And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me......

The following are references from the NT pertaining to a subject that Will and I have been contemplating for about 2 years, the role and definition of persecution or struggle in the Christian life.

This is just the list I have started to put together. Please comment if you have passages to add, as I would enjoy add them to my study list (as this is an often neglected but important truth in the Chrsitian walk). I also want to expand this from the preliminary to the complete bible overview of the suject of suffering (defined not as a hurt foot or a sickness) or struggle with the world because of Christ and His name and ministry.

Matt 5: 11-12¹¹ “You are blessed when they insult and persecute you and falsely say every kind of evil against you because of Me. ¹² Be glad and rejoice, because your reward is great in heaven. For that is how they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Matt 5:⁴³ “You have heard that it was said, Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. ⁴⁴ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who  persecute you, ⁴⁵ so that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. For He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. ⁴⁶ For if you love those who love you, what reward will you have? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same? ⁴⁷ And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing out of the ordinary? Don’t even the Gentiles do the same? ⁴⁸ Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Matt 10 16-25 ¹⁶ “Look, I’m sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as serpents and as harmless as doves. ¹⁷ Because people will hand you over to sanhedrins and flog you in their synagogues, beware of them. ¹⁸ You will even be brought before governors and kings because of Me, to bear witness to them and to the nations. ¹⁹ But when they hand you over, don’t worry about how or what you should speak. For you will be given what to say at that hour, ²⁰ because you are not speaking, but the Spirit of your Father is speaking through you.²¹ “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. Children will even rise up against their parents and have them put to death. ²² You will be hated by everyone because of My name. But the one who endures to the end will be delivered. ²³ When they persecute you in one town, escape to another. For I assure you: You will not have covered the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes. ²⁴ A disciple is not above his teacher, or a slave above his master. ²⁵ It is enough for a disciple to become like his teacher and a slave like his master. If they called the head of the house ‘Beelzebul,’ how much more the members of his household!

Mark 8: 34 Summoning the crowd along with His disciples, He said to them, “If anyone wants to be My follower, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me.

Luke 6:22 ²² You are blessed when people hate you,
when they exclude you, insult you,
and slander your name as evil
because of the Son of Man.

John 15 ¹⁸ “If the world hates you, understand that it hated Me before it hated you. ¹⁹ If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own. However, because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of it, the world hates you. ²⁰ Remember the word I spoke to you: ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will also keep yours. ²¹ But they will do all these things to you on account of My name, because they don’t know the One who sent Me. ²² If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin. Now they have no excuse for their sin. ²³ The one who hates Me also hates My Father. ²⁴ If I had not done the works among them that no one else has done, they would not have sin. Now they have seen and hated both Me and My Father. ²⁵ But this happened so that the statement written in their scripture might be fulfilled: They hated Me for no reason.

John 17:¹³ Now I am coming to You,
and I speak these things in the world
so that they may have My joy completed in them.
¹⁴ I have given them Your word.
The world hated them
because they are not of the world,
as I am not of the world.
¹⁵ I am not praying
that You take them out of the world
but that You protect them from the evil one.
¹⁶ They are not of the world,
as I am not of the world.
¹⁷ Sanctify them by the truth;
Your word is truth.
¹⁸ As You sent Me into the world,
I also have sent them into the world.
¹⁹ I sanctify Myself for them,
so they also may be sanctified by the truth.

Acts 4 ¹⁵ After they had ordered them to leave the Sanhedrin, they conferred among themselves, ¹⁶ saying, “What should we do with these men? For an obvious sign, evident to all who live in Jerusalem, has been done through them, and we cannot deny it! ¹⁷ However, so this does not spread any further among the people, let’s threaten them against speaking to anyone in this name again.” ¹⁸ So they called for them and ordered them not to preach or teach at all in the name of Jesus.¹⁹ But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it’s right in the sight of God for us to listen to you rather than to God, you decide; ²⁰ for we are unable to stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.”

Romans 8 ¹⁶ The Spirit Himself testifies together with our spirit that we are God’s children, ¹⁷ and if children, also heirs—heirs of God and coheirs with Christ—seeing that we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.¹⁸ For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is going to be revealed to us.

1 Cor 4 ¹⁰ We are fools for Christ, but you are wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are distinguished, but we are dishonored! ¹¹ Up to the present hour we are both hungry and thirsty; we are poorly clothed, roughly treated, homeless; ¹² we labor, working with our own hands. When we are reviled, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; ¹³ when we are slandered, we respond graciously. Even now, we are like the world’s garbage, like the dirt everyone scrapes off their sandals.

2 cor 1 Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort. ⁴ He comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any kind of affliction, through the comfort we ourselves receive from God. ⁵ For as the sufferings of Christ overflow to us, so through Christ our comfort also overflows. ⁶ If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation. If we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which is experienced in your endurance of the same sufferings that we suffer. ⁷ And our hope for you is firm, because we know that as you share in the sufferings, so you will share in the comfort. ⁸ For we don’t want you to be unaware, brothers, of our affliction that took place in Asia: we were completely overwhelmed—beyond our strength—so that we even despaired of life. ⁹ Indeed, we personally had a death sentence within ourselves, so that we would not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead. ¹⁰ He has delivered us from such a terrible death, and He will deliver us. We have put our hope in Him that He will deliver us again ¹¹ while you join in helping us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gift that came to us through the prayers of many.

Gal 6 ¹² Those who want to make a good impression in the flesh are the ones who would compel you to be circumcised—but only to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ.

