Freedom is Good News Part 179

Many of us reading this article would perhaps call ourselves ‘Christians’.  And if we are truly following our Savior Jesus Christ, we would be correct in calling ourselves this. 

It is in the book of Acts that we first find the term ‘Christian’.  In chapter 11 verse 25-26 we read this, “Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul (aka Paul), and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch.  So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people.  The disciples were called Christians first in Antioch”.  As an historical note, Antioch is in, what we know of today as, Syria.  It is about 350 miles north of Jerusalem and was considered to be Paul’s home base.  He either began or ended all of his missionary journeys there.  Antioch was the third leading city in the Roman Empire - just behind Rome and Alexandria.

Being called a Christian in this hugely pagan city of Antioch was not necessarily a compliment.  Most commentators believe this designation to be a derogatory term.  In some areas of the Roman Empire the disciples were called ‘the followers of the Way’ or simply ‘a sect of the Jews’.

And so today, being called a Christian is more and more becoming a thing that brings persecution in many parts of the world.  Even here in the USA the term Christian is being looked down on and if we are honest, we can see the seeds of persecution being planted. 

So, are you calling yourself a Christian?  How deep is your conviction?  In John 15:20 Jesus says, “Remember the words I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master’.  If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also …. They will treat you this way because of my name.”  In Matthew 10:22 we read, “All men will hate you because of me.” 

“Whoa Bill, I thought this article was about good news!!!”  And it is, so let’s read on concerning some of these passages.  In Luke 6:22 Jesus says, “Blessed are you when men hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man.  Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven.”

The disciples remembered these words of their Master when in the book of Acts chapter 5, we read that they were thrown in prison and flogged for the name of Jesus Christ.  “The Apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.  Day after day in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ.” (Acts 5:41-42)3

But you and I must be careful because in Matthew 15:7 we read these words of Jesus, “You hypocrites!  Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:  ‘These people honor me with their lips but their hearts are far from me.  They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men’.”  We’ll talk more on this next time.