On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. ... those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. (Acts 8: 1, 4)
The martyrdom of Stephen was witnessed by many people. From the day of Stephen's martyrdom, the church in Jerusalem was greatly persecuted. As a result, the disciples who had always gathered in Jerusalem to wait for the return of the Lord was forced to leave Jerusalem and be scattered to other cities in order to keep their faith.
These scattered people from the Jerusalem church were disciples, and most of them hadn’t followed Jesus, but the apostles did not leave Jerusalem. A large part of the disciples repented and believed in the preaching of Peter after the advent of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, which means that most of them believed in the Lord for only a few months. However, their beliefs were very stable. They did not lose heart nor became weak because of persecution, but they continued to believe. They were forced to disperse from Jerusalem because of the gospel, but they still preached the gospel. Wherever they dispersed, they spread the gospel of the Lord. Instead, because of this persecution, the church took the first step of fulfilling the great mission, which was to spread the gospel to all peoples.
In today’s last age, because the human nature is getting worse and worse, people ’s hearts are getting harder and harder, preaching the gospel is constantly being restained, and the persecution is gradually increasing. So it is more difficult to carry out the gospel ministry. But overall, compared to the early days of the church, these persecutions in the church today are nothing. Despite the persecution of evangelism today, few people may lose their lives and rarely be caught because of evangelism. However, the evangelism of today’s Christians is a far cry from that of the early church’s.
Let ’s not talk about how many people today’s Christians have led to believe in the Lord. Many Christians maybe have believed in the Lord for many years now, and even for a lifetime, but can’t explain the gospel clearly. They have n’t preached to others, even his own family. And Some Christians are afraid of being rejected and encountering persecution when they go to evangelize. In the final analysis, it is all because they have no real knowledge of the truth, they don’t understand the content of the gospel, lack a soul-loving heart and have a timid heart. So they can not follow the Lord's great mission and preach the gospel.
The Bible says: Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season (2 Timothy 4:2). This teaches Christians to preach the gospel whether in good times or in adversity. But the challenge they face in the church today outdo they face outside the church. To solve this problem, they have a responsibility to teach pure truth in the church, and every Christian has a responsibility to strive for the truth and know the importance of the great mission.
At the same time, we must restore the relationship with the Lord and establish an intimate relationship with him. Only if we truly love the Lord, we are willing to follow the Lord ’s teachings and the Lord ’s great mission and are willing to preach the Lord ’s gospel. In the process of evangelism, we also should rely on the Lord. The reason why the scattered disciples at that time did not forget to evangelize in that situation is that they knew they could rely on the strength of the Lord to remove the timid heart and be brave to preach the gospel.
(Note: The author of this article is a full-time pastor in a grassroots church in Fujian.)
- Translated by Abigail Wu
使徒行传灵修系列：去传福音吧
从这日起，耶路撒冷的教会大遭逼迫。除了使徒以外，门徒都分散在犹太和撒玛利亚各处。……那些分散的人往各处去传道。（徒8:1，4）
司提反的殉道是许多人亲眼目睹的，从司提反殉道的那日起，耶路撒冷的教会就大遭逼迫。这就导致那些原本一直聚集在耶路撒冷等候主的再来的门徒们，此时为了继续持守信仰，不得不被迫离开耶路撒冷，分散到各城去。
这些从耶路撒冷教会分散到各处去的人都是门徒，使徒们并没有离开耶路撒冷，所以这些分散到各处的人绝大多数没有跟随过耶稣。这当中有很大一部分人都是在五旬节圣灵降临之后，在彼得的讲道中悔改信主的，也就是说他们当中绝大多数的人信主才几个月的时间。可是他们的信仰却非常稳固，并没有因为逼迫而丧胆，也没有因为逼迫而信心软弱，反而继续持守信仰。他们因为福音的缘故，被迫从耶路撒冷分散出去，可是他们依旧去传这个使他们遭受逼迫的福音，他们分散到哪，就把主的福音传到哪。这个逼迫反而让教会走出遵行大使命的第一步，就是将福音传扬给万民。
在今天这个末后的时代里，人性越来越败坏，人心也越来越刚硬，福音也不断地受到辖制，逼迫也逐渐的增多，给福音事工的开展增加了许多难度。可是总体而言，对比教会初期，现今教会所遭遇的这些逼迫根本就不算什么。现今传福音虽有逼迫，可是很少有人会因为传福音的缘故而失丧性命，也很少会遭到捉拿。但是现今基督徒在传福音这方面跟教会初期的基督徒相比，实在是相差甚远。
