Suffering in Ministry: Following Paul's example

The apostle Paul gives us an amazing example of someone who followed Christ faithfully in a ministry that was full of suffering. Although he had the joy of planting churches and pioneering gospel work in places where Christ was not known, he also had the hardship of opposition constantly throughout his ministry. Using the book of Acts and Paul's letters in the New Testament, we can build a detailed picture of what his ministry life was like. It certainly wasn't glamorous or free from pain. He faced jealousy from the Jews, who often rejected him (see Acts 13-14). He dealt with deceit and imprisonment (Acts 16), and also had to fend off the false teaching of fake apostles in places where the church was young and fragile (see his letter to the Galatians).

Before Paul was converted, he sought to imprison Christians and even watched Stephen die as a martyr for his faith (Acts 7). So when he became a believer after a dramatic encounter with Christ (Acts 9), he knew that his life would be endangered. Although Acts ends with Paul continuing with a growing ministry, he was martyred in Rome some time later.

Here's what he wrote about his sufferings in ministry:

'To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; when we are slandered, we answer kindly. We have become the scum of the earth, the garbage of the world – right up to this moment. I am writing this not to shame you but to warn you as my dear children. Even if you had ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. Therefore I urge you to imitate me. For this reason I have sent to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church.' (1 Cor 4:11-17)

The scum of the earth! Paul could not have been in ministry for the fame and fortune. Through his suffering he was able to prove his authenticity as an apostle, and when we suffer in ministry, it gives us a similar opportunity to prove how real our faith is to a watching world. Paul urges the Corinthians to imitate him, because his way of life was consistent with his teaching. That's a huge challenge to anyone in ministry! At any point, you should be able to urge your church to imitate you, because you walk the talk. Whether you urge them to or not, they will still be photocopying your lifestyle.

Look at what Paul writes in another letter:

'Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. I have laboured and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. Who is weak, and I do not feel weak?' (2 Cor 11:24-29)

In all of these pressures on Paul in his ministry, he was made to feel his weakness constantly. But, as he goes on to write, God wants His servants to serve Him in weakness, because then they rely on His strength. Paul writes,

'I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.' (2 Corinthians 12:7-10)

When we suffer and we're in ministry, we can't just wish God would take all the pain away so we can 'get on with the job'. Suffering is part of ministry, part of the call, because it's an integral part of following Christ. We have to learn to trust in His grace despite our weakness. I'm challenged by Paul's example, as I see him
☻ constantly in prayer - his weakness driving him to the Lord, not to despair (1 Thess 5:16-18)
☻ taking joy in the gospel - seeing it bear fruit despite his personal suffering (Col 1:6)
☻ rejoicing in the finished work of Christ - knowing his salvation didn't depend on his ministry efforts (Phil 3:7-12)
☻ trusting that Christ is coming - the day of suffering will come to an end (1 Thess 3:13)
☻ persevering in preaching, teaching and discipling - passing on the baton (2 Tim 1:13-14)
☻ praising God's wisdom - understanding that we don't always understand God's ways (Rom 11:33-36)

Let's imitate Paul as he imitates Christ, and call on those around us to do so too.

Seeking Spiritual Experiences

In our Church Bible study last night, we looked at Revelation 1 where John is 'in the Spirit' and sees the Lord Jesus Christ in glory. He receives a message for the church, given by an angel, from Jesus and ultimately from God the Father. Someone pointed out that John was probably doing hard labour each day as part of the penal colony on Patmos. It wasn't perhaps the place where you would expect such a revelation to occur. We thought then about Paul and Silas in prison, and the whole place shaking with the power of God (Acts 16). The point was, that you can experience God anywhere and in any circumstances.

It made me think about the tendency towards pilgrimage in Christianity as well as other religions. Last week we were on holiday and went to St David's in West Wales, where there is a cathedral and many stories of Saint David (apparently when he was baptised there was a great light). People go to these places because they want a spiritual experience.

We could also think about Elijah- after the great victory over Baal at Mt Carmel (1 Kings 18), Jezebel sought his life and he fled to Horeb, that great mountain where Moses had experienced God. God appeared and asked 'Why are you here, Elijah?' In His grace, God revealed Himself again (and not in the great wind, but in the still, small voice), but the point remained that Elijah shouldn't have been afraid and run there seeking a spiritual experience. He should have trusted in God.

