Christians are not being persecuted in the UK today. Despite all the stirring up of certain stories in some quarters of the church and despite even the launch of a campaign by one group as a defiant stand against the so-called trend to silence Christian witness, the truth is rather more mundane – in the Western world today the church does not find itself in danger and there is very little Christian persecution.

That does not mean, however, that the persecution of Christians will never come and as we have heard from places like Egypt, Iraq and Pakistan recently there is much persecution ongoing in other parts of the world today – we certainly need to listen to the voice of the martyrs. We can and should expect it in our country, though whether we in this current generation will experience it is a question that is not easy to answer. Over the next four or five weeks I want to post a weekly bible study on this issue. The New Testament has a lot to say about the persecution of Christians and we do need to take it seriously – if only to help us stand with our fellow believers who are experiencing difficult times.

Our Jesus relationship

Let me begin today, then, by saying that the primary reason for the persecution of Christians is their relationship with Jesus. A key passage here (but not the only one) is to be found in John 15:18-21 where Jesus is reported as saying, ‘If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember the words I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me.’ (NIV)  Here Jesus very clearly states that our relationship with him will draw the world’s hatred towards us.

Persecuting Jesus

Since our relationship with Jesus is so close – indeed, it is so close we are able to say that we are one with him – the persecution aimed at the Christian is in part aimed at Jesus himself. In a passage repeated three times in the book of Acts Paul retells the story of his conversion and records the words Jesus used as he challenged Saul’s persecution of the church. The question that Jesus asks is very revealing: ‘Why do you persecute me?’ The connection between Jesus and his church is such that the persecution of the church is the persecution of Jesus himself.

Being ‘in Christ’ has the most amazing benefits but it may also lead to one being persecuted. Though I’ve only referred to two passages in this post in truth the NT has many references to Christians facing persecution for their faith – indeed some books, e.g. Revelation, were written because of persecution at the time. The conclusion I would draw from this is that while we should be very wary of ‘crying wolf’ in the West today, we do need to be mindful of what others around the world are facing and that we may have to face it ourselves.

A question to ponder as you wait for next weeks’ post: do you think your relationship with Jesus is so close that it will draw persecution at some stage? Why not share your thoughts below.