Chapter 10: Mischief-Makers and Bandits
The Persecuted
Intro to the chapter.
For righteousness, for justice, or for Jesus? Various interpretations of what counts as persecution over the centuries.
Persecution by the state: the martyrdom era. Early it was the Romans. Then Islam.
The Reformers as the new martyrs. In reformation times, The church became the persecuted and the persecutor.Many reformers were martyred at the hands of the Catholic church. Later, when the reformers had the upper hand it was Catholics being martyred.
Rejoice and Be Glad
The only beatitude with a command—rejoice.
Permitted by God for good purposes. God permits persecution, but does no cause it.
Sign of opposition from Satan. Persecution implies Godliness (Satan is trying to destroy the godliness).
Mark of the true Christian
Persecution is the mark of the tru Christian. Conversely, if you aren’t persecuted, you are not a true Christian.
Only for righteousness’ sake: but who decides?
Schism: peacekeeping and persecution.
Woe to the persecutor
How to identify heresy and what to do about it. A fine line.
“My own tradition, the Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC), has long sought to have a “roomy tent” concerning how much Christians can disagree over certain doctrines and still remain in fellowship with one another in the church. In other words, it’s generally put a lot of things under the umbrella of adiaphora and very few things into the category of heresy. It hasn’t always lived up to this principle (and is struggling mightily to do so today). It’s a principle expressed by early Covenanter C. V. Bowman in 1910 (who referred to the ECC with its original name, the Mission Friends):
But concerning church order, the Mission Friends have a principle…. Namely this: they held that the local church shall consist only of believing members but, at the same time, to have room for all true believers no matter what their viewpoints are on controversial doctrines. It is this principle that really distinguishes Mission Friends from other Christian denominations, and which justifies their existence as a particular church.
Responding to persecution with the first seven beatitudes
Theirs is the kingdom.
The first and second kingdoms.
No and not yet. The 8th beatitude is often described as the summit, the crown, and consummation of the beatitudes.
Concusion
H“Contemporary Christian theologian Carl Trueman (b. 1967) urges Christians to remember that “The aim of theological conflict among Christians is not to win, not to beat one’s opponents mercilessly into a bloodied wreck, but to establish the nature of truth and to convince as many as possible of the truth. This requires,” he continues, “a personal openness on our part which is driven by a love and concern for those with whom we disagree.”
“Like Trueman, we often find fighting for purity easier than making peace. But the challenge of the Beatitudes is to honor both.”
Quotes from: The Beatitudes through the Ages, Rebekah Eklund