A New Perspective on Suffering

We all know that suffering was not the way it was suppose to be, Peter makes the shocking claim that suffering should come as no surprise to the Christians. In fact, when suffering does come for the right reasons we should take it as an opportunity to rejoice for the great privilege and blessing to suffer for Christ’s sake.

Peter indicates that for those who choose to suffer for being a Christian rather than turning aside or trying to avoid suffering are already undergoing the eschatological judgment that will in the end separate God’s people from those who reject him.

Remember in

1 Peter 1:7 ESV

7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

ILLUSTRATION Dr. R.C. Sproul.

Bertrand Russell, became an atheist teenager after being exposed to an essay by the philosopher John Stuart Mill. In that essay Mill argues against the existence of God, saying that if everything has a cause, then God must have a cause, and if God must have a cause, then He is just like any other part of creation. Dr. Sproul pointed out to the teenager that this representation of the law of causality was a misrepresentation it thinking. The law of causality does not teach that everything must have a cause, but simply that every effect must have a cause.

Another man, the son of an evangelical Methodist minister and scholar, also became an atheist as a teen. The reason for his atheism was the influence of the same philosopher. This young man was captivated by Mill’s argument that God cannot be both omnipotent and good. If God is omnipotent and yet allows the atrocities that befall human beings, then He has the power to stop the suffering. Since He does not, it is proof that He is neither good nor all-loving. On the other hand, if He is good and all-loving and does not want to see the savage brutality that afflicts the human race, then it must mean that He simply is incapable of stopping of stopping it therefore, he is not omnipotent. That fifteen-year-old boy felt the weight of Mill’s argument and came to the conclusion that there must be no God, certainly not the God of the Bible.

Years later this same young man Anthony Flew announced to the world that he had changed his mind and come to the conclusion that the evidence for God is compelling. Intelligent design is not simply an optional theory, he said, but a philosophical necessity. It has been interesting to see the world of atheist has responded to Flew’s conversion. Flew later wrote a book, “There is a God: How the World’s most Notorious Atheist Changed His Mind, explaining why he changed.

What made Flew become an atheist is the same thing that caused him to change his mind, the problem of suffering in the world. When he was fifteen and read Mill’s statement that God cannot be both all-loving and good and at the same time be omnipotent, and Flew could not answer that criticism of Christianity. Nineteenth Century critics of Christianity called the problem of pain the Achilles’ heal of the Christian faith. Flew came at the argument from a different angle. he said that when the existence of something is asserted, whatever evidence works against it must be taken into account. For example, in order to say that the world is round, all the evidence that appears to render the world flat must be considered. The idea of a round earth took a long time to supplant the idea of a flat earth, because it was strange - so strange that it seemed much easier to continue with believing that it is flat.

NOTE: Why do the wicked prosper the righteous suffer? It just makes no sense. Why do good people suffer? Why does God allow cancer to exist?

News Week Article

Christian persecution and Genocide is Worse Now Than “Any other time in History,”Reports say.

"Not only are Christians more persecuted than any other faith group, but ever-increasing numbers are experiencing the very worst forms of persecution," the report said. The report examined the plight of Christians in China, Egypt, Eritrea, India, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria and Turkey over the period lasting from 2015 until 2017. The research showed that in that time, Christians suffered crimes against humanity, and some were hanged or crucified. The report found that Saudi Arabia was the only country where the situation for Christians did not get worse, and that was only because the situation couldn't get any worse than it already was.

There are few people when in the middle of suffering can say like Job, naked I came from my mothers womb, and naked I shall return. The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, One must have a profound understanding of the Character of God and a profound trust in His goodness.

Big Idea: How can you move beyond the “safe” to truly follow after Jesus?

1. Rejoice in suffering and do not be Surprised.

WHY SHOULD OUR SUFFERING NOT SURPRISE US?

There are two things for certain about suffering trials.

1) Suffering is to be expected for being a Christian.

2) God is Working

3) Those who suffer are to continue to live righteously

This is a show of abiding trust in God despite our circumstances.

4:12 “Unjust suffering should not come as a surprise for the believer.

Cultural Note: We should not say when struggles and trials come, “Wow, I didn’t see that one coming.”

1)We will Suffer

WHY CONSIDER IT STRANGE WHEN WE SUFFER?

NOTE: Anytime suffering takes place in the life of a believer the question why is asked. Remember that the Jews found it unfathomable that the Messiah would come to suffer. What kind of God would send His own Son to Golgotha?

