October 31, 2020
We Must Not
By Todd James Smith (of Selah) and Ed Cash
We must not keep the gospel from anyone.
Tomorrow, Christians around the world will be dedicating special time to pray for their fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. The first Sunday of November is recognized by Christians as the International Day of Prayer for Persecuted Christians (IDOP). Fittingly, this Sunday also happens to be November 1st, which according to the liturgical calendar is All Saints’ Day.
Today’s Selah Saturday song, “We Must Not,” was inspired by the documentary, The Insanity of God. This documentary (originally a book) relays the account of Nik Ripken and his wife, their lives as missionaries in Somalia, and what they learned about suffering for the cause of Christ. The movie also tells the stories of others who have been persecuted for their faith in Jesus. I haven’t read the book, but I highly recommend the movie.
One of Jesus’ greatest commandments was to, “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20). This can be especially challenging in parts of the world where the persecution of Christians is rampant and violent.
Christians have always been and will always be persecuted for their beliefs. There is a cost to being a follower of Jesus Christ. Jesus even said so himself (John 15:18-27, just one of many examples).
I wrote down a lot of great quotes from The Insanity of God documentary, but one of my favorites is, “Don’t you ever believe that there is a ‘free’ Church and a ‘suffering’ Church. There is just THE Church.” I feel like sometimes here in America we forget that we have brothers and sisters across the world who are suffering because they are Christians. However, they have a great spiritual freedom that equips them to share the gospel. And in America, we may have religious freedoms, but we too can be persecuted for our faith and suffer at the hands of non-believers.
No matter where we are geographically, the Body of Christ shares the same freedom, and shares in suffering. We are given ultimate freedom in Christ alone. The Insanity of God addresses this God-given freedom:
“You are free to share the gospel where you are. The freedom you have to do so is not affiliated with politics…Politics, countries, presidents have nothing to do with this. God has said, ‘You are free, and you are to share the gospel with everyone…When we are obedient and exercise our freedom then do we have the courage to suffer the consequences.”
There are so many out there who have such a passion for Jesus and want others to know him so badly that they are literally putting their lives on the line so that others may know the good news and be saved. If these Christians have the courage to share the gospel in the most dangerous parts of the world where there is no religious freedom, then we most certainly can share the gospel with our family, friends, and neighbors.
The Insanity of God presents us with this question: “Do I want to identify with believers in persecution? Or do I want to identify with their persecutors?” How does one determine with whom they identify? “By whether or not today you share Jesus with someone else, or you keep him to yourself.”
Oof! Did that pierce anyone else’s heart or just mine?
The stories we hear about persecuted Christians and Christian martyrs should inspire us to be bold in living out our faith. We all have an important job to do and must tell others about Jesus and his plan for salvation.
And so tomorrow for IDOP and All Saint’s Day, and every day for that matter, let us set aside some time to pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ. Pray for the strength and courage to stand up for Jesus even when it is hard, especially in the face of death. Remember that “for every resurrection, there’s a crucifixion” (The Insanity of God).
I pray that this encourages you to share the good news with everyone you encounter. After all, “we must not keep the gospel from anyone.”
Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated,
since you also are in the body.
Hebrews 13:3
