The Christian and Suffering

Brothers, this day I desire to ask of us who proclaim to be a Christian, what is the meaning of the name of a Christian? We, above all others, claim a part of something that is greater than ourselves, we claim to be a part of something that causes us to differ from others on the earth, and we claim that we alone have eternal life. And rightly so.

But, dear brothers, what defines this? What separates you from the rest of humanity? What causes you to differ? What causes you to claim eternal life? Is it upon your own merit? Is it found alone by a youthful prayer that saved you? Is there a merit found based on the church you have your membership with? Where, my dear brothers, do you find cause to claim that will inherit eternal life?  What is more, will your cause to the name of Christ stand a case before the great court hearing on the final day?

Many will seek to enter heaven; many will cry the fearful cry of: Lord! Lord! Save us for we have always done your will! We have always lived for you and called on your name.

And oh! The millions to hear those awesome words, “Depart from me, for I never knew you!”

Brothers, we must seriously consider, why will that final judgement be pronounced? What will be the cause? For many will say that they have always called on the name of the Lord but will not find him. There will be many that seek to enter heaven but seek in vain.

Friends, consider carefully the following verses.

Php 3:9  And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: 

Php 3:10  That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; 

Php 3:11  If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. 

First, we cannot have our own righteousness. We ourselves cannot bring about our own salvation. Christ will not know us if he is not our salvation. And hence, those awful words on judgment day.

Second, we must know him, we must know his power in our lives, and we must know the fellowship of his sufferings. This is our only hope for resurrection, and our only way for us to be known of Christ on the final judgement day.

This, my friends, is the crux of the matter for the church at large. First, that we do not know his power in our lives, and as a result, we are not willing to suffer for him.

Today, I want us to focus on suffering for Christ. Without suffering for him, and with him he will not know us.

Brothers, as Christians, we are called to be like Christ. We live our life in his power, and because of that, we live as Christ lived. We must follow Christ at all costs, even as he is our example. Jesus calls us to follow him, to live as he did, to die as he did. Unless we become like Christ, we will never inherit eternal life.

And so, we must suffer as he did. In our modern day, with its ease, wealth and luxury, we do not know how to suffer. Suffering is as foreign to us as the idea of a dead monkey being raised to life. We as people have even begun to embrace the idea that following Christ will bring us riches, houses, and health.

I hear you all protesting that most certainly you have suffered. Didn’t my own mother die just six months ago? Was my job not lost because the company failed? Was my wheat field not lost because of an invasion of pests and drought combined? And on top of that, our newborn baby was found to have a severe mental defect. Isn’t this suffering? Won’t this be counted as taking up our cross?

My dear friends, allow me to gently share the truth with you that suffering that is caused by living in this fallen world is not suffering for Christ. If that were the case, all men would instantly be saved, because no one is exempt from living in an unjust and cruel world. Even the most wicked will suffer. This world is fallen, and suffering will always exist. Suffering by natural earthly means is not suffering for the cause of Christ. Yes, Christ can be glorified by the way we look to him during these times, and Christ can reveal himself to us as we embrace him during this type of suffering, but Christ also calls us to another kind of suffering.

The suffering of Christ is that of his own example. Christ suffered willingly. Not by default, not because he had to, but by choice. This alone is the distinction. There is a great gulf fixed between suffering from unavoidable suffering and suffering by choice.

Christ himself has set the example. For Christ himself chose to leave the glories of heaven. Praise his name! And even beyond that, Christ willingly chose to die. Christ did not die of necessity. Christ did not die because there was not other escape. Hid resurrection is proof of the fact that he fully had the power to escape death in the first place, because is it not easier to avoid death than to resurrect from it?

This is what we are called to do. We must suffer willingly, freely, all for the cause of Christ and his kingdom. No other reason for suffering can sufficiently be classed as suffering for the cause of Christ.

Above all, Christ is our example in this. How did Christ live his life? In a mansion with all the luxury that his present time could afford? Did he attempt to reform the world by becoming the top dog in the political world? Did Christ shrink from suffering? No, a thousand times no! Christ fully knew what suffering he would need to endure on the cross. Yet, he freely embraced it and died so we might have abundant life.

We must also ever ask ourselves what Christ would do if he were in our lot of life. What house would he buy? What job would he have? Under what principles would he live his business life? Would he use the same reasoning for his business decisions that we do?

For, when we live as Christ would live, we will suffer. We will have to forsake all for his cause. We will have to die. We will not be able to live a life of ease and luxury. We will not be able to walk past a sinful man without warning him about the state of his soul. We will not be able to do anything for our own selfish desires. They must all be crucified, and we must suffer for Christ.

Dear friends! Let us freely go forth, willingly choosing to suffer for the cause of Christ! We must know what God would have us to do. We must seek him to know his will, and in knowing his will, we will be called to give up our own will. Giving up our own will always brings suffering. Let us not shrink from it, but joyfully embrace it, for the cause of Christ.

Let us rise up and own his cause! Let there yet be men who joyfully suffer for the cause of Christ and to bring glory to his name!