For whoever is ashamed of Me and of My words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when He comes in His glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. – Luke 9:26

Last week nine people died at Umpqua Community College in Oregon. They did not die because of gun laws. They didn’t even die because of unchecked mental illness. They died because of the existence of evil. And some died because of their faith in Jesus.

Witnesses reported the shooter would ask victims what their religion was. If someone said he was a Christian, he would be shot in the head instead of the leg. “He said, ‘Good, because you’re a Christian, you’re going to see God in just about one second,’” related Stacy Boylan, the father of witness Anastasia Boylen.

As Christians heard the story, many of us probably had the same thought: Would I stand for Jesus, or would I deny my faith so I could live? But I have a more pressing question for you: Are you standing for Jesus now?

So many of us are afraid of offending people by sharing our faith or acting on Christian principles. This is for good reason, because the gospel is offensive. It divides. It separates the haves – those who have Jesus – from the have-nots – those who don’t.

“Do you suppose that I came to grant peace on earth? I tell you, no, but rather division; for from now on five members in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three. “They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.” – Luke 12:51-53

We have become bogged down in the mire of political correctness and have been rendered spiritually lame. We are weak and ineffectual; we are salt that has lost its saltiness.

But not all of us. The Oregon shootings prove that. And in places where it’s truly hard to live as a Christian – take Syria, for example – believers are professing Christ with their last breath. ISIS recently murdered 12 Syrian Christians, including a 12-year-old boy, for refusing to recant their faith.

These Syrian Christians and the brave Christians of Umpqua Community College are martyrs. These have gone on to glory, but the gospel remains unchained. (Even an ISIS terrorist in Syria reportedly came to a saving knowledge of Christ.) They have shown us how to live, and they have shown us how to die.

Before we can ask ourselves if we are willing to die for Christ, we have to ask if we’re wiling to live for Him. Are we willing to suffer ridicule and rejection? Are we willing to risk alienation, possibly from people we love most? Are we willing to risk financial repercussions if we refuse to compromise our convictions? Do we, as Peter, count it joy to suffer for the name of Jesus?

If you are unwilling to face any of that now, then be thankful you were not among those at Umpqua Community College or among those Syrian villagers. God has shown you mercy.

But be ready. I seriously doubt any of those Oregon victims got up that morning knowing it would be the day they died. But they stood for Jesus when it mattered most. Will you?