“REJOICING IN SUFFERING”
SELECTED SCRIPTURES

I. Introduction
Those of you who come from a traditional Roman Catholic or Protestant background and upbringing know about the Apostles’ Creed. Do you remember how it goes? Here is the Lutheran version I remember learning growing up in Chicago…
“I believe in God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; He descended to hell (Hades; the grave, the abode of the dead, etc.). On the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, where he is seated at the right hand of the Father, from where He shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic (universal) church, the communion of saints, the forgive-ness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.”

Some of the details of the creed are open to discussion and debate, but that’s not why I wanted to recite it this morning. Rather, I want to focus on the words, “He suffered under Pontius Pilate…” When you read that, hear it read, or recite it yourself, you just naturally think of our Lord’s physical suffering during His trials, tortures, and crucifixion. And He most certainly did suffer physically.

But Jesus’ real suffering was infinitely greater than anything done to Him by men. His real suffering took place when God the Father turned His back on our Lord and poured out the sins of the world – your sin and mine – on His only Son. God the Father literally crushed God the Son under the weight of that sin. That is a suffering that you and I will never know nor experience. The Apostles’ Creed – all right as far as it goes – completely misses that suffering. Jesus absorbed all of it so that you and I, who have been saved by grace, will suffer none of it. That’s why we sing, “Jesus paid it all. All to Him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain. He washed it white as snow.” Say “Amen” somebody!
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II. Text
While you and I will never suffer as Jesus did, we will face suffering in this life. The issue for us is not whether will we suffer. If we are human, we will suffer. Thayer’s Greek Lexi-con defines such suffering for us.
“The Greek word translated ‘suffer’ or ‘suffering’ in English is ‘pásxō.’ It means ‘to experience feeling’ and it relates to any part of us that feels strong emotion, passion, or suffering – especially ‘the capacity to feel suffering.’ It is in this sense that the Lord has privileged us to have great capacity for feeling (passion, emotion, affec-tions)… this is inherent because all people are created in the divine image. Note for
example how Jesus in His perfect (sinless) humanity keenly felt.”
Did you hear that? The Lord has given us the privilege of suffering. It is a gift from God. We don’t normally think of suffering as a gift, do we? But it is! So one of the questions for us to delve into this morning is how are you and I to react when God allows us to suffer, that is, to feel passion, strong emotion, and affections? Are we to complain because we don’t want the gift we’ve been given? Or are we called to see beyond the immediate suffering and expect eternal good to come from it? Are you a Christian? Have you been saved by grace? Yes and yes?
*Romans 5:1-6
1 Therefore having been justified (declared righteous; saved) by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
2 through whom also we have obtained our introduction (access) by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.
3 And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribula-tion brings about perseverance;
4 and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope;
5 and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
6 For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.

So do you see why suffering – as Scripture defines it – is a privilege, a gift from God that has eternal benefits? Suffering through trial and tribulation builds perseverance which leads to proven character and the hope that is present in every true Christian. And it is that hope which never disappoints. On the contrary, it is that very hope that confirms our salvation in Christ. When we could do nothing for ourselves, He did everything for us!

In the Apostle Paul’s letter to the church at Philippi he says this… “For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake.” (1:29)
This teaching is not unique to Paul’s preaching and ministry. The NT is filled with admoni-tions for us to rejoice in our sufferings.

Listen to James…
*James 1:2-8, 12
2 Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials,
3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.
4 And let endurance have its perfect result, that you may be perfect and com-plete, lacking in nothing.
5 But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all men gener-ously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
6 But let him ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.
7 For let not that man expect that he will receive anything from the Lord,
8 being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
12 Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.

The connection between our troubles, our trials, our tribulations, and our Christian growth, maturity, wisdom – and ultimately, our final reward in heaven – is unmistakable, isn’t it? And you can readily see that the godly wisdom we so desperately need to navigate our way through this lost and dying world is directly related to the way we handle those troubles, trials, and tribulations. Think about it. If you and I are never stretched, never suffer perse-cution, never come to grips with pain, sorrow, and disappointment, how will we ever grow into the people God has called us to be?

