WHY DO CHRISTIANS SUFFER?
Message # 1
THE CAUSES OF SUFFERING
Romans 8:18
Introduction: Over the years that I have been a pastor, I have been asked various questions. One question that I have never been asked is where did Cain get his wife. I have a good answer for that one. He got his wife from the same place I did- from his mother-in-law. But one question that I have heard over and over again that I feel very inadequate to answer is this one: “Why do Christians suffer?” Never before I had I considered tackling this question. Then one of the dear men I have in my life is asking me the same question recently. I had to answer as I have some many times before that I did not know. One of the things I have learned in the past fourteen plus years in being a pastor is that the answers that we need are found in the pages of this blessed book we call our Bible. Fourteen years ago, I would have not attempted to answer this question because I did not have the resources to do so. Today I have many great resources at my disposal that will help me.
I have learned some lessons in the ministry of being a pastor for the past fourteen years. One of them is this: I am not immune to suffering either. My family is not immune to suffering. One of the hardest parts of the ministry is seeing them suffer. I am not going to give you a sob story. That would be counterproductive to the messages. I am not an expert on this subject. X is the unknown quality and spert is a squirt under pressure.
When my friend who had been serving God longer than I have been alive asked me this question, it sent me to hunting for some answers from the Lord. I thought about it, I researched it, I prayed about it and now I have a few answers from the Lord. I had to take a promise from God and found it to be true.
James 1:5
“If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.”
In the next weeks, I want to preach on the following subjects to try and answer my friend’s question. I will be preaching on the causes of suffering (that is today’s message), the consequences of suffering, the construction by suffering, the completion of suffering, the critics of suffering and the compassion for sufferers.
Paul calls the suffering of Christians something that we have a hard time understanding in the book of Second Corinthians.
2nd Corinthians 4:17
“For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;”
He calls them light afflictions. It does not seem that way to us. We think them to be great and hard.
One truth that I have discovered as I studied this subject is that suffering in the life of a child of God is as individualize as each individual. What may be a trial of suffering for me may be a minor inconvenience in your life.
As I was researching this subject, I ran across two particular pieces of material that put a face to Christians suffering. Lehman Strauss wrote one of them. It is called “In God’s Waiting Room” or “Learning through Suffering”. Dr. Strauss was called away from preaching by his son when his wife of fifty years had a very debilitating stroke that would eventually take her life.
The other was sent to me by one of the men on one of the pastor’s email group in which I belong. Brother John Henry wrote me and told me that material was the comfort to his heart when his mother was dying of cancer.
Both of these brethren have a unique prospective on the subject of suffering. They gave me much food for thought that I plan to pass onto you.
If you have not suffered, hang on. One day you will. It is a universal fact that all men will or have suffered. What is suffering? Before getting to the causes of suffering and I know that I will not be able to give them all, we need to know what suffering is.
Suffering is defined as a loss of position such as Adam’s fall. It is also pain of body. It is rejection. It is anxiety. It can be sickness. It may be persecution and injustice. Or it may be grief and disappointment. It might be pangs of conscience that can lead to repentance. It is punishment such as a person who goes to hell.
Paul told us in both Romans and 2nd Corinthians that our suffering is for a short time. It may seem long to us but in the idea of eternity, it is but a speck of time.
Job mentioned this truth. Job 14:1
“Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble.”
If you want to get the key to suffering, you must start from the first place suffering is mentioned in the Bible. A law of Bible study is the law of first mention. The first time you find something mentioned in the Bible gives you the key to rest of the Bible most of the time. Genesis 3:14-19
“And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.”
Without trying to simplify this too simple, all your suffering is basically is because sin entered in the world by Adam. God had Adam the most responsible for man’s downfall.
Let me give you several causes of suffering. As I said earlier, I will not be able to list all the reasons why we suffer but these will cover most of the reasons.
I. WE SUFFER AT TIMES BECAUSE OF PHYSICAL REASONS.
There might be a disease that has come into our lives that causes us great suffering. Cancer is a terrible condition and there are some types of cancer that is worse than others. Cancer that is in the bones is three hundred times worse than a simple skin cancer. Over the years in my nursing jobs, I have dealt a lot with people with cancer. To see men, women, boys and girls dying of cancer is almost more than you almost bear. You have to set your feelings aside and remember that you are the professional that person or family is depending on for help and comfort.
