Jesus, while He was still on earth with His disciples, warned them that when they went out as missionar­ies, they would be persecuted. Both Stephen and James were martyred early in the history of Christianity. Paul was persecuted frequently and was killed when he was an old man. According to Christian tradition most of the apostles died as martyrs.

David Barrett, who is a respected writer, says that in the final years of the twentieth century about 330,000 Christians were martyred every year, mostly in nations of the Southern or developing world.¹ It has been estimat­ed that more Christians were martyred in the twentieth century than in any other century. In this chapter I offer advice to Christians who are facing per­secution today or may face persecution in the near future.

There are two types of persecution. Some persecution is sporadic (persecu­tion that comes and goes). It is random or erratic. Sometimes a person is perse­cuted; sometimes that same person is left alone. Stephen, one of the first dea­cons, was martyred, but the other dea­cons were not. At a later time the Apostle James was executed (killed), but at that time the other apostles were not. When the apostles left Jerusalem, they were generally left alone as far as the Jewish Sanhedrin was concerned. During his first three missionary jour­neys Paul was persecuted by the Jews but protected by the Romans.

All this is what I call sporadic persecu­tion and has continued from that day to this. In some nations Muslims are per­secuting Christians while in other nations the two groups are living peace­fully side by side. In some parts of China Christians are harassed and put in prison by the communist govern­ment, while in other parts of China they enjoy relative freedom. Some dictators simply ignore Christians, or are even kind to them, while others persecute them. Muslim persecution of Christians in the Philippines is sporadic because in this nation as a whole Christians easily outnumber the Muslims.

In addition to spo­radic persecution, there is a more severe type of perse­cution that I shall call deadly persecu­tion. This persecu­tion is widespread and continues day after day. No Christian is safe. Christians are not able to practice their faith openly. It is aimed at destroying completely a Christian communi­ty by killing or imprisoning all Christians or driv­ing them out of the region in which they live.

Although there is a very fine line that separates the two types of persecution, it is best to try to separate them when one is determining an appropriate course of action. Therefore, I have divided this chapter into two main sections: Sporadic Persecution and Deadly Persecution.

Sporadic Persecution⤒🔗

How can Christians protect themselves from sporadic persecution? God can protect them, and therefore when perse­cution threatens or has actually arrived, prayer to God is always appropriate. God sometimes sees fit to deliver His harassed people in very unusual ways. But they are not to wait around and do nothing until God intervenes. God expects them to pray for his help and protection — but also to do what they can to protect themselves. God often answers the prayers of his persecuted people by way of practical steps He has provided for them to take. There are five practical steps Christians can take when they are facing sporadic, but not deadly, persecution.

1. If All Possible Live by the Rules the Government has Established←↰⤒🔗

In nations where persecution is sporadic Christians should find out what rules the government has set down and then follow them if at all possible. When persecu­tion is sporadic, not deadly, believers can often practice their faith with rela­tive freedom, if they are careful not to unnecessarily upset government offi­cials or the police. Even when the rules seem restrictive, ways can sometimes be found around them. This is much bet­ter than open resistance to the rules. The Bible frequently counsels this sort of an approach. As Paul counsels in Romans 12:18: "If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone." Proverbs 15:1 contains an important truth we should follow whenever possible:

A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.

Once I was leading a seminar on urban evangelism in the capital city of a Nigerian state. Because of religious riot­ing that had taken place in that city ear­lier, we were told by the governor's office that we were not allowed to do anything outside the church building where we were meeting. Furthermore, the governor sent two policemen to all our meetings in the church to listen in on what we were saying and to report back to him. This prevented us from speaking openly about evangelizing in a city that was partly pagan, partly Christian, and partly Muslim. Therefore we announced publicly that our meetings would end on Wednesday evening, although we had originally planned to meet until Friday evening. On Thursday morning we all left for a mission station in a neighboring state. Here we had the freedom to discuss freely the things we could not discuss in the presence of the police sent by the governor. We did not disobey his decision because when we crossed the border into another state we were outside his jurisdiction (the area that he controlled).

