Welcome to a firm foundation presented by Princeton Ministries with Dr. Ken Smith. This is Carol Smith, Ken’s wife. Please enjoy.

Have you ever been in the intensive care ward of a hospital? I was this week. It wasn’t the first time. Door. And as the door opens into that intensive care unit, you are struck by death. You walk down the hall, you see someone in a bed with tubes of every manner, one tube helping them to breathe, another tube helping them to eat. And some, you can conclude, are certainly within hours of standing before the Lord. Others in the providence of God. Medicine. The prayers of God’s people will bring them back to a health of state of health. It’s one thing to know about intensive cared wards, but it’s another thing when you are going into that ward to see a Christian. And I think each of us faces the question, what is the place of suffering in the life of a Christian?

There are some who like to say, well, Christianity is a magic wand. And as soon as you put your faith in Jesus Christ, everything becomes perfect. Not only does it become perfect, but, my friend, I have good news for you. You’re going to be the president of your organization. You are going to have health like no one has ever had health. You’re going to have finances like no one has ever seen. Financial blessing. Just simply trust in Jesus Christ and all these things can be yours. Have you ever heard something like that? It seems the more that the christian message is placed on television, on the radio, more and more of this message seems to be filling the minds of Christians. And I would ask you, what is the place of suffering in your life as a Christian?

That’s what I want to talk with you about. Paul was very aware of suffering, and in the book of Philippians, chapter one, verses 27 through 30, he talks about striving and suffering as a Christian for Jesus Christ. In verse 27 he says, let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit with one mind, striving together for the faith of the gospel. I think if I had a choice in all of this, I would prefer every week to talk to you about the blessings of the Lord. I enjoy talking about the privileges of being a Christian, the message that we’re saved by grace, that God has given this to us. Isn’t that a privilege? Isn’t that a joy?

That you have been adopted into God’s family, not because of anything you’ve done, but because of what Christ has done. For you. Isn’t that a joy to think about that and a privilege that someday you and I are going to spend eternity in heaven with Jesus Christ? I never tire of thinking and talking about the privileges and the blessings of being a Christian. Paul never tired of that. But you know, as you read the apostle Paul, you find that there is another word that often characterizes a teaching, and that word is obligation. Responsibility. That for all of the privileges and blessings that we have in Jesus Christ, we have received these.

And God would want in each of our life that we would begin to see that there is an obligation that we have to God, that there are responsibilities that come with all of the blessings that are ours. Through Jesus Christ, for example, we are told to abstain from immorality. That, to me does not sound like a blessing as much as a responsibility of being a Christian. Those who are young are told to flee from youthful lusts. That if you’re a christian young person, that you have a responsibility that when you find yourself in a situation that you know that the Lord would not want you to be in, you have a responsibility before the Lord to leave that situation, to flee from it. We have obligations and responsibilities as christians that certainly are an outflow of the blessing of the Lord.

But we are obliged to pray, we are obliged to worship the Lord. We are obliged, and it’s our responsibility as christians to witness and to tell others what Christ has done for us. Verse 27. Paul talks about one of the responsibilities that you and I have as christians, and that is that you and I would let our conduct be worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It’s interesting when we usually think about conduct. Usually we are more interested in the other person’s conduct than in our own conduct. When was the last time that you were hurt by the conduct of another Christian or encouraged by their conduct? Routinely. But how often are you encouraged or hurt by your own conduct? Usually when we think of conduct, it’s in relation to the other person.

The apostle Paul tells us that we are to let our let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ. He’s saying in this context for a moment, don’t worry about the other person’s conduct right now. How is your conduct in relation to Jesus Christ? Is it bringing honor to him and blessing? Is your conduct worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ? There were two boys quarrelling in Sunday school, and suddenly little Johnny drew himself up and he says, it’s time for one of us to act like a Christian. So why don’t you? Well, isn’t that the truth? Usually it’s time for you to conduct yourself properly. The apostle Paul says, don’t worry about the other person for this moment. Worry about your own conduct. Is it a conduct that is worthy of a follower of Jesus Christ?

