“For I fully expect and hope that I will never be ashamed, but that I will continue to be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past. And I trust that my life will bring honor to Christ, whether I live or die. For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better” (Phil. 1:20-21, NLT).

Famed early twentieth century German pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer knew something about BRAVERY. When Hitler and Nazism overtook Germany, church leaders all around the country were told what they could preach and what they could not – under threat of death. The Word of God was compromised and darkness fell over the land.

Bonhoeffer was encouraged to seek asylum in America to escape the oppression of the German Christian church that had bowed down to the Third Reich. However, he soon realized that he could no longer sit idly by while the Word of God was compromised in his homeland. So, he returned to Germany at the beginning of World War II and did what he did best – he preached the gospel of Jesus Christ, fully, completely, and unapologetically. And he encouraged other ministers to do the same.

In one of his most famous quotes, he said, “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.”

Bonhoeffer was arrested in April 1943 as an accomplice in a massive plot to assassinate Hitler. In April 1945 he was hanged to death, shortly before the end of the war. Yet, his message of truth and justice by the hand of God and his works on Christian ethics and discipline remain an encouragement and resource for many modern pastors today.

The apostle Paul did the same thing. In the Scripture verse above, Paul was writing to the church in Philippi from a prison in Rome where he was awaiting execution by the Emperor Nero. Execution for what? For preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ!

To paraphrase Paul, “As long as I live, I will lead people to Jesus Christ. But if I die, I will get to BE with Jesus Christ. I’m good either way!”

To paraphrase Bonhoeffer, “Silence in the face of evil is to say that you fear the world more than you fear, respect, and honor God. Inaction is itself the action of defeat.”

Most of us will never face death for standing up for our belief and worship of Jesus Christ. So, when faced with the choice of good or evil in our daily lives, where do we stand? Are we more concerned with how the world will judge us, or how God will judge us? When God calls us to speak for Him, we must speak!

David McCall

Executive Pastor