CIRCLE OF LOVE
February 9, 2010
The Suffering of the Righteous
Job 2:7-8, Act 28:16, John 16:1, 2 Timothy 3:12
The Bible provides numerous examples of godly people who experienced significant amounts of suffering for a variety of reasons. e.g. Joseph, David, Job, Jeremiah and Paul.
Reasons Believers Suffer
(1) Ongoing consequence of the fall of Adam and Eve. When sin entered the world, pain, sorrow, conflict and eventual death invaded the lives of ALL human beings. (Gen. 3:16-19, Rom. 5:12, Rom 8:20-23, 2 Pet. 3:10-13).
Our Response: is to always cast ourselves on God’s Grace, strength and comfort. (1 Cor. 10:13).
(2) Some believers suffer for the same reasons that unbelievers do. i.e. consequence of their own actions – a man reaps what he sews (Gal. 6:7) applies in a general sense to everyone. Example: if we drive too fast we cause accidents, if we overindulge in food, we cause obesity and its side effects.
God MAY (and I stress may) use such suffering as a means of discipline.
OurResponse: We must always act in wisdom and in accord with God’s Word and we must avoid whatever will remove us from God’s protective care.
(3) Believers also suffer, at least in their inner self because they live in a sinful world. All around us are the effects of sin. We experience distress and anguish as we see the power of evil’s hold over so many lives. (Ez. 9:4, Acts 17:16, 2 Pet. 2:8.
Our Response: We must pray to God that He will demonstrate His victory over sin’s power.
(4) Believers suffer at the hands of the Devil.
a. Scripture makes it clear that Satan is the god of this age. (2Cor. 4:4) Controls this present evil age (1 John 5:19, Gal. 1:4, Heb. 2:14). He has been given power to afflict us in a variety of ways. (1 Pet. 5:8-9). We see this most graphically in Job chapters 1-2. Paul recognized that his “thorn in the flesh was “a messenger of Satan to torment him. (2Cor. 12:7). Jesus testified that one woman he healed had been bound by Satan for 18 years. As we engage in spiritual warfare against the “powers of this dark world” (Eph 6:12, we will inevitably suffer adversity. In order to deal with such assaults God has given us spiritual armor (Eph 6: 10-18, spiritual weapons (2Cor. 10:3-6).
b. Satan and his followers delight to persecute believers. Those who Love the Lord Jesus follow his principles of truth and righteousness will be persecuted for their faith. In fact, such suffering because of righteousness may be an indication or our genuine devotion to Christ. (Mat. 5:10, 1 Pet. 4:12)
Our Response: Since all true believers are called to suffer persecution and reproach because of righteousness, we must stand firm and keep on trusting Him who judges justly. (Mt 5:10-11, 1 Cor 15:58, 1 Pet. 2:23)
(5) More positively another reason why believers suffers is that “we have the mind of Christ” (1Cor. 2:16) to be a Christian means to be in Christ, to be one with Him; as a result we share in his sufferings. (1Pet 2:21)
For example: Just as Christ wept in agony over the wicked city of Jerusalem and their refusal to repent and accept salvation (Luke 19:4) so we are to weep over humanity’s sinfulness and lostness.
Our Response: We must thank God that just as Christ’s suffering is ours so also is His comfort.
(6) God may use suffering in our lives as a catalyst to spiritual growth or change.
Our Response: We must confess known sin and examine our lives to see if there is anything that displease the Holy Spirit.
a. He often uses suffering to call his straying people to repent of their sins and renew their faith and trust in Him. (see the book of Judges)
b. God sometimes uses suffering to test our faith, to see if we will remain faithful. (Job’s example)
Our Response: We must realize that the genuineness of our faith will result in “praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed (1Pet. 1:7).
c. God uses suffering to strengthen our faith; grow in Christian character; learn patience (Rom. 5:3-5, James 1:3) we learn to depend less on ourselves and more on God and His Grace. According to both Paul and James, God wants us to learn patience through suffering.
Our Response: We must be attuned to what God may want us to learn from our suffering.
(7) Finally God can and does use the suffering of the righteous to further the cause of His Kingdom and his plan of redemption.
One Example: Joseph’s experience reserved a remnant and saved them by a great deliverance.
The prime example of this principle is the suffering of Christ “the Holy and Righteous One” (Acts 3:14) who experienced persecution, agony and death so that God’s plan of Salvation might be fully realized. This does not excuse the wickedness of those who crucified him (Acts 2:23) but it does indicate how God can use the suffering of people for his own purposes and to his own glory.
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