2. Clear Away All Misunderstandings←↰⤒🔗

Sometimes persecution of Christians can be caused by or made worse by way of misunderstandings. Rumors can replace facts. Riots may result and angry crowds may then burn down a church or beat Christians nearly to death. Thus it is important for us Christians, when facing possible perse­cution, to do all we can to clear away any misunderstandings or false information that could lead to persecution. How best to do this will vary with the specific situation. In some situations the best approach may be to send a del­egation to a local newspaper editor or reporter to explain what the truth is. Other times it may be better to approach the police or other govern­ment officials. Yet other times perhaps leaders of the Christian community can ask to speak with the leaders of the Muslim or other religious communities. When Christianity was spreading in the Roman Empire, it was said among the pagans that Christians were canni­bals. They had heard that at the Lord's Supper they ate the body and drank the blood of Jesus. They did not understand that what the Christians did was sym­bolic (a sign that they could see – bread and wine – stood for something they could not see – the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ). Christians had to explain this to the pagans so as to avoid all misunderstandings.

The book of Acts tells of a time Paul was in deep trouble due to a misunder­standing and was saved by the actions of a governmental official. The pagans of Ephesus thought that the goddess Artemis (called Diana in some versions) protected their city. When one of the citizens of Ephesus, Demetrius, accused Paul and his friends of saying evil things about Artemis, they brought Paul to their stadium where a large crowd had gathered and were threatening to riot. After a long and noisy uproar, the city clerk quieted the crowd and said to them, "You have brought these men here, who are neither sacrilegious nor blasphemers of our goddess" (Acts 19:37). After he talked a little more, he told them all to go home, and they did. The right explanation at the right time, even when spoken by a pagan, can do a lot to prevent additional problems.

3. Seek Government Protection←↰⤒🔗

It is the God-given task of the government to help create a just and peaceful order in society. This in part means government has a duty to protect all its citizens from thugs, rioters, and others who wish to harm them. When Christians are attacked or harassed by gangs for no good reason, they should tell the government officials and seek their protection. Often even Muslim officials, if they take their task seriously, will protect Christians from attacks by Muslim thugs.

This is not to say that government offi­cials who are not Christians will always protect Christians when they are perse­cuted. Sometimes such officials need encouragement or even some pressure before they will do their duty. Sending some of the leading citizens from the Christian community to meet with the officials will sometimes help. Publicity about what is happening may encour­age government officials to act. A local newspaper or radio or television station may help here. Other situations will call for other actions to encourage gov­ernment officials to do their duty and protect the Christians who are being threatened or harassed.

As we just saw, when Paul was falsely accused in the city of Ephesus, the city clerk protected him. Later when the Jews in Jerusalem wanted to kill Paul, the Roman commander sent Paul to Caesarea for his own safety with an escort of soldiers (Acts 23:12-24).

4. Stay United←↰⤒🔗

Those who persecute Christians often take advantage of the fact that Christians are often not fully united. Initially they may attack only one group of Christians. Then the other Christian groups say to one another, "That's too bad for them but at least they are not persecuting us." Thus the persecutors follow the old strategy of divide and conquer. When eventually the other Christian groups are attacked they may be too weak in numbers to mount an effective resistance. What all the Christian groups together would have been strong enough to stop, each of the Christian groups alone was too weak to stop.

Thus it is important for all the Christian groups in a nation or area to come together to make a united effort they all support to oppose those who would persecute them. My two prior suggestions — to clear away all misun­derstandings and to seek government protection — will be much more likely to succeed if all the Christian groups are taking action together.

