Are you afraid of persecution?

It is the command of our savior to preach the gospel to all nations. And we are supposed to preach the gospel in season and out of season. Yet, we Christians fail to do so most of the time. One of the way in which we justify that is, the fear of persecution. I have had this temptation most of the time when I wanted to preach the gospel. To make this temptation even worse for me, my natural personality is to be like an introvert, and I always think twice before I talk. Yet that does not give an excuse for me to not to preach the gospel. So how can we proclaim the gospel without the fear of persecution? Let us look at the promises of God for it:

Don’t be afraid of men:

And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. (Mat 10:28)  

The main reason why we don’t preach the gospel is not because of fear of persecution. It is actually a symptom of a greater disease. It is the lack of fear of God and the reverence for His holiness and righteousness. When we are not afraid of God, then we would form another idol, which in this case is fear of men. We want to please men thus we remain passive. But Bible here clearly says that it is wiser to be afraid of someone who is greater than man, who can send us to hell, i.e. God.

A Case study of Peter:

Before our Lord was crucified, Peter was warned that he would deny Christ. But instead of asking for strength from God, he trusted in his own strength and boasted about his own performance.

Peter answered him, "Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away." (Mat 26:33)  

Peter said to him, "Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you (Mat 26:35)

Here Peter is, not only trusting in his own strength but also is proud that he is better than the rest in loving God. But we all know that he failed and Christ was right. But here is the good news. Even as he realised that he was a failure and tried to run away from Christ, after He rose from the dead, Jesus specifically went in search of Peter in John 21, and reassured His love for him though he did not deserve it.

When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." He said to him, "Feed my lambs"(Joh 21:15)

And not just that, He gave a promise to Peter that He would glorify God in his martyrdom.

Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go." (Joh 21:18)  

Peter was broke. He realised that he is not worthy of the love of Christ. Yet Christ again proved his election and showed his special love for Peter because He is elect. Thus Christ used Peter’s apparent loss for his own gain and history proves that God used Peter mightily for the advancement of His kingdom. The same Peter, who denied Christ in gethsemane out of fear of men, volunteered to be crucified upside down, not because of his own strength but because of the unchanging promise of God. This reminds me of the following verse:

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. (Rom 8:28)

We may lose a battle to the enemy, but even that loss has been predestined by God for our good so that we would come even more close to God. And God has promised us that we will ultimately win this spiritual war.

Likewise, we should also repent of our past sins and trust only in God’s promises. We cannot preach the gospel by our own strength but by the power of God alone. Let us trust in His faithful promises and be a watchman proclaiming the good news to the poor.

And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say."
(Luk 12:11-12)

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