Reasons for Suffering

Colossians 1:24-29

COL-187

Our subject is "The Mystery of the Church," segment number two, in Colossians 1:24-29.

We Christians, as God's children, have a future inheritance reserved for us in heaven as joint heirs with Jesus Christ. The heavenly inheritance includes the rewards that believers earn with their Christian service activities during their earthly life lifespan. 1 Corinthians 3:11-15 describe that reward occasion. These rewards in heaven are not automatically part of our inheritance in heaven, but they must be earned by our own efforts. Matthew 6:20 points this out: "But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal." That is a very simple, divine directive, but it is at the heart of what we live for. If this is not the thing that commands your attention, and commands your life during each day, then you're missing something that is someday going to be a thing you will regret for having bypassed such a great opportunity.

When the unsaved become concerned for the things which count with God, they find the narrow gate to salvation. When believers become concerned about the things which count with God, they find their way into divine good Christian service, led by the Holy Spirit. The children of God are warned not to waste their earthly life in pursuit of temporal gain, but to sow their lives in God's service, and reap a bountiful reward in heaven.

2 Corinthians 5:10: "For we must all appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ, that each one, as Christians, may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad." Now, a great deal of bad is done by Christians because are dissuaded from doing good by simple personal sufferings of various kinds, such as we looked at this morning. And unless you get your orientation to the mind of God, and to the Word of God, you will knuckle down under suffering (zip!) every time. And all of a sudden, all of the things that you should be doing for God, and all the things that are Christian duties, you will actually look yourself in the face in the mirror and tell yourself why you shouldn't do this. But remember, whether you're right or wrong, it's going to be evaluated.

All the records are being kept up there: "For we must all appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ, that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, weather good or bad. As we pointed out this morning, so often the very thing that would help us to cope with our suffering and remove it, is what we do. So, it's counterproductive.

Jesus taught that the way to save one's earthly light from being a waste is to lose it in serving Him. Matthew 16:24-25: "Then Jesus said to His disciples, 'If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.'" What is your cross? Your cross is those spiritual gifts that God has given you (your particular mission in life – the reason you were conceived), for whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it. But whoever loses his life for my sake shall find it. The believer who uses his life to gain temporal things, has thereby lost his life in terms of the eternal treasures.

Matthew 16:26: "For what will man be profited if he gains the whole world and forfeits his own soul?" And the Greek word there for soul is the word "life." When Jesus Christ returns from heaven, He will judge what each Christian did with His life and reward accordingly.

Matthew 16:27: "For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father, with His angels, and will then recompense every man according to his deeds.

So, it is no small thing what you do when it comes to your duty to God as a child of God. And the circumstances under which you do those things, and all the circumstances that are dissuading you – this is why it is important to walk in that temporal fellowship. Otherwise, Satan will cause you to start listening to other Christians, and to your sin nature, and you'll go down the tube.

Now, the apostle Paul, we saw this morning, rejoiced in the suffering that he experienced as a result of his ministry for the Colossian Christians, and the church as a whole. Colossians 1:24 begins with the sentence: "Now, I rejoice in my suffering for your sake."

This evening, I'd like to direct your attention over to Romans 8:16-17 where this same principle of service in the midst of suffering is dealt with. Verse 16 tells us that God the Holy Spirit is the ultimate confirmer that we are a child of God – that we are born again. Verse 17 says, "And if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him." If indeed we suffer with Him – yes, we do. And the result will be glorification with Him.

Christian Suffering

So, when we suffer because of our obedience to God, that is undeserved suffering. John 15:25 points out: "But they have done this in order that the Word may be fulfilled that is written in the Law: 'They hated me without a cause.'" Jesus said, "In the Old Testament, it was predicted that the people to whom I would come, to save their souls from the lake of fire, will hate Me, for no reason – without a cause. So, the same principle will apply to you and me – this mindless hatred, that we spoke of this morning, that is in society, and the contrast between liberals and conservatives, and what he stands for, ultimately, the Cain and Abel originators of each one of those world views without a cause – that liberal Cain orientation despises the believer.

