his religious or other beliefs." Interestingly enough, the English
word martyr is really a word transliterated from the original Greek
martur, which simply means "witness." The reason why this word became
synonymous with dying for one's religious beliefs is that the early
Christian witnesses were often persecuted and/or killed for their
witness.
As evidence of this, consider the story of the first Christian martyr,
Stephen, recorded in Acts 6:8–7:53. After being anointed as one of the
first deacons in the church, Stephen immediately began doing mighty
works among the people. As is usually the case when the Holy Spirit is
mightily at work and the gospel is going forth, the forces of darkness
arise to hinder the work of the kingdom. In this case, several men
came to dispute what Stephen was saying, but Stephen, filled with the
Holy Spirit, was able to refute their criticisms. Rather than accept
what Stephen was teaching, these men brought false charges against him
to the Jewish leaders (Acts 6:11-14). Most of Acts 7 consists of
Stephen's speech to the Jewish leaders in which he essentially
summarized the history of Israel up to their rejection of their
Messiah.
At the end of the speech, Stephen utters these words, which seal his
fate: "You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you
always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. Which
of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those
who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you
have now betrayed and murdered, you who received the law as delivered
by angels and did not keep it" (Acts 7:51-53).
Now, there was nothing untrue in Stephen's words. The Jewish leaders
were indeed responsible for turning Jesus over to the Romans for
execution. Despite Jesus' miracles and authoritative teaching, the
hardness of the Jewish leaders' hearts kept them from seeing the truth
about Jesus. The Jewish leaders, upon hearing Stephen's words, were
enraged and immediately arranged for Stephen's execution by stoning
(v. 58). Stephen was, therefore, the first Christian martyr recorded
in Scripture.
The Bible places a premium on faithful believers who pay the ultimate
price for their witness. Stephen was granted a glorious vision of
heaven before he died, and in this vision, he saw Jesus standing at
the right hand of the Father (Acts 7:56) as though waiting for Stephen
in an attitude of honor for Stephen's faithful service. As further
evidence that martyrs are considered precious in God's sight, the
apostle John saw in his vision of the millennium those martyred for
their faith reigning with Christ for a thousand years (Revelation
20:4). The apostle Peter, who wrote the most about martyrdom and
suffering for one's faith, said, "If you are insulted because of the
name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God
rests on you... However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be
ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name" (1 Peter 4:14, 16).
There is also the word of our Lord who pronounced a blessing upon
those who are persecuted for His name: "Blessed are you when people
insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against
you because of me" (Matthew 5:11).
Clearly, the biblical evidence points to the fact that those who are
persecuted and suffer for their witness to Christ (up to and including
death) are pleasing in God's sight. Given that, two additional
questions arise. First, what if I'm not asked to make the ultimate
sacrifice for the cause of Christ? God doesn't call everyone to make
the ultimate sacrifice, but the Bible calls all Christians to be
prepared to give a defense of the hope within us (1 Peter 3:15). The
key to this passage lies in preparedness. Consider this analogy: those
enlisting in the armed services should do so with the understanding
that they may be called into battle and may be called upon to die in
the service of their country. This is (or should be) the mindset of
everyone who joins the military. Clearly, not all enlisted men and
women die in the service of their country, and not all are even called
into battle. Despite this, they are trained daily to be prepared for
battle. The same goes for the Christian. We are in a state of
"warfare" (Ephesians 6:12-20), and our Lord may call upon any of us to
witness and even be martyred for our faith. Thus, we must be prepared!
The second question that can be asked is, given martyrdom's "special"
status in God's eyes, should we actually seek martyrdom? Biblically,
we can't make a case for seeking to be martyrs for the cause of
Christ. Martyrdom is a great privilege if it is inevitable, but it is
not to be sought. Jesus said, "When they persecute you in one town,
flee to the next" (Matthew 10:23). Furthermore, reading through the
book of Acts, we see that the early church continually fled from
intense persecution (Acts 8:1; 9:25, 30; 14:6; 17:10, 14). In each of
these biblical examples, we see the early Christians fleeing
persecution and taking all necessary precautions for survival. When
Jesus says, "Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses
his life for my sake will find it" (Matthew 10:39), He is not calling
for people to make an attempt to lose their lives. Rather, He is
calling us to be willing to lose our lives for His sake. Those who
actively seek the path of martyrdom are not seeking it for the glory
of God, but for their own glory. As the old saying goes, the blood of
the martyrs is the seed of the church. God's purpose in martyrdom is
the glorification of His name and the building up of His church.
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