Vintage Christianity

The Necessity and Joy of Suffering in the Christian Life

Romans 8:16-17

A sermon by Christopher N. Gates

Introduction: Pascal’s Wager (Resounding No!)

Renowned 17^th century French philosopher Blaise Pascal proposed a certain wager to atheists in his apologetic for the existence of God. The wager argues that it is more reasonable to bet on the existence of God in life, and find out there is no God in death, than it is to bet on the non-existence of God in life, and to find that there actually is a God after death. According to Pascal, the Christian who gets to the end of his life only to find out that God does not exist has lost nothing. Yet the atheist who wagered on the non-existence of God would lose everything in death if in fact God does exist. In Pascal’s own words, “If you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing. Wager, then, without hesitation that He is.”

A Cistercian abbot who was interviewed on Italian television was asked about the Cistercian tradition of living in silence and solitude. The interviewer asked, “And what if you were to realize at the end of your life that atheism is true—that there is not God?” the Abbot replied, “Holiness, silence, and sacrifice are beautiful in themselves, even without the promise of reward. I still will have used my life well.”[1]

This same sentiment is popular today in many Christian circles, even in popular Christian music. The logic goes like this: If when we Christians die we discover that we were wrong all along, there is no God, no Heaven, no Hell, no resurrection, and no Jesus, then we will have still lived a good life, had many good friends and fellowships, a deep sense of belonging, had plenty to eat and drink and drive and to wear; we will not necessarily have lost anything by having been Christians. If, however, when the atheist dies and discovers that there is a God, a Heaven, a Hell, a real Jesus, and a real resurrection, then he or she will have lost everything. So it is better to live as a Christian because you still get the good life, even if God doesn’t really exist.

What are we to make of this? What are we to say to this kind of logic for the Christian life and our belief in God? RESOUNDING NO!!!

I think Paul would agree. In I Corinthians 15:19, he states, “If in this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.”[2] What was it about Paul’s life that would cause him to be pitied if there were no resurrection? Before we consider that question, however, let’s back up and look at our text.

The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. Romans 8:16-17 (ESV)

I want to point out 3 fundamental truths about Christianity from these texts, with much of the emphasis being placed on the third, and then talk about some applications of it in our own lives.

1. The Holy Spirit testifies to us and to God that we are in fact God’s children (v. 16).

“The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.”

We have been adopted into God’s family as his Sons and Daughters

God has given us his Spirit who is in us crying “Abba, Father” (v. 15)

 

2. Because we are children of God we are also heirs together with Christ of all the glories of heaven and of the eternal kingdom of God in the age to come (v. 17a).

“and if [we are] children, then [we are] heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ.”

As children of God, we have been given great privilege, both in this life and the next

All that Christ owns is ours in him

 

3. Suffering is necessary because our future glorification is conditioned upon our sharing in Christ’s suffering (v. 17b).

“ provided (some translations say “if indeed”) we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.”

One of the privileges we have been given in Christ is suffering “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” (Phil. 1:29).

A CAUTION: Our election and calling and justification are unconditional (unless one considers faith a necessary condition of our justification); no amount of suffering on our part is enough to get us to heaven. We must rely on the finished work of Christ.

Suffering, however, is part of the proof of genuine faith, and it is the God-ordained pathway to glory and everlasting joy

· Acts 14:22 “Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.”

· 2 Tim. 3:12 “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”

· 2 Thes. 1:5 “This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering”

· 1 Peter 4:13 “But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.”

· 2 Cor. 1:5 “For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.”

· Philip. 3:7-11 “But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.”

· Romans 5:3-5 “More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame.”

John McArthur states, “We have no greater privilege and no greater guarantee of glory than to suffer for Christ’s sake.”

Suffering is both a privilege for the Christian, and a proof of the hope of eternal glory.

John Piper states, “If there were no afflictions and difficulties and troubles and pain, our fallen hearts would fall ever more deeply in love with the comforts and securities and pleasures of this world instead of falling more deeply in love with our inheritance beyond this world, namely, God himself. Suffering is appointed for us in this life as a great mercy to keep us from loving this world more than we should and to make us rely on God who raises the dead.”Many are ready and willing to share in the “power of his resurrection” who are unwilling to “share his sufferings.”

Now none of us here can say that we have suffered for the name of Christ in the same way as Paul did (or as the martyrs, or Asian and Arab believers have), so how do we understand the necessity of suffering in our own lives?

