Welcome, friends, to another
broadcast of Morsels for Zion's Poor. The Lord Jesus Christ has
gone before us and demonstrated very plainly the calling of his
many sons to glory through his own suffering in their behalf.
For it became him, for whom are all things and by whom are all
things, in bringing many sons unto glory to make the captain
of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For both he that
sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one. For
which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren. One of
the greatest mysteries in all of the world is set forth by
the writer of Hebrews here, and also when he said, Though he
were a son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered.
And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation
unto all them that obey him. Now it is plainly revealed that
He shrank not from suffering in our behalf, in order that
He might not only teach us that through His suffering alone that
we are deemed righteous by the Father, because of the imputation
of His righteousness to our account, but that He might show us by
example the steps that we are called to follow. For even here
unto where ye call, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving
us an example that ye should follow his steps. This is what
Paul referred to when he said, For unto you it is given in the
behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer
for his sake. If He, as the perfect Son of
God, underwent suffering in our behalf, can you and I expect
that we should be called to anything less than to suffer in His, or
on account of the fact that we are identified with Him whom
the world hated? He has suffered to redeem us,
and has by His suffering completely fulfilled the law, and forever
removed any condemnation that might ever be brought against
those for whom He underwent these trials. The suffering that we
are called to has nothing at all to do with our redemption,
nor can it in any way add anything to that which has been performed
for us by Christ. Our suffering is but the heritage
of the sons of God, who were set at odds with this world and
its pernicious ways because of what Christ has done for us.
And we can in no wise escape it, just as Ishmael was at odds
with Isaac, because darkness and light can have no fellowship.
Paul said, Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus
shall suffer persecution. This is not an option which a
child of God can select at random, but is the very career that we
are called to as the sons of God. It cannot be escaped, but
is endemic to being the sons of light in the midst of a dark
world which despises the way of Christ. This suffering takes
on several forms. actual physical persecution which
brings bodily harm. Paul delineated his life spent
in such suffering. Many of the early disciples and
countless thousands of other believers in all ages have endured
great affliction of this type and even death. Not all are called
to bear this particular type of suffering, but those who do
are even as Peter and John, who rejoiced that they were counted
worthy to suffer shame for his name. This suffering takes on
the form of ridicule and scorn for the gospel's sake. Paul said
that we are the saver of death and those that perish. The world
despises the preaching of the gospel of grace, which is foolishness
to them. They hate those who are associated
with it because they despise Christ. This is most especially
true among the religious men of the world, many of whom profess
a token belief in Christ, but actually despise the gospel of
free grace, preferring to add to it some measure of human endeavor
and effort, for which they are convinced men will be rewarded
for, if not in this life, surely in the one to come. This suffering
takes on the form of being the natural result of sin in these
moral bodies. When Adam sinned and passed this
disobedience to his posterity, it included the sufferings of
these bodies now susceptible to all sorts of corruption and
disease, most notably death. While it has pleased the Lord
to deliver His sons from the judicial curse associated with
sin and the condemnation thereof, yet it has not pleased Him to
presently deliver them from the weakness of this corruptible
flesh in which they are left to suffer. They suffer not as
those who have no hope, but they are nonetheless still housed
in bodies that decay and fall prey to all manner of disease,
according to His sovereign purpose. The day of the resurrection will
mark the complete deliverance of the sons of God from even
this lingering result of sin as the last enemy is destroyed.
He shall finally destroy this last enemy at his return for
his purchased possession. This suffering takes on the form
of the actual sin of the sons of God. Paul said, O wretched
man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
There is no greater suffering for the sons of God than the
life and death struggle in which they are locked with their flesh
once they are born again by His Spirit. Ishmael despises Isaac,
and darkness thrives against the light. The flesh wars against
the Spirit. For a free CD containing 15 of
these radio broadcasts, send an email to forthepoor at windstream.net.