CULTURAL NOTE: They came to Jesus and asked Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices, and about the eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them (Luke 13:1-4). Jesus did not discount these situations as anomalies for which there is not answer, or that people would have to adjust their understanding of the Character of God. He did say, “Unless you repent you will all likewise perish.”

*Maybe the better question is not why there is so much suffering in the world, but why there is so little. In light of our complete hostility and disregard for God are we all not suffering in Hell at this very moment. The problem of suffering is based on two things that we fail to know: the character of God and the seriousness of our sin problem.

NOTE: One reason that there is suffering in the world in fact the reason that there is suffering is not that God is not good, but because He is a good God and will not allow evil to go unpunished. Jesus said that they were asking the wrong question.

STRANGE: ZENOPHOBIA

Fear of Strangers, people who do not fit into our mold.

2)God is Working

Trials are not without a purpose

Misfortune and death are certainly “normal,” common, everyday occurrences in the sense that they are universally experienced, but they are not normal when viewed from God’s intention in creation and his plan in redemption.

NOTE: The idea that all of creation should always be in harmony and free from suffering, despite universal suffering and death, remains a lingering echo of life in Eden as God created it all before the fall. There is also a longing for a time when there will be no more tears, suffering, pain, and death.

Revelation 21:4 ESV

4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

Suffering and death in our culture and world will always be viewed as abnormal and wrong. Those who find themselves reborn in Jesus Christ should not find it odd or strange that for following in Christ’s footsteps they make themselves targets of the forces of evil and sin that came against Jesus.

Let’s look at two words that stand out within the text

1)Trials

2)suffering

TRIAL: So a trial is seen as a legal proceeding where charges or an issue is judged. The new testament speaks of trials we go through as a sort of testing and proofing of ones faith. Like a jury trial is a testing or proofing of whether or not someone is innocent or not.

James 1:12 ESV

12 Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.

James 1:2–3 ESV

2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.

1 Peter 1:6–7 ESV

6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Suffering

The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary Suffering

SUFFERING. The Bible portrays innumerable examples of suffering. It could come in many different forms—a loss in battle, destruction of the nation and the symbols of worship, ravaging illnesses, premature death, great physical pain, rejection and loneliness, spiritual torment such as guilt or disbelief about God’s goodness and concern. The list could go on (e.g., see Gerstenberger 1980:22–102). When such calamities occurred, whether to individuals, to larger groups within the nation, or to the nation as a whole, efforts were made to answer the many questions that would arise. What went wrong? Where did the suffering come from? Who brought it? How does God fit into this? Why would God bring (or allow) such terrible things to happen to the people whom God has chosen for his own?

There are several places we turn and look when faced with suffering, such as the story of the Fall (Genesis 3). The History of the nation of Israel in Deuteronomy, the book of Job, and the gospel accounts of the crucifixion of Jesus.

Paul’s attitude towards trials and testing

It is the destiny and privilege of all believers.

Philippians 1:29 ESV

29 For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake,

Sharing in Christ’s sufferings

Colossians 1:24 ESV

24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church,

The Discipline and Afflictions

Romans 5:3 ESV

3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance,

Believers do not find affliction less painful than others, but they know that under God’s good hand it produces endurance, character and hope in God. It was through the despair of life that Paul learned not to rely on himself but God.

Suffering and Comfort

2 Corinthians 12:8–9 ESV

8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave 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 of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

During his struggle with this “thorn in the flesh” Paul was comforted when the Lord told him that the power of Christ is made perfect in human weakness. Paul came to see that one of the reasons that he suffered was that, as he experienced the comfort of God in the middle of his sufferings, he might be able to comfort others.

HOW CAN A BELIEVER REJOICE IN SUFFERING?

English Standard Version Chapter 4

13 But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.

Rejoicing in suffering is distinctly Christian

Why do we rejoice and how is this different from the way the world rejoices?

NOTE: The cause to rejoice here is in the fact that our suffering comes as a result of our participation in and identification with the suffering and humiliation of Christ.

The way you suffer tells the world what you believe about God.

NOTE: His suffering is redemptive ours is not, however, our suffering bears witness to the glory of God.

Colossians 1:24 ESV

24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church,

NOTE: Peter is always looking forward to the end result of our suffering and struggles when we are called to rejoice in our struggles. The end result is the glory of God. This is but a foretaste of the greater joy that is yet to come for those who believe. There is also a sense of being vindicated for our suffering and struggles.