We are living a gospel, a chapter each day, by deed that we do by word that we say, men, read what we live, whether faithless or true. Say, what is the gospel according to you from your conduct? As people relate to you, what gospel do they see? Is it a gospel that is worthy of the high calling of Jesus Christ? Because your conduct, and mine, in fact, is used by the Lord for his purpose in the sharing of the gospel of Jesus Christ. What about your home? Is your home marked by unselfishness, or is it marked only by my needs? What about your business, your conduct? Is it marked by honesty and diligence? What about those who are poor and unfortunate? Are they the source of jokes, or are they the source of our mercy, our sympathy, our help?

What about those who are wicked? Do they simply become an instrument for us of retaliation? Or, on the other hand, those who are wicked? Are we seeking to overcome their evil by good? What about those who are non christians? Is your conduct so appealing to them that they would look at you and say, my, what a life, what a person. Their conduct is so exemplary, so honest, so joyful. Is that what your conduct is communicating? Let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Sometimes we get so caught up in our translations of the Bible. We get caught up in doctrines. We get caught up in various teachings. We get caught up in the academics, the system of our knowledge in Jesus Christ.

How often do we truly get caught up in our own conduct and the effect that it is having on other people? I remember in seminary discussion that was going on around a lunch table, one fellow said, you know, I love the King James Version. It’s so beautiful, it’s so perfect. Its cadence is lovely. Another fellow joined in. He said, well, I really like the revised standard. It’s a translation that just is so close to the original Hebrew and Greek. There was this one fellow who loved the Lord, who had been raised in a christian family, and he wasn’t joking when he said, you know what translation of the Bible I love the best? It was a translation taught to me by the acts of my mother. And in that translation, I learned so much about Jesus Christ.

He was saying, the conduct of my mother, her words, her concern, spoke to me. Your conduct as christians, let it be worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Now we might think, well, if I act as a Christian and I conduct myself in a way that is pleasing to the Lord, well, certainly there is going to be great benefit to me, and that is true. There is great blessing and wonderful privileges that are ours because we would follow the Lord and be concerned about our own conduct.

But it’s interesting that Paul at this point does not talk about a list of blessings that come, but rather he takes a sharp right turn and he begins to tell us that our conduct, which ought to be worthy in Jesus Christ, if you do those things that will bring honor to Christ, listen to what he says, that in no way should you be terrified by your adversaries, which is to them a proof of perdition, but to you of salvation and that from God. For to you who are conducting yourselves in a christian way, for to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him. And now listen to the wonderful privilege that we have by conducting our lives in relation to Jesus Christ.

Is he going to tell us, if you’ll conduct yourself properly, you’re going to be promoted. If you’ll conduct yourself properly, you will have the child who becomes the president of his class. Is that what he says? If you conduct yourself in a way that is worthy of Jesus Christ and not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for his sake, having the same conflict which you saw in me and now here is in me, the topic of suffering is perhaps one of the most delicate and in some ways the most troublesome topic for christians to look at and certainly for the world to look at, because we have to ask ourselves, why is it that God would use suffering? Of what purpose is there in suffering? Well, Paul tells us that there are two purposes in suffering in this context.

One is that suffering for the Christian is a proof to that Christian of their salvation. The last time you went through a suffering, did it ever occur to you that was a token, a proof, an omen, a sign from God of his faithfulness to you? And secondly, Paul tells us that the purpose of suffering is that those who are not Christians, for them suffering is a sign of destruction. It is a sign of judgment. Do not in any way be terrified by your adversaries, which is to them a proof of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that from God, for to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for his sake.

Suffering for the Christian is seen as a proof of the faithfulness of the Lord in the midst of your suffering, if you have faced a suffering, an illness, a financial setback, a great disappointment, that is way beyond your control, isn’t it true that at that time, when you had the greatest need for peace and joy and encouragement, that Jesus Christ, through his spirit, was present in a way that you had not experienced him at other times? And as you go through a suffering, it reminds you, and it draws you to your knees, and it draws you in a way that peacetime never draws us to the Lord. And for those who are Christians, the word that is used is proof that it is to us a proof, a sign.

Another translation says, an omen, that it is a down payment to us of the faithfulness of the Lord. But what about suffering in relation to the non-Christian, to those who do not trust in Jesus Christ? What is communicated through the various sufferings of life? Well, what is communicated, Paul tells us, is a proof, a sign of destruction, of perdition, that every time a non christian would face an illness, a setback, it is a small reminder to them of that which they will receive in ultimate payment of the reproof of God, of the destruction of the perdition that would await all those who would seek to go through this life without the aid and comfort of Jesus Christ. Do you remember in one kings, chapter 22, the kingdom had been divided. We have Ahab, the king of Israel, who was that wicked king.

