Thankful To God For Trials In Christ

Are you thankful for the newness of life that you have in Christ?

Have you meditated on the implications of that reality this week?

Newness of life gives us a newness in expectation.

Our outlook changes from being me-centered to others-focused.

Our interactions with our neighbors goes from what makes us comfortable to what makes us Christlike.

Yet, it is not merely a change in living out our lives. Newness of life also gives us a newness in experience.

John 15:20–21 ESV

Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me.

John 17:14 ESV

I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.

What an experience! Because we love Jesus, we are promised to be hated and persecuted by the world.

But as James informed his readers in James 1:2, that is something to be joyful about.

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,

What are the characteristics of our fallen world?

It is hostile towards God (Colossians 1:21; James 4:4)

We are warned in James 4:4 that friendship with the world is enmity with God. Desiring to imitate the world and their practices has no place in the will and expectation God has for His people; thus, to embrace those practices is to commit spiritual adultery against God.

And lest we forget, apart from Christ we are hostile toward God.

Colossians 1:21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds

Romans 8:7

For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.

It is temporal (2 Peter 3:10; 1 John 2:17)

1 John 2:17 And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

The reality is that the world and all that it contains (the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life, v. 15) is passing away. It will not endure the test of time.

2 Peter 3:10

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.

Since all these things will pass away at the final judgment of God, Jesus has warned us to get our priorities straight.

Matthew 6:19-21

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Who are we seeking to please? Who are we seeking to follow?

Remember, this world is passing away. And one thing that we must be reminded of is that…

It is a place where Satan is allowed some dominion. (2 Corinthians 4:4; Ephesians 2:2; 2 Timothy 2:26)

We live in a sin fallen world. But we cannot lose sight of the fact that the one who played a pivotal role in our reality is still seeking to disrupt our lives time and again.

2 Corinthians 4:4

the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

2 Timothy 2:26 tells us that Satan has captured those who do not follow the truth, in order to do his will.

Bear in mind that while we recognize the brevity of life and the passing nature of the things of this world, this world is the reality of those who are apart from Christ. Apart from Christ, this world is the best taste of heaven that someone will get. Look at the pain and agony people experience, day-in and day-out.

Look at the despair and hopelessness that so many people are facing… and this is as good as it gets.

How do we live in this fallen world?

Live as strangers and aliens, seeking to honor the home country: heaven (1 Peter 2:11-12)

Our citizenship is in heaven. Our king reigns from there and it is our eternal destination.

Yet, while we wait for the time to arrive in our forever home, we find ourselves in a world which used to be our home but is now a foreign land.

As citizens of a new and greater nation, we ought to be living our lives in a way that honors our homeland.

1 Peter 2:11-12

Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable…

Run the race God has given us with endurance. (Hebrews 12:1)

When an individual moves their citizenship from one country to another, they are not usually accepted by the nationals.

There can be a high level of awkwardness and even a degree of discrimination.

Hebrew 12:1

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us

Endurance is the same root word as steadfast in James 1:12 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.

The writer of Hebrews tells us that we have a race that we must run, with endurance. There will be obstacles. There will be trials.

But the good news is that we are not mapping out this course for ourselves. Rather, as the next verse in Hebrews 12 shows us, we must…

Fix our eyes on Jesus. (Hebrews 12:2)

Hebrews 12:2

looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Just like many other people, Jesus has already run the race before us.

Unlike the others, he provides the perfect race to emulate. That is why we must fix our eyes on him.

Notice that Jesus, also, had to endure trials. His was the cross of Roman crucifixion.

An innocent man unjustly given the death sentence

A man who committed no wrong and only desired the best for people

Yet, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. (Philippians 2:8)

Jesus did not start a revolt or organize a coup.

He obediently loved others, demonstrating what it means to count others more significant than yourselves. (Philippians 2:3)

As the author of Hebrews has so properly pointed out, we need to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith.

Without question, we will face trials in life. It is a given as we live in a sin fallen world.

If we commit our lives to Jesus and to living and loving the way he did, we can be sure that we will face hatred and hostility in this world.

Romans 12:21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

What does overcome evil with good mean for the biblical disciple living in a world full of evil?

Biblical disciples do not return evil for evil. Romans 12:17 Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all.

Biblical disciples extend to others the grace God gave us. Romans 12:14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.

Biblical disciples forgive as the Lord forgave us. Ephesians 4:32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

Biblical disciples do not pursue vengeance but demonstrate kindness to those who oppose us. Romans 12:20 … if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink

ILLUSTRATION (Source: The Voice of the Martyrs, Extreme Devotion, VOM Books, 2015, p. 73)

She stood over her husband’s coffin. There were tears in her eyes, but her voice was strong. The bruises on her body told the mourners that she, too, had been beaten. As Christians, she and her husband had refused to take a Kikuyu tribal oath that wasn’t consistent with their Christian faith. For this, her husband was beaten to death, and she was beaten and hospitalized. The crowd was still, silenced by the power of the widow’s words and her will. “I, as his widow, also tell all of you, in the presence of my dead husband, that I hate none of those who killed him. I love the killers. I forgive them, knowing that Christ has died for them too.” No one in attendance that day would ever forget the widow’s words or her example of extreme forgiveness and grace.

PRAYER POINT:

Gospel workers on the front lines of ministry in Central Asia share the gospel with everyone they meet - even the secret police.

Let’s pray for front-line workers and others like them to continue walking in obedience, joyfully giving their lives in order to lead others to new life in Christ.