2002.6.23. Rev. Chan Young Jang

Eight Characters of Transformed Christians(8)
Persecuted Heart for Righteousness

Matthew 5:1-12

Today, we'll meditate together on the image of true believers Jesus presented to us and the blessings. The scripture verses are challenging and somewhat shocking to most Christians who are easy going and lay back more or less.
"Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness."

How can we say being persecuted and troubled is blessing? However, this is a core message of Christianity along with the God's words to love even your enemies. These words also show us what true Christians should be like. The characteristics of Christians Jesus has presented to us up to this point are all melted into this true Christian image. In other words, the characters of being poor in spirit, mourning, meek, hungry and thirst for righteousness, merciful, pure in heart, and peacemakers are all blended into one, which is being persecuted for righteousness.

The essence of Christianity can be found in affliction of Christ. The image of Christ in distress is the image of Christians being afflicted. Jesus taught us that trouble is never a symbol of curse or failure. Rather, through trouble, one can arrive at glory and salvation.

Christians rejoice and be glad in being persecuted in the world. Here is the characteristic of true Christians. In the characteristics of Christians Jesus showed us, there is no aggressiveness or violence. In a way, it's described as an image of a sacrificed lamb, enduring, obeying, and vulnerable. So we can wonder how such characteristics can survive today's complicated and dangerous society.

Then, let's examine what is being persecuted for righteousness at a deeper level. Jesus said that blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, not just simply persecuted. In other words, just being persecuted or being in pain itself cannot be blessing. There are many countries or individuals being persecuted and troubled. But their reasons for the difficulties can be justified in some cases. On the other hand, some are not justified. Some Christians are being persecuted for various reasons in different parts of the world but we can't say they are all for the righteousness. That's why we have to note some instances where persecution is not for righteousness.

First, persecution coming from opposing someone or defending a cause is not being persecuted for righteousness. Some people fast, go to prison, and put himself to death to oppose a particular person or party or movement. But this can be a struggle for a thought or an ideology but it's not being persecuted for righteousness. People have tendency to view their opinions and thoughts as absolute and divine. That's why they get confused between the God's and the human's and they try to change the worldly with the heavenly. Of course, it's a good thing to make sacrifices and act on things one considers as right. But one should not interpret that as for righteousness. This is like mixing what is an ideology with the religious things to interpret one's affliction as for righteousness oneself.

Second, it's not persecution coming from one's lack of wisdom. This is the trouble that could have been avoided if one were wise. For many people, this is an easy mistake to make. What's evident, however, is an unwise life cannot be equated to righteous hardship. Unnecessary stubbornness, one's lack of insight due to limited experience and knowledge, and refusal to listen to others' opinions, the troubles resulted from these cannot be being persecuted for righteousness no matter how hard one tries to euphemize.

Third, it's not the persecution brought on by fanatical passion. This is an instance of being persecuted because of neglecting family life and relationship for extreme passion of oneself only. Some people think they were afflicted for Jesus. If they were wiser and had more integrity, they would not have been in trouble. Jesus taught us to be wise like a serpent and pure like a dove. Incidents with extreme fanatics we occasionally run into, for example, five ocean incident, Jehovah's witness or unification church followers. They think the established churches persecute them and their families don't understand them because they proclaim the truth. So they say everything will be clarified in heavenly kingdom and keep getting more extreme. We need to know in heavenly kingdom but it has to be understood on this earth as well. Of course, these things cannot be getting persecution for righteousness.

Fourth, it does not include the trouble coming from one's sin and shortcomings. For all sin, there's bound to be a price to pay. But the human nature is to hide one's sin. When it's discovered, one should not think it is persecution for righteousness. One should not think habitually, the troubles resulted from sin and inability to beat the temptation of sin is getting afflicted for righteousness. The Lord also said that it is not the troubles coming from meddling in other's business. Read Peter:
"But how is it to your credit if you receive beating for doing wrong and endure it?" (1 Peter 2:20)
"If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler." (1 Peter 4:15)

Lastly, being persecuted for righteousness is different from being persecuted for doing good. Many people sacrificed or kill themselves for people, society, or country. That is why they believe it's the truth, and God's will. But the truth of this world is always relative. If you look at them from their nation's point of view, they may be patriots but not so from the other country's view. For example, Ito Herobumi from the Japan colony era was an evil person to our country but to Japan, he was a great leader who contributed to building a modern history in Japan. Of course, there are some objective and humanistic criteria but depending on one's angle, our interpretation can change.

Because we always look at things from our perspectives, the same incidents or events can be viewed differently. A good example is that we constantly reevaluate our past history. Good things are not all God's will. This is same as saying that God is love but love is not God and God is good but the good is not God. We need to understand the truth of the Bible more strictly and calmly.

Then what does it mean to be persecuted because of righteousness in verse 10? The answer is in verse 11. "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me."

Here Jesus said, "persecuted because of me." Therefore, "because of righteousness" should be more accurately interpreted as "for Jesus". Then those who don't believe in Jesus or people with common sense will say it's too narrow. People don't like to hear such an absolute statement as that Jesus is the only way to salvation. They don't understand why you should believe in Jesus only to be saved if you live with good and just conscience. Many people want to hear the salvation can come if you live for goodness.

