Pastor Steve Lawson once said, “The problem with preachers today is that nobody wants to kill them.” He was speaking of modern preachers in America in comparison to the Puritan preachers of the 17th century.
That statement hit me square in the chest. However, I think I can rightly broaden that statement in this post to American Christians more generally. No body wants to kill us. Christianity is so contra-mundo (at odds with the worlds systems) that if we were living consistently with out profession we would be objects of hate far more frequently.
Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,
2 Timothy 3:12
The other night as I read of the martyrs in Revelation 6 I paused to consider the seen:
When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”
Revelation 6:9-10
Here are those who have payed the ultimate price. It is such a text that has led some to pose the question: What would you do if your life was threatened? How would you answer if a gun was put to your head?
I believe the heart behind the question to be good but the question to be poor. There is a better question to be explored. It is a question which is not of some hypothetical future event, but one to be answered in real time in the moment it is asked.
Do I value Christ? Am I depending on Christ in prayer for my daily bread? Do I boast of Christ in worship and also in evangelism? Do I prayerfully seek his face in scripture? Do I wish to be captivated by the excellency of my Savior?
These questions can be explored in the moment they are asked. They are needed questions for every follower of Christ. Yet, it also connects into the vein of the question demonstrated above; it helps us explore if we are Martyr Material.
When you read the stories of the martyrs in Hebrews 11 one of the great commonalities is an embedded value of Christ. Because this is a shorter post I want to ask you to read slowly and reflectively through this passage. Note the characteristics of the martyrs and then the end they met, the suffering they endured.
And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets— who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated— of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.
Hebrews 11:32-39
To the martyrs Christ was truly supreme. Their soul’s eye was fixed on their dear and risen Savior as we learn in the following chapter (Heb. 12:1-2).
Reflecting on this passage should not lead to a weight of guide that whispers: “You fall short.” “You aren’t faithful or bold enough.” “Your belief is so weak, and love so cold.”
No. These examples of Spirit empowered faithfulness ought to provoke us to pray for such vehement love for God and faith in his promises as is displayed in Hebrews 11. And we need it.
Word of Explanation
I write this post not to be a proclaimer of dark and gloomy days ahead, the Lord only knows what days of the future will hold. However, I believe as we discern the times based on patterns of history that the American Christian is on the edge of a new era for the American Church. We have more reason to expect growing persecution in the not so distant future. It is doubtful that ease will continue for the people of God.
So, are you Martyr Material? As I read Revelation 6 I began to pray that God would raise up “martyr material” in my church and community. Now I did not pray specifically for martyrs but martyr material: men and women who would be ready to lose all, livelihood, even life, in order to stay true to Christ. What does that look like? It looks like believers who
- value Christ…
- depend on
- boast of
- seek the glory of
- and wish to be captivated by Christ.
Before we think about whether or not we would profess faith with a gun pointed at our head we need to be concerned with how we are thinking about Christ in this moment?
One Final Thought
I again want to alter Steve Lawson’s quote.
“The problem with deacons today is that nobody wants to kill them.”
Who was the first martyr of the Christian church? That’s right, Stephen in Acts 7:60. He was also among the first deacons of the church. This final thought is close to my heart as our own church begins to install deacons. I do not seek to make the qualification for the deacon any higher than Paul sets in 1 Timothy 3:8-13. However, I want to address the fact that in America we have too often ordained deacons who know how to swing a hammer or run a spread sheet…but are the furthest thing from Martyr Material.
Are the deacons in your church Martyr Material; men who are above good repute (Acts 6:3; 1 Tim. 3:8)? Deacons who humbly seek the Spirit’s power to accomplish their service in assisting the elders? Deacons whose love for Jesus constrains them to be men of integrity?
The first martyr of the Christian church was a deacon. That does not mean that all deacons must be martyrs but it does indicate what sort of people ought to be deacons.
May Hebrews 11 guide your praying for your deacons. Pray for their belief in the promises of God. Boldness to live in light of the promises. Future minded deacons with a view of eternity as they live in the now. Pray for a greater value on God’s approval than the approval of man.
The Reforming Raker 