I am certain that a 2^nd century martyr, in his last conscious moment before the flame take his life is able to comfort himself or herself with the words of Romans 8:17 (sharing in Christ’s sufferings/being glorified with him). Or an Asian or Arab believer in prison, who has been badly beaten can better relate to this passage than we can in many ways. However, I think there are some things we can draw out of this text regarding suffering that can be applied to even us here in the prosperous West, where it seems like the greatest persecution we endure is someone laughing at our bumper stickers. These are the ways I see that this text can be applied to our situation.

We must remain open to the possibility of great suffering and pray for God to help us in those times should they come.

We must not think that suffering is too great a sacrifice. Mark 10:28-31 Peter began to say to him, “See, we have left everything and followed you.” Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”

Our focus must be on honoring Christ no matter what. Philip. 1:20 “it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death.”

 

SOME WAYS in which we may be considered to suffer for the name of Christ:

Socially-we may suffer socially in that we are looked down upon by our peers for our stance on the gospel, especially if we are being faithful in preaching the gospel to them in the hope that they too will believe and be converted.

In our jobs and careers-some may suffer at the hands of their superiors at work, being ridiculed and even passed over for promotions because of their beliefs.

At our schools-if a high school student or a college student takes a stand for the gospel in a biblical way, there is no doubt that they will be persecuted to some degree, whether it is as little as being ridiculed in class by a teacher or professor, or as much as being physically harmed by other students. Wicked people don’t like the gospel, no matter what age they are.

With our next door neighbors as we seek to preach Jesus to them-Christians can be subjects of harassment by neighbors who don’t like being told they are sinners, and can be shunned because of their stance for the truth and their labors of evangelism.

On the streets and in neighborhoods we are attempting to reach-again, evil people don’t like the gospel. There is always a danger when going outside of your normal life routine (i.e. door to door, or to the streets) to preach the gospel. You never know what to expect when going out or when knocking on someone’s door.

We can be killed (it does happen occasionally, even in America!)-from school shootings to church shootings, even in America believers have been killed because of their faith.

Financially (showing by our chosen lifestyles that Christ is a greater treasure to us than money, or cars, or homes, or associations, etc.)-this is more of a chosen suffering, and it is far too neglected in our society. Today, even Christian are enjoying “the good life.” Pastors and Elders and Seminary Presidents are driving $100,000 cars, living in the most exclusive communities, and enjoying luxuries that some royal families don’t get to enjoy.  Christians are called to a lifestyle that reflects Jesus as our treasure, not money and comfort (this could be a whole other sermon).

Our own practices of Christian disciplines-the very nature of the practice of Christianity calls for suffering, from weakened knees and bent backs from long hours in prayer, to the hungers of fasting (fasting?!? What’s that?), to the sorrows of pleading with God for the salvation of loved ones. Suffering is a necessary element in all Christian disciplines.

In what we abstain from in an effort to please the Lord-suffering may come in the form of not being able to, or choosing not to enjoy certain elements of our culture for the sake of our witness for Christ. Moses chose to suffer with the people of God, rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin. We are to do the same.

It will seem to you, as it does also to me, that even these sufferings are not to be compared to the sufferings of the martyrs of all the ages. That may be true, but it is a type of suffering for Christ nonetheless. No one’s sufferings for the name of Christ should be belittled. The fact is that we are called to suffer in whatever context God places us in, and no one context should be romanticized over another. We may not be killed for our faith, but we still may embrace the necessity and joy of suffering that God has appointed for each of us in the Christian life, to the glory of God.

What should our attitude be in the face of suffering in any degree?

Romans 8:18 “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”

Romans 12:12 “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.”

Conclusion:

John Piper writes, “How many Christians do you know who could say, ‘The lifestyle I have chosen as a Christian would be utterly foolish and pitiable if there is no resurrection’”?[3] How many of us could honestly say that the lifestyle that we live as we follow Christ is pathetic and pitiable if there is no God and no resurrection to eternal glory? Are you with Pascal? Are you with those who say that the Christian life is “the good life” even if it is wrong in the end?

According to Jesus, there is no true Christianity without a daily taking up of the cross and following him. And that means that we are going to suffer. And our suffering is necessary for our future glorification and therefore it is joyous.

If [we are] children, then [we are] heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. Romans 8:16-17 (ESV)

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[1] Adapted from John Piper, Desiring God, 254.

[2] All Scripture references, unless otherwise noted are taken from the ESV.

[3] John Piper, Desiring God, 261.