We Were Warned About Persecution—Not Given Permission to Persecute

Jesus was very clear that following Him would not always make us popular.

There would be opposition. There would be rejection. There would be persecution.

“If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you.” — John 15:20 KJV

But somewhere along the way, we need to be careful that we don't take the warning that we will be persecuted and turn it into permission to persecute everyone we disagree with.

Because those are two very different things.

There is a difference between standing for truth and tearing someone apart.

There is a difference between biblical correction and public humiliation.

There is a difference between exposing false teaching and becoming consumed with exposing people.

And perhaps one of the greatest warnings about this comes from someone who was incredibly close to Jesus.

Just Ask Peter

Peter wasn't some distant observer of Jesus.

He walked with Him.

He heard Jesus teach.

He watched the miracles.

He left everything to follow Him.

And Peter genuinely loved Jesus.

Yet there was a moment when Peter was so convinced that he understood what should happen that he actually began correcting Jesus.

Jesus told His disciples that He would go to Jerusalem, suffer, be killed, and rise again.

Peter didn't like what he heard.

“Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.” — Matthew 16:22 KJV

Think about Peter's perspective for a moment.

He probably thought he was defending Jesus.

He loved Him.

He didn't want Jesus to suffer.

Everything inside Peter may have been telling him, “This cannot be God's plan.”

Then Jesus responded:

“Get thee behind me, Satan… for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.” — Matthew 16:23 KJV

That should humble every one of us.

Peter loved Jesus and was standing right beside Him, yet his emotions still blinded him to what God was doing.

If that could happen to Peter, it can happen to us.

Strong Feelings Are Not the Same as Discernment

One of the dangerous mistakes we can make as Christians is assuming that because we feel strongly about something, God must feel exactly the same way.

We become angry, so we assume it's righteous anger.

We become offended, so we assume God is offended.

We dislike someone's teaching, methods, church, ministry, or personality, and suddenly we convince ourselves that attacking them is defending God.

But Peter shows us something important:

You can sincerely believe you're defending God while actually resisting what God is doing.

That's why discernment requires humility.

Before pointing at someone else, we should be willing to pray:

“Lord, search me first.”

Before assuming someone's motives, ask whether we actually know their heart.

Before posting the video, writing the comment, sharing the accusation, or telling everyone how wrong somebody is, perhaps we should ask:

“Am I trying to restore this person—or am I trying to destroy their reputation?”

Those are not the same thing.

Correction Should Look Like Jesus

This doesn't mean Christians should never correct error.

Scripture clearly teaches correction.

Paul tells us:

“Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.” — Galatians 6:1 KJV

Notice the goal:

Restore.

And notice the attitude:

Meekness.

Then comes the warning:

Consider yourself.

Biblical correction doesn't begin with, “Look how wrong they are.”

It begins with examining our own heart.

Jesus taught the same principle when He warned about trying to remove the speck from our brother's eye while ignoring the beam in our own.

The problem isn't noticing the speck.

The problem is believing we're qualified to perform eye surgery while refusing to examine ourselves.

Disagreement Is Not Persecution

We also need to be careful with how quickly we use the word persecution.

Someone disagreeing with us isn't necessarily persecuting us.

Someone questioning our interpretation isn't necessarily attacking Christ.

And someone correcting us isn't automatically our enemy.

At the same time, disagreeing with another Christian doesn't give us permission to mock them, ridicule them, gossip about them, recruit others against them, or publicly tear them apart.

Jesus told us:

“Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.” — Matthew 5:9 KJV

Peacemaking doesn't mean compromising truth.

Sometimes love requires difficult conversations.

Sometimes false teaching must be confronted.

Sometimes someone genuinely needs correction.

But how we handle truth matters.

If our defense of truth produces pride, hatred, gossip, mockery, and division, we should at least be willing to examine whether something has gone wrong in our own hearts.

Remember Who the Accuser Is

Revelation gives Satan a revealing title:

“The accuser of our brethren…” — Revelation 12:10 KJV

That should make Christians extremely cautious about developing a ministry, personality, or reputation built primarily around accusation.

There is a difference between being a witness and being an accuser.

A witness says, “Here is what was said. Here is what Scripture says. Test it for yourself.”

An accuser often goes further:

“I know why they did it.”

“I know what's in their heart.”

“They're obviously trying to deceive people.”

“They only care about money.”

“They're doing this because they're jealous.”

Now we aren't examining fruit anymore.

We're claiming knowledge of someone's heart.

And only God sees the heart perfectly.

What If We're Wrong?

This may be one of the most important questions Christians can ask before publicly attacking another believer:

What if I'm wrong?

What if I misunderstood them?

What if I only heard part of the story?

What if they communicated something poorly?

What if God is correcting them privately?

What if God is using them despite their imperfections?

What if—like Peter—my emotions are preventing me from seeing what God is actually doing?

That doesn't mean we abandon discernment.

It means we practice discernment with humility.

Because being close to Jesus doesn't automatically mean every thought we have came from Jesus.

Peter proves that.

We Were Called to Carry a Cross

Jesus didn't tell His followers to make sure everyone who disagreed with them suffered.

He told us to pick up our cross and follow Him.

We should expect persecution.

We should expect misunderstanding.

We should expect people to disagree with us.

But when that happens, our response should increasingly look like Christ.

Truth with love.

Correction with humility.

Conviction with compassion.

Boldness without cruelty.

Discernment without accusation.

And before we point our finger at everyone else, maybe our prayer should be:

“Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts.” — Psalm 139:23 KJV

Because sometimes the person who needs correction first…

is us.

The Bible warned us that we would face persecution.

It never gave us permission to become the persecutors.

Pastor Scott