COMFORT AND SALVATION

#1 · August 25, 2008, 10:33 am

Quote from Forum Archives on August 25, 2008, 10:33 am
Posted by: bhfbc <bhfbc@...>
COMFORT AND SALVATION

August 24, 2008

TEXT: 2 Corinthians 1:1-11

In the course of the years of my preaching ministry, I have been privileged to learn and grow in my knowledge of the Bible in many areas. Through study and experience, I have learned more about the language, geography, history, customs, and traditions found throughout the Bible. I am happy to share that, for me, this knowledge builds up my greater appreciation for the meaning and application of the Word of God in my life and in the lives of others.

In spite of my growth in many of these areas, there does remain a topic of Biblical truth that still eludes my complete understanding. I suspect that it always will. The topic that still raises unanswerable questions is that of suffering, the role of suffering, and the role of God in suffering.

I like to think that the issue of suffering would be happily settled if everyone who accepted Christ Savior and lived as born-again believers should live did not suffer and everyone who rejected Christ experienced suffering. That would be easy to comprehend I think. Do what God instructs us and be rewarded. Disobey Gods loving instructions and be punished. Makes sense to me. Except that is not at all what the testimony of Gods servants writing Gods Word tells us actually happens. My wish for simple concreteness and the truth found in the Bible are two different things. Guess who is right?

Paul makes it rather clear that believing in and obeying Christ does not exempt us from suffering. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. (2 Corinthians 1:5-6, 8) What makes suffering so difficult to understand and even to accept is that most of Pauls suffering came not because he rejected and disobeyed the Lord, but because he committed himself to serve the Lord. In fact, it was concerning his sufferings that Paul dared to boast, as we find in 2 Corinthians 11: What anyone else dares to boast about I am speaking as a fool I also dare to boast about Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. (2 Corinthians 11:21, 23-27) Sounds like some rather strange things to boast about, and I doubt that Paul would have boasted at all if it did not bring glory to God. As it is, Paul offered his reason for saying all of this: If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. (2 Corinthians 11:30)

As far as I know, none of these afflictions would have happened to Paul if he had not been serving the Lord. His whole life could potentially have been easier if he had just shrugged off the encounter with Christ on the road to Damascus as a bad daydream. As we know, though, Paul did accept Jesus Christ as his Savior, and he served him completely as his Lord. And we also know that as a result, Paul was exposed to some very serious deprivations. Yet, none of his sufferings pushed Paul away from Christ; instead, they drew Paul closer to Christ.

In 2 Corinthians, Paul offers in verses 5-7 these reasons and purposes for his sufferings: For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort. As far as I can tell, Paul never offered intercessory prayer for any person or church to merely be comfortable. In fact, looking at these verses, we learn that Paul taught that suffering helped bring comfort and salvation. Pauls entire focus is on nothing else but comfort and salvation; that is, salvation from the Lord and comfort in the Lord. So, if Pauls meaning of comfort was not free from suffering, what did he mean?

Well, we have glimpsed at his meaning already from chapter 11: If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. (2 Corinthians 11:30) The weaker Paul was, the more Christ was on display in his life. Since suffering definitely weakens us and typically makes us dependent on another, Paul considered this a way to demonstrate Gods power, not his power.

Even though we can understand to some extent what Paul has told all Christians throughout the years, it still remains difficult for us to apply. You see, I try to avoid suffering. I seek ways to relieve pain and to avoid situations in which I may get hurt. I am not happy when I suffer. I cannot think of a time I have ever called upon the Lord to bring suffering into my life. Yet, by making my confession that Christ is my Savior, I am opening myself up to suffering. I am well aware that the history of the Christian Church is filled with more times when believers are persecuted than when believers are free from persecution. I am well aware that believers and non-believers alike are subject to illnesses and injuries that cause us to suffer. I am well aware that believers and non-believers alike are subject to suffering when God judges parts of His world. But do I accept suffering like the New Testament tells me I am supposed to? Do I equate suffering with spiritual growth and a closer walk with Christ? When I suffer, can I tell others that it is for their comfort and salvation? Not always.

Yet, our testimony is to be about God, not ourselves. We testify to our salvation in Christ and the comfort that brings no matter what our circumstances. Most here this morning probably knows something about the life of Fanny Crosby. If you look her name up in the index of authors, composers, contributors, and sources in our hymnal, you will find reference to sixteen hymns. Fanny Crosby wrote poems celebrating Gods love and divine purpose, and sixteen of them barely scratch the surface of the thousands she wrote. Many of them were set to music, which is why we sing them as hymns. At the age of six weeks, Fanny was struck blind because of the incompetence of a doctor. Imagine how devastating that was to her parents. Imagine how Fanny could have felt about it as she grew and reached the age where she understood the full meaning of what happened to her. Who could have blamed her if she had hated the person who injured her and the circumstances of her life? But she didnt. At the age of eight years, Fanny wrote this simple poem:

How many blessings I enjoy

That other people dont.

To weep and sigh because Im blind,

I cannot and I wont.

