1. Doctrines of JESUS CHRIST, the lessons He taught and did, are the sinews and bones that hold His Church in place and shape, "The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach" [Acts 1:1] JESUS preached love and demonstrated immaculate love, laying down His life for us, "This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends" [John 15:12-13] His doctrines demanded accountability, a readiness to endure hardship required to establish the truth, which infuriated many of His time and still does, Saying, The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day. ... If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me" [Luke 9:22-23] JESUS indeed suffered, not for wrongdoing or weakness, His sufferings illustrate pains of a righteous man in a sinful world, "(For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;)" [2 Peter 2:7-8]
2. The doctrine of suffering has nothing to do with punishment or poverty, it is JESUS bringing to light us of inherent contradictions in our entity, "Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak" [Matthew 26:41] The battle of flesh and spirit is joined at new birth; we desire to do the will of God but the flesh is not so minded. We have much to learn, "Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;" [Hebrews 5:8-9] The man JESUS did suffer and was at a point "troubled" within not for wrongdoing but for pains inflicted by wickedness of others, "When Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in spirit, and testified, and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me" [John 13:21] Arguably, we live at a time more evil than JESUS did, you must not allow betrayal by friends, household wickedness and a world drowing in evil to separate us you God, "... for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God" [Luke 16:15] Having said that, it is not enough to say we know JESUS and turn around to stoutly condemn fellowship of His sufferings, "That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, ..." [Philippians 3:10]
3. The gospel we received from the Lord JESUS CHRIST is unequivocal about what to expect in this world, "Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution" [2 Timothy 3:12] JESUS was persecuted and killed not for any wrong but because this world is overcome with evil and men prefer darkness to light, "And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil" [John 3:19] JESUS taught and commanded us both to teach and prepare His flocks to resist and overcome darkness. It is a shame to those for who JESUS died daily fall away under weights of adversity, ignorant of fellowship of His sufferings, "... but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended" [Matthew 13:21] Our congregations must be taught not to place their trust in this world but strenghened by wholesome teaching of God's promises to remain standing to the end, "... strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; ... And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God" [Ephesians 3:16,19] Beloved, there is no shame in approving and teaching fellowship of CHRIST'S suffering; not to trust in themselves but in the excellency of God's power [2 Corinthians 4:7]
4. The doctrine of suffering is not a curse as some imagine, but the certainty of what awaits us in this world, "... that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God" [Acts 14:22] It is the wisdom of God to "scourge" every son in love, Hebrews 12:4-6, the circumcision of the heart, that we being throughly purged as by fire might be established in Him, "But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you" [1 Peter 5:10] Every soul that returns to God through JESUS CHRIST must be told the whole truth; though we have in us the treasures of eternal life we are not yet gotten home, "We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body" [2 Corinthians 4:8-10] Let no man pretend to have overcome as some now present themselves, feasting on "spoils" while the battle yet rages, "Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier" [2 Timothy 2:3-4]
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