先不说要带领多少人信主，现今许多基督徒信主好些年了，甚至信主一辈子了，连福音都无法讲述清楚；有些基督徒则是信主一辈子，也没有给他人传过福音，甚至连自己家人都没有；有些基督徒则是因为惧怕的缘故，害怕传福音被拒绝，害怕传福音时所遭遇的逼迫；究根到底，都是因为没有真正的认识真理，所以才会不清楚福音的内容，才会缺乏爱灵魂的心，才会生发胆怯的心，以致于不遵行主的大使命，不传福音。
圣经说：务要传道，无论得不得时（参 提后4:2），这节经文教导基督徒无论是在顺境中，还是逆境中都要去传福音。但是现今教会所要面临的挑战，是内部超过外界。若是想要解决这个问题，教会有责任教导纯正的真理，每个基督徒也有责任努力追求真理，明白大使命的重要性。
同时也要恢复与主的关系，与主建立一个亲密的关系，也只有真正的爱主，才会愿意遵行主的教导，愿意遵行主的大使命，愿意为主去传扬福音。传福音的过程中也要去倚靠主，当时那些分散的门徒之所以能在那种处境下不忘传福音，就是因为他们懂得去依靠主，靠着主的力量除去胆怯的心，靠着主刚强壮胆，传扬福音。
（注：本文作者为福建一基层教会全职传道）
On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. ... those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. (Acts 8: 1, 4)
The martyrdom of Stephen was witnessed by many people. From the day of Stephen's martyrdom, the church in Jerusalem was greatly persecuted. As a result, the disciples who had always gathered in Jerusalem to wait for the return of the Lord was forced to leave Jerusalem and be scattered to other cities in order to keep their faith.
These scattered people from the Jerusalem church were disciples, and most of them hadn’t followed Jesus, but the apostles did not leave Jerusalem. A large part of the disciples repented and believed in the preaching of Peter after the advent of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, which means that most of them believed in the Lord for only a few months. However, their beliefs were very stable. They did not lose heart nor became weak because of persecution, but they continued to believe. They were forced to disperse from Jerusalem because of the gospel, but they still preached the gospel. Wherever they dispersed, they spread the gospel of the Lord. Instead, because of this persecution, the church took the first step of fulfilling the great mission, which was to spread the gospel to all peoples.
In today’s last age, because the human nature is getting worse and worse, people ’s hearts are getting harder and harder, preaching the gospel is constantly being restained, and the persecution is gradually increasing. So it is more difficult to carry out the gospel ministry. But overall, compared to the early days of the church, these persecutions in the church today are nothing. Despite the persecution of evangelism today, few people may lose their lives and rarely be caught because of evangelism. However, the evangelism of today’s Christians is a far cry from that of the early church’s.
Let ’s not talk about how many people today’s Christians have led to believe in the Lord. Many Christians maybe have believed in the Lord for many years now, and even for a lifetime, but can’t explain the gospel clearly. They have n’t preached to others, even his own family. And Some Christians are afraid of being rejected and encountering persecution when they go to evangelize. In the final analysis, it is all because they have no real knowledge of the truth, they don’t understand the content of the gospel, lack a soul-loving heart and have a timid heart. So they can not follow the Lord's great mission and preach the gospel.
The Bible says: Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season (2 Timothy 4:2). This teaches Christians to preach the gospel whether in good times or in adversity. But the challenge they face in the church today outdo they face outside the church. To solve this problem, they have a responsibility to teach pure truth in the church, and every Christian has a responsibility to strive for the truth and know the importance of the great mission.
At the same time, we must restore the relationship with the Lord and establish an intimate relationship with him. Only if we truly love the Lord, we are willing to follow the Lord ’s teachings and the Lord ’s great mission and are willing to preach the Lord ’s gospel. In the process of evangelism, we also should rely on the Lord. The reason why the scattered disciples at that time did not forget to evangelize in that situation is that they knew they could rely on the strength of the Lord to remove the timid heart and be brave to preach the gospel.
(Note: The author of this article is a full-time pastor in a grassroots church in Fujian.)
- Translated by Abigail Wu
Devotional Series From Acts: Go to Preach Gospel
