Is criticism of the church persecution?

What the teaching gets right

Persecution is real. Jesus said, "If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also" (John 15:20). Paul wrote 2 Timothy from prison, near the end of his life, and he meant every word of 3:12. Believers around the world today are imprisoned, beaten and killed for following Christ. Any honest reading has to take that seriously.

So the question is not whether Christians are ever persecuted. They are. The question is whether every criticism, every report and every concern is persecution. Scripture does not leave that to guesswork.

Read the verse in its setting

Look at what surrounds 2 Timothy 3:12. Just before it, Paul reminds Timothy of what he suffered in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra (3:11), where he was driven out and stoned for preaching Christ (Acts 13 and 14). Just after it, Paul warns about "evildoers and impostors" who "go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived" (3:13), and he points Timothy back to "the Holy Scriptures" (3:15-17).

Earlier in the same chapter, Paul describes who those deceivers are. They are people "having a form of godliness but denying its power," who "worm their way into homes and gain control" over people weighed down by sin (3:5-6). The danger Paul warns about comes from inside religious communities, not only from outside them. His answer is to test everything by Scripture. Paul never tells Timothy to stop examining what he hears.

Scripture asks why you are suffering

In the New Testament, suffering does not prove you are right. What matters is why you are suffering.

Peter writes, "If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name" (1 Peter 4:15-16). He says it again earlier: "But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God" (1 Peter 2:20).

Jesus drew the same line. "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me" (Matthew 5:11, emphasis added). The blessing is for being opposed falsely, and for Christ's sake. Being opposed is not, by itself, a sign that you are right.

Why the first Christians were opposed

It helps to remember why the early church was persecuted in the first place.

They were opposed because they preached that Jesus of Nazareth, crucified under Roman authority, had risen from the dead and was Lord. The authorities were "greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people, proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead" (Acts 4:2). They were commanded "not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus" (Acts 4:18). When they were flogged, they left "rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name" (Acts 5:41).

Their opponents called them a "sect" (Acts 24:5, 14; 28:22). But look at the charges. Paul's accusers could not prove anything against him (Acts 24:13; 25:7). Paul could say, "I have done nothing wrong against the Jewish law or against the temple or against Caesar" (Acts 25:8).

They were also opposed for whom they welcomed. A crowd in Jerusalem listened quietly to Paul until he said God had sent him "far away to the Gentiles," and then they shouted for his death (Acts 22:21-22). The early Christians were known for crossing lines that others would not cross, eating with outsiders, caring for widows and the poor, and welcoming people others despised.

And for a time, they enjoyed "the favor of all the people" (Acts 2:47). Jesus said everyone would know his disciples "if you love one another" (John 13:35). Peter told believers to live so honestly among outsiders that even those who accused them would "see your good deeds and glorify God" (1 Peter 2:12). An elder "must also have a good reputation with outsiders" (1 Timothy 3:7).

Now compare that to the reasons a church might face criticism today. Nowhere in Acts are the first Christians accused of abuse, of mishandling money, of manipulating people or of leaders misusing their power. They were opposed for preaching Jesus and for welcoming outsiders. Allegations are not proof, and every person deserves fairness. But accusations like these are not the persecution Paul and Peter described. They are the kind of thing Scripture tells believers to look into honestly.

Correction is not persecution

Scripture is full of leaders being corrected, and it never calls that correction persecution.

When King David took another man's wife and arranged his death, God sent the prophet Nathan to confront him to his face: "You are the man!" (2 Samuel 12:7). Nathan was not attacking God's anointed. He was God's mercy to David, and David answered, "I have sinned against the Lord" (2 Samuel 12:13).

When the apostle Peter drew back from eating with Gentile believers out of fear, Paul "opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned," and did it "in front of them all" (Galatians 2:11, 14). Peter was a pillar of the church. Being corrected publicly did not make Paul his persecutor.

