Editorial – Holy Rebellion
Our Saviour died as a criminal to save us – will we share His shame to make Him known? One man already does…
When would it be wrong to dance to jolly wedding music or make a sad face to match funeral music? Are we not commanded to weep with those who weep and rejoice with the glad? Yes, we are – but only when the musicians are in touch with reality… and in agreement with God. Jesus depicted His hard-hearted society as children playing at weddings and funerals – getting all hufy with anyone (especially Jesus) who wouldn’t play by their rules. Today’s huffy global society even has laws to enforce our compliance. Be aware then that holiness – as always – is illegal and faithful discipleship calls for disobedience…
Jesus warned that His persecutors would turn upon His church (John 15:20). Paul – whose mighty missionary days were punctuated with frequent bouts of persecution – defamation, fogging, imprisonment, and ultimately execution – said: “…all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Timothy 3:12). When Jesus asked the Father: “sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth” (John 17:17), He was literally asking that His followers be ‘set apart’ to make God visible through holy living. They were to be separated from the world, in the world and for the world – and the separating agent would be the truth of God’s Word.
We evangelicals take our doctrine seriously. We invite to our pulpits only those we consider to be doctrinally ‘sound’ – right and proper because the Chief Shepherd will hold us accountable for the proper nourishment of His fock. However, it can come as a shock that God insists that sound theory is for sound living; that doctrine must be experienced and not merely believed.
Take for instance the Doctrine of the Holy Spirit. The splitting of Bible-believers into charismatic and non-charismatic camps over this doctrine has too often missed the obvious. The gifts of the Spirit are far less important than the intention of the Spirit. He is the HOLY Spirit – His presence is imparted to Christians to turn mere believers of doctrine into holy children who bear an increasing likeness to the unique and Holy Son of God. This is God’s stated and primary will for every believer. We all love the safety net of Romans 8:28 “…we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose”. This is critical to our confidence. Because God does not always make His will clear – daily Christian life is not punctuated by cloud-openings and direct instruction from heaven. God, All-Wise Father that He is, has equipped us with the indwelling Holy Spirit who, knowing God’s mind, assists our choosing and living in agreement with God’s will (Romans 8:27). God’s ultimate purpose for every believer is that, as dearly loved children, they should grow in the likeness of his dearly loved Son (Romans 8:29) – choosing according to the wisdom of the Father through the agency of the Holy Spirit. That’s holiness. That’s following Jesus – and it is rebellion in the eyes of society.
There’s a word that was first written to persecuted disciples in the first century: “In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.” (Hebrews 12:4) This could not be said of countless Christians today – precisely because their faithful blood is running in the streets of many cruel regimes. Western freedoms are also rapidly vanishing, and many forms of persecution and discrimination are now ‘normal’. The struggle against sin is the life of holiness – a life in which conformity to society’s rebellion against God the Saviour is not an option… It has become necessary to obey God rather than men – even if our ‘rebellion’ is labelled ‘criminal’. A few days ago, I was shown an extraordinary letter which I immediately realised needed to fnd its way into Sword Magazine. Our space was already fully allocated, but such is the holy authority and authenticity of the writer – A Chinese pastor now in prison – that I felt I must give the space here for this brave saint to speak to us all.
I am grateful to Hudson Taylor Ministries for their kind permission to reproduce this text and picture. This letter was written in Chinese by Rev. Wang Yi before his arrest. Anticipating an eventual apprehension of his freedoms, he instructed some leading church members of his to publish it to the world, if he was arrested and held for longer than 48 hours. His faithful friends observed this wish and broadcasted the letter below to the international Christian community. He cares not if his oppressive government reads this – he hopes they will. I leave the last word with our suffering brother, The Rev. Wang Yi… Please pray for this lovely saint, his wife and children, the believers he serves, his nation and the work of the Hudson Taylor Ministries – Ed.
[LETTER BEGINS]
As a pastor, my disobedience is one part of the gospel commission. Christ’s great commission requires of us great disobedience. The goal of disobedience is not to change the world but to testify about another world.
