Introduction: What should a committed Christian expect in life? The
Bible gives us all sorts of advice for living better lives.
Deuteronomy 28 promises us that if we bey God He will give us a
better life here on earth. On the other hand, if we are careless
about obeying God we will have a difficult life here. Why, then, do
we find these texts in the Bible which tell Christians to expect bad
things? Let’s dive into our lesson and see what we can learn from the
Bible!
- Don’t Be Surprised
- Read Deuteronomy 28:1-8. What does God promise us if we
“fully obey” Him? (He promises us blessings. If you read
Deuteronomy 28:1-45 you will get the full flavor of this.
If you disobey God, your life will be pretty terrible and
frustrating.) - Read 1 Peter 4:12. After reading Deuteronomy 28, you bet
I’m surprised. Suffering is strange when placed against
the backdrop of Deuteronomy 28. If God does not change,
and His word is reliable, how do you explain these
apparently contradictory statements? - Let’s look at the context of 1 Peter 4:12. Continue by
reading 1 Peter 4:13-16. Should we expect to suffer for
our disobedience to God? (Yes. Peter says you can expect
to suffer as a meddler, murderer, or thief.) - What seems to be the exception to the rule of obey
and prosper, disobey and suffer? (Peter points out
how Jesus suffered. Jesus was leading the charge in
the conflict between good and evil. As a result, He
was targeted by Satan and his followers. Peter says
we can expect the same thing.) - Read 1 Peter 4:17-19. Peter continues in the vein of
Deuteronomy 28 by comparing those who follow God with
those who do not. Have our expected outcomes changed from
the Old Testament to the New Testament? (No! Peter says
“If you think you’ve got problems as a follower of Jesus,
imagine what is coming upon the unrighteous!”) - What seems to be the primary source of problems for
the unrighteous? (The judgment of God.) - Read 1 Peter 5:8-9. Will our sufferings only come from
unbelievers who are unhappy that we follow Jesus? (No.
Satan is looking to harm us.) - If Satan is looking to harm the followers of Jesus,
what good is it to “be self-controlled and alert?”
(This suggests that Satan is looking to cause us to
sin – which will then trigger our suffering.) - Is it only our sin that causes us to suffer?
(The sense of verse 9 is that our suffering
causes us to consider abandoning our faith. It
refers to “our brothers” undergoing the same
kind of suffering. Thus, we are suffering
attacks of Satan even though we are obedient.) - Read 1 Peter 5:10-11. Will God return us to a state of
blessing if we are faithful? (Yes. We suffer “a little
while.”) - Is this state of blessing here on earth? (The text
does not specifically say, but it refers to us being
called to “eternal glory in Christ.” That is a
reference to heaven.) - No Excuses
- Read Romans 1:18-20. Are you getting the picture that life
might not be perfect? (Good thing we studied Psalms 23
last week!) If we obey, Satan is prowling around to harm
us. If we disobey, the wrath of God is being revealed to
us. - Does anyone have an excuse for disobeying God?
- Read Romans 1:21-24. How does this suggest that God’s
wrath works? (That if we reject what is obvious, God
allows us to continue in our own way and we continue to
slip lower and lower into sinful activities.) - Read Romans 1:26-31. What does this suggest about the
penalty for sin? (That sin brings its own reward! There is
a great truth here if we contemplate it. Obeying God gives
us a better life. Disobeying God gives us a worse life.
The Christian’s life is only worse because of the
existence of sin which disrupts the natural order of
things. This sin harms us in one of three ways: 1. Satan
targets us; 2. General sin in the world catches us in its
grasp; or, 3. We commit sin.) - Read Romans 1:32. Is the world today in the condition of
the world in Paul’s time? (Yes! How many today “approve”
of the sins listed by Paul? How many today approve of the
sin of homosexuality?) - How about you? Do you approve of the sins listed by
Paul? - Read Romans 2:1. How do we walk the line between
“judging” others and not “approving” of sin? - Read Romans 2:2-4. What brings us to repentance? What
brings those sinners we read about in Romans 1:26-32
to repentance? (God’s kindness! Should we take any
other approach?) - Getting Better
- Read Jeremiah 9:7. We just said that Satan and sin in
general can injure us. For what other reason can we have
what seems to be trouble in our life? (God says He will
“refine” and “test” us.) - What kind of picture do you see in this text – that
Joe Christian is innocently walking down the street
when all of a sudden the refiner’s fire hits him and
knocks him to the ground? (No. Notice the last part
of verse 7: “what else can I do because of the sin of
my people?” Our sin triggers the refiner’s fire.) - Is anyone perfect? Since I assume the answer to
that question is “no,” should we act surprised
when faced with the “refiner’s fire?” - What should be your attitude towards a refining
fire? (You should be grateful. God sees merit in
you. He sees that you can be “golden.” The goal
is not punishment, it is your improvement.) - Read 2 Corinthians 12:7-9. Paul says that he was given
some wonderful revelations about heaven (2 Corinthians
12:1-6), and later Satan sent him “a thorn in my flesh” to
torment him. Why does Paul say he received the “thorn?”
(To keep him from becoming conceited.) - Paul asked God to take away this thorn from Satan.
Why didn’t God take it away? - What does God mean when He says “My grace is
sufficient for you?” (I think of grace as Jesus’
offer of salvation on my behalf. Thus, I read this as
God saying “I’ll take you to heaven where you will
not have any pain or suffering. That should be an
adequate answer to your present suffering.) - What does God mean when He says, “My power is made
perfect in weakness?” (This is a theme of the Old
Testament – God wants it to be clear that He is the
Author of victory, not humans. Thus, when we do great
work for God, He is glorified when it is clear that
He did it and not us. When we suffer some sort of
difficulty, that makes God’s power that much
clearer.) - Read 2 Corinthians 12:10. What is Paul’s final attitude
about this annoying problem? (He ends up delighting in it
because “when I am weak, then I am strong.”) - Friend, how about you? Are you suffering from some problem
today? If it stems from your sins, then turn away. If it
is sent to refine your character, look forward to the
final results. If Satan is just injuring you, know two
things: First, God’s grace is sufficient for you. Second,
God works more effectively for His glory when we are weak. - Next week: The Birdcage.
