Why It's Important For American Christians to Stand In Support of Persecuted Christians In Other Nations

"We will not let our brothers and sisters suffer in silence, nor will we let them serve alone."

- The Voice of the Martyrs

Christian persecution is increasing around the world. According to Open Doors USA, in 2016, persecution has risen globally over the past three years, with 2016 being the worst yet. In nations where Islam, Hinduism, Communism and other religious and atheistic belief systems are engrained in the culture and tradition, people are becoming more and more hostile toward the Christians who live there. 

For example, let's say a young Muslim man from Pakistan hears the Gospel of Jesus Christ and accepts it. He repents of his sins and is baptized in obedience to Jesus. In his excitement for his new relationship with the God who created and loves him, and in obedience to Jesus, he tells his family that he is now a follower of Jesus Christ. His family does not share his enthusiasm. In their eyes, he has accepted a Western religion and has brought shame upon his family and community. Furthermore, he is an apostate for abandoning Islam. Islam is the religion of the culture and strict laws are in place for those who leave Islam or who do not comply with its religious beliefs. According to sharia law, a person can be imprisoned and even put to death for leaving Islam or becoming a Christian. His family becomes angry with him and demands that he renounce his faith in Jesus and returns to Islam. His father scolds him, telling him that he is a shameful disgrace to his family and community. When he refuses to renounce his faith in Jesus, his father grabs him and begins beating him. His brothers join in. They continue to demand that he reject Jesus and return to Islam, while continuing to beat him. They leave him when he becomes unconscious. When he regains his consciousness, his father again demands that he renounce his faith in Jesus. When he says that he cannot because Jesus died for his sins and has forgiven him and that he was resurrected to give him new and eternal life, and that Jesus died and was resurrected to do the same for them, they become furious and beat him to death.  

This is a fictional account based on the reality of what is happening throughout various nations of the world where Christianity is severely opposed. The end of the story can vary, depending on whether the person renounces his faith in Jesus, the family notifies the authorities, a family member intervenes or the person escapes. Regardless of what happens, unless the person renounces his faith, he will likely continue to be persecuted by either imprisonment, banishment, living life on the run and in hiding, or by verbal and physical harassment and abuse from the people of his community and whom he shares his faith with.
Accounts of Christian persecution may vary between different nations and different regions of the world. After Russia invaded Romania in 1944 and Communism became the nation's ideology, The Voice of the Martyrs founder Richard Wurmbrand was imprisoned and tortured in Romanian prisons for fourteen years for holding to Biblical Truth and for trying to reach Russian troops with the Gospel. Under the Juche religion of North Korea which requires complete allegiance and obedience to the Kim family, approximately 30,000 of the estimated 100,000 North Korean Christians are being held in concentration camps. Those not in concentration camps can be arrested, tortured, imprisoned and are sometimes executed. In China and Syria, Christian churches are burned to the ground in hopes of stopping Christian worship. In Mosul, Iraq, Christians were forced to leave homes, jobs and belongings or be killed unless they recanted of their faith in Jesus. Syrian and Ethiopian Christians are shot and beheaded by ISIS.

It is extremely important for American Christians to stand in support of Christians who are being persecuted in parts of the world where Christian persecution exists. Here are six reasons why:

1. Jesus said in John 15:20, "'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also." Bold men and women are spreading the love of Christ in some of the most hostile places in the world, opposed to Christianity. Many are indigenous missionaries who are reaching people that Americans cannot because of obstacles such as border restrictions, language and cultural barriers and physical accessibility. In many of these nations, new believers are taught to expect persecution. They are taught that they are not greater than their master, Jesus, and that because he was persecuted, they will also be persecuted. They are bold and obedient to Jesus's command of the Great Commission despite persecution. American Christians should stand in support these brave messengers of the Gospel as they carry it into dangerous nations to people we are unable to reach.
2. Christians are adopted by God into His family, which make us a spiritual family- brothers, sisters, mothers and fathers in Christ (Ephesians 1:3-14). The idea that we have family members who are being harmed should automatically cause us to have concern for them. 
3. Similar to #2, the global church is the Body of Christ. In 1 Corinthians 12, the apostle Paul writing to the church in Corinth and describing the importance of each part of the church body says, "...so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it." It is clear that when another part of the global church body is suffering, we are to have concern for them and join in their suffering. 
4. The two most requested things that persecuted Christians ask of American Christians are for prayer and Bibles. Both of these items provide encouragement, spiritual growth, courage and communion with God. Bibles cannot be purchased in most of the nations I'm referring to and may even be illegal to possess. Bibles are so important to Christians in nations where they cannot be possessed, that they commit much of it to memory or write it down on paper just to have a copy of it. The Scriptures bring much comfort and guidance to Christians who are imprisoned or facing persecution. Many Christians who have been through horrific persecution tell of how certain passages of Scripture brought them great comfort and provided guidance of what to say and how to react through their experience. The United States is the wealthiest nation in the world and Bibles are available at most bookstores and department stores. Many American households contain several Bibles. American Christians can support persecuted Christians by purchasing Bibles that can be smuggled into many of these nations through various ministries. Many Christians who have been held in captivity have said they knew when people were praying for them and how encouraging it was to know when they were alone and afraid. American Christians can lift up persecuted Christians in prayer. 
5. Persecuted Christians need to know that they are not alone. Just imagine being one of the only Christians in your entire community. On top of that, your relatives, including your spouse, as well as former friends and community members continually harass you and want to cause you harm or even kill you. Persecuted Christians may not have anyone else they can trust or find comfort in being with. They may not have anyone else they can share with of how God is working in their life and is leading them. They may be the only person in a community that is hostile toward Jesus who is sharing the love of Christ.  American Christians can pray for them, write letters to them or go to them to let them know that they are not alone.
6. Many Christians who live in hostile and restricted nations have loved ones who are hurt, killed, imprisoned or tortured or have themselves suffered in these ways. They need to know God's love and forgiveness in order to forgive their attackers. Oftentimes forgiveness is how the persecutor sees the unconditional love of God. Imagine your spouse or child being brutally beaten, doused with gasoline and then set on fire for being a Christian. Now imagine as a spouse or parent that you are standing in the courtroom at the murder trial of your loved one. When the judge invites you to speak, you tell the attacker that you forgive him. He is overwhelmed with emotion and cannot understand how or why you could ever forgive him of killing your loved one. Those in the court do not understand it either. You tell him the only possible way you can forgive him is because God has forgiven you. He has never heard of anything like this and breaks down. The powerful act of forgiveness has the possibility to change his life. It has the possibility to change the lives of those who are present in the courtroom. Maybe he or someone else who is present will repent and begin to follow Jesus because of this powerful act of love. Maybe not. Either way, you were obedient to God's command to forgive. Again, it's important that Christians who face these kinds of atrocities know that they are not facing them alone. American Christians can pray for them, provide financial support to organizations that minister to persecuted Christians or go to them to encourage them and share in their suffering. 

Please ask God how He wants you to stand in support of our brothers and sisters in Christ who are being persecuted for their faith in Jesus Christ. They need our support and encouragement and to know that they are not alone.