John Condemned to Boiling Oil Before Domitianby MarkWilson
3:122 Timothy 3:12
Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
All who choose to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution, for it is unavoidable and the assured portion of faithful Christian life. Godly living means truly living godly in Christ and not merely professing godliness, obeying God's commandments and doing His works, learning His will from the Word and forming a Christlike character in watchfulness, prayer, self-denial and separation from the world. Such a life provokes enmity because oneness and likeness to Christ arouse Satan's wrath, and because a pure, holy and obedient life is a perpetual rebuke that exposes and condemns those who refuse light. In the last days this opposition will center on conscientious obedience to God's word, when commandment keepers who obey the Bible will face oppression, imprisonment, exile and family rejection, and evil men will grow worse until they believe they serve God by persecuting His children. Yet persecution must frighten no one, for it cannot separate from God or leave forsaken, but drives to Christ as refuge and is met with His sustaining strength, peace and joy, purifying trial into nearness to rest and reward.
Setting and Godly Life
The chapter sets two classes in contrast for the days now living, with a warning that refers to those described by Isaiah as having departed from the faith. On one side stand evil men and seducers who grow worse and worse, deceiving others and being deceived. On the other stand all who live godly in Christ Jesus, who continue in the things they have heard and learned and been assured of, holding to the Holy Scriptures known from childhood which are able to make wise unto salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. The certainty of coming persecution does not lessen the need for warnings and reproof that uncover hidden darkness, but calls for watching in all things, enduring afflictions, doing the work of an evangelist, and watching for souls as those who must give account.
Godly living means truly living godly in Christ, not merely professing godliness. Mere profession and pretense do not provoke the world's hostility, while practical purity and holiness do. Those who so live shine as lights and contend for the faith in doctrine and in the spirit and power of godliness, and resistance rises against them because of the truth.
Such a life means obeying God's commandments and doing His works. It means learning the will of God from the Word and going forward with fearlessness, perseverance and courage to carry out the pure, uplifting, close, self-denying principles of true reform, including the law of Jehovah, following the Son of God who was manifested to establish true reforms and draw all men to Him, though some will not be drawn. Such obedience always brings opposition, because selfish men and selfish interests clash with the right and oppose it, and those who seek to tear down what God declares to be truth and righteousness bring persecution upon the godly, so that work carried forward in harmony with the Word, as in Boulder, will not find a smooth way but must expect resistance. A Christlike character requires a new life formed within. Living in a way that pleases God requires watchfulness, prayer, self-denial and sacrifice, whereas little self-denial is required merely to profess religion and then persecution and reproach are scarcely known; children who follow Christ face a daily struggle and must bear a cross by separating from the world and imitating Christ.
Godly life in Christ is life following God in a present evil world. It is supported by the examples of faithful people who practiced God's words and by studying Scripture to gain wisdom and spiritual strength for serving and blessing others.
Certainty and Causes
All who choose to live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution, and this is unavoidable, the Christian's legacy, assured as true of faithful Christian life. Paul's own persecutions at Antioch, Iconium and Lystra illustrate this, and the Lord delivered him from them all. When persecution is largely absent, it is because the church has conformed to the world and to worldly standards, compromised with sin, neglected the great truths of God's word and of Scripture, and lacks vital godliness. A revival of the early church's faith and power would bring opposition and persecution again.
The character and form of persecution change with the times, but the principle and spirit underlying it never change. It is the same spirit that has opposed and slain God's chosen ever since Abel, and the same that killed the Lord's chosen people beginning with Abel. This enmity and hatred of truth and persecution of its advocates continue as long as sin and sinners remain and as long as Satan exists. They continue because the unregenerate heart remains hostile to God's law and Christ's principles, and opposition to truth continues wherever sin and Satan exist.
Oneness and likeness to Christ arouse Satan's enmity. Those who resist temptation through strength from above, uphold pure truth and pure principles of truth, and by witness to the love of Christ and the beauty of holiness draw souls away from Satan's kingdom provoke his wrath and the hatred and opposition of those who serve him. The same hatred directed against Christ for His purity, holiness, divine compassion and unlikeness to the world is directed against His followers, and so unlikeness to the world still provokes hostility. Christ gives His followers no hope of earthly glory and riches or a life free from trial, but calls them to follow Him in self-denial and reproach, as He Himself was opposed by the united forces of evil men and evil angels.
