What if you were to realize at the end of your life that there really is no God and Christianity is a myth? Would living the Christian life have been worth it? Absolutely, positively, tee-totally, 100% emphatic "YES"--but it might not be for the reasons one might think. Listen to how Paul answers this question. Read the words of 1 Corinthians 15:12-19.
12 But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. 15 More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. 19 If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.
Paul gives 6 disastrous consequences if there were no resurrection: 1). Preaching Christ would be senseless (v. 14), 2) faith in Christ would be useless (v. 14), 3) all the witnesses and preachers of the resurrection would be liars (v. 15), 4) no one would be redeemed from sin (v. 17), 5) all former believers would have perished (v. 18), and 6) Christians would be the most pitiable people on earth (v. 19). Why would he say that the Christian life without the resurrection is the most pitiful of all lives? Listen to the words of Dr. John Piper from his book, Desiring God: "The Christian life for Paul was not the so called good life of prosperity and ease [the tenets falsely preached in the "health, wealth, and prosperity gospel"--a contemporary view that attempts to erode the very truths preached by Christ]. Paul's belief in God and his confidence in resurrection and his hope in eternal fellowship with Christ did not produce a life of comfort and ease that would have been satisfying even without resurrection. What his hope produced was a life of chosen suffering", freely (255). Come again? Paul freely chose to suffer for the sake of Christ. 1 Cor. 4:10-13 and 2 Cor. 11:23-28 recount the extent of his sufferings: brutally treated, hungry, thirsty, without clothing, homeless, slandered, severely flogged, imprisoned, encountered numerous dangerous situations. Notice Paul's response to such affliction, a response he admonishes in the Roman believers Romans 12:9-13 reads 9 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13 Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Focus on v. 12. What did Paul teach through words and lifestyle about suffering? Rejoicing in hope, perseverance, devotion to prayer. For Paul, his life was not measured by physical comforts and pleasures in life; the Christian life for Paul was a life of chosen sacrifice that he might gain the joy of fellowship with Christ in the age to come (Piper)
Read 1 Cor. 15:30-32: 30 And as for us, why do we endanger ourselves every hour? 31 I die every day—I mean that, brothers—just as surely as I glory over you in Christ Jesus our Lord. 32 If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus for merely human reasons, what have I gained? If the dead are not raised, "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die." In other words, what does the resurrection matter? If there were no resurrection, not only would we be the most pitiful people on the planet but we might as well just throw caution to the wind, live it, for the only thing worth living for is eating, drinking, and dieing. How bleak. What was the path Paul chose daily? To die to self (v. 31). Does that sound vaguely familiar? Hope so, for it is the pinnacle of discipleship. Matthew 16:24-25, Psalm 51:17, Luke 9:23.
There were reasons Paul embraced suffering. Oswald Chambers writes in Christian Discipline: "Suffering is the heritage of the bad, of the penitent, and of the Son of God. Each one ends in the cross. The bad thief is crucified, the penitent thief is crucified, and the Son of God is crucified. By these signs we know the widespread heritage of suffering." Paul’s first reason for embracing suffering, for choosing the cross, for choosing a daily death: Obedience to his calling. Dr. Piper writes, "The suffering that comes is part of the price of living where you are in obedience to the call of God . . . .And it is 'chosen'--that is, we willingly take the path of obedience where the suffering befalls us, and we do not murmur against God" (256-257) Read Philippians 1:27-30:
27 Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel 28 without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved—and that by God. 29 For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him, 30 since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.
See verse 29? Do you regard suffering as gift or a curse?
Are theses reasons for Suffering a gift or a curse?
