Martyrs Await Divine Reward

Philippians 1:29 “For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake.”

 There is one further work we need to discuss that will be greatly rewarded on that day. The work that I am referring to is the work of suffering for the Lord Jesus and for His gospel. The suffering that I am referring to in this section is not suffering the trials of life that everyone experiences from time to time. I am specifically referring to the suffering incurred by the believer because of persecution for their belief in Jesus Christ and their witness for Him. Because heaven places tremendous value on this particular work, God the Father decides who is counted worthy to suffer in this manner. And so we see that some in the church will suffer more than others purely because God has deemed them worthy of it. In the passage of scripture quoted above we learn that the church at Philippi had received this blessing, because the Holy Spirit through the apostle Paul tells them that it had been granted to them to suffer for the sake of Christ. And so the believers in Philippi were experiencing the same persecutions that Paul and Silas had endured when they first preached the gospel in that city. For you will recall that Paul and Silas were beaten with rods in that city and then they had been thrown into prison until God miraculously intervened to deliver His two ministers on that occasion (Acts 16:22-26). Nevertheless after Paul and Silas left the city, persecution broke out against the believers there and many of them were imprisoned for their faith in Christ.

1 Peter 4:14-16 “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.  (15)  But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people's matters.  (16) Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter.”

In the passage of scripture quoted above the apostle Peter encourages those who incur suffering because of their walk as believers in this life. In his encouragement Peter tells us that those particular believers are blessed because the Spirit of glory rests upon them and that they are not to be ashamed for suffering as Christians, but rather that they should glorify God in this. And so the reason that believers are blessed when they suffer as Christians is because there is great reward that is stored up for them in heaven.

Acts 5:40-41 “And they agreed with him, and 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.  (41) So, they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name.”

The apostles of the Lamb had received their teaching directly from the Lord Jesus about the fact that those who suffer for the gospel can expect to receive great reward in heaven. And so it is precisely for this reason that not all believers will be counted worthy of such suffering. In the passage of scripture quoted above we see the account of the apostles receiving their first physical beating for preaching the gospel. I want you to notice their absolute joy at having been counted worthy by God the Father to suffer in this manner for the gospel of His Son. The reason they reacted in this manner was because they recognised that they would therefore receive great reward from the Lord Jesus on that day.

Matthew 5:10-12 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  (11)  "Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.  (12) Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

 In the passage of scripture quoted above our Lord Jesus plainly teaches us that there is great reward in heaven for those who suffer persecution for their belief in Him. Many saints will be persecuted purely because of their walk as Christians in the midst of this wicked and perverse generation. Many will also be persecuted for their proclaiming of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is important to note however that believers are never counselled to seek out this sort of persecution. In fact our Lord plainly taught us the exact opposite, by telling us not to cast our pearls before swine lest they trample them underfoot, turn on us and tear us (Matthew 7:6). And so we need to be discerning as to where and when our Lord wants us to share His gospel message with others. I’m not talking about our walk as believers however, for we are to live our lives as Christians wherever we find ourselves. In other words we are to be living epistles, known and read by all men (2 Corinthians 3:2). But rather I am talking specifically about sharing the gospel message with others. Let me illustrate this point by means of an example. In the book of Acts we have the account of the apostle Paul and his ministry team seeking God’s guidance as to where He wanted them to preach the gospel, and there were two specific areas where they wanted to preach but the Holy Spirit forbade them from going there. The areas in question were Asia and Bithynia. Eventually God gave them guidance to go to Macedonia to preach the gospel, and so in obedience to God’s leading they went to the city of Philippi, one of the main cities of Macedonia. When they got there God opened the door for them to preach the gospel and numerous souls were added to the kingdom (Acts 16:6-12). But as we read earlier, it was also in that city that Paul and Silas were beaten and thrown in prison for their preaching of the gospel. And so we can see that this sort of persecution will come our way if God allows it, even when we are in His perfect will. There can be no doubt however, that had Paul and his team gone into Asia and Bithynia to preach the gospel they would have experienced far worse persecution with no converts. And so we are not to seek this type of persecution, for it will come to those whom God deems worthy.

Revelation 6:9-11 “When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held.  (10)  And they cried with a loud voice, saying, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?"  (11)  Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed.”

And then finally we need to discuss the saints who are counted worthy of our Lord Jesus to be one of His faithful martyrs. In the passage of scripture quoted above we have clear evidence of the great value that God the Father places on the death of our Lord’s martyrs. This truth is displayed in the fact that the Lord’s martyrs are separated from the rest of His saints in heaven, for this passage reveals to us that each one of them are currently resting under the altar of the Almighty God. Clearly their reward on that day will be great indeed, and deservedly so.

Michael E.B. Maher

Eternal Judgement

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