There are certain diseases that you get that are a lifelong condition that will cause lots of pain. Diabetes is one of those diseases. I have seen many diabetics who refuse to take care of themselves and wonder why they have pain from surgery that would be unnecessary if they would have followed the instructions of their doctor. Having a limb removed is not on my list of things I done in my lifetime. In fact, I would love to go to my grave with both legs and feet and my eyes still in use as well as my kidneys. But if I eat the wrong foods or neglect taking my medications, then I am setting myself up to have some pain.
Heart disease is one of the number one killers in the United States today. Chest pains will cause you to suffer. Having your heart out of rhythm will cause you to suffer.
It may be mental suffering that causes us pain. What works on your mind will manifest it in physical problems! A wayward child or family member can cause great suffering mentally.
There will be many people in the Bible we could see that suffered and they were right with God. Job is one of those men. I think you could illustrate suffering both physical and mental in his life. Job was a man that God called a perfect man. I know that is not the Lord’s description of me. He hated evil. He loved God and his life was known for these qualities. When Satan came before God, he was given permission to afflict Job. In one day, his fortune was gone. In one day, his family was gone. In one day, his fame was gone. In a few more days, he is afflicted with boils from the top of his head to soles of his feet. Having had a couple nasty boils, I understand a little that Job endured. The mental pain of burying ten children was hard to bear except the help of God.
Job 1:20-22
“Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped, And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD. In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.”
People today are looking for true worship. They need to take a page from the life of Job. He worshipped God in the worst of circumstances. The mental anguish is beyond my comprehension. How could he worship God? That answer is easy. Isaiah 26:3-4
“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength”
His mind was on God. That is how he could trust God in this time of mental and physical pain.
Philippians 4:8
“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”
II. WE SUFFER AT TIMES BECAUSE OF PARENTAL REASONS. Matthew 27:15-25
“Now at that feast the governor was wont to release unto the people a prisoner, whom they would. And they had then a notable prisoner, called Barabbas. Therefore when they were gathered together, Pilate said unto them, Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ? For he knew that for envy they had delivered him. When he was set down on the judgment seat, his wife sent unto him, saying, Have thou nothing to do with that just man: for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him. But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas, and destroy Jesus. The governor answered and said unto them, Whether of the twain will ye that I release unto you? They said, Barabbas. Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ? They all say unto him, Let him be crucified. And the governor said, Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more, saying, Let him be crucified. When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it. Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children.”
This is part of the account of the day that Jesus died on the cross. The children and grandchildren of these Jews and so forth have suffered because the sins of these people. It is a terrible thing for our children to suffer because of our sinfulness. There is nothing but war and battles constantly in that land. Millions of the Jewish people died at the hands of the Germans during World War II. It can be directly taken back to this one event.
Some children suffer because their parents abused drugs and alcohol before and after their birth. Children who have parents that never drank or took drugs ought to run up to their parents and put their arms around their necks and thank them for clean living.
I am not saying that a child who is born with a birth defect is because of sinful behavior on the part of the parents. It is really a result of Adam’s sin.
Some parents are irresponsible and this sinful behavior leads to problems with their children. Why do some children quit serving God and quit coming to church? It is because their parent or parents thought that something else was more important than God or church. Some parents think that school is more important than God or His house. You are ten thousand times ten thousands times wrong. Nothing is more important than God. Some parents think that sports are more important than God. You are ten thousand times ten thousands times wrong. Some parents think that careers are more important than God or His house. You are ten thousand times ten thousands times wrong. Think you wonder why your child or children don’t want to know God or serve Him or even going to church. Some parents think that leisure is more important than God. You are ten thousand times ten thousands times wrong.
On Mother’s day, I went to Wal-Mart to get the flowers for the ladies during Sunday School. I saw what I guess to be 150 or more cars in their parking lot. It broke my heart to think that those parents are hurting their children because they think going to Wal-Mart is more important then God. One day when this whole mess comes to an end and it is Judgment Day, then they will see their children suffer for eternity because they left God out of their plans.