The best example that I have noticed comes from the nation of Nigeria a few years ago, and is told in the book, That We May Be One, by Jolly Tanko Yusuf.² During the last decade of the twentieth century in Nigeria, all Christians from Pentecostals to Catholics created an umbrella agency in order to protect themselves from Muslim attempts to dominate Nigerian politics. Here is the way in which a Christian participant in the struggle described what happened:

Amid the consternation that swirled around me in the early days of my anticipated "quiet retirement," my thought turned to the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) ... Although there were many reasons for the formation of CAN, one particular incident made Christian leaders realize vividly the threat of Islam ... It happened at a government-sponsored meeting in Lagos. Nigeria's vice presi­dent, according to Rev. Habila, chaired the meeting. The vice president called on a Muslim to say prayers before and after this meeting. Although both Christians and Muslims were attending the meeting, the Christian leaders were overlooked.

One Christian stood up and asked, "Can't you ask a Christian to say a prayer?"

The vice president said, "There are so many denominations represented here, how can I ask any Christian to say a prayer?"

One of the bishops raised his hand and said, "Any one from any of the denomi­nations represented here can say a prayer for all." Then the vice president did give a Christian leader permission to ask a bishop to lead in prayer, which he did.

After the meeting, several Christians walked out together. One suggested that they go to the Catholic Center in Lagos to talk: "See what has happened? Why don't we have unity as the Muslims have? Why don't we have a united forum? Aren't we united?" Christians are united in Christ, of course, but too often we do not act on it.³

As a result of those discussions, the Northern Christian Association, which had existed in Northern Nigeria for sev­eral years, was expanded to become the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN). In CAN, Nigerian Christians from all denominations and from throughout the nation then had an influential agency to represent them in all Muslim-Christian relationships.

This does not mean that all went smoothly for the Christians once CAN was formed. For example, when I was in Nigeria during July, 1999, the Nigerians had elected a former army general who was a Christian to be their president.

One weekend I was asked to preach at a church in the city of Kaduna, the city that had formerly been the capital of Northern Nigeria. The Christians there were full of optimism for their future in Kaduna. But the Muslims had plans of their own. They bypassed the national government, where Christians held the majority, and concentrated on the state governments in that part of the nation that had formerly been the Northern Region of Nigeria. Several of the state governments adopted sharia law, which uses the Koran and the Hadith (a histo­ry of Mohammed) to determine what contemporary laws ought to be. The Christians in these states realized that they would be pressured to obey the Koranic laws of sharia. When Christians stated their opposition to these new laws, rioting, inspired by Muslim radicals, broke out in several cities. The large church where I had preached in Kaduna was burned to the ground along with the parsonage. There was much destruction of Christian property throughout the city and about 200 Christians were killed. Rioting resulting in destruction of property and loss of lives still continues in Nigerian cities on a sporadic basis.

In the middle of such attacks the Christian Association of Nigeria contin­ues to provide leadership for Christians. CAN now says that Christians make up 50% of the Nigerian population, Muslims 40%, and Animists 10%. When one considers the fact that Animists usually vote for Christian can­didates, the Christians in Nigeria are the most likely to be voted into office throughout southern Nigeria and at the national level. It appears that the rioters wish to drive as many Christians as pos­sible out of the northern parts of Nigeria so that they will hold an undis­puted majority in that part of Nigeria. They may be hoping that some day the Muslim influence in the north will be so strong that they will be able to con­trol political and religious decisions throughout the nation.

From this brief account of recent events in Nigeria it is clear that an umbrella organization like the Christian Association of Nigeria was badly needed and was an important means towards Christian unity. But it also illustrates that even with Christian unity all will not always be well. It is a partial answer, but not a complete answer to the threat of persecution.

Some may wonder if Protestants and Catholics have enough in common to merit their forming one organization to speak for them all in facing religious and political threats from non-Christian religions. There continues to be impor­tant differences between the Protestant and Roman Catholic understanding of the Christian faith. But both groups agree on the primacy of Jesus Christ as Savior, and the authority of the Bible as written by the prophets and apostles. I am not asking others to abandon their own understanding of the Scriptures, but only to work with other Christians in order to help preserve their own reli­gious freedom.

