Two kinds of suffering! (Pt.1) By James Lantz
There are two categories of suffering that God’s people suffer, the necessary and the unnecessary. We could also classify these as the noble and the ignoble. Your opinion and my opinion is not what counts, but what God say’s about suffering. The scripture teaches that Christ, the Son of God, the sinless one, is the Lamb of God who was sacrificed for us. God, the righteous and holy one, the one who will not permit even one sin in his presence, was moved with love and compassion to provide redemption for man. God was moved to have Jesus suffer with our sins, our diseases, and our poverty, so we could be free from sin, sickness, and lack. The Holy guiltless one suffered, paying the price for our sins, sicknesses, and poverty, so we could be righteous, healed, and blessed. Isaiah 53:4&5&6 Surely he hath borne our griefs (diseases), and carried our sorrows (pains): yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way, and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. It is a fact that Christ sacrifice was made for us and that God accepted this sacrifice as a substitute for us. 2 Cor. 5:21 For he (God) hath made him (Jesus) to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. The truth of the matter is that we could not do anything to pay for our sins. If we suffered in hell for a thousand years we would still be guilty because God will not accept any sacrifice that is tainted or blemished in any way. Jesus substitutionary sacrifice was the only way that God, in all his righteousness, could accept us into his presence. Actually, through the resurrection of Jesus, we were given a new nature, the very nature of God himself, otherwise we would just sin again and be separated from God. Redemption is a gift of God, it was impossible for us to earn our salvation. Everything good that we have received is given to us through Christ by God’s grace. Revelation of this fact will allow us to quit trying to earn something from God and just receive His goodness by faith. This fact also shows the error of the teaching about purgatory. If we could have in any way paid for our sins through our works or our suffering, then Jesus death would have been a murder and not a sacrifice. I needed to lay this foundation so that we all understand that Jesus suffered with our sins, our sickness, our stress, and our poverty, so that we do not have to. Now since we don’t have to suffer with sin, sickness, stress, or poverty, what must we suffer. Suffering that we experience comes from being associated with Christ and standing up for righteousness. 2 Tim. 3:11 &12 Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all, the Lord delivered me. Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. The Jews were stirred to envy at Antioch, when almost the whole city came out to hear Paul and Barnabas preach the gospel. They stirred up the devout women and the chief men of Antioch and raised up persecution against them, expelling them from their coasts. Again at Iconium, they fled from a crowd who wanted to stone them. Certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium showed up at Lystra and persuaded the people to stone Paul where he was left for dead. (see Acts 13 – 15) It is obvious these people who followed Paul and Barnabas from city to city to have them stoned are inspired by the devil.
The word of God is eternal and very powerful, it will cause a person to become or to experience exactly what God said in that word when it comes to maturity. Jesus said, three out of four people allow the devil to steal the word from them before they bear the fruit of it. The Lord was pleased with Able and with his offering but persecution came and it cost him his life. Joseph held on to the word of the Lord, though he was sold into slavery and wrongly imprisoned. Ps. 105:19 Until the time that his word came: the word of the Lord tried him. Joseph endured, was found faithful, and was promoted from prison to second in command in all of Egypt in one day. David, when asking about the reward for defeating Goliath, refused to be intimidated by his older brother. David refused to be intimidated by the giant’s curses and threats and said, this day will the Lord deliver you into my hand. Jesus home town folks were filled with wrath when he reminded them of their history of not believing God’s prophet’s. They endeavored to push Jesus off a cliff to kill him, but he just walked right through the crowd. The only suffering Jesus experienced that day was the dishonor, hatred, and the unbelief of those who grew up with him in his own home town. The devil can not stop us from receiving of God’s goodness, but knows his only chance is to bring pressure to try to get us to quit believing God’s word. If we quit believing, we forfeit God’s grace, because grace is accessed by faith. 1 Peter 1:7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ. Persecutions, intimidation, trials, hardships, offenses, pressures are all designed to stop you from believing God. The cross we are to take up is to die to the selfish desires of the flesh and put the kingdom of God and his righteousness first place. There are a few times when it is the will of God for some one to die for the cause of Christ but this is not the norm. We must understand the difference between what Jesus did as our example and what he did as our substitute. Jesus took our sins and sicknesses upon himself, dying on the cross, and suffered the pains of hell as our substitute, the just for the unjust. No one else’s blood could cleanse man from his sin, except the sinless Son of God. We are to be imitators of Jesus, therefore any suffering we suffer must glorify the Father as we trust him to vindicate us. 1 Pet. 2:20-23 For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? But if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously: We are called to suffer patiently when we are mistreated, not railing on them with angry threatening words. Mt. 5:39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. Some years ago, a local dairy farmer bought a new herd of cows in which they all proceeded to die. The person who sold them knew there was sickness in the cows but did not tell the farmer who bought them. Being a man of God and obeying our Lord’s command he did not sue the people who sold him the sick cows. The next year the Lord tremendously blessed his potato crop, more than making up for the loss of his cow herd. Many people are quick to sue these days and don’t realize they are in unforgiveness and putting themselves through unnecessary strife. Strife will open the door for Satan to bring in every evil work into your life. I know a man who suffered a divorce and instead of fighting for his share, just gave her everything. Today that man is blessed financially above many that I know. If anyone would have a right to judge and withhold forgiveness it would have been Jesus, but he said, Father, forgive them for they know not what they do. Rom. 12:19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine: I will repay, saith the Lord. We are not to go through life beaten down and without victory, but rather look to God for the double for our trouble. Some have a whine in their voice and you can tell their attitude is, this is not fair what is happening to me. It may not be fair but you do not want what you deserve. You can get happy knowing that Christ has won the battle for you. James 1:2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations (testing or trial). The only way to count it all joy is to know that you have victory over this situation and very soon your victory will be seen.
Next Month I will expound on the other kind of suffering, the unnecessary, the ignoble kind.