A life of purity, unselfish devotion, benevolence, holiness and obedience that hates nothing except sin is a perpetual rebuke that exposes and condemns those who refuse light. Steady conduct rebukes unbelief, pride and selfishness, truth contradicts human teachings and condemns sinful conduct, and the light from heaven brings condemnation on all who refuse to walk in it, revealing hidden depravity in the heart. Those rebuked may hate the reprover, distort facts and use Satan's influence to discredit, harass and persecute the faithful, becoming agents of Satan in a collision of error against truth. Those who plainly testify against sin can expect calumny, reproach, hatred and ridicule, even being called enemies of the church and religion or dismissed as weak, foolish or insane, and the more earnestly and truly they work to honor God the more bitter the enmity of the ungodly and hypocritical may become. When Christ's followers proclaim truth with the Spirit's power the forces of darkness resist them, and the same spirit that led the Pharisees to reject Christ therefore turns against His faithful followers and continues to do so until the end of time.
Carrying out obedience and reforms that clash with selfish men and selfish interests always brings opposition. Living godly means learning the will of God from the Word and going forward with fearlessness and courage to carry out the pure, uplifting, close, self-denying principles of true reform, including the law of Jehovah, following the work of the Son of God who was manifested to establish true reforms and to draw all men to Him, yet some will not be drawn. Opposition is the portion of all whom God employs to move His work forward by presenting truth specially applicable to their time, including truths that are not in harmony with the popular churches and with the world. This controversy between Christ and Satan increases in intensity to the close of history, so those who dare to present such truths become the objects of slander, reproach and falsehood. That opposition deepens, with many who at first only partially unite with scoffers finally lending themselves fully to oppose and overthrow what God would build up, while friends of Christ's truth are opposed by a generation that puts convenience above truth and reformers may be called enthusiasts or fanatics because God's word condemns sin and calls people to righteousness. Those who uphold God's law and proclaim Bible truth should therefore expect ridicule, sneers, reviling, false accusations and misrepresentation, and this suffering is endured for Christ's sake, as Christ also suffered.
Forms Through History
Persecution takes the hard forms of reproach, cruelty, imprisonment, exile and death, fulfilling what is written of all who live godly in Christ Jesus from the apostles through the Dark Ages and the Inquisition to later violence. Amid opposition, danger, loss and suffering the gospel has still advanced, since the unregenerate heart remains hostile to God's law and to Christ's principles. It may torture or kill the body, but it cannot touch the life hidden with Christ in God, and those who die faithful are conquerors, disciplined and purified through trial with God's character revealed in them.
It also takes the wounding forms of gossip, falsehood, slander, reproach, calumny, ridicule, sneers, reviling, false accusations and misrepresentation of words and faith, with distortion to discredit, questioning of motives, and names treated as evil. Those who plainly testify against sin may be called enemies of the church and religion or dismissed as weak, foolish or insane, and the more earnestly and truly they work to honor God the more bitter the enmity of the ungodly and hypocritical may become. Their steady conduct rebukes unbelief, pride and selfishness, and while opponents malign and despise the faithful their opposition will ultimately be exposed. Yet such opposition and derision from those who reject the truth do not show that the truth is false, and misjudgment, condemnation and imprisonment for doing right do not mean that God has ceased to reign, but the greater the opposition to righteousness the more brightly He lets His light shine.
Paul's own persecutions at Antioch, Iconium and Lystra illustrate this certainty, and the Lord delivered him from them all. Israel's weariness of Samuel's piety illustrates it as well, when they despised his humble authority and rejected his Heaven-honored rule to demand a king to rule them as other nations. Their rejection of a life of purity that revealed hidden depravity reflects the Jews' rejection of Christ, whose sinless life was the light of the world and whose works showed greater power than any human prince though He came without earthly wealth and honors. He was rejected because He would not cloak sins and applaud piety but fearlessly rebuked vices, a pattern true in every age, for a life of purity, unselfish devotion, benevolence and holiness that hates nothing except sin is a perpetual rebuke bringing condemnation on all who refuse to walk in the light.
