Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Suffering and Consolation by C. H. Spurgeon

January 2, 2010 by ADMIN

As the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so the consolations of Christ abound. Here is a blessed proportion: God always keeps a pair of scales–in this side he puts his people’s trials and in that he puts their consolations. When the scale of trial is nearly empty, you will always find the scale of consolation nearly in the same condition; and when the scale of trials is full, you will find the scale of consolation just as heavy; for as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, even so shall consolation abound by Christ. This is a matter of pure experience. Oh, it is mysterious that when the black clouds gather most, the light within us is always the brightest! When the night lowers and the tempest is coming on, the heavenly captain is always closest to his crew. It is a blessed thing, when we are most cast down, then it is that we are most lifted up by the consolations of Christ.

Trials make more room for consolation. There is nothing that makes a man have a big heart like a great trial. I always find that little, miserable people, whose hearts are about the size of a grain of mustard-seed, never have had too much to try them. I have found that those people who have no sympathy for their fellows–who never weep for the sorrows of others–very seldom have had any woes of their own. Great hearts can only be made by great troubles. The spade of trouble digs the reservoir of comfort deeper, and makes more room for consolation. God comes into our heart–he finds it full–he begins to break our comforts and to make it empty; then there is more room for grace. The humbler a man lies, the more comfort he will always have.

I recollect walking with a ploughman, one day, a man who was deeply taught, although he was a ploughman–and really plough men would make a great deal better preachers than many college gentlemen–and he said to me, “Depend upon it, if you or I ever get one inch above the ground we shall get just that inch too high.” I believe it is true; for the lower we lie, the nearer to the ground we are–the more our troubles humble us–the more fit we are to receive comfort; and God always gives us comfort when we are most fit for it. That is one reason why consolations increase in the same ratio as our trials.

Then trouble exercises our graces, and the very exercise of our graces tends to make us more comfortable and happy. Where showers fall most, there the grass is greenest. I suppose the fogs and mists of Ireland make it “the Emerald Isle;” and wherever you find great fogs of trouble, and mists of sorrow, you always find emerald green hearts; full of the beautiful verdure of the comfort and love of God. 0h Christian, do not thou be saying, “where are the swallows gone? they are gone they are dead.” They are not dead; they have skimmed the purple sea, and gone to a far-off land; but they will be back again by-and-by. Child of God, say not the flowers are dead; say not the winter has killed them, and they are gone. Ah! no; though winter bath coated them with the ermine of its snow; they will put up their heads again, and will be alive very soon. Say not, child of God, that the sun is quenched, because the cloud hath hidden it. Ah! no; he is behind there, brewing summer for thee; for when he cometh out again, he will have made the clouds fit to drop in April showers, all of them mothers of the sweet May flowers. And oh! above all, when thy God hides His face, say not that He has forgotten thee. He is but tarrying a little while to make thee love Him better; and when He cometh, thou shalt have joy in the Lord, and shalt rejoice with joy unspeakable. Waiting exercises our grace; waiting tries our faith; therefore, wait on in hope: for though the promise tarry, it can never come too late.

Another reason why we are often most happy in our troubles is this–then we have the closest dealings with God. I speak from heart knowledge and real experience. We never have such close dealings with God, as when we are in tribulation. When the barn is full, man can live without God; when the purse is bursting with gold, we somehow can do without so much prayer. But once take your gold away, you want your God; once cleanse away the idols out of the house, then you must go and honor Jehovah.

Some of you do not pray half as much as you ought. If you are the children of God, you will have the whip; and when you have that whip, you will run to your Father. It is a fine day, and the child walks before its father; but there is a lion in the road, now he comes and takes his father’s hand. He could run half-a-mile before him when all was fine and fair; but once bring the lion, and it is “father! father!” as close as he can be. It is even so with the Christian. Let all be well, and he forgets God. Jeshurun waxes fat, and he begins to kick against God; but take away his hopes, blast his joys, let the infant lie in the coffin, let the crops be blasted, let the herd be cut off from the stall, let the husband’s broad shoulder lie in the grave, let the children be fatherless–then it is that God is a God indeed. Oh, strip me naked; take from me all I have; make me poor, a beggar, penniless, helpless; dash that cistern in pieces; crush that hope; quench the stars; put out the sun; shroud the moon in darkness, and place me all alone in space, without a friend, without a helper; still, “Out of the depths will I cry unto thee, Oh God.” There is no cry so good as that which comes from the bottom of the mountains; no prayer half so hearty as that which comes up from the depths of the soul, through deep trials and afflictions. Hence they bring us to God, and we are happier; for that is the way to be happy–to live near God. So that while troubles abound, they drive us to God, and then consolations abound.

