Suffering For Christ
Philippians 1:29 "For to
you it has been granted for Christ's sake, not only to believe in Him, but also
to suffer for His sake,"
1 Timothy 3:12: " And indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus
will be persecuted."
Matthew 5:10 "Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of
righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
1 Peter 2:21 "For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also
suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps."
1Timothy 4:10 "For to this end we both labor and suffer reproach, because
we trust in he living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of those
who believe.
Matthew 5:11 "Blessed are you when men cast insults at you, and persecute
you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, on account of Me."
1 Peter 3:17 "For it is better, if God should will it so, that you suffer
for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong."
Romans 8:17 "and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs
with Christ, in indeed we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified
with Him."
Suffering is not something that
anyone of sound mind enjoys. Most people know suffering from aches and pains
and infirmities. Some know suffering because of hunger and poverty. Some know
suffering because of religious persecution, and genocidal hatred. Yet such suffering
is natural in our world. I am sure that right now, millions in Japan are suffering.
Homeless, hungry, cold, and probably many still in shock over the tragedy that
occurred there.
Sadly many in our land consider themselves to be suffering when it does not
even come close to real suffering.
A child given a timeout, or being punished in some way by their parents. A teenager
having the cell phone taken away as a form of punishment. An employee given
the dirty job. Actually, anything that disrupts our normal routine of life is
considered a form of suffering by most people.
Christ, our example in suffering, came to this earth knowing that He would have
to suffer greatly. As He matured and began His ministry on this earth, people
began to plot against Him to see that He suffer in many diverse ways. Few if
any people alive could come close to comprehending the torture and suffering
of our Savior as He endured the beatings, floggings, and the mental derision,
and finally being nailed to a cross and killed.
The point is that Christ set this example for us because He knew that we also
would suffer persecution. When I say 'we', I mean those who are truly committed
to serving Christ. Rarely would any uncommitted Christian be persecuted. It
is only those who have dedicated themselves to the Lord, and try to teach others
about how to obtain salvation, that are truly persecuted.
Now, I realize that persecution takes many forms. Sometimes we may not perceive
that someone is persecuting us. They do. Some just blatantly come out and persecute
you because you are a Christian. You might think this is all that atheists do,
but you would be wrong. There are those who wear the name of Christ who probably
persecute you more viciously than any atheist would ever consider doing. Why
is this? It is because we choose to do what is right and live according to God's
word. It is because we violate the conscience of those who actually persecute
us. It is because we prove that one can live a life of piety and meekness in
this perverse world we live in. It is because we have that peace which surpasses
all understanding that they cannot find in their various vices. It is because
we have proven that we trust in Christ, and have committed ourselves to Him
and the promotion of His gospel, and plan. It is because we emphasize obedience
to the Creator and God which everyone is subject to. It is because we will not
cave in to political correctness, or because we will not practice those things
which are not authorized.
Acts 5:41 "So they went on their way from the presence
of the Council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame
for His name."
In our culture of this present world, there is a mentality of "eye for
an eye", "payback is sweet", "revenge is an opiate",
or any other phrase you might insert here. We have a natural response when someone
tries to hurt us, and we claim our right to defend ourselves, as well as defending
others. As humans, we do have compassion for others, so we help them as we can.
But as Christians, these natural codes or rules are to be discarded. We must
determine if our persecution is because we are Americans, or members of a political
party, or have an ethnic background, or have a different colorof skin. I do
believe we have the right to defend ourselves in such cases. But the moment
we find that we are being persecuted because we are a Christian, or because
we practice righteousness, or claim a relationship with God and Christ, we are
to lower our defenses. We are to take and accept whatever suffering is laid
upon us. As we heard the question: "would you take a bullet for Christ?",
I say we better if we want to go to heaven. That does not sound pleasant, and
does not sound like something we might allow in our culture, but this very thing
is happening around the world. And someday it may happen here. The promise to
us is that we will be blessed, IF we suffer with and for Christ.
By Carey Scott via the
Eastside Church of Christ bulletin 3/27/2011
Return to the General Articles page
Home / Bible studies / Bible Survey / Special Studies / General Articles / Non-Bible Articles / Sermons / Sermon Outlines / Links / Questions and Answers / What Saith The Scriptures /Daily Devotional / Correspondence Courses / What is the Church of Christ / Book: Christian Growth / Website Policy / E-mail / About Me /