Suffering and Friendship: Calling Our Friends to Faith

Based on Philippians 3

So far in Philippians Paul has called his friends toward love, unity, humility, and obedience – now in Chapter three he calls them to faith.

Have you ever watched a friend suffer and thought it was unfair?

“But she’s so nice! She’s always helping other people! She’s such a good person – she doesn’t deserve this!”

We are all prone to associate “good works” with blessings, and “bad behavior” with consequences. And suffering sure feels like a consequence. But Paul wants to clear up this misconception for his friends. He wants to move them away from a “works based” enslavement to a “faith based” freedom.

In verse 3 Paul tells his friend to “put no confidence in the flesh”. If anyone could put confidence in their good works, and impeccable resume, it would be Paul. And yet, those things are ultimately worthless when it comes to trying to control God.

God does not dole out salvation or easy lives because of our obedience to him. God never owes us anything. And likewise, to always view suffering as a direct result of sin, disobedience, selfishness etc. is also false.

Paul tells his friends that both his good works, and his sufferings are nothing compared to knowing Jesus as his Lord. Our confidence is not in our works, it’s in the person and work of Jesus.  

Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ, and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith…

Philippians 3:8-9

The righteousness we receive from God depends on faith.

This was good news for Paul’s friends, it’s good news for us, and it’s good news for our friends who are watching us walk through suffering. It removes the stigma of suffering, pulling it away from the category of “consequence”, and pushing it toward the category of sanctification where we are being transformed into the likeness of Christ.

The heavy burden of trying to navigate our hardships in perfect obedience and joy gets lifted off our shoulders, and instead we get to move through suffering in faith that God is working all this together for our good.

And now when Paul continues chapter 3 talking about “pressing on toward the goal”, and the importance of obedience… those things are put in their proper place: they are for the purpose of knowing Christ more fully.

Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers (and sisters), I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything, you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. Only let us hold true to what we have attained.

Philippians 3:12-16

How do you talk to your friends about your suffering? Do you feel like God’s punishing you? Do you find yourself trying to “be good” so God will answer your prayers? Do you ask your friends to pray for you that you would more fully rest in what Christ has done, instead of what you can (or should) do?

It’s not easy to untangle faith and obedience – and ultimately we are called to both. But this week, consider meditating on these verses and asking the Lord to help you to rest more fully on Jesus, and to encourage your friends to do the same.