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Written by Pastor Darrell Cooper
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Friday, 01 August 2008 14:55 |
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1 Peter 2:19-25
April 13, 2008 - Lindsborg Cov.
“To This You Were Called”
(Suffering)
Sermon
Have you ever had something bad happen to you and then wondered why? Why is this happening to me? Why me? Have you ever asked questions like that? I certainly have.
So, today I want to begin by doing a bit of practical theology. I want to ask the question, What causes people to suffer? Where does suffering come from. I want to suggest three possible sources of suffering. If you want to follow along on the outline, you will find it in your bulletin. There are two sides. You want the side with the blanks to fill in. You might write 1 Peter 2:19-25 at the top of the page, and you can turn there if you wish as well.
So, again, I want to do just a brief survey of suffering and explore three possible sources of it. The first category of suffering is, I think, perhaps the most common cause of suffering in the world, and that is that, quite simply, we live in a broken world.
The world we live in is broken. Nothing works the way it is supposed to. If you own a computer, or ever even work with one, you know that I speak the truth. Nothing was left untouched by the fall. Everything is corrupted and is falling apart. Nothing works the way it is supposed to work, so when things break down people get hurt, people suffer.
This kind of suffering often seems random, doesn’t it? I mean, why did this guy get cancer and that guy didn’t? So much of the suffering in the world seems so random. I would like to suggest that perhaps it is. Perhaps it is random. Perhaps it is just the result of living in this broken world where we keep bumping into things that go wrong. It is nothing personal. It is just an unpleasant reality of the world in which we live.
Now, there is a sense in which this kind of suffering is no one’s fault. There is a sense in which you cannot blame any one person or group of people for this kind of suffering. For example, a tornado wipes Greensburg, KS off the map. Were the residents of Greensburg more sinful than the residents of Lindsborg? I sincerely doubt that. That tornado could just as easily have hit our community and destroyed it. The people of Greensburg were not likely singled out for punishment. It is just that we live in a broken world and even the weather patterns are broken and corrupted.
So, there is a sense in which this kind of suffering is no one’s fault. But there is also a sense in which this kind of suffering is everybody’s fault. We have to remember who broke the world. We did. We broke it. Remember, it wasn’t broken when we received it. When God created the world He said it was good. In fact, He said that it was very good. Then He gave it to Adam and Eve as a birthday present, so to speak. He said, “Fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air.” It was a paradise, a wonderful place of peace, joy, and harmony. But not long after we inherited this world we broke it. We chose to rebel against God’s authority and when we sinned, all of creation was marred. Everything became distorted and twisted and broken. Creation no longer functioned the way God intended it to. So, the fall of man corrupted creation. And since we have all sinned, we are all guilty of contributing to the brokenness of this world.
So, that is a brief summary of the first category of suffering. This kind of suffering happens because of the environment in which we live. The second cause of human suffering is doing evil. Sometimes we suffer the consequences for evil deeds done. Now, we can suffer for our own evil deeds, or we can suffer for others’ evil deeds.
We often suffer for our own evil deeds. Remember that Paul said in Galatians 6:7-8a, “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction.” In other words, sometimes we make bad choices. We do foolish and sinful things and then we suffer the consequences of our own choices. Now, I think these consequences break down into two general categories: natural consequences and inflicted punishment. Natural consequences are simple enough to understand. For example, suppose I decide to take up smoking. I become addicted to nicotine and then chain smoke for the next forty years. Then I contract lung cancer. As I lay in the hospital bed, gasping and wheezing for my final breaths, I have no one to blame but myself. It was my own poor choices that put me there. I am experiencing the natural consequences of my own foolish decisions.
So, sometimes there are natural consequences of our sinful behavior. Other times the consequences come from an external source. This is inflicted punishment. For example, if I choose to rob a bank, and I get caught, arrested, prosecuted, convicted, and sentenced to prison, while I am sitting there in my prison cell, it would be rather disingenuous of me to blame someone else. I really have no one to blame but myself, right? It may be an inflicted punishment from the penal system, but I cannot blame the justice system for my suffering.
And there is nothing noble about enduring that kind of suffering. This is what Peter says in verse 20 of chapter one. If you like, you can look with me at verse 20. He says, “But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it?” We get no credit for enduring suffering that we brought on ourselves.
Sometimes however, we did not bring it on ourselves. Sometimes we suffer the negative consequences of others’ evil deeds. For example, perhaps you remember a few years ago there was a man driving a delivery truck for Schwan’s in Salina. I believe it was early evening and he was on his regular route. He was driving on the interstate, going under an overpass when another man jumped from the overpass into oncoming traffic, attempting to commit suicide. He succeeded. Unfortunately he crashed through the windshield of that Schwan’s truck, killing both men.
