In the battle of Hastings, in 1066, William of Normandy, also known as William the Conqueror, invaded England because he claimed that Harold the King had pledged fealty to him and wanted him to submit to him. King Harold’s men had just returned from defeating the Danes in the north. Their army was tired and yet when they faced the Normans they held higher ground and a good defensive position.
It seemed as if the English might have been able to have held off the numerically superior Norman army. At one point the Norman army fled before the untrained common English fighter. However, William was able to reform the line and regain the advantage because the untrained English, in chasing the fleeing army, left their flank exposed. Had William not been able to restore discipline to his men, their lack of steadfastness would have caused the French to be defeated. An army is routed when they do not stand fast before the enemy.
Satan, our enemy uses persecution, trial, or difficulty to cause us to lose our steadfastness. The key idea from this passage is that, Satan, the tempter, hates us and desires that we stop serving Christ. But God gives us the means to be steadfast in it.
As I have spoken with many of you about the subject of persecution, in our personal conversations during the week, one statement that I have heard often is, “In listening to these stories about persecution and to the messages on this subject, I wonder if I would be able to handle it.” To this I say, “No, not now.” For God will only give you the grace to go through a trial or persecution or difficulty when it happens. Jesus said not to worry beforehand. So though we are speaking about persecution for the purpose of recognizing its reality, we are not to dread its approach. We are not to worry if today will be the day. Jesus said that each day has enough difficulty of its own. In other words, Jesus was saying, “Don’t fret in what has not taken place. There is enough going on to have to deal without worrying about something that hasn’t happened.” Let us pray for those who are going through persecution (I know some of you are going through it currently) but let’s not fear what is not. When the time comes, God will grant you the grace you need for every trial. Some of you have asked when a person experiencing physical persecution or martyrdom, “Does God reduce the pain, does He allow us to bear it, does He cause us to see a greater glimpse of Himself so we don’t feel it?” I don’t know. But whether in life or in death, as we trust Him, He will allow us to honor Him in our bodies, whether through life or death.
With that said, God calls us to be steadfast in persecution. We shouldn’t cease to speak for the Lord because of any trial or hardship we may endure because we are a Christian. This is what Paul mentioned in the Thessalonians passage. He was concerned that Satan’s persecution of the believers in Thessalonica may have caused them to lose heart and become discouraged and to cease speaking out for the Lord Jesus. Satan brings this upon us because he knows we have the message that brings people into a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Paul said that he was concerned that the work in Thessalonica wouldn’t continue on because the believers were failing to pass on their faith. He was concerned for them that they should continue to be steadfast in the midst of persecution. So let’s look at four characteristics we can associate with steadfastness in persecution.
1. Boldness
The first characteristic we can associate with steadfastness in persecution is boldness. In 1 Thessalonians 2:2, the Apostle Paul says, “After we had already suffered and been mistreated in Philippi, as you know, we had the boldness in our God to speak to you the gospel of God amid much opposition.”
Paul mentions the hardship they had experienced in Philippi. He and Silas had been beaten, thrown into prison, placed in the stocks. They were humiliated for the sake of the gospel. Yet Paul says this did not stop them from going into Thessalonica and boldly proclaiming the truth. And as they proclaimed the gospel, once again they were met with opposition to their message.
Paul states the reason for their boldness. They had confidence in the God who had sent them. He says, “we had the boldness in our God.” Our confidence, our boldness, cannot come from ourselves. We cannot work it up. We must place our trust in the character of God who does not change. We must place our trust in His message that does not change.
If you are not assured of the character of God and the message of the Gospel, if you are in doubt as to God’s goodness, graciousness, holiness, justice and love then you cannot have boldness in God. If you are not completely convinced of the truthfulness of the message of the Gospel, if you are not relying on it completely and know its truth then you cannot boldly speak of it.
This is the source of our boldness in the midst of persecution. When others (yes, even the majority of others) are saying that you are nuts and the message you have is folly then you must have boldness in your God and the gospel to keep you from being muzzled. If you are not absolutely sure of it then Satan will have effectively silenced you. Perhaps one of the most difficult responses, in which to maintain your boldness is, “Well that’s ok for you, but it’s not my thing.” What do you say to someone who says this? Are you confident enough in the authenticity of the gospel message to speak of their real needs even if they don’t see them?
