Faith Filled Suffering
“This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.”
In the previous verse, Paul was exhorting the Philippians to live in a manner worthy of the gospel, being unified by the gospel, defending the gospel, striving forward for the gospel, and being fearless in the face of opponents of the gospel. And then he wrote, ‘by doing this it would be a clear sign to them of their destruction and the Philippian church’s salvation’. How is this so? How is this a sign of salvation, and a sign of their opponents destruction?
I want to point out a few things in this passage that will help us to understand this. Paul says that this sign of salvation and of destruction is from God, and he gives us a basis for knowing that this sign is from God.
“For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake”
So, God has granted the Philippians belief in Christ, and suffering for Christ. And it is this faith-filled suffering that is a sign of their salvation and of the destruction of those who are persecuting them. For when somebody is willing to take beatings for the sake of Christ, and willing to die for Christ then this is a clear sign that this whole gospel thing is real. When somebody is willing to suffer for the sake of Christ, then that is a clear sign that they believe in Christ, and the people who are causing the suffering can also see that they believe, which causes them to see their own destruction.
Paul is a perfect example of faith filled suffering, and in verse 30 he reminds the Philippians of what they saw of his suffering when he was with them, it is recorded in Acts 16:19-24,
“They seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers. And when they had brought them to the magistrates, they said, “These men are Jews, and they are disturbing our city. They advocate customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to accept or practice.” The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates tore the garments off them and gave orders to beat them with rods. And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely. Having received this order, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.”
Paul suffered some horrible things in his lifetime, but he had an awesome of view of God’s sovereignty, and he counted it an honour to be beaten and imprisoned for Christ, he had a confidence in God’s sovereignty and goodness, his suffering was not meaningless.
Whilst we may not be engaged in the same level of persecution and suffering as Paul faced. Suffering certainly comes in the Christian life, some suffer more than others, and it manifests in different ways for different people, but suffering whatever it may be is never meaningless, for while God is sovereign, he has a sovereign purpose, and while he has a sovereign purpose, our suffering is purposeful. While the Christian suffers, we suffer for Christ, and this faith-filled suffering is the greatest witness to the gospel of Christ there is. When somebody sees a person giving praise to God amidst pain and persecution, then that person has surely seen the gospel of Jesus Christ, who suffered and died for us to the glory of God.
If persecution against the church in the Western World comes in our day, I pray that we would join with Christ, Paul and our brothers and sisters across the world who fearlessly suffered and continue to suffer with faith in Christ for the glory of God.
