2. The Crisis of Persecution
Alliance Witness, 1980-01-23, P.20-21.

THE history of the early church is the history of persecution and growth.

Naturally speaking, persecution and growth are an antithesis to each other. But through their faith and dedication the early Christians found the crisis of persecution turned into a channel of growth under the grace of God. The antithesis became a synthesis.

Persecution resulted in growth in four ways for the early church.

1. At Jerusalem, Peter and other apostles were jailed three times (4:3; 5:18; 12:4) and threatened and beaten many times. But this tremendous pressure pulled the disciples closer together than ever, drove them to their knees and brought their heroic nature into greater relief. They rejoiced when they suffered shame and violence for the name of Christ, and they worked harder in witnessing for the Lord.

It is very significant that persecution and church growth are directly linked together in the following passage:

And when they had called the apostles, and beaten them. they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name. And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ. And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied . . . (5:40-6:1).

2. Then Stephen was stoned to death as the first martyr in the history of the Christian church. A marvelous vision was given to him as he died. He saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. This vision enabled him to be victorious over death and hatred, and he prayed the same prayer of love and forgiveness for his enemies as the Lord Himself prayed on the cross.

When Stephen’s vision was passed on to others it became a great source of encouragement and inspiration for the whole church. Martyrdom was no. longer something to be afraid of, but rather an honor to covet. Obviously the death of Stephen was not a blow to the early church, but instead it actually promoted the spirit of evangelism.

If the death of Stephen was a blow at all, it was to the self-assurance of Saul, who witnessed it. It served to prepare his heart to receive the overpowering and illuminating light of revelation from the resurrected Lord on Saul’s way to Damascus.

3. Beginning with the martyrdom of Stephen, a new and greater wave of persecution spread throughout the city of Jerusalem, and disciples began to scatter outside that city. But the whole situation was a blessing in disguise. The persecution served as an explosion for the furtherance of the gospel in every direction.

There are at least six directions in which evangelism developed. First, through the ministry of Philip, the evangelist, the gospel spread throughout the cities of Samaria with great success.

Then, through the conversion of the Ethiopian eunuch, the Good News was sent to North Africa.

Again through the itinerary efforts of Philip, the gospel reached the region of Azotus, on the western coast of Palestine.

Christian refugees went up north as far as Antioch, preaching the gospel as they traveled, not only to Jews but also to Gentiles. They finally settled in the city of Antioch.

Other disciples scattered to Phoenicia and Cyprus in the west and preached the gospel there.

Through the ministry of Peter the gospel spread to Joppa, Lydda, Saron and Caesarea along the coast, to the northwest of Jerusalem.

4. Persecution roared under King Herod (see Acts 12). James, a major leader of the Jerusalem Christians, was killed and Peter was thrown into prison. The church faced a great crisis.

At this most critical moment the whole church did the best thing they could do-they turned to God in united and believing prayer. That they had true faith in their prayer was evidenced by their continuing to pray in spite of the fact that James had been killed even as they prayed for him. His death might have seemed to prove that God did not hear their prayer. They had the, right kind of faith and the right kind of attitude in prayer-may God’s will be done, whether it be life or death.

Then God intervened in response to their faith. A miracle happened, and the whole situation changed-a great crisis was turned into a great blessing.

In Acts we read of two miracles that happened in prison, one at Jerusalem (chapter 12) and the other at Philippi (chapter 16), both as God’s response to faith.

This persecution purified and strengthened the Christians’ faith, which came out of the great trial more precious than gold. The quality of the church became more refined than ever. We find these meaningful words in 12:24: “The word of God grew and multiplied.”

Persecution served a fourfold purpose in the early church: it was a catalyst to bring out the best in the disciples of Christ, it brought about a new vision of the glory of God for those who suffered for Christ, it caused an explosion for the further spreading of the gospel, and it refined the qualities of the church.

That persecution and trial are part of the secret of the growth and development of the Christian church across the centuries is abundantly proved by history. But this message has a special relevance today when so many of our churches are faced with persecution in so many areas in the world.

We need to learn how to face possible persecution. We must not be caught unprepared.