Eph 6 ¹⁰ Finally, be strengthened by the Lord and by His vast strength. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the tactics of the Devil. ¹² For our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world powers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens. ¹³ This is why you must take up the full armor of God, so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having prepared everything, to take your stand.

Phil 1 For it has been given to you on Christ’s behalf not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for Him, ³⁰ having the same struggle that you saw I had and now hear that I have.

3:1 Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write to you again about this is no trouble for me and is a protection for you. 2 Watch out for “dogs,”[a] watch out for evil workers, watch out for those who mutilate the flesh. 3 For we are the circumcision, the ones who serve by the Spirit of God, boast in Christ Jesus, and do not put confidence in the flesh— 4 although I once also had confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he has grounds for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised the eighth day; of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; regarding the law, a Pharisee; 6 regarding zeal, persecuting the church; regarding the righteousness that is in the law, blameless. 7 But everything that was a gain to me, I have considered to be a loss because of Christ. 8 More than that, I also consider everything to be a loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. Because of Him I have suffered the loss of all things and consider them filth, so that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own from the law, but one that is through faith in Christ—the righteousness from God based on faith. 10 My goal is to know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, 11 assuming that I will somehow reach the resurrection from among the dead.

Colossians 1 ²⁴ Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and I am completing in my flesh what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for His body, that is, the church.

1 Thess 3 ² And we sent Timothy, our brother and God’s coworker in the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you concerning your faith, ³ so that no one will be shaken by these persecutions. For you yourselves know that we are appointed to this. ⁴ In fact, when we were with you, we told you previously that we were going to suffer persecution, and as you know, it happened. ⁵ For this reason, when I could no longer stand it, I also sent him to find out about your faith, fearing that the tempter had tempted you and that our labor might be for nothing.

2 Thess 1 ⁴ Therefore, we ourselves boast about you among God’s churches—about your endurance and faith in all the persecutions and afflictions you endure. ⁵ It is a clear evidence of God’s righteous judgment that you will be counted worthy of God’s kingdom, for which you also are suffering, ⁶ since it is righteous for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you ⁷ and to reward with rest you who are afflicted, along with us. This will take place at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with His powerful angels, ⁸ taking vengeance with flaming fire on those who don’t know God and on those who don’t obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.

2 Tim 1 ⁸ So don’t be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, or of me His prisoner. Instead, share in suffering for the gospel, relying on the power of God.

2 Tim 2 ³ Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. ⁴ No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in the concerns of civilian life; he seeks to please the recruiter. ⁵ Also, if anyone competes as an athlete, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. ⁶ The hardworking farmer ought to be the first to get a share of the crops. ⁷ Consider what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.

2 Tim 3 ¹⁰ But you have followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, and endurance, ¹¹ along with the persecutions and sufferings that came to me in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra. What persecutions I endured! Yet the Lord rescued me from them all. ¹² In fact, all those who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. ¹³ Evil people and impostors will become worse, deceiving and being deceived. ¹⁴ But as for you, continue in what you have learned and firmly believed. You know those who taught you,

Titus

Philemon I appeal to you, instead, on the basis of love. I, Paul, as an elderly man and now also as a prisoner of Christ Jesus, ¹⁰ appeal to you for my son, Onesimus. I fathered him while I was in chains.

Hebrews 13 ¹² Therefore Jesus also suffered outside the gate, so that He might sanctify the people by His own blood. ¹³ Let us then go to Him outside the camp, bearing His disgrace. ¹⁴ For we do not have an enduring city here; instead, we seek the one to come. ¹⁵ Therefore, through Him let us continually offer up to God a sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit of our lips that confess His name.

James 5 ¹⁰ Brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the Lord’s name as an example of suffering and patience. ¹¹ See, we count as blessed those who have endured. You have heard of Job’s endurance and have seen the outcome from the Lord. The Lord is very compassionate and merciful.

1 Pet 4 ¹² Dear friends, don’t be surprised when the fiery ordeal comes among you to test you as if something unusual were happening to you. ¹³ Instead, rejoice as you share in the sufferings of the Messiah, so that you may also rejoice with great joy at the revelation of His glory. ¹⁴ If you are ridiculed for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.

^2:20 For what credit is there if you sin and are punished, and you endure it? But when you do what is good and suffer, if you endure it, this brings favor with God.Cross references:

r 2:20 : 1Pt 4:14

2 pet

1 John

2 John

3 John

Jude ³ Dear friends, although I was eager to write you about the salvation we share, I found it necessary to write and exhort you to contend for the faith that was delivered to the saints once for all. ⁴ For some men, who were designated for this judgment long ago, have come in by stealth; they are ungodly, turning the grace of our God into promiscuity and denying Jesus Christ, our only Master and Lord.¹⁶ These people are discontented grumblers, walking according to their desires; their mouths utter arrogant words, flattering people for their own advantage. ¹⁷ But you, dear friends, remember what was predicted by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; ¹⁸ they told you, “In the end time there will be scoffers walking according to their own ungodly desires.” ¹⁹ These people create divisions and are unbelievers, not having the Spirit.

Revelation ⁸ “Write to the angel of the church in Smyrna: “The First and the Last, the One who was dead and came to life, says: ⁹ I know your affliction and poverty, yet you are rich. I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. ¹⁰ Don’t be afraid of what you are about to suffer. Look, the Devil is about to throw some of you into prison to test you, and you will have affliction for 10 days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. ¹¹ “Anyone who has an ear should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. The victor will never be harmed by the second death

^12:11 They conquered him(satan)
by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony,
for they did not love their lives
in the face of death.