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.
Jesus taught them that those who were opposed to God would hate them, too.
"The people who are opposed to God will hate you. When that happens, remember that they hated me first.
◄Indeed/You know that►, for us (inc) who want to live ◄in a godly manner/in a manner that pleases God►, we will always be persecuted {there will always be people who will cause us to suffer} because we have a close relationship with Christ Jesus.
God is pleased with people to whom evil things are done {to whom other people do evil things} because they conducted themselves righteously;
he will allow them to be where he rules over people.
God is pleased with you when other people insult you, when other people do evil things to you and when other people say falsely that you are evil because you believe in me.
God is pleased with you when other people hate you, when they will not let you join them, when they insult you, when they say that you are evil because you believe in me, the one who came from heaven.
Recompensa na perseguição
Os perseguidos por causa de Cristo receberão grande galardão no céu. Quem perde por amor ao evangelho receberá cem vezes mais.
Jesus replied, "I want you to know this: Those who have left their houses, their brothers, their sisters, their father, their mother, their children, or their plots of ground, to be my disciples and to proclaim the good news, will receive in this life 100 times as much as they left behind. That will include houses and people as dear as brothers and sisters and mothers and children, and plots of ground. Furthermore, although people will persecute them here on earth because they believe in me, in the future age they will ◄have eternal life/live with God eternally►.
Absolutely no one and nothing can cause Christ to stop loving us! [RHQ] That could not [RHQ] happen because someone caused us to have trouble [DOU], or because someone did things to harm us, or because we did not have anything to eat, or because we did not have enough clothes, or because we lived in a dangerous situation, or because someone killed us with a sword [MTY] (OR, murdered us).
For that reason, whenever I am weak, or when people insult me, or when I have to endure hardships, or when I am persecuted {people cause me to suffer}, or when I am in situations that distress me, I am content because I am serving Christ. I can say that because at any time when I myself am weak, that is the very time when Christ powerfully helps me.
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.
But now listen to what I say to you: Love your enemies as well as your friends, and pray for those who cause you to suffer.
Ask God to be kind to those who ◄persecute you/cause you to suffer► because you believe in Jesus! Ask him to be kind to them; do not ask him to cause bad things to happen to them.
My whole life [MTY] is in your hands;
save me from my enemies,
from those who pursue me.
Even when I am walking through very dangerous dark ravines
where I might be killed,
I will not be afraid of anything
because you are with me.
You protect me like a shepherd protects his sheep.
He uses his club and his walking stick to protect them from being attacked by wild animals.
Resist the devil by always being alert and trusting in Christ’s message, remembering that believers everywhere are also suffering as you are.
Always be fully alert, because the devil, who is your enemy, is going/sneaking around, looking for people to destroy. He is like [SIM] a lion who roars as it prowls around, seeking someone to kill and devour.
The light was so bright that I fell to the ground. Then I heard the voice of someone speaking to me from up in the sky. The one who was speaking to me said, ‘Saul! Saul! Why do you (sg) do things to harm me?’