There are some Christians in this country who worry that heathen hordes may one day arrive on our shores, armed with guns and knives and bombs, to crush our Christian way of life and destroy the American church. They worry that Christendom will come under brutal assault by these hypothetical savages—that they, clinging tearfully to their Bibles, will be dragged into the town square and beheaded in front of cheering, bloodthirsty throngs. They worry that we believers in the West may finally suffer the same persecution those in the East have faced for two thousand years and some face even now. To be honest, they flatter themselves. Most American churches are no threat to them here anymore with our brand of “Christianity.”
In the days of Jesus, the religious leaders, the Pharisees and Sadducees, were seen as guardians of the truth much like our western church. However, they often distorted and totally ignored the teachings of God’s word for their own benefit, rejecting the true message that Jesus brought. In a similar vein, let’s reimagine the state of modern American Christianity, comparing it to how the religious leaders of Jesus’ time treated truth, while contrasting it with the earnest persecution faced by churches in the East.
Imagine a group of heathens (or haters of Christianity) arriving on American shores, ready to persecute Christians they believe threaten their way of life. They expect to find a nation steeped in genuine Christian faith, but instead, they find a strange form of paganism. They see worship not of the Christian God but of celebrities, politicians, and material possessions. Much like the Pharisees who outwardly appeared devout but inwardly were corrupt, these supposed Christians have replaced true worship with new idolatry.
The heathens, expecting pious believers, find instead a society obsessed with self and pride. Modesty, discipline, and obedience, core teachings of Jesus, are ridiculed and discarded. In fact they seem to stand and preach the opposite of the Beatitudes in Matthew 5. These heathens find that sexual immorality is rampant and celebrated, mirroring how the Pharisees ignored the weightier matters of the law, such as justice, mercy, and faithfulness (Matthew 23:23).
As they delve deeper, they see the disintegration of the nuclear family, a clear contradiction to Jesus’ teaching (Matthew 19:6). Divorce is rampant in the church itself, and even celebrated, reflecting the Pharisees’ own laxity in upholding God’s commandments.
Their search for true Christianity leads them to the modern churches themselves, but what they find is disheartening. These churches resemble social clubs or entertainment venues more than houses of worship. The messages preached are empty, devoid of biblical truth, much like how the Pharisees added their traditions to God’s law, obscuring its true meaning (Mark 7:8).
The heathens encounter various types of churches: ones that look like rehab centers where pastors deliver self-help talks, mega-churches focused on prosperity with no mention of sin or repentance, and churches that resemble empty shells with leaders who are more concerned with modern sensibilities than biblical truth. Again, like the religious leaders of Jesus’ time they are more concerned with their own power and traditions than with the true teachings of God.
In a desperate attempt to find real Christians, the heathens kidnap 100 congregants and pastors, demanding they renounce their faith. The responses are dishearteningly conformist and weak, reflecting a lack of true conviction. The religious leaders of Jesus’ time failed to recognize Him as the Messiah because they were blinded by their own interpretations and traditions.
However, among the hundred, one person stands firm, boldly professing his faith in the core tenets of Christianity. He declares belief in God the Father, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, and the teachings of the Bible. This lone believer represents the remnant of true faith that still exists and will always exist, much like the faithful few in Israel who recognized Jesus for who He truly was.
The heathens are ready to martyr this true Christian, but the crowd, including the so-called Christian leaders, denounce him as a fundamentalist. The Pharisees did the same to Jesus and sought to kill Him (John 11:53), showing that they were more concerned with maintaining their status quo than embracing the truth.
The heathens, now realize that the faith they came to persecute is already dead in the hearts of most, and they depart in sorrow. They sought to destroy Christianity but found that what they aimed to kill was already lifeless. This reflects the spiritual decay Jesus condemned in the Pharisees, calling them whitewashed tombs, beautiful on the outside but full of dead bones and uncleanness inside (Matthew 23:27).
In stark contrast, Christians in the East face severe persecution for their faith. These believers live under constant threat of violence, imprisonment, and death. Churches are bombed, pastors are executed, and congregants are jailed for merely gathering to worship. This is reminiscent of the early Christian martyrs who faced lions in the arena for their unwavering commitment to Christ.
Eastern Christians know the true essence of carrying one’s cross daily, as Jesus commanded (Luke 9:23). They understand the cost of discipleship and stand firm in their faith despite the life-threatening consequences. Their situation highlights the profound difference between genuine faith and the superficiality we often see in the West.
The religious leaders in Jesus’ time clung to their distorted truths and rejected the genuine teachings of God, many modern American churches have strayed far from authentic Christianity and also cling to teaching that is nothing like that of Jesus. They have embraced a form of godliness but denied its power (2 Timothy 3:5). The heathens’ futile quest to find true Christians to persecute has been reserved for the real practitioners of Biblical Christianity, we sadly are unworthy of the persecution True faith brings. The one bold believer’s declaration like Christ, stands in stark contrast to the hollow practices that dominate much of contemporary western Christian culture. Meanwhile, the courage and steadfastness of Eastern Christians under persecution remind us of the true cost of and the mark of, following Christ. It is the vibrant, life-giving faith that should characterize the western Church, but sadly dose not.