David Pawson - Hebrews pt 2

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THOUGHTFUL THOUGHTS 27.3.26 BY JOHN DUNNING.

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PERSECUTION LEADING TO BACKSLIDING - HEBREWS, Part 2

1). CATCH UP
Last time we looked at Nero rounding up believers to face cruel kinds of executions. Jewish believers had a “bolt hole”, of running back to their synagogue, which they could do as Judaism was legal, but to do that, they had to deny Jesus as the Christ first.

2). INTRODUCTION - Keep on, going on… Hebrews Part 2

Hebrews shows believers that the Old Covenant they were returning to, was only a shadow of the new covenant fulfilment. The former covenant pointed to the Messiah, and they were choosing the signpost over and above the reason for everything. The author Hebrews is saying they need to ‘keep on keeping on’ with discipleship in order to gain the promised reward. The list of the faithful in Hebrews 11 is provided to encourage believers to keep going on. They all followed through on their faith, by their actions, even Rahab the gentile prostitute is listed amongst those faithful as she chose to follow God. (I imagine that the reason why Solomon is missing from the list is that we are told that his wives led him away from the Lord. He is an example of someone who started well and was even praised for his faith, and yet even Solomon became a backslidder, by being led astray by the cares of this world, according to the Bible’s description of him being led away from the Lord.)

When the writer says; ‘don’t go back but do go on’, they were writing to people who were going back to the opposite of what God required. So the book of Hebrews is relevant today, because some believers choose to give up, when the pressure requires sacrifice. (See Romans 12:1). Today it is a new kind of pressure. It is a pressure on Christians to conform to new laws coming in, which forces Christians to choose between going with the flow of political correctness, or applying New Testament teaching to their lives and becoming criminalised…

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3. CHRISTIAN STORIES FROM TODAY

It’s not just in the eastern countries where persecution is common. 

“Political Correctness" is being fast tracked in the west, which is a different kind of pressure… which has been building up for many years now… 

In England The Christian Institute is trying to provide legal support to Christians affected by legal action taken against them…

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a). “The Christian Institute” helped David Mackereth, a Christian doctor, who stated that the gender of a person is determined by biology.

“Well, that’s just obvious”, you might be thinking, “so where’s the story in that?.”
Well, the story was that he lost his job for stating that he would be sticking to the truth of this biological fact. (You can google the story on “The Christian Institute” website). 

There’s yet one more thing to add. What country do you think that doctor lived in? 

Well, believe it or not, it is the UK.

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b). Mr and Mrs Bull had to sell their guest house after being heavily fined for not allowing a gay couple to share the same room, but they offered them separate rooms. The landlord's freedom of religious belief was not a consideration and the case took such a heavy toll on Mr Bull he has since died. See;- https://www.christian.org.uk/res…/faith-fire-hazelmary-bull/
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c). Then there were wedding registrars who lost their jobs for refusing to marry gay couples, as it was against their conscience.
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d). A Christian school and a Jewish school were warned by school inspectors for refusing to teach gay marriage to children. 

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e). In a part of one of the Commonwealth dominions, surgeons are required to undertake abortions, even against their conscience, because they are told they are on taxpayer funded health service contracts.

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If someone is offended by a Christian explaining their own Christian belief, by pointing out New Testament teaching, they may now be breaking laws of “hate speech”. (Notice that St. Paul said the Gospel is an offence to people). 

Prime Minister Theresa May, who was a vicar’s daughter and still going to an Anglican church, launched a Transgender consultation on 6th July 2018, which allowed individuals to “self-declare” their chosen gender, (see the Christian Institute’s report). 

John Bercow must have known she was to announce that because as the “Speaker” of the House of Commons, he said on July 5th 2018 that LGBT rights “must trump” religious freedom. (The Christian Institute’s report). 

In other words, Christians will be required by law to put LGBT rights before practicing their faith. In some democratic countries, the only place left where one can speak without fear of prosecution, is in parliament itself, where speech is protected, so we need more Christians to go into politics.

4). THE GOOD NEWS…

The number of Christians worldwide is growing…

a). In Nagaland, the official government 2011 census shows it is 80% Baptist, and 5% “others”. The Naga people had once been very primitive.

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b). In Manipur, the official government census shows it being 40% Baptist.

Christians are now leaving established churches to attend “Free Churches” which support literal New Testament teaching.

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c). In New Zealand, a retired Baptist pastor, Rev. Dr. Bruce Patrick conducted a huge inter-church survey. He found that there are hundreds of new “house-church” communities that have started up, in order to return to New Testament principles, as local churches are not pushing back on the laws listed above, whereas para church organizations are.

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Christian organisations outside the church are filling the gap now by supporting Christians.

Examples are;- 

i). New Zealand, where there is Family First… https://familyfirst.org.nz/

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ii).In Australia, there is now a new one called Citizen Go…  https://www.citizengo.org/en-au

Also in Australia, The Canberra Declaration, (an advocacy organisation), was started by a former member of parliament, and is championing Christian values. It unveiled the Australian Christian Freedom Index on March 11 2026 alongside a comprehensive 40-page report examining what it describes as anti-Christian trends in 2025.

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iii). In the UK there is the Christian Institute… https://www.christian.org.uk/

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iv). In the rest of the world, there are Open Doors and Barnabas Aid which exist to support persecuted Christians. (For example, Barnabas Aid is helping relatives of the 200 Christians killed in Manipur last year, to start over...)

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5). EPILOGUE - Spiritual warfare…

In "Pilgrim's Progress”, Christian was told to “Walk between the lions…”, by the angel welcoming him into a castle… Go to our homepage for the link to the “Pilgrim’s Progress” animated movie!

The letter to the Hebrews teaches believers to keep passing the truth about Jesus on…

just as the reformers passed on the baton down through the generations... Their sacrifices meant the ‘baton’ of the truth kept on being passed on, down the line. It is spiritual warfare. Many of our readers live in countries where it is extremely difficult to be a Christian, so if that is you, read Hebrews to encourage yourself to keep going on, as it is the truth, and don’t give up by going back on your faith which saves. Go on as other Christians have done before us.

I started following persecution of Christians in the world, after much bullying at a boarding school, just for being a Christian, which is why I have focussed recently on the plight of Christians in many countries. Do read the prayer points on our devotional page about things to pray for today.

If you are facing pressure, read the letter to the Hebrews. Press on in your walk with Jesus, because He is the One who saves. He is the Way, the Truth and the Life; (John 14:6). Be encouraged because you do have a future. 

Do share this study with your friends…

This is John Dunning signing off from “Thoughtful Thoughts” for another week.

This link takes you to our devotional https://blog.inspirationalmedia.org.nz/

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URGENT APPEAL

The funding for these blogs is at real risk of coming to an end, unless we can show that they are wanted… 

If you appreciate these Bible Studies then it is important, that you email to say that you value these Bible studies, ( media@inspirational.org.nz ), saying that you wish them to continue… (or show your interest by making a small donation of any amount to, via the Donate LINK, even if it’s just ten cents, as soon as possible, to indicate that you want these Bible studies to continue.) The sponsor wants to know if these Bible studies are wanted. Thank you.

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