“The night before last I was taken away to the central investigation area of the Qingyang branch of the Chengdu Police Bureau. This time I went through the formal procedures. I had to take off all my clothes and they took away all my belongings. Finally, they even took away my wedding ring. What was I thinking at the time? It felt like the chief priest going into the most holy place—he had to leave behind all his belongings and relationships, because he must face the Lord by himself.”

— Wang Yi, "The Way of the Cross and the Life of the Martyrs"

After the People's Republic of China was established on October 1, 1949, the Communist Party's hostility towards religion, especially Roman Catholicism and Protestant Christianity, became evident. Even though most Christians were Chinese nationals, the Party associated them with Western imperialism. The Party's opposition stemmed from its atheistic ideology, the Church's foreign appearance, and its suspicion that Christians’ socio-political loyalty is at best ambiguous. The Party's demand for all societal levels and organizations to submit to its authority posed significant challenges for believers. The new government insisted that the Church sever international connections. This ultimatum caused a divide among Christians that persists to this day. Those who complied with the government's policy experienced some relief from persecution, but all endured severe hardship during the Cultural Revolution (1966-76).

Today, Pastor Wang Yi is part of the cloud of witnesses who peacefully resist the coercion of the Christian faith with the state attempting to control and mitigate the visible presence of the community of the gospel. What does the Bible tell us about situations like this? How are we to respond when such actions are taken against our brothers and sisters in Christ across the globe, or perhaps even to us? Here are four questions about persecution we often have.

1. Why Does Persecution Happen?

In his sermon The Way of the Cross and the Life of the Martyrs, Wang understands persecution not as an aberration in Christian life but as a potential outcome in any faithful witness of Christians. He states, “Martyrdom is the common experience of churches of all eras and all peoples, a life experience shared by all of us. This does not happen in every church. Not every believer will be a martyr. But in churches of all eras, as long as you belong to the church, the life of martyrdom is a life we share in common.”¹

The circumstances of persecution arise from the fundamental conflict between the kingdom of God and the kingdoms of this world. The increasing control and surveillance of religious activities in places like China is symptomatic of a deeper spiritual reality: the world’s rebellion against God’s sovereignty. Wang traces the causes to two primary sources:

The Gospel Message: The proclamation of Christ as Lord of Lords and King of Kings inherently challenges socio-political powers that demand ultimate allegiance. The state often fears the church not for its political ambitions but for its moral authority and the loyalty it produces among believers.
The Church’s Witness: The visible nature of the church’s faith and its refusal to conform to the state’s demands for ideological uniformity draw the ire of the authorities. This resistance is a faithful witness to Christ’s lordship, even at great personal cost.

2. What Does Persecution Mean for Me?

Keeping in mind the two sources listed above, martyrdom is not just the painful experience of a few extraordinary individuals, but a conviction to pour out one’s life as part of the church and body of Christ as a whole. Wang teaches that the life of every Christian is spiritually intertwined with the life of the martyrs on several theological aspects:

Continuity of Witness: Martyrdom is part of the ongoing witness of the church throughout history.
Corporate Identity: Martyrdom is not an isolated phenomenon. The suffering of individual believers is part of the collective testimony of the church throughout history.
Hope and Glory: The presence of martyrs in biblical imagery serves to anticipate the complete realization of kingdom of God and Christ’s second coming, and as a reminder of the church’s ultimate victory over sin and death.

We are part of a global fellowship of believers—many of whom face substantial challenges in simply gathering to worship every week. It is therefore the duty of the church to learn about the conditions that perpetuate these agonies and learn from those who maintain public confession to the Lord in the face of opposition. In turn, we support them with regular rhythms of prayer, lament and encouragement, and material means whenever possible. And inspired by their example, we maintain a public profession of Christ’s lordship and a witness as the church in our own environments. We are not separated from the martyrs worldwide, past or present—we are connected with them through faith, and our lives should reflect this reality.

