Pressure and Persecution for Pursuing Purity (Obedience
to God)
Lk. 3:18-20 Why was John the Baptist
locked up in prison by King Herod?
Why
did Herodias want to kill John (Mk.
Have you or anyone you
know ever been jailed or murdered because you (or they) reproved a civil
authority for sin in that person’s life? If
so, who, and when?
Mk. 1:32-38,
45 How did Jesus deal here with the pressure of crowds wanting
His time and attention for physical healings or spiritual deliverance from
demonic spirits?
Have you ever been
pressured by people (like Jesus was in 1:38) to do ministry activities that weren’t a part of God’s will for
you even though the activities were helpful and good things to do for needy
people?
If so, how did you
deal with the pressure, and why that particular way?
Mk. 2:14-17 How
did the religious leaders try to cast doubt about Jesus’ integrity into the
minds of His disciples?
Have religious
people ever tried to cast doubt into your mind as to your spiritual leader’s or
trainer’s integrity?
If
so, how?
And if so, how did
you respond to their attempt to do this, and why?
How did Jesus deal
with this situation (vs. 17)?
How did or how do
you think your spiritual teacher-trainer would handle the situation?
Mk. 3:1-7 For what were the religious and political leaders wanting to
destroy Jesus (also see Jn.
Have any religious or
political people ever wanted to do you harm because you did something good, but
in the process of your doing so, you broke one of their man-made religious
traditions or rules? If so, what, and when?
What was Jesus’
response to these leaders?
Mk. 3:20-26 For what reason did Jesus’ own family/people want to take
Him into custody by force?
[Gk. “hoi par autou” means “those from the side of Him” – Wuest’s Word
Studies in the Greek NT, “Mark”, p. 74; or, as it’s commonly used in the
LXX, meaning “kinspeople or family” – A.T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the
NT; it’s a Greek idiom for “kinsmen/family”, vs. 31 – Walvoord, The
Bible Knowledge Commentary, NT, p. 117].
And
what were they saying about Jesus (vs. 21)?
Has anyone,
especially those from your home area (e.g., family, friends, and relatives),
ever said anything like this about you or someone you know because you/they
were following God (doing His will)? If so, who, when, and
why?
What did the scribes (i.e.,
religious leaders) say about Jesus (vs. 22)?
[“Beelzebul” –
the ruler of demons, Satan; god of dung – Wuest’s Word Studies in the Greek
N.T., vol. 1, “Mark”, p. 75.
“Beelzebub” was the god of flies, the god of the Philistines/Ekronites. The Jews
transferred this name to Satan in contempt.].
How did Jesus deal
with this verbal abuse (vs. 23)?
How do you deal with
slanderous remarks made toward you, and why?
Mk. 5:2-17 What
did the demon-possessed man ask and then request of Jesus (vs. 7)?
What
would you have done if someone said this to you, and why?
What
did Jesus do (see also Matt.
What
did the people ask Jesus to do (vs. 17)?
Has anyone ever asked
you to leave the area where you were ministering because you were messing up
their lifestyle by doing God’s will? If so, when, where, and why?
Mk. 5:38-42; Matt. 9:23-25 What were the people’s response to Jesus’ statement that the
girl was not dead but sleeping?
What did Jesus then
do?
Have people ever laughed at you because you believed
that God was going to do something that they thought was impossible (e.g., being a full-time, evangelizing
missionary without getting a salary)? If so, what, and when?
How did you respond to their laughter, and why?
Mk. 6:2-6 Why did Jesus’ hometown people take offense at Jesus?
What did Jesus say
in response to this?
Has your family, relatives, or neighbors ever taken
offense at you (thought you were
prideful) because of your wanting to do or your doing God’s will/ministry
or having godly/biblical wisdom since they couldn’t see you as being qualified,
as you were just one of them (as far as they were concerned)? If so, how did you respond to their
offense at you, and why?
Mk. 8:10-13 What
did the Pharisees come out and begin to do with Jesus?
What
was Jesus’ response?
Do religious people
argue with you to try and test you to see what authority you speak with or do
things by (i.e., what credentials you have, like, are you: ordained, a
seminary graduate, or a staff member of a tax-exempt, religiously-recognized
church or Christian organization)? If
so, how did you respond, and why?
Mk. 12:13-17 Why were some religious and political leaders sent to Jesus?
Has
anyone tried to do this to you? If
so, how did you respond to the situation, and why?
How
did Jesus respond to His situation?
Mk. 13:9-13 What
did Jesus warn His disciples about?
Has
any of this happened to you yet? If so, what, and when?
How
do you think you will respond when it does happen to you, and why?
Mk. 14:1, 43-65; 15:16-20, 24 What happened to Jesus in the way of pressure or
persecution?
Has
any of this ever happened to you because of your faith in and stand for Christ,
God, or the Bible? If so, what, and when?
Lk. 4:1-13 What
other kind of pressure did Jesus face besides the physical and mental abuses of
the previous passage?
How did Jesus deal
with this pressure?
Have you ever
experienced demonic pressures? If
so, how did you deal with them, and why?
