LESSON SIXTEEN – FACING PERSECUTION

1 Pet. 4:14 — If you are reproached in the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.

BEING BLESSED IF YOU ARE REPROACHED IN THE NAME OF CHRIST

“If you are reproached in the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you” [1 Pet. 4:14]. “In the name of Christ” is actually in the person of Christ, in Christ Himself, because the name denotes the person. The believers, having believed into Christ (John 3:15), and having been baptized into His name (Acts 19:5), that is, into Himself (Gal. 3:27), are in Christ (1 Cor. 1:30) and one with Him (6:17). When they are reproached in His name, they are reproached with Him, sharing His sufferings, in the fellowship of His sufferings (Phil. 3:10).

The reason the persecutions we suffer are the sufferings of Christ is that we suffer in the name of Christ. According to Peter’s word in verse 14, we are blessed if we are reproached in the name of Christ. Do not think that it is a curse to be reproached in the name of Christ. This is to be blessed. However, it may be a curse if people appreciate us too highly. Regarding this matter, we need to have a change of concept.

MORE GLORY BEING UPON US, THE MORE WE SUFFER AND ARE PERSECUTED

The more we suffer and are persecuted, the more glory there will be upon us. This is truly a blessing. I can testify that the more I am persecuted and evil spoken of, the more I am empowered. Persecution and reproach do not hold me down. On the contrary, they lift me up. Therefore, we should rejoice when we are reproached in the name of Christ, because the Spirit of glory is resting upon us. (Life-study of 1 Peter, pp. 250-251)

ONCE A PERSON TURNS TO GOD, SATAN INSTIGATING OTHERS TO PERSECUTE THAT ONE

The entire world lies in the evil one, Satan (1 John 5:19). Satan opposes God continually in every possible way.  Satan is displeased whenever people turn to God, and he will not tolerate this. Once a person turns to God, Satan will instigate others to persecute that one. Paul once said that we Christians are appointed to suffer persecution (Phil. 1:29). Persecution, therefore, is the portion appointed to us as believers in Christ. Hence, the first aspect of practical Christian perfection is to endure trials, a word that includes persecution.

Persecution is a suffering. However, trials are not merely a suffering, for trials are a suffering that serves the purpose of trying or proving us. We may use final examinations in school as an illustration. Students know that final examinations can be a real suffering and trial. But such a trial is actually a help to the students. If there were no final examinations in school, the students would probably be careless concerning their studies. But when they know that a final examination is coming, they concentrate on their studies with much diligence. Therefore, a final examination helps a student learn the necessary material. For this reason, the parents of those who are students should be grateful for the final examinations, knowing that this helps their children to profit from their education.

There are also “finals” and other kinds of “examinations” in the “school of spiritual education.” The “principal” of this school is our heavenly Father. He has arranged different trials for us, different examinations. All these trials are good for us. Just as examinations are good for students, so the various trials we face as Christians are a profit to us.

A final examination serves the threefold purpose of trying, testing, and proving a student. Likewise, the various trials through which we must pass as believers serve the purpose of trying, testing, and proving us. These trials are surely a help in our practical Christian perfection, for God uses them to perfect us. (Life-study of James, pp. 6-7)

THE OPPOSERS GLORIFYING GOD IN THE DAY OF VISITATION

In 1 Peter 2:12 Peter is saying that if we have an excellent manner of life among the nations, they will eventually glorify God concerning us in the day of visitation. In this verse Peter seems to be telling the saints, “The opposers now speak evil against you. But if you live a life that is excellent among them, a life that is beautiful in quality and excellent in manner, they will observe your good works and glorify God in the day of visitation. As they look upon you, they will realize that you are under the visitation of God. Eventually, the outcome will be a glory to God, for the opposers will glorify God in the day of visitation.”

I can testify that throughout the years I have seen Peter’s word fulfilled many times. Because they saw God’s visitation of the saints, a good number of opposers regretted what they had done and repented. The saints were under God’s loving care in the day of His visitation. Even though these saints were evil spoken of, they lived a marvelous, excellent life under God’s gracious care. Therefore, God visited them again and again. Their excellent manner of life and God’s visitation eventually caused the opposers to repent and give glory to God.

THE OPPOSERS CHANGING THEIR ATTITUDE BECAUSE OF THE TRANSFORMATION OF OUR LIFE

Some of the young people in the Lord’s recovery have been opposed by their parents. Several years ago, the parents of a particular young person may have opposed him strongly. They wondered why he spent so much time attending the meetings of the church and of the ministry. However, gradually they began to see a change, a transformation, in his manner of life. Although they did not have the word to describe it, they were witnessing the Lord’s transforming work in their son. Eventually, they came to realize that he was a person under God’s care, a person under God’s visitation.

Not long ago, a number of saints testified to this effect in a meeting. They said that in the past they were opposed by their parents and, in some cases, even persecuted by them. But gradually, over a period of time, the attitude of their parents began to change. When the young people went home to visit the family, their parents continued to oppose them. But they also were carefully observing their children. Little by little, there was less opposition and more observation. Eventually, the parents had a complete change in attitude, and in some cases, they also came into the church life. They observed the excellent manner of life of their children, and they glorified God in the day of visitation. (Life-study of 1 Peter, pp. 169-170)

References: Life-study of 1 Peter, msgs. 28, 19; Life-study of James, msg. 1; Life-study of Matthew, msg. 30; Life-study of Galatians, msg. 31

VIA BETHLEHEM WE JOURNEY

The Way of the Cross — The Way of Following the Lord – 628

• Via Bethlehem we journey,
  We whose hearts on God are set;
  Babelike souls of Jesus learning,
  While our cheeks with tears are wet;
  For the manger and the stable
  Are not pleasant to our eyes,
  But our feet must follow Jesus,
  If our hands would grasp the prize.

• Via Nazareth! The pathway
  Narrows still as on we go,
  Years of toil none understanding,
  Yet God teaches us to know
  That the servant is not greater
  Than the Lord, who through long years
  Hid Himself from this world’s glory,
  Follow Him! Count not the tears.

• Via Galilee, we see Him!
  Stones are hurled, and cursed hissed
  By the men who gather round Him,
  Has He not the pathway missed?
  No! Unharmed the Savior passes,
  And this rough bit of the way
  We must travel, since like Jesus,
  Nothing can our purpose stay.

• Via too, the awful anguish
  Of the hours beneath the trees,
  Where the hosts of Satan linger,
  Awful hours of anguish these!
  Yet we fail not, for God’s angels
  Minister to us, and say,
  “Look, beloved, at the glory,
  Conflict is but for a day!”

• Then the Cross! For via Calvary
  Every royal soul must go;
  Here we draw the veil, for Jesus
  Only can the pathway show;
  “If we suffer with Him,” listen,
  Just a little, little while,
  And the memory will have faded
  In the glory of His smile!

• Then the grave, with dear ones weeping,
  Knowing that all life had fled;
  (Fellow-pilgrims, art thou numbered
  With the men the world calls dead?)
  Thence we rise, and live with Jesus,
  Throned above the world’s mad strife,
  Gladly forfeiting forever,
  All that worldlings count as life.

• On we press! And yonder gleaming,
  Nearing every day, we see
  The great walls of that fair city,
  God has built for such as we;
  And we catch the tender music
  Of the choirs that sing of One
  Who once died to have us with Him
  In His kingdom, on the throne.

• Just a few more miles, beloved!
  And our feet shall ache no more;
  No more sin, and no more sorrow,
  Hush thee, Jesus went before;
  And I hear Him sweetly whispering,
  “Faint not, fear not, still press on,
  For it may be ere tomorrow,
  The long journey will be done.”