- To test the strength of our faith
- To humble us
- To wean us from our reliance on worldly things
- To call us to eternal and heavenly hope
- To reveal what we really love
- To teach us to value God’s blessings
- To develop enduring strength for greater usefulness
- To enable us to better help others through their trials
It was granted to me to carry away from my prison years on my bent back, which nearly broke beneath its load, this essential experience: how a human being becomes evil and how good. In the intoxication of youthful successes I had felt myself to be infallible, and I was therefore cruel. In the surfeit of power I was a murderer and an oppressor. In my most evil moments I was convinced that I was doing good, and I was well supplied with systematic arguments. It was only when I lay there on rotting prison straw that I sensed within myself the first stirrings of good. Gradually it was disclosed to me that the line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties either, but right through every human heart, and through all human hearts. . . .This is why I turn back to the years of my imprisonment and say, sometimes to the astonishment of those about me: 'Bless you, prison! I . . . have served enough time there. I nourished my soul there, and I say without hesitation: 'Bless you, prison, for having been in my life.' (qtd. in Piper, Desiring God 263-264)
Suffering is the confirmation of a believer’s intimate relationship with Christ. Take a few moments to read the following scriptures: Luke 9:23-23, 1 Corinthians 15:31, John 15:20, Luke 10:3, Luke 21:16-17, Acts 14:22. 1 Thess. 3:3, and 2 Timothy 3:12. Reflect on the following: How does God’s Word confirm this relationship? 1 Thess. 3:1-4 reads: 1 So when we could stand it no longer, we thought it best to be left by ourselves in Athens. 2 We sent Timothy, who is our brother and God's fellow worker in spreading the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you in your faith, 3 so that no one would be unsettled by these trials. You know quite well that we were destined for them. 4 In fact, when we were with you, we kept telling you that we would be persecuted. And it turned out that way, as you well know.
How can we accept suffering more easily when we know it is our destiny? Suffering is a part of faithful Christian living. God uses suffering to wean us from self-reliance to God-reliance (2 Cor. 1:8-9). Dr. Piper concurs when he states, "This is God's universal purpose for all Christian suffering: more contentment in God and less satisfaction in self and the world" (265). Malcolm Muggeridge, a Christian Journalist who died in 1991, said this about suffering:
Contrary to what might be expected, I look back on my experiences that at the time seemed especially desolating and painful, with particular satisfaction. Indeed, I can say with complete truthfulness that everything I have learned in my seventy-five years in this world, everything that has truly enhanced and enlightened my existence, has been through affliction and not through happiness, whether pursued or attained. In other words, if it ever were to be possible to eliminate affliction from our earthly existence by means of some drug or other medical mumbo jumbo . . . the result would not be to make life delectable, but to make it too banal or trivial to be endurable. This of course is what the cross signifies, and it is the cross more than anything else, that has called me inexorably to Christ. (qtd in Piper, Desiring God 265-266).
On a wall in his bedroom Charles Spurgeon had a plaque with Isaiah 48:10 on it: "'I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.' 'It is no mean thing to be chosen of God,'" he wrote. "'God's choice makes chosen men choice men...We are chosen, not in the palace, but in the furnace. In the furnace, beauty is marred, fashion is destroyed, strength is melted, glory is consumed; yet here eternal love reveals its secrets, and declares its choice.'" (qtd. in Warren Wiersbe, Wycliffe Handbook of Preaching and Preachers 223).
There is a difference between suffering from normal life trials and choosing to suffer for the cause of Christ. Both Paul and Dr. Piper are specifically referring to suffering because of being openly Christian in risky situations. How might any suffering tempt us to doubt and disobey God? When we suffer we question, often with self-pity. We doubt God's goodness often when we suffer for we see people around us who don't know the Lord, yet seem to be living the good life. If that is our focus, then we have lost site of the resurrection; we simply view life like the false teachers of the "prosperity gospel." How can I be comforted today? What
must I do to live a good life? These are the wrong questions. Christ calls us to more than that, much more. Dr. Piper poignantly states, "God is calling us to live for the sake of Christ and to do that through suffering. Christ chose suffering; it didn't just happen to Him. He chose it as a way to create and perfect the church. Now He calls us to choose suffering. That is, He calls us to take up our cross and follow Him on the Calvary road and deny ourselves and make sacrifices for the sake of ministering to the church and presenting His sufferings to the world" (286). We are to be the Bible to a lost world; we need to be Jesus to the world, to our neighbors, our co-workers, our family, our friends.Take some time to carefully read James 5:7-12. This scripture warrants mentioning because of what it teaches and commands. James gives four commands to his readers--the brothers, believers--Be patient, strengthen your heart (stand firm), don’t complain, and don’t swear. (For the sake of this blog and these reflective notes from Sunday School, we will not spend any time on the latter.)