For the mission of the church is only to be the church and not to become a part of any secular institution. From a negative perspective, the church must separate itself from the world and keep itself from being institutionalized by the world. From a positive perspective, all acts of the church are attempts to prove to the world the real existence of another world. The Bible teaches us that, in all matters relating to the gospel and human conscience, we must obey God and not men. For this reason, spiritual disobedience and bodily suffering are both ways we testify to another eternal world and to another glorious King.
This is why I am not interested in changing any political or legal institutions in China. I’m not even interested in the question of when the Communist regime’s policies persecuting the church will change. Regardless of which regime I live under now or in the future, as long as the secular government continues to persecute the church, violating human consciences that belong to God alone, I will continue my faithful disobedience. For the entire commission God has given me is to let more Chinese people know through my actions that the hope of humanity and society is only in the redemption of Christ, in the supernatural, gracious sovereignty of God.
If God decides to use the persecution of this Communist regime against the church to help more Chinese people to despair of their futures, to lead them through a wilderness of spiritual disillusionment and through this to make them know Jesus, if through this he continues disciplining and building up his church, then I am joyfully willing to submit to God’s plans, for his plans are always benevolent and good.
Precisely because none of my words and actions are directed toward seeking and hoping for societal and political transformation, I have no fear of any social or political power. For the Bible teaches us that God establishes governmental authorities in order to terrorize evildoers, not to terrorize doers of good. If believers in Jesus do no wrong then they should not be afraid of dark powers. Even though I am often weak, I frmly believe this is the promise of the gospel. It is what I’ve devoted all of my energy to. It is the good news that I am spreading throughout Chinese society.
I also understand that this happens to be the very reason why the Communist regime is flled with fear at a church that is no longer afraid of it.
If I am imprisoned for a long or short period of time, if I can help reduce the authorities’ fear of my faith and of my Savior, I am very joyfully willing to help them in this way. But I know that only when I renounce all the wickedness of this persecution against the church and use peaceful means to disobey, will I truly be able to help the souls of the authorities and law enforcement. I hope God uses me, by means of first losing my personal freedom, to tell those who have deprived me of my personal freedom that there is an authority higher than their authority, and that there is a freedom that they cannot restrain, a freedom that fllls the church of the crucifed and risen Jesus Christ.
Regardless of what crime the government charges me with, whatever filth they fing at me, as long as this charge is related to my faith, my writings, my comments, and my teachings, it is merely a lie and temptation of demons. I categorically deny it. I will serve my sentence, but I will not serve the law. I will be executed, but I will not plead guilty.
Moreover, I must point out that persecution against the Lord’s church and against all Chinese people who believe in Jesus Christ is the most wicked and the most horrendous evil of Chinese society. This is not only a sin against Christians. It is also a sin against all non-Christians. For the government is brutally and ruthlessly threatening them and hindering them from coming to Jesus. There is no greater wickedness in the world than this. If this regime is one day overthrown by God, it will be for no other reason than God’s righteous punishment and revenge for this evil. For on earth, there has only ever been a thousand-year church. There has never been a thousand-year government. There is only eternal faith. There is no eternal power.
Those who lock me up will one day be locked up by angels. Those who interrogate me will fnally be questioned and judged by Christ. When I think of this, the Lord flls me with a natural compassion and grief toward those who are attempting to and actively imprisoning me. Pray that the Lord would use me, that he would grant me patience and wisdom, that I might take the gospel to them.
Separate me from my wife and children, ruin my reputation, destroy my life and my family— the authorities are capable of doing all of these things. However, no one in this world can force me to renounce my faith; no one can make me change my life; and no one can raise me from the dead.
And so, respectable officers, stop committing evil. This is not for my beneft but rather for yours and your children’s. I plead earnestly with you to stay your hands, for why should you be willing to pay the price of eternal damnation in hell for the sake of a lowly sinner such as I?
Jesus is the Christ, son of the eternal, living God. He died for sinners and rose to life for us. He is my king and the king of the whole earth yesterday, today, and forever. I am his servant, and I am imprisoned because of this. I will resist in meekness those who resist God, and I will joyfully violate all laws that violate God’s laws.
The Lord’s servant,
Wang Yi