American Pastor Imprisoned in Iran Told to Deny Christ

American Pastor Imprisoned in Iran Given Ultimatum to Deny Christ or Remain in Prison
ICC Note: Pastor Saeed Abedini, an American citizen imprisoned for his Christian faith in Iran, was given an ultimatum to either deny Christ or remain incarcerated, Christian News Network reports. “‘Deny your faith in Jesus Christ and return to Islam or else you will not be released from prison. We will make sure you are kept here even after your 8 year sentence is finished.’ These are the threats that prison officials throw at me,” Saeed wrote in a letter received by the American Center for Law and Justice. “My response to them is Romans 8:35-39.”
By Heather Clark
4/14/2013 Iran (Christian News Network) – An American pastor who was sentenced to eight years in an Iranian prison for planting house churches in the country says that officials in Iran have given him the ultimatum to either deny Christ or remain incarcerated.
The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), which has been working for the pastor’s release, reports that they have obtained a new letter written by Saeed Abedini, which outlines the pressure that he is facing behind bars.
“‘Deny your faith in Jesus Christ and return to Islam or else you will not be released from prison. We will make sure you are kept here even after your 8 year sentence is finished.’ These are the threats that prison officials throw at me,” the pastor writes. “My response to them is Romans 8:35-39.”
“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?” the Scripture cited by Abedini reads. “As it is written, ‘For Thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.’ Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
“The reality of Christian living is that difficulties or problems do arise in our lives,” he continues. “Persecution and difficulties are not new occurrences, but are seen often in the Christian life. It is through the suffering and tribulations that we are to enter the Kingdom of God.”
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