Grace Fellowship Church Pastor/Teacher Jim Rickard Tuesday, November 2,

Doxology Praise God, from whom all blessings flow; Praise Him, all creatures here below; Praise Him above, ye heavenly host; Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.— Amen.

Memory Verse Phil 2:5, “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus.”

John 15:18-21 Obstructions to Divine Good Production: Reason #1: Satan’s Cosmic System hates the believer! Reason #2: We are not of this world-Election out from the World! Reason #3: “The servant is not greater than his Lord,” therefore we too will have persecutions! Reason #4: “The Cosmos does not know God and is ignorant to His Plan.” John 15:18-21 Obstructions to Divine Good Production: Reason #1: Satan’s Cosmic System hates the believer! Reason #2: We are not of this world-Election out from the World! Reason #3: “The servant is not greater than his Lord,” therefore we too will have persecutions! Reason #4: “The Cosmos does not know God and is ignorant to His Plan.”

Doctrine of Persecutions Paul warned of persecution with encouragement. 1 Cor 4:12-13; 2 Cor 4:7- 10; Gal 4:29; 2 Tim. 3:12

VII. Various Forms of Persecution in the Early Church.

A. Persecutions would take different forms from false accusation to the infliction of death, and beyond.

B. The early Church was primarily persecuted by the established religion of Jewish Sadducees and Pharisees. Acts 4:1-3; 5:17-18

C. As Christianity expanded various heathens also persecuted those who witnessed for Christ. (Fox’s Book of Martyrs)

D. The methods of persecution included:

1. Men would revile them and would say all kinds of evil against them falsely, for Christ’s sake, Mat 5:11.

2. Contempt and disparagement, Mat 10:25; John 8:48.

John 8:48, “Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?”

Mat 10:25, “If they have called the head of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign the members of his household!”

3. They were forcibly separated from others and expelled from the synagogues, Luke 6:22; John 16:2.

Luke 6:22, “Blessed are you when men hate you, and ostracize you, and insult you, and scorn your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man.”

4. Illegal arrest and plundering of goods, and death itself.

5. In the case of Christ, persecution took the form of:

a. Attempts to entrap Him in His speech, Mat 22:15.

a. Attempts to entrap Him in His speech, Mat 22:15. b. The questioning of His authority, Mark 11:28.

c. Illegal arrest.

c. Illegal arrest. d. Every insult imaginable, false accusations, and a cruel and violent death.

B. All of these methods were foretold and came to pass. The loyal disciple would have to endure them too, Mat 23:34; John 16:2b.

Mat 23:34, “Therefore, behold, I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city.”

John 16:2b, “But an hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering service to God.”

VIII. Persecutions were primarily instigated by the legalistic Jews in the early Church.

A. After our Lord’s resurrection the first attacks against His disciples came from the high priest and his party, the Sadducees….

… because they did not believe in resurrection and the apostles “proclaimed in Jesus the resurrection from the dead”, Acts 4:2; 5:17.

E. Serious persecution of the Church began with Stephen’s stoning death, Acts 7:1-60.

This lawless execution was followed by “a great persecution” directed against the Christians in Jerusalem.

1. This “great persecution”, Acts 8:1, scattered the church who fled in order to avoid bonds and imprisonment and death.

2. Saul (who later became Paul) established himself amongst the Pharisees and Sadducees by persecuting “this Way to the death…” Acts 22:4

C. The Apostle James was slain with the sword by Herod Agrippa, Acts 12:2.

C. The Apostle James was slain with the sword by Herod Agrippa, Acts 12:2. Peter was imprisoned, and delivered by an angel, Acts 12:7-11.

Grace Fellowship Church Tuesday, November 2, 2010 Tape # Obstructions to Divine Good Production, Part 15 Persecution, Part 6 Upper Room Discourse, Part 434 John 15:21; Acts 7:1-60; 8:1-5, 22:4 Grace Fellowship Church Tuesday, November 2, 2010 Tape # Obstructions to Divine Good Production, Part 15 Persecution, Part 6 Upper Room Discourse, Part 434 John 15:21; Acts 7:1-60; 8:1-5, 22:4 James H. Rickard Bible Ministries 2010