The Rights and Responsibilities of the American Christian

In China, believers meet with fear. The threat of the government storming their church looms over their heads as they worship. Many churches are closed down, their leaders imprisoned. Constant surveillance by the government endangers the lives of any churchgoer. Children and teenagers are not allowed to attend church.

In North Korea, anyone suspected of being a Christian is imprisoned in a brutal labor camp where they are starved, tortured, beaten, and worked to death. Their families are often punished in the same way, regardless of their own beliefs.

In Nigeria, the Islamic terrorist group Boko Haram places the lives of every Christian in danger. Street violence is common. Those who profess faith in Christ run the risk of a swift and brutal murder by Muslim extremists.

Persecution is real. Christians who live in dangerous areas like China, North Korea, Nigeria, Afghanistan, Myanmar, and countless other nations face an unimaginable amount of danger and fear every day. Many things that we take for granted—Bible reading, church attendance, or evangelism—could put the lives of these brothers and sisters in jeopardy.

What's the biggest consequence we Americans have for being a Christian? 

Rejection. Feeling awkward. Maybe a lost job opportunity.

America is a country of religious freedom. That religious freedom isn't perfect by any stretch—Christianity is widely looked down upon by the "informed" modern citizen, and  failing to affirm gay marriage or the pro-choice ideology will get you "canceled" on social media—but it's freedom nonetheless. We aren't going to get killed for our faith.

Too often, we take this for granted. But how should we really respond to our freedom? How should we live, free believers, while so many do not enjoy the blessings we possess?

Our religious freedom should make us live radically. And we need to make the best used of the time and resources that have been given to us, because the days are running short.

 

Living Radically

What does living radically actually mean for us?

It means getting outside of your comfort zone. It means putting Christ's work above your own desires, and it means "making the best use of the time, because the days are evil." (Ephesians 5:16)

In America, cultural Christianity is the norm. Particularly in the Bible belt regions of the south, almost everyone is a "Christian." Everyone goes to church, at least, and that's basically the same thing.

Though this trend is fading, perhaps the passivity it's given us has stuck around. Many Christians don't feel a sense of urgency about their faith. It's normal, it's common, and it's accepted—so why would we feel pressure to do something crazy? Life is easy this way.

But lukewarmness is something that we need to fight against. We can't embrace the easy Christian life. The Christian life isn't meant to be easy.

We need to live radically. We need to remember that we are not our own, and that God requires our whole life.

And we need to be radical in the way we use the freedoms that God has blessed us with.

 

Fearless Evangelism

Sharing the gospel is difficult. It's uncomfortable—we feel awkward doing it, and we worry that people are going to see us as weird or backwards. It's not the right moment, we think to ourselves. I don't want to rush things. And we put it off over and over again. 

Wait a minute.

We aren't risking our lives when we share the gospel. Christians in persecuted nations are. And they do it anyway, when they can.

Why on earth do we let the fear of ridicule stop us?

There's a high reward, too. We're risking a little bit of awkwardness for potentially saving someone's soul—an action that will have eternal significance.

Be radical with your words. Tell others about Christ. They need to hear.

 

Grateful Church Attendance

Christians in persecuted nations meet with other believers under threat of arrest. They're risking their lives in order to fellowship with Christ's church. 

If we are blessed to live in a nation that doesn't criminalize Church attendance, then we need to take advantage of that! If it's worth risking your life, then it's certainly worth getting up early instead of sleeping in!

And we need to savor every moment, remembering those who have to sing in whispers.

 

Generous Support and Faithful Prayer

In 2 Corinthians 8, Paul writes to the Corinthian church about the generosity of the churches in Macedonia, who donated money to the believers in Jerusalem who were in a time of hardship. 

On the whole, believers in America are far more materially wealthy then those in war-broken lands like Afghanistan and Myanmar. God has blessed the nation with prosperity. 

If the believers in Macedonia were so generous to Jerusalem, how can we forget our Christian brothers in their time of need?

Macedonia was not rich. They gave "beyond their means," according to 2 Corinthians 8:3, and they gave joyfully.

We need to do the same. We need to use our resources to support people who have nothing—who can't afford a Bible, or who lost their job because of their faith, or who are refugees. We need to support missionaries to reach the unreached. We need to be radical with our bank accounts.

And we need to remember the persecuted in prayer.

Those believers need hope. They need encouragement to stand fast in this trial, and they need to know that they aren't alone—that God is with them, and that the church is with them too.

Pray for the believers who are in danger. Pray for improved circumstances, and for safety and security, but also pray that they'll be encouraged. That they'll have faith that God reigns over all.

Be faithful in prayer, and encourage them in any way you can. Christian fellowship extends well over national borders.

 

The kind of freedom than American Christians have enjoyed is not normal. 

From the very beginning, Christians were persecuted. Jesus, Stephen, every single one of the apostles—all of them endured great suffering for the Lord, and so did an estimated 3000+ Christians who died under the reign of the Roman Emperor Nero. 

God has given us this freedom for a reason, and we have responsibilities to fulfill. 

Matthew 9:37–38: "Then he said to his disciples, 'The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.'"

Pray earnestly. And be those laborers! The world—including America—needs to be harvested. 

We have been blessed with the freedom to harvest openly without fear, and we need to be radical in our use of it.