The Silent War of the Church

I was asked to preach at a church where I chose as my text 1 Pet. 4:12-13. Afterwards, many approached me with words of appreciation for the message. One person, however, made a comment that I have pondered since. The comment was, “Your message was difficult to apply since my life is not filled with the persecution that you spoke of.” If you are a Christian who lives in America, then you may find the words of the Apostle Peter difficult to appreciate also. After all, he describes Christians suffering due to their faith in Jesus Christ (see 1 Pet. 2:19; 3:14). Although the church in America can be described in many ways, I am not certain that “persecuted” is the one that would immediately jump out at us. At least, not when compared to the frightening reality of so many of God’s churches in other parts of the world where they follow Christ while literally fearing imprisonment, torture, even death! We find such experiences absolutely shocking and we must remember these churches regularly in our times of prayer.