It is no honor, however, to experience suffering which one deserves. In 1 Peter 2:20, Peter says, "For what credit is there if, when you sin, you are harshly treated? You endure it with patience. But if, when you do what is right and suffer for it, you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God. If you have it coming to you because of something you did, don't whine about it. If it's a matter of something that you should have done, that could have avoided that suffering, then that's what you should have done. And the suffering that follows, you deserve. But when you don't deserve it, then it's to the glory of God.

Suffering for Godly living is a normal experience in the Christian life. That is what happens when people are true to the Lord John 16:33: "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me, you may have peace. In the world, you have tribulation. But take courage. I have overcome the world. In the end, the Christian is going to win.

Then we go to 1 Peter again – that book written to focus upon the suffering of believers. 1 Peter 4:12-13: "Beloved, Do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange things were happening to you. But to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also, at the revelation of His glory, you may rejoice with exaltation. Yes, we do share the sufferings of Christ, and that is what we're going to get into next Sunday when we go into the next part of Colossians 1:24. What sufferings of Christ do we share?

Well, Roman Catholicism says that it is those in purgatory. No, we do not share any suffering that has to do with redemption. The sufferings Jesus shared (the sufferings that Jesus experienced) were in His earthly ministry. He was always under the gun. And we too, in our ministry, fulfilling our mission, are always under the hatred of the world system. That suffering we do share with Him.

During the first few centuries, Christians were despised and persecuted everywhere in the Roman Empire. Christians still suffer severely today in areas outside of the United States: in pagan countries; and, in communist countries, like communist China. It's so distressing that it's almost oppressive – the constant reports we get of what our brethren in Christ suffer in China, and the brutality that is exercised toward people like yourself who simply want to do right by the standards of the Word of God, rather than by the standards of the authority of the state.

In Muslim countries, Christians are despised. Christians can be put to death. If a Muslim becomes a Christian, he can be put to death. In Muslim countries, Christians are taken and sold into slavery, along with people who are natives of that country (nationals in those countries). These countries are brutal, even to their own people, in putting them out into slavery. But I don't see Mr. Farrakhan making any issues about that slavery like he makes about other issues in the United States – about the oppression of people in our country. What about taking small children from their parents to punish them because they are Christian, and selling them into slavery, and into prostitution? That goes on in Muslim countries all the time? Where is Jesse Jackson in all of this? Where are his mellifluous words and his alliterative speech on what these countries (these Muslim countries) do?

So, Christians suffer, but we forget about it, because we don't have that experience. Most Christians in the United States so accommodate their lives to the evil world system that they're not attacked. And, sadly, this is even true of churches. Churches: the bigger; the more powerful; and, the more significant they are in their influence, the more country club they are. And only a Christian who has a discerning knowledge of doctrine will be impressed with these people.

So, most Christians suffer for their integrity in Christ. And those who don't are not true to the Lord. The devil doesn't bother them. The world hates the Lord Jesus Christ. So, it hates and persecutes His disciples (His followers – you and me.)

John 15:18-20: "If the world hates you," Jesus said, "you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. But because you are not of the world, I chose you out of the world, therefore, the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: a slave (a servant) is not greater than his master. If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My Word, they will keep yours also."

Christians can expect to be persecuted in the world system. We cannot expect to be respected and to be well-received by the world. In Matthew 10:24-25, Jesus made this clear again. A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave beyond his master. It is enough for the disciples that he becomes as his teacher, and a slave as his master. If they have called the head of the house Beelzebub (a name for Satan – if they've called Jesus that), how much more the members of His household.

So, suffering because of the Lord Jesus Christ (being true to Him), that is a very great honor, as Peter points out in 1 Peter 4:14-16. Those who attack God's children, do that because they actually believe that they are pleasing God, and serving Him in doing that.