Some people call troubles weights. Verily they are so. A ship that has large sails and a fair wind, needs ballast. Troubles are the ballast of a believer. The eyes are the pumps which fetch out the bilge-water of his soul, and keep him from sinking. But if trials be weights, I will tell you of a happy secret. There is such a thing as making a weight lift you. If I have a weight chained to me, it keeps me down; but give me pulleys and certain appliances, and I can make it lift me up. Yes, there is such a thing as making troubles raise me towards heaven. A gentleman once asked a friend, concerning a beautiful horse of his, feeding about in the pasture with a clog on its foot, “why do you clog such a noble animal?” “Sir,” said he, “I would a great deal sooner clog him than lose him: he is given to leap hedges.” That is why God clogs his people. He would rather clog them than lose them; for if he did not clog them, they would leap the hedges and be gone. They want a tether to prevent their straying, and their God binds them with afflictions, to keep them near to him, to preserve them, and have them in his presence. Blessed fact–as our troubles abound, our consolations also abound.

The current formatting and editing is copyrighted by Jim Ehrhard, 1999. You are permitted to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that: (1) you credit the author; (2) any modifications are clearly marked; (3) you do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction; and (4) you do not make more than 100 copies without permission. If you would like to post this material to your web site or make any use other than as defined above, please contact Teaching Resources International

Posted in C. H. Spurgeon |

The Lesson of Contentment in Suffering by Jeremiah Burroughs

January 2, 2010 by ADMIN

1. [Contentment comes by not dwelling long over your afflictions.]

Let not men and women pour too much upon their afflictions: that is, busy their thoughts too much to look down into their afflictions. You find many people, all of whose thoughts are taken up about what their afflictions are, they are always thinking and speaking of them. It is just with them as with a child who has a sore: his finger is always on the sore; so men’s and women’s thoughts are always on their afflictions. When they awake in the night their thoughts are on their afflictions, and when they converse with others–it may be even when they are praying to God–they are thinking of their afflictions. Oh, no marvel that you live a discontented life, if your thoughts are always poring over such things. You should rather labor to have your thoughts on those things that may comfort you. There are many who, if you propound any rule to them to do them good, will take it well while they are with you, and thank you for it, but when they are gone they soon forget it.

It is very noteworthy of Jacob, that when his wife died in child-birth, she called the child Ben-oni, that is, a son of sorrows. But Jacob thought to himself, “If I should call this child Ben-oni, every time that I name him it will put me in mind of the death of my dear wife, and of that affliction, and that will be a continued affliction to me, therefore I will not have my child have that name,” and so the text says that Jacob called his name, “Benjamin, the son of my right hand.”

Now this is to show us this much, that when afflictions befall us we should not give way to having our thoughts continually upon them, but rather upon those things that may stir up our thankfulness to God for mercies. There is a comparison made by Basil, a learned man: It is in this case as with men and women who have sore eyes: now it is not good for them to be always looking into the fire, or at the beams of the sun. “No,” he says, “one who has sore eyes must get things that are suitable to him, and such objects as are fit for one with such weak eyes.”

It is the very same with weak spirits. A man or woman who has a weak spirit must not be looking into the fire of their afflictions, upon those things that deject, that cast them down, but they ought to be looking rather on that which may be suitable for healing and helping them; they should consider those [good] things rather than the other. It will be of very great use and benefit to you, if you lay it to heart, not to be pondering always on afflictions, but on mercies.

2. [Contentment comes when we do not consider “bad interpretations” of God’s ways.]

