Why Do We Suffer As Christians?

SUFFERING FOR CHRIST

Key Scriptures

Philippians 1:29           Hebrews 2:10

1 Peter 2:21                 Colossians 1:24

1 Peter 4:1-2, 12-19

“For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake.”

– Phil. 1:29

^“ For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps.”

 – 1Peter 2:21

“For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.”

– Hebrews 2:10

“I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church.”

– Colossians 1:24

Why Do We Suffer?

Suffering is a fact of life. To those outside of Christ it is an enigma, to those who are in Christ it is a necessity! There can be no whole view of discipleship which does not take suffering into its perspective. We are surrounded by it on every hand and we experience it daily in our walk with God.

Suffering is not the same for the believer as for the unbeliever. To the person who has not experienced the love of Christ for himself, the fact of all the suffering in the world may be the very thing that prevents him from finding God. Whilst we need to sympathise totally with men and women in their distress, we must remember the awful fact of man's own responsibility for much of the mess in which he finds himself. Man was created as a responsible agent by God and given the government of every created thing. Man's failure to carry out that responsibility is reflected in the distortion and tragedy we see all around us. Sin corrupts and distorts, it destroys and opposes anything intrinsically good. Sin is at the root of all the suffering in our world today, because it is a world that no longer manifests the harmony, balance and beauty in which God created it. The world lies under the control of Satan. He has become the 'god of this age' (2 Corinthians 4:4) ever since man relinquished his stewardship of creation. Man's sin gave Satan the opportunity he had been waiting for to take over and pervert the goodness of God's own creation.

God is not indifferent to suffering. God took suffering into His very heart when He let His innocent Son die on the cross on our behalf (Isaiah 53:4). The cross was the reversal of the power of Satan and sin. Christ is now King and His Kingdom rules over all and we are part of it as disciples of Jesus.

Courtesy:

Understanding the Dept of Discipleship

{The Foundations of Christian Living}

By: Bob Gordon with David Fardouly.