Persecuted For Righteousness Sake is the last post in The Beatitude Series and will help you understand who they are and what their reward will be.
May the Holy Spirit reveal His truths to you on the persecuted while reading this article.
Who Are Those Persecuted For Righteousness’ Sake?
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Matthew 5:10-12
After we accept Christ as our Lord and Saviour, I believe the Holy Spirit will give us a natural distinction between bad and good, right and wrong.
When we are cleansed of our sins and start living pure undefiled lives we become different from the rest of the world, because we no longer walk in darkness, but in light.
We will start making choices to rather do the right thing than do things that will not glorify God.
In our lives and circle of friends, we may become the different ones if they are not Christians and we no longer want to do certain things with them.
The result of this can be that we will become alone and isolated.
Where Persecution Starts
“Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’
Matthew 10:34-36
In my opinion, this is where persecution starts, in our inner circles.
When a spouse serves Christ and the other does not, when a child serves Christ and part of their family, or their entire family do not.
When someone serves Christ and some of their friends, or all of their friends do not.
“If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also.”
John 15:18-29
In countries where Christians are persecuted for their faith, they are martyred and persecuted in some instances in very cruel and inhuman manners.
Similar to when Jesus died on the cross, they are mocked, tortured, and executed, similar to Jesus they endure because they know their reward is in heaven.
Not all of us will be martyred and executed for our faith in God and His Son Jesus Christ., but if we love Him, serve Him, bear fruit, and serve Him, we can be certain that we will be persecuted.
We will only be left with a small circle of loved ones if any.
We will be avoided by others because without knowing it or saying anything about it, we will remind them of their sinful nature and need for God.
Or we will hear things like we still have to live and enjoy our lives, or that have become different and it is difficult for them to be with us.
No matter what obstacles you may come across when going through persecution just keep going strong, knowing you are on the right track.
Do not be discouraged when this happens, but instead be prepared because everyone who desires to live Godly lives will suffer persecution (2 Timothy 3:12).
Everyone who serves God faithfully will endure persecution in their lives and they will rejoice knowing their reward is with their Father in heaven.
Let’s Get Practical
Application: By spending time with God and in His Word, serving Him with Godly fear, and glorifying Him for all to see (Isaiah 66:5).
Promise: Whatever persecution it is that we go through for His name sake, we can be sure that we will receive a reward in heaven (Matthew 5:10-12)
Prayer points: That we will endure temptation when we are tried, to receive the crown of life, that the Lord had promised to us that love Him (James 1:12)
Additional reading: John 15:18-22; Revelation 6:9-11.
Please share this article on social media to encourage other believers to stay faithful to God when persecution comes.
If you missed some of the posts in the Beatitude Series please visit our Beatitude Library to catch up.
We invite you to visit our Blog Library with all the articles from Tabitha Blogs and find out if there are other articles that would interest you.
Everything in Him, unto Him, and to glorify His Holy Name!
Grammarly proofread this article.
