In Matthew 5:11–12, Jesus brings the Beatitudes to a deeply personal conclusion: “Blessed are you” when insult, persecution, and slander come because of Him. The kingdom citizen should not be surprised when faithfulness to Christ brings reproach from the world. Yet Christ does not merely command His people to endure; He commands them to rejoice. This joy is not rooted in pain itself, but in the certainty that heaven is real, the Father sees, and the reward of grace is great. Those who suffer for Christ stand in the long line of the prophets, apostles, martyrs, and faithful saints who have gone before them. Above all, they are united to the Savior who was reviled, falsely accused, crucified, and raised in glory. The question pressed upon every heart is this: Is Christ precious enough that we can rejoice when faithfulness to Him costs us the praise of men?
Brad Jordan Brad is the Pastor of Christ Reformed Baptist Church, an RBC church plant in the Pee Dee Region of South Carolina (Hartsville, Darlington, Florence, Sumter and surrounding areas). He has a wife, Lisa, and three kids, Kaylee, Anna and Jonathan. Born and raised in South Carolina, Brad has been a pastor for over 15 years and has a great passion and desire for shepherding the flock of CRBC and "teaching them to keep all that [Christ] commanded".
