This will be my second post on evangelism. You can find part one here. Today’s text from the book of Acts is one that deeply impacted me when I read it, and it is my desire to share that impact with my readers. This text may seem counter-intuitive, and might not be a popular message when applied to every day life, yet this text teaches many important lessons about how we are to live as Christians.
First things first, let’s look at the passage (or rather, verse). You can read the whole story here, but I’m just going to summarize until we get to Acts 5:41. Basically, the high priest and those who worked with him noticed the ruckus the apostles were causing by their teaching. Viewing it as a threat, they arrested them. However, an angel came and freed them from the prison, directing them to go to the temple and preach. After some questioning at the hands of the council where Peter famously declares that he must obey God rather than man, the council is stirred to frenzy (believing the teachings of the apostles to be blasphemous). After Gamaliel calms them down, they decide to beat the apostles and set them free.
Finally, we come to verse 41:
Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name.
They left their beating rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name [of Christ Jesus]. This is amazing to me, and it has many practical implications for our lives.
Why They Could Rejoice
I have no way of knowing for certain, but it would not surprise me if after their beating the apostles had the words of their Teacher ringing in their ears, which He had said a few years prior:
Matthew 5:10-12 10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
They could rejoice in their suffering because they knew that they had a greater hope waiting for them. Namely, the kingdom of heaven and a promise of great reward when they got there. Their temporary suffering would lead to eternal reward (that becomes very attractive when one considers how short life is compared to eternity). Perhaps greater than that, they knew that their persecution was directly blessed by their Master. They knew that they were living how Christ had told them to. As the people had persecuted their Teacher, the people were now persecuting them. But what exactly does it take to be “worthy to suffer”?
An Evangelistic Lifestyle
Well, looking at the surrounding context seems to make the answer quite obvious. The book of Acts up to this point details the rapid growth of the early church, specifically the key role the apostles played in that growth by their bold evangelism. It seems that they were being persecuted for the name of Christ because they bore the name of Christ in their living, not as a title (they are not called “Christian” until Acts 11:26), but by a bold proclamation of the Gospel in word and deed. In other words, they were so vocal about their faith (and they lived in a way that agreed with what they preached), that it was inevitable that they would garner persecution from those who are hostile to God.
I want to stress the boldness and frequency of their evangelism. Many in our day teach that as long as you are living a “good Christian life”, people will wonder about your life, ask about your faith, and at that point you will have an opportunity to share the Gospel. This has made it such that we as “evangelicals” feel little to no need to actually evangelize. Don’t get me wrong; you absolutely should live a holy life, and share your faith when blessed with a person who will actually ask you about it. However, people tend to be much more indifferent than we give them credit for. This is why we must be both passively evangelical in our lifestyle AND actively evangelical by actually proclaiming the Gospel to people who we otherwise would not encounter. You can sit around and wait for someone to talk to you and maybe have a handful of evangelism opportunities, or you can “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19). You cannot be persecuted for a faith people don’t know you have.
I also want to emphasize that they were being persecuted for Christ’s name. Even in Matthew 5:10-12, we see this principle. Persecution in general is not desirable, but persecution for the name of Christ carries with it a great blessing.
We may not experience physical beating as part of our persecution, but in our society it is not hard to be reviled for Christ’s sake (Matthew 5:11). I’m not talking about Facebook flame wars of people typing in all caps that a person is going to hell and then receiving backlash for it. But I am talking about when an unbeliever mocks you for bringing up something biblical. I am talking about when one loses a job for refusing to participate in shady business practices. I am talking about when you are hurt by letting a person into your life, showing them Christian love, and then having them turn on you in hate.
When you encounter persecution, take peace knowing it is blessed by Christ.
I would like to close with the words of Paul in 2 Timothy 3:12:
Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted
Are you living a lifestyle that is worthy to suffer for the name of Christ?
In the next part, we’ll be looking at some methods and essential aspects of evangelism. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
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