Suffering for the Gospel
What kind of hardships must we suffer for the sake of the Gospel?
In Acts 13:14-41 we can see a complete sermon that Paul preached.
After he preached that sermon, in verse 42 it says, "As Paul and Barnabas left the synagogue that day, the people begged them to speak about things again the next week." So some thought Paul's message was wonderful and wanted to hear him preach it again.
So they did, as we can see in Acts 13:44 "The following week almost the entire city turned out to hear them preach the word of the Lord."
But not everyone liked the message.
Acts 13:45 "But when some of the Jews saw the crowds, they were jealous; so they slandered Paul and argued against whatever he said.
A few verses later in Acts 13:50 they suffered even more persecution, "Then the Jews stirred up the influential religious women and the leaders of the city, and they incited a mob against Paul and Barnabas and ran them out of town."
But they took it in stride. Acts 13:51-52 "So they shook the dust from their feet as a sign of rejection and went to the town of Iconium. (52) And the believers were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit."
Then we get the next chapter, Acts 14:1-5 "The same thing happened in Iconium. Paul and Barnabas went to the Jewish synagogue and preached with such power that a great number of both Jews and Greeks became believers. (2) Some Jews, however, spurned God's message against Paul and poisoned the minds of the Gentiles against Paul and Barnabas. (3) But the apostles stayed there a long time, preaching boldly about the grace of the Lord. And the Lord proved their message was true by giving them the power to do miraculous signs and wonders. (4) But the people of the town were divided in thier opinion about them. Some sided with the Jews, and some with the apostles. (5) Then a mob of Gentiles and Jews, along with their leaders, decided to attack them.
The next verses (Acts 14:6-18) talk about them fleeing to the towns of Lystra and Derbe and performing miracles there. The people thought they were gods, but they explained that they were humans that had come to bring them the Good News, and they told them about God.
In Acts 14:19 we see more persecution, "Then the Jews arrived from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowds to their side. They stoned Paul and dragged him out of town, thinking he was dead."
But that wasn't the end, Acts 14:20-22 "But the believers gathered around him, he got up and went back into the town. The next day he left with Barnabas for Derbe. (21) After preaching the Good News in Derbe and making many diciples, Paul and Barnabas returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch of Pisidia. (22) Where they strengthened the believers. They encouraged them to continue in faith, reminding them that we must suffer many hardships to enter the Kingdom of God."
Paul knew better than anyone about suffering for the Gospel. He gives an account in 2 Corinthians 11:23-27 about all of the hardships he had suffered for the sake of the Gospel.
"Are they servants of Christ? I know I sound like a madman, but I have served him far more! I have worked harder, been put in prison more often, been whipped times without number, and faced death again and again. (24) Five different times the Jewish leaders gave me thirty-nine lashes. (25) Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. Once I spent a whole night and a day adrift at sea. (26) I have traveled many long journeys. I have faced danger from rivers and from robbers. I have faced danger from my own people, the Jews, as well as from the Gentiles. I have faced danger in the cities, in the deserts, and on the seas. And I have faced danger from men who claim to be believers but are not. (27) I have worked hard and long, enduring many sleepless nights. I have been hungry and thirsty and have gone without food. I have shivered in the cold without enough clothing to keep me warm."
In verse 33 he talks about having to be lowered in a basket through a window in a city wall to escape from being caught.
These are the type of sufferings we must be willing to endure for the sake of the Gospel. In 2 Corinthians 12:10 Paul says, "...I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles I must suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong."
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An excerpt from a writing by Rick Renner (A Greek Scholar):
Paul endured many afflictions during his ministry. Many of the afflictions he faced were due to the religious leaders who so fiercely opposed him. These religious leaders included Jewish leaders who hated him and his message. They also included false brethren who were constantly trying to displace his position of authority in the local churches. Paul was resisted outside the church by leaders of the Jewish faith who hated him. He was also opposed from within the church by those who wanted him out of the picture so they could take his place of prominence.
Thus, the biggest “thorn” in Paul’s life was the fact that he had to deal with these different groups of people who covertly planned the problems and hassles he frequently faced in the ministry. A special messenger from Satan, perhaps even a demonic angel, had been sent to incite these people against Paul.
If you survey the types of ordeals Paul endured, you will see that many of them were orchestrated by these people who wanted to get rid of him. They were so teeming with hatred toward Paul that they wanted to see his head on a stake! These people were the primary source of Paul’s problems and distractions he faced in his life and ministry.
One type of attack Paul experienced at his opponents’ hands were many physical “beatings,” which explains his use of the word kolaphidzo (“buffet”) in this verse. However, Paul was also constantly buffeted, harassed, hassled, and distracted by the negative activities of these people. As a result, he was hindered from focusing on what God had called him to do because of the great amount of time he had to spend defending his apostleship and answering the charges of those who were stirring up trouble against him. These opponents really were a thorn in the flesh for Paul. Their actions were a constant irritant that he had to deal with on an almost daily basis.
