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Why Do the Righteous Suffer? by M. E. Wright
The Bible says "For all have sinned, and have come short of the glory of God;" (Romans 3:23). Man is a sinner by nature, by choice, and by practice; and there is a penalty for sin -- Hell, the Lake of Fire. There is no need for one to go to hell because Christ suffered our hell debt for us. He arose, He lives, and He will save you now, the moment you believe in Him.
Now to deal with the subject, Why do God's children suffer? Now some might suggest, ''Why raise a question like that?" Well, I believe that we should do it. I believe that we do ask it. No doubt today I am speaking to some of you who suffer. You may not have audibly spoken out and raised that question where others could hear you; but no doubt down deep in the recesses of your own heart and mind you have raised the question, "Why has this thing happened to me? Why do I suffer?" Certainly we are in a World of suffering. There is much suffering in this world today--tornadoes, earthquakes, storms, plane crashes, automobile wrecks. People are dying and suffering with diseases—cancer, heart diseases, tuberculosis, to name a few. My question is not, "Why do the ungodly suffer?" Certainly they suffer; but my question is, "Why do God's people suffer?"
First of all, how does one become a child of God? Who is a child of God anyway? What is the difference between a saved man and a lost man? Well, there is much difference. There are many differences between a saved man and a lost man. What are the differences? The saved person has a right standing before God. The lost man does not. The saved man has everlasting life; the lost man is dead in trespasses and sins. He is void of spiritual life. The saved man stands right before God. He has been justified. He is justified, and will continue to be justified; but the lost man stands condemned before God.
There are many scriptures that I could give you but I trust that you know that these things are scriptural. This is scriptural truth. The saved man has been delivered from the wrath to come, but God's wrath abides upon the lost man. The lost man is without God. The saved man has God as his father. The lost man is without Christ. The saved man has Christ as his Savior and should make Him the Lord of his life. The lost man is without hope. Who made all these differences? Well, the question is raised in the Bible. "Who makes thee to differ?" (I Cor. 4:7) The difference that has been brought about between the saved person and the lost person is the difference that God Himself has made. We read in the book of Exodus when God's ancient people Israel were in bondage in Egypt that God said, "The Lord doth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel" (Ex. 11:7). Mind you, it is the difference that God said that He would put. Now what was the difference? It was the difference between life and death, and the blood of the lamb made the difference. Israel had the spotless lamb slain and its blood placed where God said place it, and the firstborn son in their homes had his life spared that night when judgment fell upon the Egyptians and slew all the firstborn in the land of Egypt. There is no doubt in my mind but that there were many Egyptian boys, so far as their moral conduct was concerned, were as good as some of the Hebrew boys, and maybe better in some instances. It was not character that made the difference. It was the blood of the lamb. It was that lamb that was spotless. It was that lamb which had been offered as God said to offer it. The blood of that lamb had been placed on the door and the lintel of the houses where the Israelites dwelled. God said, "And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the Land of Egypt" (Ex. 12:13). So you see, it is the blood of Christ that makes the difference. I trust that you know this.
"Why do the righteous suffer?" Well, there are many reasons. The philosophy of this world is not the philosophy of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. In John 9 you remember there was a blind man who had never been able to see his father, his mother, his loved ones, his friends, nor the light of the day. Jesus saw this man one day as He passed by and some people asked the question, "Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?" (John 9:2). Now, the question is not, "Did this man sin?" Certainly all have sinned and come short of the glory of God; but the question is, "Whose sin caused him to be born blind?" Was it the man's sin or was it his father's and mother's sin? Now that is the philosophy of the world; but you know the Lord gave us the correct answer as He always does; "Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him" (John 9:3).
You have the same principle set forth in John 11. Lazarus became ill. He was deathly sick and he died. You remember that Jesus was not there and Mary and Martha sent word to Jesus saying, "Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick" (John 11:3). Jesus remained for sometime in the place where He was before He went to the home of these sisters, Mary and Martha. When Jesus heard that, he said, "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby" (John 11:4). This idea that people suffer because they do wrong lack faith is pagan to the core.
I want to call to your attention some things in Hebrews 11. "By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter; choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward" (Heb. 11:24-26). Notice it is by faith. "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God" (Rom. 10:17). When did you ever hear of a person choosing to suffer? Well, you have just heard of one. Moses was that one man. This passage, "By faith he chose to suffer." He chose to suffer affliction. Now we have people to tell us today when people are ill and pray to be healed, that they do not have sufficient faith to be healed. Here was a man of God who made a choice to suffer. He could have made the other choice had he wanted to. No doubt it was left up to him. Moses came to be the adopted son of Pharaoh, and he grew up in the court of Pharaoh in Egypt. In Acts 7 quoting Steven says, "And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds" (Acts 7:22). But you will notice here when he came to be of age, he chose to suffer affliction. This man Moses from his childhood no doubt had a godly father and mother who taught him the ways of the Lord, the Word of God. Moses was a very fortunate young man and so is any young man or young woman, boy or girl who has a godly father and a godly mother who take the Bible for what it is and what is says and teach it to their children. Moses was one of that number. When he came to be a man, he refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter. Moses knew he was not an Egyptian. He knew he did not belong in the company. He belonged with God's covenant people of Israel, the Hebrews. He learned this truth from who had learned it from the Word of God. God had a way of communicating and revealing Himself to those people and by this teaching he was able to make a choice. What was it? He chose to suffer affliction with the people of God.