The early Christians' endurance of deprivation and distress without abandoning faith illustrates the same truth, as they encouraged one another with faith, patience and hope and were brought nearer to rest and reward through trial. Refusal to conform to Rome's self-made standard brought persecution, continuing the spirit that opposed Christ, the apostles and Nero's faithful victims against those beloved of God. The faithful gospel believers in Bohemia who suffered persecution illustrate it, and Jerome's resolve to confess his faith and follow Huss to the flames rather than preserve life by surrendering truth shows the same choice. Defenders of the faith in every age who loved truth and clung to the Bible faced trials when pressed to trade God's word for human traditions, yet some stood firm even at risk of life, as the early Reformers did.
Luther's hunted and suffering life of courage, self-denial and steadfast defense of truth illustrates the cost of faithful service for Christ. The early Methodists seeking to turn sinners toward holiness endured ridicule, persecution, unjust court proceedings, mob violence, and destruction and theft of property. In the seventeenth century the Church of England punished dissenters by expelling godly pastors, forbidding unsanctioned worship, and meeting secret gatherings with fines, imprisonment, broken families and banishment. Their testimony was not silenced, and many carried faith to America where they helped establish civil and religious liberty. That clergymen have opposed believers as Christ was opposed, and as prophets and apostles were treated, shows such persecution is not new but occurs among believers in every age.
Final Conflict Foretold
Persecution of those who live godly in Christ belongs among the conditions described for the last days, and together with the signs and state of the world it shows the present age of the earth is nearing its close. Every word of the chapter stands as applying at this time to all churches, and the promise that all who live godly shall suffer persecution will be verified in the near future. That call is to wake out of lethargic slumber, trim the lamps with grace and let them shine in clear bright rays to a dark world, and do the great work of bearing the message that fits up a people to stand in the day of the Lord, with God as the strongest being in the universe helping against the mighty.
In the final conflict over obedience to God's word, conscientious obedience will be treated as rebellion. Commandment keepers who refuse to honor Sunday as the Sabbath and who obey the Bible will face oppression, imprisonment, exile and treatment as slaves. Obedience to the Bible will bring reproach and persecution as Romanism gains power and joins with Protestants to enforce a false Sabbath. These events follow when God's restraining Spirit is withdrawn and people come under Satan's control.
While Satan exists and Christianity has vital power, evil angels and evil people oppose the godly because their example and influence draw people away from evil, and when temptation fails to separate them from God, coercion is used to force conscience. Near the close of time this opposition will come through harsh parents, alienated family affection, rejection, expulsion from home, and children disinherited or driven from home. It will include parents disowning commandment-keeping children and fathers or guardians changing wills or misusing trusts against them, so that faithful obedience brings conflict with those serving the world and with evil powers. Faithfulness to Christ does not ensure safety from the dangers and afflictions of the last days.
The assault falls especially on the loyal, commandment-keeping people through a thousand masked efforts to compel violation of conscience. These include dislike, criticism, decided opposition, ridicule, sneers, reviling, misrepresentation of words and faith, and coldness and contempt harder to bear than martyrdom. They include parents turning against children who accept unpopular truth, accusations of rebellion against conscientious servants of God, disinheritance of believers, robbing of orphans and widows, seizure of property, and laws enacted to compel conscience that make those who depart from evil a prey.
Evil men and seducers will wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived, and with zeal will pursue persecution until they put light for darkness and darkness for light. They will sincerely believe they serve God by persecuting His children, putting them out of the synagogues and killing them while thinking they do God service, because they have not known the Father nor Christ. As Jesus was treated as the worst of malefactors so His followers share the same, for the servant is not greater than his Lord. What was so in past conflicts will be manifested in the closing work when the dragon is wroth with the woman and makes war with the remnant of her seed which keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. These things were foretold beforehand so believers would not be offended but would remember the warning when the time comes.
Trial is the portion of all who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. No follower need expect a better portion in this world than the Master had, for the Redeemer was reproached and hated by the world. All who follow Him will suffer persecution for His sake, including new believers who take a firm stand, even those of the very first class in the community.
