In giving instructions to his disciples as they set out on a limited mission to Israel (Matt 10:16), Christ tells them that he is sending them out as sheep among the wolves, so they needed to be shrewd and not be seen as a threat. They were to remain innocent but not be foolish. While the instructions were meant for this limited mission, it makes good sense in our approach to the world. There is no need to rush out, foolishly crashing headlong into the opposition. That would be reckless. Why purposefully provoke those who are hostile when the point of the mission is to win those who are hostile to Christ? The message may invite and incite hostility but our behavior should not provoke them.
We do not seek difficulty or trouble but we are foolish to believe that we will not face it. As hard as it is for many, the point may come when civil disobedience is required of us. Sometimes it requires us to request due process of the law and fairness in interpreting the law. In the story of Rev. Christo Kulichev (found in Holcomb, Imprisoned for Christ), the pastor (Kulichev) makes a good point during his interrogation. He mentions that he was being interrogated for preaching but that in reality the Committee (the Communist Party) had not officially taken this right away from him nor had any accusations been written or issued against him. So, he argued, he was being arrested illegally. In doing this, he was clarifying the issue so that the interrogator would recognize that he (the interrogator) was in an illegal position. While it may not matter in the ultimate outcome of the trial, at least the Christian does not appear to be weak or passive. Reasoning with those who are perpetuating injustice allows the Holy Spirit to work in their hearts.
Sometimes careful reasoning and civil dialogue with our accusers is not an option. James Howell, in his book Servants, Misfits, and Martyrs, tells the story of Paul Schneider, who was a pastor in the Rhineland during Hitler’s time in power. While preaching a funeral for a youth who was a part of Hitler Youth and who died in a tragic accident, a leader of the Nazi youth organization exclaimed that the youth was now one of Horst Wessel’s heavenly storm troopers. Schneider responded by saying that there are no storm troopers in heaven. For three years he continued to speak in Christ’s name. Finally, the Gestapo arrested him and sent him to prison camp where each morning they tried to force him to salute the swastika and pledge allegiance to Hitler. He was tortured and cast into solitary confinement, where he preached as loudly as he could from his cell. The SS officers would beat him senseless each time. Finally, he was given a Strophanthin injection which abruptly ended his preaching and his life.
He chose the only righteous path open to him. He did the right thing and died for it.
Roy Stults, PhD, is the Online Workshop Coordinator and Educational Services Coordinator for The Voice of the Martyrs. He graduated from Olivet Nazarene University (BA and MA), Nazarene Theological Seminary (M.Div.), Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (Doctor of Missiology), and The University of Manchester (England) with a PhD (theology). A Vietnam veteran, Dr. Stults served as a missionary for 19 years and pastored U.S. churches for eight years. Prior to joining VOM, he was a Professor of Religion at Oklahoma Wesleyan University.
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