47 Bible Verses about Persecution, Attitudes To

And you will be hated by every one on account of my Name. Yet the man that endures to the end shall be saved.

We work hard, toiling with our own hands. We meet abuse with blessings, we meet persecution with endurance,

So much is this the case that we ourselves speak with pride, before the Churches of God, of the patience and faith which you have shown, in spite of all the persecutions and troubles that you are enduring.

And you must be patient also, and not be discouraged; for the Lord's Coming is near.

Seeing, therefore, that there is on every side of us such a throng of witnesses, let us also lay aside everything that hinders us, and the sin that clings about us, and run with patient endurance the race that lies before us,

For the future, find strength in your union with the Lord, and in the power which comes from his might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you may be able to stand your ground against the stratagems of the Devil. For ours is no struggle against enemies of flesh and blood, but against all the various Powers of Evil that hold sway in the Darkness around us, against the Spirits of Wickedness on high.read more.
Therefore take up the full armor of God, that, when the evil day comes, you may be able to withstand the attack, and, having fought to the end, still to stand your ground. Stand your ground, then, 'with truth for your belt,' and 'with righteousness for your breast-plate,' And with the readiness to serve the Good News of Peace as shoes for your feet. At every onslaught take up faith for your shield; for with it you will be able to extinguish all the flaming darts of the Evil One. And receive 'the helmet of Salvation,' and 'the sword of the Spirit'--which is the Message of God--always with prayer and supplication. Pray in spirit at all times. Be intent upon this, with unwearying perseverance and supplication for all Christ's People- - And on my behalf also, that, when I begin to speak, words may be given me, so that I may fearlessly make known the inmost truth of the Good News, On behalf of which I am an Ambassador--in chains! Pray that, in telling it, I may speak fearlessly as I ought.

Share hardships with me, as a true soldier of Christ Jesus.

Stand firm against him, strong in your faith; knowing, as you do, that the very sufferings which you are undergoing are being endured to the full by your Brotherhood throughout the world.

You possess endurance, and have borne much for my Name, and have never grown weary.

Let your daily life among the Gentiles be so upright, that, whenever they malign you as evil-doers, they may learn, as they watch, from the uprightness of your conduct, to praise God 'at the time when he shall visit them.'

I, however, say to you--Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you,

Never avenge yourselves, dear friends, but make way for the Wrath of God; for Scripture declares--'"It is for me to avenge, I will requite," says the Lord.' Rather--'If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him to drink. By doing this you will heap coals of fire upon his head.'

For God's will is this--that you should silence the ignorance of foolish people by doing what is right.

and keeping your consciences clear, so that, whenever you are maligned, those who vilify your good and Christian conduct may be put to shame.

And not only that, but let us also exult in our troubles; For we know that trouble develops endurance, and endurance strength of character, and strength of character hope, And that 'hope never disappoints.' For the love of God has filled our hearts through the Holy Spirit which was given us;

Blessed are you when people taunt you, and persecute you, and say everything evil about you--untruly, and on my account. Be glad and rejoice, because your reward in Heaven will be great; for so men persecuted the Prophets who lived before you.

Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they expel you from among them, and taunt you, and reject your Name as an evil thing--on account of the Son of Man. Then indeed you may be glad and dance for joy, for be sure that your reward in Heaven will be great; for that is what their ancestors did to the Prophets.

But the Apostles left the Council, rejoicing that they had been thought worthy to suffer disgrace for that Name;

On this the mob rose as one man against them, and the Magistrates stripped them of their clothing and ordered them to be beaten with rods. After beating them severely, the Magistrates put them in prison, with orders to the Governor of the Jail to keep them in safe custody. On receiving so strict an order, the Governor put them into the inner cell, and secured their feet in the stocks.read more.
About midnight, while Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and while the prisoners were listening to them,

Rejoice with those who are rejoicing, and weep with those who are weeping.

Now at last I can rejoice in my sufferings on your behalf, and in my own person I supplement the afflictions endured by the Christ, for the sake of his Body, the Church;

At the thought of this you are full of exultation, though (if it has been necessary) you have suffered for the moment somewhat from various trials;

Dear friends, do not be astonished at the fiery trials that you are passing through, to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.

I do not count the sufferings of our present life worthy of mention when compared with the Glory that is to be revealed and bestowed upon us.

But you, Timothy, were a close observer of my teaching, my conduct, my purposes, my faith, my forbearance, my love, and my patient endurance, as well as of my persecutions, and of the sufferings which I met with at Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra. You know what persecutions I underwent; and yet the Lord brought me safe out of all!

Therefore we may say with confidence-- 'The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?'

Because you kept in mind the story of my endurance, I will keep you in the hour of trial that is about to come upon the whole world, the hour that will test all who are living upon earth.

