Submitted by Stephen Sequeira(United States), Jun 8, 2004 at 19:56
"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil 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."
Those are the words of Jesus, from the Gospel of Matthew.
And again, from the Epistle of 1 Peter:
"If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name."
Dr. Pipes, true Christians will never deny Christ to save their skin. For "whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?" (from the Gospel of Mark)
It cannot be any clearer than that. What you are asking Christians to do is impossible. The early Roman martyrs could have easily saved their skins by proclaiming allegiance to Caesar. Modern Arab Christians could do the same by reciting a verse from the Koran or pretending to be Muslim. But "no one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other." (from The Gospel of Matthew)
Christians profess Jesus Christ as Lord, in every circumstance. If it leads to death, so be it. But you should expect nothing less from disciples of He who was "led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth." (from the Prophet Isaiah)
Jesus did not deny us at the critical moment, and neither will we deny him.
Sincerely,
Stephen Sequeira
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