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THE RISE IN ANTI-CHRISTIAN VIOLENCE

 

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For the past few weeks we've been receiving reports about a sharp increase in the burning down of churches and homes, and other anti-Christian violence led by Muslim extremists. Our contact 'Y' in Pakistan, sent us this message as he was driving his family to a safe location after leaving his home and all his possessions behind: "Christians are requested to pray for the Christians of the Christian Colony of Baraf Khana, Rawalpindi, because the Christians spent the last night in fear. There is a church near Chhoti Palli in Baraf Khana Christian Colony."

"Someone has mischievously said that Christians have committed blasphemy here, while according to initial reports, no such incident could have happened. However, in the night, all the Baraf Khana Christian Colony was evacuated and the Christians there temporarily left their homes along with their wives, children and family like in the Jaranwala tragedy. Which is the state where the guards ask the minorities to leave their homes for fear of these few evil elements and cannot protect them."

The army and police in Pakistan are doing very little to stop this violence, so their passivity and complicity encourages the extremists to continue. In Prov. 29:2-4 we read – "When the righteous thrive, the people rejoice; but when the wicked rule, the people groan. Whoever loves wisdom brings joy to his father; but a companion of prostitutes squanders his wealth. The king by justice makes the land stable, but he who takes bribes tears it down." This applies both to Pakistan and to the U.S., as well as other parts of the world: we've recently received reports of anti-Christian riots and persecution in India and Africa.

Persecution of Christians is to be expected, as the Lord and the Apostles foretold. It's not only in faraway countries, but also here in the West: We've been conditioned by centuries of social pressure, first under the Moslems who conquered the Middle East, North Africa, Spain, the Balkans, and parts of France, Italy, Russia and Hungary, and who at best consigned Christians to second-class "dhimmi" status and forbade them to have any social outreach – only Moslems were allowed to do that. Christians were limited to only hold religious observances within four church walls. At worst, Christians were persecuted and killed if they wouldn't convert to Islam.

Then in Western Europe, after driving the Moslems back and after several religious wars that decimated the populations, the various Edicts of Toleration reinforced the notion that people should stop fighting and show "tolerance" to those of other religious convictions, not pushing their religious beliefs on others. Today this has led, however, to the widespread notion that everything is relative, there are no absolutes, and that's the absolute truth!

But in the Christian East, communism took hold shortly after the collapse of the Moslem Turkish Empire, and at best strictly limited the Christian faith to only religious observances within four church walls, they were forbidden to have any kind of social ministry: only communists were allowed to do that. At worst, Christians who wouldn't meekly comply were tortured and killed.

And in the West it's just a bit more subtle: the ever-expanding secular humanism under the guise of "democracy", "freedom" and "tolerance" exerts strong social pressure against living out one's Christian faith in the public square. Leftists now push the idea that religious freedom means only the right to attend the worship service of your choice, not freedom of religious expression (as the First Amendment's clearly states). Do you see a pattern developing here? Our courses can help you break out of these cultural stereotypes!

How often have you heard, "Don't shove your religion down other people's throats!" and Christians being labeled as "intolerant" or "bigoted" or "haters" if they speak of or live out their beliefs in public? We've internalized these social pressures, accepting them as "normal" and even come to believe in them almost as religious dogma. We must break out of this "psychological box" that we've been shoved into, and reclaim the free exercise of our religion in society, as the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees and as Christ commanded us to do.

You likely don't have the gifts of healing or exorcism. Perhaps you're not a great evangelist: you get real nervous if asked to speak in public. It's OK if you don't have those spiritual gifts. Remember Christ's parable of the ten talents, five talents and one talent? The person with just one talent buried it, so the Master took it and gave it to the person who had ten.

But actually, you most likely have ten talents already! What are those things attached to your palms? Ten fingers! You have ten spiritual gifts, called the gift of helps! Learn how to start using them, and perhaps the Master will entrust you with some of the greater gifts. Break out of the box!

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A CALL TO SANCTIFICATION

 

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God's will for us is our sanctification (Romans 12:1) – He wants us to become holy ("saint" and "holy" are the same word in Greek and other languages) – "Saint Jerry" or "Saint Sally." The Lord wants us to Experience the Fullness of His glory, to be transformed into His likeness.

In order for that to happen, though, we must strengthen the weak believers but not have communion/fellowship (the same word, "koinonia" in Greek) with unbelievers or false believers – "hirelings." The call to sanctification is also a call to separation from worldly activities and behavior:

"Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers, for what fellowship has righteousness with iniquity? Or what communion has light with darkness? What agreement has Christ with Belial? Or what portion has a believer with an unbeliever? What agreement has a temple of God with idols? For you are a temple of the living God. Even as God said, 'I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they will be my people.' Therefore, "'Come out from among them, and be separate,' says the Lord, 'Touch no unclean thing. I will receive you. I will be to you a Father. You will be to me sons and daughters,' says the Lord Almighty." (2 Corinthians 6:14-18).

The saints of old and even those of more recent times are called "saint" or "holy" because they have been cleansed of worldly passions and lusts and have devoted themselves to the pursuit of holiness: "Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord" (Hebrews 12:14). "Therefore, seeing we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily entangles us" (verse 1) – may we follow their examples and Christ's example!

God created mankind in His image and likeness so that we could share in His glory. After the Fall, however, the image was marred and the likeness was destroyed: we became spiritually "dead" in our trespasses and sin (Ephesians 2:5-9) – this passage tells us about not only our spiritual death, but also about the gift of God's grace that saves us. Salvation is a life-long process of healing and restoration: the Greek word for "salvation" is "soteria" which also means "healing."

When a little child is given a present all wrapped up in shiny, colorful paper and with a pretty bow on it, the child is often fascinated with the box and the bow, so the parents say – "What's in the box? Open the box!" Grace is indeed a gift, but what's in the box? Grace is the gift of the Holy Spirit, the divine nature that restores and transforms our nature and our whole life.

But as the Old Testament scripture quotations in this photo illustrate, it's easy to get wrapped up in the side effects – health and wealth – of God's grace: Jesus, the good shepherd, wants to give us abundant life – "The thief only comes to steal, kill, and destroy. I came that they may have life, and may have it abundantly" (John 10:10). However, there are thieves, wolves in sheep's clothing, who are just in it for the money – "hirelings" who want to steal, kill, and destroy the flock. We must beware of them, not hire them, or even give them a place at the table:

"But as it is, I wrote to you not to have fellowship with anyone who is called a brother who is a sexual sinner, or covetous, or an idolater, or a slanderer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner. Don't even eat with such a person" (1 Corinthians 5:11) and "But if one of those who don't believe invites you to a meal, and you are inclined to go, eat whatever is set before you, asking no questions for the sake of conscience. But if anyone says to you, 'This was offered to idols,' don't eat it for the sake of the one who told you, and for the sake of conscience" (1 Corinthians 10:27-28).

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