Of all the churches that Paul started throughout his vast missionary journeys, none received as much of his praise than that of the Macedonian churches, especially the one in Thessalonica. Many had eagerly responded to his preaching and teaching there, and a new church was begun. Even during his short time with them persecution arose, forcing him and his co-laborers out of the city.

Apparently, the young church continued to suffer frequent attacks and pressures long after his time there. Paul referred to their tribulations, along with their growth that seemed to flourish in spite of their difficulties in his second letter to them. He wrote in…

2 Thessalonians 1:3 We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth;
4 So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure:

This church comprised of new believers, and likely pastored by a relatively new believer, was demonstrating a level of spiritual maturity that far surpassed many churches that had existed for years. How could it be that the constant persecution they were forced to endure had not caused them to shutter their doors long before? How could they have continued to trust the Lord, and even grow in their faith seeing the intense pressure around them?

It is not uncommon in our modern, well-established, and ‘respectable’ churches to find congregations who are characterized by weak faith and little tolerance for any kind of pain. When the least wind of resistance begins to blow, all of a sudden regularly filled seats in the auditorium are found empty.

When most of a church leader’s time is spent trying to keep his flock getting along with each other, something is dreadfully wrong. And yet, the message the world has received from the church is ‘stay away the air is toxic!’

How did the church devolve from strong believers, thriving under persecution to the lazy and fragile state of the average church goer today? Is it possible that because we no longer face the constant antagonism and intrusions the early church was forced to endure, we have grown soft, and our stand for Christ weak?

When a coach receives a new group of young players, one of his first concerns is the physical condition of each. He knows that to make them successful and competitive, they will have to be pushed, and pushed hard. The players may have joined with dreams of playing their sport, but what they initially face is pain and a coach seemingly determined to push them beyond their abilities. The final result is a team who becomes capable of effectively competing.

I have no desire for persecution to come to the church, but we are in desperate need of getting stronger. Either we exercise on our own, or we should expect persecution to come.