Government persecution is nothing new. It is as old as government itself. It is from the heavy hand of those in power to remind their subjects who is in charge. To think such is only ancient history is grossly naïve. We are surrounded by power-hungry individuals who would love to dominate us. The faithful Christian’s response to this is all important for us to understand.
Tyranny is not the will of God (Lamentations 3:34-36). To fight for the oppressed is righteous (Isaiah 1:17). Yet, the Christian is also to be blameless and harmless (Philippians 2:14-16). Governments come from God Himself as an extension of His rule on earth. That must always be respected (Romans 13:1-7). To fail to do so is sinful. So, whatever government commands us to do, we must do (Galatians 5:23; 1 Peter 2:11-17). However, when the government would have us do anything that is contrary to the plainly revealed will of the Lord in His New Testament, we must obey God instead of men (Acts 5:29) or we sin (Psalm 94:20).
Therefore, when a government becomes corrupt or loses its way in reference to the New Testament, the Christian cannot act like nothing is happening. He must be awake and aware. Still, Christians cannot rebel against the powers God has set in place. Yet, the children of God must always be alert to avoid compromising Christ by acquiescing to evil, even by government edict. Christians must also speak up and speak out to power in rebuke, as did Paul (Acts 24:24-25), John the Baptizer (Matthew 14:3-4) and the prophets of old (Amos 7:10-11).
We must never be blind followers. As Christians, we must properly discern the will of God in all circumstances (Ephesians 5:11-17; 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22) – irrespective of the cost (Revelation 2:10).
