Is suffering for Christ always going to be a part of being a follower of Christ?

Now we have the object of the presentation of the perfect example of our blessed Lord. In the path of faith all must endure the cross. "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me." The cross cannot be avoided. Self must be refused, and the cross taken up — death accepted. But God brings this in upon us frequently by the action of adversaries — persecutors. Hence the apostle says, "Consider Him that endured such contradiction of sinners against Himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. Ye have not yet resisted unto blood" (died a martyr's death) "striving against sin." He would thus encourage and console these believers by pointing them to the surpassing sufferings which Christ endured — sufferings which had their termination in a martyr's death. His death was much more than this; for He was at the same time the sacrifice for sin; but here the question is simply of what He met with in the pathway of faith.

When on earth the Lord said to His disciples, "If they have persecuted Me, they will also persecute you" (John 15:20), for to be a follower of Jesus was to take up the cross (Luke 14:27). Paul, in 2 Timothy 3:12, tells us the same thing, "Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution." Having suffered so much for Christ, Paul was a suited instrument to speak of this. We may not suffer in the same way in these western lands of Christendom, but suffer we shall if faithful to Christ, following in His steps. Alas! we know little of it, and we have to confess it is because of our lack of fidelity to our absent Master.

The experience of the Apostle was to be no uncommon one; for he says, "Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution." v. 12. It will be perceived that it is not said that all Christians, nor that all who live godly, but it is all that will live godly in Christ Jesus who must be persecuted. Stress is to be laid upon the word "will," for it means that there is a real desire, purpose of heart, even, to live in this manner; and also upon "in Christ Jesus," because it shows that it is the life in which Christ Himself is both magnified and displayed. Those then whose hearts are set, through divine grace, to follow Christ fully, like Caleb of old, to own no authority but His over the heart and conscience, to have no guide but Himself and His Word, and thus to be apart from all that dishonours His name, cannot, in the difficult times of which the Apostle speaks, escape persecutions. If any who call themselves Christians do avoid the hostility of the world or the enmity of Satan, they can only do so at the expense of faithfulness to Christ. May this truly sink deeply into our hearts!

It does not say that every Christian will be persecuted, but it says, "all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution," 2 Tim. 3:12. If a man show the power of the Spirit of God, the world will not stand it; that is the principle. In the Acts, when we get the power of the Spirit shown in miracles, as in Christ before, what did it draw out? The enmity which crucified the Lord. What we have now is good in the midst of evil - that is what Christ was, perfect good in the midst of evil; but the effect of the display of God in Him - inasmuch as the carnal mind is enmity against God - was that it drew out hostility, and the more the display, the more the hostility drawn out; and so for His love He had hatred. As yet we have not come to the time when evil is removed - that will be when Christ comes again - and that is the difference between that time and this time; that time will be the coming in of good in power, so as to bind Satan and put down evil. But Christ being in this world, and afterwards His saints, is on the contrary, good in the midst of evil, while Satan is the god of this world.

Although different reasons may be given by different persons and governments for persecuting Christians, yet we believe that the real cause is the heart's enmity against Christ and His truth, as seen in the godly lives of His people. Besides, their light makes manifest the darkness around, and exposes and reproves the inconsistencies of false professors, and the godless lives of the wicked. The enemy, taking occasion by these things, stirs up the cruel passions of those in power to quench the light by persecuting the light-bearer. "For every one that doeth evil hateth the light." Such has been the experience of all Christians, in all ages, both in times of peace and in times of trouble. There is no exemption from persecution, secretly or openly, if we live according to the Spirit and truth of Christ. Amongst the last words that the great apostle wrote were these: "Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution." (2 Tim. 3:12)

And verse 12 is emphatic: if one lives godly in Christ Jesus he will suffer persecution. Whatever may be the form this takes, whether ostracism, strong criticism, contempt, loss of property or goods, discrimination that infringes on proper rights, etc., yet all who live godly in Christ Jesus will know something of this. Let us take it patiently for Christ's sake.

Suffering for righteousness' sake and yet more for Christ's name is a high privilege. God has given it in the fullest measure to the members of Christ, though in spirit to all saints from the beginning. Our Lord was here as in all else supreme, and as He said, The disciple is not above his Master, but every one perfected shall be as his Master. Yes, adds the great apostle Paul, and all who will live piously in Christ Jesus shall be persecuted. Hence the faithful, not of the world as Christ is not, should be prepared for persecution beyond all, throughout their pilgrimage.

You recollect what the Lord said to His followers, "It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord" (Matt. 10:25). Therefore you may be sure that if you are faithful to the Lord Jesus, your path is where the light shines: (1) suffering in this world for Christ's sake; (2) glory to come with Christ on high.

Now, when scripture speaks of our having fellowship with Christ's sufferings, it refers, simply, to His sufferings for righteousness — his sufferings at the hand of man. Christ suffered for sin, that we might not have to suffer for it. He endured the wrath of God, that we might not have to endure it. This is the ground of our peace. But, as regards suffering from man, we shall always find that the more faithfully we follow in the footsteps of Christ, the more we shall suffer in this respect; but this is a matter of gift, a matter of privilege, a favour, a dignity. (See Phil. 1:29-30) To walk in the footsteps of Christ — to enjoy companionship with Him — to be thrown into a place of sympathy with Him, are privileges of the very highest order. Would that we all entered, more fully, into them! But, alas! we are too well content to do without them — too well satisfied, like Peter, "to follow afar off" — to keep aloof from a despised and suffering Christ. All this is, undoubtedly, our heavy loss. Had we only more fellowship with His sufferings, the crown would glisten, far more brightly, in our soul's vision. When we shrink from fellowship with Christ's sufferings, we rob ourselves of the deep joy of His present companionship, and also of the moral power of the hope of His future glory.

Let us remark, however, that this is suffering with Christ, not for Him. To suffer for Christ is a privilege, a special gift of God; Phil. 1:29. One cannot be a Christian without suffering with Christ; for how could the Spirit of Christ produce in us a different mind from that which was in Christ as He passed through this poor world? The glory of the children of God is a subject of hope; now the sufferings of Christ in weakness are reproduced in a heart in which Christ dwells. We suffer here, where Christ suffered, as joint-heirs of the kingdom of love, where all will be joy and gladness. Although we are already, as a present thing, children, or rather sons, and therefore heirs also, we do not yet possess the inheritance; indeed, we cannot yet possess it, for it is still corrupt, defiled, and in this condition would not be suitable for us. Christ is seated at the right hand of God until His enemies be made His footstool. Then shall we reign with Him and be like Him.