The Beatitudes: How to Trust God When Persecuted for Righteousness’ Sake

This article is based on Pastor Adrian Rogers' message, Preparing for Persecution.

The Beatitudes that Christ taught in His Sermon on the Mount are, simply put, attitudes that ought to be the character of a Christian. The Beatitudes are a picture of what a Christian is really like.

Let’s consider the last in the list. Christ states it in the same form as the foregoing Beatitudes—“Blessed are those who...”—and then He states it all over again a little more pointedly.

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake (Matthew 5:10-11, Emphasis Added).

For Righteousness’ Sake

One of the marks of the Church is persecution of the saints of God. The whipping boy of history is the Bible-believing Christian. Here is what Christ was preparing us for:

There is no way to be a genuine Christian and escape persecution. “Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution” (2 Timothy 3:12).

Now, if you rub shoulders with this world and compromise and go along with the world’s terms, you can go along very well and not receive any persecution.

So you need to prepare your children to be strong against this. You need to prepare them to live in a world that is hostile to Bible-believing Christians, but which is under the lordship of Christ.

Jesus continues:

Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you (Matthew 5:12).

Is it not incredible that God would put joy and persecution in the same passage? Persecution is the thermometer that registers how much you love Jesus.

Understanding Persecution

Persecution does not necessarily mean people will throw you in a dungeon. They might not tie you to a post and whip you, or come in with a machine gun and kill your children. It may indeed mean that. All of that may happen.

But there is more to persecution. The word persecution literally means “to pursue.” They will follow after you in many ways—you will become the butt of jokes, you'll be ostracized, you will be passed by for promotions if you live in a godly manner.

Why are Christians persecuted?

The word righteousness comes from a Greek word which means “to divide.” So why are the righteous persecuted? Because in a very real sense, they are divisive. They are different. Christians ought to stand out like diamonds in a coal mine.

Case in point, consider the entire list of the Beatitudes in the Sermon on the Mount.

Matthew 5:3-10

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

How different these are from the world’s ideas! The Kingdom of Heaven and God’s people are simply different.

So Christ gives us a guarantee: if you take the first seven Beatitudes and live that way, then number eight is guaranteed. You will be persecuted.

The children of God are children of light, and those in the world are children of darkness. We are alive in the Holy Spirit. They are dead in sin. We live by faith; they walk by sight. We understand them, but they do not understand us.

Later in His Sermon on the Mount, after He talked about being persecuted, Jesus said that Christians are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. Salt irritates when it is poured into a wound, and light reveals what is in darkness. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is an irritant to the putrefying wounds of this world and it reveals things that are done in the darkness. Therefore the world wants to say, “Get rid of that salt, and put out that light.”

The World Hates Our Lord

Now, the world does not hate the baby Jesus. Christmas will come again, and the giddy crowd will dance around the manger, and the merchants will make millions. Neither does the world hate Jesus who healed the sick and fed the multitudes.

But…

He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8).

And that, dear friend, is why the world hates Jesus.

Jesus said to His disciples,

If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also (John 15:18-20).

In following Jesus, we can expect to be persecuted for the sake of righteousness just as our Master was.

Is It Persecution…or Punishment?

We are blessed when we are persecuted for righteousness’ sake. But we must be very careful that it is persecution, and not punishment. Too many people think they are being “persecuted” when they are simply receiving punishment that they ought to receive.

Here is how you can tell which you are experiencing:

We are punished by good people when we do evil.

We are persecuted by evil people when we do good.

Peter gives this sober warning.

If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people’s matters. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter (1 Peter 4:14-16).

If you are a busybody with arrogance and ego and everything else, do not say, “Oh, people don't like me. I'm being persecuted.” Nope—you are receiving the consequences of your behavior. So do not go around saying, “I’m persecuted!” if you are not living for the Lord Jesus Christ.

Remember Matthew 5:11—“Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.” (Emphasis added.)

For it to be true persecution, 1) what they are saying against you must be false, and 2) it must be for Christ’s name’s sake.

How are you going to respond?

Responding to Persecution for Righteousness’ Sake

Respond Like a Citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven

Remember what Christ said: “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:10; emphasis added).

When you are facing persecution, never come down to the persecutors’ level. You are a part of a kingdom and you need to live like it. You are one of God’s people, a child of the King. Learn to act like it.

Now what does that mean? Keep reading in the Sermon on the Mount, and Jesus answers.

Return Good for Evil

Living like a citizen of the kingdom of Heaven looks like this:

Matthew 5:43-45

You have heard that it was said, “You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.” But I [Jesus] say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust (Matthew 5:43-45; Emphasis and word in brackets added).

Respond By Rejoicing in the Lord

If you were arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?

Jesus said that when you are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, “Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven” (Matthew 5:12a).

The original word here for rejoice literally means to leap, to dance. You are so happy, you cannot keep your feet on the ground. Why? Because you have been persecuted.

You say, “That doesn't make sense.”

Oh, but Christian, when you realize that they can finally see the difference in you, when you realize that they have discovered you are a Christian, you should be exceedingly glad because they have identified you with the Lord. That ought to be a time of great joy.

Acts 5:40b-41

…When they had called for the apostles and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. So they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name (Acts 5:40b-41).

Respond in Love

It is so much easier to respond in love if you have rejoiced in the Lord.

Love is not giving people what they deserve, but what they need.

Before Saul became the Apostle Paul, he hated Christians. One of the first Christian deacons was named Stephen. He stood up for the Lord Jesus Christ before the council, and they sentenced him to execution. Saul stood by while they stoned Stephen, looking on with approval.

Imagine the scene: as the stones are falling on Stephen, he's crumpling to the earth, and he begins to pray. “Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, ‘Lord, do not charge them with this sin’” (Acts 7:60a).

Saul never forgot it.

Later, when Saul was saved, Jesus said to him, “It is hard for you to kick against the goads” (Acts 9:5b). That is, it is hard for you to rebel against what is in your heart because you saw the love of God in a man who was being persecuted for righteousness’ sake—a man who returned good for evil.

You do not know whether the people persecuting you will be saved. God may use your response to convict their hearts. But you will be better for returning good for their evil, even if they are not ultimately saved. This is the will of God.

We are not in this world to please other people. We are here to please Jesus, and this is what He requires of us. God will bless obedience—just as He promised in this last beatitude.

List of Scriptures Referenced in This Article

Matthew 5:3-12,43-45; 2 Timothy 3:12; 1 John 3:8; John 15:18-20; 1 Peter 4:14-16; Acts 5:40-41, 7:60, 9:5

More Bible Verses About Trusting God Through Persecution

If we endure, we shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He also will deny us (2 Timothy 2:12).

Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves….But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you (Matthew 10:16,19-20).

And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).