Kim Riddlebarger

     When writing to Christians in the city of Thessalonica, the Apostle Paul instructs them, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:16–18). These words are instruction to a church newly founded by Paul, composed of people who left Greco-Roman paganism to embrace Jesus Christ by faith. Rejoicing, praying, and giving thanks in all circumstances should characterize the lives of these new Christians in the face of heated opposition from those who do not understand why people would worship a Jewish rabbi from far-away Palestine who claimed to be the Son of God but was put to death by the Romans.

     To command Christians to rejoice under difficult circumstances is hard to understand without a context. We can understand why people who are facing opposition would need to pray—they must seek the grace of God to sustain them during their trials. We can understand why they should give continual thanks for the mercies of God that they continue to receive. But why must God’s people rejoice during times of trial and persecution?

     Paul’s teaching about Jesus reveals the Apostle to be a critic of Greek Stoicism, a philosophy of life that taught people to live resolutely in accordance with fixed laws of nature. Yet, at first hearing, Paul’s command to rejoice during trials sounds a bit like what Greeks might expect from a Stoic philosopher. Why would Paul command this if he was not a Stoic himself?

     The answer is found by looking to the future and the eternal hope promised to every Christian, which is the context for the command to sufferers to rejoice in difficult times. In Romans 12:9–21, Paul is addressing the marks of a true Christian—the manifestations of new religious affections in the lives of those who have been justified through faith in Jesus, who are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, and who are being conformed to the image of their Saviour. The key manifestation is love for Jesus and for those redeemed by Him (v. 9). Such love is drawn toward the good while abhorring evil. It can be seen in brotherly affection and honour (v. 10), as well as in zeal and sincerity in serving the Lord (v. 11).

     In verse 12, Paul gives us the context for rejoicing in times of trial: “Rejoice in hope.” The reason why Christians are commanded to rejoice in the midst of trials, suffering, and persecution now becomes clear. By looking to the future, Christians know that their trials, however difficult, are temporary, and that when all is said and done, God promises to turn every current trial to our eternal good (8:28). True joy is not grounded in personal sentiment or emotions (“I feel joyful”), nor in a stoic resolution to bravely face the future. Rather, it is grounded in the fact that the crucified Saviour who died for our sins so as to turn aside the wrath of God was also bodily raised from the dead and will come again in fulfillment of all His promises.

     Christians rejoice in times of trial and suffering because doing so emulates the saving work of Jesus, who suffered and died before being raised from the dead and exalted to the right hand of the Father, where He rules over all things. The pattern established by Jesus—suffering precedes glory—holds true for all those who trust in Him and are united to Him by the Holy Spirit. Just as Jesus suffered and was raised, we are promised the same thing. Our suffering, trials, temptations, and persecution will give way to all the blessings Jesus has promised to us—the future hope of which Paul often speaks (see 1 Corinthians 15:19; 1 Thessalonians 5:8; 2 Thessalonians 2:16–17).

     Rejoicing in times of trial is not some meaningless religious ritual in which we focus on how we feel or in which we resolve to be brave. Instead, we are following the example set by Jesus in His own life, death, and resurrection. Suffering and trials give way to the resurrection of our bodies, future glory, and eternal life. Paul makes this point earlier in Romans:

     And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. (8:23–25)

Christians can rejoice in the midst of suffering because of Jesus, who has secured and now guarantees a future joy for all those whom He redeems.

Dr. Kim Riddlebarger is senior pastor of Christ Reformed Church in Anaheim, Calif. He is co-host of The White Horse Inn.         First published 01 February 2017 in Tabletalk Magazine, an outreach of Ligonier. © Tabletalk magazine. Used with permission

The blessing of God is not to be taken lightly. But in our day, blessings are thrown around so flippantly and indiscriminately that the word “blessing” has all but lost its meaning. People speak about feeling blessed and having a blessed day or a blessed life when everything is going well and nothing too severe is bothering them in the moment. We hear blessings after sneezes, at the end of voicemail messages, as hashtags in social media posts, and on bumper stickers.

In these United States, the statement “God bless America” used to be a prayer of humble dependence, but now it is often treated as an arrogant, presumptuous declaration that God will bless us no matter what we do as a nation. God has blessed, and God does bless, and we pray that God will bless, but we must remember that His blessings are serious things, and we are not to treat them frivolously. God takes His blessing seriously, and so should we. God doesn’t bless people flippantly and He doesn’t bless indiscriminately—He blesses His people according to His steadfast covenant love for us. Not everyone is blessed, and God’s blessing shouldn’t simply be assumed. Only those who are in covenant with God are blessed, and only those who have been redeemed by Jesus Christ are blessed, for He met the condition by His perfect life and substitutionary atoning death. Only those united to Christ by faith are blessed. As believers, we are blessed in Christ because Christ took the curse of sin for us and suffered the wrath of God for us. If someone is not in Christ, and never trusts Christ, he will prove that he is condemned already. His apparent blessings will ultimately redound to his condemnation. 

If we are truly in Christ, we will strive to bear the fruit of Christ. If we believe the gospel, we will strive to walk worthy of the gospel. If we have the Spirit, we will strive to walk in the Spirit. If we love Christ, we will strive to follow and obey Christ. If we love God, we will strive to keep God’s commandments. If we are blessed, we will strive to possess and pursue the characteristics Jesus speaks of in the Beatitudes, and as we demonstrate them in this world, we will be persecuted. But if we are self-absorbed, self-centred, hard-hearted, unmerciful, divisive, and arrogant, then we not only aren’t blessed, we aren’t saved. But if the conditions and characteristics of the Beatitudes are true of us, we are blessed. We can have assurance that Jesus is ours and we are His, and that nothing can separate us from the present or eternal condition of being blessed as we live coram Deo, before our Lord’s shining face with the light of His glorious countenance lifted up upon us

Dr. Burk Parsons is senior pastor of Saint Andrew’s Chapel in Sanford, Fla., chief publishing officer for Ligonier Ministries, editor of Tabletalk magazine, and a Ligonier Ministries teaching fellow.

First published June 1st, 2017 in Tabletalk Magazine, an outreach of Ligonier.

© Tabletalk magazine. Used with permission.