Welcome to this special episode of the China Compass Podcast, #20 in the weekly “Prison Pulpit” series! I'm your China travel guide, Missionary Ben. You can follow me on X (@chinaadventures) where I post daily reminders to pray for China (PrayforChina.us). To learn more about our various ministry endeavors and to get any of the missionary biographies I’ve helped to publish, please visit www.PrayGiveGo.us!

 

Richard Wurmbrand: Once again, we are going to turn to the late Richard Wurmbrand to speak to us on behalf of those of the persecuted church who are currently being imprisoned and tortured for Christ. 

For those who don't know who Richard Wurmband is, here's a brief intro:

Lutheran minister in Romania. 14 years in prison, including 3 in solitary confinement.

After “escaping”, published ”Tortured for Christ" in the 1960s and testified to Congress. 

Helped start Voice of the Martyrs (but his son Michael doesn’t trust VOM).

Michael Wurmbrand’s VOM letter: https://www.billionbibles.com/michael-wurmbrand-vom.html

Michael Wurmbrand’s ministry (free books!): https://richardwurmbrandfoundation.com/

 

Sermons in Solitary Confinement

Most likely published in the early 1970s, just a few years after he fled from Communist Romania…

Read the book for yourself: https://richardwurmbrandfoundation.com/pdfs/ssc-english.pdf

Today we look at portions from the first sermon in the collection, God’s Unjust Laws:

Here's the portion about lying that I discussed a little more in depth...

"Thou shalt not bear false witness” is a law for the man who has no reason to lie, or perhaps is not even able to do so, not having the slightest imagination; it is also for me, who has to answer the Communist interrogator. If I tell him the truth, as he asks me, appealing to my Christian obligation, many other arrests will follow. Rahab, after having hid the two Israelite spies, lied, saying that she did not know where they came from or where they had gone. Did she do wrong? 

I remember that Spurgeon preached on this subject, and said that he had often tried to put himself in Rahab's place. Supposing he had hidden some persecuted Protestants and was asked by the authorities if they were in his house. What would his answer have been? It is known that he was very strict against lying. We had to lie in the Nazi times, too. So I was interested to read what he said: 

"I have tried to imagine what I would say, and have never yet been able to make up my mind ••• I have more light than Rahab, and certainly I have had more leisure to consider the case, and yet I do not see my way. I am not sure whether Rahab's lie was not more honest and outspoken than many an evasion which has suggested itself to very clever people." 

I have often quoted his words to brethren who were worried about having to lie to oppressing authorities. Spurgeon could not make up his mind. I have made up mine. I lie to the Communist examining officers, and I must say I do it with delight. 

 

Here is the link to Richard Wurmband’s longer prison book, In God's Underground: https://richardwurmbrandfoundation.com/pdfs/IGU-english.pdf

My little book Unbeaten tells the story of my arrest, interrogation, and deportation from China in 2018. One of the appendices, Remember My Chains, is a message I’ve given all over the world about praying for the persecuted church. You can get both the book and the accompanying sermon, at Unbeaten.vip, or read the latter for free on my China Call Substack: https://chinacall.substack.com/p/remember-my-chains

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You can also email any questions or comments to contact @ PrayforChina dot us. 

And don’t forget to check out everything we are involved in at PrayGiveGo.us. Hebrews 13:3!