Abraham Kuyper can serve as an exam­ple here. He was a strong Christian believer in the Netherlands and served as the Dutch prime minister about one hundred years ago. Although he was a Protestant and a bold follower of Jesus Christ, when he became involved in politics, his political party formed a coalition with the Dutch Catholic party. With their support he was elected prime minister of the Netherlands and he influenced Dutch politics for good both before and after he served as prime min­ister.

In the days when Mohammed was liv­ing and expanding his influence in the city of Medina, he was able to defeat and drive three Jewish clans out of Medina one by one because they were not united. The fate of all Jews in Medina is a lesson for all Christians to remember.

Sometimes a united front can even be made with non-Christians. Several Jewish leaders today are concerned when Christians are persecuted any­where in the world. They remember all too well the 1930's in Germany when Hitler began to persecute Jews for no good reason, and the rest of the world ignored their cries for help. They feel that if Jews and Christians keep silent in such circumstances, persecution will spread until neither Jews nor Christians will be safe anywhere in the world. Thus Christians threatened by persecu­tion ought to see if there are any non-Christian groups that might be interest­ed in working with them to stop perse­cution aimed at any religious group.

This also means that we as Christians should be concerned when non-Christian groups are threatened with persecution. As Christians we should not be only concerned for our own reli­gious freedom, but for the religious freedom of others as well. This is one way for us to show Christian love and compassion to all peoples.

5. Seek Help from Fellow Christians and Concerned People Elsewhere←↰⤒🔗

Sometimes a Christian community that is suffering persecution can let fellow Christians and others in the Western world know what is happening. Then they can voice their opposition to what is going on and can approach their governments and ask them to express their official disapproval. Thieves like to do their work at night; persecutors of Christians like to persecute in the dark. That which is done in the dark must be brought into the light of day for all the world to see.

In the days when the communist gov­ernments of Eastern Europe persecuted Christians by throwing them into prison, Christians outside the commu­nist world who knew about fellow Christians in prison were encouraged to write to these prisoners. In some cases certain Christian prisoners received so many letters that the local officials said to one another, "The whole world knows what we are doing to these per­sons! Let us just quietly set them free."

At other times diplomats of the Western World are able to remind their counterparts in persecuting nations that their persecution of Christians has no legal basis and ought to be stopped. In the interest of good international rela­tions — and possibly good trade rela­tions — their voice is sometimes heeded. One problem with this approach is that the Western news media (newspa­pers, radio, and television) are very slow to report on the persecution of Christians. There are at least two rea­sons for this.

• First, the reporters think that people in the West, who are not being persecuted, are not interested in events outside the Western world. They usually report persecution of Christians only if the Christians are Westerners. This is not right, for all peoples are pre­cious in the sight of the Lord. But it is difficult to persuade the reporters and the news media to act otherwise.

• There is a second reason for the slow­ness of the media to report on persecu­tions. The majority of western news reporters are not Christians and they tend to think that religious events are not important. They are therefore more likely to report on secular and political events because they think that these events are newsworthy. Or even when they report on persecution they interpret the persecution as being rooted in ethnic, regional, or economic differ­ences, even when religious differences are the root cause.

Western Christians have begun to rec­ognize the problem with the secular news sources and are developing their own networks for reporting events that are newsworthy from a Christian point of view. This is one hopeful sign.

Persecuted peoples in the Southern world should also remember that non-Christian persons and organizations in the West will sometimes take an interest in their situation and will come to their help. I have already mentioned the concern some leaders in the Jewish community in the West have expressed over persecution of Christians. Secular organizations such as Amnesty International can sometimes also help.

What can Christians of the Southern world facing persecution do to let the rest of the world know what is happen­ing? They may be able to develop their own news networks. In this connection Email is a great gift, for it allows Christians to get their message out to other parts of the world at great speed and with minimum cost. When taking this step, the more specific the informa­tion that persecuted Christians can give to the West the better. It can be helpful, when possible, to send a representative of the church that is suffering persecu­tion to Europe or the United States to testify in person to what is happening.