Now what is the answer to my question? Why do God's people suffer? Why did Moses, one of God's own suffer? A great man of God he was. Statesman, lawgiver, etc. It was by faith that he made the choice. That is, Moses heard the Word of God, he believed the Word of God; and he acted upon the Word of God. In so doing he was led to make a choice. Egypt stands for the world. So Moses was in the world but he was not of it. When God's time came for Moses to leave Egypt, he left Pharaoh's court and refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter. He chose rather to suffer the affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season.
Did you ever hear anyone say that there is no pleasure in sin? Sin does offer pleasure; but you know one of the bad things about it, Sin leaves a bad taste in your mouth, figuratively speaking.
King David said, "At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore" (Ps. 16:11). You know, we as God's people are not to spend our days in pleasure. God says, "She that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth" (I Tim. 5:6). There are pleasures in this world and Moses knew something about them. One of the bad things about the pleasure of sin is that it does not last long; but the pleasure that God gives lasts forevermore, not just for a little short season. Well, that should help us notice more about this man Moses esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt. Why, he would rather suffer reproach for the name of Christ than have all those riches and treasures Egypt had to offer. This is why he suffered. He chose to let the world go one way and he went the other way. When any child of God does that, he is going to suffer. "For he had respect unto the recompense of the reward." "By faith he forsook Egypt not fearing the wrath of the king for he endured seeing Him who is invisible." In other words, Moses took the long look. He looked way down to the end of the age when the Lord Jesus would come again and reward those who would dare to take a stand for him, even if it cost him suffering in this world. Why do the righteous suffer? Some of them suffer because they choose to suffer.
History is filled with the record of God's dear people who, rather than deny their faith in Christ and take an easy road, have suffered all kinds of torture because they wanted to honor the one who loved them and gave Himself for them. There are many reasons why God's people suffer. The book of Job tells how Job suffered as few men, if any, have suffered. You know, he suffered because the Devil lied on him to God.
Job was a righteous man, perfect in his generations. He wasn't a sinless man; he was a developed man. He wasn't a babe in Christ. Babes in Christ could not stand up under what Job did. He was rooted and grounded in the truth of God and was a well-rounded, full-grown, developed man of God, spiritually speaking. He was a rich man. He had a large family of ten children. The sons of God came to appear before the Lord and Satan went also among them. God asked Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job?" Of course, Satan had considered him. Satan said, "Build a fence around him." The Devil can tell the truth. God has a hedge around each of His children, and the Devil can never joy, tear down, go under, over, or through that fence unless Almighty God gives Him the privilege to do so. The Devil said, "You are good to Job and that is the reason he serves you. That is the reason he is such a servant. Put forth your hand and take what he has and he will curse you to your face." So you see, it became necessary to prove for all time and eternity that the Devil was a liar from the beginning. God turned His prophet Job over to him to sift him. And Oh! how he sifted him! The first thing he did was to kill all of Job's children. Then he took all his property away from him. Job was then afflicted with a disease, boils from the sole of his feet to the top of his head. That person who should have been his best friend, his wife, turned against him and wanted him to curse God and die. But you remember, Job won the victory. He said, "You speak like one of the foolish women. God has given us the good things and here come these evil things. In other words, Job said later, speaking of God, "Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him." That stands as a monument until this day that the old Devil was a liar; that God knew he was and is. Isn't that wonderful? Job fell on his face and in all of this worshipped God, and said, "Naked came I out of my mother's womb; naked shall I return. The Lord has given, the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord." Why do the righteous suffer? This is one reason. Job suffered because the Devil lied on him and God turned him over to Satan to sift him and to prove to this universe that the Devil was wrong.
No doubt many times we as God's children suffer because we do things that are wrong. Naturally, it is one of those things that brings suffering upon us. God says in His Word, "Be not deceived; God is not mocked; whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." People take poison into their bodies in the form of nicotine or alcohol they have liver trouble, cancer of the throat, of the lungs, ulcers of the stomach or other ailments. We ask, "Why do people like that suffer?" If you stick you finger in the fire, you are going to get burned. If we take something into our bodies that hurts them, we are going to suffer.
There are many reasons why we suffer. Paul said, "That I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." One of the big words in I Peter is SUFFERINGS of God's people. II Corinthians has much to say about the sufferings of the Apostle Paul. Please read II Corinthians 4. One of the purposes God has for suffering is to wean from this world, to burn out the dross, the impurities, and unbecoming things in our lives, that the pure gold might shine out in all of its luster.
David said, "It is good for me that I have been afflicted that I might learn thy statutes." We learn things in sufferings. Then again he said, "I know, 0 Lord, that Thy judgments are right and that Thou in faithfulness has afflicted me." God has many ways in dealing with His Children. He saves us by His grace, redeems us by His blood; and He will present us yonder without spot or wrinkle to Himself in glory where we will be with Him and will be like Him and live in His presence forevermore. |