In John 16:1-3, here again, Jesus said, "These things I have spoken to you that you may be kept from stumbling. They will make you outcasts from the synagogue. But an hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering service to God. And these things they will do, because they have not known the Father or Me." This was exactly the condition of the apostle Paul. Why was he going around and hauling Christians into prison, putting them up for trial, and, because they believed Jesus Christ was God, they were guilty of blasphemy under the Mosaic Law, and therefore, were subject to the death penalty. And many of them were killed. They had done no wrong, so, their death at the hands of the authorities was a murder, just as Christ's death was a murder.

Well, the attitude of the apostle Paul, because he was such a firm, well-trained Pharisee, he knew that blasphemy carried the death penalty. So, he thought, as he said, "I was under the illusion that I was serving God." That is how tricky the deceit of Satan is. Some Christians never seem to be able to catch onto the fact that the devil is a liar, and he is nothing but a liar, and he is a murderer from the beginning, and he will be a deceiver constantly, and he will do it in a subtle way. And every time you look into the eyes of a human being, or you associate with a group of people, even Christians, you better look deep into their souls, and you better listen carefully, and have you hear attuned, so that you're not operating on emotions, but you're operating on the integrity of the Word of God that is stored in the mentality of your soul, so that you will not be deceived by the subtle people that Satan can use.

Those who attack the believers actually think they're serving God. And Christian suffering not only originates with the unsaved, but also with carnal Christians. The liberal-oriented Christian speaks with contempt of the Christian right – "the extreme right." And suddenly, you realize that this is rather strange. Here's a person who claims to be a Christian, and who is condemning the Christian right.

The Lord Jesus Christ was misunderstood by His Own family. His brothers laughed at Him, and ridiculed Him. He was betrayed by one of his inner circle of 12 disciples. He was denied by another one of His disciples. And they all deserted Him at the cross. Do you want to talk about suffering that you don't deserve, and treatment such that there was no reason for him to receive that kind of treatment.

The book of Psalm, in Psalm 55, expresses the hurt that one does experience when you receive undeserved suffering. And this should be an encouragement to us, that the psalmist put this problem so far back, to give us orientation as to what we should expect as the people of God. Psalm 55:12-14: "For it is not an enemy who reproaches me. Then I could bear it. Nor is it one who hates me, who has exalted himself against me, that I could hide myself from him. But it is you, a man, my equal, my companion, and my familiar friend. We who had sweet fellowship together, walked in the house of God, in the throng." Do you know of whom he speaks (David here)? It's his son, Absalom, who led the rebellion against him to depose David from his throne. Talk about undeserved suffering! This was not some enemy. I could bear that. It isn't one who hates me as such. I could hide myself from that person. It is a man – a man of the royal family, my equal, my companion, my familiar friend, and my own son. We had sweet fellowship together. We walked in the House of God. We went to church. We went to the temple.

Drop down to verses 20-21: "He has put forth his hands against those who were at peace with him. He has violated his covenant. His speech was smoother than butter, but his heart was war. His words were softer than oil, but they were drawn swords." Absalom sat in the gate, and he spoke to the people as they came in and out. And he told them how he felt their pain, and how he was sympathetic with them, and that if he were in charge of this nation, he would see to it that their problems were dealt with, and that he would meet their needs. It was so horrendous to listen to this. This is just an old song that Satan plays again and again. And he was playing to the grandstands, and playing on the emotions of the people, and they went for it. And poor David was in grief over this kind of treatment. The mature believer, however, has to understand that this is the way with people – people who do not walk with the Lord, or people who are negligent of their instruction in the Word of God, or people who are negligent in keeping their sins confessed, and keeping that temporal fellowship line open.