In the past, American Christians have been slow to respond to news of reli­gious persecution, even when the news did get to them. But this is changing. American Christians are becoming increasingly aware of the frequent exis­tence and great evil of the persecution of their fellow believers elsewhere in the world. In response to these concerns, in 2004 the United States Congress took an important step when it established a government agency called the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom. This agency, which is independent of other branches of the U.S. government, has been assigned to monitor (watch carefully) the progress of religious freedom for all religions in all nations. When governments are found to be persecuting Christians, this fact is publicized and governments are given opportunity to change their policies. If some governments are not willing to change their policies certain sanctions (punishments) can be directed at them. Sanctions can take the form of refusal to trade with a nation, refusal to sell arms to that nation, or something else not related to actual warfare. The current policy of the American govern­ment regarding persecution is rather new. Time will tell just how helpful it actually is.

There are especially two ways in which Christians in lands that are free can extend help to fellow Christians in lands where they are being persecuted. They can for one thing help them with funds for rebuilding churches, for schol­arships, and for the necessities of daily living, such as food and medicine. Secondly they can sometimes persuade their governments to pressure govern­ments that either allow persecution or are themselves persecuting Christians, to stop what they are doing and behave in a more civilized way before the eyes of the world.

Indonesia is a good example of what pressure from the outside world can do to a nation. Radical Muslims have been persecuting Christians in Indonesia from 1990 onwards. The worst persecu­tion occurred on the Maluku Islands. The Indonesian government stood by and did nothing when "3,000 armed jihad warriors ... forced thousands of unarmed Christians ... to flee to moun­tainous jungles to escape death or forced conversion. Their homes are often torched". The same article says that Christians who are caught are forced to "convert" to the Islamic faith. The men who converted were circum­cised, and so were the women by way of genital mutilation.

Those who refuse to convert are killed by jihad warriors, who afterward display the severed heads of some victims as a warning to others.⁴

These warriors all came to the Maluku Islands by boat, and it would have been easy for the Indonesian navy to stop them, but it failed to do this. As I noted earlier, however, when the radicals bombed a night club on the island of Bali killing 190, mostly Australians, the news was flashed around the world, and the Indonesian government began vig­orous efforts to find and punish the ter­rorists. There are times when a little publicity can do a great deal of good! Even though the Western governments took interest because their own people had been attacked, this event still illus­trates my point: when Western peoples take an interest, governments all over the world will respond.

Deadly persecution, as we saw earlier, aims to destroy a Christian community by killing all the Christians, putting them in prison or concentration camps, or driving them out of the region or the nation in which they are living. It uses several methods to make Christians afraid and to chase them away, even when it does not kill them all. Dictators sometimes use this type of persecution, if they think that Christians are a threat to their power. Adolf Hitler felt threat­ened by Jews and tried to destroy them completely, as well as any Christians who stood in his way. An even larger number of people, many of them Christians, died under Joseph Stalin because they refused to embrace the atheism taught by communism and resisted Stalin's rule. To this day dicta­tors in nations of the developing world will single out some Christians for imprisonment and death, hoping to make all the others so fearful that they will not dare to stand in their way.

Of all the world religions, including Hinduism, Buddhism, and Shinto; Islam is the least tolerant of Christians. It is true, of course, that Mohammed called Jews and Christians "people of the book," that Muslims and Christians are both monotheists (believing in one God), that they have several Bible sto­ries in common, and that they agree on certain ethical commands, such as chastity and the sinfulness of stealing. Muslims and Christians have lived peacefully side by side for centuries. While many Muslims take very stern measures against Muslims who convert to Christianity, they are usually content to let those who have been Jews or Christians from birth live in peace, but as second class citizens.