III. WE SUFFER AT TIMES BECAUSE OF POVERTY AND PERSECUTED REASONS.
There are literally millions of Christians in the world who are suffering because of this reason. They don’t have the necessities of life because they are saved. They are outcasts from their society. Many of the three world countries are so anti-Christian that they would rather starve the Christians out of existence.
Their sufferings is hard for us to understand because we have so much. We have more than one Bible. Most of us have more than car. We have food in our deep freezes. We have food in our pantry.
Sacrifice for the cause of Christ is foreign to our minds. We think sacrifice is getting up on Sunday and going to church a couple times that day. I am afraid that we will be ashamed when we see what ours did for Christ without the conveniences that we seem to think we seem to think we are entitled. Some of the entitlement thoughts come from the society in which we live.
IV. WE SUFFER AT TIMES BECAUSE OF PERSONAL REASONS. 1st Peter 4:12-16
“Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men’s matters. Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.”
It is sin in our lives. If you are saved and let’s say you steal and are caught, you may go to jail. Going to jail is a form or suffering but you are not suffering because you are saved. You are suffering because you sinned.
There are folks who are suffering as result of some behavior in their lives. They smoked for number of years and now are suffering because they have cancer. They drank for years and now they have cirrhosis of the liver. I made a statement for the past few weeks in my messages that bear repeating once again. The Lord allows us to have the freedom of choice but not the freedom of consequences. This principle is founded in the Bible over and over again. Galatians 6:7-8
“Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.”
Numbers 32:23
“But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out.”
Jezebel and Ahab thought they had won over the Lord. Their wicked deeds cost them their very lives. Herod thought he was something when he strutted out in his golden clothes. God struck him down and he became worm food.
Just because you are saved does not remove you from suffering, troubles and trials. If you will listen to those false prophets on television that try to tell you if that if you are not healthy and wealthy, then you are not right with God. Troubles, sufferings and trials are part of everyone’s lives. Job 14:1
“Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble.”
Job 5:7
“Yet man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward.”
When we suffer because of sin or a wrong choice in life, we must remember that this is our fault and should not try to put the guilt on someone else.
What really bothers me is people that try to blame God because they are suffering because of personal choices. They have these diseases and such all because of their personal choice of sin and yet they suffer and blame God.
V. WE SUFFER AT TIMES BECAUSE OF PRACTICAL REASONS.
John 9:1-3
“And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.”
People assume that since you are sick that there must be sin in your life. People assume that since you have problems in your life that there is sin in your life. People assume that when your child goes astray that it must be the way you raised him or her. This is the assumption that the disciples made about this man. They were wrong.
When Job’s friends showed up, they did not say anything to Job for seven days. When they finally completed what they wanted Job to know about why all these occurred in Job’s life, they found out from the Lord that they were wrong. It would have been better for all concerned that they would have said nothing than accuse Job of sin.
There are three reasons why we suffer for practical reasons. Let me give them to you and then enhance them. The first reason is that we may render help to others. The next reason is that we may receive in full the promises of God. Third reason is that we may rehearse to others the glory that is due the Lord.
A. That we might render the help to others.
2nd Corinthians 1:3-4
“Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.”
I think we can safely say that suffering is a tribulation. We cannot adequately help others if we never received that help first. Let me illustrate. I have been relatively healthy all my life. The only surgery I have ever had was a tonsillectomy. I had that in my early teen years. (Let me throw this out to you quickly. If your children have this surgery, be honest with them. They can have all the ice cream they want but they just will not want any.) So basically I could not sympathize or empathize with people with diseases. Then in 1997, I was diagnosed with diabetes. I am not trying to say that I understand what it is to suffer but I understand this disease enough to know that without God’s help, I will have some difficult days. It is that help from the Lord that has changed my life in that I understand long term diseases. That help I get from the Lord, I can pass onto others.
Even though Job did not know that God was having recorded a book in the Bible with his name, he had sympathy for his friends when they were judged by the Lord. I have been rereading the book of Job. One preacher said that if you see the trials and tribulation of that man, then you have missed the main focus of that book of the Bible. If you see the mighty nature of the Lord and His sovereignty, then you find the key to the Book.
