Righteous Persecution

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, we have been studying the beatitudes.  This week we have started studying Matthew 5:10.

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,

    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
    preserve my life, Lord, according to your laws.
Those who devise wicked schemes are near,
    but they are far from your law.
    but my heart trembles at your word.

To understand what it means to be persecuted, we first need to understand what it means to be righteous as this beatitude clearly states that those who will inherit the kingdom of heaven will be those that are persecuted because of righteousness.  While there are plenty of people that are persecuted in this world, it is not always because of righteousness. 

The first person mentioned in the Bible to be righteous was Noah. 

Genesis 6:9b

Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God.

What made Noah righteous?  He LISTENED to God, he BELIVED God, and he OBEYED God. 

Next we see Abram referred to as righteous.

Genesis 15:6

Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.

Like Noah, Abram listed, believed and obeyed.

Next, we need to understand what counts as persecution. 

Psalm 119:149-150; 161

Hear my voice in accordance with your love;

Rulers persecute me without cause,

We see that persecution comes from 1) evil intentions, 2) being far from God’s law, 3) without cause.  I’m sure that each of us has encountered persecution at some point in time.  It may have been something as simple as someone spreading falsehood against us.  You may have experienced righteous persecution without even realizing it. 

Each of us should strive to live a life worthy of persecution because of righteousness.