“Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.

Matthew 5:10-11

Jesus gives blessings to the persecuted for His sake. In John 15:18 Jesus says, “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you.” Jesus said His followers will be hated and persecuted by the world. The standards of God limit the evil of the unconverted sinner. No wonder the world hates the Law of the Lord. The Law convicts the heart and condemns the sinner.

Jesus said the child of God is blessed when they are persecuted for doing the right thing. When the world is against us, God is for us. Notice how Jesus says, “shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.”

The Kingdom of Heaven is promised by Christ to those believers who suffer for His name’s sake meaning that all true believers in Christ will suffer in the world. God’s people will suffer in one form or another in the world. This is due to the world being against God and as a result of the rebellious nature of the natural man. The world hates the righteous teachings and examples of Christ because it exposes the world’s evil. Have you ever noticed the anger and contempt towards Christ today? When the Gospel is declared in public there is much opposition by the ungodly. Verse 10 deals with persecution for righteousness sake and verse 11 with suffering for Christ’s sake. Both verses are very similar but there is a difference in the two.

History has shown that the world hates followers of Jesus Christ. This has been shown by men and women of God being jailed and in many cases killed for the sake of the Gospel. The foundations of the early Church were built upon the blood of the early saints. During the history of Christianity in England many believers were murdered and martyred for truth. 2 Timothy 3:12 says, “Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” The child of God ought to expect suffering for his faith. Now, it is important that we understand that our suffering in the world does not bring us our salvation or merit our salvation. The blood of Christ is the only payment acceptable to God for sin. Rather our sufferings are a result of our faith in Christ.

Consider the following questions carefully.

1. Are you willing to serve Christ with your life?
2. Are you willing to stand up for His Word?
3. What will you do in the face of adversity?
4. Are you faithful to Christ Jesus?
5. Are you willing to die for Christ?

Remember, what Paul said about living for Christ and dying is only gain. What will you do when faced with those who ask you about Christ? Will you do what Peter did and openly deny Christ before men and repent later or will you boldly declare your faith in Christ before the mockers of God and truth?