We’ve spent the last two days discovering and attempting to understand the one reason it is okay to spill blood, today we’ll look at the one occasion when it’s appropriate to give up one’s own life.

Last week we examined Biblical passages that expressed the sanctity of life. Human life is precious to God and as such it ought to be precious to us as well. We hear this argument frequently when contending against abortion, and sometimes when discussing capital punishment and murder, and once in a while in conversations about suicide. Catholic tradition states suicide is the one unforgivable sin, but this is not found anywhere in Scripture. Rather, the Bible teaches the blood of Christ, willingly shed on our behalf, can cover any sin so long as forgiveness is sought. Though it may be forgivable, suicide is a serious crime against God, for we are made in his image. Killing oneself is trusting one’s own judgment about their life instead of God’s, and is not something a follower of Jesus should ever consider.

That said, there is one circumstance under which surrendering one’s life is appropriate, and we call it martyrdom. This is not the martyrdom of Islamic belief, whereby the goal is to to kill oneself in such a way that it also kills the enemy. Such an understanding is more than incorrect, it is evil, an illegitimate offspring of the true intention of the word and mocks the work of Jesus on the Cross. As we discovered on Tuesday, Jesus could have defended his life either on his own, or by calling angels to fight for him, but this is not what he came to do or be.

The word “martyr” is a Greek word that found its way into the English language, and its original meaning is “witness”. In earlier history the witness was one who gave testimony to a truth, religious or secular and their death was not a part of the definition. Starting around the time of Jesus martyrdom became associated with one who bore witness and died as a result of the telling. This new definition is how the word is intended throughout the New Testament and in later secular texts as well. As such, Jesus is the ultimate martyr of all history, the one who came and gave witness to God and his plan of salvation, then became that salvation by willingly going to the cross to die for the sins of humanity and being resurrected by the power of the Father.

It is strange to modern Christians to consider Jesus a martyr; the typical example given is Stephen in Acts chapter seven. What is more important than Stephen’s death, however, is his message. In keeping with the original meaning, one should familiarize themselves with what it was that Stephen testified to. While Jesus was clearly the first martyr of Christianity, we know from prophecy that he is not the last. Revelation 6.9-12 states:

Now when the Lamb opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been violently killed because of the word of God and because of the testimony they had given. They cried out with a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Master, holy and true, before you judge those who live on the earth and avenge our blood?” Each of them was given a long white robe and they were told to rest for a little longer, until the full number was reached of both their fellow servants and their brothers who were going to be killed just as they had been.

Even in our future, during the judgments of God, there will be those who die living and communicating the truth of salvation. It may be comforting to know that those who die in service to God will be avenged by God. Even more so may be the knowledge that those who meet such an end are ushered into the very presence of God! Unlike Islam, this form of death is not to be sought. Seeking martyrdom is not much different than suicide. Yet to die while testifying about God is not unfamiliar to our present time. In fact, more people die for their faith in God every day than did in all of history leading up to modern times. For proof of this fact one needs look no further than here: http://www.persecution.com/