By David Yeghnazer, The Gospel Coalition.
The Bible is full of stories reminding us that, whatever the opposition, God is always victorious.
It’s the story of Joseph before Potiphar’s wife, of Moses before Pharaoh, of Daniel before the lions, of Esther before King Ahasuerus, of Peter and John before the Council. Supremely, it’s the story of the Lord Jesus, who was crucified and rose for our salvation.
It’s also the story of the Iranian church in my lifetime. When I was a child, persecution threatened to wipe it out. Instead, the church in Iran has become the fastest-growing evangelical church in the world today—and it’s affecting the region for Christ.
Scripture is clear that God often uses his people’s suffering to advance his kingdom. In his providence, the Islamic regime’s strategies to stamp out the Persian-speaking church in Iran have backfired—resulting in further church growth. Here are five examples.
1. Banning the Bible has backfired.
In addition to banning the printing of the Bible in Persian, closing down the Bible society, and burning Bibles, Iranian government officials have warned citizens against reading the Bible. Apparently, this warning has caused many Iranians, already disillusioned with their government, to become all the more eager to obtain a copy of the Bible. And many have put their faith in Christ after finding and reading one.
A few years ago, a government official waved one of the New Testaments printed by our ministry (Elam) on national television and warned the population to avoid it. Demand for the New Testament soared as a result. Many who receive a copy through our street evangelism efforts say they’ve been searching for a copy. Some say they’ve been searching for years.
2. Closing church buildings has backfired.
The Iranian government’s closure of churches over the past few years has forced Christians of Muslim background to meet in underground house churches.