Christianity Associated With Sufferings

Written By: Jezreel Madsa

During the middle of second century, under the dominion and reign of Marcus Aurelius, the believers’ freedom to display and profess their faith were largely curtailed. The whole society were given into subjection under the lordship of Ceasar, nobody dares to know other king or lord, except the Roman Emperor. The emperor was said to be the sole vice regent of the gods and goddesses. Of which, his dominion is in miniature of gods sovereign authority. That was one of the darkest hour Christian faced over the period of their existence.

Unlike the contemporary Christian in this age, Christianity and all sorts of religion are no longer consider illegal. We can freely preach and evangelize anywhere we want. Some Christians went on even vocal outright to spout off that they belong to a Christian denomination. Today, if you profess that you belong to Christ, nobody will persecute you, let alone kill you. Thus, when we read a verse in the Scripture that goes like this:

 “That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” -- Romans 10:9

We suddenly think that Christianity is nothing less than a piece of cake thingy, because in the first place, we failed to look at the historical context in which the actual book was written. And by our failure, we tend to lump the past situation under the category of the present; instead, of looking at it in a case-by-case basis.

The historical situation of the primitive Christians, according to John Macarthur, is quite different than what we have in the present.  He says,

“Christianity was illegal, and believers throughout the Roman Empire faced the threat of imprisonment, torture, or death. Persecution was especially intense in southern Europe.”

Therefore, if someone confesses that Jesus is Lord during the primitive Christian era, it means persecution and death to them. In other words, if you confess that you belong to Christ is tantamount of welcoming the persecution of the world. Even the Apostle Paul shares the same persecution, when he wrote in His epistle to the Colossians:

“…I do share on behalf of His body, which is the church, in FILLING UP what is LACKING in CHRIST’S AFFLICTION.” -- Colossians 1:24

Furthermore, he also wrote from His other epistles that the brethren were suffering at the hands of their countrymen as they made confession that Jesus is Lord.

"...for you also endured the SAME SUFFERINGS at the hands of your own COUNTRYMEN, even as they did from the Jews." -- 1 Thessalonians 2:14

You might say that those verses only applies to the Early Christians, well, you are very wrong because the Apostle Paul said that,

"For to you it has been GRANTED for Christ's sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to SUFFER for His sake." -- Philippians 1:29

Clearly, the Apostle Paul implies that to be united with Christ by faith, is to become the recipient of sufferings as well. Because as Jesus said, there is no servant greater than His master, so if the Master suffers, the servants in turn will also suffer. In fact, the Apotle Paul made it clear in the Book of Romans,

"and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we SUFFER with Him SO THAT we may also be GLORIFIED with HIM. For I consider that the SUFFERINGS of this PRESENT TIME are not WORTHY TO BE COMPARED with the glory that will be revealed to us." -- Romans 8:17-18

These verses demonstrated the fact that Christianity is not what the majority of people think what it is. Their idea of Christianity is completely far different from what the Bible tells us. Folks, Christianity is not just something you pray one time in your life to accept Jesus in your heart. The entrance to Christianity is not a magic prayer, and then you become a Christian right away. Then go along headway into the route of sinning. No! To be Christian is to be born again, to experience a supernatural transformation leading you to a life of obedience and repentance, guiding you oftentimes in the path of sufferings for God's glory. Material Prosperity although not evil in and of itself, however, your manner of life should not be characterized as someone whose pursuit is material wealth. Folks, your central focus must be to glorify Christ and to preach the Gospel. If by doing this will lead you to prosperity, then bless the Lord; but if this will lead you to poverty, may you be like Job when he says

"Shall we accept good from God and not accept adversity?" -- Job 2:10

And finally, may we also be like Paul when He desires to feel the sweetness of the fellowship of sufferings with Christ.

"that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the FELLOWSHIP of His SUFFERINGS being conformed to His death." -- Philippians 3:10

References:

 New American Standard Bible
John Macarthur, Slave: The Hidden Truth of Your Identity In Christ) pp. 11-12



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