Quote from Forum Archives on May 27, 2003, 11:09 am

Posted by: bhfbc <bhfbc@...>

THE SUFFERING WE ENDURE #2/3
PROMISES OF SUFFERING
May 18, 2003

Text: John 15:18-16:4

The Presidential campaign of 1984 between Ronald Reagan and Walter
Mondale had a lot to do with tax issues, just like today’s political
climate. A political cartoon from one of the weekly news magazines
portrayed Mondale standing on a hay wagon with a megaphone in hand.
Around the wagon where there should have been a crowd, there was no one.
He was deserted and completely alone. A banner on the wagon read,
“Mondale bandwagon. I’ll raise your taxes!” The cartoon caption read:
“Testing! Testing! Hey, is anybody there?”

With promises of increased taxes, Mondale and his party did not fare too
well that election season. It’s not at all unusual for an individual or
group with bad news to not fare well in most arenas of life. Yet, here I
am this morning sharing Scripture that tells you that if you join with
Christ, if you accept his plan of salvation and follow in his footsteps,
suffering is guaranteed. With promises like this, I might expect as much
response as Mondale received. However, this promise was first issued by
the Lord himself. It has been repeated throughout the centuries by many
of his faithful servants whose lives have born witness to this promise.
Why does Jesus try to attract followers with such an unpleasant promise?

Jesus spoke these words to his disciples in order to both warn them and
encourage them. “All this I have told you so that you will not go
astray.” Other translations read: “… so you will not give up your faith”,
and “… to keep you from falling away.” Jesus warned His disciples that
they were not going to win popularity contests with the religious leaders
or politicians of their day. Their lives would be threatened; they would
receive unjust accusations; they were going to suffer unfair treatment.
And, there was not a thing they could do about it if they wanted to abide
with their Master! That was the warning.

There was also encouragement. When persecution did come, it was to be
expected. It would not come because the disciples were doing things
wrong; it would come because they were doing things right. All of the
testimonies and prophecies of Jesus would make sense to his disciples,
and they would find strength and assurance that he was still caring for
them. After all, they had already been told that “I have chosen you out
of the world.” The persecution his disciples received in this world would
not form the ultimate point of decision for the disciples; service to God
and His kingdom would.

Even though suffering is an inherent part of following Jesus in
discipleship, as Jesus shared in these passages, I think that it is
important to point out that not all of our suffering is due to Christian
discipleship. Broadly speaking, I identify two types of suffering. I’m
not trying to trivialize or over-simplify suffering, because I recognize
that the source of anyone’s suffering is not always easy to track down.
Nevertheless, I still broadly identify suffering as inflicted by self or
by an external force.

By self-induced suffering, I mean doing those things that come back to
haunt us. There is generally some kind of cause and effect relationship
associated with our actions, decisions, and choices. In my past there
have been a few drinking binges. I quickly learned that the torment I
suffered the following day was self-induced. My trip to hangover city was
no one’s fault except my own. No mystery whatsoever; I did it to myself.
Intoxicating my body the night before caused it to react unpleasantly the
following morning. This is a simple, but effective, example of
self-induced suffering.

You don’t have to drink alcoholic beverages to bring about your own
suffering. Many things we can do qualify. I have seen people who treat
and speak to others meanly and without caring about another’s feelings
and then wonder why they have so few, if any, friends. Everyone seems to
avoid them. I have seen people who overspend their income and then wonder
why they can’t get out of debt or have enough money to pay for rent,
utilities, and other necessities. I have seen people who cheat on their
husband or wife and then wonder why their family life is a shambles.
These are all examples of self-induced suffering.

This phenomenon is not new. Take a look at Judas, the disciple who
betrayed Jesus. He missed the boat on just about every point Jesus made.
In the end, he made the ultimate betrayal. The account in Matthew 27:3-5
tells us the events afterwards. “When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw
that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the
thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders. ‘I have sinned,’
he said, ‘for I have betrayed innocent blood.’ ‘What is that to us?’ they
replied. ‘That’s your responsibility.’ So Judas threw the money into the
temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.”

Judas brought suffering to himself by giving satan a place to lodge.
Whether because of greed, or misplaced idealisms, or whatever, Judas
betrayed an innocent man. That innocent man suffered. And Judas suffered.
He was seized with remorse; he saw the error of his way; he suffered
mental anguish after coming to his senses. At this point, he made the
gravest error that would bring a terrible result. He forgot to go, or
felt he could not go, to the One who could grant forgiveness. Surely he
had seen Jesus forgive on numerous occasions: to the woman caught in
adultery; to the prostitute who anointed his feet with her tears; to the
crippled man who was lowered through the roof. Judas had witnessed all of
these events and ministries in the life of Jesus. But Judas did not go to
the One who forgives. In pitiful desperation, as one who could not live
with himself, he hanged himself.

