![]() ![]() ![]() They say, "I can't buy that! Do you mean to say that God is telling me that when I am hurting and in pain, going through mental and physical torment, I am expected to be glad and happy and rejoice in that? What kind of a nut is this Paul, anyway? It's not human, not natural!" There are many who feel this way. ![]() These are the sufferings that we might go through, the tribulations.Īccording to Romans 5, the Christian response to suffering is to rejoice: "Not only so, but we rejoice in our sufferings." Here is where many people balk. The Greek word for suffering, basically, is translated as "tribulation, something that causes distress." It can range from minor annoyances that we go through every day, to major disasters that come sweeping down out of the blue and leave us stricken and smitten. So those who think that becoming a Christian will remove them from suffering have been seriously misled and self-deceived, for the Scriptures themselves teach that we are to expect suffering. In his letter to the Philippians, Chapter 1, Verse 29, the Apostle Paul puts it very plainly, "For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake," (Philippians 1:29 RSV). We don't like that fact, but, nevertheless, it is a fact. It is clear from this that Christians are expected to experience suffering. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance perseverance, character and character, hope. Not only is this so, but there is something more, and this is the topic we take up now in Verses 3-5: That is the initial and introductory phase of Christian growth. We have a hope for the future, a hope beyond death. We rejoice because we are going to be with the Lord. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access into this grace in which we now stand. As we have already seen, these results come in various stages, or levels of maturity. If you have been justified by faith, then certain results will be obtained. Chapter 5, as you remember, deals with the results that come in a Christian's life when he truly and genuinely believes that God has given him the gift of righteousness in Jesus Christ our Lord. The theme for this study from the fifth chapter of Romans is how to handle Christian suffering. And yet I suppose there is no question that is more difficult for us to handle than this one. Suffering is something that all Christians are called to experience in one way or another. So if some of you are going through difficulty or danger, you are not alone. ![]() I share this with you to let you know that our brothers on the East coast have as much trouble as we do. I was simply amazed at the number of people struggling with severe problems. I met others who were battling with cancer. I met another man whose son is so mentally disturbed that he has to be kept in a very expensive hospital for treatment which costs $50,000 a year. He began to learn things that he had never learned before. This man and his wife managed to survive that terrible time, but I heard him speak to a group of men about it, and he said that God had gotten his attention through that ordeal. They both managed to escape and called the police, who came and took their son to a mental hospital. When the mother tried to crawl away, the boy shot her a second time. Without a word, he suddenly shot them both. I met a man who was in bed with his wife one morning a year or so ago, when their teenage son suddenly appeared in the doorway with a gun in his hand. But one thing that impressed me was the number of people who were going through very severe trials and suffering. When I was in Virginia this past week, I met a number of wonderful Christians - some of whom I had met before, others who were new to me. ![]()
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