Agabus (mark adams)

There is much we do not know about Fatima Al-Mutairi. She is the 26-year-old Saudi who was murdered by her brother for professing faith in Christ. We do not know how she came to be a Christian. We do not know with whom she had fellowship. (We do know her fellowship was Internet- and phone-based.) For security reasons there is much we probably cannot know.

What we know comes from a single report. In September, Voice of the Martyrs published details of her murder and her final words. She had posted a poem on the Internet just before her murder. Fatima’s existence is known through unnamed sources inside Saudi Arabia. As of this writing, no major media outlet has reported on her death, nor has this story been independently verified. (This is not said to cast doubt on the story, but to illustrate the sensitivity of the matter.)

In the absence of details, it is unwise to speculate on the circumstances of her death. Among us Westerners, however, it is important to study this case and ask how we might better serve persecuted Christians. The theme of this essay is caution. VOM demonstrates caution in guarding the details of Fatima’s martyrdom, and there is much we should learn from this situation. The question at hand is what responsibility we as Westerners have to safeguard Christians in predominantly non-Christian lands.

Should we encourage persecuted Christians to be cautious? Or, should we encourage them to be bold? Should we encourage them to be guarded? Or, should we encourage them to take risks?

What responsibility do we bear, we who live in countries where religious freedom is part of the fabric of society?

At Mountain Bible Church in Los Gatos, California, we have learned to be more guarded communications about missionary work in Islamic countries. For security reasons, we do not publish the names of Christians in those lands, though their work is known in the local communities. We withhold this information because it might expose these Christians to unnecessary dangers.

Precedent is found in scripture. For example, Paul was careful not to offend the Jews, despite his gospel being an offense: a stumbling stone to the Jew and folly to the Greek. We find that Paul circumcises Timothy, even after the council at Jerusalem had ruled that Gentiles need not be circumcised. Yet Paul circumcised Timothy “because of the Jews who were in those places” (Acts 16:3). Paul kept a Nazarene vow, and was cautious to keep his Gentile companions from desecrating the temple.

He was not an appeaser. He spoke the gospel plainly, was rejected, beaten, and even stoned. He was betrayed, falsely accused by the Jews about his Gentile companions. At his trial before King Festus, rather than give a defense, he preached the gospel, and his appeal to Rome achieved little more than enable him to preach the gospel there also. He expected and embraced martyrdom, but he did not hasten it, for to hasten it would be to die on human terms, not God’s.

Observe a balance of ideas: disregard for ones life, but caution in giving offense. Where Paul practiced caution, there was concern for the latter, anything that would hinder the gospel. Where Paul practiced boldness, there was concern only that the gospel be preached plainly, no matter the offense or consequence.

In applying these things to our support of Christians in Islamic or communist nations, we should exercise restraint, seeking the Lord at every turn. It is easy to encourage Christians from afar, but it is difficult to bear their burdens. We must not be critical if they exercise caution. As Westerners, we must learn to respect their reticence. We are often unaware of the nature and quality of their witness.

That modern missions has adapted to these conditions is instructive. New Tribes Mission began when five men gave their lives in Bolivia. Their martyrdom inspired generations and led to the conversion of thousands. But modern missionaries with New Tribes are quite different than the original five. They are better trained and more guarded in their work.

There is much talk among foreign missionaries about how to work within a culture. They recognize the need to examine their practices, to learn what might offend, and how to work within the context of social norms. The concern is not principally personal welfare, but the gospel. As best we are able, we should not hinder the gospel through giving offense.

As I reflect on the martyrdom of Fatima Al-Mutairi, I wonder how I would have handled her situation had I been in her place. I can only learn from her. (See The martyrdom of Fatima Al-Mutairi.)

From the persecuted church we must learn many things. How to support them. How to guard them. How to encourage them. And, in the end, we must learn that that which seems plain to us, might not be plain after all, that what seems so easy, might in actuality be more difficult.

I had once with a missionary from New Tribes, an organization that seeks the unreached peoples of the world, typically tribal. He explained that successful contact and evangelism of a tribe might take as many as 15 years. I was dismayed. 15 years? So very long. But as I learned more about the work, the more reasonable it seemed. After all, Paul did not begin his mission proper until 15 years after his conversion!

(As an aside, I believe these principles should be applied to our own communities, for I have observed that long-lasting ministries grow slowly and methodically from within the culture.)

The principal concern of this essay is how we as Westerners might better serve the persecuted church. There are two issues: one, that Christians abroad might sometimes need to be more guarded than we are willing to accept, and, two, that their missionary practices may not be as radical as we are willing to accept. But accept them we must.

Biblical precedent is noted. Paul preached Jesus, but he did not give offense. Such is the challenge that lays before us as we support Christians in Islamic and communist countries.

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© 2010, Mark Adams. All rights reserved. For inquiries press here.

Originally posted 2008-09-23 01:32:06.

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