[Read] Are You Guilty?

It has often been said that if you were brought before a court for being a Christian would there be enough evidence to find you guilty? This is not an impossible scenario. Indeed, in some parts of the world, people risk not only their freedom but their very lives for being a Christian. Meriam-Webster defines a Christian as a person who believes in Jesus Christ and follows his teachings.

Jesus himself said we should not be surprised if we are hated when John recorded his words “If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. The world would love you as its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you.” Jesus and his disciples experienced this intense hatred when they were hauled before the authorities, found guilty, and executed.

We are, therefore, strangers in a strange land who are passing through this temporal life to the eternal life to come.

So how are we to prepare for those times when we might be persecuted just for being a Christian, a follower of Jesus? We should take our lead from attorneys. When they are preparing a case to be brought before the court they study. They look at past cases, pore over statutes, and interview witnesses to build their defense. Just like attorneys, we need to study as well. We need to dig into the Bible and see firsthand what Jesus was proclaiming that got him into hot water with the religious leaders of the day. We need to observe how he conducted his speech, his actions, and his demeanor when dialoging with those around him, whether friendly or foe. We need to know his words so well that they are at the forefront of our thinking, and at the tip of our tongues when we need them.

We are still privileged to live in a society and a culture where we are free to share and proclaim our beliefs. The persecutions we face are more subtle, an unfriending here, or behind-the-back gossip there. Make no doubt, there are haters out there, they just aren’t as militant as they are in different countries. When we find ourselves persecuted, we are to identify with Christ and bear witness to the hope that is within us. If we have scripture memorized it fortifies our defense and reinforces that our beliefs have been embraced for centuries by our spiritual brothers and sisters who have gone before us.

So what should we do the next time we find ourselves on the defense for being a Christian? We should remember. Remember that if the world hates us, it hated Jesus first.