Rejoicing in Suffering - sermon notes

“Not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings…”  Rom 5:3

Intro: Last week I watched a documentary about the 10 best UFO sightings. These are the most accurate, clearly documented cases on record. Still, most people find UFOs unbelievable. They just can’t be true.

        Maybe you feel the same way about today’s Scripture. Rejoice in suffering? How can that be? It’s just not possible. Yet, like the UFOs, there is evidence to support the outrageous claim.

        Paul begins verse 3 with the phrase, “Not only that…” Not only what? He has just finished saying that “we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God.” We talked quite a bit about that last week, what it means to boast or rejoice in hope. Today, Paul says, we boast about something else, something quite unexpected. We Boast in our Suffering.

1. The Problem of Suffering

One of the most difficult issues for people struggling to believe in God.

Theodicy – If God is good, and all powerful, why do people suffer? Tragedy like 9/11 or car accident that takes a loved one; natural disaster like Joplin tornado, or Pacific tsunami that killed 250,000 people. Where was God?

2. The Purpose of Suffering

-Suffering can be a corrective. Sometimes God uses suffering to get us back on to the path of righteousness when we have strayed from it. Like a parent that punishes a child, not out of joy, but to discipline. We even do it to ourselves like athletes who train. They suffer but it is for a purpose. “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives” (Hebrews 12:5-6).

-Suffering can be to Glorify God. That seems harsh. How can that be?
Think of the story in John 9, where a man was healed who had been blind from birth. This man was sitting at one of the gates of the temple when Jesus and his disciples passed by. The disciples assumed that he was suffering so that God could correct some sin in his life. They asked Jesus, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” (John 9:2). Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.” (John 9:3). Jesus said that the reason for the man’s blindness was so that God could be glorified in this man’s life.

-Suffering can be the result of Spiritual warfare. Think of the story of Job. He was happy and blessed until Satan accused God of favoritism. God said Job would be faithful no matter what, so Satan set out to find out. He brought all manner of suffering on Job, just to see if he would turn his back on God. He did not. God was right. Go figure.

        You could also include in this, the idea of the consequences of our actions. If I make bad choices, bad things will likely ensue. If I drink and drive, I might have a wreck; if I don’t take care of my body, I might get all manner of diseases; if I walk down a dark alley at night, I might get mugged. Suffering is sometimes our own fault when it comes as a consequence of our own actions.

        Sometimes we suffer as a consequence of someone else’s action. What if I am the one hit by a drunk driver, or mugged while minding my own business? What if something happens to me or my family through no fault of mine? That, too, is the result of spiritual warfare because it demonstrates the presence of evil in the world. Evil comes as a result of sin. Sometimes it is our sin, and sometimes it is someone else’s.

-Suffering helps us grow. This is where Paul comes down in Romans 5:3-5; that God uses our troubles, trials, and tribulations to form Christian character. That’s kind of what happened to Joseph. He suffered slavery, prison, loneliness and betrayal, yet he tells his brothers, “You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good” G50:20. Our faith in the sovereignty of God reminds us that God can use even suffering, for our good, which is not the same thing as saying suffering is good. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” Rom 8:28.

3. The Benefits of Suffering. How can suffering ever be a good thing? It is not good, in and of itself, but good can come from it.

- Suffering produces endurance. “More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance” (5:3). The Greek word for “endurance” is a combination of words that mean “beneath” and “live or abide”. So the word as a whole means to “live under” something. If we take this word together with the word for “suffering,” we get the full idea, which is to live under difficult circumstances without trying to wriggle out from under them. 

   I have already mentioned the image of the athlete, who works hard, who even suffers by running wind sprints, and lifting weights, in order to build up his or her endurance. It is all this difficult training that will allow them to finish the game or the race strongly.

   The same is true for us. There are many times when we wish life were not so tough, but it’s that tough life that allows us to go on and to finish our race strongly. Then we can stand victoriously before God.

-Suffering produces character. Paul says in verse 4a, “and endurance produces character.” The word “character” means something “tested” or “approved.” Illus: Hebrew National hot dog commercial.

-Suffering produces hope. Paul says in verse 4b, “and character produces hope.” Here we have come full circle. We started with hope in verse 2. We saw it as a certainty of what will one day be ours, though we do not possess it yet. The future-tense of faith.

     Then we looked at our suffering. We saw why we can rejoice in them. It is because they lead to endurance, endurance to an approved character, and character to an even more steadfast certainty. And all this is our possession in Christ.

Conclusion:
It is important that we remember, when we face times of trial and suffering, and we surely will, that suffering may be painful, but it is ultimately not harmful. On the contrary it is beneficial.

In 1950 when missionaries were kicked out of China, there were less than 1 million Christians. Today, after almost 60 years of Communist rule and much suffering, it is estimated that there are as many as 100 million Christians.

Someone once asked, “If God loves the Chinese church so much, why has God allowed so much suffering to come upon it?”

But a better question is, “If God loves the American church so much, why has God not allowed suffering to come upon it?” The answer to that question remains to be seen.