And we have Jehoshaphat, who in some ways was a better king, the king of Judah. Well, they realized that Assyria had taken possession of Ramoth Gilead, and the plan was hatched between Ahab and Jehoshaphat, that we should join forces as Israel and Judah. And we will go, and we’ll free Ramoth Gilead, and we’ll take them back from the Assyrians. Well, Jehoshaphat said, well, let’s ask the Lord what we should do. And Ahab had a bright idea. He said, I’ve got 400 prophets. They’re my men. They’ve been in Samaria. I’ve used them for years. Let’s call on them. The interesting thing about these 400 prophets was they only and always told Ahab the things that he wanted to hear. And so Ahab asked them, should we go to war? And can you guess their response? King go up. The battle will go well.

Jehoshaphat looks at the 400 prophets. He looks at Ahab, and he says, is there a prophet of the lord that we can ask? Ahab says, there’s one. I really don’t like him. His name is Micah. And the thing about Micah is that every time I ask him what’s going to happen, he always is against me. And as is human nature, usually we don’t like to hear from voices that are naysayers. And so Ahab grew accustomed not to calling Micah. Well, Jehoshaphat said, let’s call him now. Ahab and Jehoshaphat are seated on their thrones in their robes. They gather around them their 400 prophets, and around that circle, they gather all of their armies. And they call Micah. To give a word from the lord, he had to walk up a long hill.

And some say it probably took him close to a half hour to rise to that place. And he stands before Micah. Micah stands before Ahab and Jehoshaphat. And they ask, what does the Lord have to say? He says, the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all of your prophets. All of Israel will be scattered tomorrow. The lord has declared disaster against you. And I’m sure Ahab turned to Jehoshaphat and said, I told you, it’s exactly what I would expect. The next day, the armies were scattered. Ahab was killed, and we have no more word about the prophet Micah. Micah, it seems, was prepared for that special moment to declare the word of the Lord. And the word that he declared was of destruction, of perdition, of the judgment of the Lord.

And sometimes as Christians, you and I are called upon to give a testimony, a truthful testimony, a conduct that is worthy of the Lord. Two weeks ago, I received a phone call from a local newspaper. They asked if I was familiar with the laws that the supreme court had recently upheld on sodomy. Said, yes, I’m familiar with it. He said, I’m writing a report. We want to publish it in this week’s paper. I’ve talked to homosexuals, lesbians and pastors. And the upshot of the Supreme Court declaration is that sodomy is against the law in the state of Georgia. And the supreme court upheld the Georgia law. Sodomy is the word that is used for laws against homosexuality. The reporter said, I’ve talked to the pro gay and lesbian people. Of course, they are outraged at the Supreme Court’s declaration.

But he told me in surprise that he had been talking to ministers in the Princeton Trenton area for comments, and he was unable to find a minister who would say that the Supreme Court morally had done that which was right. He said, as I talk to the ministers in this community, they are saying the same things as the gay and the lesbian community, that the Supreme Court has no right to declare morality, to talk about the private affairs of people. And he asked me, pastor, what do you think about that law?

I said, well, I believe that the word sodomy comes from the city of Sodom and Gomorrah, a city where homosexuality had run wild, and that the judgment of the Lord is upon those who would participate in that sin, as is the judgment of the Lord upon anyone who will continue knowingly in any sin, whether it be gossip or thievery or homosexuality or adultery, and that I think the Supreme Court was correct in upholding a moral standard. He said, can I quote you on that? You ever been asked, can I put that in the newspaper? Are you on the record? Can we publish this? I said, sure. I asked him if he was looking for other voices in the community. He said, yeah.

I said, well, you might be interested in calling another pastor, a pastor who I was certain would speak clearly on the issue later on. Much to my disappointment, even that pastor did not declare with clarity a conduct that is worthy of a follower of Jesus Christ. Let me ask you the word of the Lord that you have received. Are you living your life in a way that is worthy of that calling? Sometimes the suffering that you and I will endure for Jesus Christ will bring great blessing to others. It will be a great encouragement, usually to christians, but to the non-Christian, as you would endure suffering, it is to them a reminder of the judgment that awaits them. He tells us, don’t be terrified of your adversaries. Sometimes we are afraid of our enemies, of those which we perceive to be our adversaries.

