Suffering for Hope

(Romans 8:17) “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.”

The more I surf the internet and the more I read the comments of believers the more concerned I become. Why? The scripture is clear on its warning that a day is coming, what day? Look at this verse in Timothy, “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions.” All I hear is victory, blessing, wealth, no sickness and the like. It is not what the scripture teachers. I say again it is not! We need to suffer with Him (Christ) if we are to be glorified with Him. This may need some explanation, so before we wind up with any opinion, let the word teach us.

“And if children...” Firstly Paul qualifies the audience he is addressing, he says, “if children,” in other words, only those who have the Spirit of God living within them, they are God’s children. The scripture is very clear on this. You either Have God’s Spirit or not. If you do not have his spirit living within you then I would remind you that today is the day of salvation and if you “call upon the name of the Lord and you will be saved”, you will then receive His Spirit and then you will be amongst the number Paul is addressing in this text. Repent and believe this is where it must start for everyone looking to Jesus Christ the only true Saviour for salvation; you can come no other way. If you do come another way, then it will only be a figment of your imagination, that you will believe in and not the risen Saviour.

Why is it that opinions carry so much weight when we reason amongst ourselves and others? Please think about this carefully, if I am opinionated on a topic and believe that my opinion should count but it has not factual evidence to warrant a hearing. Why do I then insist to be heard? If God said it, He has settled it, no matter what we say or do will change what He has said and settled. The only way I can now find favour with Him is to believe what He has said and seek out grace to appropriate it in my life. So, “children, then heirs...” For all who have His spirit are now heirs, this is quite an amazing fact and thought. Stop, ponder, process and believe. Wow, an heir that means I am entitled to what belongs to Him, “then heirs--heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ.” Stop, I know what you are thinking, it does not mean; I am entitled to it now. The fruits of the Spirit will be a part of our lives here on earth, but our inheritance we will only receive when we get to heaven. Let me ask you a question, did the Lord Jesus come to earth, suffer and die for the sins of the world? Obviously the answer is yes! Where is He now? He is seated at the right hand of His Father. He has been glorified! What had to happen to Him before the Father glorified Him? He had to suffer! Why? Look at what Peter says about it;

“Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God.” (1Peter 4:1-2) 

So the purpose and the need to suffer as children is to teach us to depend upon God our Father and not our human passions and wants. Simple to understand, but maybe not so readily accepted. Nevertheless it will not change the truth. Look at the text, “provided we suffer with him”, so suffer we must and suffer we will do exactly that if we are indeed children. But Paul does not leave us without hope, we as His children are never left without hope. Let me say that again, God’s children are never without hope. “Provided we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him.” So we must suffer, but after we have suffered we will be glorified with Him that is a promise from God. We will be entitled to all that belongs to God, just as children receive an inheritance from their parents, we too will receive our inheritance but not from a man but God Himself, the One who rules the entire universe. Yes, let your minds explore all the possibilities of what that means; the greatest reward I see is I will be with my Saviour forever and I will be like Him, what a hope I have. If we suffer for a while, it will in time be forgotten as a very small thing in comparison you our reward. So arm yourself with this mind for it will be worth it all.

I fear that this message will receive some resistance, but remember our opinions do not count if they oppose God’s will, how could they?

Please Father be merciful to all you children, that we may not believe a lie, teach us your way I pray, teach us to walk in obedience, open our eyes that we may see, Amen!

Signing off

Tyrone