Matthew 10:34-36 “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. (35) For I have come to 'Set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law'; (36) and 'A man’s enemies will be those of his own household.”
There is no evidence in the New Testament that Christians can expect to walk in this life free from suffering. On the contrary, as we have seen in an earlier section, all believers can expect to suffer in this life. However, there is evidence in the New Testament that there are differing degrees of suffering; and so not all believers will experience the same level of suffering in their Christian walk. Nevertheless, it is God Who decides which of His saints will experience more suffering and which will experience less, for it is God Who places each one in the body as He pleases (1 Corinthians 12:18). For example, saints that are brought into the kingdom while living in a country that is hostile to the gospel of Christ, such as Muslim nations, will experience more suffering than saints that are brought into the kingdom while living in “Christian” nations. So what are the various degrees of suffering that Christians can expect to encounter in this life? The lowest level of suffering that there is in the kingdom of God, is the suffering which we will discuss in a later section, i.e. suffering in the flesh. The second level of suffering that believers can expect to encounter in this life, very often originates within their own families. In the above-quoted passage of scripture our Lord Jesus plainly tells us that when we come into the kingdom that not all of our family members will be pleased with us. Quite often the reason for that is because the family have adopted a certain religion that they walk in, and when one is born-again, the saint is forced to leave that religion to serve Christ. In most cases the rest of the unbelieving family members become offended with the believing family member, for “denying” the family religion. The family religion could be anything by the way, including atheism or just plain sinful worldly living. And so believers find that where they were once accepted, now they are rejected even to the point of open hostility, for our Lord said that “A man’s enemies will be those of his own household”. Our Lord Jesus experienced the same thing from His earthly family when He entered into His ministry, for they did not believe in Him and thought that He had lost His mind (Mark 3:21). But even in this area of suffering, it is up to the believer as to how much suffering they are prepared to undergo. For many believers live watered down Christian lifestyles and some even hide their faith in Christ from their families, because they don’t want to be rejected. Although God allows this practice among baby believers, there comes a time when He expects them to grow up and mature in Christ. It is at that time that these believers either stand up for their faith in Christ, incurring the suffering for doing so, or they walk away from following after Christ, because the price of rejection is too high for them to pay. For our Lord did say, that if we love our family more than Him then we are not worthy of Him (Matthew 10:37). Although not all believers encounter this type of suffering, most do to a greater or lesser degree.
Luke 6:22-23 “Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they exclude you, and revile you, and cast out your name as evil, For the Son of Man's sake. (23) Rejoice in that day and leap for joy! For indeed your reward is great in heaven, for in like manner their fathers did to the prophets.”
The third level of suffering that believers can expect to encounter in this life is among the societies in which they live, i.e. among their friends, work colleagues and society in general. When believers enter the kingdom of God their lifestyles change, and just as with family, those in the world that they were acquainted with before, for various reasons, take offence to their changed lifestyle and begin to exclude and revile them. And so the believers find that they become ostracised from the societies that they were once part of. Our Lord Jesus also suffered just like this, for you will recall that His hometown of Nazareth rejected Him and even tried to kill Him (Luke 4:29). In the above-quoted passage of scripture our Lord taught us just how to respond to this type of suffering, by rejoicing because of our great reward in heaven. But again, in this area of suffering it is up to each individual believer as to how much suffering they are prepared to endure. For just as with family members, many believers live watered down Christian lifestyles and even hide their faith in Christ from others, because they don’t want to be rejected. As we have already said, God does allow this among baby believers but there comes a time when He expects them to grow up and mature in Christ. It is at that time that these believers then either stand up for their faith in Christ incurring the suffering for doing so, or they walk away from following after Christ, because for them the price to pay is too high. All believers encounter this type of suffering to a greater or lesser degree.
Acts 26:9-11 “Indeed, I myself thought I must do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. (10) This I also did in Jerusalem, and many of the saints I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests; and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them. (11) And I punished them often in every synagogue and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly enraged against them, I persecuted them even to foreign cities.”
The fourth level of suffering that believers can encounter in this life, is only for those whom God deems worthy to incur such suffering (Acts 5:41). The passage of scripture quoted above gives us a bit of insight into this type of suffering. In this passage the apostle Paul is telling us how he persecuted the church before God brought him into the kingdom. When persecution broke out against the saints in Jerusalem, after the martyrdom of Stephen, many of the saints were arrested, dragged out of their homes and thrown into prison. They were interrogated and beaten with the sole purpose of getting them to deny their faith in Christ, as Saul and the rest of the Jews endeavoured to force them to blaspheme. They also had their properties confiscated (Hebrews 10:34). And for those who refused to blaspheme the Lord Jesus by denying Him, they were ultimately martyred for their Lord and Saviour. As we mentioned earlier, this type of persecution occurs mainly in nations that are hostile to the gospel of Jesus Christ. God places these saints into those nations when they are born, knowing that when they eventually accept His Son as their Lord and Saviour, that they will suffer this level of persecution for their faith in Christ. And so it is only those whom God deems worthy, that will be allowed to suffer in this manner for Christ, which obviously means that not all believers will incur this degree of suffering for the kingdom. It goes without saying that these believers will receive great reward from the Lord on their day of judgement. However, not all saints that come into the kingdom of God while living in hostile nations make their faith in Christ known. The reason being, that such disclosure could result in an immediate death sentence. In these instances, God understands and allows the saints to serve Him in a clandestine manner. Think about the underground church in China before 1990. That church grew because converts kept their faith in Christ a secret from society in general, and slowly added more disciples to the Lord as they were able to spread the gospel.
Michael E.B. Maher
Comments