TRIBULATION MAY BE A CHRISTIAN’S BEST FRIEND

The Apostle Paul encouraged several Elders who were overseeing various assemblies of baptized believers, of which there were very few false converts due to the tribulation Christians faced at that time. Today, in the modern age of technology and fast food, many Churches are filled with false converts due primarily to our current evangelical methodologies. The nature and purpose of this study on tribulation as it applies to the life of a Christian will explore the meaning of salvation, the “Way of the Master’s” plan of salvation. When a born-again believer loves Christ more than life, then persecutions will produce in them a zeal for the lost, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, all things are possible. Included in this matter is the personal testimony of a great grandson of a slave who endured tribulations only to be later lauded by his peers. It will show how tribulation is a part of growing our relationship with God through Jesus Christ and how the blood of Jesus can clean the most notorious sinner. A great deal of emphasis will be placed on the redeemed society of those who have been delivered from various addictions. Scriptures reveal that is was through suffering that Christ learned obedience, so we intend to convey that the same principle holds true for the believer. As we explorer how suffering gave way to the birth of the early Church, then it only seems beneficial that we embrace persecutions, for one theologian said it “yields production.” Not only did Paul the Apostle long to know Christ and the fellowship of His suffering, but so did Ignatius. “Foxes book of Martyrs” seems to indicate this of Ignatius: Now, I began to be a disciple. I care for nothing, of visible things, so that I may but win Christ. Let fire and the cross; let the companies of wild beast, let breaking of bones and tearing of limbs, let the grinding of the whole body, and all the malice of the devil, come upon me; be it so, only may I win Christ Jesus! Foxe seems to indicate that tribulation for Ignatius was a purifying necessity, for he says, “I am going to be ground with the teeth of a wild beast, that I may be found pure bread.” For this and other quotes by those of the persecuted Church, tribulation can serve as an outside pressure to keep the Church pure, and it will also keep the born again believer focused on the mission of the Kingdom of God. So often in our Western Culture we are distracted with the care of this world and the deceitfulness of riches and not concerned enough for those on their way to a Christless eternity. CHAPTER 1 I. THE NECESSITY FOR ADVERSITY A. DEFINITION OF TRIBULATION: Tribulation in Greek is “thlipsis,” which means pressure from the outside. Dr. David Jeremiah likens it to when a boulder is on your chest, which causes you to suffocate slowly. One author mentions that if we don’t have something pushing us in our microwave pleasure-seeking society, some are in danger of giving in to the pressures of life to forsake their “first love,” who is Jesus Christ. It is hard for us in this western culture to identify with living under the kind of pressure that would threaten our physical wellbeing if we ever faced the choice of denying our faith in Christ. Jesus encouraged the Church in Smyrna during the Apostle John's day to be fearless and faithful in the face of opposition of pressure, poverty, and persecution they were facing under Roman oppression. While all others around were bowing the knee to the Emperor and confessing that Caesar was Lord, this Church would rather face death than give up on their faith in Christ. We must also remember in the beginning, when God had chosen a people for his own glory in His sovereignty, it was the persecution that moved them to pray after they had been oppressed by the Egyptians, and then God sent a deliverer. Moses, who was known as the “meekest man in all the earth,” endured great difficulty leading God’s people out of slavery, but through it all, God persevered a people for His name's sake in order for the promised seed to become a reality. God is not so much concerned about our happiness has He is our holiness, so He commands us to “be holy for I am holy.” Tribulation is a promise from Jesus but we are encouraged to be of good cheer. Just as Jesus overcame and sat down at the right hand of majesty, we too can overcome by the blood of the lamb and the word of our testimony as we seek to love Christ above all else. B. DEFINITION OF SALVATION: Salvation is one of the most dynamic single words in our language; it can be applied to every area of our life and all individuals in society. Only those who put their complete trust in the finished work of Jesus Christ as Savior can be saved from the wrath of God. The prophet Isaiah notes how we are all born in sin and shaped in iniquity and need of a Savior. After defining salvation, it is then helpful to add a workable plan of salvation accompanied by a personal testimony of how God initiates Salvation and fills us with His Holy Spirit, then keeps us by His power, bringing it to consummation. “Without repentance of sin, acceptance of Christ as Savior, NO ONE will enter heaven.” The Holman Bible dictionary defines SALVATION as “the acutely dynamic act of snatching others by force from serious peril. In its most basic sense, salvation is the saving of a life from death or harm. Scripture, particularly the New Testament, extends salvation to include deliverance from the penalty and power of sin.”