I. Foundational Principle
Righteous suffering is real, expected, and often severe. Scripture repeatedly teaches that believers may suffer not because of wrongdoing, but precisely because they belong to God.
“Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” (2 Timothy 3:12)
“If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.” (1 Peter 4:14)
II. Old Testament Believers Who Suffered While Doing No Wrong
1. Abel – The First Martyr
Text: Genesis 4:3–10; Hebrews 11:4; 1 John 3:12
Crime: Offering an acceptable sacrifice by faith
Sin? None recorded
Cause: Cain hated righteousness
Theological significance: Blood sacrifice prefiguring the Cross
“And for what reason did he kill him? Because his deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous.” (1 John 3:12)
2. Joseph
Texts: Genesis 37–50
Wrongs suffered: Betrayal, slavery, false accusation, imprisonment
Reason: Faithfulness, moral purity, God’s favor
“You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good.” (Genesis 50:20)
3. Job
Texts: Job 1–2; 42
God’s verdict: “A blameless and upright man” (Job 1:8)
Suffering: Extreme, undeserved, unexplained
Key truth: Suffering not always tied to personal sin
4. Moses
Texts: Exodus–Deuteronomy
Wrongs suffered: Rejection, rebellion, slander
Crime: Faithful obedience
“They grumbled against Moses… but the Lord heard it.” (Numbers 11:1)
5. David
Texts: 1 Samuel 18–26
Wrongs suffered: Hunted, slandered, betrayed
Crime: Anointed by God
“They repay me evil for good; my soul is bereft.” (Psalm 35:12)
6. Elijah
Texts: 1 Kings 18–19
Wrongs suffered: Death threats, exile
Crime: Speaking God’s truth
7. Jeremiah – Another ill-treated Weeping Prophet (there indeed have been some)
Texts: Jeremiah 20; 37–38
Wrongs suffered: Beatings, imprisonment, public mockery
Crime: Faithfully delivering God’s word
“I have become a laughingstock all the day.” (Jeremiah 20:7)
8. Daniel
Texts: Daniel 6
Wrongs suffered: Death sentence
Crime: Prayer
9. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego
Texts: Daniel 3
Wrongs suffered: Execution attempt
Crime: Refusal to worship idols
III. New Testament Believers Who Suffered Without Doing Wrong
10. John the Baptist
Texts: Matthew 14:1–12
Wrongs suffered: Imprisonment, execution
Crime: Moral rebuke
“Among those born of women there has arisen no one greater.” (Matthew 11:11)
11. The Apostles (Collectively)
Texts: Acts 4–5; 12
Wrongs suffered: Beatings, prison, martyrdom
Crime: Preaching Christ
“They rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name.” (Acts 5:41)
12. Stephen – First Christian Martyr
Texts: Acts 6–7
Wrongs suffered: Stoning
Crime: Speaking truth
13. James (son of Zebedee)
Text: Acts 12:1–2
Wrongs suffered: Execution
Crime: Apostleship
14. Paul
Texts: 2 Corinthians 11:23–28
Wrongs suffered: Beatings, shipwrecks, prison, execution
Crime: Faithful ministry
15. Faithful Anonymous Believers
Texts: Hebrews 11:35–38
“Of whom the world was not worthy.”
IV. Types of Persecution in Scripture
1. Hard Persecution
Imprisonment
Torture
Execution
Confiscation of property
2. Soft / Subversive Persecution
Family rejection (Matthew 10:34–36)
Silencing
Social exclusion
Character assassination
“They will put you out of the synagogues.” (John 16:2)
V. Key Bible Verses on Persecution
Matthew 5:10–12
John 15:18–20
Romans 8:17–18
1 Peter 2:19–21
1 Peter 3:14
Revelation 2:10
VI. Great Christian Quotes
Charles Spurgeon
“If you never have opposition, you must wonder whether you are really on God’s side.”
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
“When Christ calls a man, He bids him come and die.”
Tertullian
“The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.”
John Foxe
“Truth is immortal and persecution cannot kill it.”
VII. Historical & Modern Statistics (Widely Cited)
Early Church (AD 30–313): Estimated 5–7 million Christians killed under Roman persecution
Middle Ages–Reformation: Millions persecuted for faith convictions
20th Century: More Christians martyred than all previous centuries combined (various historians)
Modern Era:
An estimated 360+ million Christians face high levels of persecution worldwide
~5,000 Christians killed annually for faith (commonly cited by global watchdog organizations)
(Figures vary by methodology but consistently show Christianity as the most persecuted faith globally.)