Now before we go further, let me clarify the understanding of boldness. Boldness does not mean brashness. It does not mean rudeness. It does not mean self-boasting or pride. Being bold means that we have confidence in God and His message of the gospel. Bold means that we are not frightened at the threats thrown against us. It means we must rest in the fact that God has saved us and has given us a message to speak to others. We can characterized by a quiet boldness. It has nothing to do with our personality. It’s not a matter of saying, “Well, I’m not like this. I can’t be bold.” We can all have boldness in our God and in the gospel regardless of who we are.
Nor does our boldness only come if we are well-educated and refined speakers. We can note this in Acts 4. Here we have Peter and John being arrested because they perform a miracle through the power of God and begin to preach the gospel to the people in the temple in Jerusalem. In verse 9, Peter begins his defense for what they were doing. He says, “If we are on trial today for a benefit done to a sick man, as to how this man has been made well, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead…(and he finishes his defense statement by saying), there is salvation in no one else for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.” What is it that the Jewish leaders, who have arrested them, notice? In verse 13 it says, “Now as they observed the confidence (there is the word, boldness) of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus.” You don’t need a seminary degree to have boldness in God. You don’t need special speaking ability to be bold before a hostile audience. You just need to have a relationship with Jesus and spend time with Him. Let His Word and His Spirit train you in the truth of the gospel and you can have boldness in the midst of persecution.
We also need to look to God for His strength to be bold. When Peter and John got back to the others in the church and told them what had happened, when they mentioned the threats given to them by the rulers and the opposition to the gospel they received, the people prayed. This is what they said, “Lord, take note of their threats, and grant that your bond-servants may speak Your word with all confidence (here is the word boldness again). They were asking God for boldness in the midst of persecution. They didn’t ask God to remove the persecution but to grant them boldness in it. What was the result? Verse 31 says, “When they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness.”
So we need to have confidence in our God but we need to pray that God would grant us boldness. Even when I see an opportunity to share the gospel I have to pray for boldness. Just because there is an open door for evangelizing doesn’t mean I’ll naturally take it. This is part of the spiritual warfare that exists. So even though there may be no opposition from the person who wishes to hear the gospel, there may very well be opposition by the enemy of our souls. We see an example of this in Paul’s first missionary journey in the book of Acts. In chapter 13, Paul and Barnabas had gone down to the island of Cyprus to preach the gospel. While they are there, they speak to the governor, or proconsul, of the island because he called for them so he could hear the gospel. Here is a man who was ready to hear and believe the Word of God and yet we find a demonic distraction in the midst of this. In verse 8, Luke records, “Elymas the magician…was opposing them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith.” So, in speaking for the gospel, we may find spiritual opposition, even if there is no physical opposition. We need to pray for boldness to speak in the midst of it.
2. Peace
The next characteristic we can associate with steadfastness in persecution is peace. In John 16, Jesus instructs his disciples the night before his crucifixion. In verses 1-4 He says, “These things I have spoken to you so that you may be kept from stumbling. They will make you outcasts from the synagogue, but an hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering service to God. These things I have spoken to you, so that when their hour comes, you may remember that I told you of them. These things I did not say to you at the beginning, because I was with you.” Jesus mentions directly that there would come a time when people would seek to persecute his disciples. This same promise is reiterated to those within the church in the New Testament letters. But Jesus tells His disciples how they are to have peace in the midst of this persecution. At the end of chapter 16, verse 33 He tells them, “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” By recognizing our position in Christ we can have peace, though we are experiencing tribulation in the world. We are secure in Jesus Christ. Our salvation is fixed, our eternal home is sure. So when we see things taking place in our lives, persecution, tribulation, that would jeopardize what we have here on this earth we can have peace in the fact that we are in Christ.
What this verse teaches us clearly is that peace for the Christian does not necessarily mean the absence of conflict. We can have peace in the midst of it. We can have peace because of our relationship to Jesus Christ and not due to our circumstances. This kind of “in the midst of turbulence” peace can only be found as we rest in our position in Christ. This is the peace of God that passes all comprehension, of which Paul speaks in Philippians 4:7. It is the peace that only comes from being thankful in the midst of difficulty. It is the peace that rules our lives that Paul mentions in Colossians 3:15. This peace comes when we allow Christ’s word to fill our hearts.
Jesus gives His disciples the picture that He is their shelter in the midst of storm. He is their refuge from the terrors of the world. Though we may experience hardships in this world, yet as we abide in Him and find in Him our refuge from sin, we have peace. The world isn’t the place in which are to be comfortable. It is in Him. Because He has overcome the world we can have peace. Because He will restore the world we can have peace. Greater is He Who is in Me than he who is in the world. Satan may seek to buffet us in this world but we can have peace because Jesus has overcome the world. Look to His completed work on the cross for your sin and dwell in that arena of “no condemnation” and you will have peace.
