Suffering for Righteousness’ Sake

As I am finishing Job in my through-the-Bible reading this year, I have come to the place where God answers Job in the last two chapters. He does not pull any punches in declaring that He is sovereign over all His creation. Something God does not do is tell Job he was wrong about being righteous. After establishing His credentials as Creator, God simply leaves Job to conclude that God can do whatever He wants with His creation. In other words, God may allow suffering in the life of a “righteous” person.

I put righteous in quotes because as Paul says, “There is no one righteous.” One could argue that Job lived under a different set of rules than those of Paul’s day, but that won’t wash. The very argument Paul uses in his Roman discourse is that righteousness has always been a matter of faith not works. Using an example from before the Cross, Abraham, Paul belabors the point that it was Abraham’s willingness to trust God that led to his being declared righteous. Depending on your definition of suffering, it might also be said that Abraham’s faith did not excuse him from suffering any more than Job’s did.

The trials of the righteous are something I have written about several times. (See related posts below for examples.) I disagree with preachers like Rob Bell who deny that hell exists. (See Hell? Yes!) I have also taken issue with Randy Alcorn’s position that Christians are supposed to be happy all the time. These men, along with the purveyors of the prosperity gospel, misinterpret Scripture in such a way that sincere believers who experience trials and troubles think they have fallen out of favor with God. (See Abraham’s Promises.) Nothing could be farther from the truth. Hear the Apostle Peter: “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, when it^[a] takes place to test you,” Or Paul’s word to Timothy: “All those who want to live in a godly manner in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” Jesus Himself said that tribulation was inevitable.

The problem with many Christians today is their warped concept of God. Sadly, the misperception of who God really is often comes from the pulpit. In ages past, the idea of a strong sovereign who worked his will unilaterally was common. Nobles and kings lorded it over their subjects often with no mercy. It was certainly true during the times when the Bible was being written. It remained the normal way of things up until about the twelfth century when the idea of individual human rights began to be explored.

In the eighteenth century a young upstart colony of England proposed the concept of “certain unalienable rights” granted by the Creator. While I heartily support that idea as it was enshrined in our founding documents, I regret to say that it has worked its way into religious thinking among many people. I regret this because it has caused people to think of God in the same way as the King of England, for example. Mistaken people think their rights extend to the right to invent their own image of God. (See That’s Not God.) When that sort of idea invaded our seminaries, a flood of bad theology washed through the church.

It would be helpful, corrective, if we all remember what the original sin was: independence. Adam and Eve chose to be independent of God, making their own truth, and look where that has led us. Thinking back to Abraham again, notice that Paul’s main point to the Romans was that Abraham “trusted” God. In other words, his ideas of how things should work (ie: Ishmael) had to be abandoned. God went so far as to ask Abraham to sacrifice the son He had finally granted (Isaac) as an act of obedience or trust. The story has a happy ending because God didn’t make Abraham go through with the slaughter. But he proved he was willing. The writer of Hebrews says that Abraham believed God would bring his son back from the dead if he killed him as ordered.

Abraham and the rest of the catalogue of faithful ones in the eleventh chapter of Hebrews trusted God even though most never saw the ultimate vindication of their faith. The writer says they were looking for a different city, “one whose architect and builder is God.” They were willing to let God draw up the plans and then live them out no matter the consequences. When Paul told the Romans that things would work out for good, he meant that God’s good plan would be worked out through the lives of His children. (See Working All Things for Good.)

The best life we can hope for in this world is the one God has planned for us. I have tried doing things my way a few times, and things didn’t always work out for good – mine or those around me. I am late to the party, but I can say for the most part that I am willing to let go and let God as they say. This is hard for me because I think I am the smartest guy in the room. The problem is that if I believe the Bible, God is always in the room too. That leaves me (or should leave me) somewhere way less that the smartest guy. On the other hand, recognizing who God is and deferring to His wisdom in my life is the smartest thing I can do – it’s the righteous thing to do. If I suffer, I suffer. I am also looking for that other city.

Related posts: Don’t Ask Why; Ask the Right Question; The Goodness of God in the Bad Times; Is it the Devil or is it God?; Can You Praise God?