The driver of that truck was married and had four of five young children at home. That entire family and all their friends were devastated by the selfish behavior of a total stranger. We could go on and on with examples, but I think it is already obvious to us that sometimes we suffer terribly because of the sinful choices other people make.
So, those are the first two categories of suffering. And I think it is safe to say that the vast majority of the suffering in this world falls into one of these first two categories. One more observation I want to make about these before we move on, and that is that all the pain inflicted on people in these two categories is either a direct or an indirect result of our own sin. So, it is a sobering reality to consider that almost all the suffering that happens to us, to some degree, is our own fault.
That is not true of the suffering in the third category. This third category of suffering is fundamentally different because the source of suffering in this category is not doing evil, but doing good. Everyone experiences first two kinds of suffering. But this third kind of suffering is usually only reserved for Christians. It is typically Christians who suffer for the sake of righteousness, who are persecuted for remaining faithful to Jesus.
What I would like to do now is describe for you two versions of the gospel. Listen to these two invitations to follow Jesus and then you can decide which one sounds better to you, which one has more appeal.
Invitation A goes something like this: Give your heart and life to Jesus and you will have perfect health and abundant wealth. That is right! If you will follow the simple principles laid out in God’s Word you will never be sick, never face any kind of calamity, and God will give you so much money you won’t know what to do with it all! So, come to Jesus today and start to enjoy a life of unparalleled blessing!
That is Invitation A. Invitation B sounds something like this: If you will embrace the life and teachings of Jesus Christ and commit your life to following Him then you will suffer greatly. That is right! Not only will you suffer for the things you have done wrong, but now you will have the privilege of also suffering for the things you do right! So, if you come join us in building the Kingdom of Jesus Christ on earth the world will hate you and many will persecute you and try to make your life miserable. Do I have any volunteers?
These are two versions of the gospel. Obviously, Invitation A is much more pleasant and attractive. Unfortunately, it is a lie. It is not true at all. Even if it were true it would still be idolatry, because it would offer people a purely selfish motive for following Jesus. So even if it were true it would be idolatry, but it is not true. It is a false gospel. It makes all kinds of empty promises, and then when it fails to deliver, it heaps all kinds of guilt and condemnation on the victims who are suffering under this kind of theology. The Prosperity Gospel is a dreadful heresy.
Invitation B, the one that calls us to suffer for our faithful service to Jesus, that is the true gospel. That is the gospel according to Jesus Christ. That is the real, biblical gospel. And that gives us pause, doesn’t it? Because who wants to volunteer for more suffering?
And yet that is precisely what Peter is trying to tell us in today’s passage. Look with me at what he says beginning in verse twenty. “But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.”
Peter says, “to this you were called”. What is “this”? Well, in the previous verse, verse twenty, we are told. He says we are called to do three things. We are called to do good, to suffer for doing good, and then to endure this unjust suffering.
First of all, we are called to do good. Verse 21 says that we are to follow in His steps. What does that look like? Well, I think we are told in the very next verse. Verse 22 says that we are to commit no sin and speak only truth. Jesus, is our model here, and it says that “He committed no sin and no deceit was found in his mouth”
If we do this, if we live a life of righteousness, if we follow in Jesus’ footsteps and do good, if we avoid sin and speak only the truth, then we will suffer for doing good. This is what Peter says. This is also what John says, and Paul, and our Lord Himself.
Listen to what Paul tells us in Philippians 1:29. He says, “For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him.” Now that is not a verse you see on very many plaques on kitchen walls, is it? Who wants to claim this promise from Scripture? “For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him.”
In John 16:33b Jesus promised, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” He also said, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember the words I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. (John 15:18-20a)
So, we are to do good and we are to suffer for doing good. But that is not all. There is a third part of this calling. We are also to endure this unjust suffering for the sake of Jesus. Note carefully that we are not rewarded simply for suffering unjustly, but for quietly enduring such suffering for Jesus’ sake.
Again, we might ask, “What does that mean? What does it look like to endure suffering?” Well, again we are told in the next couple of verses. Jesus is our model for how this is done. In verse 23 we are told, “Do not retaliate and make no threats. We are not to threaten or retaliate against those who oppress us. We are also told to entrust ourselves to Him who judges justly. This means that we trust that God will bring about justice for those who mistreat us. Finally, in verse 24 we are asked to lay down our lives for the sake of those who hate us. We are to seek to serve the very ones who are despitefully using us!
Jesus said in Luke 6:32-36a, “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ love those who love them . . . But love your enemies, do good to them . . . Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High.”
So, Peter says that we are actually called to do good, to suffer for doing good, and then to quietly endure this unjust suffering. This is not natural, is it? It just does not come naturally to sit down and quietly endure injustice. So how do we do it? What is it that gives us the strength to endure unjust suffering? It is our Lord and Master. Jesus is not only our model, not only our example, He is also our source. He is our source of strength. When we look to Him, and entrust ourselves to Him (just as He entrusted Himself to the Father), we get the strength and courage to bear up under unjust suffering. And the good news is that by trusting God to be the judge of our oppressor, we don’t have to be. We can simply trust the one we know will judge all things fairly.