Well, Jesus knew this. And in John 2:23-25, it's pointed out now, when Jesus was in Jerusalem at the Passover during the feast: "Many believed in His name, beholding His signs, which He was doing. But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for he knew all men, and because He did not need any one to bear witness concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man." So, the Lord said, "Yes, they're having a welcoming attitude toward My message, but I don't trust them. I know what the sin nature in man is. And I know that many of these who are following Me are not My true followers."

So, for the Christian, suffering is a very great reality. But there are certain rewards that we should remind ourselves that come with suffering. In consequence of undeserved suffering, which is well-born, there are rewards in heaven as part of our divine inheritance. Let's read Matthew 5:11-12 again: "Blessed are you, when men cast insults at you, and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely on account of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great. For so they persecuted the prophets who are before you, and those prophets were not silenced." They continue to speak out. They continue to sound off the truth. They continue to declare their loyalty to Jesus Christ. What does the world do? What does the liberal-oriented world do to somebody who speaks and condemns what they are doing? They destroy the person. They try to silence the person. They try to destroy their character. They try to undermine that individual. That's when it's tough-going to stand by the Lord.

Such suffering, however, to be born, as 2 Timothy 2:3 says, "As a good soldier of Jesus Christ." Rejoicing in undeserved suffering makes sense because of the enormous returns in heaven that God provides those who stand by Him. Suffering on account of our Holy Spirit testimony for Jesus Christ is a great honor. To be under suffering, and serving in the midst of that suffering, that is a very great honor. God reminds us that nothing in the way of temptations ever come to a human being that other people have not already experienced and suffered through.

Acts 5:40-42 say that Gamaliel, after telling the council, "You better go carefully about condemning these followers of Jesus Christ, because if they are right, then you will be fighting God. They took his advice, and after calling the apostles in, they flogged them, and ordered them to speak no more in the name of Jesus, and then released them. So, they went on their way from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name. And every day, in the temple, and from house to house, they kept right on teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ."

Were they in good physical shape? No. They had just been beaten up by the terrible system of flogging: 40 lashes; and, they were very legalistic about that. You couldn't give 41. That would be a great crime. Therefore, they only counted 39, to be sure, in case they missed the count, that they didn't do more than 40. And these men were hurting, and they went right back out and said, "Hallelujah, I have a message for you, and I'm more eager to tell it to you than ever. Lack of suffering for the Lord is not always a good thing. It may be a sign that God Himself distrusts you. He would distrust you that you might disgrace Him if He put you under pressure, and put you in a tight spot to serve.

So, Christians do suffer, but there are rewards for that suffering of an eternal nature.

The Origin of Human Suffering

For the unbeliever, life in such a world makes little sense. So, people without Christ have no reason for living, which gives Dr. Kevorkian a lot of business, and thus the mounting number of suicides, especially among teenagers. For the believer, there's the hope in God to eventually triumph over suffering.

Values from Suffering

1. Suffering Demonstrates our Mortality

   Suffering demonstrates to us our mortality. Material success and good health will lead sinful man to think that he is immortal. People don't think much about God when times are good. People could have the worst kind of leaders under heaven, but if times are financially good, and they're not suffering, they don't care how vile are the very people who lead the nation, or, how vile are the people who are making decisions for their lives – people who are going to spend eternity in the lake of fire.

   A great, all-time, classic example of someone who forgot his mortality, and was reminded of it by suffering, was Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. In Daniel 4:30, Nebuchadnezzar is up on the rooftop there in Babylon (in Iraq). And he's walking around the roof, looking around from his royal palace. And the king reflected and said, "Is this not Babylon the Great, which I myself have built as a royal residence by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?" He attributed the glory that was his to his own production. And that's why every brick, of which we have a lot of them, had the imprint of Nebuchadnezzar on them. Babylon is being rebuilt by Saddam Hussein. Guess whose imprint is on the bricks now, of these structures that are being put together again? Saddam Hussein's imprint is on every one of these bricks. Why? Because he wants to be Nebuchadnezzar the second.