Endurance and Encouragement
The certainty of suffering does not lessen the need for warning and reproof but increases it, requiring steadfastness in one spirit with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel, in nothing terrified by adversaries. Those who live godly must watch in all things, endure afflictions, and do the work of ministry and of an evangelist, continuing in what they have learned and been assured of and holding to the holy Scriptures known from childhood which make wise unto salvation. They are to preach the word, being instant in season and out of season with reproof, rebuke and exhortation in all longsuffering and doctrine, using Scripture given by inspiration of God for doctrine, reproof, correction and instruction in righteousness. They must watch for souls as those who must give account, giving warnings that discover the hidden things of darkness while evil men and seducers wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.
The verse calls brethren to wake out of lethargic slumber, for every word of the chapter applies at this time to all the churches. They are to trim their lamps with grace and let them shine in clear, bright rays to a world in darkness. They are to do the great work of bearing the message that fits up a people to stand in the day of the Lord, with God as the strongest being in the universe helping against the mighty.
Persecution must frighten and intimidate no one. The godly must stand steadfastly for truth and return blessing for railing, not be dismayed by gossip, falsehood, slander, calumny, reproach, hatred and ridicule even when plain testimony against sin is called enmity to church and religion or dismissed as weak, foolish or insane, and even as enmity grows more bitter the more earnestly God is honored. They are to continue their work and trust God who judges righteously and helps those who suffer reproach while following Christ, waiting with patience and trust while opposition is ultimately exposed. Coming resistance is to be met by dying to self, putting away sensitiveness and jealousy, cleaving in humility to correct principles, and relying on Christ as strength and on His abiding presence.
Those carrying forward work in harmony with the Word in Boulder will not find a smooth way before them but must expect resistance, since such obedience always brings opposition where selfish men and selfish interests clash with the right. Meeting opponents should drive workers to Scripture for support and strengthen knowledge and ability to face opposition, while avoiding such trials leaves them weak and unprepared to work or suffer for truth.
A true follower must be ready to sacrifice anything rather than lose God's favor. Loyalty may require obeying God even when unbelieving brother, sister, father, mother, husband, wife or children oppose, and willingness to go alone and cut clear from everyone and everything that hinders godly progress and will not walk godly. Natural family ties between husband and wife and parents and children need not be severed unnecessarily, but believers must obey God even when it displeases the nearest and dearest friend. The unbelief of others is no excuse for failing in duty, and those who please unbelieving friends more than God will lose their souls and be counted unworthy to share Christ's glory. This separation and godly stand must be made now while there is chance to get ready, for very soon after Jesus leaves the most holy place it will be too late.
Persecution for proclaiming truth and for righteousness is to be expected, and the cross is not to be shunned. Receiving reproach can be evidence of being God's child and doing His work. Those who only profess godliness may abandon the truth when persecution comes, because truth and holiness awaken the hatred of the unrenewed heart and the forces of darkness resist those who proclaim truth with power.
Those who go forward with persevering, fearless courage to fully carry out the principles of Christian living, learning God's will and acting with fearlessness to establish true reforms as the Son of God was manifested to do, will be greatly blessed by the Lord. Some will not be drawn, yet the work draws all men to Him.
Followers must be prepared for arrest and judgment under human laws that oppose God's law, since those who truly live godly and not merely profess godliness, obeying God's commandments and doing His works, can expect hatred and unjust treatment as Christ was hated without cause. Through love of the truth they may come to know what poverty means, because the world does not love the truth. Abandoning God's cause as apostate and traitor is more serious than death because it means losing eternal life.
Persecution for Christ's sake does not separate from God or leave forsaken; it drives to Christ as refuge and is met with His sustaining strength. Christ understands grief and suffering, and no one bears the cross alone, for He can help those who suffer and face trial for His sake. Those persecuted for righteousness are blessed and have the kingdom of heaven.
Even when persecution comes, those ruled by truth keep sunshine of heart from forgiven sins, true nobility from the restored moral image of God, peace from the Prince of Peace, and light, help and joy from Christ and the Comforter, making the soul free, light and joyful. Misjudgment, condemnation and imprisonment for doing right do not mean God has ceased to reign, and the greater the opposition to righteousness the more brightly God lets His light shine.
Godly believers are safe with life hidden with Christ in God even as troublous times begin, and persecution may torture or kill the body but cannot touch that life. Through trial they are disciplined and purified and brought nearer to rest and reward, with faith, patience, meekness and love developed and God's character revealed in them. Those who die faithful are conquerors, and the early endurance of deprivation and distress without abandoning faith, encouraging one another with faith, patience and hope, shows the same path.
