A Faithful Church Is a Persecuted Church

There are two kinds of conflict in the church: (1) internal (Acts 6:1–7) and (2) external (Acts 6:8–15). Sin is the root cause of both. While internal sin occasionally pops up, it is external opposition to the church that should be the most common. After the internal strife is dealt with (Acts 6:1–7), the work continues, yet so does the opposition. To our amazement, the most opposition the church faces from the outside as a result of the preaching of the gospel, the more it grows. As a church, we will have growing pains, but the main work must stay the main work—and the opposition we face from the lost world should always outweigh the internal strife of the church. If we want the church to grow, we must be faithful in a way that solicits persecution. We must preach the gospel.