What Is a Martyr?
To be a martyr, in the eyes and understanding of the world, is to die for a cause,’ though there is more to it than that. Soldiers go to war and sometimes die for a cause which they may agree with or not. When they fall, we seldom, if ever, call them martyrs. More often we give the title to men or women who suffer unjustly for something about which they are passionate. Unmistakably, the term has also taken on negative and pejorative connotations. We accuse a person of being a martyr who seeks out attention by unnecessarily heaping sufferings upon their own shoulders. The Muslims have an interesting martyrology claiming that those who not only die in the name of their god Allah but also take non-Muslim lives are worthy to be called martyrs and given instant access to ‘paradise.’
The world and false religions have their perspective and understanding. The Church has her own. Indeed, one of our chief blessings as Christians is a rich theology of the martyrs taught by God himself through his Word. It’s not a man-made doctrine that advocates violence against our neighbors or self-immolation for the sake of attention. From God’s inspired teaching, to be a martyr is to be one who bears witness. That’s what the word ‘martyr’ means. To whom and what do martyrs bear witness? To Christ and his Gospel. For the sake of the Lord who has redeemed the world through his blood and for the sake of his Word which cleanses consciences and sets at peace with God, Christians through the centuries have remained faithful to their Creed when threatened with violence and death. To those who remain faithful to the end, they are rewarded on earth with the title ‘martyr’ and in heaven with a crown of life. In Revelation they are called, “those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne” (Revelation 6:9).
Jesus spoke to the persecuted church in Smyrna whose saints who were about to suffer for what they believed…
“Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life” (Revelation 2:10).
This wonderful promise applies not only to one congregation two thousand years ago. It applies to us all. Jesus says,
“Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues, 18 and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles. When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, and you will be hated by all for my name's sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved” (Matthew 10:17-22).
For millennia, the truth of Jesus’ words has been historically vindicated. Christians should be the least troublesome people in the world because of their desire to forgive and love all men. Nevertheless, the world under the devil’s compulsion sees our faith and doctrine as a threat. Our preaching threatens the idols they fear, love, and trust. Our preaching threatens their various hatreds they have nursed and justified in their hearts. Our preaching threatens their enslavement to the demons who glut themselves on men’s eternal death.
God be praised that the Holy Spirit has proven himself a faithful helper in those times when flesh and blood should be weakened from fear.
This year I’m making the older grades at school read sections of Foxe’s Book of Martyrs. I’m hoping that reading about how the Holy Spirit strengthened the saints of all stations of life to remain faithful to Jesus through torture and death will give great encouragement to the children who also face pressure from the world deny Christ for worldly gain or to escape sufferings. The 21st century church is not free from persecution to the point of death. When we heard about our Afghan brothers and sisters mercilessly slaughtered for daring to trust in Christ, our hearts grieved. Still, we praise and give thanks to God for strengthening them to endure the final test.
I know that when the devil’s rage can no longer be contained, he will find ways to make us suffer for the sake of Christ’s name. Employment is quickly becoming dependent on signing papers that deny biblical truth. The love we show toward babies in the womb and the elderly is becoming so odious to much of our society that we should expect our words will come with consequences sooner rather than later. Don’t be afraid of that hour when the world demands an account. As Jesus said, the Holy Spirit will be with you. You will remember the Gospel. You will speak the words you’ve long since memorized from your catechism. Read the Scriptures and take comfort from the Spirit who works powerfully therein.
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted” (Hebrews 12:1-3).