Should Christians Consider Persecution a Blessing?

This is core Christianity, where answering your questions about the Christian life Monday through Friday.

Your hosts are author and seminary professor Dr. Michael Horton and Pastor atrial Sanchez call right now with your question. At 1833. The core that's 1-833-843-2673 and now here's atrial Sanchez. Welcome back to another episode of the war with Prof. Michael Horton, I'm Pastor atrial Sanchez and were excited to be together again answering your questions about the faith. You may have heard of the persecution going on right now in China voice of the martyrs gave an update. Not long ago about Pastor Wang Yi and his church listen to what they said more than a year after police arrested 100 believers and shut down their church.

The members of early rain covenant Church continue to face harassment and threats in late December, senior pastor Wang Yi was sentenced to nine years in prison while his wife and child remain under house arrest Elder Quinn deaf, who another early rain church leader is serving a four-year prison sentence and authorities took for adopted children away from church members hi when you and Jean John Jan and placed the children and other homes continue to pray for members of early rain covenant Church, especially those in prison so important for us as the book of Hebrews says to remember our brothers and sisters who are who are imprisoned as if we were imprisoned with them and there's so many things going on in different parts of the world. China thereby all over the world were and where our brothers and sisters in Christ are suffering for the sake of the gospel and with these brothers in fact came and visited our seminary about a year ago and were telling us about what's coming and was really striking. Is one of these brothers. In fact, just before he went to prison published a letter in which he said was an open letter to presidency and the government saying we respect your authority over taxes and over government affairs, but we don't receive our freedom to preach the gospel from you. We preach the gospel because you presidency needed as well. While I think wow is it we don't want any favors. As Christians, we don't want to be treated better. If you're going to treat us as enemies of the state then will bear that, but were never were never going to stop preaching the gospel just one example for us all. My goodness, the way we complain in America about the slightest trivial offense against Christianity. We have boycotts and family. We sound like 00 a whimpering spoiled brat compared to our brothers and sisters who really are suffering persecution and are standing up for the gospel and not asking for any favors for themselves. Remember to pray for our brothers and sisters in China that now yes go ahead with your heavenly father we thank you for your word which is more powerful than all the kingdoms of this earth. We pray father that you would continue to prosper your Gospels. It goes forward. We pray for our brothers and sisters who suffer under the cross that you would first and foremost give them patience and endurance you would make them faithful in times of testing and that they would be examples to us. Dear Lord, for the sake of your glory, and a world that desperately needs this message in Jesus name Amen amen and we have an Instagram question here from Jim related to persecution. In Matthew 511 through 12 when Jesus says that we are blessed when we are persecuted. Does he mean this literally you think about what's going on there. In China people having their children taken away or being imprisoned and how can we say Blessed are the persecuted. Yeah, I remember you well. Ages ago. It seems like now the late Francis Schaeffer.

I was telling him him in my youthful enthusiasm. What we need is the church in America today is some good old-fashioned persecution and he was dying of cancer at the time. He says I can serve the Lord is used it to bring her our family closer together and to have some some people have come to know Christ through it all and I would never wish cancer on anybody pointed that put me in my place as Martin Luther said you don't Christians don't have to go find across the cross will find you. We should have a martyr complex. Jesus did not say in Matthew five blessed is persecution.

Rather, he said, blessed are you when you are persecuted for my sake. It's not when were just suffering in general.

