Living Hebrews 13:3
Part Two
“Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them
which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body.”
~ Hebrews 13:3 KJV
Glenn Penner1 was often asked if he believed Christians would be persecuted in Canada. Glenn would usually answer such inquiries by asking, "What has the average Christian in Canada done to warrant persecution?" Glenn believed that most Canadian believers did not extend themselves for the Gospel beyond the walls of their church. It appeared that advancing the Great Commission took a back seat to the security and comfort many of them strove to achieve. "Why would anyone want to persecute an ineffective Christian?" Glenn would ask. In his book titled, In the Shadow of the Cross, he provides the following explanation:
"Jesus also predicts that the hatred the world has for Him will spill over to His disciples (John 15:18-21). This had already been foreshadowed in the experience of some who had trusted in Him, such as the healed blind man who refused to denounce Jesus and was consequently 'cast out' (John 9:34), and Nicodemus who was ridiculed for daring to defend His legal rights (7:52). Jesus knew that persecution and suffering – not prosperity, power or influence – would be the norm for those who received Him and found life in His name. In John 16:1, Jesus tells His disciples that they can expect persecution, 'to keep you from falling away.' If we are correct in the assertion that John's Gospel was written to encourage believers to persevere in their faith, this warning is very much in line. The disciples are not to be shaken or overcome with doubt when persecution comes upon them."2
When Rev. Richard Wurmbrand implored Christians living in the "free" world to lead lives of consistent Christianity – lives of sacrifice – he was encouraging them to pursue authentic discipleship. Author and evangelical theologian, J.I. Packer, in his classic book, Knowing God, offers valuable insights into the distinction between individuals who actively follow Jesus and those who may acknowledge Him without truly knowing Him. Packer further distinguishes the characteristics between the two:
"In A Preface to Christian Theology, John Mackay illustrated two kinds of interest in Christian things by picturing persons sitting on the high front balcony of a Spanish house watching travellers go by on the road below. The 'balconeers' can overhear the travellers' talk and chat with them. They may comment critically on the way that the travellers walk; or they may discuss questions about the road – how it can exist at all or lead anywhere, what might be seen from different points along it, and so forth. But they are onlookers, and their problems are theoretical only. The travellers, by contrast, face problems which, though they have their theoretical angle, are essentially practical – problems of the 'which-way-to-go' and 'how-to-make-it' type, problems [that] call not merely for comprehension but for decision and action too."3
Travellers accept the risks of the road because they know that the One whom they follow is "the Way, the Truth and the Life" (John 14:6). Christian author and missionary Kate McCord writes: "When we go to a dangerous place, we go with our hopes and dreams in one hand; and the other tucked safely in the hand of Jesus, our guide and companion. We carry in our pockets every skill, talent and gift that God has already given us. Some we are aware of, some we are not. We find them when we need them and discover that God has been faithful to prepare us for whatever situation we face."4
Counting the cost, taking up our cross, and accepting the risk of being a witness for Christ are key ways to living out Hebrews 13:3. Remembering those in bonds (believers who are imprisoned and mistreated) for their confession of faith and proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ requires Christians in Canada to boldly do likewise within the spheres of influence God has placed them. Jesus' warning to His first disciples that they will endure persecution because of their allegiance to Him remains just as real for His disciples today. In other words, the more Canadian Christians accept the risks associated with travelling the way of Christ, the more they will experience persecution in the various ways it imposes itself.
This should not surprise us, nor should it cause us to retreat into a privatization of our faith. Christians are not called to withdraw from the world. Rather, they are uniquely positioned by God to engage within their culture by proclaiming the "Good News" that Jesus has come to set all mankind free from the power of sin and death. Christians everywhere are called to fulfill the Creation Mandate5 found in Genesis 1:28: "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth" (ESV).
This mandate is also reflected in Jesus' Great Commission: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you" (Matthew 28:19-20 ESV). The Creation Mandate and the Great Commission go hand in hand, as they command members of the church to go into the world as "salt" and "light" among those who are hostile towards God and His ways.
So, will Christians be persecuted in Canada? I believe that to the extent we actively engage in our culture with the Gospel, we will face persecution. Remember, the aim of persecution is not necessarily to inflict pain; its main objective is to silence and kill the truth of God's Holy Word and, therefore, attack those who live and proclaim it. This is why Christians join their global brothers and sisters, in an act of solidarity, by accepting the cost of discipleship for the glory of their Redeemer, Jesus Christ.
When each of us stands before the Lord on that final day, it is not the amount of persecution we endured that will matter most to Him. I believe it will be our obedience to God in the face of opposition that will ultimately be rewarded by Jesus' words – the affirmation that every faithful traveller longs to hear: "Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your Master" (Matthew 25:23 ESV).
May the Lord bless, keep and prosper the work of your hands as you walk along the highway of holiness,
Floyd A. Brobbel
Chief Executive Officer
Voice of the Martyrs Canada Inc.
Endnotes:
1 Glenn Penner, author of In the Shadow of the Cross, was appointed CEO of VOMC in 2007. After a seven-year struggle with cancer, Glenn went home to be with the Lord on the evening of January 26th, 2010, at the age of 48.
2 Glenn Penner, In the Shadow of the Cross, Living Sacrifice Books, Bartlesville, OK, 2004, p. 151
3 J.I. Packer, Knowing God, Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove, IL, 1973, p. 11-12
4 Kate McCord, Why God Calls Us to Dangerous Places, Moody Publishers, Chicago, IL, 2015, p. 11
5 Also known as the Cultural Mandate
