Week 9: Resisting the Enemy: The Reality of Persecution

Christians have been called to pursue peace, Romans 12.18, but often come to experience hostility. Our commitment to righteousness will stir some up, causing them to dislike us, slander us, or worse yet, hurt us physically. This is because some will be repelled by the righteousness Jesus calls for and they in turn will begin to hate Jesus and His followers. John R. Stott has said, persecution is simply the clash between two irreconcilable value-systems. We can be assured that if we are true to our Lord then at some point, we will experience what Jesus speaks of in the eighth beatitude. There will be a price to be paid. In fact, all who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, 2 Timothy 3.12.