The Gospel Is Worth Your Life: What Believers in Persecution Teach Us About Jesus

A Faith Too Comfortable?

In many Western contexts, Christianity has become synonymous with comfort, safety, and predictability. Church gatherings are organized and peaceful. Believers can read the Bible freely, listen to worship music without fear, and attend Bible studies on any given night. But these blessings can unintentionally insulate believers from the biblical reality that following Jesus is often costly; but that He is worth every cost.

Around the world, persecuted believers live out a very different expression of faith. Their witness challenges comfortable Christianity and re-centers the gospel on obedience, not convenience.

Lessons from Believers in Persecution

Ruth and I have spent decades listening to believers in over 70 countries, many of whom have endured severe persecution for their faith. What these brothers and sisters said about their experiences isn’t new theology, it’s New Testament living.

They lived as though the gospel was worth more than their safety. More than their freedom. More than their lives.

This isn’t reckless zeal, but rather a deeply rooted conviction that eternal life is already secured, and therefore, nothing the world can take from them is a true loss. One believer in the Chinese house churches said to me, “If they take my farm, I will trust Jesus to provide my daily bread. If they beat me, I will trust Jesus for healing. If they kill me, I will be with Jesus!”

Believers in persecution teach that obedience to Jesus is not just one part of Christian life. It is the Christian life.

We who have experienced the grace of Jesus Christ are expendable. Not because our lives don’t matter, but because we have already been given life that cannot be lost.

Reclaiming the Costly Call of Jesus

Throughout the gospels, Jesus speaks plainly: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me,” (Mark 8:34). He never promised His followers safety. He promised His presence.

Yet in the West, these words are often spiritualized or softened. Cross-carrying is interpreted as enduring hardship, not risking everything for the lost. But in many parts of the world today, believers are literally counting the cost of following Jesus—and choosing Him anyway.

In these contexts, evangelism often begins with listening, serving, and suffering. Gospel conversations happen in secret, in whispers, or under the threat of prison. Leaders are chosen not for their degrees, but for their fruit—the number of people they’ve led to Christ.

These believers don’t ask, “Is it safe?” They ask, “Is Jesus worth it?” And their answer, every time, is yes.

Shifting the American Perspective

The Western church can learn much from believers living under persecution—not out of guilt, but out of longing for deeper obedience. Instead of asking God for protection above all else, what if we asked Him for courage? What if we stopped whining and started witnessing? Instead of focusing on what the gospel gives us, what if we embraced what it asks of us?

Missions is not only for a few, and it’s not an optional add-on. According to Scripture, the Great Commission is not a suggestion—it’s a command (Matthew 28:18-20). Every follower of Jesus is called to go, whether across the street or across the world.

Christians living under persecution remind us that the kingdom of God is not built on comfort. It’s built on surrender. Explore what it means to live missionally, even at home.

The Joy Found in Sacrifice

What often surprises those who hear the stories of believers in persecution is not just their endurance, but their joy. In some of the darkest places on earth, where following Jesus costs families, jobs, or even lives, there is radiant faith and unwavering hope.

This joy doesn’t come from circumstances. It comes from intimacy with Jesus, knowing that He is worth everything.

Believers in persecution don’t just survive for the gospel; they thrive in it. Their lives testify to a kingdom that cannot be shaken, a Savior who does not abandon, and a mission that is still unfinished.

Learn how to pray with believers in persecution in mind.

A Final Word

The gospel is worth your life. It was worth the life of Jesus. And it is worth whatever obedience He asks of His followers today.

Believers in persecution don’t just tell us this truth. They live it. They model it. And through their stories, they invite the global Body of Christ to lay aside fear, take up the cross, and follow Jesus into a world that still desperately needs to hear His name.