VIII. God’s Final Justice Upon Persecutors
Great White Throne Judgment
Text: Revelation 20:11–15
“Vengeance is Mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” (Romans 12:19)
“It is a righteous thing with God to repay tribulation to those who trouble you.” (2 Thessalonians 1:6)
“Their destruction will be sudden, and they will not escape.” (1 Thessalonians 5:3)
IX. Word Up
The Bible never minimizes doft or hard persecution—but it maximizes eternal reward for obeying Christ, and maximizes eternal punishment for those who harm and kill others for their faith.
“Our light and momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.” (2 Corinthians 4:17)
The persecuted saints are not forgotten, not overlooked, and not defeated. I pray there is repentance and that these cruel sinners would be saved.. or removed from their hideous behavior.
They will be fully vindicated—if not for a while, then certainly forever.
PART I — HISTORICAL MARTYR STORIES
(Post–New Testament / Church History)
1. Polycarp of Smyrna (AD 155)
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Disciple of the Apostle John
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Arrested for refusing to deny Christ
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When told to curse Christ and live, he replied:
“Eighty and six years have I served Him, and He has done me no wrong. How then can I blaspheme my King who saved me?”
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Burned alive; witnesses testified the fire would not consume him easily
* Revelation 2:10 — “Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.”
2. Perpetua and Felicity (AD 203)
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Young mother (Perpetua) and pregnant slave (Felicity)
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Refused to renounce Christ despite family pressure
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Executed in the Roman arena
Perpetua wrote before her death:
“I cannot be called anything other than what I am—a Christian.”
* Matthew 10:37–39
3. Blandina of Lyons (AD 177)
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Weak, enslaved woman
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Tortured repeatedly; never recanted
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Repeated words:
“I am a Christian, and nothing evil is done among us.”
* 2 Corinthians 12:9
4. Jan Hus (1415)
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Czech reformer burned at the stake
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Preached Scripture over church corruption
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Last words:
“What I taught with my lips, I seal with my blood.”
* John 15:20
5. William Tyndale (1536)
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Translated Bible into English
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Executed for giving Scripture to common people
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Final prayer:
“Lord, open the King of England’s eyes.”
* Isaiah 55:11
6. Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1945)
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Executed by Nazis for opposing Hitler
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Wrote shortly before death:
“This is the end—for me the beginning of life.”
* Philippians 1:21
7. Modern Martyrs (20th–21st Century)
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Missionaries, pastors, unnamed believers
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Often killed quietly, without headlines
* Hebrews 13:3 — “Remember the prisoners, as though in prison with them…”
PART II — SERMON MANUSCRIPT
Title: Faithful When It Costs Everything
INTRODUCTION
Text: 2 Timothy 3:12
“Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.”
Persecution is not an interruption of the Christian life—it is part of the curriculum. The Bible never promises safety; it promises presence, purpose, and reward.
I. THE REALITY OF UNJUST SUFFERING
Text: 1 Peter 2:19–21
“For this is commendable, if because of conscience toward God one endures grief, suffering wrongfully.”
There is:
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Hard persecution — prison, violence, martyrdom
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Soft persecution — rejection, silencing, family hostility, exclusion
Jesus suffered both.
* Isaiah 53:3
II. WHY THE WORLD HATES FAITHFUL BELIEVERS
Text: John 15:18–19
The world doesn’t hate Christians because they are rude—but because they belong to another kingdom.
* John 3:19–20
III. GOD SEES, GOD RECORDS, GOD WILL REPAY
Text: 2 Thessalonians 1:6–7
“It is a righteous thing with God to repay tribulation to those who trouble you.”
No suffering believer is overlooked. No persecutor escapes justice.
* Revelation 20:11–15
IV. THE COMFORT AND HONOR OF SUFFERING FOR CHRIST
Text: Matthew 5:10–12
Jesus calls persecuted believers blessed, not pitied.
* Romans 8:18
V. WHEN FAMILY AND FRIENDS TURN AGAINST YOU
Text: Matthew 10:34–36
Faith may cost:
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Relationships
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Inheritance
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Reputation
But never your soul.
* Psalm 27:10
VI. SONGS BORN OUT OF SUFFERING FAITH
(Public-domain hymns / traditional lyrics)
“I Have Decided to Follow Jesus”
Written from the testimony of Indian believers who lost family and life for Christ:
“I have decided to follow Jesus
No turning back, no turning back
Though none go with me, still I will follow
No turning back, no turning back”
* Luke 9:23
“It Is Well With My Soul” — Horatio Spafford
Written after losing his children at sea:
“When peace like a river attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll…”
* Habakkuk 3:17–18
VII. THE PROMISE THAT SUSTAINS THE PERSECUTED
Text: Revelation 2:10
“Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.”
* James 1:12
Have You Been Shamed When You Didn't Do Wrong?
Text: Hebrews 12:11
The world may shame you.
Family may misunderstand you.
Authorities may silence you.
