Persecution of the Early Churh

Aug 31

Transcript

INTRO: Good afternoon and welcome back to the Sunday School Podcast, the pod all about digging deeper into the Bible using social, historical, and scientific context. I’m Sean Parker, and today we’re going to continue our discussion of the early church.

As we discussed in the last episode, the early church dealt with divisions just like we do today. But, we should always strive for unity.

1 Corinthians 13:11

11 Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.

Becoming a unified body in Christ can be hard. We all come from different backgrounds. Internal pressures are a major challenge, but external pressures can be an even greater challenge.

The early church’s persecution should have been enough to shatter their faith, but they rose above, and spread Christianity to the entire world.

(Transition)

Have you ever shot a Roman Candle? My daughter loves to shoot them on the Fourth of July. You light the fuse and point the long tube into the air. The firework slowly shoots balls of light from the end, one after the other.

Fireworks can be fun, but the Roman Candle wasn’t originally a means of celebration. In the times of Emperor Nero, from 37 to 68 AD, we will see that they served a much more sinister purpose.

In 64 AD, a great fire raged in Rome. It burned for nearly 3 days and destroyed 3 of Rome’s 14 districts. Many have blamed Nero for starting the fire, though there isn’t sufficient evidence to support this claim.

However, Nero did use the fire to further his political agenda. One of the worst things he did was attribute the starting of the fire to Christians.

He used this as an excuse to attempt to eradicate the Christians. He saw himself as equal to the Roman god Apollo, and encouraged the people to worship him. Worship of another god was seen as an act of sedition. Those who disobeyed would be tortured and killed.

One of the cruelest forms of torture he inflicted on the Christians was what we now call Roman candles. He would have the Christians tied to tall posts. Oil, pitch, or tar would be poured on them. They would light the posts from the feet to allow the fires to slowly burn, extending the agony, and ultimately killing them. They were called “Roman Candles” because they would use them to light the streets at night. It was even said that Nero would use them as decorations at his extravagant parties.

The Bible cites many accounts of the things early Christians had to face.

Peter and John were arrested (Acts 4:3 and Acts 5:18),

Stephen was stoned to death (Acts 6 and 7),

The believers were persecuted as a group (Acts 8:1),

Members were pulled from their homes and taken to prison (Acts 8:3),

King Herod put James (the brother of John) to death and arrested Peter (Acts 12).

In Jerusalem, Paul spoke openly and challenged the Hellenists. They, in turn, tried to kill him (Acts 9:28-30)

In Antioch, the Jewish leadership encouraged persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and eventually expelled them from the area (Acts 13:48-52)

In Iconium, both Jews and Gentiles attempted to stone Paul and Barnabas, forcing them to flee to Lystra (Acts 14:5-6)

The Jewish residents of Lystra convinced the citizenry to stone Paul as well. He nearly died from this stoning but was rescued by the disciples (Acts 19-20)

Paul and Silas were beaten openly and thrown into prison in Philippi (Acts 16:19-40)

In Berea, the Thessalonian Jewish believers incited the crowd and forced Paul to flee by sea (Acts 17:13-14)

Paul was eventually arrested in Caesarea and taken to Governor Felix (Acts 24:1). He was ultimately taken to Rome where he was placed in house arrest under guard (Acts 28)

Paul was eventually released from his first Roman imprisonment, and it is believed that in AD 65 Paul was imprisoned in Rome for a second time and then beheaded.

If that list seems daunting, it’s in no way exhaustive. Martyrdom of the church is still going on today. Persecution of Christians touches every corner of the globe, though those of us in America face it to a much lesser extent.

(Promo)

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(Transition)

It’s hard for me to believe that a devout Jew and Pharisee would have converted to Christianity, spread that Christianity across the entire known world, and then later go to his death for it, unless he truly believed he had an encounter with Jesus Christ.

We may not have met Jesus on the road to Damascus, but we have all encountered his incredible healing and mercy. Jesus was willing to die for us, and the early church was, in turn, willing to die for Him.

How would you stand against this type of persecution today? In America, we see persecution in the church, but not like these Christians faced. We have the ability to worship God and express our faith without any real risk, and yet we are scared to death to preach the gospel to our neighbors.

I’m guilty of this as well. We’ve allowed ourselves to be complacent. We live in a modern day Babylon. A world full of wealth and extravagance. We can’t allow ourselves to be conformed to this life. As a Christian we are to be set apart from the world.

And just because we have the safety to worship God, it doesn’t mean that others do. There are Christians in our world right now that don’t have the same security. They are faced with a lot of the same persecution the early church faced.

Look at the situation in Afghanistan right now. There are Christians there fearing for their lives. They are imploring us to pray for their safety as the Taliban comes into Kabul to likely kill them.

They are meeting in secret in their homes, just as Christians met in the home of Priscilla and Aquila in the first century.

Hebrews 13:3 says

'Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body. '

I mentioned the situation in Afghanistan, but that isn’t the only place Christians are being persecuted today. Would it surprise you if I said that every day 13 Christians lose their lives for their faith, 12 are wrongfully imprisoned, and 12 churches are attacked across the world?

In spite of all the adversity, the church remains resilient. Jesus told us that things would be this way.

Mark 8:34-35

'And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. '

Instead of crumpling in the wake of persecution, we must trust in God to sustain us.

Isaiah 43:19

'Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert. '

With God nothing is impossible. He can make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert. We only have to trust in Him and he will provide. That doesn’t mean he will prevent bad things from happening to us, but he will equip us to deal with them.

1 Corinthians 10:13

'No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. '

We should be inspired by the boldness of the early church, as well as the boldness of many in the church today. We need to remember our fellow Christians and the things that they are suffering.

I want to end today with a prayer. A prayer for those being persecuted for their faith. I encourage you to take time out of your day and do the same.

Dear Lord. Nothing is too hard for you. You are the God of all flesh, and your will will be carried out. Evil men around the world intend to do your name harm, but I pray that true believers will only find strength through their trials.

Help those around the world who are suffering for your name to remember your promises. You will never forsake us. You’ve already won the victory.

I pray especially for those in Afghanistan who are fearing for their lives. I pray that you protect them, that they may continue to share your good news with the lost. Grant them courage and perseverance. You are our salvation, our hope, and our strength.

I ask that your blessings be poured out on your children. Grant them peace and guidance, and I ask all this in your Son’s most holy and precious name. Amen.

I want you all to remember the words of 2 Thessalonians 3:1-2

'Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you, and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men. For not all have faith. '

Outro: As always, I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you did, don’t forget to leave a review in whatever player you use to listen to podcasts.

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