“There is not land beneath the sun where there is an open Bible and a preached Gospel, where a tyrant long can hold his place… Let the Bible be opened to be read by all men, and no tyrant can long rule in peace… The religion of Jesus makes men think, and to make men think is always dangerous to a despot’s power.” — Charles Spurgeon, 1871
Ponder this provocative characterization by the prince of preachers. By their born-again nature, Bible-believing Christians are a dangerous people to the power structures of this world. This is both a Scriptural truth and vividly experiential in fact.
Jesus brought His pure truth into the earthly arena and look at the combustible result. Under the corrupt world system, the Son of God suffered derision, torture, then execution. Soon after, the apostles followed in their Master’s footsteps and, in short succession, paid a similar price as enemies of the iron-fisted authorities.
The blood of untold saints, in fact, has been flowing downstream through the centuries and pools even now at our feet. Both in the past and presently, every land around the globe has been stained with the sufferings of countless disciples who have been persecuted and sometimes killed for spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the divinely-ordained testimony that brings enmity with the world and eternal peace with God.
Little surprise that the perennial appearance of the Christian faith throughout time has been so often decried, condemned, and censored by authoritarian States as “misinformation.” The despot will always have little tolerance for the devoted follower of Christ. Why? Because the true Christian, like His Lord and Savior, speaks the timeless truth that is not bound by the subversive appetites of this world where sin is promoted as the particular mechanism from which the despot derives his oppressive power.
It makes little difference if the tyrant in question is a governmental hack, a legalistic wolf in sheep’s clothing, or your intolerant next-door neighbor. No, the revelation of God as found in the Bible transcends and elevates the truth of God above and against the twisted wisdom of this world, and the world and her many despots do not like it one bit.
The Mettle Of The Dangerous Christian
The Christian who carries the words of God in heart and hand is not dangerous in the typical sense where one’s conduct is negligent or reckless. The danger the Bible-believing Christian poses is in his renewed thinking, which has been spiritually transformed by the truth of God (Romans 12:1). Now imbued with the mind of Christ, this inconvenient Christian has broken free from the devilish snares of this fallen world. Thus, his or her Gospel testimony is now energized by a bold faith that threatens those worldly rulers who have aligned with the “cosmic powers over this present darkness, and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12).
Simply naming the name of Christ is not enough to be dangerous to the world. It is only those Christians whose discipleship is activated and propelled by their “open Bible and a preached Gospel.” The dangerous ones are, above all, those conspicuous witnesses who share God’s truth when the powers-that-be seek to silence them (see The Book of Acts, e.g. Acts 5:28-29; 7:54-60); and secondly, those fearless disciples who stand against evil when the masses around them are complacent or compliant in a culture of sin and ungodliness (see The Book of Daniel; Ephesians 5:11).
And what about those professing believers who limit their Christianity to mere “church” attendance? Don’t worry about their position in the world. They most likely won’t see any persecution from the ruling system as long as they keep their mouths shut outside the walls of their homes or “church” buildings. Historically speaking, almost every godless totalitarian regime in existence has been perfectly happy to allow State-controlled “churches” to quietly exist under the thumb of their tyranny.
Considering the world’s potential for legitimizing cruelty against any perceived threat, can the average person blame these poor, timid Christians for keeping quiet? Being labeled as “dangerous” certainly won’t make this world an easy place in which to live. As John R. Rice once put it, “The world never burned a casual Christian at the stake.”
The Dangerous Christian Will Encounter Persecution
The timid Christian may be safe and sound in the arms of the world, but how does he justify “hiding his light under a basket” (Matthew 5:14-16) when his Lord and Savior, along with the apostles, pronounced many times that the followers of Jesus Christ will surely find persecution in this world?
Jesus left little, if any, room for debating this point. Before His crucifixion and death, He proclaimed the hard truth about the dangerous consequence of faithful discipleship:
“If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but 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.” (John 15:19-20).
Affirming this prophetic truth, the apostle Paul reiterated Christ’s warning: “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived” (2 Tim. 3:12-15).
Such discipleship, therefore, is not for the faint of heart, but is a driving force of conduct for the true believer who follows the teachings of Christ. They are not aggressively looking to pick a fight, since such behavior is grounded in self-righteousness, but they will often find that worldly trouble finds them as they seek to emulate Christ and glorify Him in both word and deed.
Paul’s question of self-examination, therefore, should ever be before us, “Am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ” (Galatians 1:10).