In light of these Greek words [Greek words he went over from 2 Corinthians 12:7 previously in the full article, and explained what each one means (to see the full article see the post below)], consider this fresh interpretation of Paul’s words in Second Corinthians 12:7:
“Because of the phenomenal revelations I have received and on account of the vast number of these revelations that God has entrusted to me — and to hinder the highly visible progress I am making in the Lord’s cause — a special messenger has been sent from Satan to harass me with constant distractions and headaches. There’s no doubt about it! Those whom Satan has stirred up against me want my head on a stake! Satan is using these people to constantly buffet and distract me in an attempt to keep me from reaching a higher level of visibility and recognition and to sidetrack me from preaching my revelations.”
You see, Paul’s thorn in the flesh wasn’t sickness or epilepsy or any other physical malady; it was the people who opposed and irritated him and continually caused him problems! The devil used these people again and again, trying to keep Paul so distracted solving “people problems” that he wouldn’t be able to make any more significant personal or Gospel advancements.
What about you, friend? What do you intend to do about the “thorns” that the devil is using to steal your joy and to sidetrack you from your mission? How do you intend to react to this ongoing disturbance? Paul never allowed people to keep him from fulfilling his divine call, so today I urge you to follow his example. Don’t allow people to stop you! The devil is obviously afraid of you, your gifts, your potential, and your revelations; otherwise, he wouldn’t need to incite people to stir up trouble for you.
More than likely, the opposition you’re facing is a good indication that you’re right on track. So just keep forging ahead toward your God-ordained goal, regardless of the distractions that try to steal your focus!
I only copied the last part of the article, to read Rick Renner's full article "What Was Paul's Thorn in the Flesh?" Here is the link to that article:
https://renner.org/pauls-thorn-in-the-flesh/
Amen.
Many people say that God uses suffering to teach us, or to further the kingdom, but besides what I typed above, let's look at some other passages that talk about suffering.
I want to start with what Jesus told the disciples in John 15:18-21
“If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. (19) The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world, so it hates you. (20) So you remember what I told you? ‘A slave is not greater than the master.’ Since they persecuted me, naturally they will persecute you. And if they had listened to me, they would listen to you. (21) They will do all this to you because of me, for they have rejected the one who sent me.”
Drop down a few verses to John 16:1-4 “I have told you these things so that you won’t abandon your faith. (2) For you will be expelled from synagogues, and the time is coming when those who kill you will think they are doing a holy service for God…(4) Yes, I’m telling you these things now, so that when they happen, you will remember my warning…”
So Jesus warned us that people would hate us and that we would have to suffer persecution for His sake.
Romans 8:17 “And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we share his glory, we must also share his suffering. (18) Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later.”
We have to suffer the same persecution that Jesus suffered. Later in the chapter it talks about how we will suffer with Christ:
Romans 8:35 “Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean that he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? (36) For the Scriptures say, ‘For your sake we are killed every day: we are being slaughtered like sheep.’ (37) No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.”
So it clearly says here that the persecution is all for Jesus’ sake.
Colossians 1:24 (This is Paul talking) “I am glad when I suffer for you in my body, for I am participating in the sufferings of Christ that continue for his body, the church.”
How was Paul suffering in his body for the sake of the church? This was in chapter 1, but later in chapter 4 Paul tells us:
Colossians 4:3 “Pray for us to, too, that God will give us many opportunities to speak about his mysterious plan concerning Christ. That is why I am here in chains.”
Colossians 4:10 “Aristarchus, who is in prison with me, sends you his greetings…
He says again in verse 18, “…remember my chains..”
So Paul was suffering in his body by being chained in a prison. He was suffering because he was speaking about Christ to the church, that’s how he was suffering for them.
2 Corinthians 1:3-11 talks about more suffering, I’m going to just quote the parts about suffering and being comforted, and not the whole verses, for 3-7, so you may want to read those verses for yourself out of your own Bible, because I am going to be skipping words, this is mostly a paraphrase:
In verse 1:3 it says, “God is our source of comfort… (4) He comforts us in all of our troubles so that we can comfort others. (5) The more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with His comfort. (6) Even though we are weighed down with troubles for your sake and salvation. (7) We are confident that as you share in our sufferings, you shall also share in the comfort God gives us.”
But HOW were these people suffering for the sake of their salvation? The next verses (2 Corinthians 1:8-11 tells us (these verses are direct quotes from NLT):
(8) We think you ought to know dear brothers and sisters, about the troubles we went through in the province of Asia. We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it. (9) In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely on God, who raises the dead. (10) And he did rescue us from mortal danger, and he will rescue us again. We have placed our confidence in him, and he will continue to rescue. (11) And you are helping us by praying for us. Then many people will give thanks because God has graciously answered so many prayers for safety.”
So they had many troubles in the province of Asia that crushed them, almost to the point of death. It doesn’t say what specifically those troubles were, but in verse 6 Paul says the troubles were for the sake of their salvation, so I think that makes it clear that the suffering was due to spreading the Gospel message. But when they relied on God, He rescued them from mortal danger. He didn’t rescue them from the suffering of persecution, but He did protect them death. Notice that none of the suffering was inflicted by God, it was all from people that were persecuting them.
So these are passages that talk about suffering with Christ or for Christ, and they are all talking about suffering persecution.
These are only three passages, but I can't find ANY New Testament passage that talks about a believer suffering, anything except for persecution.
The point being that God doesn’t want us to suffer in any other way, Jesus redeemed us from other forms of suffering in His atonement on the cross.