- Be patient (v. 7, 8). The word patient comes from two words in the Gk: makros (long, far) and thumos (anger), which we get our word “long-tempered” or “long-suffering” This is a different word then the one translated in James 1:3-4, which refers to patiently enduring trying circumstances; makrothumeo refers to patiently enduring trying and difficult people.
Hebrews 12:1 tells us to "run with endurance" the race set before us. George Matheson wrote, "'We commonly associate patience with lying down. We think of it as the angel that guards the couch of the invalid. Yet there is a patience that I believe to be harder -- the patience that can run. To lie down in the time of grief, to be quiet under the stroke of adverse fortune, implies a great strength; but I know of something that implies a strength greater still: it is the power to work under stress; to have a great weight at your heart and still run; to have a deep anguish in your spirit and still perform the daily tasks. It is a Christ-like thing! The hardest thing is that most of us are called to exercise our patience, not in the sickbed but in the street.' To wait is hard, to do it with 'good courage' is harder! (Sermon Illustrations, http://www.sermonillustrations.com/a-z/p/patience.htm. Accessed May 29, 2010). - Strengthen Your Heart (v. 8--the NIV uses “stand firm,” the NKJV uses ‘establish your hearts”, the Message reads, “Stay steady and strong.”--the original Gk word, sterizo,--meaning to “make fast,” “to establish,” or “to confirm”. Notice that James mentions in vv 7-8 the Lord’s coming--both in association with patience and strengthening our hearts. So sterizo derives from the root word meaning to “cause to stand” or “to prop up.” What does this mean? James urges those ready to collapse under the weight of persecution to “prop themselves up” with the hope of the savior’s return, for this hope motivates us to live godly lives, spotless and blameless (2 Peter 3:14)
Have you ever heard of the “50:20” principle? This rocks, by the way. One way to strengthen our heart in times of persecution is to apply this principle, taken from Gen. 50:20: But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive. What does this principle do? Rather than looking at ourselves, or others, or the circumstance, the 50:20 principle enables us to focus on God; we are freed to see God as the teacher and the other person as a tool for making us into the people He intended us to be. - Do not complain (v. 9): Why do people complain? James speaks of the adversity which comes from insult, persecution, abuse at the hands of others. Those who choose complaining as their lifestyle will spend their lifetime in the wilderness--empty, joyless, emotionless, cheerless, not experience the blessings God has given us. The result of spiritual poverty. What should be our response, instead? Trust and embrace His grace as sufficient. Notice the two illustrations James gives to help us resist the grudging spirit, and thus show patience under persecution?
The prophets: To establish context, read Hebrews 11:32ff. What encouragement do we receive by their example? They honored God, stood firm and trusted, never cast blame or bore a grudge or complained; they were persecuted because they spoke in the name of the Lord; did not fear insult or rejection; they were in the will of God yet still suffered, Is it not comforting to know that “The will of God will never lead you where the Grace of God cannot keep you.” They suffered and endured so that their lives might back up their message. They suffered, and through their suffering they evangelized
Job: Job was a righteous man, yet he suffered. Satan predicted that Job would turn impatient and deny God, yet he endured. In Job’s case, what was the end result of the Lord? To reveal himself as full of compassion and mercy--verse 11--isn’t that awesome? Isn’t this the end result of all saints who suffer (whether through circumstances or persecution)? Suffering is designed to spotlight God’s grace, for God was glorified and Job was purified--if there is nothing to endure, we cannot learn endurance.
