Sermons/Discussions

“Why Christians Suffer: Part 3”

Proper 29 year C (The Feast of Christ the King)

The Rev. Matt Kennedy

The Church of the Good Shepherd

This is the third sermon in our study of the place of suffering in the Christian life. Last Sunday I began laying out 2 of 4 principles that will guide us in our discussion. All four of them are applicable to any painful circumstance in a believer's life or in the life of the church whether that pain is self-inflicted or originates externally. Today we're going to spend most of our time talking about self-inflicted pain, pain God allows in our lives as the result of something we've done.

Just for quick review; here are the first two principles: 1. For the believer suffering is never random. The universe is not chaotic and is not ruled by chance. It's ruled by the almighty God; who knows all things, sees all things, and has the power to intervene in all circumstances. So no matter what's happening in your life, God has foreseen it and allowed it. That's principle number one. Well, that's great but just saying that God is in control doesn't answer the "why" question. Why did this specific thing happen to me? That question led us to principle number two: God always intends suffering for our good. As Paul says in Romans 8:28: "In all things God works for the good of those who love him who have been called according to his purpose." If that's true, then it's better for us to have the pain that God allows in our lives than it would be if we were never to have any pain at all. God uses pain for our good.

And now, this morning, Principle number three: God allows painful circumstances in our lives either for the purpose of discipline or for the purpose of discipleship.

I said last week that we can't always know what God's doing, that sometimes, and I used the example of Job, God doesn't provide an answer for the pain we experience. However, this third principle is applicable even in Job's situation. Job lost his family, his health, his wealth, and his reputation. He asked God “why did this happen to me?” but God only said, “Trust me. I'm God. I know what I'm doing.” He didn't give a specific answer. But, at the end of the book, he also rebuked Job's friends for suggesting that his suffering was some form of divine discipline. Job knew that wasn't the case. Not because God doesn't discipline, but because Job knew that if his pain were punishment that God would've convicted him, that God would've warned him before taking action. And not because Job wasn't a sinner, he was, but he was also a repentant sinner. There was no willfully rebellious sin in him. So the lack of divine warning and conviction communicated to Job that his circumstances could not be the result of God's discipline. The great bulk of the book of Job is taken up by this argument between Job and his friends over whether or not his pain was divine punishment. Finally, God arrives on the scene and answers Job, not by telling him exactly why he allowed him to suffer, but by letting Job know that his pain is not discipline. While Job was left to wonder, "Okay, if this isn't punishment then what are you trying to teach me?" at least he knew that the pain he experienced was intended for testing or for training, in other words, for discipleship, rather than discipline.

I think the book of Job reflects a pattern that we see throughout the scriptures. If you are a believer, God will let you know if you're being disciplined or in danger of being disciplined in three ways.

First the discipline, the pain you are experiencing, will fit with, will be connected with, the sin that God wants to rid you of. God will not kill your cat because you have a habit of stealing candy from the store. “I will discipline you, but only with justice” (Jer 30:11) God'll let you get caught stealing the candy and make you take responsibility for your actions. He won't kill your cat. So God's discipline always fits the disobedience. I actually get a lot of questions from people worried that God will hurt people or pets around them because of something they've done. No. God's discipline is always connected with the sin that God wants to rid you of.

Second, God convicts you before disciplining you. God is patient. You might get away with stealing three or four times, but each time you're gonna feel worse and worse. Each time you open your bible you'll see something about stealing, each time you hear a sermon it's in some way connected to what your doing, each time you're alone in a quiet room, your conscience will hammer at you. In other words, through the scriptures, through prayer, through the church, God will convict you before he takes action to discipline you. God doesn't want to discipline you any more than we want to discipline our children. I give Emma every chance in the world to obey because I love her and as much as I know discipline is for her own good, I hate to see her cry. How much more so for God, who loves us infinitely more than we love our children. But don't mistake God's patience and kindness for an unwillingness to act, as Paul warned the Romans don't show “contempt for the riches of God's kindness…God's kindness [is intended to lead] you toward repentance.” (Rom 2:4) Using the Holy Spirit, God convicts our hearts and gives us every chance to avoid discipline. You'll feel the heat of your conscience before during and after you participate in the sin God is working to rid you of. Pay attention to it. That heat, that guilt is a warning and an opportunity to repent and avoid consequences. The next time you take a chance and steal the candy, you'll probably be caught.

Third, you'll know that your experience of pain is related to God's discipline because the pain will go away after you sincerely repent. You may still have some responsibilities to take care of, like paying the store back for the candy you stole, but the overwhelming burden of your conscience will be lifted and you'll feel free, as if a great weight has been lifted. It's amazing to see this. I did prison ministry for about six months in Houston and some of the happiest people I met were convicted criminals doing serious time who'd accepted Christ into their lives, faced up to what they'd done, repented and were joyfully taking responsibility for their actions. They were behind bars, but they were free men. The repentant criminal on the cross next to Jesus died a painful death, but no doubt Jesus' words of forgiveness and salvation brought him unspeakable joy. If your pain is related to a specific sin in your life, then it will be replaced with a kind of liberated jubilation when you sincerely repent and stop the behavior.

If none of those three elements are present in your situation: 1. a direct relationship between your pain and a specific sinful behavior; 2. the presence of ongoing conviction by the Holy Spirit; and 3. relief from the pain following repentance; then you can be certain that the pain you're feeling is not God's discipline. Rather God is using pain in your life to train or disciple you, to build endurance and perseverance and we'll talk more about that next time.

The important thing to remember is that God's discipline is always, always, always redemptive, It's always intended to turn you away from behaviors that damage your body or soul. Listen to what the writer of Hebrews says, " ‘…the Lord disciplines those he loves and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son,'…God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons." God's discipline in your life, it is not a sign of God's anger, but a sign of God's love.

Have you ever seen those poor kids who have parents who refuse to set any limits on their behavior? I'm really going to date myself here, but does anyone remember that show Little House on the Prairie . Well, it was my mom's favorite show and so when I was a kid I had to watch it with her every Thursday night. There was this little girl on that show named Nelly. Nelly was the biggest spoiled brat, I just couldn't stand her. She was a plotting, conniving, self-centered, little snotty girl. But even worse was that her mom NEVER disciplined her. When she'd get in trouble at school, her mom would blame the teacher. When she'd pick fights, her mom would blame the other kids, when she'd sneer and mock other kids her mom thought she was cute. And so she was totally out of control. The best episode in that show was when her dad, who loved her very much finally got fed up and took precious Nelly to the woodshed.

God has a woodshed. He has one because aside from being unbearable, children who aren't disciplined are also pretty miserable.   Human beings need boundaries. And we need to know that someone cares enough about us to take action when those boundaries are crossed. Children grow up feeling neglected and abandoned when their parents refuse to put limits on their behavior. I think that many of the social ills we experience today as a society are the direct result of grown up kids still trying to find boundaries, still trying to find someone to love them enough to say, I love you too much to let you do that to yourself. God loves us too much, he loves you too much not to step in and discipline. Sometimes it can be painful, but it is always for our good.  

If you're a believer you are, as Paul says in Colossians today, “rescued…from the dominion of darkness and brought …into the kingdom of the Son he loves in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” You live in the household of God. Sometimes it takes a while to learn the rules of the house. But God loves us and he'll take all the time he needs to teach us with patience and kindness. Sometimes that involves discipline, and sometimes that discipline can hurt, but it's is all part of his plan to save us from the self-destructive behaviors and to forge us into the very image of Christ. AMEN