That's just part of living in a fallen world. We we suffer along with non-Christians we all you know get sick eventually die. We have difficulties in our relationships. We have all kinds of problems, but but Jesus here specifically talking about. Blessed are you, even in the midst of being opposed by the world. This is how they treated me. Why do you think they're gonna treat you any differently is actually a sign that you belong to me that they treat you the way they treated me and Jesus really captures here in Matthew five the paradox of the Christian life destiny. If we jump forward to Matthew 24 Jesus prepared his followers for two realities that seem diametrically opposed. On one hand. All the way until his second coming, he says is good to be marked by wars and natural disasters, immorality and other great ills and also by persecution of the church by the world and yet at the same time he says it's going to be a time of incredible prosperity for his kingdom as the gospel goes out to the nations like childbirth at one in the same time it there's incredible pain alongside incredible joy. That's what it's gonna be like the gospel will triumph. Even as it looks like the church is struggling for its very life. Yeah, there's gonna be persecution. You're not to be having your best life now, but what would that make you if you were having it. All roses right now. It would make you those bullies of the world like Caesar and Herod sitting in their palaces but in the end being cast in the lake of fire. Instead, Jesus says your like those were being treated exactly like the prophets, and like me, Jesus says you're on the right side of history here.

Your you are blessed even when the world hates you, precisely because it hated me before, so if you're morning now you will be comforted. Jesus says going back again to Matthew five if you're beaten down now. Then you'll be exalted, you may lack temporal riches, but according to first Peter one verses four and five.

You already have an inheritance that is imperishable and undefiled and unfading, reserved in heaven for you, who through faith are protected by God's promise for the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. Amen. Thank you for that question. Sarah asked to send an email. My husband and I are looking for good resources to help teach our kids about Jesus you know any authors that write for small kids that would be suitable for a five-year-old's are one of books we found helpful is a book by Sinclair Ferguson is called the big book of questions and answers. It's sort of like a workbook that can help to introduce your five-year-old to some of the important things that we believe about Christians, it is kind of neat.

Got some places draw pictures of this kind of cool things you can do with your kid you not really though a lot in church. Don't you yet that you fill in those pictures. That's right yet it is actually pretty funny when a kid will come up after the surreal logic is in the service will come up afterwards and then draw a picture. Oftentimes it's of me behind the pulpit and I got on the other day looking like Dracula. It was sort of cool but since the 20 to see ourselves as others see us. I know I know yes so that's one one book that I think you might find helpful.

Sarah RC Sproul held several children's books that I'm sure you can find on Amazon and another great resource for the biographical sketches by Simmon at a car. She has several biographies of great heroes of the faith, it will introduce you and your kids to some of the men and women that God is used mightily throughout the ages. Her books might be a little dense for a five-year-old, but definitely keep them in mind as your children get older.

What about the Sally Lloyd Jones. That's right yeah she's got that if the Jesus story book by now. Yeah, that's another book it's been really helpful and encouraging.

I think we have a copy of that in hopes that might be one that you want to look into as well. Let me give you another resource. It may sound totally intimidating, but hear me out. It's called the Westminster shorter catechism. It was written in the 17th century and some of the concepts may be difficult right now for your five-year-old to grasp. But at this stage. What you're really trying to do is help them know the grammar of Christianity. It was written for kids it was you who is God, what is faith are there more gods than one.

The Westminster catechism has short answers for questions like those that were intended to be memorized and God uses repetition, memorization, catechesis we say to mold our minds and our hearts.

And I think with that. It is just the consistency I found the more consistent I can be the better and sometimes I just looks like a baby before bed ready to sit down with real affection from the Gospels. Let's get to know who Jesus is enough if you read a short passage of Scripture then spent time talking about is a wonderful look at what Jesus did there what you think Jesus said this, I was talking or gives us that we read the story of when the paralytic was lowered into the house and Jesus healed him and has asked me to do what you think Jesus knew everybody there was probably waiting for Jesus to heal the guy of being paralyzed and he starts off by saying your sins are forgiven you think he started with that and we we had a conversation about it. Those kinds of things there that I think be really helpful for your children talking to them about Jesus and drill just brought up the Westminster shorter catechism just to let folks know we use the Heidelberg catechism. They're both great resources. All of the Heidelberg catechism to better follow this had to do that, you know they're they're both wonderful. It may sound foreign term like that basically all catechism means is form of instruction to help get kids up to speed.