   The first Nebuchadnezzar attributed his glorious kingdom to himself, and the result? God said, "Let me teach you a little lesson. I'm going to demonstrate to you your mortality, Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel 4:31: "While the word complimenting (glorifying) himself was in the king's mouth, a voice came from heaven, saying, 'King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is declared sovereignty has been removed from you. Your kingdom authority is gone. And you will be driven away from mankind. And your dwelling place will be with the beasts of the field. You will be given grass to eat like cattle, and seven periods of time will pass over you (that is, seven years), until you recognize that the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind, and bestows it on whomsoever He wishes.'"

   Nobody ever comes to be the authority and the leader of a government except that God places him there. In ancient Israel, when they got an Ahab and Jezebel as leaders, it was because the nation deserved it, and they were put under divine discipline. But God always appoints the people who are in charge. Verse 33: "Immediately, the word concerning Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled. He was he was driven away from mankind, and began eating grass like cattle, and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven until his hair had grown like eagle feathers, and his nails like bird claws." Nebuchadnezzar set the style for long hair; bad clothes; body odor; and, fingernails that were like claws of a bird. And he wore rings in his ears, and his nose, and other places. He was a cool cat. He lived like an animal.

   Well, after seven years, completed to the day (as God always is that accurate), Daniel 4:34 points out that. A marvelous thing happened: "But at the end of that period, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my reason returned to me. And I bless the Most High, and praised and honored Him who lives forever. For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom endures from generation to generation." Old Nebuchadnezzar had learned his lesson.

   Daniel 4:35: "And all the inhabitants of the earth are counted as nothing. But He does according to His will in the hosts of Heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth, and no one can ward off His hand, or say to Him, "What have you done?" You don't tell God what to do. When He snaps fingers, your life is gone.

   So, one of the things that suffering brings to us is to remind us of our mortality. When you are in a desperate physical condition, or when you are in a condition of a desperate illness, it is reminding you of your mortality. And suffering, therefore, should propel you to maximize your time, and to use your days to follow the purpose that God has for you. Nothing else is worthwhile.

2. Suffering Reveals the Holiness of God

   The second value of suffering is that it reveals the holiness of God. If God were not holy, He could ignore sin, and not impose the penalty of suffering which is demanded by His justice. Because He is holy, justice demands the imposition of the penalty. Galatians 6:7: "Be not deceived. God is not mocked. For whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. God imposes justice. God hates sin, and He brings personal and national disasters on the guilty.

   There are currently diseases in our society which are associated with sexual immorality. This illustrates suffering which teaches us about God's holiness. The reason those diseases are there is because people are violating the sexual laws of God; this violates His Holiness; and, ultimately, the violation of the holiness of God is death. And we have diseases today that we didn't even know about some time ago (not very long ago), that suddenly are taking people to the grave day-by-day. Nebuchadnezzar, learned how the holy God deals with the arrogance of man.

   So, suffering of the Christian demonstrates our mortality. Get on with it. It reveals the holiness of God. Maintain your integrity.

3. Suffering Forces Man to Make Decisions

   Third, it forces man to make decisions. Suffering causes one to harden his mind against God, or to obey the will of God – one or the other. Pharaoh of Egypt is a classic example. What did suffering of the plagues do for him? It made him resist God all the more. He resisted God's will until the death angel passed through the land. That was a very wrong decision on his part. The firstborn were all killed. There was a final attempt then. He wasn't satisfied with that. The Israelites that he finally freed were on their way to the Sinai Peninsula, standing on the bank on the extension of that arm of the Red Sea, and God opened the waters for them. He sent his soldiers into that open sea to capture them. The Israelites walked out on the other side, and his army drowned.

   People who are experiencing physical, mental, or emotional suffering very quickly lose their sense of self-sufficiency. And the result is that they learn to make decisions. They learn to turn to God. They learn to cease and desist. Adversity puts things in perspective so no one can be neutral toward God, or toward the Word of God.

