At the beginning of the 20th century, something very significant
took place within the church. After centuries of neglect, Christians in quite
large numbers began to see the importance of the gifts of the Holy Spirit
referred to in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10.
It is true that the use of these gifts had never actually died
out. But they had been very neglected, and this began to change in a big way
early in the 20th century.
Since then, the use of gifts of the Spirit by Christians has
increased dramatically, especially among evangelicals. In fact, it would surely
be right to say that today quite a large majority of evangelicals worldwide
either use the gifts or accept their use as valid. What is more, the signs are
that the percentage of evangelicals who take this position will continue to increase,
and this is very good news.
Charismatic Christians
Christians who use or approve of using the gifts of the Spirit
listed in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10 are commonly called “charismatic Christians.”
And churches of charismatic Christians are known as “charismatic churches.” The
word “charismatic” comes from the Greek word charisma, meaning “gift,” which is
used several times in 1 Corinthians 12 to refer to gifts of the Spirit.
Problems in
charismatic churches
Although charismatic churches are absolutely right to stress the
importance of gifts of the Spirit, it should be regarded as a fact that big
problems often arise in these churches. Here are some of the main ones:
·
The importance of the Bible is often downplayed.
·
The so-called “prosperity gospel” is frequently taught.
·
Various extreme views on supernatural healing are common.
·
The importance of reasoning and the mind is often neglected.
·
Too much stress is often placed on personal experience.
These are all serious errors that cause huge problems.
Downplaying the
importance of hardship
There is, however, another major error that commonly occurs in
charismatic churches. Many churches and church leaders are at fault for
downplaying and underemphasizing the importance and role of hardship and
suffering in the Christian life. And this is the error I want to focus on in
this article.
Charismatic churches will usually place a lot of emphasis on joy
and God blessing believers, and it is quite right that they do so. This is a
thoroughly biblical emphasis.
However, the Bible contains many more paradoxes and tensions than
we are used to in modern Western culture, and Christians today often get caught
out by this. Just because Scripture teaches that blessing and joy is part of
the normal Christian life, this in no way means that hardship should not also
be a significant part. And as it happens, the Bible teaches in many places that
Christians can typically expect to experience a considerable amount of
suffering.
Suffering of
Christians in the New Testament
In some New Testament examples of Christians suffering, it is true
that the suffering is a result of personal sins. In 1 Corinthians 11:27-30, for
example, we are told that sickness and even death has come to some of the
Corinthian Christians because they have been abusing the Lord’s Supper.
However, in a large majority of New Testament references to
suffering in the lives of Christians, there is no hint that anything is wrong
in God’s sight. In fact, sometimes the hardship is actually seen as something positive.
To put it simply, according to the New Testament, suffering is a significant
part of the normal Christian life.
The following are some of the key passages:
John 16
In John 16:33 Jesus tells His
disciples:
“In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
(Bible quotations in this article are from the English Standard
Version.)
Importantly, there is no good reason for thinking
that Jesus is saying here only that apostles, or apostles and some other early
Christians, can expect to suffer tribulation. Nearly all of Jesus’ words in His
Farewell Discourse of John 13-17 apply to believers down through the centuries.
And in this verse He is apparently referring to normal Christian experience.
Romans 5
In Romans 5:3-4 Paul writes to the church in Rome
“3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope . . .”
In this passage Paul is speaking about Christians in general. The
“we” in v. 3 is not a reference just to apostles but to all believers, as the
preceding context makes clear.
Importantly too, nothing in the letter to the Romans suggests that
the church in Rome
Note also the value Paul places on suffering here. It is something
that leads to endurance, character and hope in the lives of Christians.
Romans 8
In Romans 8:17-18 Paul says:
“. . . 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. 18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”
Again, Paul is referring to Christians in general in this passage,
not just to apostles. And he is clearly implying that suffering is a
significant part of normal Christian experience.
Note how in v. 17 he even says that being an heir of God, a fellow
heir with Christ and glorification in heaven are conditional on suffering!
That is not to say that Paul is suggesting that suffering is a
direct condition of salvation. He doesn’t mean that salvation is dependent on
suffering in the same way that it is on faith in Christ. Nor does he mean, for
example, that people who are converted just before they die will not be saved
because they are not able to spend time suffering. But the reason he phrases
things in the way he does is because he sees suffering as such a basic part of
the normal Christian life.
Philippians 1
In Philippians 1:29 Paul tells the church
in Philippi :
“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 . . .”
Paul is clear here that suffering for Christ is something
that God has granted to the Philippians.
2 Timothy 3
In 2 Timothy 3:12 Paul tells Timothy:
“Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted . . .”
In this verse Paul is explicit that every devout
Christian will be persecuted. And persecution always involves suffering of some
sort.
Hebrews
12
In Hebrews 12:7 the
author states:
“It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline?”
And then a little later, at Hebrews 12:11 , he says:
“For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant . . .”
In v. 7 the author tells his readers that God is
treating them as His sons. And there is no doubt that God treats all Christians
in this way.
Verse 7 also tells us that every son is
disciplined by his father. So, given that God treats all Christians as sons,
this means that He disciplines all of us.
Finally, v. 11 says that discipline is painful.
It is clear from these verses, then, that we
should expect some degree of suffering and hardship to come to every believer.
