I was speaking on Sunday evening at York Baptist Church on Paul's letter to the Philippians. Paul was in prison because he was preaching the gospel. Was he upset about that? Not at all:
Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel. ... And because of this I rejoice (Philippians 1:12, 18, NIV).
It got me thinking. If Christians were persecuted or marginalised in the UK, might that serve to advance the gospel?
The answer must surely be, Yes, it might! As with Paul, people might well hear about Jesus who otherwise would not have heard (1:13). As with Paul, the rest of the church might well be emboldened through the example of those who are suffering (1:14). And there could well be other beneficial consequences. There would inevitably come to be a clearer distinction between those in the church who truly know Christ, and those who are in it for other reasons, which would surely help the spread of the gospel. And further afield, in those parts of the world that feel threatened by what they perceive to be the Christian West, if they see Christians being persecuted in the West, that might well change their attitude to Christians in their own countries (no longer seeing them as Western infiltrators), which would be enormously beneficial, both to the persecuted believers there, and to the spread of the gospel.
So, in many ways, yes, I think a bit of persecution of Christians in the UK could well serve to advance the gospel.
So should we pray that it would happen?
I don't think so. Persecution is not a good thing, and I don't think we should ever pray that bad things would happen. Moreover, as citizens in something resembling a democracy, we should seek to use the authority that God has given us to preserve religious freedom for everyone. So we shouldn't pray for persecution. But we should pray that the gospel will advance. And if the way for the gospel to advance is for God to allow bad things to happen and then to use those bad things for good, then we should pray that God would work all things together for good, in the way that only he can. Jesus wouldn't have died for the sins of the world if no one had opposed him, betrayed him and crucified him. The gospel wouldn't have advanced as much in Paul's day if he hadn't been imprisoned. And—conceivably!—the gospel might not advance in the UK in our day if our much-cherished religious liberties remain intact.
So what do we want? What would give us the most joy? For the gospel to advance? Or to continue to enjoy a cosy, comfortable life? We might have to choose to pray for one or the other, but not both.