In yesterday’s sermon, we spent a great deal of time on the subject of martyrdom. Talking about the possibility of giving your life for the sake of the Gospel is always a little uncomfortable in my Western, well-fed, prosperous context. Martyrdom seems like such a remote possibility that I would do better to be worried about a meteor falling out of the sky and killing me because there is a greater probability of that happening then actually dying for my faith. Talking about how to handle yourself in a situation that could lead to martyrdom seems to fly right over the heads of most of the people in my congregation. “When am I ever going to need this?” seems to be the silent question in their eyes as I speak.
Is the possibility of martyrdom something we should be spending time on in a church service? After all there hundreds of other topics I could cover that would seem more relevant to my congregation’s lives and spiritual walks. Despite this, Pastors need to give instruction on this matter because any Pastor will tell their flock how to live well, good Pastors will tell their flock how to die well. Here’s a few reasons.
1. The Bible talks about Martyrdom.
Any Pastor worth his salt is going to be preaching through the Bible verse by verse. When you do that you will inevitably hit a verse that mentions martyrs and you have a responsibility as a faithful exegete to handle that Scripture and apply it to the lives of your people. Preaching like this will hit every topic important to God in the exact ratio that God has included it in His Word.
2. Your flock needs to know it’s a possibility.
Even in America it is possible to be made a martyr and every day it seems like we are moving closer to that being a reality. When government makes it impossible for Christians to speak the truths of the Word in certain situations, how far will you take it? Will you still call Homosexuality an abomination when they threaten you with jailtime? Will you still speak out against Abortion if they will fine you? What if it gets worse and the punishments get more severe? What if you are in a situation where mob violence takes over? How will you react? Which leads us to our final point...
3. You flock needs to have an opportunity to decide now what they will do then.
Being put in a position of possible martyrdom may catch us by surprise so we need to have our response thought out before hand. How would you react if threatened with torture? Death? The murder of your child or another loved one? Hopefully these are questions we will never have to face in reality but we should prepare ourselves mentally for the possibility. Think through different scenarios and mentally steel your self for different difficult circumstances.
While martyrdom is an unpleasant topic, it should be preached on and dealt with in a pastoral matter. Every believer should be prepared for possibility of losing money, property, and even our very lives for the sake of the Gospel so if that day comes we will be able to stand strong in our faith. Remember, if we deny Him before men, He will deny us before His Father and only those that endure to the end will be saved so nothing less than our eternity is at stake when persecution unto death comes upon us.
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