"For eighty and six years have I been his servant, and he has done me no wrong, and how can I blaspheme my King who saved me?" That is how Polycarp responded to the offer of freedom if he would renounce Christ. His persecutors then stated, "I will cause you to be consumed by fire, if you despise the beasts, unless you repent."
But Polycarp responded, "You threaten with the fire that burns for a time, and is quickly quenched, for you do not know the fire which awaits the wicked in the judgment to come and in everlasting punishment. But why are you waiting? Come, do what you will." Incredibly, he was burned at the stake for Atheism! His God, you see, was not visible.
Polycarp was Bishop of Smyrna, a disciple of the Apostle John and highly regarded very early church father (70-155 AD). He was a faithful pastor, champion of apostolic tradition and pillar of Biblical orthodoxy whom Irenaeus identified as a “steadfast witness of truth.”
Persecution would increase substantially in the centuries after his martyrdom. His courage and conviction would serve as an example to the early believers to remain steadfast as the clash with the prevailing culture became more intense. As we continue our present day slide to Sodom it may also serve as an example to us.
Calvary Chapel of Richmond is a local fellowship of believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. Our supreme desire is to know Christ and be conformed to His image by the power of the Holy Spirit through the continuous study and application of God's Word.