I beseech you to observe this, though you should forget many of the others: Make a good interpretation of God’s ways towards you. If any good interpretation can be made of God’s ways towards you, make it. You think it much if you have a friend who always makes bad interpretations of your ways towards him; you would take that badly. If you should converse with people with whom you cannot speak a word, but they are ready to make a bad interpretation of it, and to take it in an ill sense, you would think their company very tedious to you. It is very tedious to the Spirit of God when we make such bad interpretations of his ways towards us. When God deals with us otherwise than we would have him do, if one sense worse than another can be put upon it, we will be sure to do it.

Thus, when an affliction befalls you, many good senses may be made of God’s works towards you. You should think thus:

it may be, God intends only to try me by this,

it may be, God saw my heart was too much set on the creature, and so he intends to show me what is in my heart,

it may be, that God saw that if my wealth did continue, I should fall into sin, that the better my position were the worse my soul would be,

it may be, God intended only to exercise some grace,

it may be, God intends to prepare me for some great work which he has for me,

thus you should reason.

But we, on the contrary, make bad interpretations of God’s thus dealing with us, and say, “God does not mean this; surely, the Lord means by this to manifest his wrath and displeasure against me, and this is but a furtherance of further evils that he intends towards me!” Just as they did in the wilderness: “God hath brought us hither to slay us.”

This is the worst interpretation that you can possibly make of God’s ways. Oh, why will you make these worst interpretations, when there may be better? In I Corinthians 13:5, when the Scripture speaks of love, it says, “Love thinketh no evil.” Love is of that nature that if ten interpretations may be made of a thing, nine of them bad and one good, love will take that which is good and leave the other nine. And so, though ten interpretations might be presented to you concerning God’s ways towards you, and if but one is good and nine bad, you should take that one which is good, and leave the other nine.

I beseech you to consider that God does nor deal by you as you deal with him. Should God make the worst interpretation of all your ways towards him, as you do of his towards you, it would be very ill with you. God is pleased to manifest his love thus to us, to make the best interpretations of what we do, and therefore God puts a sense upon the actions of his people that one would think could hardly be. For example, God is pleased to call those perfect who have any uprightness of heart in them, he accounteth them perfect: “Be ye perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Uprightness in God’s sense is perfection. Now, alas, when we look into our own hearts we can scarce see any good at all there, and yet God is pleased to make such an interpretation as to say, It is perfect. When we look into our own hearts, we can see nothing but uncleanness; God calls you his saints, he calls the meanest [lowliest] Christian who has the least grace under the greatest corruption his saint.

3. [Do not be taken up inordinately with the comforts of the world when you have them.]

When you have them, do not take too much satisfaction in them. It is a certain rule: however inordinate any man or woman is in sorrow when a comfort is taken from them, so were they immoderate in their rejoicing in the comfort when they had it. For instance, if you hear ill tidings about your estates, and your hearts are dejected immoderately, and you are in a discontented mood because of such and such a cross, certainly your hearts were immoderately set upon the world. So, likewise, for your reputation, if you hear others report this or that ill of you, and your hearts are dejected because you think you suffer in your name, your hearts were inordinately set upon your name and reputation. Now, therefore, the way for you not to be immoderate in your sorrow for afflictions is not to be immoderate in your love and delights when you have prosperity. These are the principal directions for our help, that we may live quiet and contented lives.

My brethren, to conclude this point, if I were to tell you that I could show you a way never to be in want of anything, I do not doubt but then we should have much flocking to such a sermon, when a man should undertake to manifest to people how they should never be in want any more. But what I have been preaching to you now comes to as much. It countervails this and is in effect all one. Is it not almost all one, never to be in want, or never to be without contentment? That man or woman who is never without a contented spirit, truly can never be said to want much. Oh, the Word holds forth a way full of comfort and peace to the people of God even in this world. You may live happy lives in the midst of all the storms and tempests in the world. There is an ark that you may come into, and no men in the world may live such comfortable, cheerful and contented lives as the saints of God. Oh, that we had learned this lesson.

