Today our culture is increasingly setting boundaries that determine what is or is not an acceptable belief. These boundaries are established through messages from news and entertainment media, popular opinion as well as politics. In some areas we even see the government beginning to legislate standards for acceptable religious practice. To express or defend beliefs outside of these parameters can put a strain on our relationships, or worse, it can lead to rejection and social isolation.

“Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8).

The reality of life for Christians is that we have an enemy. From the beginning of human history, the Devil has been looking for ways to manipulate, tempt, hurt, and ultimately destroy God’s people. One of his oldest tricks is persecution.

Today our culture is increasingly setting boundaries that determine what is or is not an acceptable belief. These boundaries are established through messages from news and entertainment media, popular opinion as well as politics. In some areas we even see the government beginning to legislate standards for acceptable religious practice. To express or defend beliefs outside of these parameters can put a strain on our relationships, or worse, it can lead to rejection and social isolation. In some cases, it can even lead to legal action against Christians who seek to live out their faith in accord with their conscience.  In the face of such persecution, it is easy to become dejected and afraid.  This method of persecution, however, is nothing new to Christianity.

If you had been a Christian living under the Roman Empire, your beliefs would have been considered superstition. This did not mean your beliefs would be thought of as silly or patently false; rather, the Latin work superstitio was used by the Romans to refer to religious beliefs that were outside the realm of “acceptable” religion.

In the Roman Empire, religious beliefs were extremely diverse, much like in America today, yet one thing held them together: they were unified under the Cult of the Emperor. As long as you worshiped the Emperor your religion would be considered safely within the bounds of acceptable beliefs.  Refusing to worship the Emperor was seen as dangerous and subversive; at the very least it was unpatriotic, and at worst it was treason.

What did this mean for Christians? Christians, of course, are called to worship God alone. This meant that Christianity was a superstitio, a religion that fell outside of the parameters of what was acceptable. As soon as you stepped outside of these boundaries persecution ensued. At various times under the Roman Empire, Christians were tortured and martyred for their faith because their beliefs were superstitio.

Christians today are finding that when their beliefs do not line up with those that are popular in their culture, persecution ensues.

1. The Devil is up to his same old tricks.

As we observe the parallels between persecution in Rome and in America, we see on a fundamental level that the Devil’s schemes have not changed over the years. He still seeks to persecute Christians and cause suffering by pushing our beliefs to the fringe of what is acceptable. The basic method and plan are the same; however, in some ways, the Devil has grown craftier.

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