The Doctrine of Suffering

What is the nature of suffering for believers?

Are we free from it?

Is it bad?

Why do we suffer?

Can suffering lead us close to God?

A brief survey of the church, and you will find suffering to be something that no believer escapes, and the responses to it will be multi various.

A brief survey of the world, and you will find that suffering to the secular man is a proof for the lack of a loving God.

What did Peter have to say about suffering?

1 Peter 3:13

1 Peter 3:13–18 ESV

13 Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? 14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, 15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, 16 having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. 17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil. 18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit,

1 Peter 4:

1 Peter 4:1 ESV

1 Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin,

Explain imperatives as outline for sermon.

1 Peter 4:12

1 Peter 4:12–19 ESV

12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. 14 If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. 15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. 16 Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. 17 For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18 And “If the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?” 19 Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.

Don’t Be Surprised

Charles Spurgeon once asked the question, why must the children of God so often be led through the valley of shadow?

This is an important question to wrestle with as a Christian.

Does Jesus death and resurrection mean that I will be free from suffering?

We oftentimes see people turning to God in times of intense suffering, no doubt hoping to have their temporal circumstances relieved immediately.

Suffering is part and parcel of the Christian experience.

Since Christ suffered in the flesh.... Arm yourselves with the same thinking.

We must be careful here to read into the text and say that we are to seek out suffering.

We must be careful here to read into the text and say that we are to seek out suffering.

What Peter is saying is that we should expect it.

Because if we are to be Christlike, then we must be prepared to follow in His footsteps. Even unto death.

We have become so desensitized to the act of crucifixion because it is so familiar even to the secular culture. And for believers the cross is the thesis statement of the Gospel.

But imagine if Jesus was here today, and he looked you in the eyes and said, paraphrasing ,

“If you want to be my follower, take up your electric chair and follow me”

How radical.

Rejoice

Read vs 13

Galatians 2:20 LEB

20 and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me, and that life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Galatians

What does cruciform living mean?

1 Peter 4:12–16 ESV

12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. 14 If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. 15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. 16 Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name.

1 Peter 4:12-14

Acts Chapter 5 gives us the story of Peter and the other apostles being arrested for preaching the gospel and healing in the name of Jesus.

Tell story ending with Gamaliel

Acts 5:40–42 ESV

40 and when they had called in the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. 41 Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name. 42 And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus.

Acts 5:

When Peter wrote his letter to the scattered Christians in the world, he wasn’t asking them to do something that he had not done himself.

Christianity often gets painted as a group that was started by some fanatical disciples of a man who died. They’re not wrong in a way.

But this Christianity stuff wasn’t written by men in an ivory tower.

This was the opposite of ivory tower religion.

The structure of leadership in the church in the first century and today is a Shepherd, with under-shepherds beneath him.

The Shepherd was killed, and rose again.

If this was ivory tower religion than we would have seen,

A. Jesus certainly never interacting with the people of Israel

B. His disciples, the under-shepherds would not have risked their lives for the sake of the Gospel!

In fact they didn’t just risk their lives they gave them up.

The apostles

Why?

Because they had been grafted into the true vine.

And people noticed, and hated it.

Being grafted into Christ was what gave them the ability to do the things that they did.

Peter was commanding the men and women he was writing to to do some radical things.

Don’t be surprised

Rejoice and be glad

Don’t suffer as a sinner

If you suffer as a Christian, glorify God!

Suffer for Christ, Not Self

The doctrine of suffering was a continuation of the stumbling block for Jews.

Not only did Jesus not come as the triumphant King over their enemies as they wanted Him to, but now the lot of his followers by design was to suffer.

Foolishness.

Christians were having to embrace cruciform living.

Cruciform Living

Galatians 2:20 LEB

20 and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me, and that life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

What does cruciform living mean?

“Bonhoeffer was born in Breslau, Germany, in 1906. His family were not religious but had a strong musical and artistic heritage. From an early age, Bonhoeffer displayed great musical talent, and the pursuit of music was important throughout his life. His family were quite taken aback when, at the age of 14, he announced he wanted to train and become a priest.

While the election of Hitler was widely welcomed by the German population, including significant parts of the Church, Bonhoeffer was a firm opponent of Hitler’s philosophy. Two days after Hitler’s election as Chancellor in Jan 1933, Bonhoeffer made a radio broadcast criticising Hitler, and in particular the danger of an idolatrous cult of the Fuhrer. His radio broadcast was cut off mid-air.

In April 1933, Bonhoeffer raised opposition to the persecution of Jews and argued that the Church had a responsibility to act against this kind of policy. Bonhoeffer sought to organise the Protestant Church to reject Nazi ideology from infiltrating the church. This led to a breakaway church – The Confessing Church which Bonhoeffer helped form with Martin Niemoller. The Confessing Church sought to stand in contrast to the Nazi-supported, German Christian movement. (Traveled to London)

Shortly after his return, one leader of the Confessing Church was arrested and another fled to Switzerland; Bonhoeffer had his authorization to teach revoked in 1936, after being denounced as a pacifist and enemy of the state.

As the Nazi control of the country intensified, in 1937, the Confessing Church seminary was closed down by Himmler. Over the next two years, Bonhoeffer travelled throughout Eastern Germany, conducting seminaries in private to sympathetic students.