All who choose to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution, for it is unavoidable and the assured portion of faithful Christian life. Godly living means truly living godly in Christ and not merely professing godliness, obeying God's commandments and doing His works, learning His will from the Word and forming a Christlike character in watchfulness, prayer, self-denial and separation from the world. Such a life provokes enmity because oneness and likeness to Christ arouse Satan's wrath, and because a pure, holy and obedient life is a perpetual rebuke that exposes and condemns those who refuse light. In the last days this opposition will center on conscientious obedience to God's word, when commandment keepers who obey the Bible will face oppression, imprisonment, exile and family rejection, and evil men will grow worse until they believe they serve God by persecuting His children. Yet persecution must frighten no one, for it cannot separate from God or leave forsaken, but drives to Christ as refuge and is met with His sustaining strength, peace and joy, purifying trial into nearness to rest and reward.
Setting and Godly Life
The chapter sets two classes in contrast for the days now living, with a warning that refers to those described by Isaiah as having departed from the faith. On one side stand evil men and seducers who grow worse and worse, deceiving others and being deceived. On the other stand all who live godly in Christ Jesus, who continue in the things they have heard and learned and been assured of, holding to the Holy Scriptures known from childhood which are able to make wise unto salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. The certainty of coming persecution does not lessen the need for warnings and reproof that uncover hidden darkness, but calls for watching in all things, enduring afflictions, doing the work of an evangelist, and watching for souls as those who must give account.
Godly living means truly living godly in Christ, not merely professing godliness. Mere profession and pretense do not provoke the world's hostility, while practical purity and holiness do. Those who so live shine as lights and contend for the faith in doctrine and in the spirit and power of godliness, and resistance rises against them because of the truth.
Such a life means obeying God's commandments and doing His works. It means learning the will of God from the Word and going forward with fearlessness, perseverance and courage to carry out the pure, uplifting, close, self-denying principles of true reform, including the law of Jehovah, following the Son of God who was manifested to establish true reforms and draw all men to Him, though some will not be drawn. Such obedience always brings opposition, because selfish men and selfish interests clash with the right and oppose it, and those who seek to tear down what God declares to be truth and righteousness bring persecution upon the godly, so that work carried forward in harmony with the Word, as in Boulder, will not find a smooth way but must expect resistance. A Christlike character requires a new life formed within. Living in a way that pleases God requires watchfulness, prayer, self-denial and sacrifice, whereas little self-denial is required merely to profess religion and then persecution and reproach are scarcely known; children who follow Christ face a daily struggle and must bear a cross by separating from the world and imitating Christ.
Godly life in Christ is life following God in a present evil world. It is supported by the examples of faithful people who practiced God's words and by studying Scripture to gain wisdom and spiritual strength for serving and blessing others.
Certainty and Causes
All who choose to live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution, and this is unavoidable, the Christian's legacy, assured as true of faithful Christian life. Paul's own persecutions at Antioch, Iconium and Lystra illustrate this, and the Lord delivered him from them all. When persecution is largely absent, it is because the church has conformed to the world and to worldly standards, compromised with sin, neglected the great truths of God's word and of Scripture, and lacks vital godliness. A revival of the early church's faith and power would bring opposition and persecution again.
The character and form of persecution change with the times, but the principle and spirit underlying it never change. It is the same spirit that has opposed and slain God's chosen ever since Abel, and the same that killed the Lord's chosen people beginning with Abel. This enmity and hatred of truth and persecution of its advocates continue as long as sin and sinners remain and as long as Satan exists. They continue because the unregenerate heart remains hostile to God's law and Christ's principles, and opposition to truth continues wherever sin and Satan exist.
Oneness and likeness to Christ arouse Satan's enmity. Those who resist temptation through strength from above, uphold pure truth and pure principles of truth, and by witness to the love of Christ and the beauty of holiness draw souls away from Satan's kingdom provoke his wrath and the hatred and opposition of those who serve him. The same hatred directed against Christ for His purity, holiness, divine compassion and unlikeness to the world is directed against His followers, and so unlikeness to the world still provokes hostility. Christ gives His followers no hope of earthly glory and riches or a life free from trial, but calls them to follow Him in self-denial and reproach, as He Himself was opposed by the united forces of evil men and evil angels.
