoeffer – A Biography (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press). Available at https://www.amazon.com/Dietrich-Bonhoeffer-Biography-Eberhard-Bethge/dp/0800628446

Bickersteth, Reverend Edward Henry, editor (1872) Evening Hours – A Church of England Family Magazine, Vol. 2 (London: William Hurt and Company). Accessible at https://books.google.ca/books?id=9RkFAAAAQAAJ&dq=John+Rogers+burned+at+the+stake++Noailles&source=gbs_navlinks_s

Burns, James and Edwards, W. (May 1836) The Church of England Magazine Under the Superintendence of Clergymen of the United Church of England and Ireland, Vol. 1, Nr. 1, June to December 1836 (London: Robson, Levey and Franklyn). Accessible at https://books.google.com.my/books?id=SOs7AQAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false

Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Alcohol and Public Health: Alcohol-Related Disease Impact (ARDI). Average for United States 2006-2010 Alcohol-Attributable Deaths Due to Excessive Alcohol Use. Accessible at https://nccd.cdc.gov/DPH_ARDI/Default/Report.aspx?T=AAM&P=f6d7eda7-036e-4553-9968-9b17ffad620e&R=d7a9b303-48e9-4440-bf47-070a4827e1fd&M=8E1C5233-5640-4EE8-9247-1ECA7DA325B9&F=&D=

Do you think pornography is morally acceptable or morally wrong? (Statista 2018) Accessible at https://www.statista.com/statistics/225972/americans-moral-stance-towards-pornography/

Do you think sex between an unmarried man and woman is morally acceptable or morally wrong? (Statista 2018) Accessible at https://www.statista.com/statistics/225947/americans-moral-stance-towards-intercourse-between-unmarried-partners/

Dorsten, J.A. Van (1962) Poets, Patrons and Professors: Sir Philip Sidney, Daniel Rogers and the Leiden Humanists (London: Oxford University Press). Accessible at https://books.google.ca/books?id=5gk39FyzDzoC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

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Feng, Bree (Dec 2013) Chinese Respondents Top Materialism Poll (New York, NY: The New York Times). Accessible at https://sinosphere.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/12/20/chinese-respondents-top-materialism-poll/

Ferdman, Roberto A. (Dec 2013) Are Chinese People the World’s Most Materialistic? (Boston, MA: The Atlantic). Accessible at https://www.theatlantic.com/china/archive/2013/12/are-chinese-people-the-worlds-most-materialistic/282398/

Foundation for a Drug-Free World at www.drugfreeworld.org

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Grant, Myrna (Jul 1996) Vanya: A True Story (Lake Mary, FL: Charisma House). Available at https://www.amazon.com/Vanya-True-Story-Myrna-Grant/dp/0884190099

Henry, Matthew (May 2010) An Account of the Life and Death of Mr Philip Henry, Minister of the Gospel… Who Died June 24 1696 … with Dr Bates’ Dedication (Farmington Hills, MI: Gale Eighteenth Century Collections Online Print Editions). Available at https://www.amazon.com/account-Philip-minister-Gospel-dedication/dp/1170658318

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Withrow, Brandon (Apr 2016) Christians are Still Persecuted Around the World. Here’s Where. (Daily Beast). Accessible at https://www.thedailybeast.com/christians-are-still-persecuted-around-the-world-heres-where

Would you consider yourself pro-choice or pro-life? (Statista 2018) Accessible at https://www.statista.com/statistics/225975/share-of-americans-who-are-pro-life-or-pro-choice/