13.5 Reconciling the Gospel with the sufferings of life
Many Christians are afraid to share the good news because they do not know how to reconcile it with problems that they experience. We acknowledge that Christians will experience problems and sufferings in life (John 16:33). However, we must understand the root cause of these sufferings in order to respond correctly to them. Frequently, a problem is an opportunity to experience God’s miraculous intervention resulting in glory to God (John 9:3).
There are generally 3 different categories of sufferings and we will use the life of King David to bring out these powerful truths.
1) Sufferings that Christ Redeemed Us from (Problems to Overcome)
King David said:
(Ps 23:4)
Yea, though I walk through the VALLEY of the SHADOW OF DEATH, I will fear no evil;
For You ARE WITH ME; Your ROD and Your staff, they COMFORT me.
This means that David experienced problems. But God was his comfort and the rod of God, which signifies the power of God, delivered him. He faced the lion and the bear (1 Sam 17:36). Subsequently, he faced Goliath which is a type of Satan. Then he faced the armies of the enemies, but God always delivered him and he overcame.
Just as David defeated Goliath on behalf of Israel, Jesus defeated Satan on behalf of the Church. He paid the price for our sins to redeem us from the curse of the law, which is the curse of sin. The real author for these curses is Satan. In the Garden of Eden, Satan, through sin, brought about sickness, poverty, oppression and death. He came to steal, kill and to destroy (John 10:10). All our sins have been nailed to the cross and Satan has lost his legal right to inflict us. Col 2:14-15 says that Jesus triumphed over Satan, and disarmed Satan of his weapon — the law that condemns.
Today, we no longer need to suffer from the curse of the law that Christ has already redeemed us from (Gal 3:13). We need to go to the cross and take hold of our covenant promises by faith.
The curse of the law mentioned in Deut 28 includes poverty, barrenness, confusion, destruction, sickness, disease, oppression, defeat, weakness, demotion, hunger and many more. Some Christians believe that poverty and sickness are blessings from God. Deut 28 tells us that they are not blessings but curses, which Christ has redeemed us from.
For example, a Christian may fall sick. Since Jesus has borne our sickness on the cross, we should battle the symptoms and draw upon grace for healing.
There are generally 3 different categories of sufferings and we will use the life of King David to bring out these powerful truths.
1) Sufferings that Christ Redeemed Us from (Problems to Overcome)
King David said:
(Ps 23:4)
Yea, though I walk through the VALLEY of the SHADOW OF DEATH, I will fear no evil;
For You ARE WITH ME; Your ROD and Your staff, they COMFORT me.
This means that David experienced problems. But God was his comfort and the rod of God, which signifies the power of God, delivered him. He faced the lion and the bear (1 Sam 17:36). Subsequently, he faced Goliath which is a type of Satan. Then he faced the armies of the enemies, but God always delivered him and he overcame.
Just as David defeated Goliath on behalf of Israel, Jesus defeated Satan on behalf of the Church. He paid the price for our sins to redeem us from the curse of the law, which is the curse of sin. The real author for these curses is Satan. In the Garden of Eden, Satan, through sin, brought about sickness, poverty, oppression and death. He came to steal, kill and to destroy (John 10:10). All our sins have been nailed to the cross and Satan has lost his legal right to inflict us. Col 2:14-15 says that Jesus triumphed over Satan, and disarmed Satan of his weapon — the law that condemns.
Today, we no longer need to suffer from the curse of the law that Christ has already redeemed us from (Gal 3:13). We need to go to the cross and take hold of our covenant promises by faith.
The curse of the law mentioned in Deut 28 includes poverty, barrenness, confusion, destruction, sickness, disease, oppression, defeat, weakness, demotion, hunger and many more. Some Christians believe that poverty and sickness are blessings from God. Deut 28 tells us that they are not blessings but curses, which Christ has redeemed us from.
For example, a Christian may fall sick. Since Jesus has borne our sickness on the cross, we should battle the symptoms and draw upon grace for healing.
posted by Joshua Lye @ 1:38 AM
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