"For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to
believe on Him, but also to suffer for His sake; Having the same conflict which
ye saw in me, and now hear to be in me.” (Philippians 1:29-30)
The way of salvation has always been a matter of faith. “For
by grace are you saved through faith...” (Ephesians 2:8) and, “Believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.” (Acts 16:31) And
there are many, many more verses. But from the beginning there has always been
opposition. The first Christian Martyr was Stephen, one of the seven spoken of
in Acts 6 and 7, chosen to assist the widows. His martyrdom arose from the
ranks of the religious people, the Jews. The Bible tells us there will always be
opposition, persecution and suffering. “…all that will live Godly in
Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” (II Timothy 3:12)
Believing on Jesus for salvation, strength, comfort and fellowship
is the easy part. Suffering for what we believe is the hard part. When we start
telling others the good news of the Savior and insisting He is the only way to
heaven we can expect opposition and persecution. Paul tells his readers that
the conflict they saw in him when he was with them is what they are hearing about
him now.
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