God in His sovereignty can use persecution as a triumphant tool for the spread of the gospel.

FROM the very beginning, God's people have been persecuted. Our Lord Jesus, speaking to the scribes and Pharisees, refers to this reality when He said to them,

"That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias . . ." Matthew 23:35

Persecution is to be expected by all true Christians. In the Gospel of Matthew our Lord prophesied it,

"And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake . . ." Matthew 10:22

Native missionaries in Orissa, India press on to preach the gospel; wherever the Lord leads, they will go.

The most aggressive forms of persecution are religious and/or political persecution. Jesus spoke about the severity of this persecution, saying:

"They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service." John 16:2 (It was for these very reasons the disciples forsook Jesus in Gethsemane and fled for their lives.)

Soon after our Lord’s resurrection, both the Sadducees and Pharisees became bitter persecutors of the Christians. And throughout history, from emperors such as Nero in Rome to Mao Zedong in China, ideologues have persecuted Christians.

Jesus also warns us that many will turn away when put under this pressure, thus making persecution a test of true discipleship:

". . . when they have heard the Word, immediately receive it with gladness; And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the Word’s sake, immediately they are offended." Mark 4:16-17.