MARTYRS MIRROR — DEVOTION 1

A Faith Worth Dying For

“Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.”— 2 Timothy 3:12

When we open the pages of Martyrs Mirror, we are not simply opening an old history book.

We are looking into a mirror.

We see men and women who believed that Jesus Christ and the truth of His Word were worth more than their comfort, possessions, freedom—and even their lives.

And for those of us who are Baptists, there is something especially challenging about their testimony.

Many of these believers suffered for convictions that we recognize today as Baptist distinctives.

They believed that baptism was for believers, not infants.

They believed that the church should be made up of those who had personally believed.

They believed that faith could not be forced upon a man by a government or religious institution.

They believed in liberty of conscience.

They rejected the authority of a state church over the individual believer.

And ultimately, they believed that the Word of God stood above the traditions and commandments of men.

For those convictions, many suffered terribly.

Some were imprisoned.

Some lost their possessions.

Some were separated from their families.

Some were drowned.

Some were burned.

Some were tortured.

And some sealed their testimony with their own blood.

Biblical Before Baptist

Before we go any further in this series, however, something must be made very clear.

We are not studying these people because we believe Baptists are somehow better than everyone else.

Our confidence is not in a denominational label.

I do not believe something simply because a Baptist preacher said it.

I do not believe something simply because Baptists historically believed it.

I believe it because I am convinced that the Bible teaches it.

“Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.”— 1 Thessalonians 5:21

The question must never merely be:

“What do Baptists believe?”

The question must always be:

“What saith the Scripture?”

If Baptist tradition contradicts Scripture, then Baptist tradition is wrong.

If a Baptist preacher contradicts Scripture, then the preacher is wrong.

If a Baptist church departs from Scripture, putting Baptist on the sign does not make its doctrine right.

Our allegiance is first to the Lord Jesus Christ and the Word of God.

We do not believe these things because they are Baptist.

We call them Baptist distinctives because we believe they are Biblical truths.

That is an important difference.

Why Were They Called Anabaptists?

As we read Martyrs Mirror, we will repeatedly encounter the word Anabaptist.

It was a name commonly applied to people who rejected infant baptism and were subsequently baptized upon their profession of faith.

Their enemies accused them of being rebaptized.

But these believers did not see it that way.

If the sprinkling of an unconscious infant was not Biblical baptism, then receiving baptism after personally believing upon Christ was not being baptized a second time.

It was being Biblically baptized for the first time.

That conviction could cost them their lives.

Think about that.

Today we can discuss baptism, preach about baptism and baptize converts with very little thought about the cost.

But there was a time when refusing infant baptism and submitting to believers' baptism could bring imprisonment, persecution and even death.

And yet they stood.

These Were More Than Denominational Preferences

Why would someone suffer over something like baptism?

Because to them it was not merely:

“This is what my denomination teaches.”

It was:

“This is what I believe the Bible says.”

That changes everything.

Consider just a few of the truths associated with the Baptist faith.

Believers' Baptism

“Then they that gladly received his word were baptized:”— Acts 2:41

Notice the order.

They received the Word, and then they were baptized.

Faith came before baptism.

Liberty of Conscience

“So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.”— Romans 14:12

Every person will answer individually to God.

No government can believe for you.

No priest can believe for you.

No parent can believe for you.

And no religious institution has the authority to force genuine faith into another person's heart.

A Regenerate Church Membership

The New Testament church was not simply everyone born within the borders of a supposedly Christian nation.

Those who received the Word were baptized and added to the church.

“Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.”— Acts 2:41

They received.

They were baptized.

They were added.

Separation of Church and Civil Authority

Jesus said:

“Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's.”— Matthew 22:21

There are things that belong to Caesar.

But there are things that belong only to God.

The human conscience belongs to God.

The Authority of Scripture Above the Authority of Men

When human authority contradicts God's authority, Scripture gives us the answer:

“We ought to obey God rather than men.”— Acts 5:29

These truths did not become true because Baptists believed them.

Baptists believed them because they found them in the Bible.

Their Faith Was Tested

It is one thing to hold convictions when those convictions cost us nothing.

It is quite another when standing upon those convictions costs us everything.

Jesus said:

“If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.”— Matthew 16:24

The people we will meet throughout Martyrs Mirror were forced to answer a question that most of us have never had to answer:

What happens when obeying what you believe the Bible teaches may cost you your life?

They could have compromised.

They could have remained silent.

They could have conformed to the established religion.