Lk.
4:24-30 How did the people in Jesus’ hometown react to Jesus’
statements about a prophet not being welcome in his hometown (vss. 28, 29)
as He spoke the truth to them?
What
did Jesus do?
Has
anyone ever reacted to you in a similar way when you spoke the truth to them
from Scripture?
If
so, when, what was it, and how did you react?
Lk. 4:33-35 What
kind of person was in the synagogue?
Do you think that
there are people today in churches or other religious gathering places, who are
demon-possessed?
Might
this partially explain why so many religious gatherings are so messed up
doctrinally?
How
did Jesus respond to the possessed person?
Have
you ever been criticized while at a religious gathering for who you are (an
obedient Christian), or for what you know the Bible teaches (e.g., that all Christians are to evangelize
the spiritually lost and live Christ-like lives in character as their purpose
in life)? If so, how
did you respond to the criticism?
Lk. 5:33-35 What
were the religious leaders criticizing Jesus’ disciples for (by virtue of
the question they asked Jesus)?
How did Jesus
respond?
How often do
religious people criticize your disciples/trainees for things that aren’t
really wrong?
And how did you deal
with it?
Lk. 6:1-5 What
else were the religious leaders criticizing Jesus’ disciples/trainees for?
How did Jesus respond?
Have you ever done this
to bail out your disciples/trainees? If so, when?
Lk. 6:22, 23 Who
does Jesus say is blessed?
How should we respond, and why?
Have you ever
responded this way to that kind of situation? If so, when, and why?
Lk. 20:1-8 For
what did the religious leaders confront Jesus?
How
did Jesus respond to their questioning confrontation?
Does
Jesus seem defensive, and why?
Have
people ever questioned your authority to teach the Bible, baptize new
Christians, evangelize, or lead a Christian ministry?
If
so, what did you say (and would Matt. 28:19, 20; Rev. 1:4-6, and 1 Pet. 2:9
have helped with your answer)?
Lk. 20:19-25 What
did the religious leaders do to Jesus (vs. 20)?
Has anyone ever done
this to you or someone you know? If
so, how did you or they respond?
How
did Jesus respond?
Lk. 22:3-6 Who
induced Jesus’ disciple to betray Jesus?
Have any of your disciples/trainees ever gone
back on you and become an enemy of yours?
Jn. 7:3-9 Who
else taunted (sarcastically mocked,
insulted, or challenged) and didn’t believe in Jesus?
How did Jesus respond to
their taunts?
Have
your family members ever taunted you about your Christian life, ministry, or
plans? If so, how did you respond, and
why?
Jn.
Does
the pressure of what people might think of, say to, or do to you cause you to
not speak openly about your faith in Christ, and why?
Jn.
Has anyone ever
accused you of this? If so, how
did you respond?
How did Jesus?
Jn. 8:12-18 Who
accused Jesus of being a liar?
Have
religious people ever falsely accused you of being a liar? If so, how did you respond?
How
did Jesus respond?
Jn. 9:18-23 Why
did the blind man’s parents tell the Jews (religious
leaders) to ask their son about his healing (vs. 22)?
Have
you ever given in to pressure for fear of what would happen to you if you
openly confessed Jesus as your Savior or planned to obey the teachings of the
Bible, and why?
Jn. 10:17-20 Besides accusing Jesus of having a demon, what else did the
Jews accuse Him of (vs. 20)?
Has anyone ever accused you of this because you were speaking truthfully about what God says in the Bible (e.g., that God predestines people and events; that the spiritual gifts of speaking in tongues, prophesying, etc. ended in the 1st century A.D.)?
If so, how did you respond, and why?
Jn. 15:18-21 What
did Jesus tell His disciples (vss. 20, 21)?
Have
you ever been hated and persecuted for Christ’s sake?
If
not, do you think it’s because you’re not a real slave/servant of Christ?
Matt. 10:21-23, 35, 36 Who will persecute Christians and be his/her enemy?
What is your family’s attitude toward you being a Christian or you
being an imitator/disciple of Christ’s?
And
who will hate Christians (vs. 22)?
Have you been experiencing this? If so,
how?
Matt. 11:18, 19 What slanderous remarks did the Jews make toward both John
the Baptist and Jesus?
How
do you think you would respond if people said this of you, and why?
Matt. 16:21-23 What did Peter do to Jesus?
For what?
How
did Jesus respond?
Have any of your
disciples/trainees ever rebuked you due to their being satanically influenced,
and how did you know?
Acts 4:1-3 Why
were these religious and political leaders greatly disturbed at Peter and John?
Has
anyone been greatly disturbed when you’ve shared the gospel? What did they then do to Peter and John?
How
would you feel if this happened to you, and why?
Acts
What would your
response be if some religious or civil authorities did this to you today, and
why?
Acts
How do you think you
would respond to being whipped?
And how did they
respond?
Acts 6:8-12; 7:1, 51-60 What happened to Stephen because of his ministry?
How
did Stephen respond during this entire ordeal?
