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The Daily Word of Righteousness
Problems and Pain, #2
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. (Philippians 4:6—NIV)
After you have gone to the Lord about each of these requests, give thanks to Him, and then keep on praying until you gain love, joy, and peace.
There are at least four reasons why, if we are serving the Lord, we experience problems and pain—most of our problems and pains being mild pressures and irritations although sometimes there are severe crises.
To purify us from sin.
To teach us obedience to God.
To change our blood-life to resurrection-life.
To enable us to minister and bear fruit by resurrection-life.
Purifying Us From Sin
Many of the problems and pains we experience are for the purpose of making us holy.
Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. (Hebrews 12:10,11—NIV)
Notice the expression (referring to our being disciplined) "those who have been trained by it." This expression is important to our understanding. The doctrine of imputed (ascribed) righteousness has been emphasized and overemphasized out of all proportion until the main topic of the New Testament, which is the bringing forth of a new righteous creation, has fallen by the wayside.
Numerous Christians of our day do not understand that God is training us in righteous behavior, and that our conversion from ungodly to godly behavior is as much a part of the Christian salvation as imputed righteousness—in fact, righteous behavior on our part is more important than imputed righteousness in that righteous behavior is the goal of the new covenant. Imputed righteousness is not the goal of salvation, it is a means of developing righteous behavior. When it is viewed as more than this it becomes error.
We have to be trained in righteous, holy living. Problems and pain, the chastening of the Lord, are a very important part of this training.
The entire fourth chapter of First Peter tells us that we suffer in order to purify us from sin; that such suffering is Divine judgment on our behavior; that the fiery trials of judgment produce salvation in us; and finally that the producing of such salvation is a difficult process.
The righteous are saved with difficulty. The reason the righteous are saved, that is, changed from sinful behavior to righteous behavior, with difficulty, is that we are not always willing to surrender our worldliness, lust, and self-will to the Lord. The Lord sends problems and pain on us to burn away the worldliness, lust, and self-will, but we do not want to let them go. This is why it is difficult to save us.
Notice how Chapter Four of First Peter commences:
Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin. As a result, he does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. (I Peter 4:1,2—NIV)
To be continued.