Do You Have What it Takes to Be a Martyr?

In his book Don’t Lose Heart, Jason Meyer talks about his experience as a member of Bethlehem Baptist Church under the leadership of John Piper. One Sunday the church watched several videos about martyrs who suffered and died for their faith. As they watched, Jason began to panic in his soul. “Could I do that?!? I don’t think I could! Am I really a Christian? I don’t think I have the strength to do what they did.”

After the videos were over, Pastor John Piper came to the stage and said, “many of you are wondering if you could do that. The answer is no. You could not do it today because you have not been called to do it today. But if and when that day ever comes, God’s grace will be there so that you can.”[i]

This is exactly what Jesus was referring to in Luke 12:11-12, “And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”

Here’s the truth, Christian. You don’t have what it takes to be a martyr for Christ. At least not yet. But if God ever calls you to suffer in such a way for His sake, you’ll have what you need exactly when you need it. Or, as Peter says in 1 Peter 4:14, “If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.”

[i] Jason Meyer, Don’t Lose Heart: Gospel Hope for the Discouraged Soul (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2019), 142.