Blessed Are Those Blessed Saint Who Are Persecuted.

Matthew 5:10 "Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

Blessed are they who are persecuted; not for any reason but for “righteousness' sake”. Sometimes Christians are persecuted for unrighteous sake; just because a Christian suffers persecution does not mean that it is righteous persecution. God warned us Christians that the world sets traps for us, “The wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth.” Psalms 37:12 I do not believe this is littoral but rather a metaphor to show an expression of their malice and hatred toward the Christian. But we cannot over look the expression to be something taken from hell itself. Matthew 13:42 “And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.” This expression shows a couple of thing (a.) the intensity that the lost will persecute the Christian and (b.) how close the lost are to hell and Satan. Let us not for get God shows this closeness in John 8:44 “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.” With this being said we as Christians must make ourselves aware that the world has a great desire to harm us and with the intensity that they will use to harm us. But the Christian must also make themselves aware that God promised that we will suffer persecution in this life. 2 Timothy 3:12 “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” Now a deeper look at this verse shows us that persecution is immanent for any Christian that does the righteousness of God. Any Christian walking with the Lord in TRUTH will be persecuted; maybe not with death but at the very least you will be hated and despised for the truth you believe and the walk that you walk. However God did warn us through the Apostle Paul “For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake;” Philippians 1:29 and here in Matthew God tells us that because of this persecution we are blessed and not only blessed but also made us this promise; “…for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

When God says “…for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." He does not mean that this suffering persecution will get us into heaven but the reward of our persecution will be in heaven. Christians do not suffer persecution just to suffer as a Christian but that God had or has a purpose for the suffering; just as He did with His faithful servant Job, Job did not suffer because he had done something ill toward God but rather because he was such a glorious servant to God that God knew that if he were persecuted he would never curse God. But the glorious thing for Job is (while he may not have understood what God was doing) that he was well rewarded for his suffering both here on earth and in the world to come, and so shall we be also. God never forget His faithful servants and the sacrifices they make on His behalf. While He has promised them He has also promised to reward us for them “…for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." With this all being said I will conclude with this passage of scripture; 2 Thessalonians 1:4 - 7 "So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure: (5.) Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer: (6.) Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you; (7.) And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,"