Tag Archives: Persecution

ACTS, BIBLE QUESTIONS, CHRISTIAN LIVING, SALVATION

WHAT IS A CHRISTIAN? — BOB PRICHARD

The prophet Isaiah looked to the coming Messianic age and said, “For Zion’s sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth. And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the LORD shall name” (Isaiah 62:1-2). “Christian” is that new name God promised to his people. After the gospel had spread from the Jewish world to the Gentile world as well, the church in Antioch took a lead in mission efforts. Because of this “the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch” (Acts 11:26).  

The name of “Christian,” found only three times in the New Testament, is a descriptive name that conveys the idea of association and ownership, that the Christian belongs to and associates with Christ. Peter said, “if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf” (1 Peter 4:16). “Christian” is a name to be treasured, even if it means suffering and death. The Christian belongs to Christ and wants to serve  Him.

As Paul pleaded for Agrippa to follow Christ, Agrippa replied, “Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian” (Acts 26:28). If Agrippa had been altogether persuaded “to be a Christian,” he would have become a child of God, a member of the Lord’s church, and one born again of the water and the Spirit (John 3:3-5).

Several names, including “the church” described the disciples or followers of Christ before they were called Christians. Luke writes of the believers in Jerusalem that “the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved” (Acts 2:47). Thus those who had obeyed Peter’s command of Acts 2:38, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins,” were the saved, and members of the church. Paul reminded the Romans what they had done to become Christians. “Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin” (Romans 6:3-6).

As he described his conversion, Paul said of the church, “I persecuted this way unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women” (Acts 22:4). Paul was persecuting people who knew that being a Christian was a way of life. As he told the Romans, “our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin” (Romans 6:6). The Christian, who has become a “new creature” (2 Corinthians 5:17) no longer serves sin, but serves Christ. A Christian has obeyed the gospel of Jesus Christ, and lives for Him daily.

BIBLE, CHRISTIAN LIVING

THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED — BOB PRICHARD

Robert Frost’s 1916 poem, “The Road Not Taken,” is one of the most often quoted poems of all time. The poet speaks of two roads, each “just as fair,” but the traveler chose one, concluding “I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.” Frost indicated that most have misunderstood the poem. The choice was actually random—the traveler didn’t know which was best. The difference wasn’t from a wise choice, but a random choice.

In life, we often have to choose between two roads that seem equally good or bad. We don’t know which road is better, because we cannot see the end of the road with either choice. We just have to choose. But what we must always remember is that when we choose the beginning of the road, we also choose the end of the road. That is why it is so important that we  not only choose the right road in life, but that we periodically evaluate the road we are now on, to see if we should change roads.

Saul of Tarsus was on the road to Damascus to persecute Christians. He entered the city as a blind man, and exited as a follower of the Christ he persecuted. The Lord told Ananias, “Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: For I will show him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake” (Acts 9:15-16). As Ananias taught him, Saul counted the cost (Luke 14:28) of starting on the road of service to Jesus Christ, and immediately obeyed when Ananias commanded him to be baptized (Acts 22:16).

Jesus warned that there are two ways—the broad way of the world and the narrow way of following Him. “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Matthew 7:13-14). The narrow way is definitely “the road less traveled.” But it makes all the difference—not only in this life, but in the world to come. Are you on the right road today? Is it time for a change?

BIBLE, BIBLE QUESTIONS, REVELATION

WHY IS THERE SO MUCH CONFUSION ABOUT THE BOOK OF REVELATION? — BOB PRICHARD

There is probably no book of the Bible that is more often misunderstood, misapplied, or abused than the book of Revelation. It has been the “jumping-off” point for cults and wild religious speculation for centuries. Simply understanding the purpose of the book and its nature would end confusion. It begins, “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John” (Revelation 1:1). John received the message of the book through the angel of God, and that message was a “Revelation of Jesus Christ” which God gave to show his servants “things which must shortly come to pass.”

Abusers of the book of Revelation often claim that its message has been hidden until now, and that they are the only ones who can explain its message. But the very nature of the book of Revelation, is that it reveals, or makes known the hidden things. Many would try to lead us to believe that no one until the twentieth century could understand what the book meant, and yet God intended for His followers from the beginning to understand and benefit from it. God did not hide His message to believers in Revelation, He disclosed it! God wanted His servants to understand these “things which must shortly come to pass.” If God has waited until the present to let us understand what the book means, then the words “shortly come to pass” have little meaning. The book would have had no meaning to the first readers.

The first century readers of the book of Revelation were literally in a fight for their lives. The rise of emperor worship in the Roman empire was making it harder and harder for Christians to live and maintain their commitment to the understanding that there is one Lord and that Lord was not the Roman emperor. “To us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him” (1 Corinthians 8:6). History shows that Christians were thrown to the lions, burned at the stake, crucified, and martyred for their faith. It even reached the point that “no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name” (Revelation 13:17). Only those who had worshipped “the beast,” the Roman emperor, could engage in commerce.

God planned the language of the book of Revelation, with its many symbols, to reveal the message to His people, but prevent the Roman authorities from understanding. The Christians who were working to maintain their faith in the midst of persecution could take strength from knowing that Satan and his followers must lose. Knowing that “the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever” (Revelation 11:15) comforted them. Revelation has comforted Christians down through the centuries with its message of hope in the darkest hour. The key is to see its over-all message, without demanding to explain every symbol.