Persecution in the First Centuries
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torture and martyrdom are but following in the steps of God’s dear
Son.
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“The Lord is not slack concerning His promise.”
2 Peter 3:9
. He
does not forget or neglect His children; but He permits the wicked to
reveal their true character, that none who desire to do His will may
be deceived concerning them. Again, the righteous are placed in the
furnace of affliction, that they themselves may be purified; that their
example may convince others of the reality of faith and godliness;
and also that their consistent course may condemn the ungodly and
unbelieving.
God permits the wicked to prosper and to reveal their enmity
against Him, that when they shall have filled up the measure of their
iniquity all may see His justice and mercy in their utter destruction.
The day of His vengeance hastens, when all who have transgressed His
law and oppressed His people will meet the just recompense of their
deeds; when every act of cruelty or injustice toward God’s faithful
ones will be punished as though done to Christ Himself.
There is another and more important question that should engage
the attention of the churches of today. The apostle Paul declares that
“all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.”
2
Timothy 3:12
. Why is it, then, that persecution seems in a great degree
to slumber? The only reason is that the church has conformed to the
world’s standard and therefore awakens no opposition. The religion
which is current in our day is not of the pure and holy character that
marked the Christian faith in the days of Christ and His apostles. It is
only because of the spirit of compromise with sin, because the great
truths of the word of God are so indifferently regarded, because there
is so little vital godliness in the church, that Christianity is apparently
so popular with the world. Let there be a revival of the faith and power
of the early church, and the spirit of persecution will be revived, and
the fires of persecution will be rekindled.
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