The Lord Jesus warned the twelve before his departure that as the world hated him it would also hate them. He forewarned them of enemies that would arise and of people who would be wolves in sheep’s clothing. Without controversy he warned the twelve that the truth would always be resisted and despised by someone. This was never more evident then with Jesus who not only told the truth, but also was truth himself in the flesh. As prophesied by Christ, the Early Church was persecuted, lied on, and resisted by many (Acts 28:22). Below are examples of some of the lies, rumors, and persecutions that were faced by the Early Church.

1. Truth: The Lord filled the twelve Apostles with the Holy Ghost on the Day of Pentecost causing them to speak in other tongues as they poured out of the upper room in Jerusalem.
   Acts 2:1-8

   Lies/Rumors: Almost instantly it was spread that those beautiful men and women who came out of the upper room had obviously just exited a powerhouse party leaving them intoxicated by wine and not by God.
   Acts 2:12,13

2. Truth: Peter and John healed a man at the gate beautiful through the use of spiritual gifts that had been given to the church.
   Acts 3:1-10

   Lies/Rumors: Instead of everyone celebrating that a man who had not walked from his birth (it had been 40 years) had been healed, there were some who questioned and challenged this powerful event. Sadly, Peter and John were called into question regarding what they had done and by what power they had done it.
   Acts 4:1-9,17,18

3. Truth: The Early Church had arrived at the height of love and unity. So much so that the church through complete “selflessness” was able to entrust the twelve apostles with all that they had and they did this by an internal, divine love and not by force or politics. As a result, some individuals who had been in the Early Church for a sufficient amount of time attempted to be deceitful with their money and lie against what God was doing (by not being honest) and dropped dead. This happened to Ananias and Saphira by the hand of God and not the hand of man.
   Acts 4:32-37, Acts 5:1-11

   Lies/Rumors: The word was spread that Peter had killed the people of God. In fact, many individuals feared to join the Early Church due to Ananias and Saphira’s casualties.
   Acts 5:11-13

4. Truth: The Lord called Apostle Paul to be one of the greatest apostles that ever lived. With his calling he received a special responsibility of taking the truth of Christ beyond Jewish cultural lines to the Gentile nations.
   Acts 9:10-16, Romans 11: 13, Romans 10:12,13

   Lies/Rumors: From the moment of his calling, Paul’s apostleship was questioned, challenged, doubted, and even denied. Unlike the other apostles, Paul often had to make mention of his calling and constantly confirm that God had given him a revelation. In addition to this burden, Paul was also labeled as a ringleader, a mover of sedition, and a pestilent fellow because of his strong efforts to drive racism and prejudice out of the church. That church had to mature to a level of love that included both the Jews and the Gentiles.
   I Corinthians 9:1-2, Romans 3:28-30

5. Truth: Paul preached that the circumcision under the law (that once was the earmark of Jewish culture) was no longer a requirement to be apart of the people of God. He proclaimed that the true flesh that needed to be removed was the fleshly desire coming forth from the heart of man. Because of this, salvation could be unto all who were willing to overcome their fleshly desires and not to those who were of a particular culture or tradition.
   Romans 2:28-29, Colossians 2:8-11

   Lies/Rumors: Despite the overwhelming truth that Paul preached there were many who gave their lives to spread lies and rumors that were contrary because they didn’t want to change. Disturbingly, Paul’s churches were attacked by people who came from the region of Jerusalem stating that “if you were not naturally circumcised you could not be saved”. Even though Paul was attempting to build something so righteous and holy as a true house of prayer for all of God’s people, there were those who could not rest unless they found a way to promote segregation. As a result, Paul had to work even harder to ensure the church remained welcome to all whom God might lead into it.
   Acts 23:12-15, Acts 15:1

6. Truth: Paul remained a single man during the course of his ministry so that he could give his full time and energy to the church of God. Paul communicated in his writings that he had power to lead about sister or wife. Nevertheless, without distraction Paul served the church to the fullest and dedicated his life towards apprehending what the Lord had apprehended him for.
   I Corinthians 7:7-9, 7:35

   Lies/Rumors: It was spread that Paul had problems with women and could not handle being married. Without doubt many questioned Paul’s ability to address the marriage issue being that he was single. Besides the fact that Paul had been called and sent by the greatest counselor that ever lived on earth, people tried to attack his credibility. Many people possessed complete confidence in Paul’s ability to lead the church (which was often referred to as the wife of Christ), and yet they spread rumors regarding his ability to lead a wife of his own.
   I Corinthians 9:3-5, II Corinthians 11:1-3

7. Truth: Paul was determined to go to Jerusalem and bring an offering from the Gentiles to the poor saints that were at Jerusalem.  Paul was convinced that the saints at Jerusalem could see the divine love that the Gentiles had developed under his ministry through their voluntary financial support.  When he came to Jerusalem he shaved his head and honored the local customs so that the people would receive him and he could declare what great things God had done through his ministry.
   Romans 15:25-27, Acts 21:10-24

   Lies/Rumors: Instead of all of the Jews receiving Paul, many of them cried out, “Men of Israel, help; this is the man that teacheth all men every where against the people, the law, and this place…”.  The people begin to beat Paul until they were stopped by the presence of centurion soldiers of Rome.  Later, Paul would find himself in the judgment hall of Herod defending himself against a charming orator named Tertulus.  Tertulus had been hired to lie and persuade the governor against Paul.  Convincingly, Tertulus continued with words dripping with flattery towards Felix the governor, he would continue in his dissertation to label Paul as a ringleader, a mover of sedition, and a pestilent fellow.  Even though Paul was nothing but a true man of God, he would through these efforts end up trapped in the Roman judicial system and later be beheaded at the hand of Nero the Emperor of Rome.
   Acts 21:27-32, Acts 24: 19,2

Click here to continue reading, Persecution Today