Notice v. 11a again--God’s blessing does not come to people who do great things but to people who endure. Paul proclaims in 2 Corinthians 12:7-10,
7 To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Whether we have chosen the suffering or it’s just part of life, we can choose to accept the path God has put us on and praise and trust Him anyway. When we do so, we magnify Christ as our superior satisfaction. Listen to what Dr. Piper says, "Here is the astounding upshot: God intends for the afflictions of Christ to be presented to the world through the afflictions of His people. God really means for the body of Christ, the church, to experience some of the suffering He experienced so that when we proclaim the Cross as the way to life, people will see the marks of the Cross in us and feel the love the Cross from us" (269-270). Romanian Pastor Josef Tson provides clarity: “I am an extension of Jesus Christ. When I was beaten in Romania, He suff ered in my body. It is not my suffering: I only had the honor to share His sufferings" (The Theology of Martyrdom 4). Piper continues, "Christ’s suffering is for propitiation (Propitiation is the work of the Lord Jesus Christ by which He appeases the wrath of God and conciliates Him who would otherwise be offended by our sin and would demand that we pay the penalty for it); our suffering is for propagation" 278). Here is how Paul puts it in 2 Corinthians 4:10-12: 10 We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11 For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. 12 So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.
Here again is another quote by Pastor Tson germane to the premise that the "life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body:"
I had a man in an important position whom I baptized come to me and ask, ‘Now what shall I do? They will convene three or four thousand people to expose me and mock me. They will give me five minutes to defend myself. How should I do it?’
'Brother', I told him, 'defending yourself is the only thing you shouldn’t do. This is your unique chance to tell them who you were before, and what Jesus made of you; who Jesus is, and what He is for you now.'
His face shone and he said, ‘Brother Josef, I know what I am going to do.’ And he did it well – so well that afterwards he was severely demoted. He lost almost half of his salary. But he kept coming to me after that saying, ‘Brother Josef, you know I cannot walk in the factory now without someone coming up to me. Wherever I go, somebody pulls me in a corner, looks around to see that nobody sees him talking to me, and then whispers, ‘Give me the address of your church, or ‘Tell me more about Jesus, or ‘Do you have a Bible for me?’
Every kind of suffering can become a ministry for other people’s salvation.'”
And finally, as we close, read the words of Brother Andrew who heads a ministry called the Open Doors,
There is not one door in the world closed where you want to witness for Jesus . . . . Show me a closed door and I will tell you how you can get in. I won't, however, promise you a way to get out . . . .
Jesus didn't say, 'Go if the doors are open,' because they weren't. He didn't say, 'Go if you have an invitation or a red carpet treatment.' He said, 'Go,' because people need his Word . . . .
We need a new approach to missions--an aggressive, experimental, evangelical, no-holds-barred approach . . .a pioneering spirit . . . .
I'm afraid we'll have to go through a deep valley of need and threatening situations, blood baths; but we will get there.
God will take away what hinders us if we mean business. If we say, 'Lord, at any cost . . .'--and people should never pray that unless they truly want God to take them at their word--he will answer. Which is scary. But we have to go through the process. This is how it has worked in the Bible for the last two thousand years.
So we face potentially hard times, and we have to go through that . . . . We play church and we play Christianity. And we aren't even aware we are lukewarm . . . .We should have to pay a price for our faith. Read 2 timothy 3:12: 'Indeed, all who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.' The church has been much purified in countries where there was a lot of pressure . . . .All I can say is to be ready. (qtd. in Piper, Desiring God 286-287).
Thank you Brother Andrew for these wonderful yet sobering thoughts. In your affliction, who can you show Jesus to today. Evangelize through your suffering.
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