understanding God - 9

Fellow partakers of God’s grace,

Greetings to you in the Name of our Lord Jesus. Today, we bring to you some of the implications arising from our focus on "The Place of Satan", an aspect of our exploration on "The Sovereignty of God" which, in turn, is a sub-series arising from our major theme, "Understanding God".

UNDERSTANDING GOD 9

In our last discourse, we explored the place of Satan in the scheme of things. We saw how that Satan exists and operates only by God’s permission. As a fallout of this, we are focusing on "Understanding Tribulation". In particular, we want to highlight the roles played by God, man and Satan in the tribulation ‘ring’.

Understanding Tribulation
God never promised us a trouble-free life. Jesus says: "In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer…" (Jn.16:33). James says, "Count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations" (Jam.1:2). Peter highlights the scope and limits of Christian suffering: "For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully….But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men’s matters" (1 Pet.2:19, 4:15).

Kinds of Tribulations
Tribulations come in diverse forms. James talks about "diverse temptations" (or, more appropriately, diverse tribulations). Peter talks about "manifold temptations" (1 Pet.1:6). Generally, tribulations come in the following forms: tests of faith, temptations, persecutions, fiery darts and chastisement.

(1) Tests of faith. This is usually administered directly by the Lord. The simplest example can be found in Gen.22:1-18, where God asked Abraham to offer Isaac (then his only son) as a sacrifice. A more subtle example can be found in John 6:6-13. Shortly before the miraculous feeding of 5000 men, Jesus said to Philip, "Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?" (v.5). This is followed by an explanatory note: "And this he said to prove him: for He Himself knew what He would do" (v.6). Such tests are intended to expose the strengths or weaknesses in a man. The Children of Israel had their fair share of such, as confirmed by the words Moses spoke to them: "And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to PROVE thee, to KNOW what was in thy heart, whether thou wouldest keep His commandments, or no" (Deu.8:2). Response to tests? Work towards passing them.
(2) Temptations. Unlike tests, temptations are administered by Satan: "Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man" (Jam.1:13). The goal of the enemy is to pull us down, but God intends for us to use temptation as a stepping stone unto higher ground. When we fall, neither God nor the devil should be held responsible. Why: "Every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed" (Jam.1:14). Response to temptations? Work towards resisting them.
(3) Persecutions. Again, the devil is the chief agent of persecution. However, we are expected, not only to endure, but to embrace them. Jesus says to the Church in Smyrna, "Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life" (Rev.2:10). Again He says, "Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for My sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad…" (Mat.5:10-12).
Finally, Paul says, "Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution" (2 Tim.3:12). The only people that escape persecution are those who compromise the standards and ideals of their faith. Response to persecutions? Endure and embrace them.