I’m planning on covering a lot of ground this week (and hopefully getting everyone out in time for second service too!). Have you ever wondered what happened to Paul after Acts 28? Have you heard of his second imprisonment in Rome, an uncomfortable jail cell instead of the house arrest recorded in Acts 28? The Bible is silent about such matters, but history is not (well, not quite). So, here’s the plan:
- Discuss what may have/probably did happen to Paul after Acts 28
- Give a brief overview of church history from 70 A.D. or so until today (yikes! That’s a lot of ground)
- Discuss the state of the church today (with a focus on the persecuted church) and where we (believers) are in the world today
In light of the state of the church, I’ve really been pondering persecution for the sake of the Name lately. Acts records many examples of this, and we hear about our persecuted brothers and sisters that are suffering around the world for the sake of Christ. In the US, however, we seem to be relatively immune to such persecutions. I’d like to spend a sizable portion of our time looking at Jesus words to his disciples on this topic as recorded in John 14-17 shortly before He was crucified. I urge everyone to spend some time really processing the words of Christ. Here are a few things to think about while reading:
- What exactly does Jesus teach about persecutions? (look for specific passages)
- Why don’t we face this kind of persecution regularly here in the US?
- Should we be looking for it (i.e. trying to make it happen)?
- Are we living the rule or the exception to the rule (regarding persecution)? How should your answer to that question inform your worldview?
See you Sunday! Also, bonus points if you read I & II Timothy. These were probably written during Paul’s stay(s) in Rome and give some insight about what was happening at the time.
I’m not sure if there was a question involved in this post for discussion. But since I have the misfortune of not joining you for Sunday school I thought I would post this thought.
For a long time I struggled with the idea that Christians in America to do not suffer persecution (at least in the way that those in China, etc do). My life is never in danger, my home is not threatened to be taken away, and my wife is not killed before my eyes; and all for the sake of the faith. But I ran across this quote from a book and it has really changed my perspective on the idea of suffering for Christ.
“No, we Christians in such a country do not feel the immediate threat of the sword. But untangling ourselves from the clinging web of idolatry is like death. For the web exists inside us as well as outside, in the ways in which we have already, as members of our society, absorbed its godless assumptions. Participation in society is hardly possible without idolatry. Society regards the Christian as a misfit, a misanthrope, a victim of insanity. The Christian does not accept the ‘obvious verities,’ and so cannot be trusted. Thus, a consistent Christian will find it difficult to fit in and mix with pagan society.”-(Vern S Poythress: Commentary on Revelation: The Returning King).
We live in a culture that screams “Open mindedness” but also “Anti-Christian.” I think we in America have become dead and senseless to the amount of persecution we do face on a daily basis. Anyway that is just a thought.
By: Kyle Borg on March 14, 2007
at 1:42 pm
In some sense, I have to agree. However, that “persecution” is no different than what other Christians around the world face in addition to facing physical persecution, the loss of home, job, family, freedom (in the worldly sense), etc. Just because they face a physical persecution does not exclude them from the societal persecution that is faced globally as well.
By: Matt Borg on March 14, 2007
at 1:54 pm
Sometimes I think about how I Corinthians 10:13 says “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” Against the temptations of “fitting in,” “idolatry,” etc., we are given the promise, just as the people of Corinth were promised, that God would provide the strength and wisdom to deal with the things we are tested by, but not to test us more than what we can bear. What if I am not being persecuted because He doesn’t think I can handle it? Why can’t I handle it? In the world’s eyes we are strong, but are we actually weak because we are so self-reliant?
By: Jessica Berger on March 15, 2007
at 6:50 pm