James 1
In James 1:2-4 James writes:
“2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”
Like Paul in Romans 5:3-4 that we looked at
above, James clearly sees the hardship involved in trials as something that
works towards the moral improvement of Christians. And he obviously thinks that
believers can commonly expect to suffer in this way.
1
Peter 4
In 1 Peter 4:12
Peter tells his readers:
“Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.”
In this verse Peter is clear that suffering is
not a strange thing for Christians to experience.
Revelation
1
In Revelation 1:9 John speaks about himself in
this way:
“I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus . . .”
Notice how John refers
to “the tribulation . . . and the patient endurance that are in Jesus.” This quite
strongly implies that suffering is a part of the normal Christian life.
Revelation
21
In Revelation 21:4 John says this about those who reach heaven:
“He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
It is Christians who will get to heaven. So this
verse implies that while here on earth, weeping, mourning, crying and pain are
common Christian experiences.
Summing
up
The combined weight of the passages we have just
looked at proves beyond doubt that hardship is a significant part of normal
Christian experience. And there are dozens – maybe even hundreds – of other
passages from the Old and New Testaments that point in the same direction. Some
of these will be referred to in the rest of the article.
Types
of hardship
As far as the types of hardships experienced by Christians are
concerned, the Bible refers to various different ones.
Persecution figures prominently. See, e.g., Matthew 5:10-12; Acts 8:1-3;
Hebrews 10:32-34; 1 Peter 2:19-23; Revelation 2:10.
Material poverty also features. See, e.g., Luke 6:20; 2
Corinthians 6:10; 8:1-2; Philippians 4:12; James 1:9; 2:5; Revelation 2:9.
And there are many passages in which the type of hardship is not
defined, including numerous references to endurance. See, e.g., Luke 21:19;
Romans 15:5; 2 Corinthians 1:5-7; 6:4; Philippians 3:10; Revelation 14:12.
Why do Christians
suffer in the will of God?
It is clear, then, that Christians who are doing the will of God
can expect to suffer hardship of various kinds. But this raises a question.
Why?
It is outside the scope of this article to discuss this issue in
any detail. Nevertheless, I will make a few brief comments.
First, hardship is a consequence of living in a fallen world. Ever
since sin entered our world, it has been under a curse. And it is inevitable
that everyone who lives here will suffer to a greater or lesser extent.
Second, one of the main ways in which God purifies us morally is
by leading us through sufferings. We have already seen how Romans 5:3-4 and
James 1:2-4 teach along these lines. Other passages that do so include Job
23:10; 2 Corinthians 4:8-11 and 1 Peter 1:6-7.
Third, if we are engaged, as we should be, in conflict with evil
spirits, this is bound to involve at least some hardship. In Ephesians 6:12 Paul refers to Christians “wrestling” with demonic
powers, and it would be unrealistic to expect this to happen without any pain.
Finally, suffering in the life of a Christian can lead to
increased spiritual strength. In 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 Paul speaks of his
gladness in experiencing sufferings, since these weaken him in a non-spiritual
sense, thereby enabling him to be strong spiritually. And many other Christians
have also testified to forms of weakness leading to greater spiritual strength.
Suffering and joy
I have already noted that the joy of Christians is a major
biblical theme. And I have noted too that Scripture contains more paradoxes
than we are used to in modern Western culture.
So it needs to be stated clearly that the suffering in normal
Christian experience in no way means that joy should not also be a significant
part of that experience. In fact, in some biblical passages the themes of joy
and suffering are found together. See Psalm 94:19; Habakkuk 3:17-19; 2
Corinthians 6:10; 7:4; Colossians 1:24; 1 Thessalonians 1:6; James 1:2-4; and 1
Peter 1:6.
Poor teaching
Given that hardship is a basic part of the normal Christian life,
it is important that Christian leaders don’t neglect to teach their flocks on
this topic.
Too often in charismatic churches this teaching is
underemphasized, and when it is, problems arise. Christians who encounter
troubles in their lives that are not quickly resolved can be told, or at least
led to believe, that their sufferings must be because of some unconfessed sin.
It is true that sin sometimes is the
cause of suffering. However, often it isn’t, and in such cases it is very
damaging for the person in question to be criticized, when what they really
need is encouragement.
The same thing can happen to whole churches. Corporate hardships
arise, and if it is taught that a successful church should not be a suffering
church, a feeling of disillusionment can set in among a congregation. Sometimes,
however, I am sure that the corporate sufferings which arise are actually
because a church is making spiritual progress. Something that should be a
reason for optimism can, through poor teaching, become a cause of
discouragement.
Long-term absence of
hardship is usually a bad sign
As well as recognizing that hardships experienced by Christians don’t
have to mean that anything is wrong, there is the other side of the coin to
consider too. As we have seen, suffering is a part of the normal Christian life
as it is found in the New Testament. Therefore, if a believer has no
significant suffering in their life for a considerable period of time, it may
well be that something is seriously wrong with their Christian walk.
In fact, I would even suggest that church leaders should encourage
any Christian who has insignificant hardship to ask God if something might have
gone wrong. If a Christian has little joy in their life, something is probably
not right. And the same is surely true of hardship.
Final words
The charismatic movement has been, and is, a real force for God’s
work in the world. The stress on the importance of gifts of the Holy Spirit is quite
right, as is the emphasis on joy and blessing.
However, many charismatic churches would be much stronger if the
importance of hardship were included prominently in teaching on what the normal
Christian life involves. Too often this is downplayed, and many Christians and
churches are weaker as a result.
See also:
