Psalm 11

The worshiper of God has been granted the perfect hope in Christ, who is already seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven. Because of our union with Him in His life, death, and resurrection, we have been granted a salvation that cannot be better.

In Christ we are already in the heavens. See Ephesians 2:6. But we still live here. We don't yet see everything in perfect submission to Christ. Everyone is not at peace with God, and they may not be at peace with those who call upon His Name. This may lead to some mild discomfort or even to more serious danger.

This tension between our perfect eternal security in heaven and our present circumstances of conflict can be very confusing. When threats against the worshipers of God are real, what should we do? Should we stand together where we are, perhaps even losing our lives, or should we flee for survival, so that we can continue to do the work that God has for us on the earth?

Whether we stay or go, the first thing we need to do is to take refuge in the Lord. Not only do we have a great High Priest who is able to sympathize with us, we also have a great King who is able to defend us. This does not mean that it is wrong for us to flee to the mountains in the face of a coming assault against the church. If God says stay, we stay; if He says run, we run. Sometimes He wants us to flee.

When Jesus in Luke 21 prepared His disciples for the intense trouble that would come upon Jerusalem in the generation after his death and resurrection He said to them, “When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, and let those who are inside the city depart, and let not those who are out in the country enter it, for these are days of vengeance, to fulfill all that is written.” Centuries earlier, in the days of Jeremiah, the obedient course of action for the people of God was to go peacefully to Babylon rather than to resist the armies coming against them. Centuries before that when gave the command that Israelite babies be murdered, it was commendable for the Egyptian midwives to lie. Sometimes you are called do what is necessary to preserve life.

This can be a hard word to hear for the man of faith who has it in his own mind that the right course of action is always to take your stand against those who hate the Lord and even to die in the face of overwhelming opposition. As in all things, we need to be ruled by God's Word and not our own impulses. It can be personal pride or presumption, and not faith, that insists on dying. God may be telling His people to run away and live.

But how do we know if God wants us to flee? Do not assume that you must run away just because people speak against the church or because there are occasional acts of persecution. These are normal. We still stay as long as we can. But when the whole fabric of a society has been utterly destroyed, when the leading people are so corrupt that they are determined to use their full military power to kill those who worship God through Jesus Christ, the worshipers of God need to consider. What can the righteous do? They need wisdom from heaven.

We do not need to live in fear of men, but the church needs to seriously consider whether an assault from God Himself is bringing utter destruction upon the land where they live. Consider the facts presented in the book of Acts. The big story of evil there was the murderous persecution of the church by ruling Jewish authorities in league with the Romans. That outrageous offense brought the desolation that culminated in the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. That judgment came from God. He just used Titus and the Romans.

How about Sodom? It was the murderous wickedness and immorality of the people and their abuse of those who were in need that brought about the destruction of their city in Genesis 19. Would it have been best for Lot and His household to stay there saying, “As for me and my household, this is our home, and we are going to die for the Lord here?” No, it was God who had determined to destroy. He gave the order to Lot's family. Run. Run fast. Don't look back. Remember Lot's wife.

Our home is not here. We seek the prosperity of the Babylon where God has placed us, but our home is in the Jerusalem that is above. When the Lord rains coals on those who love violence, it is not a time for the church to stay out of a misguided sense of loyalty to the place where we live now.

It is understandable that Christians would have the impulse to die in faith. Paul was willing to be cut off from Christ for the sake of his brothers according to the flesh, the Jews, that they might be saved. Some Jews did see Christ as the Messiah. Many did not, and some even thought that they were serving God when they put Christians to death. What can the righteous do in such a case?

One righteous Man chose not to flee to the mountains when the wrath of God was coming upon a whole community. Jesus stayed. There were those who were telling Him to prove who He was by coming down from the cross. Instead He demonstrated His love by dying for us there. Because He did not flee, we get to live. To say that we admire what He did for us would be a great understatement. Most days, the church serves Him by a being a living sacrifice. Today may not be the day that He brings you to heaven.

Whether we stay and die, or flee in order to live more for Christ here, either way we can know this for certain: The Lord is righteous. He loves righteous deeds. The upright in Christ shall behold his face. Hold on to the hope that is secure forever for us in the heavens, and live for the One who stayed on the cross to secure your eternal blessing.