Do not let your conduct be ruled by the love of money. Be content with what you have, for God himself has said-- 'I will never forsake you, nor will I ever abandon you.'

And teaching them to lay to heart all the commands that I have given you; and, remember, I myself am with you every day until the close of the age."

Though pursued, never abandoned; though struck down, never killed!

Pray in spirit at all times. Be intent upon this, with unwearying perseverance and supplication for all Christ's People- -

Bless those who curse you, pray for those who insult you.

And God--will not he see that his own People, who cry to him night and day, have justice done them--though he holds his hand? He will, I tell you, have justice done them, and that soon! Yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?"

But the end of all things is near. Therefore exercise self-restraint and be calm, that you may be able to pray.

For he must reign until God 'has put all his enemies under his feet.'

But the State of which we are citizens is in Heaven; and it is from Heaven that we are eagerly looking for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, Who, by the exercise of his power to bring everything into subjection to himself, will make this body that we have in our humiliation like to that body which he has in his Glory.

Since God deems it just to inflict suffering upon those who are now inflicting suffering upon you, And to give relief to you who are suffering, as well as to us, at the Appearing of the Lord Jesus from Heaven with his mighty angels, 'in flaming fire.' Then he will 'inflict punishment upon those who refuse to know God, and upon those who turn a deaf ear' to the Good News of Jesus, our Lord.

Then the seventh angel blew; and loud voices were heard in Heaven saying-- 'The Kingdom of the World has become the Kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever.'

That is why I am undergoing these sufferings; yet I feel no shame, for I know in whom I have put my faith, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until 'That Day.'

Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. The Devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tempted, and may undergo persecution for ten days. Be faithful even to death, and I will give you the Crown of Life.

Then one of the Councillors turned to me and said 'Who are these who are robed in white? and whence did they come?' 'My Lord,' I answered, 'it is you who know.' 'These,' he said, 'are they who come through the Great Persecution; they washed their robes white in the blood of the Lamb. And therefore it is that they are before the throne of God, and are serving him day and night in his Temple; and he who is seated on the throne will shelter them.read more.
Never again shall they be hungry, never again shall they be thirsty, nor shall the sun smite upon them, nor any scorching heat; for the Lamb that stands in the space before the throne will be their shepherd, and will lead them to life-giving springs of water; and God will wipe away all tears from their eyes.'

Their victory was due to the Blood of the Lamb, and to the Message to which they bore their testimony. In their love of life they shrank not from death.

The Pilate released Barabbas to them; but Jesus he scourged, and gave him up to be crucified. After that, the Governor's soldiers took Jesus with them into the Government House, and gathered the whole garrison round him. They stripped him, and put on him a red military cloak,read more.
And having twisted some thorns into a crown, put it on his head, and a rod in his right hand, and then, going down on their knees before him, they mocked him. "Long life to you, King of the Jews!" they said. They spat at him and, taking the rod, kept striking him on the head; And, when they had left off mocking him, they took off the military cloak, and put his own clothes on him, and led him away to be crucified.

And Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released Barabbas to them, and, after scourging Jesus, gave him up to be crucified. The soldiers then took Jesus away into the court-yard--that is the Government House--and they called the whole garrison together. They dressed him in a purple robe, and, having twisted a crown of thorns, put it on him,read more.
And then began to salute him. "Long life to you, King of the Jews!" they said. And they kept striking him on the head with a rod, spitting at him, and bowing to the ground before him--going down on their knees; And, when they had left off mocking him, they took off the purple robe, and put his own clothes on him.

What credit can you claim when, after doing wrong, you take your punishment for it patiently? But, on the other hand, if, after doing right, you take your sufferings patiently, that does win the approval of God. For it was to this that you were called! For Christ, too, suffered--on your behalf--and left you an example, that you should follow in his steps. He 'never sinned, nor was anything deceitful ever heard from his lips.'read more.
He was abused, but he did not answer with abuse; he suffered, but he did not threaten; he entrusted himself to him whose judgments are just.

Even if you should suffer for righteousness, count yourselves blessed! 'Do not let men terrify you, or allow yourselves to be dismayed.' Revere the Christ as Lord in your hearts; always ready to give an answer to any one who asks your reason for the hope that you cherish, but giving it humbly and in all reverence, and keeping your consciences clear, so that, whenever you are maligned, those who vilify your good and Christian conduct may be put to shame.read more.
It is better that you should suffer, if that should be God's will, for doing right, than for doing wrong.

No, the more you share the sufferings of the Christ, the more may you rejoice, that, when the time comes for the manifestation of his Glory, you may rejoice and exult. If you are reviled for bearing the name of Christ, count yourselves blessed; because the divine Glory and the Spirit of God are resting upon you.