There is, however, a small but growing minority among Muslims who do not take that approach. The radicals or the fundamentalists among them feel it their duty to make the Muslim faith dominant in all nations throughout the world. Their chief means for reaching such dominance is not persuasion, scholarship, charity or any other peace­ful activity. They have chosen politi­cal tricks, killing, frightening people, sabotage, and sui­cide bombing as their best methods for reaching their goals. While Mohammed did not teach suicide as a way of fighting the enemy, he did teach some of the other practices in the list just given. When Mohammed was living in Medina he encouraged his fol­lowers to attack, kill and rob the camel caravans going to Mecca. He promised those who died in such fighting that their souls would go straight to heaven with no further ques­tions asked. It is easy to see, therefore, that terrorist groups at work in our world today can justify at least some of their behavior by citing the history of Islam.

During the years I spent in Africa I often observed the methods used by Muslims to gain converts to their faith. Muslim young men woo and marry Christian girls, knowing that they head the household and all children born from such marriages will be trained in Muslim schools. If the Christian wife does not cooperate, the husband can always isolate her by marrying up to three more Muslim girls.

Economic pressure is also used to win converts. Interest free loans are given to Muslim businesspersons but not to Christians. If a Christian applies for work at a Muslim-owned business, he is told that he will be given work only if he agrees to worship at the mosque. When people are hungry, Christian mothers are told that they will receive free meat every Friday, the Muslim day of worship – but only if they worship at the mosque and place their children in Muslim schools.

In calling attention to these methods I do not question the sincerity of Muslims in dealing with potential con­verts to their faith. They no doubt think that they are doing potential converts a favor by giving them a chance to enter heaven when they die. They might even quote the words of Jesus to justify their behavior:

Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in.Luke 14:23

One need not ques­tion the sincerity of Muslims who are seeking converts, or even the sincerity of Muslims who use terrorism as a means of seeking converts.

But one can be sincere and also wrong. When Saul, who later became the apos­tle Paul, traveled to Damascus in order to find Christians and bring them as prisoners to Jerusalem, he sincerely thought that he was doing the right thing in the eyes of God. But he was sin­cerely wrong, as he later admitted. He was stopped in his tracks when Jesus Christ appeared to him in a vision and rebuked him as he approached Damascus. Some sincere Muslims have converted to Christianity when angels or Jesus Himself appeared to them in dreams or visions. Christians all over the world should be earnestly asking God for many more such appearances leading to Christian conversions.

Meanwhile, what can Christians do when they experience deadly persecu­tion at the hands of Muslims, commu­nists, dictators, or others? I do not have all the answers but will offer four important suggestions.

6. Go Underground←↰⤒🔗

Sometimes it may be necessary for Christians to wor­ship and practice their faith in secret. They are still loyal to their Lord, but deadly persecution forces them to live their Christian faith away from the eyes of those who would kill or imprison them. At some point they may con­clude the time has come for them to come out into the open. Circumstances and an inner voice from the Lord will lead them when it is best to remain secret and when to come into the open. It is difficult for others to tell believers facing deadly persecution when it is time to go underground and when it is time to speak and live their faith pub­licly. That is for them – prayerfully and thoughtfully – to decide.

There are many examples from the his­tory of the church when believers con­cluded they needed to act in secret. Those Christians facing deadly persecu­tion should feel no shame in doing so. During the first three centuries of the Christian era, the Christians of Rome literally went underground when they went down into the catacombs (large caves underneath the city) in order to meet together. In the days of the Protestant Reformation, Christians met in private homes, in the woods, or in other hidden places to escape the eyes of others. There must have been some form of underground worship going on in Elijah's day, for the Lord said to him,

Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel – all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and all whose mouths have not kissed him.1 Kings 19:18

Elijah him­self "went underground" when he lived by the brook of Kerith and stayed with a widow of Zarephath.

Nicodemus was an underground Christian (a secret believer) who came to Jesus by night. He was fearful that if his loyalty to Jesus were made public, he would lose his position as a member of the Jewish ruling council or Sanhedrin (John 3:1). Later he spoke up in the council on Jesus' behalf (John 7:50, 51), and assisted Joseph of Arimathea in giving Jesus a dignified burial (John 19:38-42).

