/christ/ - Christian Discussion and Fellowship

“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me” (Matthew 5:11).

Clearly, the biblical evidence points to the fact that those who are persecuted and suffer for their witness to Christ (up to and including death) are pleasing in God’s sight. Given that, two additional questions arise. First, what if I’m not asked to make the ultimate sacrifice for the cause of Christ? God doesn’t call everyone to make the ultimate sacrifice, but the Bible calls all Christians to be prepared to give a defense of the hope within us (1 Peter 3:15). The key to this passage lies in preparedness. Consider this analogy: those enlisting in the armed services should do so with the understanding that they may be called into battle and may be called upon to die in the service of their country. This is (or should be) the mindset of everyone who joins the military. Clearly, not all enlisted men and women die in the service of their country, and not all are even called into battle. Despite this, they are trained daily to be prepared for battle. The same goes for the Christian. We are in a state of “warfare” (Ephesians 6:12-20), and our Lord may call upon any of us to witness and even be martyred for our faith. Thus, we must be prepared!

The second question that can be asked is, given martyrdom’s “special” status in God’s eyes, should we actually seek martyrdom? Biblically, we can’t make a case for seeking to be martyrs for the cause of Christ. Martyrdom is a great privilege if it is inevitable, but it is not to be sought. Jesus said, “When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next” (Matthew 10:23). Furthermore, reading through the book of Acts, we see that the early church continually fled from intense persecution (Acts 8:1; 9:25, 30; 14:6; 17:10, 14). In each of these biblical examples, we see the early Christians fleeing persecution and taking all necessary precautions for survival. When Jesus says, “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (Matthew 10:39), He is not calling for people to make an attempt to lose their lives. Rather, He is calling us to be willing to lose our lives for His sake. Those who actively seek the path of martyrdom are not seeking it for the glory of God, but for their own glory. As the old saying goes, the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church. God’s purpose in martyrdom is the glorification of His name and the building up of His church.

15 If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. 16 However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name

those who seek martyrdom mostly do it for the fame and pride.

>>5583

>Hypothetical scenario: You are going to die, there's no way around it. What could be a scenario or course of action that could lead you to having a "righteous death" for your faith, or even become a Martyr?

If I have dilligently worked all of my life and did the best I could I do think it suffices.

There does not need to be a death that justifies my faulty life, I'm so far not called to martyrdom and I'm rather happy about it.

I just want to die knowing that my family is well.

> What could be a scenario or course of action that could lead you to having a "righteous death" for your faith, or even become a Martyr?

If there is one option, and this option is denying God, and there is another one, and that one is death, and you chose the latter, this will be a righteous death for faith.

>As a related scenario, what would it take for aggressive actions on your part towards another individual or several to be considered righteous? Is this even possible?

Yes, for example the Crusades or the wars in course of the counter reformation.

>>5595

>reformation was a good thing

"no"

>>5607

I think you misunderstood me here.

>>5608

If I got it your meant

>doing war against those who do war against the reformation is good.

Which is defending the reformation, which means supporting the reformation.

>>5610

No.

I meant that the imperial wars that tried to surpress the reformation were perfectly fine and that all civil wars caused by the counter reformation were necessary.

>>5589

I think this is a pretty solid post, but I have one question. How could I differentiate between a situation outside of my control where Martyrdom would be acceptable and one where I'm just doing ti for personal gain? I mean, If I'm just supposed to run away, does that mean I ought to do that until I'm cornered and then get killed, without fighting back?

>those who seek martyrdom mostly do it for the fame and pride.

I worry about this all the time. I would love to be a martyr because it seems so… meaningful. It makes me worry that toiling away in monotony, fluctuating between sin and repentance and sin once more, is me not doing "all I can do". I worry there's a lot more work out there that I have the potential to do and am just shirking, and that in this work I may or may not have to be Martyred.

TL;DR Maybe if I died meaningfully I could finally feel like God actually loves me.

>>5595

>course of the counter reformation.

What of religious orders that rose up in this period like the Jesuits? Are they ok?

Also, whenever I think of this period I can't help but think of these orders and the things they did in South America. Real mixed bag there, sometimes they built schools and helped convert the natives, sometimes they burnt down towns and chopped off the Indian's hands.

Still don't know what to make of the whole affair.

>>5615

>TL;DR Maybe if I died meaningfully I could finally feel like God actually loves me.

That's really sad. God loves those that are not martyrs too.

>What of religious orders that rose up in this period like the Jesuits? Are they ok?

Sure, why shouldn't they be?

I'm no fan of the modern Jesuits though, but they are valid

>Also, whenever I think of this period I can't help but think of these orders and the things they did in South America. Real mixed bag there, sometimes they built schools and helped convert the natives, sometimes they burnt down towns and chopped off the Indian's hands.

Yes, there are good people and bad people.

We also tend to forget that indians were savages back then and that a lot of the conquistadores evil was just revenge, not that this would justify it.

>>5615

15 If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. 16 However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name

you shouldnt to feel that way, it looks selfish. The only allowed martydom in my eyes is when youre confronted by you faith, not like "lets go to this extremely violent scenario so a bullet will catch us and kill us"