As I write, the latest report from Iran is that the final order to execute Pastor Yousef Nadarkhani has been handed down. Pastor Yousef has been in prison since October 2009. And the crime for which he will be executed is that he had converted to Christianity, and now refuses to renounce his Christian faith. I will not be surprised that the fact that he is also a pastor of a network of house churches is a significant factor in this case. The international community has been calling for the release of Pastor Yousef. But as of this writing the call has fallen on deaf ears.
I continue to join those who pray that the Lord would intervene in this situation, and spare the life of Pastor Yousef. Yet I am fully aware that the history of the church is filled with accounts of dedicated followers of Christ who remained faithful to the Lord, even in the face of persecution and the threat of death. In fact, an early church theologian named Tertullian once wrote: “the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.” The strength of the church was reinforced by the faithfulness of God’s people.
Chapter 11 of the book of Hebrews is one of the deservedly celebrated passages of the New Testament. It contains something like a roll call of the heroes of the faith—those who endured hardship and suffering for the sake of the Lord, many even dying for their faith. Scripture affirms these faithful ones with these words: “the world was not worthy of them” (Hebrews 11.38) and “God is not ashamed to be called their God” (Hebrews 11.16).
The book of Revelation is written to a church facing a time of severe persecution. Repeatedly, Christ addresses the one “who overcomes” (Revelation 2.7, 11, 17, 26; 3.5, 12, 21), who does not succumb to the pressures to abandon the faith. To them he promises his eternal blessings.
I am reminded of one aged follower of Christ named Polycarp, one of the last disciples who was personally taught by the apostles of Christ. Being pressured under threat of death to renounce Christ and pledge allegiance to the Roman emperor, he responded: “Eighty and six years have I served Christ, nor has He ever done me any harm. How, then, could I blaspheme my King who saved me?” On February 23, 155, this faithful disciple was burned at the stake. It is because of faithful Christians such as this that the church remains strong, and the gospel of Jesus Christ continues to be preached everywhere. To God be the glory!
–Keith Y. Jainga