SUMMARY: “Many new evangelicals in America would
like to broadcast our religious television
programs there, but I hope they never get
the chance! The Chinese Christians are
doing just fi ne without us!” Amen
by Dr. R. L. HYMERS, JR
Published November 17, 2002
Republished with the author’s written consent.
You can read Dr Hymers’ sermons and articles
at www.historicalrevival.com
FOR three Sundays in October the
Orange County Register, a large
newspaper in Southern California, ran
a continuing story on the remarkable
revival of Christianity in the Communistcontrolled
People’s Republic of China.
The fi rst report was titled, “A Lesson in Truth:
Bible Smugglers Reaffi rm Their Beliefs by Putting
Their Fate in God’s Hands”. The most interesting
development in China, as this article points out,
is the fantastic growth of the underground church
movement:
The government has mounted a campaign to
wipe out illegal churches, but in many places
illegal “house” churches openly draw thousands
of worshippers…Most Christians attend illegal
house churches, following their faith despite
threats of fines, imprisonment and torture
(Orange County Register, October 6, 2002,
Special Report, p. 1).
The October 6 article gave an overview of
Christianity in China, beginning in 86AD. Recent
archaeological evidence indicates that China was
penetrated with the gospel at that time, during
the lifetime of the Apostle John. In 1807 British
missionary Robert Morrison reached Macao and
began translating the Bible into Chinese. He
baptized one Chinese believer before his death
in 1834. In 1842 the Treaty of Nanjing granted
foreign missionaries access to China. In 1865 James
Hudson Taylor, a British missionary, established the
fi rst of 205 preaching stations for his China Inland
Mission. In 1928 the number of foreign missionaries
in China reached 8,325. The Communists came
to power in 1949 and began expelling all foreign
missionaries. A ban on the ordination of clergy went
into effect in 1955, lasting until 1985.
The Cultural Revolution of 1966 launched a
campaign against all religion.
Many Christians were
sent to prison.
In 1995 China banned “evil cults” in the house church movement. In 2002 President
George W. Bush visited Beijing, and called for an
end of religious persecution, which still goes on in
spite of his efforts.
With a background of persecution like this it is
truly miraculous that Christianity, and especially the
“house church” movement, has mushroomed into
the millions.
The article says,
Evangelical Christians estimate as many
as 100 million believers in China, based on
reports that more than 10,000 a day are joining
the faith.
My feeling is that 100 million is infl ated. It is
probably around 50 million. But even this fi gure
shows the astonishing growth of Christianity under
persecution in China. For instance, the Southern
Baptist Convention has 15 million members.
This
means that there are nearly three times as many
Christians in China as there are Southern Baptists
in America!
The difference is this: Only about 20%
of Southern Baptists attend church at all. 80%
of Southern Baptists are totally inactive. Most
Christians in China are active — attending church
every week, usually more than once!
This shows the
vitality of Chinese Christianity, and the deadness of
American Christianity!
In Guangzhou (formerly Canton) Rev. Samuel
Lamb (77) pastors a church that grew from four
hundred when he was arrested in 1955 to 900 when
he was released from prison 20 years later.
The
church now has 3,000 members. Rev. Lamb said,
“The more persecution, the more I’m growing. That’s
the history of this church.”
He spoke in the English
he learned as a schoolboy.
The Register asked, “Is there persecution?”
The answer:
Yes, religious groups face harassment, fi nes,
property expropriation, torture, imprisonment,
incarceration and even execution, according to
human rights’ monitoring groups (ibid., p. 3).
The article gave an interesting website that
you should check out.
It is the Committee for
Investigation on Persecution of Religion in China,
evangelical Christian monitoring group: www.
religiousfreedomforchina.org/English/index.htm
Many new evangelicals in America would like
to broadcast our religious television programs
there, but I hope they never get the chance!
The
Chinese Christians are doing just fi ne without us!
They don’t need Billy Graham, Robert Schuller, or
TBN. They have what we don’t have in America
— real revival.
The soft “decisionism” of our culture cannot
match their robust faith.
We can learn far more
from them than they could ever learn from us.
How
many American pastors would go right on preaching
if they were imprisoned and tortured?
How many
American “Christians” would keep coming to church
if it was that dangerous?
How many in your church
would be there next Sunday?
This naturally leads to one more question
— how many people in your church are truly
converted?
But mark thee, persecutor,—if thou art
here this morning,—there is a chain, in hell,
of hot iron that shall be bound around thy
waist; there are fiends that have whips of
fi re, and they shall scourge thy soul throughout
eternity, because thou darest to put
a stumbling-block in the way of God’s children.
— CH Spurgeon 2908.533
About the Author...
R.L. HYMERS, Jr. is a graduate of the
California State University at Los Angeles
and of a number of theological seminaries.
He and his wife, Heana, are the parents
of Robert Leslie III and John Wesley. Dr
Hymers worked with Southern Baptist
churches for many years. He became a
fundamentalist by reading the books and
sermons of the late Dr John R. Rice.
Dr
Hymers is the founding pastor of the Baptist
Tabernacle, the only Baptist church in
the civic centre of Los Angeles.
Known
for his strong stand for biblical inerrancy
and inner-city evangelism, Dr Hymers is an
unashamed old-time fundamentalist, who
earnestly contends for the faith.
He has
been in the ministry for forty-four years.
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Appeared in Issue 21.1 CETF NR 35 April 2006
"...contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints" -- Jude v3
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-Last revised-
Monday, October 09, 2006
