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and he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?" (Acts 9:4 NASB)
And he said, "Who are You, Lord?" And He said, "I am Jesus whom you are persecuting, (Acts 9:5 NASB)
Christ makes it very plain here that by persecuting the church you prosecute him. I believe that the church itself at times persecute Christ, by misrepresenting his gospel. Let's take a look at Galatians 2:21
I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing.
This indicates that by leaving the gospel of grace you are making Christ persecution on the cross all for nothing.
Do we persecute Christ we fail to fulfill his commandments as he directed? Do Christians persecute Christ when they live in a manner that is considered by their own doctrine to be immoral or unbiblical?
Is the church persecuted when a Christian is seen by unbelievers to be hypocritical in his faith and no more righteous than the unbelievers are observing him?
