“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.”
When Christians think about persecution, we tend to think of being beaten, jailed, or even killed for our faith. And rightly so. These are the ways that the church historically has most often experienced persecution. However, when considering any persecution SG churches in America and throughout the world will face in 2021 and following, I don’t think it’s going to be persecution as we classically think of it – though someday that may come. I think the persecution we will face is being shamed and slandered because of historic Christian beliefs and values. The hostility created in these ways then leads to material harm – being silenced, marginalized, “canceled,” and perhaps even punished in some way.
In both the Psalms and the NT, a lot of the persecution against God’s people is verbal. In the Psalms, we see that the wicked lie, deceive and stir up strife. They slander and accuse. They mock, taunt, revile, deride and scorn. The harmful effect of their words is likened to swords, razors, howling dogs, and a serpent’s venom. The NT speaks of believers being reviled, insulted, slandered, spoken of as evildoers, and hated for Jesus’ name.
We are increasingly seeing these sorts of verbal assaults and subsequent material harm happening. The cultural influencers - universities, the media, the government, and social media platforms - are increasingly taking stands antithetical to Biblical values and truth.
None of this should surprise us. So what are we to do? Thankfully scripture gives us answers.
This post originally appeared on the SGC Church Development blog as Persecution?, on February 8, 2021.
Mickey Connolly is the Director of Church Development on the Leadership Team of Sovereign Grace Churches, the Mid-South Regional Leader, and serves as an elder at Crossway Community Church in Charlotte, North Carolina.