The Martyr’s Oath: Living for the Jesus They’re Willing to Die for

We are witnessing an astonishing escalation in Christian persecution like we have rarely seen since the first century. Some estimate that every five minutes a Christian is martyred for their faith. Egypt has experienced more Christian persecution in the last three years than in the previous six hundred years combined.

Johnnie Moore, like many American Christians, didn’t fully appreciate the extent of what was going on until he witnessed a graduation of seminary students in India. Unlike graduation ceremonies in America–where feel-good speeches made by visiting celebrities are featured–this one featured a remarkable oath. It wasn’t an oath to excel. It was an oath to be willing to die, if necessary, for the cause of Christ. This was no empty promise. A placard, next to the speaker’s platform, listed former graduates who had died for the Christian faith. At this graduation Johnnie knew he was witnessing a raw first-century Christianity his comfortable American Christianity had shielded him from. He and his team crisscrossed the world, recorders in hand, to gather reports from dozens of survivors of persecution to see what it means to live for the Jesus Christians around the globe are dying for. It was only then, after hearing their stories and being broken by what he saw, that he could dare to take the martyr’s oath.

Join Johnnie Moore on this compelling journey to the heart of the Christian faith.