Monday Devotion - 15th June 2020
Scripture: Philippians 1:27-30
27 Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, 28 and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. 29 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, 30 engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.
There is a version of Christianity that pervades mainstream television and online services which is fixated on offering a wholly positive message. It is an easily digested message. But therein lies the problem. It obtains little depth or substance.
Within this strand of Christianity, you will from time to time hear a fleeting reference to the purpose of pain and suffering. Naturally, human beings do not want to hear about that stuff. That topic doesn’t fill auditoriums or drives people to give more. So the conversation is usually brief and usually passes suffering off as something out of the realms of Christian living. As a matter of fact, many propose that suffering and pain is due to a lack of faith.
Anyone with more than an ounce of biblical knowledge, or even common sense, will immediately sniff the deception surrounding this message. Fundamentally, it is an anti-christian message that increases the chance of damning a person to Hell, rather than saving their soul for Heaven.
Back to suffering…
Nevertheless, the Apostle Paul returns to the topic of suffering and we aren’t even out of chapter 1. We may subconsciously grind our teeth as to why Paul keeps bringing this topic up. Can he not mention it and move on? Can he not focus on something more cheerful?
However, suffering is a crucial topic for Paul for three reasons. Suffering was the current reality for the Philippians, it wasn’t going away and to underline its significance, it is an experience that often can make or break an individuals faith.
There are three things to notice in verse 29.
“Are we going to suffer as a Christian and for the sake of our saviour? Or are we going to suffer in desperate and meaningless isolation, void of hope?”
The first thing we need to notice is that the Philippians, for the sake of Christ have been granted saving faith in him. This is the starting block for Paul. You can’t suffer for Christ unless you belong to Christ. And this serves as a powerful reminder that our salvation is a means of grace. As Christians, we have been given the gift of faith by God. We haven’t earned our way to God. Nothing we could do would ever qualify us for Heaven. Rather God breathes new life into spiritually dead bodies and we are thus born again. Alive in Christ.
Then comes the suffering. It is for the sake of Christ that we suffer. There are simply way too many proposals and ideas to put forward right now to convince you that suffering for Christ is a better way to live than any other way. So let me simply suggest a couple. Regardless of whether you believe in Jesus or not; pain, isolation, anxiety, turmoil, loss will invade your world at one point. So the choice for all of us is straightforward; are we going to suffer as a Christian and for the sake of our saviour? Or are we going to suffer in desperate and meaningless isolation, void of hope?
This is where Christianity majestically differs in comparison to any other religion or worldview. The Bible presents a reason and purpose for suffering. That even in pain God is still working and active to bring to fruition his purposes for our good and his glory.
Though the third thing to notice is important and something we could quickly overlook. It is the fact that Paul is addressing a church. He is not speaking to one individual in theses verse but to a collective body. And that is our final point. To suffer as a Christian is never a solo project. It is done in community. When one part of the body suffers, the whole body suffers. And this should encourage you as you think of your circumstances. Whether you are in the midst of pain and trouble or have gone through it, you were not alone. The church is called to pray, to come alongside, to support, to mourn, to extend compassion to those who hurt. Especially those within the body.
To suffer for Christ really is an honour. We get to exemplify to a watching world how to suffer well and in doing so point to the one who ultimately suffered on a Roman cross for the sins of every single person, and therein offers us eternal hope.