Illustration

Bristlecone Pines are fascinating trees that grow in the western mountain regions of the United States. Sometimes as high as two or more miles above sea level, these evergreens may live for thousands of years. The older specimens often have only one thin layer of bark on their trunks. Considering the habitat of these trees, such as rocky areas where the soil is poor and precipitation is slight, it seems almost incredible that they should live so long or even survive at all.

The environmental "adversities," however, actually contribute to their longevity. Cells that are produced as a result of these perverse conditions are densely arranged, and many resin canals are formed within the plant. Wood that is so structured continues to live for an extremely long period of time. One researcher said, "Bristlecone Pines in richer conditions grow faster, but die earlier and soon decay." The harshness of their surroundings, then, is a vital factor in making them strong and sturdy.

Throughout the history of the church, harsh conditions have caused growth and flourishing. Persecution and hardship have caused the church to rise up and conquer. As you face your challenges, try to thank God that he is with you, and will never let you go. Trust him to make you flourish

2. Suffer as a Christian Not a jerk.

NOTE: Peter’s use of the term Christianos is unique in the New Testament as a term of self-designation, the term was beginning to become a common way of identifying believers in the early years of the Church. However, shockingly the term only appears 3 times in the N.T. Twice in Acts and this one in 1 Peter.

The title of Christian was assigned to followers of Jesus Christ in Antioch. Within a short time it became common enough that Agrippa could use it in dialogue with Paul. While outsiders used this terms Christians referred to themselves as disciples or saints. This designation may have quickly become a name used in negative connotations, being used as an insult. Herod Agrippa’s statement to Paul sneering “in such a short time would you think to make me a Christian!

Wear the label of Christian with Honor

NOTE: So the label of Christianos that was once hoisted on believers as a shameful thing should no longer be viewed as an embarrassment, we should proudly wear the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

What do most people associate the label of Christian with today?

Insults cannot drive the blessings of the Spirit away from Christ’s true disciples. Peter had heard Jesus pronounce blessings upon those who would be persecuted for his name sake. When he had first experienced the wrath of the high priest, he prayed with the others for boldness. The room itself shook with the power of the Spirit’s answer.

When believers suffer because they are Christians, God gets the Glory.

Cultural NOTE: Remember Satan’s accusations against God and Job? “Take your hand off of him and he will curse you.” Satan’s accusations were proven false; God was vindicated. Christians are given an understanding not granted to Job; all the more are they to glorify God in the middle of suffering for Christ’s sake. Paul and Silas sang praises in the prison at Philippi; Peter glorified the name of Jesus before the very rulers who had delivered the Savior to Pilate; through the centuries Christians have defied their persecutors to praise the Lord.

ILLUSTRATION

Missionary Shares Why He Risked His Life

Mark Batterson tells of a modern day martyr in his book Chase the Lion:

With his hands tied behind his back, missionary J. W. Tucker was beaten and then with sixty of his Christian compatriots he was thrown into the crocodile-infested Bomokande River. It wasn't ISIS or Al-Qaeda who claimed responsibility. The attack took place on November 24, 1964, at the hands of Congolese rebels.

Our natural instinct is to feel sorry for Tucker, whose earthly life was seemingly cut short. But life can't be cut short when it lasts for all eternity. A holy empathy for his wife and children, who survived the terrorist attack, is biblically mandated. But heaven gained a hero, a hero in a long line of heroes who trace their genealogy back to the first Christian martyr, Stephen.

In the grand scheme of God's good, pleasing, and perfect will, eternal gain infinitely offsets earthly pain. God doesn't promise us happily ever after. He promises so much more than that—happily forever after.

It was that eternal perspective that inspired J. W. Tucker to risk his earthly life for the gospel. Tucker didn't fear death because he had already died to self. It wasn't an uncalculated risk that led J. W. Tucker into the Congo during a civil war. He counted the cost with his missionary friend Morris Plotts. Plotts tried to convince his friend not to go. "If you go in," he prophetically pleaded, "you won't come out." To which Tucker responded, "God didn't tell me I had to come out. He only told me I had to go in."

NOTE: If God calls us to suffer, we have to commit our souls to Him, not as a vengeful, tyrannical deity, but as to a faithful Creator. The hardest time to believe that God is faithful is when His hand is heavy on your back. Yet we are told that though we suffer - and the pain may be excruciating - it is only for a moment and not worthy to be compared with what God has prepared for us for eternity.

Do not be ashamed of your faith in Christ, Peter writes, “because it is time for the judgement to begin with the house of God.