But heaven records your faithfulness, and Christ Himself will one day say:
* Matthew 25:21 — “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
Be Not Weak, Seek The Lord and Grow Spiritually Strong on Purpose
The persecuted Church is not weak.
It is refined.
It is victorious.
It is eternally secure.
Do they spit on you, but don't want you to know it was them?
Here are the kinds of pressures believers increasingly feel today, subtle compared to the ancient world yet real all the same. Some experience social mockery and ridicule, laughed at or treated as intellectual throwbacks simply for holding Christian convictions. Others face verbal assault and discrimination, insults online, professional marginalization, or quiet penalties in classrooms and workplaces where faith is tolerated only if it remains silent. There is also a broader cultural hostility, a sense that our age has become allergic to truth itself, especially when the gospel is spoken plainly. Few claims provoke stronger resistance than this one: that Jesus Christ alone is the way to God. That confession still unsettles people.
History reminds us that such resistance is not new. From A.D. 100 to A.D. 314, the church endured what historians call the Martyr Period. During those two centuries, countless Christian men and women, and even children, sealed their witness with their blood. Secular historians record ten major waves of persecution, deliberate attempts to erase Christianity from the earth, beginning with Nero and ending under Diocletian. Believers were thrown to wild animals, dragged into Roman arenas for public amusement, tortured, dismembered, and burned alive.
Yet the astonishing truth is this. The church did not shrink under persecution. It grew. Tertullian famously observed, “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.” Pressure did not extinguish faith. It refined it. Persecution has a way of separating appearance from reality, the merely religious from the genuinely converted. When faith costs little, it is easy to profess. When it costs much, only what is real remains.
Scripture prepares us for this. Paul wrote, “Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution” (2 Timothy 3:12). That promise is as reliable as any other in the New Testament. If God allows opposition in your life, He also supplies the grace to endure it. As C.S. Lewis once noted, “Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny.”
One of the clearest illustrations of this truth is found in the life and death of Polycarp, the faithful pastor of Smyrna and a towering figure in early Christianity. He was martyred on February 23, A.D. 155. On the day of his arrest, public games were underway, and the crowds were already inflamed. Someone shouted, “Let Polycarp be searched for.”
The night before, Polycarp dreamed that the pillow beneath his head was on fire. He awoke and calmly told those around him, “I must be burned alive.” When the authorities arrived, he did not flee. He asked only for one final hour to pray. Even in chains, his first instinct was communion with God.
As he entered the Roman arena, Polycarp sensed the Lord strengthening his heart with these words: “Be strong, Polycarp, and play the man.” The proconsul offered him a choice. Curse Christ and offer incense to Caesar, or die. Polycarp’s response has echoed through the centuries: “Eighty-six years I have served the Lord. He has done me no wrong. How can I blaspheme my King who has saved me?”
When threatened with burning, Polycarp replied with sober clarity: “You threaten me with the fire that burns for a time and is quickly quenched, but you do not know the fire that awaits the wicked and the judgment to come into everlasting punishment. Why are you waiting? Come and do what you will.”
The crowd erupted. Wood and kindling were piled high. As the flames rose, the fire would not consume him. Witnesses recorded that it curled around his body like a sail filled with wind, while Polycarp sang praises to God. Only when he was pierced with spears did his life finally end. His courage did not silence the gospel. It magnified it.
In light of such testimony, our own complaints deserve honest reflection. We sometimes lament how difficult it is to be a Christian in a hostile culture. Perhaps we should pause and measure our trials against Polycarp’s. Doing so recalibrates our understanding of what persecution truly is.
Jesus Himself told us to expect this. “A servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you” (John 15:20). To follow Christ is to walk the same road He walked, though usually at far less cost than He paid.
Persecution, however mild or severe, accomplishes two vital things. First, it reminds us who we are. Jesus said, “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in Heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matthew 5:11–12). Opposition is not evidence of abandonment. It is often confirmation of belonging.
Second, persecution loosens our grip on this world and tightens our hold on Christ. It reminds us, as Hebrews says, that “here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come” (Hebrews 13:14). Many believers sense that hostility toward biblical Christianity will intensify as we draw nearer to the Lord’s return. That should not surprise us. It should steady us.
We live in an age where nearly every belief is permitted except one. You may believe anything, so long as you do not proclaim the gospel as exclusive and true. The problem is not spirituality. The problem is Jesus. As soon as someone says, “Jesus Christ is the only way to the Father,” resistance flares.
Yet a Bible-believing Christian cannot say less. Our Lord Himself declared, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). If we truly believe that, and if we speak it with both conviction and love, some degree of persecution will follow.
But history and Scripture agree on this point. What costs us something often strengthens us most. Faith refined by fire shines more clearly, endures more deeply, and points more brightly to the King who was crucified, risen, and will one day return.