7. Flee to Another Place←↰⤒🔗

Sometimes the best reaction to deadly persecution is to flee to another place where it is safer, whether that is in another part of one's country to even to another country. Then those who have fled can continue to worship the Lord, and may be able to work from a dis­tance to stop the persecutions going on. Some day they may be able to return to their homes.

The apostle Paul fled from Damascus when the Jews there wanted to kill him. As he went about his missionary work he usually stayed in a town or city until physical persecution (not only rumors) actually began, and then he always left. During the Protestant Reformation in Europe, Martin Luther stayed in Wartburg Castle when it would have been dangerous for him to stay in Wittenberg, and John Calvin went to Geneva because it was no longer safe for him in Paris. The Protestant believers in France, called Huguenots, fled from France to several other nations when faced with deadly persecution. Those, therefore, who decide it is best to flee to where it is safer because of great perse­cution are following the example of many faithful Christians from the past.

Flight does not necessarily mean that one has given up the cause. It rather provides opportunity to carry on from another location. Again, examples from history can teach us. Luther took advantage of his stay at Wartburg Castle to translate the New Testament into German. John Calvin, who was born and raised in France, promoted the Protestant Reformation from Strasbourg in Germany and Geneva in Switzerland. When Idi Amin, the military dictator of Uganda, killed Anglican Archbishop Lumun, many bishops fled Uganda, but they continued to work for the welfare of Uganda and the Church within Uganda from outside that nation. In the end Tanzania came to Uganda's rescue, Amin was overthrown, and the bishops returned.

8. Seek Help from Christians in Other Lands←↰⤒🔗

All Christians worldwide ought to be praying for one another especially when trouble devel­ops.

God has so composed the body; giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. Now you are the body of Christ, and individually members of it.1 Corinthians 12:24b-27

When persecution is severe it is espe­cially difficult for the persecuted even to get the message regarding their situation out to the rest of the world. In such a circumstance those who have already fled can be a key link in getting the mes­sage out. In fact, heavily persecuted Christians may decide to send one or more of their members outside their country in order to be their representa­tive to the outside world. They may communicate with their representative in one language while he or she trans­lates the message into English or anoth­er Western language in order to share it with others.

Several months after the Tiananmen Square massacre of students who demonstrated for change in the Chinese government, a young man walked into my office in Pasadena, California. He had escaped from the Square when the army came, and then had escaped from China. He came with the message that sooner or later the government of China was bound to change because all those of the younger generation were con­vinced that change was necessary. When their elders died of old age changes would come. In the meantime he had accepted Christianity as his faith after arriving in United States, and had thus become doubly sure that communism had to go. This young man carried a message for the Christian community outside China and, as the editor of a periodical called City Watch, I was able to pass on his information to many oth­ers.

9. Defensive Military Action←↰⤒🔗

Whether or not to support defensive military action is a difficult question, but one that cannot be avoided. By defensive action I mean responding to attack from outside a nation or responding to absolutely certain knowl­edge that such an attack is about to be launched. There are some times and some conditions under which I believe defensive military action is justified.

The Apostle Paul taught that nations have the right to use force to keep law and order, if they do it carefully. Regarding government officials and their armed assistants, Paul wrote:

He is God's servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.Romans 13:4 NIV

Notice that here the Bible refers to the power of the state, not the power of individuals or even a gathering of indi­viduals. If military or police action is to be proper from a Christian point of view, two questions must be answered with a "Yes." The first question: Is this an action of a lawful government? The second question: Is this action to defend the people, not attack them?