3. What is the Result of Persecution?

In Wang’s pastoral theology, martyrdom can carry at least two consequences: it can serve to glorify God in Christ and as a public testimony to the world. The Christian life, modeled after Christ’s own sufferings, will inevitably lead to opposition from the socio-political powers of the world. This opposition, far from silencing Christian witness, confirms it. Persecution is not a defeat but a victory—a demonstration of faithfulness to Christ and a prophetic indictment of the world systems that oppose God’s way of life.

Suffering can also be a catalyst for revival. Wang views human-inflicted suffering as a driving force for spiritual renewal when we suffer well as Christ did. He describes how his detainment in 2017, along with the repression and control of the church’s activities, ended up mobilizing intercessory prayer and acts of radical solidarity: “The news about persecution as well as the persecution itself gives us a real opportunity to share with churches being persecuted, murdered, imprisoned, and humiliated in North Korea, the Middle East, and throughout the world.”² Governmental oppression can inadvertently further the church’s determination to be an international body, likening it to historical experiences of persecution that have fueled the expansion of Christ’s kingdom. This conviction transforms what might appear to be the church’s vulnerability into a demonstration of God’s providential care. In other words, the state’s actions against the church, rather than dismantling its influence, can contribute to its vitality and mission.

4. When Will God Make Things Right?

In the face of such travesties and injustices, a common question often enters our minds: Will God do something about this? It is to echo the cry of the martyrs in Revelation 6:10: “‘O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?’” The short answer is that we will not know God’s timing until he reveals it to us.

Interestingly enough, Wang sees the lasting afflictions in his country as part of the church’s intercessory role for the nation at large. He states:

“The sword of the Lord has been hanging over China for a long time, but why has it not come down? Because the Lord is still waiting, because he is still giving time to his church, to his gospel, and to the opening of the gate of his grace. In him there is a time that has not yet been fulfilled; in him there is one number that has not yet been reached; in him there is one part of the journey that we have not yet finished. Therefore, my brothers and sisters, on earth we are like Abraham interceding for Sodom and Gomorrah. The church is the watchman for today’s world. If the church does not point out the evil of the world, the church will be condemned along with the world. The church is the intercessor for today’s world. The church prays in the presence of God, saying, “God, do not destroy this great city of Chengdu, which has a hundred righteous people, fifty righteous people, or even one thousand righteous people. O Lord, do not destroy this city.”³

The reason God has not manifested divine judgment upon China, Wang reasons, is because “in its midst there are God’s people, because in its midst there are faithful children of God, because in its midst there are people who intercede for the people and for the nation” and in God’s mercy judgment still awaits.⁴ He encourages his church to consider their social and political trials not in isolation, but as part of God’s providence, however indiscernible it might be at times.

But we remain unable to fully comprehend the depths of our Sovereign God’s plans, and even sometimes the reasoning behind them. What we may take great courage in is the fact that God has assured us that one day he will make everything right. One day, every knee will bow, everything in the dark will come to the light, every tear will be wiped away, and each of the martyrs will be clothed in white robes and told to rest. It is in these great hopes that we persist as the global body of Christ.

Let us all take up our cross and follow Christ. Let us view persecution not as something that we endure alone or avoid alone, but as something inevitable to the life of the global church. And may God help us suffer well and support those who are suffering with great care and diligence until the kingdom comes in full. In the words of Pastor Wang,

“Lord, we thank you and praise you. Lord, hear our prayer and let our worship and praise shake the gates of hell. Reveal your wisdom through your church to all the powers and authorities… Lord, make the prince of the power of the air flee… The cross will forever be our glory. We thank you and praise you, Lord, as the army of God and as one church.”

Notes

1. Wang Yi, “The Way of the Cross and the Life of the Martyrs,” in Faithful Disobedience: Writings on Church and State from a Chinese House Church Movement, ed. Hannah Nation and J. D. Tseng, Kindle ed. (IVP Academic, 2022).

2. Ibid, p. 173.

3. Ibid, p. 157–58.

4. Ibid, p. 158.