I have spent many sermons over this lesson of contentment, but I am afraid that you will be longer in learning it than I have been preaching of it. It is a harder thing to learn it than it is to preach or speak of it. I remember I have read of one man reading of that place in the 39th Psalm, “I will take heed that I offend not with my tongue.” He said, “I have been these thirty-eight years learning this lesson and have not learned it thoroughly.” The truth is, there are many, I am afraid, who have been professors near eight and thirty years, who have hardly learned this lesson. It would be a good lesson, for young believers to learn this early. But this lesson of Christian contentment is as hard, and perhaps you may be many years learning it. . . . Here is a necessary lesson for a Christian, that Paul said, he had learned in all states therewith to be content. Oh, do not be content with yourselves till you have learned this lesson of Christian contentment.

Excerpted and edited from Jeremiah Burrough’s The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment

The current formatting and editing is copyrighted by Jim Ehrhard, 1999. You are permitted to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that: (1) you credit the author; (2) any modifications are clearly marked; (3) you do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction; and (4) you do not make more than 100 copies without permission. If you would like to post this material to your web site or make any use other than as defined above, please contact Teaching Resources International

Posted in Jeremiah Burroughs |

The Godly Man is a Patient Man by Thomas Watson

January 2, 2010 by ADMIN

Ye have heard of the patience of Job (James 5:11). Patience is a star which shines in a dark night. There is a twofold patience:

1. Patience in waiting.

If a godly man does not obtain his desire immediately, he will wait till the mercy is ripe: “My soul waiteth for the Lord” (Psa. 130:6). There is good reason why God should have the timing of our mercies: “I the Lord will hasten it in his time”(Isa. 60:22). Deliverance may delay beyond our time, but it will not delay beyond God’s time.

Why should we not wait patiently for God? We are servants; it becomes servants to be in a waiting posture. We wait for everything else; we wait for the fire till it burns; we wait for the seed till it grows (Jas. 5:7).

Why cannot we wait for God? God has waited for us (Isa. 30:18). Did he not wait for our repentance? How often did he come year after year before he found fruit? Did God wait for us, and cannot we wait for him? A godly man is content to await God’s leisure; though the vision is delayed, he will wait for it (Hab. 2:3).

2. Patience in bearing trials.

This patience is twofold: (a) Either in regard to man, when we bear injuries without revenging, or (b) in regard to God, when we bear his hand without repining. A good man will not only do God’s will, but bear his will: “I will bear the indignation of the Lord” (Mic. 7:9). This patient bearing of God’s will is not:

(a) A stoical apathy; patience is not insensitivity under God’s hand; we ought to be sensitive.

(b) Enforced patience, to bear a thing because we cannot help it, which (as Erasmus said) is rather necessity than patience. But patience is a cheerful submission of our will to God: “The will of the Lord be done” (Acts 21:14). A godly man acquiesces in what God does, as being not only good but best for himself. The great quarrel between God and us is, Whose will shall stand? Now the regenerate’s will falls in with the will of God. We must be patient when God afflicts any evil on us. “Patient in tribulation” (Romans 12:12).

There are four things opposite to this patient frame of soul:

1. God sometimes lays heavy affliction on his people.

The Hebrew word for “afflicted” signifies “to be melted.” God seems to melt his people in a furnace.

2. God sometimes lays various afflictions on the saints.

As we have various ways of sinning, so the Lord has various ways of afflicting. Some he deprives of their estates; others he chains to a sick bed; others he confines to a prison. God has various arrows in his quiver which he shoots.

3. Sometimes God lets the affliction lie for a long time.

“There is no more any prophet; neither is there among us any that knoweth how long” (Psa. 74:9). As it is with diseases — some are chronic and linger and hang about the body several years on end — so it is with afflictions. The Lord is pleased to exercise many of his precious ones with chronic afflictions, which they suffer for a long time. Now in all these cases, it becomes the saints to rest patiently in the will of God. The Greek word for “patient” is a metaphor and alludes to one who stands invincibly under a burden. This is the right notion of patience, when we bear affliction invincibly without fainting or fretting.

The test of a [ship’s] pilot is seen in a storm; so the test of a Christian is seen in affliction. That man has the right art of navigation who, when the boisterous winds blow from heaven, steers the ship of his soul wisely, and does not dash upon the rock of impatience. A Christian should always maintain decorum, not behaving himself in an unseemly manner or disguising himself with intemperate passion when the hand of God lies upon him. Patience adorns suffering.

