Ordinary Faithfulness, Radical Witness
Christ-centered living was normal for the apostles but radical to those around them. The Apostle Peter writes, “For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps” (1 Peter 2:21). Peter, along with the rest of the New Testament, teaches that the believer’s earthly suffering precedes his glorification. It can be easy for churches that have historically stood in places of religious freedom (protected from persecution) to bypass the step of suffering to teach a direct route to glory. I live and pastor in rural Knox County, Indiana where it seems very unlikely that I will receive persecution for biblical faithfulness. However, geography cannot be a reason to ignore a command that runs consistently through the NT. How do we follow the example of our Lord Jesus?
“…the believer’s earthly suffering precedes his glorification.”
This blog is narrowly concerned with the NT command to suffer simply as a consequence to faithful obedience to Christ. The apostles are characterized with both courageous obedience and suffering. This suffering appears in different forms. We all do not suffer to the same degree, but the NT shows a general suffering for following Jesus. To clarify further, I am not here concerned with suffering from physical persecution, illnesses, mourning from deaths, or broken financial and family relationships. The frequent NT charge to follow the steps of our shepherd forces us to particularize application to this theme even as we live in an area of historical christendom (where Christian morals and values are generally upheld). One reason that makes Peter’s command difficult is that suffering is not an active pursuit. In order to suffer, I must receive the harmful actions of another against me. Therefore, to suffer is intrinsically a passive action. When suffering becomes an active goal that one is seeking, it turns into asceticism (a practice where one intentionally puts himself in harm so that he can suffer), which is emphatically banned in the NT (Col. 2:20-23). The challenging part then about Peter’s command to suffer is that it depends on other people, yet he charges active obedience.
This survey shows that the command is not to go find suffering but to follow Jesus. Then, endure the suffering that follows. The pattern of the NT shows that it is normal for all Christians to suffer in this world. Even in areas of christendom, the actively obedient Christian will experience a certain degree of suffering (broken friendships, a victim of gossip/speech, etc.) as he seeks the kingdom of God in his neighborhood or workplace. Radical faithfulness will yield this end. The point is not to follow Jesus to the literal cross but to surrender our comforts and passions to exalt him with our whole being. We must teach that discipleship is suffering now and glory later. The four examples below represent the NT’s pattern that the believer’s suffering necessarily precedes glorification. Mark 8:35 and Matthew 7:14
We begin with two foundational standards that Jesus teaches his followers. The first is Mark 8:35: “For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it.” This is the paradox our Lord exemplified as he gave his life before ascending to eternal glory. Following this verse does not require that we literally die for the gospel. That is the lot for many Christians but not for everyone. Obedience here begins at least with sacrificing the activities and habits of your life so that you live in accordance with godliness.
“He teaches a willingness to give up our souls for the gospel”
But, obedience to this verse contradicts our human ideals. Our instincts protect our wants and comforts and those of the people closest to us. Jesus teaches something different. He teaches a willingness to give up our souls for the gospel. We trade in all of our own personal ideals, passions, and desires for the purposes of the expansion (evangelism) and deepening (discipleship) of God’s kingdom. And this rubs against the tide of our communities. Every other person gears his life choices to the end of his and his family’s own good (Titus 3:3). Jesus teaches the call to radical counter-culturalism. Living like this, I don’t think, guarantees that suffering will come, but history reveals a pattern that such biblical living is normally followed by a certain degree of suffering.
The second foundational standard of discipleship that Jesus teaches is in Matthew 7:14: “The gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” The path to life is difficult, yet our context of Christianity can sometimes separate these two categories to curate the idea that one can directly enter glory. The standard pattern of Jesus' followers is to obediently give up their life in sacrifice to follow Christ faithfully and centrally. Jesus did not have a category for his followers to have an easy, comfortable life in this world and in the next. Instead, he set a pattern of suffering before exaltation for his sheep to follow. Acts 5:41: “Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name.”
While this isn’t a command, it shows the normal pattern of a Christ-centered life in the early church that was radical to their community. In 5:12-16, we see this pattern where “signs and wonders were_regularly_ done [by the Apostles] among the people” (5:12, emphasis added). They were in public areas with the people and also teaching inside the temple. The fact that it was “regularly done” implies that this became their daily, ordinary lifestyle. After they were released, we get another insight: “Every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus” (5:42). They truly displayed Christ in their words and deeds. This mission to exalt Christ was ordinary for them but radical to their neighborhoods. We might then compare how explicit Christ was in their life to how implicit Christ is in our lives. Consider if Christ is peripheral in your daily activities. How many daily choices and schedules are explicitly for Christ? In how many of them are you speaking Christ to other people, going to where people are teaching Christ, or inviting people into your home to grow in Christ? An honest evaluation might reveal that our lives tend to look similar to the world’s, but we depend on good, moral actions for people to discern that we are Christians. How does your daily life look different from your unbelieving neighbor? How does your life evangelize to him?
Romans 8:16-17: “The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.”
This is one of several NT commands for the Christian to suffer in the same way as Christ. Now, I do not actually mean that I interpret this to command every Christian to suffer at trial and to die of crucifixion like Jesus. Rather, I understand it as a command to suffer generally to various degrees just as Christ suffered for us. Christ is the head of all things, and he is the head of our suffering. No one will suffer more or to the same degree that he suffered. He goes before us, and the commandment is to follow him. Suffering will look different for every Christian, but I do think it is difficult to miss the general command that the Christian must suffer, which is what we get here in Romans 8.
In these verses, that believers are heirs with Christ requires suffering before exaltation. Paul writes that the Spirit seals us for the inheritance of the new creation and of Jesus himself. But then, he adds in the qualifier as if to say that you will get the inheritance “provided,” of course, that you share in the sufferings of Christ. Only then do we share in his glorification. The two are tied together. For one to be glorified with Christ, he is also to suffer with Christ. Remarkably, Paul teaches that suffering in this way actually leads to life. When we obey this command to sacrifice selfish desires and submit fully to Christ, we inherit life with the Son forever.
Conclusion
Suffering is a part of the regular pattern of life for the NT Christian. One necessary piece of discipleship is suffering for the faith. At the same time, the command is rarely to go suffer but to rejoice in obedience to Jesus and be content to endure the consequential sufferings. We aren’t charged to go look for suffering. We’re charged to be faithful to the Lord, and history teaches that suffering will come. The church today can miss this when we untie godliness from suffering– something the NT never does.
If that’s true, then why don’t I suffer for my faith? I think this is a great question, and this is the spark that started this entire study. My conclusions show that the Christian suffers to varying degrees. It's true that we are extremely unlikely to be physically afflicted for our faith in more historic areas of christendom. However, the NT doesn’t narrowly teach a command to suffer by persecution only, but it shows a consistent pattern of general suffering. While I agree that geography is an influential factor to the degree of the Christian’s suffering, I can, at the same time, think of no other command in the NT where we excuse ourselves by claiming that it is meant for some of God’s people but not all. The point is that you don’t have to go to another country and you don’t have to think really hard about how you can suffer for Jesus. Faithfulness is to leave your comfort zone to serve Jesus where he has you right now. You follow the consistent examples of the apostles in Acts to surrender your life to speak the Bible in your home, neighborhood, work, etc. and to go where people are speaking it.
It makes sense to suffer in this life as we anticipate a perfect life of glory in the future. This is the pattern that our Shepherd set for us. He suffered in this life at the hands of his own creation, and rose in glorious exaltation. He was rejected by men but received by the eternal and true God. He was obedient to the point of death. The NT gives that same pattern to believers. We are charged to follow him.