To start with in this new series on living by faith in trials and suffering, I want to share why this study has come into my mind to study, teach and share. I don’t think any of us could say that we have never been through the difficulties of life so it isn’t that I have been through something that no one else has. But I do want to share how I have faced the trials and difficulties of life and just so you know, I have not been as faithful to God as I should have been in every trial I have faced. There has been times of disobedience through the trials of life that has led me even further into the suffering that I was already in. So I am not approaching this study as if I have been perfect in every instance because that is far from the truth.
I am approaching this study with the mindset of showing how the Bible teaches us how we are to respond to trials and suffering. I will share along the way many different times that I have failed and yet learned from God to be able to get through the suffering that I was in. We will look at Hebrews 11 which is known as the faith chapter of the Bible. I want to look at each person listed so that we can see the many different situations that they were in and how God showed them the path to live by faith in their trial and suffering. I want to be clear also throughout this study that when we find ourselves living in disobedience then our suffering is brought on as a time of discipline from God. When we turn from God’s way He will help us through the trial that we have got ourselves into but sometimes that will be the reason we face the trials that we are in.
Other times we will suffer because of living in a sinful, fallen world that brings about suffering as we all face. Then we will see that suffering is sometimes in connection to us being followers of the Lord Jesus, through persecution and being in opposition to our society. But the same conclusion happens in each of these situations which leads us to understand that we go through these trials for a specific purpose. It really becomes a two-fold purpose that shows us that God is glorified through these trials and also that we are strengthened spiritually through these trials if we follow God’s way of dealing with the trials that we are faced with. So as we begin this study I hope to grow and learn together in how we are to live by faith in the trials and suffering that we face throughout our life. Let’s look at our first point for this study as we build this study from the standpoint of why we face these difficulties of life.
1.Why are there trials and suffering?
To open up with we will start off with a look away from Hebrews 11 which is our focus for the entirety of this study series and just build the case of why we face trials as seen in other Scriptures. Look with me at James 1:2-4 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. I start this study series with a look at why we face so many trials in life and why we suffer often in this life. I want to be clear here that the prosperity gospel teaches that if you are suffering physically, spiritually, financially or in any other way then it is because you don’t have enough faith in God. They teach that God wants you healthy, rich and basically to rule life the way you wish. These teachings are contrary to what is taught in the Bible as we will see clearly and should be refuted at every level of teaching because this a distorted gospel.
The fact we see in Scripture is that trials and suffering is a part of life for the believer and the unbeliever alike. All people will face difficulties in relationships, any person can lose a loved one by an accident or sickness, any person can face a loss of a job or will suffer theft of some type. No one is exempt from these things happening to them so being a follower of the Lord Jesus does not change that. We must remember that Jesus said this to His disciples on the night of His arrest before His crucifixion in John 16:33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
It is clear that Jesus did not tell His disciples that they would be free from the problems of life. Jesus in the next chapter in what we know as the High Priestly prayer, prays in John 17:15 and says I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.
It is not the hope of being able to be removed out of the struggles of life that we should be seeking but rather how to live in the trials that we face. This will be the point that we will look at in our next point but we must ask why is it that Jesus would not remove us from these trials and sufferings of life? We point back to the passage we looked at from James 1 which tells us in James 1:2-4 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.
Again we notice the certainty that we will meet trials of various kinds. It isn’t a matter of if we will but rather when we will. So I want us to see what James says here in relation to why we face these trials. He says for you know that the testing of your faith to start off with.
Peter expresses this same thing in 1 Peter 1:6-7 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
So contrary to the prosperity gospel, it is not our lack of faith that brings upon us suffering but it is to test the genuineness of our faith. It is to see if the faith you say you have is backed up with the action that comes from a true follower of Christ. This is the point that James makes in the 2nd chapter as well when he goes into a teaching that says if you have faith without works this just shows that you really don’t have faith at all. James says in James 2:18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.
As we look back at our passage in James 1:2-4 we will notice that this testing of faith does something, it produces steadfastness. The Greek word for steadfastness is hupomoné (hoop-om-on-ay’) which means to remain under or to endure. So it isn’t to be removed from the trial but rather to remain faithful as we endure through or under the trial. Once again these trials and sufferings happen for a purpose that we see as we look at James 1:4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
We remain faithful and endure so that we can grow spiritually. This spiritual growth comes not from our own power but rather because our Lord has given to us the ability to endure and get through the trial. It is what 1 Corinthians 10:13 says: No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
So many people misinterpret this verse by thinking that God removes you from the trial or temptation that you face. That is not what this verse means or even says here. We see here that God provides the ability to escape by enduring the trial. The promise is that God will provide the ability to endure and this will lead us to escape the temptation without falling prey to the enticement to give in to it. This growth is the sanctification process in which we are in that brings God glory as we live through it. 2 Corinthians 3:18 says of this: And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.
God is glorified through the endurance of our faith in the trial because He is the One that has provided that faith to endure. This really brings us to a final thought in this study as we look at our second point and really just begin to see what these trials do in the life of a true follower of the Lord Jesus Christ.
2.The testimony of faith in trials and suffering.
Look with me at Hebrews 11:1-2 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 2 For by it the people of old received their commendation. We will revisit these verses to begin the next study so that we understand what this faith that the writer of Hebrews is speaking of but for this study I want us to notice the connection of faith being the testimony of those that are spoken of in this chapter. It will be seen that the faith they had did not stop with a spoken word of their testimony of their belief but that they did things to show they had faith. We will begin to see that faith starts in the heart and moves to action in every area of your life. So what we see here is that this faith that the people spoken of in this chapter led to their commendation.
This word commendation is the Greek word emartyrēthēsan (ay-mahr-tyoo-RAY-thay-sahn) which means to bear witness to or affirm to or approve of. So what we see here is that the faith that these people in the 11th chapter of Hebrews had was what approved them. Or as we have seen already from James chapter 2, their works is what showed that they really had faith. We see again so clearly in James 2:26 For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.
So faith with no action is no better than saying that I am a doctor even though I am not. Words of testimony alone have no truth behind it if their is no action to show the testimony that you are giving. But if there is action or works then that shows and proves the genuineness of the faith that you have. Some people try to live a moral life outwardly without an internal change or without an internal faith. This is equally as dangerous as saying that you have faith with no action. Look at what John says of this in 1 John 3:17-18 But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? 18 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.
So even though John is speaking of things outside of trials and suffering what we see here is the principle that we need to be true to what we portray in our testimony or by our supposed morality. If we say we have faith then that faith will be obvious in our action. It is then that our faith is validated to be true and we too will receive this commendation as we will see from the people in this chapter in Hebrews. As we move into our next study we will define what faith is and will begin to look at these great people of the Bible that had this faith even in the most difficult situations. I hope to learn and grow in faith as we move through this and I will share personal testimonies of times of struggles, failures and victories that I have been through as well. All of this has helped me to grow and to continue to see my sinfulness as I have dealt with the trials and sufferings in my life
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