Listen to Peter…
*1 Peter 4:12-16
12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you;
13 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 exultation.
14 If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.
15 By no means let any of you suffer as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler;
16 but if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not feel ashamed, but in that name let him glorify God.

• Are you going through a physical or spiritual trial? Or to use Peter’s term, is there a “fiery ordeal” among you? Haven’t your brothers and sisters in Christ gone through such things? Aren’t they going through them even now? Why are you surprised?
• Are you suffering for your faith? Jesus suffered for His… and He rejoiced!
• Are you reviled because of Him? The apostles did… and they were blessed!

Regardless of the suffering you may be going through, I challenge you to seek God’s face and ask Him to show you how you can use it to bring Him glory, honor, and praise. Let Him use that suffering and you will rejoice and be blessed.

You may say, “But Lord, this doesn’t seem like a blessing. This seems an awful lot like dis-cipline.” All right. Maybe that’s exactly what it is. Do you and I not need discipline? And do you and I not need to endure discipline when it is called for?

Listen to the writer of Hebrews…
*Hebrews 12:3-11
3 For consider Him (Jesus) who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you may not grow weary and lose heart.
4 You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin;
5 and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons, “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the LORD, nor faint when you are reproved by Him;
6 for those whom the LORD loves He disciplines, and He scourges every son whom He receives.”
7 It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline?
8 But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.
9 Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live?
10 For they (our earthly fathers) disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, that we may share His holiness.
11 All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.

The whole point is that our heavenly Father’s discipline is proof of His eternal love for us. It serves to make us more like our Lord and Savior. And that is precisely what we want to be… more like Him!

Finally, listen to Jesus in His Sermon on the Mount…
*Matthew 5:10-12
10 “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “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.
12 “Rejoice, and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great, for so they perse-cuted the prophets who were before you.”

Are you being persecuted for your faith? Are you suffering pain, sorrow, disappointment, or rejection by loved ones? Jesus promises, “Rejoice, and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great…” What more could you ask?

But how can you come to the point where you can sincerely rejoice in your suffering? I’m not talking about “keeping a stiff upper lip,” or gritting your teeth and fighting your way through it. I’m talking about genuine rejoicing. True Christians can rejoice because they know something. This is what the Apostle Paul was talking about back in the first passage we looked at this morning. In Romans 5:3 he said, “…we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance.
It’s that perseverance that grows our Christian character and gives us hope.
*Romans 5:5-6
5 and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
6 For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.

We’re the ungodly people that Paul is talking about. The Lord Jesus has already died for us.
*Romans 5:7-11
7 For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die.
8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sin-ners, Christ died for us.
9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.
10 For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.
11 And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

So again I ask, how is it that we Christians can rejoice in our suffering? We can rejoice because we can see it as evidence of God’s love, not His wrath. We are sons and daughters whom God disciplines; sons and daughters whom God loves; sons and daughters whom He has saved by reconciling us to Himself through Jesus’ blood. And in that, we are sons and daughters who can rejoice as the lost of this world will never be able to do.

If all that is still hard to comprehend just take a walk back in time with me to a hill outside of Jerusalem. What’s happening there? Jesus is receiving the ultimate discipline – a disci-pline that you and I will never receive, even though it is exactly what we deserve. “For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.” (Romans 5:6)

This is the ultimate proof that, no matter how severe your suffering may seem to be, it pales in comparison to God’s love for you. Ray Stedman puts it this way…
“Even though you are suffering, even though you don’t feel loved right now, even though it seems as though God is against you, how much more can you count on the fact that God loves you?”

Listen, God’s discipline is not meant to get you out of your suffering. It is meant to see you through it. This is why His discipline is not His anger; it is His love. Oh, how I hope you can see that and take that with you this morning.

And that takes us full circle back to 1 Peter 4. In vv. 12-16 we have already read that the Christian’s suffering brings glory to God. In vv. 17-19 Peter compares our suffering with what must come upon the lost. Their judgment will come.
*1 Peter 4:17-19
17 For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?
18 (quoting from Proverbs) “And if it is with difficulty that the righteous is saved, what will become of the godless man and the sinner?”
19 Therefore, let those also who suffer according to the will of God entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right.