So, I want to ask us all a question, and I do not intend for this to be a rhetorical question. I really want all of us to answer this question - not out loud, but in our own hearts. Here is the question: Have you ever suffered for doing good? Can you think of a time in your life when you suffered for doing good? Have you ever endured pain because you love Jesus? Have you ever been punished for doing the right thing?
If you were here a couple of weeks ago you may remember that I also preached from 1 Peter and it too was about suffering. You might also remember that I said in that sermon that I cannot remember a time in my life when I experienced significant suffering because of my faith in Jesus. Have you?
So, here is what has been bothering me. If suffering for doing good is part of our calling in Jesus, then what does it mean if we as Christians have never suffered for our faith? Is it possible that our lack of suffering is evidence that we are not really following in His steps?
Now, don’t get me wrong. I am not saying that we should go out in search of suffering. We do not need to invite people to abuse us. That is called masochism. But the question remains. If we never suffer for our faith, are we really in the faith? It is something to think about.
Having said that, I know that some of you have indeed suffered for doing good. I have heard many of your stories, and I would like to briefly share some of them with you now. These are all stories of people in this congregation who have suffered for their faith.
For example, I know a man in our church who has a strong work ethic and works hard. Believe it or not, this has caused some problems for him at his job. Some of his co-workers have come to resent him for working so hard and have even openly rebuked him saying, “Hey, slow down! You are making us look bad in front of the boss!” But this man is doing his work as unto the Lord, so he continues to work hard, and in a way, he is suffering for doing good.
I know a family who were part of our church for years. They have now moved away, but years ago, when they were still here, they fell on hard times financially, and ultimately were forced to declare bankruptcy. But then you know what they did? They spent years paying back every penny of what they technically no longer owed. Why did they do that? Because they were living according to God’s higher standard. For years this caused them to struggle financially just to make it, but they did it because they knew that their debt was a promise to pay and so they kept their promise. They suffered for doing good.
There is another family that was part of our church for years. When they moved away, they started a business where they bought houses, fixed them up, and then resold them for a profit. Because of the intricacies of the insurance policies, the insurance companies all told them that if they were buying the houses in order to rent them out, they would give them deep discounts for the coverage, but if they intended to resell the houses, they would have to pay a premium. (No pun intended) I am sure it must have been very tempting to simply lie. All they would have to do is check the wrong box on an insurance form and then “change their minds” later. But they did not do that. No deceit was found in their mouth and they took it on the chin. Their decision cost them hundreds, perhaps thousands of dollars. They suffered for doing good.
There was a woman in our church, who not long ago own a business downtown. She faced intense peer pressure from some of the other business owners to compromise her moral convictions. But she would not do that. She remained faithful to Jesus and His Word. As a result, she was subjected to constant ridicule and strong social ostracism. She suffered for doing good.
There are some former missionaries in our church who spent years working in a harsh and uncomfortable climate. They endured physical sickness. They endured local opposition. Not to mention that they sacrificed large salaries that could have been earned stateside, all for the love of Jesus and the lost. They too suffered for doing good.
So, I know that many of you have experienced pain because you love Jesus. Perhaps some of you are still suffering in this way.
I would like to close by letting you in on a disagreement in my family. My wife and I have two different phone philosophies. Here is how it works:
If the phone rings, my wife will answer it. She just WILL. It is part of her religion.
If the phone rings, I am quite happy to let the answering machine get it. After all that is what they are for. That is why they are called ANSWERING machines, right?
Have you ever received a phone call from someone and you really did not want to take the call? For example, the phone rings, your spouse answers it and says, “It is for you.”
“Who is it?”
“It’s your boss!”
“What does he want?”
“He wants you to work overtime on Saturday.”
“Oh, I am not sure I really want to take that call!”
Well, this may be one of those kinds of calls. The phone rings.
“It is for you.”
“Who is it?”
“It is God.”
“What does he want?”
“He wants you to suffer unjustly for doing good.”
“Hmm. I am not sure I want to take that call!”
The fact is that none of us WANTS to suffer. (If you do, you are not a very healthy individual) No one wants to suffer. However, we DO want to please our Father. So, here is the thing. If our desire to please the Father is stronger than our desire to avoid suffering, then we are in a good place.
Everyone suffers in this life. Everyone does. But if we follow Jesus, we will suffer even more. That is OK, because it pleases the Father and secures for us a crown of glory, “an inheritance that can never perish, spoil, or fade–kept in heaven for you.”
The phone is ringing. It is for you. It is God. He wants you to suffer for the sake of righteousness. Will you answer His call? Are you going to take this call?
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