Counting the Cost of Living in Persecution

July 10, 2020

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“But thanks be to God. He has made us his captives and continues to lead us along in Christ’s triumphal procession. Now he uses us to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere, like a sweet perfume. ”

— 2 Corinthians 2:14

Jesus never promised His followers an easy path.

He told his disciples the world would hate them. He sent them out as sheep among wolves. Jesus’ words came true for the apostles and are still coming true today. People wonder why don’t the ‘sheep’ escape rather than live in persecution, risking their lives, health, family, etc. to share Jesus with others?

One disciple maker tells us the reason for staying inside her country is due to the “the joy of watching people see Jesus in me.”

There is so much joy in seeing people discover that the God of the Bible is the true God. Many report to our disciple makers, ‘When I read the Bible, I have peace,’ something they are not getting from their god, religion, or by reading the Koran.

Recently, God reminded a GCM disciple maker that love is her only motivation for living in a restricted Middle Eastern nation she calls her ‘child.’ She feels like a mother who would even die for this child because of love. When love is her motivation, it is not as much of a sacrifice, but it still hurts because of love.

The Holy Spirit pours His love out in her heart (Romans 5:5). He shares His joy and His suffering (Romans 8:17 and Philippians 3:10). Over and over, He lets her see through His eyes, which is like a healing balm to her wounds. She does not consider leaving this restricted nation a possibility.

This disciple maker often wonders when she is forced into a situation she does not like, does she complain or ask, “God, can You use this for good?” At one point, the authorities imprisoned her for her faith. And if their intention was to discourage her from sharing the gospel, it backfired. Inside prison, she and others, realized the value of freedom from bondage even more. They are now more open to receive.

But living so close to a neighboring country, she could easily cross over the border without any documents and request asylum. However, she states two reasons why she does not do this.

Some people say that her people convert so they can find an easier way to immigrate—she proves them wrong by staying.
The second powerful reason is that she does not want to escape God’s will for her life. She believes she must stay and bring change by sharing the gospel with her people, who are lost and living in difficult circumstances—like her life until Jesus. Her people are desperately searching for a way out of their misery. And she knows the only true answer is the Word of God and she loves sharing it with them.

So she stays. And endures. And presses on with the strength of Christ.

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“I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

— Philippians 3:14

On our Stories page, please read testimonies of more disciple makers—made up mostly of former Muslims—who have come to Christ.

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We believe the Scriptures, both the Old and New Testaments, are inspired by God and are the revelation of God to man, the infallible, authoritative rule of faith and conduct. (2 Timothy 3:15-17, 1 Peter 1:21)

We believe that there is one God, eternally existent who has revealed Himself as embodying the principles of relationship and association as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. (Deuteronomy 6:4, Luke 3:22)

We believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His atoning death through His shed blood, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father where He intercedes for us, in His present rule as Head of the Church, and in His personal return in power and glory. (Matthew 1:23, Luke 1:31)

We believe in the creation of mankind in God’s image, and the fall of man, resulting in universal guilt and total depravity; and the necessity, therefore, of redemption and restoration; that all men and women are lost spiritually and face the judgment of God, that Jesus Christ is the only way of salvation, and that repentance of sin and faith in Jesus Christ is necessary for regeneration by the Holy Spirit. (Genesis 1:26-27, Genesis 2:17)

We believe salvation is received through repentance toward God and faith toward the Lord Jesus Christ. By the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, being justified by grace through faith, man becomes an heir of God, according to the hope of eternal life. (Luke 24:47, John 3:3)

We believe in the resurrection of both the saved and the lost; the saved unto the resurrection of eternal life in the presence of our Lord, and the lost unto the resurrection of damnation and eternal punishment. (Matthew 25:46, Mark 9:43-48)

We believe in the spiritual unity of believers in our Lord Jesus Christ and that all true believers are members of His body, the Church, which has the duty to preach the Gospel to every person. (Ephesians 1:22-23, Ephesians 2:22)

We believe that we must dedicate ourselves to prayer, to the service of our Lord, to His authority over our lives, and to the ministry of teaching, preaching, the prophetic, the apostolic, and evangelism. (Ephesians 4:11-13)

We believe in upholding the ordinances of the church of water baptism and holy communion.

The ordinance of baptism by immersion is commanded by the Scriptures. All who repent and believe in Christ as Savior and Lord are to be baptized. Thus, they declare to the world that they have died with Christ and that they also have been raised with Him to walk in newness of life. (Matthew 28:19, Mark 16:16, Acts 10:47,48, Romans 6:4)

The Lord’s Supper, consisting of the elements—bread and the fruit of the vine—, is the symbol expressing our sharing the divine nature of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Peter 1:4), a memorial of His suffering and death (1 Corinthians 11:26), and a prophecy of His second coming (1 Corinthians 11:26), and is enjoined on all believers “till He comes!”