Perseguição
Jesus advertiu que seus seguidores seriam perseguidos pelo mundo. Mas a perseguição não é sinal de fracasso — é sinal de fidelidade. Bem-aventurados os que sofrem por causa da justiça.
Perseguição como marca do discípulo
Jesus disse: se o mundo vos odeia, sabei que antes de vós odiou a mim. Todo o que quer viver piedosamente será perseguido.
18 »If the world hates you, you know that it has hated me before it hated you.
12 Yes, and all who would live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.
10 »Blessed are they who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
11 »Blessed are you when men revile you, and persecute you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake.
22 »Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they separate you from their company, and reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of mans sake.
Recompensa na perseguição
Os perseguidos por causa de Cristo receberão grande galardão no céu. Quem perde por amor ao evangelho receberá cem vezes mais.
29 Jesus said: »Truly I tell you, a man that has left house, or brothers, or sisters, or mother, or father, or children, or lands, for my sake, and for the sake of the good news,30 will receive a hundred times as much now in this time, and in the age to come everlasting life.
35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then I am strong.
Amor e confiança em meio à adversidade
A Bíblia nos ensina a amar nossos perseguidores, abençoar os que nos maldizem e confiar que nossos tempos estão nas mãos de Deus.
44 »I say love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!
14 Bless those who persecute you. Bless and do not curse.
15 My future is in your hands. Rescue me from my enemies, from those who persecute me.
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for you are with me. Your rod and your staff they comfort me.
8 Be sober, be watchful: your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion walks about, seeking whom he may devour consume.
7 »I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me: Saul, Saul! Why do you persecute me?