Jesus appears to John in Revelation to give seven letters, one for each of the seven churches referred to in Chapter 1. And the letters seem to warn the churches not to get caught up in 'being spiritual', but to seek more of Jesus. The church at Ephesus is told not to lose their 'first love' (Rev 2:4). It doesn't matter how many good deeds we do, or how hard we work- if we do not do them out of love for Christ, they are worthless (see also 1 Cor 13, where Paul suggests that even martyrdom itself is worthless if I have not love).

It can be tempting, then, to seek after a spiritual experience of God- perhaps at a certain church, or a certain type of meeting, or on a mountain top, or amongst certain people. But the Bible tells us that God is with us wherever we go, and we just need to seek Him. If Jesus' walk on earth took Him from the affirmation of God at His baptism to the loneliness of the wilderness and temptation, and from the shining beauty of His transfiguration to the rejection of the cross, we cannot expect every day to be a Mount Carmel. But if we learn obedience in the tough places, our joy will abound even more. (Rom 5:1-11)

Bread and wine

Two simple ingredients.
One very controversial meal.

Why is it that communion, or the Lord's Supper, or the Eucharist, has caused so much division between Christians over the past centuries?

Does it matter what we believe about the bread and the wine?

I've been thinking this through recently and I've come to the conclusion that it DOES matter. In fact, it is a crucial gospel issue.

Before Jesus Christ came, God had given His people the Law. The Law outlined God's requirements, and what the people were to do when they failed to keep those requirements. Through a priesthood and sacrificial system, the people could express their repentance and be accepted in God's sight.

'on this day atonement will be made for you, to cleanse you. Then, before the Lord, you will be clean from all your sins.' (Leviticus 16:30)

The Day of Atonement was an annual occasion which involved several rites and rituals:
-A bull and a ram were offered as a sin offering and a burnt offering respectively for the High Priest's sins
- The High Priest would wear a sacred tunic
- A goat would be sacrificed for the sins of the Israelites
- A different goat would have the sins of the Israelites confessed over it and then sent away into the wilderness (as a scapegoat)

If you read Leviticus 16 you will see there is minute detail given for where blood must be sprinkled over the atonement seat and the altar, and the washing rituals after the sacrifices take place.

When Jesus Christ came, everything changed. The Old Testament shows an awareness that the sacrificial system was not a permanent feature in God's plan. God was really interested in the attitude of the heart that made the sacrifice, which is why the prophets often criticise the people for sinning and then simply making a sacrifice without really repenting:

'"The multitude of your sacrifices— what are they to me?" says the LORD. "I have more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened animals; I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.' Isaiah 1:11

Isaiah 53 wonderfully prophesies of a day when the Lord's Servant will come and die for the sins of His people:

'But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed.

We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all' (Isaiah 53:5-6)

Jesus was the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29). In dying on the cross, a completely innocent death, He was the ultimate sacrifice. He took upon Himself the punishment for our sins. And so the gospel message is this:

You either pay for your sins yourself

or

You let Jesus pay for them for you on the cross.

Just before His death, Jesus shared a "Last Supper" with His disciples. In it, He used the bread and wine to visually demonstrate to them what was going to happen to Him and why:

'And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me." In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.' (Luke 22:19-20)

After His death, Jesus appeared, resurrected, before two of His followers on the road to Emmaus. They did not recognise Him until He 'took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them' (Luke 24:30). Their eyes were opened and they realised the significance of what Jesus had done. It seems that the early church re-enacted Christ's Last Supper as Acts 2:42 says 'They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.'

The sharing of communion together, then, serves to remind us exactly what Jesus did for us on the cross. Its primary function is so that we remember the gospel: that 'Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God (1 Peter 3:18).

The New Testament letter to the Hebrews makes it clear that Jesus was not instigating another ritual or perpetuating the Jewish temple-priesthood-sacrificial system. That system had ended decisively with His death. The writer vividly contrasts the old system with the new way through Jesus:

'Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. Since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool, because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy. The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says:

"This is the covenant I will make with them
after that time, says the Lord.
I will put my laws in their hearts,
and I will write them on their minds." Then he adds:
"Their sins and lawless acts
I will remember no more."