However, the Bible says clearly that there's not salvation except for Jesus Christ. Good behaviors are what Christians ought to do and can't be a preceding condition for salvation. In today's scriptures, because of that Jesus, if you are insulted, persecuted, falsely accused with all kinds of evil, you are truly blessed. Apostle Paul says the following in Galatians 2:20. "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."

Christ living in me when persecution and tribulation come for him, true kingdom of heaven will come and there will be reward in heaven. We can find this kind of truth in the first church. What did the disciples of Jesus do during the first church period? They were persecuted to spread Jesus. They didn't jump into political, economy, or society issues directly. But these few, through the lives of these few who lived for Jesus, the history changed. This is an amazing paradox. When they were in distress and persecution for the name of Jesus, how much doubt and skepticism would they have gone through? Would the world eventually change by what I do? They never led the society as politician or economist and never led a revolution. They just followed the words to pass on the name of Jesus and got persecuted and died. But the world was changing after they died. This is the power of Gospel, the secret of going through affliction.

Therefore, the questions we should ask ourselves this morning is whether the tribulation or persecution I am going through now is because of Jesus or not. If some people answer they are being persecuted because of Jesus and church, I want to ask them one more question. When trouble comes, the names of church and Jesus are cited but is it to satisfy one's own gain, face, and greed? Some say about today's church as Jesus and Christ fighting with each other-all the church issues are due to break up in each other's gain and relationship.

Some people do get into trouble because of real righteousness. It's Abel in the Old Testament. He was killed by Cain because he gave righteous sacrifice. David! He was persecuted by Saul because the Lord was with him. What about Jeremiah? In order to proclaim God's righteous words, he was thrown into a pit with his beard pulled off before being kicked out. In the New Testament, the twelve disciples and Apostle Paul and other ancestors of faith in the first church were like that. The persecution they received was not a fanatical passion or for political agenda or for personal gain. Because of righteousness and Jesus, they were persecuted like that. Most of all, Jesus Christ was a person like that. Cross is a perfect example of persecution for righteousness. There are easy ways where the tribulation and persecution can be avoided. That is if believers live like worldly people instead of criticizing them.

In Luke 6:26, "Woe to you when all men speak well of you." Praise should come from Jesus. The world doesn't praise those who always live like Jesus. Also in 9:26, "If anyone is ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels." If we are ashamed of God, God will be also ashamed of us. You can go out in the world, hiding that you believe in Jesus so that you can have nothing to do with the suffering and persecution coming from Jesus. But how would Jesus they treat you? Suffering and persecution are the price the disciples should pay as true Christians.

Yes, the fight is always the dual between the real thing and the fake thing. Men like to talk about their military experience. Most stories are about their claim that their platoon received the harshest training. But usually, there are some people who don't speak at all. At the end of that conversation, if someone asks them where they are from and they answer, "special force or air borne troop", then everyone will be quiet. It's because fake things in front of the real thing look extremely pathetic. Yes, living among fake things only will be comfortable. But when real things come, fake things usually become embarrassed or shabby.

According to today's scripture, the real thing is being persecuted because of Jesus. To believe in Jesus well and to witness Jesus, if one spends time, money, and lowers one's pride, it is the real thing. Some say this. "You seem to be living in church. Why don't you go to a seminary school? Don't go overboard. Do just enough and no more." With believing in Jesus, where can you find "too much"? We should be only sorry for not doing enough. As darkness loses power before light, false devotion, false faith, and false actions are all bound to be revealed. Never lower the standards for our commitment and love. We have to repent for believing in Jesus in a mediocre way. In living for Jesus, there is no best. Lives for the Lord is always somewhat lacking. We should be rather ashamed of being only lukewarm, not hot enough to be persecuted.

There is a blessing given to those persecuted for righteousness. That is the kingdom of heaven. The sermon of the mountain starts with the kingdom of heaven and ends with the kingdom of heaven. The first one was, "Bless are the pool in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." The eighth is "Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Only those who think about the kingdom of heaven can live a full life that doesn't lack on this earth.

The kingdom of heaven is not just the place to go after death but becomes realized in the reality of those who live and walk with Jesus. The kingdom of heaven grows and bears abundant fruits with Christ. It starts from now, continues to grow, and becomes complete when we leave our bodies. Jesus said the kingdom of heaven will be given to the poor in spirit and to those who are persecuted because of righteousness. How amazing those words are? Those who possess the heavenly kingdom do not fear contempt of characters, physical abuse, and worldly conspiracies.

We won't live too long on this earth. Moreover, we won't stay in the current status for thousands of years. Someday we have to leave everything behind to go away. How should we live? For what should we live? Think of the kingdom of heaven. To those thinking of the kingdom of heaven, there is no shadow of death, no shadow of failure, no fear of this earthly suffering and distress. They don't become slaves of materialistic things, time, or earthly things. They don't compare themselves with others or get into unnecessary competition and strife.

We are beings living the kingdom of heaven and moving toward the kingdom of heaven in Christ. Being in body, we live the kingdom of heaven on this earth. When we take off our bodies, we move to everlasting kingdom of heaven. If you decide to live according to the ways and wills of Jesus, this world will persecute you. But remember. That is the truly special right of Christians and true blessing.

"Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Bless are you whom people insult you, persecute you, and falsely way all kinds of evils against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way, they persecuted the prophets who were before you."