NOTE: With Peter’s emphasis on naming the believers as Christians he is in essence saying that the name our enemies have bestowed on us should be the very name we use to identify who we are in Christ. Many times being called a Christian leads us to identify what we are instead of who we are. What you are is a new creation in Christ, who you are is a Christian to the depth of your soul of identifying with Christ in his death and resurrection.

3. Judgement Begins Here.

1 Peter Interpreting 1 Peter 4:17–18

This may seem to be a strange concept to Christians today who feel that because of Christ they are not subject to the judgment of God, much less due any suffering or penalty. And certainly there is unanimous teaching among the NT writers that there is no condemnation for those who believe in Christ.

We must ask the question whether this is future judgement for the Christians or simply a reference to the present trials they are experiencing.

NOTE: There is much evidence throughout scripture that all of humanity will stand before the judgement of Christ.

Romans 14:10 ESV

10 Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God;

Some have concluded that when God Judges he will begin with His own people, and in fact with the elders at the temple. The phrase “from the house of God” in 4:17a has with

Ezekiel 9:5–6 ESV

5 And to the others he said in my hearing, “Pass through the city after him, and strike. Your eye shall not spare, and you shall show no pity. 6 Kill old men outright, young men and maidens, little children and women, but touch no one on whom is the mark. And begin at my sanctuary.” So they began with the elders who were before the house.

God’s appearing will bring a refining process to purify his people and make their offspring acceptable to him. Malachi, prophesies that the coming of God will burn as a furnace against the wicked. The fire that purifies the house of God will consume them. Other OT passages compare God’s judgments to the fire that refines silver and gold.

1 Peter 1:17 ESV

17 And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile,

Christians are God’s house, his spiritual temple.

1 Peter 2:4–5 ESV

4 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

Now he takes Malachi’s imagery of purifying of the house of God through fire. Judgement must begin with the house of God.

Fiery Trials are the refining Fire of the Lord

2 Thessalonians 1:7–8 ESV

7 and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels 8 in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.

The fire of judgement that will come when Christ comes already burns in the suffering that Christians endure. Yet how different is the purpose of the fire in God’s house from the fire of the last judgement!

God’s fire in his temple purifies the faith of his spiritual priesthood.

NOTE: By that faith more precious than gold than refined gold, God will keep them for the glory to come. God has come to his new temple; the Spirit of glory has his resting-place in the new sanctuary of living stones. (4:14)

So, we are not surprised when these trials come but we rejoice because this is clear evidence that the Holy One has taken up his dwelling with his people.

Testing does not destroy us, it saves us.

English Standard Version Chapter 4

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.

3) Those who suffer are to continue to live righteously

How should we respond when we are persecuted?

So, Peter begins this section by addressing Roman judgment of believers, but Peter’s viewpoint seems to include the larger perspective that those who do not obey God will ultimately be judged by God himself. God’s ultimate judgement of all in light of Proverbs 11:30-31.

English Standard Version Chapter 11

30  The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life,

and whoever captures souls is wise.

31  If the righteous is repaid on earth,

how much more the wicked and the sinner!

NOTE: If God is refining the believers through suffering and trials now, then those who are the unrighteous, and unrepentant, how much more severe will the judgement be at Christ return.

Moving from Weeping to Laughing

In a single sentence, [theologian] Jurgen Moltmann expresses the great span from Good Friday to Easter: "God weeps with us so that we may someday laugh with him."

CLOSING

Every great story is formed by difficulties - without pain and anguish, our lives lack both adventure and growth. If we are honest with ourselves, our stories can become quite boring: We take the same route to work every day in our “safe” cars with the radio turned up, then sit quietly at our desks or wherever our job takes us. We are afraid of pain, difficulty, and awkwardness. But risk is inevitable - your drive home in itself is a risk. And Jesus calls us to risk it all for the sake of God’s kingdom, for others. Listen to what Jesus taught about risk in

Matthew 10:16–42 ESV

16 “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. 17 Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues, 18 and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles. 19 When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. 20 For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. 21 Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, 22 and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 23 When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next, for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes. 24 “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. 25 It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household. 26 “So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. 27 What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. 28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. 32 So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, 33 but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven. 34 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36 And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. 37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 40 “Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me. 41 The one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and the one who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. 42 And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.”

Trials as difficult as they may be - can yield amazing results

English Standard Version Chapter 5

11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

There is pure joy in knowing Jesus, our Lord - and serving him as he intends. How can you move beyond the “safe” to truly following Jesus? What is God calling you to do right now?