And where these have been forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin. Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water'. (Hebrews 10:11-22)

Jesus' death was enough to pay for all sins past, present and future. No other sacrifice needs to be made. And that sacrifice never needs to be repeated. It is done forever, and Christ is now exalted in heaven, worshipped by all the angels.

This means we can have utter confidence in approaching God, because we don't approach Him through our own merits, but through Christ's perfection. We can have assurance that we are accepted before Him through our assurance that Christ's sacrifice was accepted: this is shown because God raised Him from the dead (Acts 2:24).

So any theology of the Lord's Supper which suggests that it is a sacrifice we make to God, or that it is Christ's sacrifice repeated, goes fundamentally against the gospel. It's not about what we can bring to God; it is about trusting in what He has done for us.

A system of priesthood is also unhelpful, for in the Hebrews passage the role of High Priest is taken by Jesus. In the New Testament, the term 'priesthood' is applied to all believers (1 Peter 2:9)- unlike the Old Testament there is no separate strand of priests from the rest of the people.

Finally, I am not convinced that the celebration of communion in a ritualised setting is helpful either. It seems that Jesus designed the Last Supper to remind people of His death for them whenever they ate or drank- bread and wine were the staple of every meal. In the New Testament, the breaking of bread would have taken place in people's homes, around their table. Their fellowship was such that they ate together and remembered the Lord's death together.

The Lord's Supper is designed so that we are reminded to feed on Christ and receive Him. This is why Jesus said:
"I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you." (John 6:53)

It is no use believing in an abstract way that Jesus died for you. You need to actually receive Him and trust in Him, and that's why communion is aimed at believers. It is a vivid reminder that we need to keep on receiving Christ, keep on reading His Word and allow it to change us. We struggle with sin and we need to continually bring our sins to the cross, and leave them there.

There is a solemn warning for us in 1 Corinthians 11:27:
'Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord.'

We can't go through the motions of receiving communion if, in our hearts, we are harbouring sin against God, or even worse, we have never really given our lives over to Him. Therefore communion was instigated by Jesus to remind us of our need to commit ourselves to Him, and to renew that commitment every time we eat physical food ie. all the time!

Ananias and Sapphira

The story of Ananias and Sapphira stands out in the New Testament as a terrifying example of God's judgment. The story is found in Acts 5, in the context of the community of early Christians coming together and not regarding their possessions as their own. Barnabas (who becomes notable later on in the book for his generosity and encouragement of other Christians, living up to the meaning of his name) sells a field and brings the whole amount of money before the apostles to use to help the poor and needy amongst them. Ananias and Sapphira sell some property and keep some of the money back, but in laying it before the apostles they essentially pretend they are giving the whole amount.

'Then Peter said, "Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? Didn't it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn't the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men but to God."

When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened. Then the young men came forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him.'

Peter, with supernatural knowledge, condemns Ananias- not for keeping money but for lying and trying to deceive the apostles. As God's representatives, such an offence against the apostles was basically against God Himself. That's why Peter says they have 'lied to the Holy Spirit'.

This is a terrible thing, and Ananias falls down dead in what seems to be shock and punishment from God. Then the story continues, as his wife (unaware that her husband has died and been buried) enters the scene.

'About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. Peter asked her, "Tell me, is this the price you and Ananias got for the land?"
"Yes," she said, "that is the price."

Peter said to her, "How could you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also."

At that moment she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband. Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events.

Sapphira is given the chance to repent, but she does not. She lies about the amount of money that they gave the apostles, and Peter says they have agreed to 'test the Spirit of the Lord'. Perhaps they wanted to see how much they could get away with. Their attitude was sinful and brought God's judgment upon them in an obvious way that terrified everyone around them.

What does this episode teach us?

Firstly, the sinfulness of sin. Disobedience to God, trying to go our own way, is offensive to Him and ultimately leads to our destruction.

Secondly, you can't hide from God. He sees all the thoughts of our hearts and we cannot escape His judgment upon our sin through hiding as Adam and Eve tried to do. Only through clinging to Jesus' sacrifice for us on the cross can we be forgiven.

Thirdly, the church is always under attack. In Acts, the early church was opposed by external powers (the Sanhedrin, for example) and this story shows us that opposition came from inside the church, too. Satan is at work to try to destroy the work of God's kingdom, but he is a defeated enemy! This story shows God's powerful control and protection of His church, which is testified to by the course of history. The church has prevailed despite multiple attacks from within and outside.