In the Face of Persecution, What Will I Do? (Part I)
Pastor Wang Yi Shares the First Three Resolutions He Made Before His Arrest in 2018
This article was originally posted on Wang Yi’s personal blog in October 2018 and shared elsewhere online. I will be working through Wang Yi’s 14 “resolutions” in four installments both on the China Compass Podcast (with commentary) and here on the China Call Substack. Please continue to earnestly pray for Wang Yi and the other brothers and sisters in Chengdu.
Introduction
I prayed before Christ and after careful consideration, I have determined to resist by peaceful means when the government oversteps the boundary of the secular power God has given – attacking and usurping the spiritual affairs that belong to God and his church.
Below are the details of my plan. As a house church pastor and Presbyterian minister, all of these are based on my conservative evangelical position and Calvinist theology. This does not mean that every faithful, Reformed pastor or believer must do so in like manner. Due to each of our unique contexts and responsibilities, God will grant his faithful children particular duties and practices in this spiritual battle. This does not mean that my confidence has been strengthened to the point where I can fully adhere to these positions and practices in the face of threats, false charges and violence.
I pray that the death of Christ will always be on me so that the power of Christ’s resurrection will cover me at all times. I know fully and acknowledge that I am an unworthy sinner, but I hope that Christ’s sovereignty and grace will not forsake me in persecution. Let the Lord’s Spirit always accompany me, so that even in forced isolation I can hold onto these positions with great perseverance and hope until I see the glory of the Lord or return to the pulpit by the Lord’s victory.
My positions and resolutions have been recognized by my fellow ministry partners—the elders of the Early Rain Covenant Church. This could also be provided as a case for reference and adoption for the members of the body who share my positions and responsibilities.
1. Do not stop gathering together
Under no circumstances will we stop or give up on gathering publicly, especially the corporate worship of believers on Sunday. God’s sovereignty is higher than any secular authority and the church’s mission and the Bible’s teaching on not neglecting to gather together is higher than any secular law. Regardless of whether the Religious Affairs Bureau and the police take administrative and forceful measures toward Sunday worship, whether or not their enforcement follows due process, I will resist by peaceful means. I will not cooperate with the police banning, shutting down, dissolving, or sealing up the church and its gathering. I will not stop convening, hosting and participating in the church’s public worship, until the police seizes my personal freedom by force.
2. No cooperation
Even if the police resorts to violence, I will continue to resist in a peaceful manner. I will not use the slightest power God has given me to cooperate with the police’s attack on the church and worship.On days other than Sundays, when the police administer its duties with due process, I will physically submit and cooperate, in honor of their God-given authority. When the police do not follow due process and illegally enforce the law, I will still resist physically in a non-violent manner until the police seize my personal freedom by force. I will not use the slightest strength God has given me to cooperate with the police in their illegal behavior.
3. Disobedience
I will not accept or obey the government agency’s decision to ban, seal up, and dissolve the church and its gatherings; I will not obey any of the police’s command when it comes to persecuting and banning the church, as God has not granted the government authority to do so. In places where the church or family retains their property rights, I will tear off the government’s seals and break its chains; unless the police seize my personal freedom by force, I will not stop calling for, hosting and participating in the church’s corporate worship by peaceful means.
Feel free to skip ahead and read all 14 of Wang Yi’s decisions/resolutions here:
https://chinapartnership.org/blog/2018/12/in-the-face-of-persecution-what-will-i-do/