Affliction in Scripture is compared to a net: “Thou broughtest us into the net” (Psa. 66:11). Some have escaped the devil’s net, yet the Lord aflows them to be taken in the net of affliction. But they must not be “as a wild bull in a net” (Isa. 51:20), kicking and flinging against their Maker, but lie patiently till God breaks the net and makes a way for their escape. I shall propound four cogent argu ments to encourage patience under those evils which God inflicts on us:

4. Afflictions are for our profit, for our benefit.

“He for our profit” (Heb. 12:10). We pray that God would take such a course with us as may do our souls good. When God is afflicting us, he is hearing our prayers; he does it “for our profit.” Not that afflictions in themselves profit us, but as God’s Spirit works with them. For as the waters of Bethesda could not give health of themselves unless the angel descended and stirred them (John 5:4), so the waters of affliction are not in themselves healing till God’s Spirit co-operates and sanctifies them to us. Afflictions are profitable in many ways:

(i) They make men sober and wise. Physicians have mental patients bound in chains and put on a frugal diet to bring them to the use of reason. Many run stark mad in prosperity; they know neither God nor themselves. The Lord therefore binds them with cords of affliction, so that he may bring them to their right minds. “If they be held in cords of affliction, then he sheweth them their transgressions. He openeth also their ear to discipline” Job 36:8-10).

(iii) They augment grace. The people of God are beholden to their troubles; they would never have had so much grace, if they had not met with such severe trials. Now the waters run and the spices flow forth. The saints thrive by affliction as the Lacedemonians grew rich by war. God makes grace flourish most in the fall of the leaf.

(iii) Afflictions quicken our pace on the way to heaven. It is with us as with children sent on an errand. If they meet with apples or flowers by the way, they linger and are in no great hurry to get home, but if anything frightens them, then they run with all the speed they can to their father’s house. So in prosperity, we gather the apples and flowers and do not give much thought to heaven, but if troubles begin to arise and the times grow frightful, then we make more haste to heaven and with David “run the way of God’s commandments” (Psa. 119:32).

(iv) God intermixes mercy with affliction. He steeps his sword of justice in the oil of mercy. There was no night so dark but Israel had a pillar of fire in it. There is no condition so dismal but we may see a pillar of fire to give us light. If the body is in pain and conscience is at peace, there is mercy. Affliction is for the prevention of sin; there is mercy. In the ark there was “a rod and a pot of manna,” the emblem of a Christian’s condition: “mercy interlined with judgment” (Psa. 101:1). Here is the rod and manna.

(v) Patience proves that there is much of God in the heart. Patience is one of God’s titles: “the God of patience” (Rom.15:5). If you have your heart cast in this blessed mold, it is a sign that God has imparted much of his own nature to you; you shine with some of his beams.

Impatience proves that there is much unsoundness of heart. If the body is of such a type that every little scratch of a pin makes the flesh fester, you say, “Surely this man’s flesh is very unsound.” So impatience with every petty annoyance and quarreling with providence is the sign of a disturbed Christian. If there is any grace in such a heart, they who can see it must have good eyes. But he who is of a patient spirit is a graduate in religion and participates in much of the divine nature.

(vi) The end of affliction is glorious. The Jews were captive in Babylon but what was the end? They departed from Babylon with vessels of silver, gold and precious things (Ezra 1:6). So, what is the end of affliction? It ends in endless glory (Acts 14:22; 2 Cor. 4:17). How this may rock our impatient hearts quiet! Who would not willingly travel along a little dirty path and ploughed lands, at the end of which is a fair meadow and in that meadow a goldmine?

Question: How shall I get my heart tuned to a patient mood?

Answer: Get faith; all our impatience proceeds from unbelief. Faith is the breeder of patience. When a storm of passion begins to arise, faith says to the heart, as Christ did to the sea, “Peace, be still,” and there is at once a calm.

Question: How does faith work patience?

