See Revelation 21:8.
Fortunately, we repentant cowards (including 11 of Christ’s chosen apostles — Matthew 26:56, but excluding the one unrepentant coward of the bunch) are not left to try to somehow conjure up courage within ourselves, we are simply called to kindle and not quench the Spirit of power that God Himself has put in to us who are His (2 Tim 1:6-7; 1 Thes 5:19).
2 Timothy 3:12:
Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.
So then the natural question is why are we in America (for example), not experiencing any persecution?
Now, to be sure, there is such a thing in Biblical language as a “time of peace” (Acts 9:31). The verse above doesn’t say that the godly ones will necessarily constantly face persecution. If I am not facing persecution right now, we cannot conclude from the Bible that I am not living a godly life right now. I could be enjoying a time of peace for which it is right to give thanks.
But… on the other hand, if almost our entire Christian sub-culture (in America, for example) goes week after week, month after month, year after year, and decade after decade without facing any real persecution arising from a godly life in Christ Jesus, then hmmmm, it does make you stop and wonder. Is it a really llllooonnnggg period of peace that God has granted us, or it is perhaps that I am not actually living a godly life in Christ Jesus?
Two years ago in Ermelo, Holland, Brother Andrew told the story of sitting in Budapest, Hungary, with a dozen pastors of that city teaching them from the Bible. In walked an old friend, a pastor from Romania who had recently been released from prison. Brother Andrew said that he stopped teaching and knew that it was time to listen.
After a long pause the Romanian pastor said, “Andrew, are there any pastors in prison in Holland?” “No,” he replied. “Why not?” the pastor asked. Brother Andrew thought for a moment and said, “I think it must be because we do not take advantage of all the opportunities God gives us.”
Then came the most difficult question. “Andrew, what do you do with 2 Timothy 3:12?” Brother Andrew opened his Bible and turned to the text and read aloud, “All who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” He closed the Bible slowly and said, “Brother, please forgive me. We do nothing with that verse.”
[Taken from the foreword to Herbert Schlossberg, Called to Suffer, Called to Triumph, (Portland: Multnomah Press, 1990), pp. 9-10., as quoted in John Piper’s sermon “Called to Suffer and Rejoice: For Holiness and Hope“]
You see, at any given time, in any given culture of this world, it is generally possible to obey large portions of the Scripture without offending or angering the fallen pagan world around us. But then there is always that one little point. That one command of God, which when obeyed wholeheartedly ignites the wrath of the Christ-hating world. So the Devil makes a deal with the professing church of Christ, “Tell you what. You just hold back in this one little area, just cut these few portions out of your Bible here and there, and I’ll leave you alone. You can have your churches, live your Christian life, etc., etc., just stay off this one piece of ground that belongs to me.” (Here is an example.) This is how Martin Luther put it:
If I profess with the loudest voice and clearest exposition every portion of the Word of God except precisely that little point which the world and the devil are at that moment attacking, I am not confessing Christ, however boldly I may be professing Him. Where the battle rages there the loyalty of the soldier is proved; and to be steady on all the battle front besides, is mere flight and disgrace if he flinches at that point. (Luther’s Works. Weimar Edition. Briefwechsel [Correspondence], vol. 3, pp. 81f.)
And this is how Jesus put it:
I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first. Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds. Now I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets (I will not impose any other burden on you): Only hold on to what you have until I come. To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations-
He will rule them with an iron scepter;
he will dash them to pieces like pottery’-just as I have received authority from my Father. I will also give him the morning star. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
In Thyatira the stumbling point was sexual immorality and idolatry. Satan came to the church of Thyatira with some so-called “deep secrets”. We don’t know what those deep secrets were, but apparently in one form or another they basically amounted to this, “Look! You can be a fornicating, adulterous, idol-worshipping Christian! It is the best of both worlds! You get heaven, you get forgiveness with Jesus, and you get a lot of romping orgy fun in the meantime! This is the real deal! Don’t settle for anything less! You deserve the best!”
The church did indeed have genuine love, faith, service, perseverance, and good deeds (as do we). Jesus saw those things and commended them. But He was also very, very angry, and promised certain punishment upon those who did not repent of that one thing that He had against them.
The church in America (to use one example) is no doubt doing many things that are Biblically right, and rightfully refraining from many things that are Biblically wrong. But are there one or two points where we have made a deal with the devil? Could it be that we have fallen into, “profess[ing] with the loudest voice and clearest exposition every portion of the Word of God except precisely that little point which the world and the devil are at [this] moment attacking”? Could it be that the reason we don’t face persecution is because our definition of “a godly life is Christ Jesus” follows the Bible only so far, and then stops right where Satan has drawn a line in the sand? Yes, it very well could.