Just in case someone with a cynical streak might say that her attitude was just the result of an unlived life that still had to confront the hardships and cruelties of a blind woman struggling with life in the 1800-1900s, Fanny crushes that with her testimony later in life. She lived into her nineties. On her 92^nd birthday, she cheerfully said, If in all this world you can find a happier person than I am, do bring him to me. I should like to shake his hand. (Vernon Grounds, Self-Pity or Rejoicing? Our Daily Bread, August 12, 2003) Suffering, comfort, and salvation.

The truth that Paul, Fanny Crosby, and other Christians testify is that God can be glorified in times of suffering. That is the source of comfort. It can also be the source of salvation. Keith Thibodeaux got the chance of a lifetime when he was just a child. It was the 1950s and he was cast as a child actor to play Little Ricky Ricardo on I Love Lucy. It was a grand success and led to his four-year role as Opie Taylor's best friend Johnny Paul Jason on The Andy Griffith Show. By the time he was a teenager he had already completed long stints on two of television's most beloved classics, but his life was spiraling downward. Substance abuse followed and Thibodeaux became suicidal at age 24. He ended up in a rural Louisiana church where he heard about Christ. Of that experience he wrote, "All my problems didn't disappear overnight, but my encounter with the Lord gave me hope. I started to read the Bible and a whole new life opened up for me." The 57-year-old Thibodeaux has been involved in some type of ministry virtually ever since he became a Christian (during the 1980s he was a member of the Christian band David & The Giants). He and his wife of three decades, Kathy, live in Jackson, Mississippi. As Thibodeaux reflects on his illustrious life, he is quick to say, "The best thing that ever happened to me was becoming a believer in Jesus." (American Profile, 7/6/2008, p.8) Granted, Keiths suffering in this case was largely self-induced. But it was still suffering, and the suffering led to salvation. Many times, Israels suffering was also self-induced because they refused to repent and serve God obediently. Out of their suffering, they repented and called out to God for deliverance. Salvation.

As I said earlier, I will never have all the answers that we can ask about suffering. It is one of those topics that goes too far beyond my ability to comprehend it all. But the truth that Scripture reveals is that even suffering can enhance our walk with the Lord. Even suffering can be used to demonstrate Gods glory. Even suffering can bring comfort and salvation.

Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many. (2 Corinthians 1:9-11)

Rev. Charles A. Layne

First Baptist Church

PO Box 515

179 W. Broadway

Bunker Hill, IN 46914

765-689-7987

bhfbc@bhfirstbaptist.com

www.bhfirstbaptist.com
-- To unsubscribe, send ANY message to: abesermons-unsubscribe@welovegod.org   

Posted by: bhfbc <bhfbc@...>

August 24, 2008

TEXT: 2 Corinthians 1:1-11

In the course of the years of my preaching ministry, I have been privileged to learn and grow in my knowledge of the Bible in many areas. Through study and experience, I have learned more about the language, geography, history, customs, and traditions found throughout the Bible. I am happy to share that, for me, this knowledge builds up my greater appreciation for the meaning and application of the Word of God in my life and in the lives of others.

In spite of my growth in many of these areas, there does remain a topic of Biblical truth that still eludes my complete understanding. I suspect that it always will. The topic that still raises unanswerable questions is that of suffering, the role of suffering, and the role of God in suffering.

I like to think that the issue of suffering would be happily settled if everyone who accepted Christ Savior and lived as born-again believers should live did not suffer and everyone who rejected Christ experienced suffering. That would be easy to comprehend I think. Do what God instructs us and be rewarded. Disobey Gods loving instructions and be punished. Makes sense to me. Except that is not at all what the testimony of Gods servants writing Gods Word tells us actually happens. My wish for simple concreteness and the truth found in the Bible are two different things. Guess who is right?

Paul makes it rather clear that believing in and obeying Christ does not exempt us from suffering. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. (2 Corinthians 1:5-6, 8) What makes suffering so difficult to understand and even to accept is that most of Pauls suffering came not because he rejected and disobeyed the Lord, but because he committed himself to serve the Lord. In fact, it was concerning his sufferings that Paul dared to boast, as we find in 2 Corinthians 11: What anyone else dares to boast about I am speaking as a fool I also dare to boast about Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. (2 Corinthians 11:21, 23-27) Sounds like some rather strange things to boast about, and I doubt that Paul would have boasted at all if it did not bring glory to God. As it is, Paul offered his reason for saying all of this: If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. (2 Corinthians 11:30)

As far as I know, none of these afflictions would have happened to Paul if he had not been serving the Lord. His whole life could potentially have been easier if he had just shrugged off the encounter with Christ on the road to Damascus as a bad daydream. As we know, though, Paul did accept Jesus Christ as his Savior, and he served him completely as his Lord. And we also know that as a result, Paul was exposed to some very serious deprivations. Yet, none of his sufferings pushed Paul away from Christ; instead, they drew Paul closer to Christ.