Judas’ problem abides with us today. Unresolved guilt can bring us a host
of mental anguish and physical pain. We must be willing to recognize that
the good news of the Christian message is that God through Christ blots
out sin. Not pieces of it; not parts of it; but all that we are willing
to take to Him in confession. Sin causes us to experience alienation from
God. God causes us to experience guilt in order that we might be driven
toward Him. But when He forgives, He forgives completely and removes our
guilt. As one friend and evangelist has said, “If you have repented and
sought forgiveness, yet still feel guilty, it’s not from God. God has
granted the complete pardon.”

So the message to hear concerning the type of suffering that we bring on
ourselves is this: be honest enough to accept it for what it is.
Recognize that in our human frailty we have a tremendous capacity to hurt
others, including ourselves. Healing begins when we recognize our own
responsibility and ability to change our own behavior and action. Don’t
misplace blame! The antidote to waking up with a hangover is not the
dozens of “homemade remedies” you may have heard about. The antidote is
rather simple: don’t drink the night before. The antidote for the guilt
and anguish caused by our own sin is likewise rather simple: go to God in
confession, seeking His promised forgiveness through the sacrifice of
Jesus Christ. He will heal; He will make us whole.

The second broad category of suffering is that which comes externally;
that is, suffering we endure because of someone else’s actions. This is
the type of suffering that is more in line with New Testament thought. In
his teachings about persecution, Jesus says, “You do the right thing by
following me; by being my disciple. There is no greater source of
comfort; there is no other source of salvation. But… people are going to
hate you for it and no matter how much good you do, you are going to
suffer at the hands of others.”

Jesus suffered because of Judas’s act of betrayal. Jesus suffered because
he was despised by the religious and political leadership of his time.
Jesus suffered because he was rejected by the ones he came to save. Our
decision to identify with Jesus means that we identify with his suffering
and with the suffering that has come upon many of his disciples. I doubt
that any of us are really comfortable with that - I’m not. I do not try
to suffer on purpose. In fact, I will avoid suffering if at all possible.
Yet, as a Christian, I recognize that there are many who will be opposed
to my commitment. They will want to ridicule me. In fact, if given the
chance, they would strive to kill me!

“Not so!” we protest. “Surely society has progressed to a point where we
can all exist as civilized human beings.” Can we afford to be so naïve?
Here’s a lesson from computer programming. All programming languages use
some form of conditional statements. For example, “IF A = 5, THEN GOTO
STEP 3.” In its routine, the computer checks to see if A = 5. If it does,
the commands at step 3 are followed. Actually, we use conditional
statements all the time. If you go to town and don’t think you’ll return
before your children are home from school, you might tell them, “If the
door is locked, go to the neighbor’s house.” This is a conditional
statement. Look at John 15:20 again. “If they persecuted me, they will
persecute you also.” Was Christ persecuted? You bet. Where does that
leave us?

The Christian Church of the first three centuries was a persecuted Church
- a Church under siege. The New Testament was written primarily because
of persecution: to provide comfort to those being persecuted and to leave
a written legacy of the eyewitnesses to the Christ event. The book of
Acts tells some of the story. In 8:3, we are told that “… Saul began to
destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and
women and put them in prison.”

Those early Christians knew what they were getting into. They counted the
cost, as Jesus had suggested to his disciples. Turns out, it was more
important to accept Christ than to escape the suffering brought by unfair
and unjust accusations. The martyrdom of Polycarp, the Bishop of Smyrna
in AD 155, is one account we have of the devotion of those believers to
the Lord. When soldiers came to arrest him at the age of 86, the first
thing he did was to serve them food and drink - “as much as they needed.”
Next, he prayed for two hours for himself, those arresting him, and many
other things concerning the Church. After he was taken to the stadium,
the Roman Proconsul urged him to recant his Christianity, saying, “Swear,
and I will release thee; curse the Christ.” Polycarp replied, “Eighty and
six years have I served him, and he hath done me no wrong; how then can I
blaspheme my King who saved me?” Polycarp was burned at the stake.

Polycarp’s testimony was typical of many in his day who faithfully
followed Christ. Their salvation was also a commitment to live in a
manner pleasing to Christ, even if it cost them their life. This says a
lot about the present power that Jesus Christ had in the lives of those
believers; it says a lot about the power he still has in the lives of
believers. This is a testimony to the reality of salvation. With promises
of higher taxes, the Mondale bandwagon went nowhere. But even with
promises of suffering, the movement of Christians known as the Church has
not ceased witness, worship, and growth. The power of Christ, the mercy
of Christ, and the love of Christ supercedes everything that would turn
us away. This has been the witness of Christ’s Church since its first
day; it continues to be our witness as well. As Jesus as said, “All this
I have told you so that you will not go astray.”

Rev. Charles A. Layne, pastor, First Baptist Church, Bunker Hill, IN

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