The events leading to the American Revolutionary War (1776-1782) help explain what I mean by the first ques­tion, "Is this an action of a lawful gov­ernment?" Before the Revolutionary War even started, there was an event called the Boston Tea Party. In this so-called party a group of patriots in the city of Boston got together and threw bales of tea from a ship into the harbor because they were refusing to pay an import tax on this tea as set by the British government (which was the ruling government at the time). Those who did this were vigilantes (people who appoint themselves to take action on their own to stop what they see as an evil). They took matters into their own hands without the legal support of any government. Therefore, a Christian understanding of government would condemn what they did. The words of Paul about respecting the government recorded in Romans 13 and the words of Jesus to "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's" (Matthew 22:21, Mark 12:17) all refer to a legally authorized govern­ment, not to self-appointed vigilantes.

It was a different story, however, when the 13 American colonies appointed representatives to an official Continental Congress, as it was called. Some may argue that those in the Continental Congress should have negotiated further with the British gov­ernment before passing a Declaration of Independence, but they had been offi­cially appointed to represent the 13 colonies from which they came. On this basis many would argue that under a Christian understanding of government their declaration was legal and an appropriate response to the abuses the 13 colonies had suffered.

Today disputes between nations are often settled by allowing the people of a subject nation to vote for independence under the United Nations' supervision. A couple of centuries before the Americans made their Declaration of Independence the Protestant Reformer, John Calvin, had written about "magis­trates of the people, appointed to restrain the willfulness of kings ... and (defend) the freedom of the people, of which they know that they have been appointed protectors by God's ordi­nance."⁵ A government is called to pro­tect its citizens; this is the task neither of vigilantes nor of churches, but of duly elected or appointed government offi­cials.

Today Muslim terrorist groups such as Osama Ben Laden's al-Qaida organiza­tion act as vigilantes. They do not repre­sent any recognized government. They represent only the shadowy organiza­tion to which they belong. It is appro­priate, therefore, that all governments, including Muslim governments, from all parts of the world, seek out such ter­rorists and bring them to justice. When terrorists or police states run by a dicta­tor attack others without cause, all nations of good will ought to do the best they can to stop and punish such attacks.

One can cite examples of the appropri­ate use of defensive military force or the threat of military force to protect Christians from deadly persecution. The Christians of Hong Kong and Taiwan have escaped the persecution of Christians that came to mainland China largely because of the military might of the British and the Americans. Today the Christians of South Korea enjoy reli­gious freedom and the Christians of North Korea do not. This is because of the military action the Americans, the British, and others took to protect South Korea from an invasion from the North during the Korean War of the 1950s. The United States, Great Britain, and a few other nations have also seen the need to resist militarily the policies of some Muslim rulers.

The possibility of defensive military action does not rule out the attempt to settle disputes by way of diplomacy (discussion among government offi­cials) prior to actual warfare. Military action should be the last resort. Many wars have been avoided by skillful diplomacy. In this connection there are two words that are important: reciproci­ty and compromise. Together they mean that two nations both give some­thing up at the same time in order to reach a position they both can support. The two countries give and take until they both feel they can accept the final settlement. Compromise and reciproci­ty are an essential part of diplomacy. But they are not easy to achieve. They usually take much time and lengthy negotiations, and patience is needed. All Christians should be aware of the problems that their government officials face as they deal with other govern­ments. These efforts should be given a full opportunity before nations turn to military action. But sometimes military action is needed, and Christians can then support it.

Conclusion←⤒🔗

When Christians are persecuted, their first reaction may be to fight back. Is not this what Israel did when attacked by her enemies? Did not Moses teach the Israelites, "Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand"? (Exodus 21:24).

However, we are now living in the New Testament age. In this age God wills that the gospel spread peacefully to all nations under the sun. We aim for a change of heart under the Holy Spirit's power; only this leads to lasting change. Even when facing persecution, God wills that we do not respond with hatred and violence. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus taught us:

You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neigh­bor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.Matthew 5:43, ­44

This is not an easy command. And it does not mean that we cannot take the steps I recommend in this chapter when we as Christians face per­secution. But all the while we must love even those who are abusing and misusing us.

To do so prayerfully keep in mind the words of Jesus in Matthew 10:16:

I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.