Date posted: 03-07-2024
Estimated Reading Time : 5:00
Christians are hated today. Christians are being persecuted. Christians are being stood against.
None of that should really be a surprise. We hear about these things happening in Muslim nations or Communist nations, but did you know it’s also happening in America right under our noses?
Jesus said in Matthew 24:8–9,
All of these are the beginning of sorrows. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.
The words for “all nations” are translated from the Greek pas ethnos which literally means “all nations.” No one is exempt. That includes Americans.
When I heard this verse preached as a kid, back in the 1950s and 60s, I thought, Well, maybe that’s all the other nations, but America is a Christian nation. I just couldn’t see these things happening here. But I’ll tell you, if you’re an outspoken Christian, you are going to be persecuted even in America.
Recently, a number of people were arrested and convicted for praying in front of an abortion clinic—in America! These people could be facing eleven years in prison. That’s just terrible!
Second Timothy 3:12, says,
Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
The Apostle Paul is saying that if you aren’t being persecuted, it’s because you aren’t living a godly life. Now, that doesn’t mean you are living in adultery or something like that. But it does mean you aren’t resisting ungodliness.
I tell people all the time that if they’re not being persecuted—if they’re not facing resistance—it may be that they and the devil are headed in the same direction. I’ve heard it said that the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. So, if you’re not doing anything to stand up against evil and resist the ungodliness that’s trying to take over this nation, you are just letting evil win.
Jesus commanded us to let our light shine in this world (Matt. 5:16). People should notice a difference between Christians and their unsaved neighbors. But, sad to say, too many Christians just take the path of least resistance. They don’t want to offend anybody. Meanwhile, children in schools are being indoctrinated with woke ideology and groomed into homosexuality, transgenderism, and all sorts of other ungodly choices.
Parents, pastors, and other people have been going to school board meetings all around the country, trying to speak out against the pornographic books they find in school libraries. In many cases, people try reading these books out loud in the meetings to show the kind of filth students are being subjected to, but the school board members tell them the books are inappropriate to read in front of adults! How dumb can you get and still breathe?
I’ve had to take a stand in my own ministry, even when it looked like everything was against us. During the pandemic response of 2020, the government declared that churches were nonessential and tried to stop people from worshiping. We even received a cease-and-desist letter during one of our events here at Charis Bible College.
My ministry staff had a war room going nearly twenty-four hours a day, making plans in case the authorities came to arrest me. I even had people ask me, “What if they shut you down? What if they threaten to take away your 501c3 nonprofit status?” But worrying about consequences is not how I live.
It’s not my responsibility to consider what somebody else does. All I’ve got control over is myself. And I’m only going to do what God tells me to do. So, if they had put me in jail, that’s their problem. I’d just start a jail ministry and get everybody in the jail saved! I’m not going to evaluate what God wants me to do based on what the consequences may be.
As it turned out, the State of Colorado sued us, and we sued them. Eventually, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of churches in other states who fought back against lockdowns. And because of that, the State of Colorado backed down. During that time our income increased dramatically, more people became familiar with our ministry, and our influence grew. That’s awesome!
Many Christians may know what God wants them to do but they don’t always obey. Instead, their actions are based on what they think the consequences would be. If they think something bad will happen by following God’s plan, they won’t do it.
During that time, I had a guy come to me who was a nurse. He said the hospital he worked at told him he would be fired if he didn’t take the vaccine. And I asked, “Well, do you think you’re supposed to take the vaccine?” He said, “No! God told me not to do it.” (Now, I’m not even discussing whether you should or shouldn’t take a vaccine. I’m just saying God told him not to take the vaccine.)
I said, “Well, if God told you not to do it, don’t do it.” His immediate response was, “But they’re going to fire me!” And I said, “What does that matter? If God tells you to do something—even if it harelips the devil—you just do it!”
I guarantee you, if you live a godly life and if you stand up against the ungodliness that’s going on in our nation today, you are going to be hated. There is just no exception to that. That’s why we have the Truth & Liberty Coalition. We are a clearinghouse of resources to help you stand for truth, even when it looks like everyone else is against you.
I’ll tell you, we are going to see things turn around in this nation, but we have to stand strong in the face of persecution. We will win if we just don’t quit!
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