我们继续昨天提到的话题：遭世界逼迫表示我们是主耶稣基督的真门徒。很多基督徒觉得很难接受逼迫这件事，因为他们一直都不明白那些拒绝基督的人同样会拒绝跟随基督的人，所以他们会被困在协调和妥协之中纠缠不清。

倘若你以前从未有过这样的经历的话，我希望你现在能正视一下这种情况，那就是当你认同耶稣基督的时候，世界便会逼迫你。不同的基督徒面对不同程度的逼迫，但不管怎么样，世界总是会以敌意和鄙视的态度来对抗你。你一旦明白这一点，就大概能够克服那令很多基督徒乏力的恐惧──为主作见证的恐惧。

我信主后不久，一位年长的威尔斯矿工给了我一些忠告，大大帮助了我克服对被拒绝所产生的恐惧。他说：「总要记着一个事实：拒绝基督的人也会拒绝你。你越像基督，世界便越憎恨你。也要谨记，他们拒绝你的时候，他们针对的不是你个人，而是活着的基督，因为他们在你里面看见祂。」我永远都不会忘记那些话给我带来的释放。当我明白认同基督就会与世界发生冲突的情况以后，我就能够坦然自若的去面对这无可避免的事实，脱离了恐惧的威胁。今天，那曾经发生过在我身上的事情同样可以发生在你身上。

We continue from where we left off yesterday in saying that persecution is one of the proofs that we are true disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. Many Christians find great difficulty in coming to terms with this issue of persecution, and because they have never understood that those who reject Christ will also reject those who follow Christ, they become entangled in such things as conciliation and compromise.

If you have never done so before, face the fact right now that when you identify yourself with Jesus Christ, the world will persecute you. The degree of persecution differs from one Christian to another, but in one way or another the world will react against you with hostility and contempt. Once you recognise this, you are nine tenths of the way toward overcoming the fear which cripples so many Christians - the fear of witnessing.

Not long after my conversion, an elderly Welsh miner gave me some advice that greatly helped to overcome my fear of rejection. He said: "Keep ever before you the fact that those who reject Christ will reject you. And the more like Christ you become, the more the world will resent you. Remember also that when they do reject you, it is not you personally whom they are against, but Christ who is alive and who is being seen in you." Never shall I forget the release that came through those wise words. Once I understood that becoming identified with Christ meant I was on a collision course with the world, I came to terms with the inevitability of this fact and was set free from fear. And what happened to me can happen to you - today.