The idea of being terrified is similar to a horse that is walking along a path and suddenly shies or plunges because of something that they half saw. And often we are afraid of things that we have not looked clearly at, but only in our peripheral vision, are concerned about. We don’t know a great deal about them, but we are scared to death of them. The apostle Paul says, don’t be terrified. These enemies that you think are so frightening, don’t be terrified of them. Know the Lord will walk with. And that’s why someone like Charles Coulson, as he went through Watergate and eventually became a Christian, is able to say, today, I thank God for Watergate. You mean you thank God for that suffering that you went through, the embarrassment, the prison, the editorials? He says, I thank God for Watergate.

Joseph Bailey, who has lost three sons, is able to say, I thank God even for the taking of my boys. Mean to say, a Christian can look at suffering, experience suffering, and be able to say, thank God, that’s right. That’s because suffering for the Christian is a proof of the faithfulness of Jesus Christ. Several weeks ago, I met a woman by the name of Diane Balm. On her wall was a picture. Two daughters, one a beautiful daughter, high school queen, top honors. But she said, you know something about my eldest daughter. Outwardly, she is beautiful, but inside she says, don’t misunderstand me, but she’s ugly. She thinks that she’s ugly. On the outside she’s not. You can see it, but for some reason, she thinks that. She thinks she’s not able. She’s not interested in other people.

There was a second daughter in this picture frame. Her name, Kimmy. And to look at this picture, you didn’t know if you should ask a question or not, because Kimmy had been born with what is referred to as the elephant disease, and her face was horribly distorted with a large jowl with all of the marks of various operations that had been used in an attempt to correct her. She said, kimmy is twelve years old, and you can see she’s very ugly outside, but she’s a dear Christian gal, and she is the most beautiful person inside. There is something about suffering that produces on the inside of a Christian, a beauty, a tenderness, a compassion that comes from no other source. I remember going through a furniture factory in Vermont.

The guide took us through and showing and explaining all of the tools, and there was a beautiful cabinet. He said, before we leave, I want you to look at that cabinet, because that cabinet is a perfect example of the delicate work that can be done with grains. I looked down very close, and there was this beautiful pattern of grains. He said, most people don’t even notice this cabinet. But I want to tell you something about the wood, the oak that has made this beautiful grain work. This is a very select oak. It comes from trees that are in locations in the United States where they are constantly buffeted by storms, and the storms keep attacking these trees. And what happens? The trees internally become stronger and more beautiful and more able to withstand the storms that keep buffeting against them.

What is the place of suffering in the life of a Christian? Suffering, in its own way brings a person to look at themselves internally. And through Jesus Christ, we are changed through the storms of the suffering. And some of the most beautiful christians I know are people who have suffered in conditions that, for me, would seem unbearable. And yet one of the blessings, one of the privileges that is yours and mine, because we are in Jesus Christ, is not only that we would believe in Christ, but also that we would suffer for his sake.

My prayer for you is that you would know christian suffering, that you would be changed in the inner man, that your conduct would be one that is proper of a follower of Jesus Christ, and that you might know when that suffering comes, that this is no strange ordeal, but it is God’s way of making God’s man and God’s woman. Let us pray. Our God and our father it even seems difficult to say that we would thank you for suffering, and certainly from our human flesh. It is impossible for us to say that, but as christians help us to see that it is through suffering, through afflictions, that you would teach us about endurance, and that endurance would teach us about christian character, and that christian character would be filled with hope because the love of Jesus Christ has been poured into us.

Father, we thank you. We ask that we would look at this great adversary of suffering and that we would, in fact, conclude that it is no adversary at all, but that through Jesus Christ even suffering. That discordant note is made into a harmonic sound, bringing honor and glory to Jesus Christ. Help us to live, that our conduct might be proper for one who is a follower of Jesus Christ, for we ask it in Jesus’s name. Amen.

Thank you for listening to a firm foundation presented by Princeton ministries. This programming is supported by you, the listener. You may go to our website, princetonministries.org, or send your donation to Princeton Ministries Post office box 2171, Princeton, New Jersey 8543. That’s Princeton Ministries, post office box 2171, Princeton, New Jersey 8543. The Lord bless you and Dr. Smith looks forward to hearing from you. We would like to thank Rone’s web development company for making this webcast possible. You can find their link at the bottom of our website, princetonministries.org.