This week, Michael writes that the goal of the beatitudes is that they lead us through paths of righteousness for the Lord’s name’s sake. The path begins with humility ... in realizing that we are poor in spirit without the Spirit of God, in Christ. Then blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek. those who are receptive to receive God’s instruction. Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are those who are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God. The last of Jesus’s beautiful attitudes is in Matthew 5:11-12. Jesus said, “Blessed are ye when men shall revile you and persecute you and say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake, rejoice and be exceeding glad for great is your reward in heaven.... for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.”
The road through the history of the Christian church is paved with the blood of the martyrs. However, because Jesus died for our sins, we should live for him ... a living sacrifice, transformed by the renewing of our minds that we may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. In Roman times, the early Christian message divided believers from unbelievers. To the Jews in Jerusalem, converts to Christianity were considered dead, they were outcasts dead to those who continued to worship in the temple and in the synagogue.
The Roman Emperor Nero, tortured Christians and set their bodies on fire to light the avenue that led into Rome. What was his motive for persecuting, torturing, and killing Christians? On the surface, Nero had burned Rome to rebuild it as a monument to his own egotistical power. However, the citizens of Rome revolted against Nero for burning their city. Nero needed someone to blame so he accused the Christians for setting Rome ablaze. From a spiritual perspective, Nero’s killing of the Christians fulfilled Jesus’ prophetic words ... blessed are the persecuted, reviled, and evil spoken of, for great is their reward in heaven.
In totalitarian regimes the government and their authoritarian rulers will do everything in their power to stamp out anything that threatens their absolute power. This totalitarian ideology of power continues today. As British historian Lord Acton said, “Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” In the killing fields of the Khmer Rouge, Pol Pot used genocide to annihilate the intellectuals, the educated, and the religious leaders that he perceived as opposition to his total authority. Political powers divide families so that corrupt governments can indoctrinate their children. Then the children will learn to become subservient to the ruling regime. In Rome, Cesar instituted emperor worship ... their official motto was “Cesar is God.” Anyone who did not bow down to Cesar and burn incense in his honor was persecuted and outlawed for disloyalty to the emperor. Jesus’ only offense was that his followers followed Him as their Lord and Master. Following Jesus Christ threatened the power of Rome. Jesus said, “the world hates you as it has hated me. Ye are not of this world. If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. These things they will do for my name’s sake for they have not known me.” The sin nature we inherited from Adam hates the nature of God. Each of the beatitudes is diametrically opposed to the attitudes of this fallen sinful world.
In our country, those who seek to control Americans will do whatever it takes to subjugate citizens under their repressive governmental dictates. They will mandate the restriction of our God-given unalienable rights that were written into our Constitution. In their lust for power they rationalize that removing the freedoms that were written into the First Amendment are for ’public safety’ and the “good of the American people.” They use temporary emergencies such as the Coronavirus or whatever happens to be the crisis of the day to remove our freedoms. Their purpose is to control the people and stamp out opposition to their absolute power. They use proclaimed national crises to deny Christians their God-given freedoms upon which our nation was founded as “one nation under God” and the national Motto – In God With Trust.
The world alienates followers of Christ by emphasizing what they as unbelievers think Christians are against. Because they have no knowledge of a just, holy and loving God, they perceive that Christians are closed minded, bigoted, fairytale believing and holier-than-thou. However, it’s not what Christians are against that matters... but what we stand for. Therefore, stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. Stand up for Jesus. Stand in his strength alone. The devil takes the truth of the Word of God and twists it to his own evil ends. Any fool can claim his rights and any demon will make sure that he gets them to their demise. Jesus said, “Set your affections on things above and not on things of earth.” Christians are distracted from their heavenly calling when they align themselves with a particular secular political party thinking that an earthly political candidate can deliver them from the physical world’s problems.
Let's continue Michael message on Christian persecution in the next post.
In Christ, Brian
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