Forward

Foreword “The Martyr” Richard Wurmbrand said, “Tortured for Christ has no literary value. It was written in only three days shortly after my release from prison. But it was written with pen and tears. And for some reason, God has chosen to bless this writing and use it for His purpose.” In this 30th anniversary edition of Tortured for Christ, little has been changed. The original testimony of a pastor’s fourteen-year imprisonment under a Romanian dictatorship has been left intact. Over the years, Tortured for Christ has been translated into 65 languages and millions of copies have been distributed throughout the world. We are continually amazed at how this testimony has been used of God to strengthen His Body. We have discovered that in this Body, victory, courage, resilience, and tenacity know no borders, no skin color, no nationality, but are given equally to all by the Holy Spirit. It is very curious that Chinese pastors, American housewives, and Arab taxi drivers can all be inspired and encouraged by a book by a Roman­ian Jew. Viet­nam­ese house church leaders once shared with me how they prepared their Christian flocks to survive and grow under the expected Communist takeover of South Vietnam in the 1970s. They distributed the Vietnamese translation of Tortured for Christ as a survival guide­book, a testimony of an overcoming faith in incredibly difficult circumstances. We also receive letters from many who have entered a personal relationship with Jesus Christ from reading this book, realizing that the love of Christ is a powerful reality. In this sense, these pages do not constitute a political attack but present a martyr’s gospel “witness.” Many today believe that a martyr is simply someone who dies for his faith. Unfortunately, by this definition we have lost the true significance and depth of martyrdom. St. Augustine once stated, “The cause, not the suffering, makes a genuine mar­tyr.” In his play Murder in the Cathedral, T. S. Eliot describes a martyr as one “who has become an instrument of God, who has lost his will in the will of God, not lost it but found it, for he has found freedom in submission to God. The martyr no longer desires anything for himself, not even the glory of ­martyrdom.” According to the original Greek, “martyr” means “witness.” The writer of Hebrews states that “we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses [martyrs]” (Hebrews 12:1), and Jesus instructs us in Acts 1:8, “You shall be witnesses [martyrs] to Me in Jeru­sa­lem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” The New Testament martyr not only personally testified to the truth and power of Jesus Christ, but was instructed to take that witness to others, regardless of the cost. Later in the book of Acts, we read about the stoning of Stephen, making him the first to pay the ultimate price for that witness. It is at this time that the word martyr took on a much stronger meaning as one who not only is a witness but as one who is willing to give his life or to be martyred for that cause. The very truth to which we bear witness comes at a great cost—it can cost us our reputation, popularity, and prestige. It may even cost us our families, friends, or our lives. But the mes­sage of our witness is so powerful that we are exhorted to “lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us” (Hebrews 12:1), in order to run with endurance the “race” that God has set before us in our life. The message of Christ’s “witnesses” is also not confined to physical borders or limitations. It transcends any label or box we may deem appropriate. Martyrdom is not depressing, but necessary for movement into a prayerful understanding of global Chris­tian reality...necessary in order to receive that which has been “granted on behalf of Christ”—“to suffer for His sake” (Philippians 1:29). The faith of these witnesses, or martyrs, cannot be controlled or killed. It can only plant seeds to further God’s kingdom beyond “Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8), as their tes­timonies bear witness to the truth of Jesus Christ. Christ said, “On this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). It is through this understanding that I have come to know Pastor Richard Wurmbrand as one whose life reflects that of a martyr. Not because of death, but because he bears witness to the life of Christ and has undergone sufferings to the point that death would have been preferred to life itself. Tortured for Christ not only reveals the facts surrounding a man who has suffered at the hands of a brutal Communist regime, it reveals the faith and perseverance of a man totally com­mitted to Christ and his desire to share the truth with others. It is this truth that comes alive through each page, transforming the thinking of Western Christians by revealing that throughout history, and even today, Christians endure horrific sufferings and even die for their witness to the life and power of Jesus Christ. It is our prayer that this testimony lives on, that we may come to a deeper knowledge of our relationship with Jesus Christ and our duty on this earth. That we may come to understand the true aspects of the martyr’s life, and if by God’s will, we would be willing to be that witness. Tom White USA Director, The Voice of the Martyrs