Answer: Faith argues the soul into patience. Faith is like that town clerk in Ephesus who allayed the contention of the multitude and argued them soberly into peace (Acts 19:35,36). So when impatience begins to clamor and make a hubbub in the soul, faith appeases the tumult and argues the soul into holy patience.

Faith says, “Why art thou disquieted, Oh my soul?” (Psa. 42:5). Are you affficted? Is it not your Father who has done it? He is carving and polishing you and making you fit for glory. He smites that he may save. What is your trial? Is it sickness? God shakes the tree of your body so that some fruit may fall, even “the peaceable fruit of righteousness” (Heb. 12:11). Are you driven from your home? God has prepared a city for you (Heb. 11:16). Do you suffer reproach for Christ’s sake? “The spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you” (1 Pet. 4:14). Thus faith argues and disputes the soul into patience.

Pray to God for patience. Patience is a flower of God’s planting. Pray that it may grow in your heart, and send forth its sweet perfume.

From The Godly Man’s Picture: Drawn with a Scripture Pencil

The current formatting and editing is copyrighted by Jim Ehrhard, 1999. You are permitted to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that: (1) you credit the author; (2) any modifications are clearly marked; (3) you do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction; and (4) you do not make more than 100 copies without permission. If you would like to post this material to your web site or make any use other than as defined above, please contact Teaching Resources International

Posted in Thomas Watson |

Blessings in Persecution by Jim Ehrhard

January 2, 2010 by ADMIN

Everyone who reads the Beatitudes comes away amazed and impressed with their depth and their insights. Even non-believers attest that the Sermon on the Mount in general and the Beatitudes in particular provide the greatest teaching ever. Even liberal scholarship considers this section to contain the essence of true religion.

But whenever one undertakes to examine what Jesus is saying in the Beatitudes, the response is usually the opposite. While they will agree that Jesus has described the character for which all humans should strive, their response toward those who seek to live that lifestyle is one of unmitigated anger and often direct persecution. In other words, while they may applaud the characteristics Jesus mentions, they quickly seek to dishonor and even destroy those who come closest to living according to it.

Why is this? First, we all love to place some ideal upon a pedestal. But whenever that ideal becomes the measuring rod that shows us how far we personally fall from the ideal, we tend to respond by trying to show the flaws in the ideal rather than conforming our lives to it. Why were the Pharisees the chief protagonists of Jesus? Simply because they claimed to live a purified life and were exposed as unpure whenever they were around the true purity of Jesus. They tried to discredit Him and, when they could not, they decided to remove Him by death. In John 15:18-25, Jesus reminded his disciples, “If the world hates you, know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own kind. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. . . . But this happened that the word might be fulfilled which is written in their law, ‘They hated me without a cause.’” They persecuted Jesus because He reminded them that they were not “okay” spiritually. Those whose lives begin to reflect the Beatitudes will not be applauded; they will be persecuted.

Secondly, and closely related, is that the Beatitudes are applauded in general, but detested in specifics. For example, while people think highly of “the poor in spirit,” when that characteristic is examined honestly, it stands in contrast to the pride and self-interest that dominates the lives of those without Christ. Likewise, mourning over sin is not well received in a society that tends to laugh at sin. Furthermore, “blessed are the meek” does not fare well in a society that honors power. And everyone likes “righteousness,” just as long as you don’t become fanatical about it; which is what Jesus means when He says to “hunger and thirst after righteousness.” In other words, the very characteristics found in the Beatitudes, when properly understood, mitigate against the very core desires of the world. Those who would seek to live according to the Beatitudes should expect that persecution will follow: they are going contrary to the ways of the world. In short, all the virtues of the Beatitudes are intolerable in this world.

Jesus Tells Us about the Persecution which is Blessed

First, this beatitude tells us about the reality of persecution. American Christians have a great tendency to forget that persecution is a normal part of the believer’s life. Living in a land that invented the “health, wealth, and prosperity gospel,” we have come to think that only good things happen to Christians who are really following Jesus. Yet for Christians living in New Testament times, the opposite would have been the norm. (Read Hebrews 10:32-34 for a small example of their treatment.)

