A Hundred And Fifty Ways To Kill A Christian.

It's unpopular today to talk about martyrs. Few of us are willing to to think about suffering for or heaven forbid, dying for our faith. It's only a few centuries ago that most believers accepted that there was a very strong possibility that their faith could cost them their lives.

To appreciate what our early Christian ancestors gave up in order for us to be able to freely worship the Lord today, modern believers should read a book entitled, “Foxe’s Book of Martyrs.” It reads like a book of horrors....all of them really happened!

The teachings of the early church in first century and for several of the succeeding centuries was, for the most part, vastly different from what the “organized religions” teach and proclaim today!

Just a simple reading of both secular and ancient church history will quickly point these differences out to you. That is if you read about Christians being thrown to savage dogs, crucified or burned alive in Rome to provide sport for the Roman citizens; or if you follow them for three hundred-fifty years through the persecutions of the Roman emperors Nero, Marcus Aurelius, Diocletian, Decius and others until the conversion to
Christianity of the emperor Constantine. Persecution, imprisonment and martyrdom  

If you do this, you may ask yourself, “what did these Christians of the First Century have that enabled them to make such extreme sacrifices as these, and in the end overcome the Roman Empire itself?

Today we are more used to seeing and hearing about martyrs who suicide while trying to convert someone else to their faith, whereas Christians martyrs die for their faith, a vastly different situation!                                                                                       

Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. Matthew 24:9

And the dragon (Satan) was angry at the woman (Israel) and declared war against the rest of her children—all who keep God’s commandments and maintain their testimony for Jesus. Revelation 12:17

Martyrdom and the growth of the early church appears to have gone hand-in-hand; and there are several examples of persecution and martyrdom in the writings of Luke, especially in the Book of Acts.

The Apostle Paul records his own painful treatment at the hands of those who hated Christianity with a passion.... "I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers." 2 Corinthians 11:23-26 NIV 

Thankfully, today, for most of us, persecution and martyrdom are no longer likely to be our lot for following Christ Jesus. Yes there are still many believers being murdered for their faith; some reports place the numbers as high as 100,000 per year. The organization, Open Doors, on their website, state that 11 Christians are killed every day for their decision to follow Christ.  

There are many public records of those who have given their all for their Master; above Westminster Abbey's Great West Door there are ten statues of believers who were martyred during the 20th century. They include Dr Martin Luther King Jr. Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Grand Duchess Elizabeth of Russia

Very few modern martyrs will ever be publicly acknowledged, most are murdered far away from the glare of the media and publicity.  I trust and pray that should I ever have to face death for my belief in my Lord, that I can find the incredible courage that imbued the early saints.