Paul gave Timothy a process for exactly this: "Do not entertain an accusation against an elder unless it is brought by two or three witnesses. But those elders who are sinning you are to reprove before everyone, so that the others may take warning" (1 Timothy 5:19-20). Scripture expects that leaders will sometimes need correcting, and it builds in a way to do it. A church that treats every accusation against its leaders as persecution has no place left for 1 Timothy 5.

Jesus invited examination

When Jesus was questioned before the high priest, he did not tell people to stop looking into him. He said, "I have spoken openly to the world... I said nothing in secret. Why question me? Ask those who heard me." When he was struck, he answered, "If I said something wrong, testify as to what is wrong" (John 18:20-23). Jesus welcomed his life being examined, because there was nothing in it to hide.

He also explained why some people avoid examination. "Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light" (John 3:20-21). Paul tells believers to "have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them" (Ephesians 5:11).

This is the heart of Examine Daily. The Bereans were called noble because they "examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true" (Acts 17:11). Their teacher was an apostle, and they still checked. Scripture tells us to test everything and "hold on to what is good" (1 Thessalonians 5:21), and to "test the spirits to see whether they are from God" (1 John 4:1). Nowhere does it tell believers to stop looking.

Two measures

Members who were there during the 2024 split remember it clearly. RCW leaders quoted Proverbs 18:17 again and again: "In a lawsuit the first to speak seems right, until someone comes forward and cross-examines." Members were urged to go and look for themselves, to read the reporting, the lawsuits and the accounts of what had happened in the ICC. It strengthened the case for the split.

That was good advice. Proverbs 18:17 is a wise verse. The first side of any story sounds right until someone asks questions.

Now the direction has changed. When any outlet or source raises questions about the RCW, members describe being turned back toward their leader instead. Why would you look out there? Don't you realize who your leader is? He is God's man for this generation. Anyone who reads such things is called unspiritual, and it is made clear from the pulpit that concerns like these are not welcome. So people who want to be accepted, and seen as loyal, stop looking, and those who have seen something stay quiet. The same verse that once urged people to examine is set aside when the examining points the other way.

Scripture has a word for that. "Differing weights and differing measures, the Lord detests them both" (Proverbs 20:10). "With the measure you use, it will be measured to you" (Matthew 7:2). If it was right to examine the ICC's leaders, it is right to examine the RCW's. Proverbs 18:17 does not stop working when it becomes inconvenient.

"Obey your leaders"

Questions are often answered with Hebrews 13:17: "Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account" (ESV). That verse is real, and healthy churches honor faithful leaders.

But the same chapter also says, "Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith" (Hebrews 13:7). Believers are told to consider how their leaders live. And Hebrews 13:17 itself says leaders "will have to give an account." Leaders who must give account to God are not above giving account to his people (1 Timothy 5:19-20). Hebrews 13:17 was written to encourage trust in faithful shepherds. It was never meant to be repeated until people feel guilty for having a question.

Another verse sometimes used is "Do not touch my anointed ones; do my prophets no harm," often quoted in its older form, "Touch not mine anointed" (Psalm 105:15; 1 Chronicles 16:22). In context, it is about God protecting the patriarchs and the people of Israel from the kings of other nations as they wandered (Psalm 105:12-15). It is not a command to never question a church leader. David himself, the anointed king, was confronted by Nathan.

"Unspiritual" for asking

When reading something or raising a concern gets you labeled unspiritual, the label does the work an answer should do. The question is never addressed. The person asking it is.

Scripture describes this. John wrote about a church leader named Diotrephes, "who loves to be first," who was "spreading malicious nonsense" about John, and who stopped others from welcoming fellow believers and "puts them out of the church" (3 John 9-10). John did not call those who questioned Diotrephes unspiritual. He said, "Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil but what is good" (3 John 11).

Paul was even more direct with the Corinthians, who had grown used to leaders who dominated them: "In fact, you even put up with anyone who enslaves you or exploits you or takes advantage of you or puts on airs or slaps you in the face" (2 Corinthians 11:20). He was not praising their loyalty. He was grieving it.

Fear of being seen as disloyal is a real pressure, and Scripture names it. "Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe" (Proverbs 29:25). "Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ" (Galatians 1:10). A believer who quietly reads, prays and checks what they read against Scripture is not unspiritual. They are trusting the Lord more than the room.