Jesus never promised His followers that they would be free from persecution. In fact, as we read in John 15, He prepared them for the persecution that would come. The apostle Paul did the same. In Acts 14:22 , Paul tells new believers to continue in the faith, saying, “we must through many tribulations enter the kingdom.” Paul encouraged the Phillipians by telling them, “to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake.” In 1 Thessalonians 3:1-4, he reminds the believers not to be surprised by sufferings because he told them beforehand that “we would suffer tribulation.” 2 Timothy 3:12 reminds them that “all who intend to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.” Everything in the NT stands against the idea of health, wealth and prosperity for those who follow Christ. Instead, believers are reminded that suffering for Christ is not only normal, it is a privilege.

But Jesus also clarified the type of suffering that would be blessed: for His sake. This excludes a number of types of suffering for which no promise of blessing is offered. It does not include just “going through a hard time.” Neither can we expect to be blessed when we are persecuted for the wrongs that we do. In 1 Peter 2:20-21, Peter makes it clear that, if we have done something wrong and we suffer, it is no blessing to us–we suffer justly.

Likewise, we are promised no blessing from Jesus when we suffer for any “just cause” but only when we suffer for His cause. His blessing is promised only when we suffer for being His and only when we suffer because of living righteously for Him.

Jesus Tells Us about the Blessing that is Promised.

In this Beatitude, Jesus tells us that we are blessed in two ways when we suffer for Him. First, we are blessed because the kingdom of heaven is ours. Notice that He does not say, “will be yours.” The Christian who suffers can rejoice no matter what the suffering may be because he is already promised the greatest blessing that anyone could ever receive: the gift of heaven. If you think this is not true, just consider this–If you were experiencing a great suffering and God said to you, “Give up eternal life and I’ll eliminate this suffering,” would you do it? Why not? Because no suffering is so great that it overshadows the “glory to be revealed in us.” We have already been blessed abundantly and have great reason to rejoice no matter what may befall us–the kingdom of heaven is ours!

Second, our reward for suffering properly will be great. In other words, do a comparison of your suffering with your reward and you will see how your blessing is greater than your suffering. Compare their lengths: your suffering is for a short while; your reward is for eternity. Compare their size: your suffering, no matter how great, is insignificant compared with your reward. Remember Paul’s proclamation in Romans 8:18: “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present age are not worthy to be compared to the glory to be revealed in us.” After listing all his hardships in 1 Corinthians 4, Paul comes to a conclusion: “For our momentary light affliction is working for us an exceedingly great and eternal weight of glory.” In other words, Paul had learned to place his future reward for suffering faithfully on one side of the scale and his present suffering on the other side of the scale. The reward always enormously outweighed the suffering. The reward was GREAT in comparison to his suffering.

Jesus Also Shows the Posture with which We Should Face Suffering.

He tells us to “Rejoice and be exceedingly glad!” This rules out some of the responses that people normally make. First, we cannot respond with retaliation when we experience persecution. 1 Peter 3:9 reminds us: “Not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling; but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you are called for this that you may inherit a blessing.” Peter also points us to the example of Jesus when He endured suffering: “who when He was reviled, did not revile in return: when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges rightly” (1 Peter 2:23).

Secondly, we cannot respond with resentment when persecuted. At times it may be easy to hold back on any retaliation, but inwardly we can seethe with resentment. Throughout the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus reminds us that our inward thoughts will be judged just as much as our outward actions. He who is angry with his brother in his heart is as guilty as is the murderer who retaliates physically. During persecution, we must guard our hearts against retaliation.

Finally, we must not respond with resignation. We are told to “Rejoice,” not to sit and sulk. When the disciples were persecuted in the Acts 5, they rejoiced because God had counted them worthy to suffer for His name’s sake. We will be better able to rejoice if we remember that our suffering is (1) an indication that we are truly His (Phil. 1:28-29); (2) a reminder that God has plans for our lives (Acts 5:40-42); and (3) a reminder that nothing we experience now compares with the glory we will one day receive (Rom. 8:17). William Gurnall reminds us that “a merchant at sea endures the storms because he knows what a great payoff he will receive when he arrives in the harbour.” We too must remember the great reward that awaits those who suffer for His sake. It will enable us to endure any storms that we might face as we journey through this world.

