You bring me joy - 2 - Passion for the Lord

The second reason why Paul remembers this church with joy is because the stood firm against the test of persecution.  Their passion for the Lord was so strong that they weed willing to suffer for His name.

 

In verse 30 Paul says, “since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had…”  Paul knew exactly what kind of persecution the church was going through. 

 

It was very similar to what he and Silas went though as seen in Acts 16. In Acts 16:23-24 - After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks. 

 

And it gave Paul joy to know that this young and budding church were able to withstand persecution and stood firm for our Lord Jesus Christ, risking even their lives. Paul encourages them that with the blessings of the gospel also comes suffering for Christ. Persecution is not something that is strange to sincere Christianity or seen as a punishment from God. 

 

Paul  goes on to say in 2 Timothy 3:12 – “everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted”.

 

It’s part of the job description.

 

Even Jesus said in John 16:33 - I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. 

 

I am convinced that as a Christian if one has not suffered any form of persecution, it only is an indication that we have compromised our Christian values. Persecution only comes when we our belief system contradicts the current status quo. And as long as you agree and follow whatever the world believes and thinks, you will never suffer persecution. The moment you say no to the mainstream, you will suffer.

 

But the main reason for the persecution suffered by Paul and this church is their claims about the exclusivity of Christ. There is no other way to God except Jesus. That’s the only reason why Paul had to suffer all that he suffered . Because, “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ”. He boldly and unreservedly announced his faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Now trying sharing that to your friends and people of other faith. Tell them what the Bible says about those who not believe in Jesus. Some will mock you, you may be marginalised or some even killed for standing by their faith in Christ. 

 

Some years ago, I read this moving article in Christianity Today dated 12 Mar 2017. Here are some excerpts from the article.

https://www.christiantoday.com/article/the.man.who.was.beheaded.by.isis.terrorists.the.day.he.became.a.believer/108997.htm?internal_source=around_the_world

 

“The man who was beheaded by ISIS terrorists the day he became a believer

Most of us are familiar with the story of the 21 Coptic Christians from Egypt who held fast to their faith and were beheaded by ISIS in February 2015. But did you know that only 20 of them were actually Copts from Egypt? Did you know that one of the martyrs was from Chad, and he had not been a Christian prior to the day of his beheading?

The Coptic Christians were given a choice to deny Jesus or die. They refused to deny Him, knowing it would cost them their heads.

When the terrorists ordered the man from Chad to deny Jesus or die, he answered, "Their God is my God," thereby sealing his fate.

That's how moved he was by the faith of these Christians. Their refusal to deny their Savior, even at the point of death – literally, at the point of a knife to their throats – moved him to make a profession of faith, one that would cost him his head as well. Can we grasp the intensity of this story?

The man had not been a believer. All he had to say was, "I don't believe in Jesus" or, "Jesus is not the Son of God," and he could walk away a free man.

He would be with his family again. He would not die a brutal death. He would live to see another day.

How many Christians would be sorely tempted under such circumstances? How many would waver and, for that moment, deny their Lord, just to avoid beheading?

Yet this man, who had not been a follower of Jesus before then, was so moved by the dedication of these Christians that he became a believer on the spot.

"Go ahead and behead me," he was saying. "Your god is not my God. Their God is my God."

That is the power of the gospel, and that is how we overcome Satan, by not loving our lives to the point of death (Revelation 12:11).”

Jesus said in Matthew 5:11 - “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. ¹² Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.