How
do you think you would have responded at each point of this ordeal, and why?
Acts 8:1-4 How
did the Christians respond to their being persecuted?
If
someone entered your house and dragged you off to prison, how would you
respond, and why?
Acts
How
did Paul and Barnabas respond?
How
would you have responded, and why?
Acts
Do
you get the picture now that persecution was a common everyday experience?
Are
you still expecting your Christian life to get easier and more comfortable, or
harder and more pressuring, and why?
Acts
What
was done to Paul and Silas?
How
did they respond?
Acts 20:17-24 In spite of what,
didn’t Paul stop teaching and preaching the Gospel to the Ephesian people?
How
did Paul view his life?
How
do you view your life in respect to the dangers and possible death that
preaching the Gospel might bring?
And why?
2 Cor. 1:8-10 What
didn’t Paul and Timothy want these Christians at
Have you ever been
burdened excessively beyond your strength, so that you despaired even of life,
because you were obedient in living for and serving Christ in evangelizing and
building up believers spiritually?
2 Cor. 4:7-11 What
did the normal Christian life include for Paul and Timothy?
Does
your daily Christian life include these things?
If
not, could it be because you don’t desire what’s expressed in 2 Tim. 3:12?
2 Cor.
Is this worth your
enduring the present afflictions for Jesus, and why?
2 Cor. 7:5 When Paul and Timothy
came to
Have you ever felt
like you were being afflicted from every side (family, friends, neighbors,
employer, fellow employees, classmates, professors, etc.) because of your
obedience to the Bible?
2 Cor. 11:23-28
What did Paul go through because he obeyed God
in evangelizing and building up believers spiritually?
Has
any of this ever happened to you, and if so, what?
Do
you have the daily pressure upon you of concern for anyone or group of
Christians (vs. 28)?
What
kind of pressure would this include?
2 Cor. 12:9, 10 What was Paul’s attitude toward
insults and persecutions for Christ’s sake?
What is your attitude
toward insults, distresses, and persecutions because of preaching the Gospel,
building up and training believers, and/or living a godly life, and why?
Phil. 1:12-14 What were two
benefits of Paul’s being imprisoned?
Can
you think of any benefits of you going to jail because you preached the Gospel
or lived godly? If so, what?
Phil.
How
do you feel about God granting this to you, and why?
1
Thes. 2:1, 2 After Paul, Timothy, and Silvanus had
suffered and been mistreated in
Have
you ever shared the gospel with anyone or in any place amid much (or even
any) opposition? If so, what happened?
2 Thes. 1:4-7 Why
did Paul, Timothy, and Silvanus speak proudly of these
Christians?
Why
were they suffering (vs. 5)?
2 Tim. 1:7, 8; 2:3 What did Paul
ask Timothy to join with him in?
Is suffering and
hardship something you’d normally want to join in, or do you normally try to
escape or avoid it, and why?
2 Tim. 2:8-10 Why
does Paul suffer hardship even to imprisonment as a criminal and endure all
things?
Are you willing to
suffer hardship to this extent for this reason, and why?
If
not for this reason, then for what reason?
2 Tim. 4:5, 14-17 Why
did Alexander do Paul much harm?
What
happened at Paul’s first defense?
Have you
ever suffered harm for teaching biblical truth, and, on top of that, have all
your Christian friends desert you when you needed them?
[It is not wrong to defend yourself verbally.].
Heb. 10:32-34 What had these Christians endured?
In
what ways did they suffer?
What
was their attitude toward their property being seized?
What
are some ways that people could make a public spectacle out of you?
Would
you be willing to identify and even help out Christians who are imprisoned for
the faith or preaching the Gospel?
Why?
What
would your attitude be toward the seizure of your property because of your
Christian testimony, and why?
Heb. 11:24-27 What did Moses rather choose?
Why?
Why
didn’t he fear the wrath of the king?
What
would you have done, and why?
Heb. 12:2, 3 Why should we consider
Jesus’ example as One who endured hostility by
sinners?
Have you ever gotten
weary of people criticizing you for your involvement in evangelism and building
up and training believers and following the Bible literally? If so, what can you do to
prevent becoming weary?
James 5:10, 11 What were the
prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord an example of?
What
was the outcome of the Lord’s dealings with Job?
Does this give you any
encouragement to endure the sufferings God will bring or is bringing into your
life as a result of your following Christ, and why?
1 Pet. 2:19-23 What
finds favor with God?
What
kind of example did Christ leave us to follow?
Will you qualify to
find favor with God because of your response to suffering? How do you know?
1 Pet.
Have you ever
suffered for doing what’s right? If
so, when, and what was it?
What should we not
fear?
Have you, and why?
Do you fear your
opponents’ intimidations? Why?
1 Pet. 4:4 What
do some people do when you don’t participate with them in their sins anymore?
Has this ever
happened to you? When,
and for what?
1 Pet. 4:12-16 What
weren’t these Christians to be surprised at?
To
what degree were they to keep on rejoicing?
If
you suffer as a Christian, what shouldn’t you do?
And
what should you do instead?