Bad things do happen to godly people. Peter tells us this in his first epistle. 1st Peter 4:12
“Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you”
When they occur, run to the Father for help. He will help. He may not relieve the suffering but He will help. When you get that help and comfort from the Lord, remember that there may be someone else that you encounter that may be in the same situation you are in and they need someone to help them. You could be the channel of blessing to them.
B. That we may receive in full the promises of God.
2nd Corinthians 12:7-10
“And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.”
Paul was a man of God. He understood suffering. It seems that most of his Christian life was characterized by suffering. Here he is found to have a thorn in the flesh. We do not know for certain what it was. I personally think that it was an eye infirmity. But what it was, Paul asked the Lord three times to remove it from him. The verses from 2nd Corinthians chapter twelve that I just read is the answer that God gave him. God told him no and that He would give grace to bear it. As far as we can tell from the Bible, it was never removed from Paul. He rested in the promises of God. He received them fully.
Until you acquire the promises of God, you will suffer in vain. You have an entire Bible filled with promises. Let me give you two verses. Both of them are familiar to most of us. These were two of the verses that Dr. Strauss claimed when his wife had that stroke that eventually took her life.
Hebrews 4:16
“Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”
Let me give you a few quick thoughts on this verse. We have a place that we can go. It is the throne of grace. That is where our Lord resides. It is because of the grace of God that we can even go to this place. We are His children and have access to this place.
Not only do we have a place, we have a procedure. It is that we can come boldly. We don’t come brashly or brazenly like we are something. Nor do we come bashfully like a scared rabbit. The word “boldly” means confidently. We can speak frankly and freely with our Heavenly Father.
Not only do we have a place and a procedure, we also have a purpose in coming. We have a need. He is willing to hear our need and answer according to His will. Paul found timeless help in the time of his need. We can find the same for we serve the same Lord and Saviour.
The other verse that helped Dr. Strauss was one from the book of Philippians. It is one of those greatly quoted verses. Philippians 4:19
“But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”
Time does not permit me to expound on this verse. It can be one of those comfort verses that we can use in your suffering both the present and future.
C. That we may rehearse to others the glory that is due the Lord. This is basically what the Lord Jesus told the disciples in the book of John when they inquired about what the man was blind. The man’s suffering as a blind man was to show forth the glory of God. God was given the glory when the man was healed.
How does that affect us? There is going to be some gainsayers that are going to come by where you are and ask why you are suffering. They don’t want to know the truth. They really want to mock God. You must give God the glory that is due His name. This is basically what Job did when his wife wanted to him to curse God and die. Job 2:10
“But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.”
Outside you give God the glory but inside you, you have lots of doubts and questions. This is normal. There are seven normal stages in which we can go when we are suffering. Many Christians get bogged down in the first four and five but don’t see the end with the sixth and seventh. Let me give them quickly and then I sum up my message before the invitation.
1. Shock (I cannot believe this is happening to me.)
2. Sorrowful questioning God (Lord, why did you allow this happen?)
3. Anger (Lord, this is not right.)
4. Fear (Lord, will it get worse?)
5. Despair (I will never recover.) This is the stage of self-pity that many fall into.
6. Searching (Lord, what lesson or benefit do You have for me through this suffering.)
7. Understanding (Yes, Lord, now I can see!)
Conclusion: Christian, you may suffer. Suffering is not easy. The Lord knows this. David understood this. That is why he wrote these words on the book of Psalms.
Psalm 30:4-5
“Sing unto the LORD, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness. For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.”
Just a few minutes ago, I gave you seven stages of suffering. Where are you? If you are in stages one through five, you better get to stage six and seven so you can get some help from the Lord.
Friend, if you have never been saved, you too can be suffering. But the only help that you can get from the Lord is the gift of salvation. Jesus suffered on the cross of Calvary and died that day for you to be saved. On the third day, He arose from the suffering of the death so you can have a new life.
Freedom Baptist Church Sunday Morning
5/16/04
