Title Take the example of the martyrs
Contents
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1. From the time the children of Israel came out of the land of Egypt, in the third month, at that time, they came to the wilderness of Sinai.
2. They left Rephidim and came to the wilderness of Sinai, and pitched their tents in the wilderness, and pitched their tents in front of the mountain.
3. And Moses went up before God, and the LORD called him from the mountain, and said, “Thus speak to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel.
4. You have seen what I have done to my Egyptians and how I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to me.
5. The world belongs to me, and if you listen to me and keep my covenant, you will be mine among the nations.
6. You shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy people, and you shall tell the children of Israel these words.
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12. Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial that comes to try you, as if something strange happened to you.
13. But rejoice in your sharing in the sufferings of Christ, that you may rejoice and rejoice in the manifestation of his glory.
14. If you are reviled in the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory, the Spirit of God, rests on you.
15. Let not any of you suffer as a murderer, or theft, or an evildoer, or a meddler in the affairs of others.
16. If you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but glorify God in that name.
17. The time has come for judgment to begin in the house of God, and if it comes first to us, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?
18. And if the righteous are barely saved, where will the ungodly and sinners stand?
19. Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God also entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing good.
Content
Subject: Following the example of the martyrs
Text: Exodus 19:1-6, 1 Peter 4:12-19
“The blood of a Christian is the seed” (Semen est sanguis christentum). These are the words of Tertullian, a church father who lived during the Roman persecution period in the 2nd century. According to his prophecy, a church was built in the place where the blood of martyrdom was shed, and the church has been revived and grown based on the tradition of that blood. That is why the saying ‘the church grows on the blood of martyrs’ was born. The blood of the atonement shed on Calvary Hill, as well as the tears and sweat they had to endure to believe and follow the grace of the atonement, and the blood of the martyrs that had to be shed were the seed, root, and nourishment of the church the Lord had established. “Martyrs” refer to those who lived in Christ (In Christ) for Christ (For Christ) and were killed for Christ (By Christ). It is reminiscent of the custom of shunjang (殉葬) in ancient history.
So, in the Christian tradition, there are conditions for receiving the title of 'martyr'. First, the death must be due to the gospel witness. In the New Testament, the Greek word translated as 'martyr' is 'Martys', which means 'testimony' or 'evidence'. Even now in some cultures, just as the gospel witness is a threat to life, in the days of persecution of the early church, the gospel witness was immediately linked to death. Second, the death must have been caused by a force that was hostile to the gospel. It has to be ‘death to be suffered’. Natural or suicide does not count. It must be the death of being hated and persecuted by the hostile forces for witnessing Christ. Third, the death must be “voluntary.” It must be the result of refusing to live and willing to die by apostasy or compromise. It is death after the Lord.
At the 6th Executive Committee of the 26th General Assembly of the Methodist Society, the 4th Sunday of June every year was designated as ‘Martyrs Memorial Sunday’. It is to evoke Christian identity. This is to prevent the degeneration of Christianity that resembles the world rather than the image of Christianity that changes the world, that is, the secularization of Christianity. It is an effort to renew oneself by following the example of the martyrs. 1) Keeping the promises of God. It is a picture of a covenant relationship with God through Moses at Mount Sinai. “All the world belongs to me, and if you will listen to me and keep my covenant, you will be mine among the nations, and you will become a kingdom of priests to me and a holy people” (Exodus 19:5,6). .