The Vital Mission Of The Dangerous Christian
Perhaps, to some, being “dangerous” seems counter-intuitive to our basic sense of self-preservation or our desire to show unconditional love to others, but we must acknowledge the divine purpose and eternal significance of being a bold witness for Jesus Christ in this oppressive, sin-soaked world full of lost and perishing people.
For starters, the Christian is called to this dangerous task, being indebted to his Lord to do his part to “go into all the world and preach the Gospel to all creation” (Mark 16:15; Matthew 28:18-20).
Though directly charged to the apostles, this commission is the implied duty of all Christians to be, in some sense, missionaries for Christ, and to use their utmost efforts to spread abroad the knowledge of the Gospel. In fact, Paul called all believers “ambassadors for Christ” so that God can “make His appeal through us” to implore others to be reconciled with their Creator (2 Corinthians 5:20).
Being “dangerous” to the world’s mechanisms of sin and self-righteousness is a Biblical imperative that brings God’s blessing to mankind in two significant ways.
I. The Dangerous Christian Is Blessed
First of all, the Christian is personally blessed by this dangerous calling to be “zealous for what is good.” Though they will suffer for the sake of righteousness, they will be blessed by God unto eternal life (1 Peter 3:13-17).
As Jesus pronounced to His followers, “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matthew 5:10-12).
Suffering the insult of such persecution, in fact, is reason enough to rejoice because it is tangible evidence that one is blessed, and powerfully signifies that “the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you” (1 Peter 4:12-14). Stirred by this joyous thought, the disciple’s fear is vaporized, being thus assured by the Spirit that no level of persecution, nor earthly powers, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate the faithful believer from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:35-39).
Etched upon their hearts is this comforting promise from the Savior: “Do not fear what you are about to suffer… Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life” (Revelation 2:10).
In regard to this Biblical assurance, George Whitfield was able to perfectly articulate the beautiful hope of God’s deliverance that, one way or another, will always overcome the world’s most extreme persecution:
“Are you threatened to be thrown into a den of lions, or cast into a burning fiery furnace, because you will not bow down and worship the beast? Fear not; the God, whom you serve, is able to deliver you: or, if he should suffer the flames to devour your bodies, they would only serve as so many fiery chariots to carry your souls to God.”
II. The Dangerous Christian Blesses Others
Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, the Christian blesses others by this dangerous calling to be “salt and light” (Matthew 5:13-14). God uses our bold faith to be a savor and beacon to others, even in our suffering or death. The apostle Paul bore this out by way of his inspired teaching and courageous example:
“For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh… Therefore, I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 4:11; 12:10).
What does Paul mean by this? According to Alexander MacLaren, Paul was explaining that his own sufferings give “no kind of honour or glory to himself,” but are simply showing “the grace and infinite love of Jesus Christ.” The apostle, therefore, “disappears as but a passive recipient; and Christ strides into the front as the actor in his conversion and apostleship.”
In other words, Paul is saying in effect, “This is what I was saved for. Not merely, not even principally, for the blessings that thereby accrue to myself, but that in me, as a crucial instance, there should be manifested the whole fulness of the divine love and saving power.”
Therefore, the dangerous Christian, like Paul, endeavors to embody the Gospel in the pouring out of his life’s blood for Christ’s sake; and in so doing, displays a vivid trust in Jesus Christ that the Spirit can use to deeply impact the passive onlookers who are burdened by their sins against God and seeking a likewise faith that has no fear of death and eternal punishment.
As Albert Barnes puts it, “Each (Christian) who is oppressed and wronged has an eminent opportunity to show a spirit which will honor the Gospel; and the slave and the martyr may do more to honor the Gospel than if they were both permitted to enjoy liberty and life undisturbed.”
This is a truth discovered long ago by a long line of murderous despots throughout history who tried to wipe out the unflappable Christian faith, but found it easier said than done. As Tertullian, the ancient Christian theologian, once pointed out to anti-Christian forces who, Biblically speaking, “kill the body and after that have no more that they can do” (Luke 12:4):
“The oftener we are mown down by you, the more in number we grow. The blood of Christians is seed.”
Reaching The Danger Point Of True Discipleship
In the end, the dangerous Christian is not really a threat to anyone, but is a manifest blessing from God to point the way to reconciliation and an abundant life, both now and into eternity, through the powerful redemptive work of Jesus Christ who “overcame the world” (John 16:33).
Through Christ, we too can overcome the world and its despots, but it won’t be an easy path. For some it may prove to be too hard. As Leonard Ravenhill once lamented, “We raise our hats to the martyrs and we thank God for the last drop of their blood, but we won’t give Him the first drop of ours.”
What say you, Christian? Are you ready to open up a Bible to the world and get dangerous?
