Are Comfortable Christians Compromisers?
00:00:00.000 | Podcast listener Noah Giles writes in, "Pastor John, you've talked a lot about suffering
00:00:09.180 | and how to successfully trust God through the trials of life at its hardest.
00:00:14.560 | But I also know there have been times in my life when I feel like things are good and
00:00:17.840 | even when I'm living out my faith, the only persecution I might get is when I'm silently
00:00:22.180 | judged or given a strange look.
00:00:25.080 | Am I doing something wrong when I'm happy and content with life or are there things
00:00:30.040 | I should be wary of?
00:00:31.560 | If I'm a Christian trying to glorify God, should I ever feel comfortable?"
00:00:36.560 | Hmm.
00:00:37.960 | Well, Noah is right.
00:00:40.800 | I have in my life and in my ministry put a lot of emphasis on suffering.
00:00:49.960 | The reason is because of texts like these.
00:00:55.880 | Through many tribulations, you must enter the kingdom of God.
00:01:01.120 | No question.
00:01:02.120 | They're coming.
00:01:03.120 | That's Acts 14.22.
00:01:05.280 | Second Timothy 3.12, "All who desire to live a godly life in Christ will be persecuted."
00:01:11.200 | Matthew 10.25, "If they call the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they
00:01:16.200 | malign those of his household?"
00:01:18.360 | First Peter 4.12, "Beloved, don't be surprised at the fiery trial that comes upon you to
00:01:23.560 | test you as though something strange were happening to you."
00:01:27.800 | John 16.33, "In the world you will have tribulation.
00:01:33.240 | Take heart.
00:01:34.240 | I've overcome the world."
00:01:35.560 | Romans 8.17, "We are heirs of God, fellow heirs with Christ, if we suffer with him in
00:01:42.760 | order that we may be glorified with him."
00:01:45.160 | Luke 14.27, "Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple."
00:01:51.840 | And Hebrews 12.7, "It is for discipline that you have to endure.
00:01:56.500 | God is treating you as sons.
00:01:59.000 | For what son is there whom his father does not discipline?"
00:02:03.540 | And on and on and on the text goes.
00:02:05.560 | You can see where I'm coming from and why I would make it such a dominant part of my
00:02:13.000 | writing and my speaking over the years.
00:02:17.040 | I do see that God's calling on my life and somewhat on desiring God's life, the ministry,
00:02:25.680 | to help people prepare to suffer.
00:02:28.080 | Like it says in First Peter 4.19, "Therefore let those who suffer according to God's will
00:02:33.840 | and trust their souls to a faithful creator while doing good."
00:02:36.720 | This is what Peter was doing.
00:02:38.000 | I think all of First Peter is designed to help people get ready to suffer.
00:02:41.680 | Now when you put as much emphasis on the sovereignty of God as I do, there is a certain burden
00:02:48.080 | you feel, I feel, to help people understand how this sovereignty is good news in suffering
00:02:53.980 | and not just in easy times.
00:02:56.520 | So that's all to say yes, he's right.
00:03:01.200 | However, my answer to Noah is that he should find in Scripture a theology of contentment
00:03:10.940 | in comfort as well as contentment in pain.
00:03:14.720 | Yes, yes, yes, he should.
00:03:16.840 | And if he hasn't found it yet, which it doesn't sound like he has, he should pursue.
00:03:21.240 | And I'll try to give a little guideline here.
00:03:24.840 | That's exactly what Paul said in Philippians 4.
00:03:28.880 | Not that I'm speaking of being in need, for I've learned in whatever situation I am to
00:03:32.800 | be content, I know how to be brought low and I know how to abound.
00:03:37.720 | That would be Noah's "Can I be okay feeling comfortable?"
00:03:42.260 | So go to school here, right?
00:03:44.020 | In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance
00:03:50.800 | and need.
00:03:51.800 | I can do all things, both of those, through him who strengthens me.
00:03:55.960 | So God does not intend for every moment of our lives to be equally hard.
00:04:03.020 | Jesus said to his disciples, Mark 6 31, "Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and
00:04:09.520 | rest a while."
00:04:11.240 | Well, if one of them had said, "Hey, aren't we supposed to suffer?
00:04:15.080 | Aren't we supposed to suffer following you?"
00:04:17.920 | I think Jesus would have said, "It'll come, it'll come.
00:04:22.200 | Don't worry.
00:04:23.200 | Go ahead.
00:04:24.200 | I'm taking you away to enjoy some desert quietness right now and you'll get your chance to suffer."
00:04:30.200 | And so recently Tom Schreiner wrote an article at Desiring God called Stop and Enjoy the
00:04:37.120 | Ordinary.
00:04:38.960 | And let me read a line.
00:04:41.480 | Ecclesiastes teaches us that life on earth is full of suffering and tragedy.
00:04:46.920 | Okay, that's the first half of this little answer.
00:04:50.720 | And yet at the same time, we are called upon to enjoy everyday life.
00:04:57.380 | The call to enjoy life is persistent as a theme in Ecclesiastes, and he lists one, two,
00:05:04.480 | three, four, five, six, seven, eight texts.
00:05:09.220 | We find these words in chapter three, "I perceive that there is nothing better for human beings
00:05:14.940 | than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live, also that everyone should eat and
00:05:21.460 | drink and take pleasure in his toil.
00:05:25.100 | This is God's gift to man," Ecclesiastes 3, 12, and 13.
00:05:29.480 | So the challenge, the great challenge for all of us is to find a way in our hearts by
00:05:38.080 | the working of the Holy Spirit to weep with those who weep and to rejoice with those who
00:05:44.360 | rejoice even when they are virtually simultaneous.
00:05:49.560 | No wedding should be ruined by the sorrow of those who attend, and no funeral should
00:05:57.140 | be desecrated by silly, humorous talk as if joy could have no tears.
00:06:04.500 | This is not an easy task to find this in our hearts, but this is what we're called to do.
00:06:09.980 | This is what I call Noah to discover.
00:06:13.100 | Beautiful.
00:06:14.100 | Thank you, Pastor John, and thank you for the question, Noah.
00:06:18.060 | To find the article by Tom Schreiner on Ecclesiastes, go to desiringgod.org and search for the title
00:06:22.980 | Stop and Enjoy the Ordinary.
00:06:26.740 | So how do we engage culture and also swim against the stream of cultural influence in
00:06:31.680 | our lives?
00:06:32.680 | John Piper returns tomorrow to answer that question from a listener.
00:06:36.760 | And for everything related to this podcast, you need to know, go to desiringgod.org/askpastorjohn.
00:06:41.020 | I'm your host, Tony Reinke.
00:06:45.340 | I'll see you tomorrow.
00:06:46.340 | [END]
00:06:46.840 | Desiring God.org/AskPastorJohnPiper
00:06:48.840 | Desiring God.org/AskPastorJohnPiper
00:06:50.840 | Desiring God.org/AskPastorJohnPiper
00:06:52.840 | [BLANK_AUDIO]