Reasons for Suffering

1. To Restore Temporal Fellowship

   There are certain reasons why Christians suffer. First of all, Christians suffer to restore temporal fellowship. A Christian who are moving away from the inner circle of God's will is reminded of that with afflictions. Hebrews 12:6-7 tell us that this is what God does. He chastises those who are moving away from His will. Acute suffering is imposed by the Father to preserve the child of God from wasting his life in carnality. God does not want to see our lives wasted. This was pointed out to us in the Old Testament psalms, in Psalm 119:67-68: "Before I was afflicted, I went astray. But now I keep Your Word. You are good and blessed good. Teach me Your statutes."

   Psalm 119:71: "It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes." So, the psalmist recognized that suffering brings us back into the will of God, and under His umbrella of blessings. God's pressure of affliction is gradually turned up so that the smart Christian changes his way early instead of later, when the heat gets very bad. The will of God for that point in time is what he turns to. The ultimate suffering for reversionism is physical death – the loss of one's life. And when you lose your life before your time, you also lose all the opportunity for accumulating those wonderful treasures in heaven that you will live with forever (1 Corinthians 11:30, 1 John 5:16).

   Confession of known sins is a means for changing suffering into blessing (1 John 1:9).

   You may not escape the consequences of your sin, but instead of suffering, that sin will now become blessing. The consequence will become blessing. That's what happens when you get back into fellowship.

2. To Learn about God's Grace

   The second reason for suffering is to learn about God's grace. Godly, obedient Christians are placed under suffering to learn, by personal experience, the magnificence of God's grace. Paul suffered a physical ailment, as we pointed out to you this morning, which he did not enjoy. He called it a thorn in the flesh. He would have preferred to have it removed (2 Corinthians 12:7-8). The Lord told him that that ailment would make him the recipient of God's grace (2 Corinthians 12:9). Paul then welcomed the suffering in order to receive God's power in his life (2 Corinthians 12:10). Paul uses five words that refer to grace orientation; mastery of the details of life; a relaxed mental attitude; a capacity to love; and, inner happiness. Paul says, "I'll take the weakness. I'll take the beating, because then is when I'm really strong spiritually." The grace of God shines like a blazing sun in a life which is suffering various needs, which God alone can supply.

   When you learn to suffer in stride, because the grace of God gives you the capacity, that's when you get to know what it is to be under the blessings of His divine grace. The capacity to bear suffering reveals our strength in God's power. So, we are more encouraged in the angelic warfare. In Acts 5:40-42, the disciples counted it an honor to suffer.

3. To Develop the Character of Christ

   The third reason that Christians suffer is to develop the character of Christ. The Heavenly Father has made His Perfect Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, a pattern for all His children (1 John 3:2). The trials and afflictions of daily life give us the opportunity to respond to the pattern of Jesus. We learned through suffering to exercise love and sympathy toward others who are in grief, as Jesus did (Hebrews 2:17:18, Hebrews 4:15-16, 2 Corinthians 1:3-4. When we suffer, we can go to people and say, I've been where you are, I've experienced that. And you can be a comfort to them. The character qualities of Jesus Christ: of humility; patience; thankfulness; joy; self-control; and, persistence are learned in the school of suffering.

4. To Prepare us for God's Service

   Next is the benefit of preparing us for greater service to God. Our suffering trials, that are undeserved, prepare the Christian soldier for the more intense duty in the angelic conflict. There is nothing that can substitute for the experience of combat under fire. And in spiritual warfare, it's the same way. The life of the apostle Paul was one of suffering from the first, and he grew more powerful as his life went along in defeating Satan. The infirmities suffered by believers over the centuries have produced the greatest Christian service of the Lord Jesus Christ. We could only mention John Bunyan, for example, who wrote the terrific allegory of Pilgrim's Progress, that was written while he was in prison, being punished, suffering terribly in prison, because he preached the gospel. Suffering produces a divine viewpoint frame of reference so that a harder service becomes easier.