How Can We Live According to this Beatitude?

First, be different. All of the beatitudes are a call for believers to be different and distinct from the world in which they live. We are to be different in our assessment of ourselves (“poor in spirit”); different in our sense of sorrow over sin (“those who sorrow”); different in our desire for righteousness (“hunger and thirst”). In terms of our suffering, we are to handle it differently than non-believers. Often how we suffer can be our greatest testimony for Jesus. Anyone can rejoice when things are going well. When a believer is enduring suffering and yet rejoicing, the world takes notice.

Second, be controlled. Like our Savior, learn to commit yourself “to one who judges rightly.” Recognize that “vengeance is mine, says the Lord, I will repay.” It is not our job to repay — the Lord will one day make all matters right. We must resist attempts to take matters into our own hand and instead entrust ourselves to the Lord.

Third, be focused. If we are to suffer properly, we must learn to have an eternal focus rather than an earthly one. When Chrysostom stood before the Emperor Arcadius and was threatened with banishment, he displayed an eternal perspective:

“Sire, you cannot banish me, for the whole world is my Father’s home.” “Then I will slay you!” responded the emperor. “Nay, but you cannot, for my life is hid with Christ in God.” “Then your treasures will be confiscated!” “Sire, that cannot be. My treasures are in heaven where none can break through and steal.” “But I will drive you from man and you will have no friends left!” “That you cannot do either, for I have a friend in heaven who has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’”

The Beatitudes continually point us to Jesus; to His righteousness, not ours; to His life in us, not our efforts to be like Him. The Christian life cannot be lived through human efforts; it must be received: “For as many as received Him, He gave to them the right to become the children of God, even to those who believed on His name.” You cannot simply imitate these characteristics; you must receive Jesus as your Savior.

Many assume that if they receive Jesus and imitate Him, people will admire and love them. Not so. If you decide to become Christlike, to truly follow Jesus in every area if you life, people will hate you, and often even persecute you. But, if you are a child of God, you have reason to rejoice exceedingly. You have eternal life. You have forgiveness of sin. You have His life in you. You have promise of great reward.

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when men revile you and say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake. Rejoice and be glad for great is your reward in heaven, for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.”

Copyright Jim Ehrhard, 1999. You are permitted to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that: (1) you credit the author; (2) any modifications are clearly marked; (3) you do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction; and (4) you do not make more than 100 copies without permission. If you would like to post this material to your web site or make any use other than as defined above, please contact Teaching Resources International

Posted in Jim Ehrhard |

From Our Hearts by Jim & Debbie Ehrhard

January 2, 2010 by ADMIN

This edition of Teaching Resources begins a study of the Beatitudes. In the Beatitudes, we find something of the true nature of a Christian. They are each meant to humble us and show us how great is our constant need of His grace to live a life that pleases Him. In this issue, we will focus on the first two beatitudes. In subsequent issues, we hope to provide articles on two more with each issue. We have included contemporary articles by the editor as well as articles by A. W. Pink and Thomas Watson. Both of these authors have written much on the Beatitudes. We are only able to provide you with some gleanings in this resource.

We have also included J. C. Ryle’s “Suppose an Unholy Man Went to Heaven.” It is our hope that you will read this article carefully if you have any questions about whether a believer needs to be holy in this life. John Calvin put it this way: “It is faith alone that justifies, but faith that justifies is never alone.” William Gurnall’s “The Christian’s Call to Holiness” also speaks to this matter.

This month, we also begin a series of articles form Thomas Watson’s All Things for Good. Many wonder how this could be true. Others question how things like sin and evil in the world can be used by God for good. We hope this series of articles from the pen of Watson will help to answer many of these questions.

We give thanks for all the encouraging letter that have been sent. While our time is short with Jim being in school now and Debbie working, we are encouraged to continue this work that seems to be benefiting many. Continue to pray for us that we may be both faithful and effective in this ministry. Thanks for your prayers, support and letters of encouragement!

By His Grace,

Jim & Debbie

Posted in Uncategorized |

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »