JESUS REBUKES THE PERSECUTED CHURCH

Thought this was a powerful thought from an anonymous brother.

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The Lord Jesus provided a balanced view of persecution to us. He was not slow to rebuke the church at Pergamum. He described their town as "where Satan has his throne" (Revelation 2:13), and one of their members, Antipas, had already been put to death because of his faith.

False teaching and compromise had entered the church, however, and the Lord instructed the church to take care of the problem, or He would bring severe judgment. Being persecuted for the gospel is no antidote to sin, and no guarantee of holiness.

If people are pursuing evil and fleshly desires, pressure will bring it to the surface. That's what's happening to many in the Western church now. Their lives and marriages are crumbling as a result.

If a believer is seeking holiness and righteousness then pressure/persecution will send him more to his knees and the good things within will surface.

Definitely. Sometimes we can have a view that all of those who are persecuted are somehow "perfect" or don't ever have any theological errors, or all don't ever have areas that need refining, etc. & that's just not true. Persecution does have a revealing aspect to it where it refines those who humble themselves & submit to the Will of God in all things, & it (as in the 2nd of the four soils in Jesus' parable) causes the one without any real deep roots to whither in the hot sun & die. Good word brother. Thanks for sharing!