Commitment to Conviction Part 1
Previously, we defined faith as a commitment to a conviction evidenced by conduct [1].
Let us turn our attention to the 18th of April and three men.
Tilman Ekkehart Geske
Pastor Necati Aydin
Ugur Yuksel
These three men may not be familiar to you. News of their deaths was not “Front Page News”. One may have heard about them vaguely. They were three Christian men (missionaries and pastors) murdered in Turkey.
The Associated Press records their murders as “with their hands and legs bound and their throats slit”. [I have] read other reports of their gruesome three hour torture that would make the most horrific horror movie seem tame by comparison.
We do not know if there was an attempt to make these men recant their faith [2].
We do know that these men were tortured and executed for one reason. They were tortured and murdered because they were Christians who were not ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ [3]. They daily shared the gospel in a predominately Muslim country with a history of violence towards Christians.
Simply put, these men were martyrs for their faith in Christ.
Think about that for a minute. These men died. They were tortured. Even without their throats slit, they would have died from the wounds they received. All their suffering and ultimately their deaths happened simply for sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ.
We do know they were men of God, by the example of their families afterward. “Susanne Geske (Tilman Geske’s widow) in a television interview [in Turkey] expressed her forgiveness. She did not want revenge, she told reporters. “Oh God, forgive them for they know not what they do,” she said, wholeheartedly agreeing with the words of Christ on Calvary (Luke 23:34)” [4].
This was a terrible thing. It should sadden us.
Now, consider the challenge. How often do we hesitate to share the gospel because of what others might think? We rationalize, justify, and hesitate because we might lose face. Maybe we are afraid we might lose our jobs, or we may lose ‘friends’ because we are telling them the ‘Good News’. The next time the opportunity presents itself and one finds one’s self hesitating - think. Think about Geske, Aydin, and Yuksel. Then think about the ETERNAL consequences of NOT sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the listener [5].
[1] Conversations with Fred part 4 [March 12, 2007]
[2] We have heard reports the torture was recorded on cell phones (and possibly video) but those have not been released (Thankfully).
[3] Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.”
[4] Excerpted from “A letter to the Global Church from The Protestant Church of Smyrna” Reported by Darlene N. Bocek -contact information:
izmirprotestan@gmail.com http://www.izmirprotestan.org
* There is a graphic report of the torture of these men in this letter. If the above link fails the letter can be found by a “Google” search.
[5] 1 John 2:15-17 [The Message]
Let us turn our attention to the 18th of April and three men.
Tilman Ekkehart Geske
Pastor Necati Aydin
Ugur Yuksel
These three men may not be familiar to you. News of their deaths was not “Front Page News”. One may have heard about them vaguely. They were three Christian men (missionaries and pastors) murdered in Turkey.
The Associated Press records their murders as “with their hands and legs bound and their throats slit”. [I have] read other reports of their gruesome three hour torture that would make the most horrific horror movie seem tame by comparison.
We do not know if there was an attempt to make these men recant their faith [2].
We do know that these men were tortured and executed for one reason. They were tortured and murdered because they were Christians who were not ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ [3]. They daily shared the gospel in a predominately Muslim country with a history of violence towards Christians.
Simply put, these men were martyrs for their faith in Christ.
Think about that for a minute. These men died. They were tortured. Even without their throats slit, they would have died from the wounds they received. All their suffering and ultimately their deaths happened simply for sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ.
We do know they were men of God, by the example of their families afterward. “Susanne Geske (Tilman Geske’s widow) in a television interview [in Turkey] expressed her forgiveness. She did not want revenge, she told reporters. “Oh God, forgive them for they know not what they do,” she said, wholeheartedly agreeing with the words of Christ on Calvary (Luke 23:34)” [4].
This was a terrible thing. It should sadden us.
Now, consider the challenge. How often do we hesitate to share the gospel because of what others might think? We rationalize, justify, and hesitate because we might lose face. Maybe we are afraid we might lose our jobs, or we may lose ‘friends’ because we are telling them the ‘Good News’. The next time the opportunity presents itself and one finds one’s self hesitating - think. Think about Geske, Aydin, and Yuksel. Then think about the ETERNAL consequences of NOT sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the listener [5].
[1] Conversations with Fred part 4 [March 12, 2007]
[2] We have heard reports the torture was recorded on cell phones (and possibly video) but those have not been released (Thankfully).
[3] Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.”
[4] Excerpted from “A letter to the Global Church from The Protestant Church of Smyrna” Reported by Darlene N. Bocek -contact information:
izmirprotestan@gmail.com http://www.izmirprotestan.org
* There is a graphic report of the torture of these men in this letter. If the above link fails the letter can be found by a “Google” search.
[5] 1 John 2:15-17 [The Message]
posted by Unchained Slave at 11:21 AM
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