Those who live godly

Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. – 1 Timothy 3.12

There is lot of talk going on today about persecution. There are places in the world where persecution in the world is severe. Some experts say that the church is suffering more now than ever before. All over the world Christians are dying in huge numbers. Churches are burned and torn down. Pastors are arrested and jailed for preaching the gospel.

The day may well come when those of us in the west are going to see real persecution for ourselves.  At the moment what we see as persecution is nothing more than normal opposition. We have enjoyed the favour of society for so long that we have grown to expect it.

That’s not life though. It doesn’t really make sense as we are living a whole different life. The world is becoming more and more suspicious of us. No one likes to hear that there are sinners.  Our very walk in The Triumph gives of an aroma that reminds the world of what they don’t have.

Since we are not going to ‘fit in’ it should not come as a surprise that we are going to be opposed. In fact, the more godly we live the less we can expect to be accepted. People know that there are sinners and when we live holy lives it reminds them of their short falls and their consciences are pricked. Soon, Bible truth is interpreted as hateful and uncaring because it does not tolerate sin. When we point that out folks aren’t going to like it.

Don’t be surprised when the world hates us. It hated Jesus after all.