The Seed of the Church

"The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church." Do you know where this is found in the Bible? I don’t because it’s not. First attributed to the early Christian Tertullian, this quote has become nearly Biblical to many people. In his second century apology, Tertullian wrote, "The oftener we are mown down by you, the more in number we grow; the blood of Christians is seed" (The Complete Church Fathers, Philip Schaff). Today, this quote has evolved to statements like, "Persecution is what the church needs," or "Persecution makes the church grow." While I believe these statements contain elements of truth, I don't think they are very helpful or Biblical.

Persecution Can Damage the Church

Persecution does not always grow the church. When a government restricts access to the Word of God, error often advances faster than truth. When a ruling power systematically hunts down and kills Christians, the few survivors often hide and struggle to propagate their faith.

Tertullian probably wrote his famous quote from Carthage in modern-day Tunisia. This was a Christian stronghold in the first several centuries after Christ, but was supplanted by Islam when it swept across North Africa. Ironically, today less than one percent of Tunisia’s people are Christians, and they are still persecuted. Another example of a strict Islamic country is Somalia. Here, those who believe in Jesus are oppressed and killed. To my knowledge, there are only several hundred to a thousand isolated Christians in Somalia.

Our theology covers the birth and spread of Christianity, but rarely its extinction. History has shown that persecution can destroy a geographical church. And while Satan sometimes appears to triumph in the short term, I look forward in hope to the day when God's Kingdom will conquer all other kingdoms.

Persecution Can Grow the Church

Sometimes, Tertullian's words are prophetic. During China's cultural revolution, Mao Zedong persecuted the church with unimaginable intensity, driving it underground and near extinction. Eventually, one of his wives boasted that Christianity had been confined to the history section of the museum. But they could not calculate God's power, which already rested on the Chinese church. God began to move mightily, sometimes despite persecution, and sometimes through it. The sufferings of Chinese Christians bore fruit, and today, thousands of Chinese come to Christ daily. I understand that some towns are even majority Christian despite ongoing persecution.

Why Some Churches Buckle Under Persecution

I believe that Satan has no power compared to God. And while the powers of darkness cannot destroy God’s power, they can destroy God’s people. God has promised His people persecution, not protection (2 Timothy 3:12).

I believe that churches with the power of the Spirit will withstand persecution. But sometimes, God's people lack His power, and they buckle under opposition. We do not always know whether persecution will be good for the church or not. Why God blesses some of His people’s sufferings and appears not to bless others remains a mystery. Someday, we will understand clearly, but for now, we can leave it in God's hands.

Our Persecuted Brothers and Sisters Need Support

I think we Westerners, who are insulated from real persecution, too often quote Tertullian without realizing or deeply appreciating the sacrifice of persecuted Christians. Sometimes we ask God to send persecution, not realizing the deep levels of trauma it will bring. We should ask God to purify His church, but I question whether we should ask Him to do it through persecution.

Maybe we should not explain away or over-spiritualize the sufferings of martyrs. Maybe we should deeply empathize with them, realizing the trauma that persecution brings. Hebrews 13:3 says, "Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body" (ESV). We should weep with our persecuted brothers and sisters. Please don't ask God to send them more persecution; rather, pray that God would bless their suffering. Pray that their blood, sweat, and tears would not go to waste but would bear eternal fruit.

A Biblical Understanding

I think we should have a Biblically and historically nuanced understanding of Tertullian's quote. Rather than saying that the church grows when persecution comes, we should say that persecution comes when the church grows. And rather than saying that the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church, we should say that the blood of Christ is the seed of the church.

We can only bring people to Christ because of His death and resurrection. Christ saves people through His blood; we do not. The blood of the martyrs does not save people, but it can point them to Christ who does. This is the benefit and original meaning of martyrdom—a testimony to Christ. The blood of Christ is the seed of the church.