You know we talk about when Angels of the grammar of the faith or what. When we go to grammar school to learn the ABCs to learn to learn the primary colors in art and we don't often enough spend time I think treating the faith as one of those subjects that we have to we have to teach. It's not something they're just gonna catch like a cold. We have to teach it. That's what these are for so you think of the first question of the Westminster shorter catechism. What is the chief end of man why we exist.

What a great question to start with answer to glorify God and enjoy him forever or the Heidelberg catechism. The first question, what is your only comfort in life and in death. Answer that I'm not my own but belong body and soul in life and in death to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ and that wonderful those are two very different first questions and answers but they're both from the Bible in these catechisms you have scripture verses tied to each of the statements showing that this isn't just something about you guys came up with this is grounded in Scripture. These are summaries, answers to questions kids ask that are based on what the Scriptures actually teach. Amen Sarah may God bless you as you seek to raise your children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

I know that this is pleasing to the Lord you're listening to court Christianity were answering your questions about the fate give us a call with your question at 1-833-843-2673. That's 1833 the core or email us at questions at court, Christianity.com and speaking of growing in our understanding of who Jesus is the word of God. The gospel we have a special resource want to let you know about today, Gabriel. We're really excited to share her Bible study the gospel of John. This thing is just talking off the shelves. I can't believe how many people are telling me that their whole church is using it and growing from it. Really a lot of excitement around this gospel of John study. It's available on our website.

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What better way to get to know Jesus. His mission, his identity and his work better than the gospel of John in this 10 week course takes you through that either by yourself or with a group of friends at your church or in a Bible study maybe around the family table in the evening we been getting great feedback from folks for using right now and it's available as a PDF download or you can request a physical copy but it's a beautiful copy to really it is something you could put on the coffee table. There's also a leaders guide that's available so all you need to do is head on over to court, Christianity.com/offers to get your copy of our new Bible study, the gospel of John.

Thanks, Mike. You can also give us a call at 833-843-2673 to get a hold of that resource also is might be a good resource to send your pastor or small group leaders their planning for their next Bible study with the church protocol now from Jody God Jody from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. I was just curious I have a problem. Modern worship music worship music in particular SQL word and preaching, but a lot of what I hear today in modern worship music is jangle pop and strange saying it remind me of the world and sound like bad you to get past this. Thanks, jangle pop, oh boy, I feel your pain Jody. There's a difference between pop music and worship music is the first thing to say, without going to the weeds here.

My good friend Ken Myers has written a book called all God's children and blue suede shoes, and in it he talks about the divisions in culture distinctions are really important to draw. There is high culture folk culture and pop culture so it just be really brief about high culture is culture. We produce simply for the art itself. You think of classical music.

For example, Brahms and Beethoven and Bach and Handel didn't write their music in order to make a buck or in order for it to beat most of it at least to be used in churches or in pubs. They wrote it for the art itself. Think of some the great Master paintings that we all appreciate the artist made it just for the love of the art just for the beauty of the idea here she had and realized then you have folk art and folk culture is what you make. Not just for the love of the art itself, but for the love of people in your neighborhood or your family. This is the sort of part that my kids bring home when they you don't make fingerpainting and I say oh, isn't that beautiful and hang it on the refrigerator even though it couldn't probably hang on any other place in the cosmos. It's also what you find.

For instance in ages past, people went to the tavern and they would sing songs the whole community would come together and and have these sing-alongs. Interestingly, a lot of our church tunes come from Irish and Scottish and other folk music. Think of the old African spirituals, you know, swing low Sweet chariot go on and on this awful culture. When people say that the old hymns are high culture or classical music is not at all its folk music. The third category pop culture and pop culture is culture that is made for money. High culture made for the art itself.

Folk culture made for others pop culture made for money and pop culture wasn't invented until the.

The invention of recording tape because then you could record instruments being played voices and then sell it, pop culture is a conveyor of a particular message. We have to realize this. There's nothing wrong with pop culture. There's nothing wrong with listening to our I like my pop culture like the next person. There is a problem though in tailoring our worship to pop culture. It's a folk culture.