3. Joy
The third characteristic we can associate with steadfastness in persecution is joy. In 1 Thessalonians 1:6, Paul notes, “You also became imitators of us and of the Lord having received the word in much tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit.” As the believers in Thessalonica began to be persecuted for the sake of the gospel, they responded in the same way in which they had heard Paul respond. How was this?
When the apostle Paul came to the Thessalonians it was directly from Philippi. He had just left that city and came to Thessalonica. The wounds Paul and Silas had received in Philippi were still fresh and smarting. Yet, they were able to describe to the Thessalonians how they had remained joyful in the midst of their persecution. Their wounds, mingled with the joy in their heart, were a powerful testimony to these people.
How was it they maintained a joyful heart? It was due to the presence of the Holy Spirit. One of the evidences of the work of the Holy Spirit in a person’s life is joy. This goes all the way to the core of Christianity. Christianity is not about making our life now somehow better. It is about freeing us from the penalty of sin. The joy of the Holy Spirit comes from His work in confirming the truth that we have been forgiven of our sins. How are we able to rejoice when dreadful circumstances have befallen us? As the Holy Spirit shows us the true riches we have stored up in heaven then we can rejoice in this. And though Satan may buffet, though trials should come, let this blest assurance control, that Christ has regarded my humble estate and has shed His own blood for my soul.” Peter reminds us of these things in his first letter. In this letter laden with talk of persecution, Peter starts by reminding his readers that Christ’s death and resurrection has provided for them “an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you.” And Paul in Romans 8:18 says, “I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”
Even as Luke records the ongoing persecution of the disciples in Acts, he notes in 13:52, “the disciples were continually filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit. God desires joy for us as His children and He gives the means for it, even when we experience persecution, hardship or trial. When you endure trial, reflect instead on the great provision God has provided you in Christ and rejoice.
4. Faith
The last characteristic we can associate with steadfastness in persecution is faith. In 2 Thessalonians 1, Paul describes why persecution calls for faith. He says, starting in verse 4, “We ourselves speak proudly of you among the churches of God for your perseverance and FAITH in the midst of all your persecutions and afflictions which you endure. This is a plain indication of God’s righteous judgment so that you will be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which indeed you are suffering. For after all it is only just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to give relief to you who are afflicted and to us as well when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, when He comes to be glorified in His saints on that day, and to be marveled at among all who have believed – for our testimony to you was believed.”
Paul describes the basis for their faith. They continued to believe God’s Word in the midst of their persecution. As things became bleak and dark, the light of God’s Word continued to give them strength to endure it. Paul notes the basis for their faith. God is just. And if God is just then He is going to reward His faithful servants who believed in Him, even though they underwent severe trials and persecution. The flip side of the justice of God is that He is going to punish those who caused such persecution. In this way we see that those who trust in Jesus and endure this because of Him do not go unrequited. Those who believe are given eternal relief because of their faith in Christ. And those who reject Jesus and even go so far as to persecute believing because of their unbelieving hearts will be afflicted. This is Paul’s statement. “It is only just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you.”
This is the faith we need to have in persecution. We don’t need to get revenge. We don’t need to strike back. We need to trust God. “Vengeance is mine, I will repay says the Lord.” We must have this trust that God’s Word is true and that God’s justice will correct the injustice of our persecution.
In other words, faith is having a worldview that supports God’s Word. And if we have what is real biblical faith we will stand for it in the midst of difficulty, trial and hardship. If you truly believe, as Paul says here that those who reject the gospel of our Lord Jesus “will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord” then you will want to speak to people about the good news of eternal life in Christ even if it means you are persecuted for it.
Let me close by saying that these characteristics of steadfastness in the midst of persecution cannot gained by some practice of discipline. They can only come by a reliance upon God’s grace as we experience them. We cannot store up boldness, joy, peace or faith until the time we need it. We need to daily trust Him and His Word. That is, we need to exercise faith in what He says, and allow such trust to bring us the boldness, joy and peace we need when times become unbearable. Satan hates us, so the attacks will come whatever their form. But remember that greater is He who is in you than He who is in the world. Remember that in Christ we can have peace because He has overcome the world. Trust what His Word says and act on it steadfastly.