Christian Suffering Is Biblical

There is a kind of Christian teachings out there that promotes the idea Christians must not suffer. That's a lie. A blatant lie! Christians suffer. Acts 14:22 says through much suffering we must enter the kingdom of God. We are no different from people who are persecuted and some even killed for their faith. Contrary to modern day, twenty first century, watered down, health and wealth, easy believismChristians are in fact no super humans. We get frustrated. We get stressed. We live with unfulfilled dreams and expectations. Our lives are in no way immune from the challenges of this world. We lose love ones. We lose jobs. We get sick.

World events must call many believers to rethink what gospel they have believed. Are you saved to be materially blessed and divinely healthy? You have believed a lie.

A cursory look at the Psalms–a great source of comfort and inspiration for believers—reveals the realities of pain and suffering in a believer’s life. Some of the Psalms contain expressions of David’s personal pain and sorrows: "I am weary with my moaning; every night I flood my bed with tears; I drench my couch with my weeping. My eye wastes away because of grief; it grows weak because of all my foes"(Ps 6:6). "Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me?"(Ps 43:5). "Hear my cry, O God, listen to my prayer; from the end of the earth I call to you when my heart is faint. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I"(Ps 61:2). "Consider my affliction and my trouble, and forgive all my sins".(Ps 25:18).

In these words, we see “a man after God’s heart” expressing anguish in different circumstances of his life. David was not an exception. Many other characters in the Bible poured out their hearts in pain and anguish. As believers living in a fallen body in a fallen world, we are not immuned from the pain and suffering present in the world. In fact, suffering is ordained in the sovereign plan of God for the world and in the life of the believer. Job said “man is born to trouble”(Job 5:7). Suffering is the portion of every believer. We must all carry our cross and follow Him.

The biblical authors acknowledged what many today will deny in the name of Faith. They acknowledged the place of suffering in the believer's life. James said "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,"(James 2:1). Paul pointed out that "Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted"(2Timothy 3:12). The Lord Jesus Christ Himself painted no rosy picture of the Christian walk. He told the disciples, "In the world you will have tribulation."(John 16:33).

Suffering teaches us obedience. Writing about the high priestly role of Jesus, the writer of Hebrews tells us that, in His humanity, "Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered."(Hebrews 5:8). No where in the Bible are we guaranteed a life without suffering and pain. You dont even have to open the pages of the Bible to realise the reality of suffering in the world. The bad news, disease, brutal execution of Christians coupled with the suffering of people around us is enough evidence that a suffering proof christianity is a placebo. Paul describes the inescapable realities of suffering in the believers life. "...we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies”(Rom 8:23)


Though we are saved, we are not in possession of the full benefits of our redemption–the glorification of our bodies. We still live with the presence of sin, pain and suffering. We groan in pain in anticipation of our glorification in future. In all of these however, Christianity doesn't spell as gloom. In our suffering, we are not left on our own, we don’t grieve as people who have no hope(1Thess 4:13). We have the blessed Holy Spirit as a comforter and “present help in need”. What a privilege! In our weaknesses and suffering, we can turn to God through faith in Christ Jesus.

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.(Heb 4:15-16).

Sufficiency of Scripture: Our Rule; Thy Word. Part 2

In the first post in this series, I concluded on Matthew 4:4, where Jesus indicated to us the centrality of God’s word in our life: “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’

“It is written” or in our contemporary terms, “The Bible says”. These phrases are great statements that must settle every argument against the sufficiency of Scripture. However, the same is equally dangerous when the word is not rightly divided. The word can be abused if not correctly applied.

Note in Matthew 4:6, the devil also quoted Scripture to deceive. He misinterpreted the text. In fact, Scriptures describes Satan as “disguis[ing] himself as an angel of light.”(2 Corinthians 11:14).

Now, if the Bible can be misinterpreted, can we trust it, much more build our lives on an ancient document written many years away from our civilisation? Nathan Busenitz, a professor at Master’s Seminary, opens an online article titled “Why These 66 Books?” with the words

Have you ever looked at your Bible and wondered, “How do we know that these 66 books, and no others, comprise the inspired Word of God?” That is a critically important question, since there are many today who would deny that these 66 books truly make up the complete canon of Scripture.

Truly; “Critically important question”.More than any other book, the Bible has suffered a barrage of attacks all aimed at discrediting it as the very inspired words of God. Busenitz continues, “We believe in the 39 books of the Old Testament, because the Lord Jesus Christ affirmed the Old Testament. And we believe in the 27 books of the New Testament, because the Lord Jesus Christ authorized His apostles to write the New Testament”.

Church history presents us with numerous creeds and confessions testifying of the credibility of the Bible.

The Word of God, which is contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments,[a] is the only rule to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him.(WSC 2)

Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation: so that whatsoever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby, is not to be required of any man, that it should be believed as an article of the Faith, or be thought requisite or necessary to salvation. In the name of the Holy Scripture we do understand those canonical Books of the Old and New Testament, of whose authority was never any doubt in the Church.(Anglican Articles of Religion VI)

The words aforementioned affirm/lend credence to the fact that, the sixty-six books of Scripture — Old and New Testaments contain the final rule by which God guides and governs our lives. The Bible also affirms about itself being the word of God.

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good(2 Timothy 3:16-17).

In our present day, God is still speaking; loud and clear through His inspired word in the pages of Scripture. Some believers abhor this claim and want us to believe God audibly speaks just as He spoke to the biblical characters.

Amongst Pentecostals and Charismatics, there is still an obsession for the latest, fresh word from God: A revelation, a dream, vision and in extreme cases, people have reported to have been directly spoken to by God. It is sad to say that this obsession of man to hear from God apart from what is written in scripture has led many to places they should not have gone as Christians.  The Bible itself clearly tells us how God speaks to us in “these last days”.

God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds…(Hebrews 1:1-3).

To be Continued

Three Thoughts For Corporate Worship:

Receive, Retain And Reproduce The Word (Bear Fruit).

Matthew 13

20: “But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and ANON WITH JOY RECEIVEITH IT; 21: Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.23: But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.“

“The message was good. The message was brillant --- straight on point. The speaker didn't mince with words at all and the environment was electrifying“

These words are typical and can be heard on the lips of many after hearing an inspiring or thought provoking message. But attempt to ask: “what exactly did the speaker say?“ and many of us will be caught flat footed.

Today, as you attend to corporate worship, here are three points I want you to consider in the worship service.

1: RECEIVE THE WORD
Common to all the hearers in the scriptures above is the fact that they received the word --- they heard the word, they listened to it, they accepted it as the word, they probably might have also taken notes and read all scriptural references.

2: RETAIN THE WORD
Moving away from receiving the word, the difference begins to show. One hearer was shallow with a shallow commitment --- had no root system in their lives to retain or hold unto the message. The other hearer heard the word and had a root system--- understood the word---their commitment was deep.

3: REPRODUCE THE WORD
This is the ultimate --- the word must be lived. What the word says must be implemented Action must back inspiration. The word must yield fruits.

“But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.“ (James 1:22).