Leaders are not Jesus

Sometimes the picture goes further. The church is compared to Jesus being opposed, or to the prophets being stoned, and members are urged to rally around their leaders as the disciples rallied around Jesus.

But Jesus is the only leader who could ask, "Can any of you prove me guilty of sin?" (John 8:46). He "committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth" (1 Peter 2:22). Every other leader, however gifted, is a sinner saved by grace who can be wrong. That includes the RCW's central leader, Jason Dimitry, and every leader before him. When a man is presented as "God's man for this generation," it is worth remembering how Paul spoke of himself: "What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe... So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow" (1 Corinthians 3:5, 7). "For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus" (1 Timothy 2:5). The disciples rallied around Jesus because he is the Son of God. When the same loyalty is asked for a human leader, Christ's place has been given to someone else. "You have one Teacher, and you are all brothers" (Matthew 23:8).

When parents raise concerns

This teaching hits families hardest. When a parent sends an article or asks a hard question, a member may already have been taught what it means: persecution, a test of loyalty, a reason to hold on tighter. They want to honor God, and they have been told that honoring God means pushing back.

If you are a member, consider this. Your parents' concern may be the wound of a friend. "Wounds from a friend can be trusted" (Proverbs 27:6). "The wise listen to advice" (Proverbs 12:15). Listening to them, and checking what they share against Scripture, is not disloyalty to God. It is what the Bereans did.

If you are a parent, read our guides for parents. Your child is not pushing back because they don't love you. They may have been taught that your love is the very thing they must resist.

A test from Scripture

Here is a simple test from Scripture. When opposition comes, ask:

1. Is this about Christ, or about our conduct (1 Peter 4:15-16)?
2. Is what is being said false, or is it true (Matthew 5:11)?
3. Am I being asked to stop speaking about Jesus, or to stop asking questions about leaders (Acts 4:18)?
4. Would Jesus welcome this being examined (John 18:20-23)?

Persecution for Christ's name is a real honor, and Scripture promises it. But calling every question persecution does not make a church more faithful. It only makes it harder to see.

Common questions

Does 2 Timothy 3:12 mean all criticism of a church is persecution? No. Paul says believers who live godly lives will suffer persecution, and in the same chapter he warns about deceivers inside religious communities and tells Timothy to test everything by Scripture. Peter makes the line clear: suffering for wrongdoing is not the same as suffering as a Christian (1 Peter 4:15-16).

Why was the early church persecuted? Because they preached that Jesus, crucified under Roman authority, had risen and was Lord (Acts 4:2, 18), and because they welcomed outsiders, including Gentiles (Acts 22:21-22). Their accusers could not prove wrongdoing against them (Acts 24:13).

Is it wrong to read articles or listen to former members? Scripture tells believers to test everything and "hold on to what is good" (1 Thessalonians 5:21) and praises the Bereans for checking even an apostle's teaching (Acts 17:11). Proverbs 18:17 says a case sounds right until someone examines it. Reading carefully and testing what you read against Scripture is wise, not disloyal.

Doesn't Hebrews 13:17 say to obey your leaders? Yes, and healthy churches honor faithful leaders. But the same chapter tells believers to consider how their leaders live (Hebrews 13:7), and Hebrews 13:17 says leaders will have to give an account. Scripture also gives a process for correcting leaders who sin (1 Timothy 5:19-20).

Am I unspiritual if I read something critical of my church? No. Testing what you hear against Scripture is what the Bereans did, and Scripture calls them noble for it (Acts 17:11). Labeling questions as unspiritual avoids answering them. John warned about a leader who silenced and cast out those who disagreed with him (3 John 9-10).

What does the Restored Church Worldwide (RCW) teach about persecution? Former members of the RCW and the International Christian Church (ICC) describe being taught that criticism of the church, its leaders or its practices is persecution, based on 2 Timothy 3:12, and that members should not read outside material or listen to those who have left. This article examines that teaching against Scripture.