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The Gospel Cannot Be Eradicated

The Bible has been restricted and even illegal in many countries, especially those controlled by atheists or Islamists. China and North Korea have state atheism, as did the former Soviet Union and other communist countries. Obtaining a Bible in many Mohammedan countries is done through covert means.

Christian persecution is increasing in the West. There are several reasons for this, including apathetic professing Christians, trends in the world, and allowing ourselves to be kept in a box. Militant atheists are increasingly vitriolic in their efforts to legislate (and ridicule) Bible-believing Christians.

Christians have been persecuted, and will continue to be. Atheists and others have tried to destroy the gospel message, will never be able to succeed.
Unsplash / James Coleman

Romania is one of the places that was in the Soviet bloc, so naturally they pushed evolution and atheism. Richard Wurmbrand was an atheist, became a Christian and a pastor, then was heavily persecuted for his faith. In his 1967 book Tortured for Christ, he wrote:

The cruelty of atheism is hard to believe. When a man has no faith in the reward of good or the punishment of evil, there is no reason to be human. There is no restraint from the depths of evil that is in man. The Communist torturers often said, "There is no God, no hereafter, no punishment for evil. We can do what we wish." I heard one torturer say, "I thank God, in whom I don't believe, that I have lived to this hour when I can express all the evil in my heart." He expressed it in unbelievable brutality and torture inflicted on prisoners.

I am very sorry if a crocodile eats a man, but I can't reproach the crocodile. He is not a moral being. So no reproaches can be made to the Communists. Communism has destroyed any moral sense in them. They boasted that they had no pity in their hearts.

I learned from them. As they allowed no place for Jesus in their hearts, I decided I would leave not the smallest place for Satan in mine.

People know that God exists, but they suppress the truth (Rom. 1:18-24). They are prideful and also blinded by their father down below. Presenting evidence for creation and the validity of Genesis is abhorrent to unbelievers, as evolution is foundational to atheism and Genesis is the starting point of the gospel message. Yet try as they might, it continues (Isaiah 40:8). God is not done.

Soon after the gospel first emerged, ancient Rome tried to exterminate whoever believed it. They tortured and murdered early Christians, but that didn’t stop its progress. Thousands of years later, 20th-century communism sought to eradicate Christians, yet Soviet and Chinese martyrs refused to abandon the Lord Jesus. Their faithfulness again showed that governments remain powerless to erase the gospel. What gives the gospel such staying power?

To read the rest of this short article, click on "Why Won't the Gospel Die?"