The Apostle Peter, writing to believers in the First Century, admonished them thusly: "Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. ... However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name. For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God?" (1 Peter 4:12-14, 16-17).
The Suffering Church - a concept that we more closely identify with places such as Iran, Iraq, North Korea, China, and now Egypt with the countless Coptic Christians who have been psersecuted by radical Islamic extremists. We even set aside a special Sunday every fall when churches are invited to spend time in their worship services to pray for the persecuted church. Somehow here in America we have thought ourselves exempt from such admonishments that Peter gave. But, my friends, time are changing.
I came across the following article this past week that will help me illustrate the reality of what Peter said so many centuries ago. You can find the article at: www.radio.foxnews.com/toddstarnes/top-stories/anti-bullying. I recommend you link to this article and read it for yourselves. It concerns what happened during a speech given about anti-bullying at the National High School Journalism Conference sponsored by the Journalism Education Association and the National Scholastic Press Association. Hundreds of high school teens from around the country attended this conference. One of the speakers was Dan Savage, founder of the "It Gets Better" project which is an anti-bullying campaign that has reached millions of viewers.
As Dan Savage gave his speech, it became an episode of Christian-bashing. Rick Tuttle, the journalism advisor for Sutter (CA) Union High School, said, "I thought this would be about anti-bullying. It turned into a pointed attack on Christian beliefs. It became hostile. It felt hostile as we were sitting in the audience - especially towards Christians who espouse beliefs that he was literally taking on." Savage's speech was laced with vulgarities and other sexual innuendoes that certainly were not appropriate for an audience of high schoolers.
The article records an interview of a 17-year old girl who was one of the many who walked out during the speech. She related, "The first thing he told the audience was, 'I hope you're all using birth control.' He said there are people using the Bible as an excuse for gay bullying, because it says in Leviticus and Romans that being gay is wrong. Right after that, he said we can ignore all the (expletive deleted) in the Bible." As these students were leaving the room Savage is reported to have called them "pansy-assed."
Friends, there is room for toleration of Islamists today and we allow them the special privileges that they request. There is tolerance for atheists who have blatantly turned against God. But there is no tolerance today for Christians who dare to stand up for biblical truths and principles founded upon those truths. Just look at how evangelical believers are portrayed in movies and on television programs. They are the ones who are backward thinking and certainly not progressive. Look at how educators are rewriting the history books to eliminate the strong influences of Christianity in those formative years of our nation's founding. Look at how we have almost had to fight for the freedom to say "Merry Christmas" during the time of the celebration of Christ's birth. Or think of how many Christian employees are asked to do something for the advancement of their company that might be questionable biblically. What do you do?
The Apostle Peter would say that we should not be surprised. Suffering is coming. And the admonishment is not to be ashamed when it happens. How are we to respond? How can we be encouraged? I believe that is the role of the Body of Christ. As we gather, whether for corporate worship or in small groups, we are to encourage one another, and, as the writer of Hebrews states, "even more as you see the Day drawing near" (hebrews 10:25). It also behooves the Church to clearly define what those essentials of the faith truly are. What are those values that are worth contending for and even dying for? (Jude 3)
What happened at the Journalism Conference is a forerunner of what, I believe, will happen in the coming days as we get closer to the return of Jesus. May we be prepared with a resolution as strong as was Daniel's (see Daniel 1:8).
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