Suffering for Christ
When we serve our Lord Jesus Christ faithfully,
we should expect difficult challenges
that may at times create
intense times of persecution.
Here's Gene:
This Principle is directly related
to Principle 2 here in 2nd Timothy,
which I called, Identifying with Christ.
And it's based upon
2nd Timothy chapter 1, verse 8,
where Paul (said) wrote to Timothy
in the midst of his difficult situation,
in the midst of persecution in terms of
all that he was facing
with these false teachers. He said:
[Timothy,] so don't be ashamed
of the testimony about our Lord,
or of me his prisoner.
Instead, share in suffering for the gospel,
relying on the power of God.
You see, Timothy was facing incredible persecution.
He was a relatively young man.
Paul was in prison,
or just got out of prison the first time.
And the tendency was to be ashamed
to be identified--because of fear
of all that he was facing.
And so Paul challenged him.
And what happens here in 2nd Timothy,
he picks up that same theme.
That's why I say this Principle
we just read is related to
Principle number 2 in terms of
identifying with Jesus Christ
and identifying with his sufferings.
And so Paul uses three metaphors.
And the first metaphor, I call it A Good Soldier,
because that's what Paul was referring to.
And keep in mind now,
he's now in a dungeon.
And outside of that dungeon is a Roman soldier.
And who's guarding him, even though
he's in that inner dungeon.
So Paul had a reflection of what it means
to be a Roman soldier who is
responding to his commander.
And so he says this:
Share in suffering as a good soldier
of Christ Jesus. ...
He uses that metaphor--
that somewhat negative experiential metaphor
of the soldier that is there--
to refer to being a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
...No one serving as a soldier gets entangled
in the concerns of civilian life;
he seeks to please the commanding officer.
Now of course, the commanding officer
here is Jesus Christ.
But as I was reflecting on this,
I remembered visiting a World War II museum.
That featured Normandy.
It featured D-Day.
It featured the time when the
American soldiers and French soldiers
and British soldiers were hitting
the beaches of Normandy in that
incredible, incredible situation.
A hundred and fifty thousand soldiers,
knowing they were going into harm's way.
But they were responding--
they were responding in strength
and courage to their commanding officer
who happened to be Dwight Eisenhower.
And Dwight Eisenhower wrote them a letter--
in part he said this:
You are about to embark upon
the Great Crusade. . . .
Your task will not be an easy one.
Your enemy is well trained,
well-equipped and battle hardened.
He will fight savagely. . . .
I have full confidence in your courage
and devotion to duty and skill in battle.
We will accept nothing less than full Victory!
And we had full victory. But there were
a lot of men lost their lives
in that particular situation.
But they were good soldiers,
responding to their commanding officer.
And so Paul is using that as a metaphor.
We're to be good soldiers, responding to
our commanding officer, Jesus Christ.
Regardless of the challenges
and the problems we face,
we're responding to the one
who has charged us, commanded us.
And who said:
I will never leave you or forsake you.
The second metaphor he uses
is a competing athlete.
And he goes on to say:
Also, if anyone competes as an athlete,
he is not crowned unless he
competes according to the rules.
And here, Paul really is referring
to the Olympic games or in Corinth
the Isthmian games, which were there in Corinth.
These games of all sorts of competition.
And so he's drawing on this metaphor.
And he said:
You've got to compete according to the rules,
in order to receive the crown.
So Timothy, follow your commander
but also be a good athlete, as it were,
in running the race.
And in Hebrews we have a
very specific reference to this metaphor.
And a very specific reference
to a part of the games--the race.
And so the author of Hebrews said:
Therefore, since we also have such
a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us,
let us lay aside every hindrance
and the sin that so easily ensnares us. ...
You see how he moves from the metaphor
right into the application of that metaphor
in terms of the race that we're in.
And removing anything that will hinder us
from running that race.
Just as a runner removes everything
to keep them from running
that race victoriously.
...Let us run with endurance
the race that lies before us,
keeping our eyes on Jesus,
the source and perfecter of our faith.
For the joy that lay before him,
he endured the cross, despising the shame,
and sat down at the right hand
of the throne of God.
On one occasion I had the privilege
of being in what is now Turkey.
And here basically is a stadium
that has been unearthed and preserved.
And I had the wonderful privilege
of standing at the base of that stadium
with people that were on our trip
and reading from this passage of Scripture.
And maybe the author of Hebrews
had this particular visual in mind
when he wrote these words.
An incredible experience,
a beautiful illustration.
And as he wrote these words
and he referred to the witnesses.
Who were the witnesses?
Well imagine in that stadium
was Moses, was Abraham, was Isaac,
Jacob, Sarah, Joseph.