A life of purity, unselfish devotion, benevolence, holiness and obedience that hates nothing except sin is a perpetual rebuke that exposes and condemns those who refuse light. Steady conduct rebukes unbelief, pride and selfishness, truth contradicts human teachings and condemns sinful conduct, and the light from heaven brings condemnation on all who refuse to walk in it, revealing hidden depravity in the heart. Those rebuked may hate the reprover, distort facts and use Satan's influence to discredit, harass and persecute the faithful, becoming agents of Satan in a collision of error against truth. Those who plainly testify against sin can expect calumny, reproach, hatred and ridicule, even being called enemies of the church and religion or dismissed as weak, foolish or insane, and the more earnestly and truly they work to honor God the more bitter the enmity of the ungodly and hypocritical may become. When Christ's followers proclaim truth with the Spirit's power the forces of darkness resist them, and the same spirit that led the Pharisees to reject Christ therefore turns against His faithful followers and continues to do so until the end of time.
Carrying out obedience and reforms that clash with selfish men and selfish interests always brings opposition. Living godly means learning the will of God from the Word and going forward with fearlessness and courage to carry out the pure, uplifting, close, self-denying principles of true reform, including the law of Jehovah, following the work of the Son of God who was manifested to establish true reforms and to draw all men to Him, yet some will not be drawn. Opposition is the portion of all whom God employs to move His work forward by presenting truth specially applicable to their time, including truths that are not in harmony with the popular churches and with the world. This controversy between Christ and Satan increases in intensity to the close of history, so those who dare to present such truths become the objects of slander, reproach and falsehood. That opposition deepens, with many who at first only partially unite with scoffers finally lending themselves fully to oppose and overthrow what God would build up, while friends of Christ's truth are opposed by a generation that puts convenience above truth and reformers may be called enthusiasts or fanatics because God's word condemns sin and calls people to righteousness. Those who uphold God's law and proclaim Bible truth should therefore expect ridicule, sneers, reviling, false accusations and misrepresentation, and this suffering is endured for Christ's sake, as Christ also suffered.
Forms Through History
Persecution takes the hard forms of reproach, cruelty, imprisonment, exile and death, fulfilling what is written of all who live godly in Christ Jesus from the apostles through the Dark Ages and the Inquisition to later violence. Amid opposition, danger, loss and suffering the gospel has still advanced, since the unregenerate heart remains hostile to God's law and to Christ's principles. It may torture or kill the body, but it cannot touch the life hidden with Christ in God, and those who die faithful are conquerors, disciplined and purified through trial with God's character revealed in them.
It also takes the wounding forms of gossip, falsehood, slander, reproach, calumny, ridicule, sneers, reviling, false accusations and misrepresentation of words and faith, with distortion to discredit, questioning of motives, and names treated as evil. Those who plainly testify against sin may be called enemies of the church and religion or dismissed as weak, foolish or insane, and the more earnestly and truly they work to honor God the more bitter the enmity of the ungodly and hypocritical may become. Their steady conduct rebukes unbelief, pride and selfishness, and while opponents malign and despise the faithful their opposition will ultimately be exposed. Yet such opposition and derision from those who reject the truth do not show that the truth is false, and misjudgment, condemnation and imprisonment for doing right do not mean that God has ceased to reign, but the greater the opposition to righteousness the more brightly He lets His light shine.
Paul's own persecutions at Antioch, Iconium and Lystra illustrate this certainty, and the Lord delivered him from them all. Israel's weariness of Samuel's piety illustrates it as well, when they despised his humble authority and rejected his Heaven-honored rule to demand a king to rule them as other nations. Their rejection of a life of purity that revealed hidden depravity reflects the Jews' rejection of Christ, whose sinless life was the light of the world and whose works showed greater power than any human prince though He came without earthly wealth and honors. He was rejected because He would not cloak sins and applaud piety but fearlessly rebuked vices, a pattern true in every age, for a life of purity, unselfish devotion, benevolence and holiness that hates nothing except sin is a perpetual rebuke bringing condemnation on all who refuse to walk in the light.