They could have said:

“Surely God doesn't expect me to suffer over doctrine.”

But many refused.

Why?

Because truth mattered.

And more importantly—

Christ mattered.

Their Bodies Could Be Bound, But the Word Could Not

Paul wrote from imprisonment:

“Wherein I suffer trouble, as an evil doer, even unto bonds; but the word of God is not bound.”— 2 Timothy 2:9

What a picture of Christian history.

You can imprison the preacher.

You can close the meetinghouse.

You can confiscate his possessions.

You can threaten his family.

You can bind his hands.

You can silence his voice.

You can even destroy his body.

But—

“The word of God is not bound.”

The authorities who tried to silence these believers have long since passed into history.

Yet centuries later, we are still reading the testimonies of the people they tried to silence.

What They Held With Bloody Hands

There is something deeply convicting about reading these accounts while enjoying the religious liberty that we have today.

We can carry a Bible publicly.

We can preach openly.

We can gather as a church.

We can baptize believers.

We can reject infant baptism.

We can preach liberty of conscience.

We can disagree with established religion.

And generally, we do these things without wondering whether an executioner will be waiting for us tomorrow.

Yet there is a danger.

We can become careless with truths for which others suffered.

What previous generations held with bloody hands, we should not hold with careless hands.

If they were willing to suffer for believers' baptism, we ought at least to understand why we believe it.

If they suffered for liberty of conscience, we should value it.

If they refused to place human tradition above Scripture, neither should we.

And if they were willing to stand alone because they believed the Bible was right—

we should be willing to stand too.

Would I Die for Christ?

When we read stories of martyrdom, it is easy to imagine ourselves saying:

“I would die for Jesus.”

But perhaps there is a more searching question.

Will I live for Him?

Paul said:

“For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”— Philippians 1:21

Martyr faith does not begin at the stake.

It begins long before that.

It begins when an ordinary Christian decides:

I will believe this Book.

I will obey this Book.

I will stand upon this Book.

I will follow Jesus Christ.

And I will not surrender what God has said simply because obedience becomes costly.

The Mirror

That is why the title Martyrs Mirror is so appropriate for this series.

As we read their stories, we must allow their testimony to become a mirror in which we examine ourselves.

Not:

“Would I have been as brave as they were?”

But:

“Am I being faithful with the truth God has given me today?”

The martyrs were not perfect people.

Nor should we elevate them above Scripture.

Their writings are not our final authority.

Their traditions are not our final authority.

Even our Baptist heritage is not our final authority.

The Bible is.

“Let God be true, but every man a liar;”— Romans 3:4

That must always remain our position.

Biblical before Baptist.

But when we find men and women in history who stood upon truths that we ourselves find plainly taught in Scripture, we should thank God for their testimony and learn from their courage.

Something to Think About

The question this first devotion leaves with us is not simply:

“Am I a Baptist?”

The better question is:

“Am I Biblical?”

Do I know what I believe?

Do I know why I believe it?

Can I show what I believe from the Bible?

And if what I believe from Scripture becomes unpopular, uncomfortable or costly—

will I still stand?

Our Baptist forefathers did not need another generation merely willing to inherit their name.

They needed another generation willing to inherit their convictions.

Not because Baptists are better.

Not because the Baptist name saves anyone.

Not because Baptist history is infallible.

But because the truths for which so many suffered were truths they believed came from the Word of God.

And ultimately, their willingness to suffer was not about preserving the name Baptist.

It was about remaining faithful to Jesus Christ.

“And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.”— Revelation 12:11

Prayer

Lord, thank You for those who stood faithfully upon Thy Word before us.

Keep us from pride in a denominational name while neglecting the Biblical convictions that name ought to represent.

Teach us to search the Scriptures, to prove what we believe, and to hold fast to that which is good.

Give us courage to obey Thy Word when obedience is unpopular and strength to stand when standing becomes costly.

Above all, give us a love for the Lord Jesus Christ greater than our love for comfort, acceptance, reputation, possessions, or even life itself.

May we be able to say with those who stood before us:

We ought to obey God rather than men.

Amen.

Today's Challenge

Ask yourself three questions:

Do I know what I believe?

Can I prove what I believe from the Bible?

Am I willing to stand upon it when it costs me something?

“Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.”— Revelation 2:10

Remember:

Not Baptist because Baptists are better.

Baptist because we believe these distinctives are Biblical.

Biblical before Baptist.

Christ above all.