It's specifically the folk, namely the Christian folk. The body of Christ that comes together to sing to pray to receive God's good gifts. And here's where the Psalms come into it.

What you find in the Psalms is a songbook.

It's a book of prayers that are sung. That's what the book of Psalms is to prayers that are sung. God gave the church a songbook and what you find throughout the Psalms.

Here's what you find an argument aimed at the heart writes it's an argument. It definitely has a beginning, middle and end. It has a logical flow, illogical argument that's being made, but it's aimed at the heart. It's not just aimed at general truths and speculation.

It's not a feeling. Aimed at expression. This is what I feel like we have in a lot of worship music today is not an argument aimed at the heart. It's a feeling aiming at. Expression. I have a feeling and I want to get it out. I want to express it. That's not what you find in biblical worship we give you some examples, not just from the Psalms, but from the New Testament. Paul says in Colossians 316 let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, it's not your expressing yourself in front of other people. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, how singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And in Ephesians 519 also be filled with the spirit addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart. So in in the song, prayers, what were doing is threading the needle between God and ourselves and our brothers and sisters. I'm not just there kind of a spiritual narcissist expressing myself to other people around me. So that's the main thing I would I would say Jody is not self-expression, which is all about pop music singing in the shower. Typically, what you have is here is what the Lord has done not just for me but for history. This is the God of history, not just rooted in God's action, God's action in his or here's my sinful world. Here's he's the creator. He's the one who brought Israel through the Red Sea.

He's the one who provided manna in the wilderness, even when Israel rebelled against him. He showed mercy on them and then eventually in he's going to send his Redeemer to save his anointed one, the son of David, therefore let us sing. Therefore, let us praise him if you tell me.

Just saying this song that says I just love you Lord. 30 times.

The last thing I'm gonna want to sing is I love you Lord. 30 times.

But if you tell me what God has done so. Loving the world he gave his only begotten son I want to tell them how much I love him and thank him for his marvelous gift has a great transition to new email received from Jerry last I grew up hearing that God's church is supposed to be holy in our culture today. The church doesn't look holy and it seems to have fallen for much of the same controversies that I see in the world. What is the Bible have to say about this. I don't know what your time occurred.

It does makes any sense to me. What is that you know all the jangle pop out there a lot yeah and all that good grief you know Christians themselves being divided, not over, not over doctrine, but over politics know the church looks like it is an adjunct of the Department of whatever for the world. I talked to a lot of pastors who say you know I can't really preach expository sermons. My people can't handle that. I have to preach topical sermons about how you can have a better this better that I routinely here. You know will. This is what you have to do for church to grow. That's worldliness.

That's not trusting the Lord to do his work in his time in his way. That say no I know better.

I'm building the church, Christ is building his church. I'm building the church and it's gonna be my way. We also sadly see the same moral scandals in the church that we see in the world. The hardest thing is when Christian try to cover it up as owner work where holy and were judging the world when in fact we do the very things that we accuse the world of doing. There's a lot of hypocrisy to go around here, but it's important to remember Jared Paul's letter to the Corinthians.

It was an immature church involved in a multitude of misgivings and sands, and yet Paul still says in first with the ends, one for I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus. And in Ephesians 5 2527 Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.

Bible tells me this is how Christ loves his church so much he gave his life for her, and he is going to present her spotless without wrinkle before himself on that great day. How can we be critics, folding her arms and saying you know we have to take a step back from the church because it's it's really failed. Of course it's failed. The church is just the part of the world redeemed and being saved. The church is not better than everybody else. The church is the part of the world that can be seen confessing his sins and receiving the forgiveness of God. Thanks for listening to core Christianity to request your copy of today's special offer. Visit us@corechristianity.com and click on offers in the menu bar or call us at 1-833-843-2673 that's a 33, the court when you contact us. Please let us know how you been encouraged by this podcast and be sure to join us next time. As we explore the truth of God's word together