In 2 Corinthians, Paul offers in verses 5-7 these reasons and purposes for his sufferings: For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort. As far as I can tell, Paul never offered intercessory prayer for any person or church to merely be comfortable. In fact, looking at these verses, we learn that Paul taught that suffering helped bring comfort and salvation. Pauls entire focus is on nothing else but comfort and salvation; that is, salvation from the Lord and comfort in the Lord. So, if Pauls meaning of comfort was not free from suffering, what did he mean?

Well, we have glimpsed at his meaning already from chapter 11: If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. (2 Corinthians 11:30) The weaker Paul was, the more Christ was on display in his life. Since suffering definitely weakens us and typically makes us dependent on another, Paul considered this a way to demonstrate Gods power, not his power.

Even though we can understand to some extent what Paul has told all Christians throughout the years, it still remains difficult for us to apply. You see, I try to avoid suffering. I seek ways to relieve pain and to avoid situations in which I may get hurt. I am not happy when I suffer. I cannot think of a time I have ever called upon the Lord to bring suffering into my life. Yet, by making my confession that Christ is my Savior, I am opening myself up to suffering. I am well aware that the history of the Christian Church is filled with more times when believers are persecuted than when believers are free from persecution. I am well aware that believers and non-believers alike are subject to illnesses and injuries that cause us to suffer. I am well aware that believers and non-believers alike are subject to suffering when God judges parts of His world. But do I accept suffering like the New Testament tells me I am supposed to? Do I equate suffering with spiritual growth and a closer walk with Christ? When I suffer, can I tell others that it is for their comfort and salvation? Not always.

Yet, our testimony is to be about God, not ourselves. We testify to our salvation in Christ and the comfort that brings no matter what our circumstances. Most here this morning probably knows something about the life of Fanny Crosby. If you look her name up in the index of authors, composers, contributors, and sources in our hymnal, you will find reference to sixteen hymns. Fanny Crosby wrote poems celebrating Gods love and divine purpose, and sixteen of them barely scratch the surface of the thousands she wrote. Many of them were set to music, which is why we sing them as hymns. At the age of six weeks, Fanny was struck blind because of the incompetence of a doctor. Imagine how devastating that was to her parents. Imagine how Fanny could have felt about it as she grew and reached the age where she understood the full meaning of what happened to her. Who could have blamed her if she had hated the person who injured her and the circumstances of her life? But she didnt. At the age of eight years, Fanny wrote this simple poem:

How many blessings I enjoy

That other people dont.

To weep and sigh because Im blind,

I cannot and I wont.

Just in case someone with a cynical streak might say that her attitude was just the result of an unlived life that still had to confront the hardships and cruelties of a blind woman struggling with life in the 1800-1900s, Fanny crushes that with her testimony later in life. She lived into her nineties. On her 92^nd birthday, she cheerfully said, If in all this world you can find a happier person than I am, do bring him to me. I should like to shake his hand. (Vernon Grounds, Self-Pity or Rejoicing? Our Daily Bread, August 12, 2003) Suffering, comfort, and salvation.

The truth that Paul, Fanny Crosby, and other Christians testify is that God can be glorified in times of suffering. That is the source of comfort. It can also be the source of salvation. Keith Thibodeaux got the chance of a lifetime when he was just a child. It was the 1950s and he was cast as a child actor to play Little Ricky Ricardo on I Love Lucy. It was a grand success and led to his four-year role as Opie Taylor's best friend Johnny Paul Jason on The Andy Griffith Show. By the time he was a teenager he had already completed long stints on two of television's most beloved classics, but his life was spiraling downward. Substance abuse followed and Thibodeaux became suicidal at age 24. He ended up in a rural Louisiana church where he heard about Christ. Of that experience he wrote, "All my problems didn't disappear overnight, but my encounter with the Lord gave me hope. I started to read the Bible and a whole new life opened up for me." The 57-year-old Thibodeaux has been involved in some type of ministry virtually ever since he became a Christian (during the 1980s he was a member of the Christian band David & The Giants). He and his wife of three decades, Kathy, live in Jackson, Mississippi. As Thibodeaux reflects on his illustrious life, he is quick to say, "The best thing that ever happened to me was becoming a believer in Jesus." (American Profile, 7/6/2008, p.8) Granted, Keiths suffering in this case was largely self-induced. But it was still suffering, and the suffering led to salvation. Many times, Israels suffering was also self-induced because they refused to repent and serve God obediently. Out of their suffering, they repented and called out to God for deliverance. Salvation.

As I said earlier, I will never have all the answers that we can ask about suffering. It is one of those topics that goes too far beyond my ability to comprehend it all. But the truth that Scripture reveals is that even suffering can enhance our walk with the Lord. Even suffering can be used to demonstrate Gods glory. Even suffering can bring comfort and salvation.

Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many. (2 Corinthians 1:9-11)

Rev. Charles A. Layne

First Baptist Church

PO Box 515

179 W. Broadway

Bunker Hill, IN 46914

765-689-7987

bhfbc@bhfirstbaptist.com

http://www.bhfirstbaptist.com

-- To unsubscribe, send ANY message to: abesermons-unsubscribe@welovegod.org