Pastor James Coates’ imprisonment has sparked debate among Christians, with some insisting that he is being persecuted and others insisting that his experience cannot be classified as persecution. Some have been anything but gracious toward the Coates family because they feel embarrassed by someone that they believe is “denying the science” amid the COVID pandemic. Others are comparing Pastor Coates’ situation to the imprisonment of other pastors in other parts of the world where religious liberty is explicitly targeted. In arguing over whether or not Pastor Coates is being persecuted, Christians are missing the point. Persecution isn’t the point; obedience is the point. However you would classify Pastor Coates situation, it gives us an opportunity to examine how important obedience to God, no matter the cost, is in our lives.
In I Peter 2, the apostle Peter was addressing a group of Christians who were certainly under pressure, not just from their unbelieving society, but also from a hostile government. Peter did not spend time defining persecution for them. He didn’t say that if you feel pressure from your neighbor, that’s not persecution, but if you’re imprisoned by the government, then that is persecution. He didn’t splice hairs over whether the government was specifically targeting the church or whether the church was being affected by policies that also affected nonreligious institutions. The only thing that Peter addressed in I Peter 2 was obedience to God. I Peter 2:19-20 says, “For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully. For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? But if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God.” This passage is not focusing on circumstances (external persecution or pressure) but on conscience. It is not so much focused on what is happening to you but on why you are doing what you do. If you are experiencing negative fallout for your actions (whether you consider it persecution or not), is that a direct result of your own fault or is it a direct result of your obedience to God? The answer to this question is a matter of conscience, not circumstances.
In the New Testament, Jesus never defines persecution as a specific set of circumstances. Jesus doesn’t describe persecution as having the door slammed in your face during visitation or having your congregation cut down to 15% capacity. Neither does Jesus ever define persecution as being imprisoned for preaching or being killed for your faith. Jesus talks more about our conscience (the why we do what we do) than our circumstances (the what happens to us because we do what we do). Throughout the New Testament, Jesus talks about taking up our cross and following Him, come what may. In Luke 6:22, Jesus said, “Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man’s sake. Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in like manner did their fathers unto the prophets.” The keywords here are similar to the keywords in I Peter 2, for the Son of man’s sake. If we do what we do for the Lord’s sake, not our own, we may experience negative fallout for that. However, if we are despised or disowned for simply being wrong, then that is the natural consequence of sin. When the negative fallout comes as a result of acting according to our conscience, then we can be confident that our reward will be greater than current circumstances.
While those circumstances may look different for different people at different times, we should look more at the why behind their actions rather than just the consequences of their actions. If a fellow Christian is experiencing negative fallout “for the Lord’s sake” because of their “conscience toward God,” then we should not extend judgement to them, but rather encouragement and grace. Earlier in I Peter 2, the apostle reminded Christians to “love the brotherhood.” Christians are called to love one another and bear one another’s burdens, not to “add affliction to their bonds.” When the Church is under enough pressure from without, there is no need for added pressure from within.
Some have suggested that Pastor James’ Coates is not suffering persecution because he could have and should have complied with the government’s COVID restrictions. However, if one reads the COVID mandates that he violated, it seems that Pastor Coates had exhausted all his options that would allow him to obey both the government and God simultaneously. The Alberta government has restricted “outdoor social gatherings” to 10 people maximum and prohibits “backyard gatherings that require movement in/out of homes.” As for “indoor social gatherings,” the Alberta government limits them to “household members only,” the only exception being that people who live alone can have up to 2 close contacts over at a time. When it comes to “places of worship,” they are limited to 15% capacity in their buildings, and “in-person faith group meetings and other religious gatherings are prohibited in private homes.” While the COVID restrictions would still allow for family devotions or a three-person Bible study at your house, they would not allow for church as God intended it. Family devotions is not church. Bible study with a couple friends is not church. While each of these things are good, important, and even necessary aspects of the productive Christian life, they are not replacements for church. (For more on what church is, see Part One of this series.) It’s easy for some outsiders to say that Pastor Coates could have and should have done X, Y, or Z in order to comply with the Alberta government’s COVID restrictions. However, Pastor Coates was very clear about why he was doing what he did. His actions were more about obedience to God rather than disobedience to government. Pastor Coates was also submissive to that same government because he turned himself in to the Alberta police. Since Pastor Coates acted according to his conscience toward God, he deserves grace from his fellow believers, not condemnation.
Rather than focusing on whether or not Pastor Coates is being persecuted, we should be focusing on the why behind what we do as well. Are we more concerned with having a “good testimony” in our community, in the sense that we are compliant, well-liked, and pleasing to everyone than we are with “holding to the profession of our faith” (Hebrews 10:23)? Are we more concerned with criticizing someone like Pastor Coates than we are concerned about criticizing false teachers or ideologies that are currently infiltrating our churches? Are our actions motivated by a fear of man or our conscience toward God? If we are not gracious to our fellow believers, whether we consider them persecuted or not, then how can we expect to receive grace when we are in a difficult position? If we are more concerned with obeying COVID restrictions than we are with obeying God, then what makes us think that we will “hold fast to the profession of our faith” when “real” persecution hits? Quibbling over what is or is not persecution distracts us from the real question about obedience to God.
Whether our obedience brings us state-sanctioned persecution, or a door slammed in the face, it is not about us at all. It’s about Who we belong to. The reason Saul persecuted the church in Acts 8 was not that he had a personal vendetta against individual Christians (that would be vengeance, not persecution). The reason Saul persecuted the church was that they made up the visible, tangible body of Christ on this earth. The reason Rome later persecuted the Christians was not their unruliness or rebellion (that would be punishment, not persecution). Rather, the reason Rome persecuted the Christians was that they were the worshippers of Christ, not the Emperor. Persecution is never about you or me; it is always about the One we are called to represent. Whatever is done to us is really being done to Christ (Matthew 25:40). This isn’t a battle between Christians and the world. This is a battle between Christ and the world.
While our current culture may not be as hostile as the culture in the I Peter 2 context, focusing on obedience and supporting our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ is just as vital. The debate swirling around Pastor Coates shouldn’t be a contest of who is the “best Christian” or what constitutes “real persecution.” It should be an opportunity for us to examine whether or not we are obviously following Christ in the public sphere and whether we are prepared to hold fast to our faith come what may.
When pastors are jailed, we should be not surprised, and we don’t need to be worried. We do need to examine ourselves. What is our attitude toward church? What is our attitude toward human government? What is our attitude about the importance of our obedience to God? When pastors are jailed is the time for us as Christians to live out our faith for all to see. As C.S. Lewis put it, “Don’t shine so others can see you. Shine, so that through you, others can see Him.” Even better, as Jesus put it in Matthew 5:16, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” If we don’t exercise our faith now, what makes us think that we will be strong when the pressure is turned up? Let’s seize this moment to use our liberty to shine for Christ in service to others.