Our God does what is right! I have a cancer that is – according to modern medical science – incurable. I don’t like it, but our God does what is right. As born-again Bible-believing Christians, each and every one of you is suffering from something emotional, physical, or spiritual, or from some form of persecution right now. You probably don’t like it, but our God does what is right. Please take comfort in that and remember Jesus’ words… “Rejoice, and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great…” (Matthew 5:12)
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1 Peter 4 ends with a reminder that even though we suffer, God does what is right. 1 Peter 5 begins with instructions to the elders of the church. Where Christians are called to entrust their souls to the God who loves them, the elders of the church are called to love the Chris-tians under their charge in the very the same way.
*1 Peter 5:1-3
1 Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker of the glory that is to be revealed,
2 shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness;
3 not yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock.

In just a few moments we’re going to join together in Communion. Could there a better or more appropriate way to remember Jesus’ suffering for us? The deacons normally serve the elements at our Communion services, but I’ve asked the elders to take on that role this morn-ing. Ken Fell and Ed Siert are examples of the humble leadership Peter speaks about.

Along with myself they have been called to shepherd this flock of God we call Lighthouse Bible Church. The role of elder here at LBC is described in the church’s founding documents. Ed will read from that description.
“Elders are called to oversee the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. Elders are required to function as under-shepherds in complete submission to Christ, the Chief Shepherd. It is in this role that God has given Elders final temporal authority in the church. They are to lead, guide, and direct the congregation that God has allotted to their care.
They are to preach and teach God’s word, the Bible, and always be on the alert to protect the church from doctrinal error and worldly thinking. In all of this they must continually present themselves as examples of Christian maturity and godly character.”

“Thank you, Ed.” I’ve known these two men for many years and I can unhesitatingly vouch for the Christian maturity and godly character.

If there is one thing that the elders must do it is this: Our first duty is to be guided by the Holy Spirit in overseeing the church. In 1988 John MacArthur published a booklet that addressed key questions about biblical eldership. Ken will read just a few lines from it.
“If all the elders are guided by the same Spirit and all have the mind of Christ, there should be unanimity in the decisions they make. If there is division, all the elders should study, pray, and seek the will of God together until consensus is achieved. Unity and harmony in the church begin with this principle.”

“Thank you, Ken.” So guidance by the Holy Spirit must be the elders’ starting point. Every positive thing will emanate from there. In and under that guidance the elders are called to proclaim the truth, and to determine, clarify, and explain doctrinal issues. In and under the guidance of the Holy Spirit the elders are called to preach and teach the Word. Their call and responsibility to preach and teach the Word of God cannot be overstated.

That’s because there have always been false teachers and false teaching, but today, as we approach the end of the age, false teaching, false doctrine, and outright lies are running rampant throughout the world, as well as throughout far too much of the professing church. God has called the elders to stand in the gap. The Apostle Paul emphasizes this to the elders of the church at Ephesus.
Acts 20:28
28 “Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.”

But this is a two-way relationship. Under such shepherding the congregation is to obey and submit to the elders care, protection, and guidance. This is not so that elders may exercise power, but because God has given them the solemn responsibility to shepherd His flock.
Hebrews 13:17
17 Obey your leaders, and submit to them; for they keep watch over your souls, as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you.

Do you see? Along with the elders’ God-given privilege of leading and shepherding God’s people comes a God-ordained accountability. Every elder will be held accountable to God for his leadership in the church. No elder should ever take that lightly.
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III. Conclusion
Just before we come to the table I have a word for Ken and for Ed and for me.

“Jesus Christ, the Chief Shepherd, has called the three of us the to serve as elders in His church. We have been called as shepherds to lead sheep. We have not been called as cowboys to drive cattle. What a difference!

“Each of us will give an account to God of how well we shepherded, fed, guided, cared for, protected, nurtured, loved, and yes, even how we rebuked and disciplined the church that God has placed under our spiritual leadership.

May God help all three of us in that.”

~ Pray ~