Some Encouragement to Born Again Christians Out There!
It's a fact of life that life can be very burdensome. But as said in Romans 8:31 says, "What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?" Matthew 16:16-18 is clear with this that the gates of Hell cannot prevail against anything built on Christ. Jesus assured Peter that, "Upon this Rock I will build my Church..." and note it is not built on Peter. 1 Corinthians 10:4 declare that the Rock is Christ!
Just some thoughts of how Christianity thrived against persecution because for one, a true Christian DOES NOT completely fall away but would rather endure to the end by God's grace:
1.) The early Christians were persecuted in the Book of Acts. The stoning of Stephen did not end the Church, in fact it only expanded it. Saul of Tarsus who consented to the execution and a killer of Christians became the greatest evangelist of the New Testament! Peter the first pastor had one assault after the other only to get the Church expanded all the more! If the Pharisees could not stop Jesus' ministry, the same went for the New Testament Church!
2.) During the Roman Empire, various emperors decided to persecute the Christians in such a heavy scale. Nero's bloody games only showed how bold Christians were in facing death, causing people to see something worth dying for. Instead of crushing them, they multiplied exceedingly. The same pattern still continues until today!
3.) The Dark Ages came and the Inquisition became the most brutal machine of the Roman Catholic Institution which sought to force the world into submission to the Pope, the imposter who claims to be Christ's sole representative on Earth. However it did not stop the Reformation from happening. The deaths of John Huss and Girolamo Savonarola only inspired the Reformation later. Martin Luther ignored his life was in danger and translated the Bible, nailed the 95 Theses on Wittenburg and fought for the biblical stand that salvation is by faith alone in Jesus Christ. The Bible was launched anyway and people read them, in spite of the fact that they could risk their lives in the process. The Baptists before the Reformation despite the fact that they were brutally tortured, only continued to preach the Gospel during the Dark Ages. The Reformation spelled the end of the Dark Ages, as the Word of God was published at even greater heights. Baptist preacher William Tyndale's ashes only increased the Church's growth!
4.) The Counter-Reformation was then launched to counter the Reformation. What's interesting is that Ignatius of Loyola and John Calvin both went to the same school together when they were younger. John Calvin's doctrine later renamed as Calvinism, swept revival with the Reformed doctrine. Calvin brought revival to Geneva, Scotland. John Knox formed the Presbyterian movement. Neither the Inquisition nor the Counter-Reformation stopped Christianity from spreading. Persecution did not stop the Baptist preacher, Charles Spurgeon from expositorily preaching the whole Bible! He preached 3,000 meaningful sermons at the London Metropolitan Tabernacle and reached many to Christ!
5.) England suffered greatly under Henry VIII and Bloody Mary. The reign of Bloody Mary only ended with a bad note against her. Queen Elizabeth Tudor took over, and brought revival to England. She appointed King James to succeed her hence the King James Bible. The Jesuits tried to send their agents and dupes to prevent the translation, only for the King James Bible to be launched!
6.) The Presbyterian preacher Billy Sunday was a man faced with so much opposition. He was hated because he preached against every sin he could name in his day. Frank Sinatra tried to ruin him and slander him so much in the song Chicago. However wherever Billy Sunday went, revival happened in spite of opposition. Other Protestant preachers were Plymouth preacher Harry A. Ironside, Aiden W. Tozer and Arthur Pink to whom I can name!
7.) Non-Christian governments have tried to crush Christianity but failed. Mao Zedong's plan to close China from the world only made missionaries bolder. The projects to crush Christianity in places like Cambodia, China, Vietnam and other atheist states only made Christianity grow larger. The same went for Muslim states, Hindu states, etc. Today we can see revival happen where it's least expected because God's power is greater. If Bloody Mary didn't succeed, if the Spanish monarchy didn't succeed then the same goes for EVERY non-Christian government in trying to eradicate Christianity. Kill one Christian, more conversions will happen!
8.) Seldom the anti-Catholic cults and the Roman Catholics would join forces to eradicate the true Christians. The INC and Mormons despite their antagonism may join forces to wipe out the common enemy- the Bible believing Christian! And sometimes, the Roman Catholic institution joins forces with other cults to do the same job. But guess what- Christianity is still prevailing!
As said with Christ as the Head of the Church, the Rock upon which His Church was built, the solid foundation is Christ, the gates of Hell CANNOT prevail against it! So let all the persecution come, let all the unfair criticism come... the Christian life is called upon this- to do good works as a result of being saved as Titus 2:11-14 and Ephesians 2:10 says that Christians are redeemed unto Christ for a new life!