(Edited form of a devotional given at a gathering of PCA leaders on religious freedom in May 2024.)
As Jesus warned, Christians have long faced hostility in various forms and to various degrees (John 15:18-19). That has been the norm for most believers through most of history and is the norm for most Christians today.
To illustrate: I was recently in Bangkok for a workshop of South Asian Christian leaders. Of the 32 people present, 28 were in situations of persecution. One man spoke of picking up the body parts of friends and family after a suicide bomber attacked a church service. A young women spoke of becoming a Christian at university and of being excluded from her family ever since. Later this year I will be in similar gatherings in the Middle East, Central Asia and SE Asia – the stories will be the same.
The western church remains an exception to the historical and geographical norm of persecution.
We in Australia have it easy. We have long lived in the light of a now-fading Christendom where the gospel was freely preached. Christian values were embedded in much legislation, and the church was a respected institution. However, that is now changing as we start to play catch-up with the majority of the Christian world. We face progressive secularism which has an aggressive stance. We see that play out in the repeal and amendment of socially beneficial legislation that had a Christian base. We also see attacks on our freedom to freely offer the gospel and to apply it to today’s hot topic of human sexuality.
So, how do we respond to the changes around us? How do we future-proof the church?
It is easy to slip into human defaults of fight, fright, or flight. It is especially easy to be despairing, pull up the bridges and take the Benedictine option of retreating to our equivalent of desert caves and putting the light of the gospel under a bushel. The nett result of that is to deny our God-given gospel mission.
Psalm 2 gives a different frame. It raises the question of who has the last laugh. The Psalm opens with a scene that God’s people know. The fallen world and its leaders plot against the Lord and assert a godless human autonomy (Ps 2:1-3. If you like, the world laughs at God.
But look who has the last laugh. God declares that he has set his Son over the nations and that he shall break their rebellion (Ps 2:4-9). And so, the Psalm warns those laughing against God to kiss the Son lest they fall under his judgement (Ps 2:10-12).
This Psalm helps us understand what is happening around us. It also gives us a big encouragement. Christ is on the throne. He is the crucified, reigning and returning Lord. He rules. His gospel stands. So, let’s remain among those who kiss the son in faith, take refuge in him. And let us ceaselessly urge those who laugh at God to kiss the Son.
Back to my colleagues at the Bangkok workshop. It was a stunning moment when they thanked God for his gift of persecution. They did not see it as triumph of evil one. They did not doubt God. What they see is God giving his church the privilege of suffering with and for Jesus and the gospel (Acts 5:41). They also see God refining his church and sowing gospel seeds as persecution gives opportunity to testify to their faith.
The last laugh is with God and his Son.
David Burke,
Moderator-General,
May 2024