The Revelatory Purpose of Christian Suffering

Welcome to Part 3 of our discussion on the issue of suffering well in response to claims of many of those who call themselves teachers today who say that suffering is never God's will for the Christian.

Nope, nope, nope. Don't you believe those naysayers who say that God's making you do this, making you go through this so that you can learn something to make you stronger so he can use it? No!

In Parts 1 and 2 we were introduced to the martyrdom of Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley and we covered the realistic paradox and the refining purification of Christian suffering and today for our final part we are going to look at the revelatory purpose of Christian suffering from 1 Peter 1, verses 6 and 7.

So if you haven't seen the first two parts, go watch those first and then come back to this video. In Part 1 we asked how do we suffer well and found the answer to be in that realistic paradox of the Christian life that though we are distressed by various trials, we rejoice with an eternal joy.

In Part 2 we asked why do we suffer well and found the answer to be for the proving of your precious and imperishable faith. Again Peter writes, In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

And so thirdly let me call your attention to the revelatory purpose of Christian suffering. What is the result of suffering well? Peter says that it may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Two important observations here, a gracious commendation and a glorious consummation. Consider a gracious commendation. After your faith is tried and tested and proven, it will be found by the Lord. Peter remembers that parable that Jesus spoke recorded in Luke 18 about the persistent widow bringing her request to the unrighteous judge who eventually grants it.

And Jesus says, Will not God bring about justice for his elect who cry to him day and night? And will he delay long over them? I tell you he will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?

Jesus Christ comes back to execute vengeance on your behalf, to right every wrong committed against you, to avenge every injustice under which you suffer. He will avenge the martyrdom of Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley and yours also if you are granted that privilege.

But he asked this question, will he find faith on the earth? From this we can discern three things. We can discern that he, one, searches for faith, that upon his revelation he looks for faith as a man looks for the gold as he pulls it out of the furnace to see how it shines.

We can discern, secondly, that he knows to expect weak faith, that we are men and women often of little faith. And we can discern, third, that even though your faith be weak and brittle and frail and lacking, he will find it.

And the result of your suffering well is praise, glory, and honor. Now upon the surface reading of this text, we might assume that this praise and glory and honor is coming from us and is directed towards Jesus Christ, but that is not what Peter means.

Instead, this is a gracious commendation. The Lord graciously commends you. He says praise. First Corinthians 4 .5 says,. Do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men's hearts.

And then each man's praise will come to him from God. Should your faith endure, you will hear at the revelation of Jesus Christ,. Well done, my good and faithful servant. We will receive praise from the Lord.

Says glory. Second Corinthians 4 .17 says,. For this momentary light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison. There is glory. There is for you even a crown.

Peter writes in chapter five, verse four, that when Christ appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. But listen to Revelation 2 .10,. Do not fear what you are about to suffer. You will be tested and have tribulation.

Be faithful unto death and I will give you the crown of life. Revelation 3 .11,. I am coming quickly. Hold fast what you have so that no one will take your crown. There is glory from the Lord and honor.

Should you suffer, well, the Lord Jesus, when he comes and finds your faith, will honor you and say as he does in Matthew 25,. You were faithful with a few things. I will put you in charge of many things.

Enter into the joy of your master. Praise and honor and glory. But all of this is of grace. Who are we to be commended? Even the faith that we have, he authored it. It is the gift of God. Our endurance is his doing.

All is of grace. Once every commendation is completely undeserved. But it is as though he takes every trial, which came from his own hand, and he transforms them into a jewel for your crown. A crown which we then cast at his glorious feet, which brings us to the glorious consummation.

He says that our suffering, well, will be found the result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. You may be in a trial now and you cannot comprehend how any good can come of it.

You may have gone through painful testing and you cannot see the reason why. And you ask, how is this trial work for good? You may not see it. It may not be apparent to you, not for a little while, but you will at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

You will. And know this. The more you have been tried, the more bright you shall appear at Christ's revelation. It will be a glorious consummation. We will be revealed as gold from the fire. Paul says, For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. And at this glorious consummation there will be no more suffering. We will wipe away every tear from our eyes and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore.

The former things will pass away and he will make all things new. Dear friend, are you suffering? Remember that it results in an undeserved crown graciously bestowed by him who will put an end to every trial when he comes again for you.

Maybe you are not suffering right now. Maybe you have never suffered for the cause of Christ. Are you ready to? Are you prepared? John Fox reports that Hugh Latimer ever affirmed that the preaching of the gospel would cost him his life, to which he cheerfully prepared himself.

Obviously, understanding this text helps to prepare us for suffering. And so a knowledge of the word is of first importance. But I'll offer you a few practical things that you can begin to do. First, begin to wean yourself from the world.

Anything that you need in your life that isn't Christ or his church or your family, distance yourself from these things. Wean yourself off of these things. If you're a young man and you discern in your heart upon an honest searching that for whatever reason you need a certain thing, or maybe it's a certain standard of living, or maybe it's someone's approval, but begin to distance yourself from those things.

And you say, well, hey, I don't actually really need this thing. But look at the pattern of your life. Take an honest look at your heart. Do you need it? And wean yourself away from that so that you no longer need those things.

You only need Christ because in reality, Christ is all you have. And that is never more clear than in the midst of suffering. Another thing that helps you to prepare to suffer is to begin to do uncomfortable things.

That could mean rising 20 minutes earlier to pray, but it could also be physical stuff because the spiritual and the physical are not disconnected. It could be as simple as going to the gym or purposing to fast once a week.

And some men begin their day with a cold shower, not because they prefer cold showers, but because they know that it is beneficial to begin their day doing something hard. And so beginning to do uncomfortable things prepares us for suffering.

But the third way to become prepared for suffering is to sympathize with those who suffer. Enter into one another's pain, bear one another's burdens as the scripture commands us to as God's church, and you will enter also into one another's joy.

Finally, study theology. Know God. Know his word. Know him. Study who he is. Become intimately familiar with his attributes, his character. You will not be equipped to suffer well if you have misconceptions about who God is in his sovereignty, in his love, in his patience, in his faithfulness.

So there are some things you can do to prepare for suffering, but in reality, are we ever really prepared? We can read inspiring stories about men in the past, but nobody will write about most of us. We can never be fully prepared and suffer as well as we should.

Our faith is tried and is often found weak. That is why we must look to Christ. Jesus suffered well. He set his face like flint. His faith never failed. He embraced his cross and suffered not a mere light affliction, no mere burning at the stake and being slowly cooked and finally consumed in flame.

That's nothing. Jesus suffered the wrath of God. If you are not a Christian, Jesus promises that if you come to him, you will suffer in this life, but you will not suffer the wrath of God because he has suffered it in your place.

Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. He is worth every trial. Because Jesus suffered well, we must embrace the suffering to which he has called us. The night before he suffered execution, Mr. Ridley said to those in his company with a joyful countenance, tomorrow I must be married and showed himself to be as merry as ever he was at any time before.

One man offered to stay awake and watch with him all night, but he said, no, no, that you shall not, for I mind God willing to go to bed and to sleep as quietly tonight as ever I did in my life.