#2 Disciples must be Willing to Suffer for Christ
Speaking of Saul/Paul, Acts 9:14-16 says, “But the Lord said to him, ‘Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name's sake.’”
“For to you it has been granted for Christ's sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake…” Philippians 1:29
I will be the first person to tell you that American Christians don’t know a thing about suffering for Christ. We assume that if someone makes fun of us or makes us feel inferior for our beliefs that we are enduring the worst kind of suffering for our faith. Yes, those things are a form of suffering, but it just doesn’t hold a candle to the suffering of our Christian brothers and sisters in other parts of the world who can literally lose their lives for following Christ or claiming to be a Christian. If you want to read about real Christian suffering read the Jesus Freaks books. They will give you a small taste of what it’s like in other parts of the world.
“The heart of discipleship, beloved, is a commitment to Jesus Christ. That means that you're willing to publicly identified with Him no matter what that cost.” – John MacArthur
Tune in next time for the Cost of Discipleship Part Three!
The Jesus Freak Books:
1 comment:
I have read parts of the Jesus Freak books. They are very eye opening. So often we take things for granted here in the USA. Most of us have no real idea about suffering. I think that's why we have way more fake Christians than they do in countries where it is literally life or death to follow Christ.
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