During this period, Bonhoeffer wrote extensively on subjects of theological interest. This included ‘The Cost of Discipleship‘ a study on the Sermon on the Mount and argued for greater spiritual discipline and practise to achieve ‘the costly grace’.

Worried by a fear of being asked to take an oath to Hitler or be arrested, Bonhoeffer left Germany for the United States in June 1939. After less than two years, he returned to Germany because he felt guilty for seeking sanctuary and not having the courage to practice what he preached.

On his return to Germany, Bonhoeffer was denied the right to speak in public or publish any article. However, he managed to join the Abwehr, the German military intelligence agency. Before his visit to the US, Bonhoeffer had already made contacts with some military officers who were opposed to Hitler. It was within the Abwehr that the strongest opposition to Hitler occurred. Bonhoeffer was aware of various assassination plots to kill Hitler. It was during the darkest hours of the Second World War that he began to question his pacifism, as he saw the need for violent opposition to a regime such as Hitler. Bonhoeffer struggled with how to respond to the evil nature of the Nazi regime.

It was Bonhoeffer’s involvement in this activity that led to his arrest in April 1943. As the Gestapo sought to take over the responsibilities of the Abwehr, they uncovered Bonhoeffer’s involvement in escape plans. For a year and a half, Bonhoeffer was imprisoned at Tegel Military prison. Here he continued his writings such as ‘Ethics‘. Helped by sympathetic guards, his writings were smuggled out.

After the failed bomb plot of July 20th, 1944, Bonhoeffer was moved to the Gestapo’s high-security prison, before being transferred to Buchenwald concentration camp and finally Flossenburg concentration camp.

Even during the privations of the concentration camp, Bonhoeffer retained a deep spirituality which was evident to other prisoners. Bonhoeffer continued to minister his fellow prisoners. Payne Best, a fellow inmate and officer of the British Army, wrote this observation of Bonhoeffer.

“Bonhoeffer was different, just quite calm and normal, seemingly perfectly at his ease… his soul really shone in the dark desperation of our prison. He was one of the very few men I have ever met to whom God was real and ever close to him.”

On April 8th, 1945, Bonhoeffer was given a cursory court martial and sentenced to death by hanging. Like many of the conspirators, he was hung by wire, to prolong the death. He was executed with fellow conspirators such as Admiral Wilhelm Canaris and Hans Oster.

Just before his execution, he asked a fellow inmate to relate a message to the Bishop George Bell of Chichester ‘This is the end – for me the beginning of life.’

The camp doctor who witnessed the execution of Bonhoeffer later wrote,

“I saw Pastor Bonhoeffer … kneeling on the floor praying fervently to God. I was most deeply moved by the way this lovable man prayed, so devout and so certain that God heard his prayer. At the place of execution, he again said a short prayer and then climbed the few steps to the gallows, brave and composed. His death ensued after a few seconds. In the almost fifty years that I worked as a doctor, I have hardly ever seen a man die so entirely submissive to the will of God.””

Deitrich Bonhoeffer said, “When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die”

THIS is cruciform living.

Embracing the characteristics of the crucified Christ in contrast with and in opposition to the world.

says to not be conformed to the world.

This verse has been used for legalism.

But it was Bonhoeffer who said, “In following Jesus, people are released from the hard yoke of their own laws to be under the gentle yoke of Jesus Christ. … Jesus’ commandment never wishes to destroy life, but rather to preserve, strengthen, and heal life.”

If you embrace cruciformity, then you will be conforming to an entirely different mold than the world.

What are the characteristics of cruciformity?

Misrepresented, (Tell Andy Gemmill story)

Unsuccessful

Unsuccessful

Rejected

Beaten

Mocked

Tortured

Silent

Glory, Not Shame

Shame and Glory are nearly opposites.

Peter did not want the Christians in his care to be ashamed of the suffering they were enduring.

All of the characteristics of cruciformity are things that would make anyone feel ashamed.

Elaborate.

Talk about Peter’s death

Bonhoeffer could have escaped many times.

Both Peter and Deitrich if they were here today to speak to us would say, “Christian, do not be ashamed, but glorify GOD. Because it’s so worth it.”

To look on the face of the resurrected Christ is so worth it.

Christ died and was raised to life in order that we might re-united to Him.

The created and the great uncreated no longer separated.

This act has been done already.

Which is why Peter ends this section in this way.

1 Peter 4:19 ESV

19 Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.

Suffering in cruciformity is the crucible that God in His grace allows his children to endure, so that HE would be magnified as a result.

And the outcome for the believer is an unshakeable, unassailable, refined faith that HE who suffered on the cross for us will not forget us in our suffering.

Are you suffering?

Glorify God.

Magnify God.

Entrust HIM with your soul.

“God is my rest, but lately I'm losing sleep The Good Shepherd never loses track of his sheep That's a good thought to ponder when I see so many wander Off road, it makes me wonder how I keep from going under When I'm overwhelmed, I know I'm in over my head Fighting with myself but my opponent is dead How can we win the battle when we burn deeply within? Jesus laid down His rights, I can lay down my sin If He is Lord, all that competes with him loses Only He completes me and cuts through the confusion Of my wants and my needs, my desires and my dreams His love inspires me to lift my thoughts to higher things I was called to give my life instead of keep it There's nothing worth keeping if it's keeping us from Jesus In our weakness is where the Gospel meets us The beauty of redemption revealed in broken pieces”

-Mosaic Beautiful Eulogy