5. To Complete the Suffering of Christ

   The next benefit of suffering is to complete the suffering of Christ. This is what the rest of Colossians 1:24 is going to be teaching us. We will get into this. So, I'll only touch upon this now. But one of the things that God has called you to do is to complete the sufferings of Christ. Christians now bear the attacks of the world against the Lord Jesus Christ as we offer eternal life to the lost. Colossians 1:24 points that out. Christ is no longer available for Satan to hit. Therefore, he hits us, and thus, he hits Christ. Paul was persecuting Christians. The Lord stopped him on the road to Damascus, and said Paul, "Why are you persecuting Me? You are persecuting Christians. You hit My body, so you hit Me. When the body of Christ, the church, is attacked, Jesus Christ is attacked. Paul learned that in Acts 9:4.

   Every time a Christian, for the Lord's sake, is beaten, snubbed, hated, spit upon, misrepresented, ignored, or viewed with contempt, our Lord in Heaven feels it. When the world hits us, it hits Christ.

   We, as Christians, are completing the suffering of Jesus Christ in terms of the fact that, when He ministered here on this earth, He suffered. There is a lot more suffering that is going to be required before the rapture day. We Christians are now filling that out. Christ, in His body, is now in heaven. We Christians have taken over the suffering of the message of the gospel, and the full knowledge of the counsel of the Word of God, Bible doctrine truth.

   Romans 8:17 says that we will suffer with Him. It also tells us that we will be glorified with Him. We will experience that wonderful glorification where we will be in His presence with all of His perfection, with Satan totally defeated, and our sin nature gone. Everything that Christ ever expected us and hoped for us to be will be fulfilled.

We should close tonight by asking you to look once more at Mark 8:34. It is important that you understand this passage of Scripture, so that you have a perspective for why suffering should be taken in stride – why it is important. There is a great result – a great consequence: "And He summoned a multitude with the disciples, and said to them, 'If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself; take up the cross; and, follow Me. Jesus had a cross. It was the mission to be the Savior of the world. That is not your cross. Your cross is whatever mission He has brought you into this world for.

"For whoever wishes to save his life." The Greek word is "psuche," which is properly translated as "life:" "Whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it. But whoever loses his life, for My sake, and the gospel, shall save it. This passage is not dealing with the issue of salvation, but is a call to discipleship and Christian service. Salvation is free. It is not secured by a life of self-denial and sacrifice. Salvation is an acceptance of the gift of God. It is not a commitment to make a deal of a good life. So, this is not dealing with salvation. It is dealing, obviously, with after salvation.

Now, the audience must have wondered, as Jesus said this: how you could have such a contradictory idea possible? How do you save your life by losing it at the same time? Well, Jesus was speaking of saving one's life for an earthly perspective, but losing it in terms of an eternal perspective. This is so unknown among Christians that it is horrible. And this verse used to apply to unbelievers, and Christians pass this by completely. This has to do with saving your life for an earthly purpose. And while you go mindlessly and smugly on, you lose it in terms of eternity. A Christian martyr may suffer the loss of his life on earth, but he will find it preserved in value of eternal rewards for the sacrifice he made.

So, a Christian may choose to preserve himself from suffering in God's service here on the earth. You may compromise your walk with God. You may play ball with the world system. You may become part of all the things that the Bible condemns, and the implications of those things, that we should not be. And the value of your life, in terms of eternal rewards, will be lost. Glorification will be compromised for you.

Now, the Lord Jesus Christ lost His human life on the cross, but He thereby gave His life permanent, eternal value as the ground of human redemption. We see the principle in John 12:24-26: "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, remains by itself alone. But if it dies, it bears much fruit." You are the grain of wheat: "He who loves his life loses it. He who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal." Some people will be here on Saturday to help us on our campus thing. Others already have a life. They won't be here. They have a life in the world that precludes them very often from being active in something that has to do with the Word of God; with the work of the Lord; and, with the activities of the Berean ministries. They already have a life. And that person is going to lose the value of his life. But the other person, who hates being part of the world system, and who hates, as a living child of God, serving the dead of this world's systems in their various activities, he will love his life, and he will keep it for eternity. If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me. And where I am, there shall my servant also be. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him." That's the principle.