The early Christians' endurance of deprivation and distress without abandoning faith illustrates the same truth, as they encouraged one another with faith, patience and hope and were brought nearer to rest and reward through trial. Refusal to conform to Rome's self-made standard brought persecution, continuing the spirit that opposed Christ, the apostles and Nero's faithful victims against those beloved of God. The faithful gospel believers in Bohemia who suffered persecution illustrate it, and Jerome's resolve to confess his faith and follow Huss to the flames rather than preserve life by surrendering truth shows the same choice. Defenders of the faith in every age who loved truth and clung to the Bible faced trials when pressed to trade God's word for human traditions, yet some stood firm even at risk of life, as the early Reformers did.
Luther's hunted and suffering life of courage, self-denial and steadfast defense of truth illustrates the cost of faithful service for Christ. The early Methodists seeking to turn sinners toward holiness endured ridicule, persecution, unjust court proceedings, mob violence, and destruction and theft of property. In the seventeenth century the Church of England punished dissenters by expelling godly pastors, forbidding unsanctioned worship, and meeting secret gatherings with fines, imprisonment, broken families and banishment. Their testimony was not silenced, and many carried faith to America where they helped establish civil and religious liberty. That clergymen have opposed believers as Christ was opposed, and as prophets and apostles were treated, shows such persecution is not new but occurs among believers in every age.
Final Conflict Foretold
Persecution of those who live godly in Christ belongs among the conditions described for the last days, and together with the signs and state of the world it shows the present age of the earth is nearing its close. Every word of the chapter stands as applying at this time to all churches, and the promise that all who live godly shall suffer persecution will be verified in the near future. That call is to wake out of lethargic slumber, trim the lamps with grace and let them shine in clear bright rays to a dark world, and do the great work of bearing the message that fits up a people to stand in the day of the Lord, with God as the strongest being in the universe helping against the mighty.
In the final conflict over obedience to God's word, conscientious obedience will be treated as rebellion. Commandment keepers who refuse to honor Sunday as the Sabbath and who obey the Bible will face oppression, imprisonment, exile and treatment as slaves. Obedience to the Bible will bring reproach and persecution as Romanism gains power and joins with Protestants to enforce a false Sabbath. These events follow when God's restraining Spirit is withdrawn and people come under Satan's control.
While Satan exists and Christianity has vital power, evil angels and evil people oppose the godly because their example and influence draw people away from evil, and when temptation fails to separate them from God, coercion is used to force conscience. Near the close of time this opposition will come through harsh parents, alienated family affection, rejection, expulsion from home, and children disinherited or driven from home. It will include parents disowning commandment-keeping children and fathers or guardians changing wills or misusing trusts against them, so that faithful obedience brings conflict with those serving the world and with evil powers. Faithfulness to Christ does not ensure safety from the dangers and afflictions of the last days.
The assault falls especially on the loyal, commandment-keeping people through a thousand masked efforts to compel violation of conscience. These include dislike, criticism, decided opposition, ridicule, sneers, reviling, misrepresentation of words and faith, and coldness and contempt harder to bear than martyrdom. They include parents turning against children who accept unpopular truth, accusations of rebellion against conscientious servants of God, disinheritance of believers, robbing of orphans and widows, seizure of property, and laws enacted to compel conscience that make those who depart from evil a prey.
Evil men and seducers will wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived, and with zeal will pursue persecution until they put light for darkness and darkness for light. They will sincerely believe they serve God by persecuting His children, putting them out of the synagogues and killing them while thinking they do God service, because they have not known the Father nor Christ. As Jesus was treated as the worst of malefactors so His followers share the same, for the servant is not greater than his Lord. What was so in past conflicts will be manifested in the closing work when the dragon is wroth with the woman and makes war with the remnant of her seed which keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. These things were foretold beforehand so believers would not be offended but would remember the warning when the time comes.
Trial is the portion of all who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. No follower need expect a better portion in this world than the Master had, for the Redeemer was reproached and hated by the world. All who follow Him will suffer persecution for His sake, including new believers who take a firm stand, even those of the very first class in the community.
Endurance and Encouragement
The certainty of suffering does not lessen the need for warning and reproof but increases it, requiring steadfastness in one spirit with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel, in nothing terrified by adversaries. Those who live godly must watch in all things, endure afflictions, and do the work of ministry and of an evangelist, continuing in what they have learned and been assured of and holding to the holy Scriptures known from childhood which make wise unto salvation. They are to preach the word, being instant in season and out of season with reproof, rebuke and exhortation in all longsuffering and doctrine, using Scripture given by inspiration of God for doctrine, reproof, correction and instruction in righteousness. They must watch for souls as those who must give account, giving warnings that discover the hidden things of darkness while evil men and seducers wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.
