4 Kinds of Suffering
This brings us to one last important point. Paul prayed that God would remove the persecutions from him. Yet God answered, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness" (2 Cor. 12:9). It was God’s will that Paul be made perfect through suffering persecutions.
Many complain about the message of health and prosperity. They charge that faith ministers deny the role of suffering in the Christian life. Well, I can’t speak for others, but I believe that a Christian should suffer, but only suffer if it’s God’s will.
The problem with much of the teaching on suffering is that it assumes that all suffering is the same. Many do not differentiate between bad suffering and good suffering. The Bible mentions four kinds of suffering: general, sinful, demonic, and Christian.
General suffering is discomfort that everyone goes through. Sinful suffering is punishment for doing wrong. Demonic suffering is unusual misfortune which happens to people because of the work of demons. Christian suffering is adversity which comes only to Christians who are living godly—it’s usually in the form of persecutions, criticism, prejudice—and is normally caused by fallen angels.
Some simply treat the subject of suffering as though all suffering were the same. For example: one believer may be thrown into prison for preaching the gospel and another may be in prison for stealing beer at a convenient store. Both are suffering, but it’s clear that one is suffering for the cause of Christ and the other is suffering for his own sins. You can’t say that both are suffering according to God’s will. Peter writes:
If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name…So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good" (1 Pet. 4:15-16, 19).
This Scripture clearly shows the difference between Christian suffering and sinful suffering.
In another case, one lady experiences pain in child birth, and another dies giving birth. They both suffered. The lady who had pain experienced suffering which nearly every pregnant woman goes through. This is called general suffering. It is suffering which everyone goes through, whether they are a believer or not.
However, the woman who died experience unusual tragedy. When someone experiences something unusual, often this kind of suffering is demonic. Demonic suffering is caused by the devil himself through his agency of demons. There is no reason that a Christian woman should have to suffer death when she gives birth. Pain yes, death no.
Paul says, "But women will be kept safe through childbirth, if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety" (1 Tim. 2:15). God promises protection in child birth. He does not promise to exempt her from pain, though.
Some overly zealous charismatics have taught that women don’t have to go through pain in delivery. They say that we are redeemed from the curse. And the curse is having pain in childbirth. "I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children" (Genesis 3:16).
They reason that since this is a curse, and we are redeemed from the curse of the Law (see Galatians 3:13), women should not have to have pain in childbirth. The problem with their interpretation is that they confuse the curse in Genesis with the curse of the Law. God does not exempt us from the curse in Genesis; He exempts from the curse of the Law. The curse of the Law is mentioned in Deuteronomy chapter 28, and nowhere does it mention pain in childbirth as a curse. It does mention miscarriage as a curse, but never pain.
You see, some suffering is normal and should not be considered sinful or demonic. It’s just normal. For example, it’s normal to get gray hair when you grow old. You don’t rebuke gray hair, you simply dye it. It’s normal to slow up a bit when you get older. The devil is not slowing you up; age is. However, that does not mean you should be in a wheel chair.
I find it humorous that Christians are fighting what is normal. On the other hand, I find it tragic that other Christians accept suffering which is not normal—like terminal and chronic illnesses. The Bible describes those illnesses as demonic, and believers need to fight those.
So it’s clear that suffering can be God’s will if it is Christian suffering. This is what Paul went through, and God made it clear that through this kind of suffering Paul would be made perfect and strong. We should embrace this kind of suffering, but reject demonic suffering.
Many complain about the message of health and prosperity. They charge that faith ministers deny the role of suffering in the Christian life. Well, I can’t speak for others, but I believe that a Christian should suffer, but only suffer if it’s God’s will.
The problem with much of the teaching on suffering is that it assumes that all suffering is the same. Many do not differentiate between bad suffering and good suffering. The Bible mentions four kinds of suffering: general, sinful, demonic, and Christian.
General suffering is discomfort that everyone goes through. Sinful suffering is punishment for doing wrong. Demonic suffering is unusual misfortune which happens to people because of the work of demons. Christian suffering is adversity which comes only to Christians who are living godly—it’s usually in the form of persecutions, criticism, prejudice—and is normally caused by fallen angels.
Some simply treat the subject of suffering as though all suffering were the same. For example: one believer may be thrown into prison for preaching the gospel and another may be in prison for stealing beer at a convenient store. Both are suffering, but it’s clear that one is suffering for the cause of Christ and the other is suffering for his own sins. You can’t say that both are suffering according to God’s will. Peter writes:
If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name…So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good" (1 Pet. 4:15-16, 19).
This Scripture clearly shows the difference between Christian suffering and sinful suffering.
In another case, one lady experiences pain in child birth, and another dies giving birth. They both suffered. The lady who had pain experienced suffering which nearly every pregnant woman goes through. This is called general suffering. It is suffering which everyone goes through, whether they are a believer or not.
However, the woman who died experience unusual tragedy. When someone experiences something unusual, often this kind of suffering is demonic. Demonic suffering is caused by the devil himself through his agency of demons. There is no reason that a Christian woman should have to suffer death when she gives birth. Pain yes, death no.
Paul says, "But women will be kept safe through childbirth, if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety" (1 Tim. 2:15). God promises protection in child birth. He does not promise to exempt her from pain, though.
Some overly zealous charismatics have taught that women don’t have to go through pain in delivery. They say that we are redeemed from the curse. And the curse is having pain in childbirth. "I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children" (Genesis 3:16).
They reason that since this is a curse, and we are redeemed from the curse of the Law (see Galatians 3:13), women should not have to have pain in childbirth. The problem with their interpretation is that they confuse the curse in Genesis with the curse of the Law. God does not exempt us from the curse in Genesis; He exempts from the curse of the Law. The curse of the Law is mentioned in Deuteronomy chapter 28, and nowhere does it mention pain in childbirth as a curse. It does mention miscarriage as a curse, but never pain.
You see, some suffering is normal and should not be considered sinful or demonic. It’s just normal. For example, it’s normal to get gray hair when you grow old. You don’t rebuke gray hair, you simply dye it. It’s normal to slow up a bit when you get older. The devil is not slowing you up; age is. However, that does not mean you should be in a wheel chair.
I find it humorous that Christians are fighting what is normal. On the other hand, I find it tragic that other Christians accept suffering which is not normal—like terminal and chronic illnesses. The Bible describes those illnesses as demonic, and believers need to fight those.
So it’s clear that suffering can be God’s will if it is Christian suffering. This is what Paul went through, and God made it clear that through this kind of suffering Paul would be made perfect and strong. We should embrace this kind of suffering, but reject demonic suffering.
Labels: From tbm.org
posted by FAITHMAN at 4:58 PM
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