Now, go back to Mark 6:35: "Whoever wishes to save his 'psuche' shall lose it. But whoever loses his 'psuche' for my sake and the gospel (in his living here on this earth), shall save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul?" Guess what, folks? You know what the word for "soul" is? It's right here: "psuche." For some reason, the translators switch. And because the word "soul" is there, which is another concept of "psuche," people think this belongs to the unbeliever, and that he loses his life in terms of ending up in the lake of fire. No, no. This should have been translated: "For what does it profit a man (a Christian man) to gain the whole world (in the world system, up to his eyebrows in glory, fame, and fortune), and then forfeit his own soul?" He forfeits his own life in its eternal capacity. He loses his earthly life in God's service, and consequently, the seed, instead of being planted to die to the world, and to grow to God is lost.

Yieldedness to the Word of God is described as hating one's own life. Instead of selfishly using our life to fulfill our ambitions for a time on earth, we preserve our life in values for eternity. People who spend their lives accumulating material things – just think what one good fire will do at their house to their whole life. It's gone. It's not what you do with God. It's not what you sent up there. No fire; no rust; no moth; nor, no thief can touch it. We build a house of our lives on the solid ground of Bible doctrine and the will of God. And it survives our death (Matthew 7:24-27). This is that analogy to building your life on the rock.

This is the principle of Mark 8:36-37: "What shall a man give in exchange for his life?" Earthly rewards gained in the use of one's life are worthless in comparison to the eternal rewards in heaven. The classic example of losing one's life by investing it in temporal rewards is the rich fool of Luke 12:15-21. There again, what did he lose? He lost his "psuche." He lost his life. And there he lost his physical life as well. This loss of life investment for earthly glories is true whether the rich fool was saved or and saved. Either way, he leaves the world impoverished.

Jesus follows the parable of the rich fool with a sober admonition against excessive concern for material things of life. We have that recorded in Luke 12:22-34. That whole passage runs down to how God provides for the lilies of the field. And it gets down to the bottom line, in verse 31: "But seek for his kingdom, and these things shall be added unto you" – all the good things of life that you need. So, what is the Lord saying? He's telling us to use our lives in storing treasures in heaven, which are preserved forever as our heavenly inheritance. Do you know what's going to keep him from doing that? Suffering. Suffering of various kinds are going to tell you that you have to cut out. The rich man's heart was on earthly things because that's where his treasures were. And he left it all behind because he wasn't rich toward God. We Christians really save our lives for eternity when we engage in the self-denying work of Christian service, no matter what. Beware the eternal tragedy of misguided living.

In closing, Luke 9:23-26: "And He (Jesus) was saying to them all, 'If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself; take up his cross daily; and, follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it. But whoever loses his life for my sake, he is the one who will save it. For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world and loses (or forfeits) himself?" This is a better translation: "For whosoever is ashamed of Me and My Words, of him shall the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in His glory, and the glory of the Father, and the holy angels?" It's not that they are ashamed of you, so that they won't take you to heaven, but they are ashamed of you so He will not reward you. Suffering can lose you the great potential of your life. Don't let that happen.

Father, we thank You for Your Word. And we thank You for this impressive passage of Scripture. We pray that You will help us to grasp so many significant things that we've covered so quickly. But help us, above all, to realize that suffering has a place in the Christian life, and the place is to make us more active in the work of the Lord. We thank you for this day. Take us safely to our homes. Please bless the offering tonight. We pray for a good job on our rent house, and funds to pay for the roofing needed there. Thank you for this in Jesus' name. Amen.

Dr. John E. Danish, 1995

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