The verse calls brethren to wake out of lethargic slumber, for every word of the chapter applies at this time to all the churches. They are to trim their lamps with grace and let them shine in clear, bright rays to a world in darkness. They are to do the great work of bearing the message that fits up a people to stand in the day of the Lord, with God as the strongest being in the universe helping against the mighty.
Persecution must frighten and intimidate no one. The godly must stand steadfastly for truth and return blessing for railing, not be dismayed by gossip, falsehood, slander, calumny, reproach, hatred and ridicule even when plain testimony against sin is called enmity to church and religion or dismissed as weak, foolish or insane, and even as enmity grows more bitter the more earnestly God is honored. They are to continue their work and trust God who judges righteously and helps those who suffer reproach while following Christ, waiting with patience and trust while opposition is ultimately exposed. Coming resistance is to be met by dying to self, putting away sensitiveness and jealousy, cleaving in humility to correct principles, and relying on Christ as strength and on His abiding presence.
Those carrying forward work in harmony with the Word in Boulder will not find a smooth way before them but must expect resistance, since such obedience always brings opposition where selfish men and selfish interests clash with the right. Meeting opponents should drive workers to Scripture for support and strengthen knowledge and ability to face opposition, while avoiding such trials leaves them weak and unprepared to work or suffer for truth.
A true follower must be ready to sacrifice anything rather than lose God's favor. Loyalty may require obeying God even when unbelieving brother, sister, father, mother, husband, wife or children oppose, and willingness to go alone and cut clear from everyone and everything that hinders godly progress and will not walk godly. Natural family ties between husband and wife and parents and children need not be severed unnecessarily, but believers must obey God even when it displeases the nearest and dearest friend. The unbelief of others is no excuse for failing in duty, and those who please unbelieving friends more than God will lose their souls and be counted unworthy to share Christ's glory. This separation and godly stand must be made now while there is chance to get ready, for very soon after Jesus leaves the most holy place it will be too late.
Persecution for proclaiming truth and for righteousness is to be expected, and the cross is not to be shunned. Receiving reproach can be evidence of being God's child and doing His work. Those who only profess godliness may abandon the truth when persecution comes, because truth and holiness awaken the hatred of the unrenewed heart and the forces of darkness resist those who proclaim truth with power.
Those who go forward with persevering, fearless courage to fully carry out the principles of Christian living, learning God's will and acting with fearlessness to establish true reforms as the Son of God was manifested to do, will be greatly blessed by the Lord. Some will not be drawn, yet the work draws all men to Him.
Followers must be prepared for arrest and judgment under human laws that oppose God's law, since those who truly live godly and not merely profess godliness, obeying God's commandments and doing His works, can expect hatred and unjust treatment as Christ was hated without cause. Through love of the truth they may come to know what poverty means, because the world does not love the truth. Abandoning God's cause as apostate and traitor is more serious than death because it means losing eternal life.
Persecution for Christ's sake does not separate from God or leave forsaken; it drives to Christ as refuge and is met with His sustaining strength. Christ understands grief and suffering, and no one bears the cross alone, for He can help those who suffer and face trial for His sake. Those persecuted for righteousness are blessed and have the kingdom of heaven.
Even when persecution comes, those ruled by truth keep sunshine of heart from forgiven sins, true nobility from the restored moral image of God, peace from the Prince of Peace, and light, help and joy from Christ and the Comforter, making the soul free, light and joyful. Misjudgment, condemnation and imprisonment for doing right do not mean God has ceased to reign, and the greater the opposition to righteousness the more brightly God lets His light shine.
Godly believers are safe with life hidden with Christ in God even as troublous times begin, and persecution may torture or kill the body but cannot touch that life. Through trial they are disciplined and purified and brought nearer to rest and reward, with faith, patience, meekness and love developed and God's character revealed in them. Those who die faithful are conquerors, and the early endurance of deprivation and distress without abandoning faith, encouraging one another with faith, patience and hope, shows the same path.