Suffering For Being a Christian

As a Bible-believing Christian and I’m talking a John 3:36 Christian, where it says “And anyone who believes in God’s Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn’t obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God’s angry judgment.”

To believe, we actually have to obey, believing that something exists is different than believing in them. As obedient believers of Christ, we will be experience trials and tribulations.  Our walk as a Christian will not always be smooth sailing, we will run into turbulence.   We will though, be walking in victory just as Christ did, but we also will experience hate and disdain for our faith.  We will be hated, judged, ridiculed, persecuted and in some cases become a martyr for our Lord Jesus Christ.  Our path is to be narrow and difficult the Bible says in Matthew 7:13-14:

“You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. 14 But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.”  It clearly states that we will be alone in this journey

Narrow is the way and difficult is the path and there will be only a few who find it.  Have you found it?  Do you ever sit back and look on as the world runs after itself?  It’s like one big machine that only runs on the 3 lusts that consume it; the lusts of the eyes, the lusts of the flesh, and the pride of life.  You can look on at all that goes on and categorize it under one of these pretenses.

If you are only waking up, going to work, and living the grind it’s like the movie Groundhog Day, then you’re missing the whole message.  We are not called to be stagnant.  We are called to have works.  The Bible says in James 2:14-26:

Faith without Good Deeds Is Dead

14 What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? 15 Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, 16 and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?

17 So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.

18 Now someone may argue, “Some people have faith; others have good deeds.” But I say, “How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds.”

19 You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. 20 How foolish! Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless?

21 Don’t you remember that our ancestor Abraham was shown to be right with God by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see, his faith and his actions worked together. His actions made his faith complete. 23 And so it happened just as the Scriptures say: “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” He was even called the friend of God. 24 So you see, we are shown to be right with God by what we do, not by faith alone.

25 Rahab the prostitute is another example. She was shown to be right with God by her actions when she hid those messengers and sent them safely away by a different road. 26 Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works.

We are called to have fruit on our tree.  So many Christians, or shall I say people, misuse that word and believe faith is enough and that they don’t need works.  Their common phrase is this, “Works don’t save you.”  Well then, I say neither does faith alone.  It’s faith with obedience that saves.  It’s a combo meal that’s needed and I can say this for certain because we just read it in the Living Word of God, which is sharper than any double-edged sword, so sharp that it can separate soul and spirit and bone and marrow.

The Bible also confirms this faith and works combo in another book of the Bible.  Let’s go to Luke 6:43-45:

“A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. 44 A tree is identified by its fruit. Figs are never gathered from thorn bushes, and grapes are not picked from bramble bushes. 45 A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.”

We are known by our fruit and if our fruit isn’t good than what Jesus is saying is that we are no good.  It is imperative that we have fruit.  It is imperative that we walk the narrow path and it is imperative that we have works coupled with our faith and when we do, we will see what Jesus is talking about when He says this in 1 Peter 4:12-19:

“Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you. 13 Instead, be very glad—for these trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing his glory when it is revealed to all the world.

14 If you are insulted because you bear the name of Christ, you will be blessed, for the glorious Spirit of God rests upon you. 15 If you suffer, however, it must not be for murder, stealing, making trouble, or prying into other people’s affairs. 16 But it is no shame to suffer for being a Christian. Praise God for the privilege of being called by his name! 17 For the time has come for judgment, and it must begin with God’s household. And if judgment begins with us, what terrible fate awaits those who have never obeyed God’s Good News? 18 And also, “If the righteous are barely saved, what will happen to godless sinners?”

19 So if you are suffering in a manner that pleases God, keep on doing what is right, and trust your lives to the God who created you, for he will never fail you.

We will be persecuted, we will be hated, and we will be marked.  Like it or not Christianity is becoming more and more disliked by the world, most so-called Christians are too scared to speak up.  They’re too scared to walk the walk, their too scared to speak the truth for this might disrupt their friend, their business, or their social life and that’s the sad part about it and that’s what separates the believers in Christ from believers who actually obey.

When we, with open arms accept our invitation, or shall I say our calling from Christ to come and follow Him than we for one are a new creation, all of the old has passed for it says in 2 Corinthians 5:17:

“This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!”

That’s the first point.  The second point is we are to die to or deny our flesh.  We read in Romans 8:13:

“For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live.”  Continuing on if we read Galatians 5:16-18:

“ So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. 17 The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. 18 But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses.”

We see we must let our spirit lead us, denying our flesh and its desires because what the flesh wants is in conflict of what the spirits wants.  If we jump over to 1 John 2:15:

“Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you.”

We see we are not to be conformed to the things of this world including the lust of our eyes, the lust of our flesh, and the pride of life, but instead be transformed by the renewing of our minds, so that we prove the will of God by doing His will.

Finally, let’s look at John 3:36:

“And anyone who believes in God’s Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn’t obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God’s angry judgment.”

We see we are surely guaranteed eternal life if we believe in Jesus, but we must obey Him or we face fierce judgment.

So now to the point, I say all of that to say this in 1 Peter 4:12:

“Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you.”

You see, we will be experiencing fiery trials.  The scripture says it will seem strange, the things happening to us.  So don’t be alarmed for this is what the obedient believers will experience.  You have a target on your back by Satan and his followers are aware.  So I have some lyrics from a song I recently heard which will encourage you so here they are.  The song is by Lindy Conant:

“Shaking off the dust as we arise

Awake awake our generation cries

Salvations song will ring throughout the earth

And every eye will see your matchless worth

And I can feel the drum of your heart beat

Causing us to be Your hands and feet

Rising up with courage in our hearts

To carry out Your love to the hardest and the dark

Take courage for the harvest is ripe

Lift up your voice cause Jesus is alive

Take courage for the harvest is ripe

Lift up your voice cause Jesus is alive

My king has conquered every mountain top

With scars that prove that He cannot be stopped

And history was changed upon the cross

With victory you rescue all that’s lost

And silence will be broken with our lives

As we live out the love of Jesus Christ

What our eyes have seen our hearts cannot ignore

We’ll lead this generation to the glory of the Lord

Take courage for the harvest is ripe

Lift up your voice cause Jesus is alive

Take courage for the harvest is ripe

Lift up your voice cause Jesus is alive

Jesus is alive! Jesus is alive!

Jesus is alive! Jesus is alive!

Jesus is alive! Jesus is alive!

Jesus is alive! Jesus is alive!

There’s a yes in our hearts

and carries through eternity

Simple obedience changes history!

There’s a yes in our hearts

and carries through eternity

Simple obedience changes history!

There’s a yes in our hearts

and carries through eternity

Simple obedience changes history!

There’s a yes in our hearts

and carries through eternity

Simple obedience changes history!

Take courage for the harvest is ripe

Lift up your voice cause Jesus is alive

Take courage for the harvest is ripe

Lift up your voice cause Jesus is alive