You see, these are all the people that are
mentioned in Hebrews chapter 11.
And when he comes to chapter 12, he says:
Therefore, you run the race within view
of this great cloud of witnesses.
All these individuals that have been
mentioned in Hebrews chapter 11.
They're there cheering us on, as it were,
to run the race victoriously.
And then Paul uses a third metaphor:
the hardworking farmer.
And he says this, verse 6 here in chapter 2:
The hardworking farmer ought to be
the first to get a share of the crops. ...
In other words, Timothy, there are rewards
for being a faithful farmer, as it were.
A faithful soldier, a faithful athlete.
...Consider what I say, for the Lord will
give you understanding in everything.
And there Paul is referring to the
rewards and the crowns that we will
receive someday because of our faithfulness.
He's talking about eternal rewards.
He's not talking about salvation, per se.
He's talking about the result
of our faithfulness in being
a good soldier, a faithful athlete,
a hardworking farmer.
And if we could jump ahead
to the end of this letter,
Paul really illustrates in his own life,
mixing the metaphors with the reality
of what's going to happen to him.
And he said this:
I have fought the good fight...
That was a part of the games.
...I have fought the good fight,
I have finished the race...
There he's referring to the same metaphor
as the author of Hebrews:
...[in reality] I have kept the faith.
There is reserved for me
the crown of righteousness...
That's not referring to salvation.
He has salvation.
But that's a reward for being faithful.
...There is reserved for me the crown of righteousness,
which the Lord, the righteous Judge,
will give me on that day, and not only to me,
but to all those who have loved his appearing.
In other words, when Jesus comes
and we meet him, if we have loved his appearing,
we too will receive the crown of righteousness.
A reward for our faithfulness
to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Interesting question when it comes to suffering:
If we are living in a culture
that provides freedom to worship God freely,
how can we keep from
taking this blessing for granted?
Well here's an encouraging statement:
We can thank God that it's not the will of God
for most of us believers to suffer.
That's not his will.
But it is his will, and was his will,
for certain individuals to suffer.
For example, Paul.
And we read that in Acts 9
when he became a believer.
And Paul's suffering is predicted
when the Lord said to Ananias:
But the Lord said to him, [Ananias,]
"Go, for this man [Paul] is my chosen instrument
to take my name to Gentiles,
kings, and Israelites.
I will show him how much
he must suffer for my name."
And he suffered.
And he's writing this letter.
He's in a Roman prison waiting
for the sentence of death.
He suffered.
Others of the apostles suffered:
James who was the brother of John.
Who was beheaded early on
in the church for his faithfulness.
In the Roman Empire, he was
beheaded by the [emperor]--
not the emperor but the king.
Peter--we don't have a record of his death
but there's a pretty good historical projection
that he was crucified upside-down in Rome.
Because he didn't feel worthy to be
crucified right-side-up like Jesus.
These men suffered.
But the good news is, for us, we may suffer
but it's not really God's will for us
to suffer, generally speaking.
Because in 1st Timothy we're told to pray
so that we can have freedom from persecution.
In 1st Timothy, going back into
his first letter, chapter 2:
First of all, then, I urge that petitions,
prayers, intercessions,
[and] thanksgivings be made for everyone,
for kings and all those
who are in authority, [Why?]
so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life
in all godliness and dignity. ...
That's God's will.
Now it doesn't always happen that way.
And there are periods of suffering
throughout church history.
And it certainly began in the first century
with those who were called
to spread the gospel,
such as the apostles and Paul himself.
But he goes on to say:
You see, we should pray that we're
free from suffering and persecution
because we are able in that context
to communicate the gospel of Jesus Christ.
And he goes on to say:
This is good...
That we have this tranquil
and peaceful environment:
...This is good, and it pleases God our Savior,
who wants everyone to be saved
and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
In other words, more people are
going to come to Christ in a
peaceful environment than
an environment that is filled
with hostility and suffering.
Now we've seen many times people respond.
For example, in mainland China
under the terrible persecution
of the communist regime.
When millions of people were slaughtered.
And yet the church survived.
And it grew.
And it was amazing at the end of that persecution
how the church had grown.
But the moment freedom
began to be opened in mainland China,
millions and millions more people
came to Christ under a more peaceful
regime than persecution.
So yes, there is suffering.
And we are to be faithful.
And one of the things we have
to be very careful of:
We don't take for granted
the freedom that we have.
And I think periodically, even in our own culture,
there are things that happen to remind us
of the freedom that we have,
and not to take it for granted.
And let's remember this incredible exhortation:
To continue to pray for all those in authority,
so we'll continue to have this environment
in which we can communicate
the gospel of Jesus Christ.