"Charity . . .
bears all things." --
HAVING in the previous verses declared those fruits of
charity that consist in doing, the apostle now proceeds to speak of
those that have reference to suffering; and here he declares that
charity, or the spirit of Christian love, tends to dispose men, and make them
willing, to undergo all sufferings for Christ’s sake, and in the way of duty.
This I suppose to be the meaning of the expression, “beareth all things.”
Some, I know, would understand these words as referring only to the meek
bearing of injuries from our fellowmen. But it seems to me that they are rather
to be understood in the sense here given, of suffering in the cause of Christ
and religion; and that for the following reasons:
First, as to
bearing injuries from men, that the apostle had mentioned before, in
saying that “charity suffereth long,” and again, in declaring that it “is not
easily provoked,” or that it tends to the resisting of the passion of anger;
and, therefore, there is no need to suppose that he would use such tautology as
again to mention the same thing a third time.
Second, the
apostle seems evidently to have done with the fruits of charity of a more
active nature, and to have summed them all up in the expression of the previous
verse, “rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth.” He had been
rehearsing over the various points of good conduct toward our neighbor which
charity tends to, and having summed up these in the above expression, he now
seems to proceed to traits of another nature, and not to be repeating the same
things over in other words.
Third, it is
a frequent thing for the apostle Paul to mention suffering in the cause of
Christ as a fruit of Christian love; and therefore it is not probable that he
would omit so great a fruit of love in this place, where he is professedly
reckoning up all the important fruits of love or charity. It is common for the
apostle elsewhere to mention suffering in the cause of religion as a fruit of
love or charity. So he does in 2 Cor. 5:14, where, after speaking of what he
had undergone in the cause of Christ, on account of which others were ready to
say he was beside himself, he gives as the reason of it, that the love of
Christ constrained him. And so, again, in Rom. 5:3-5, he gives it as a reason
why he was willing to glory in tribulations, that the love of God was shed
abroad in his heart by the Holy Ghost. And still again, he declares, that
neither tribulation, nor distress, nor persecution, nor famine, nor nakedness,
nor peril, nor sword, should be able to separate him from the love of Christ
(Rom. 8:35). Now, since suffering in the cause of Christ is so great a fruit of
charity, and so often spoken of elsewhere by the apostle, it is not likely that
he would omit it here, where he is professedly speaking of the various fruits
of charity.
Fourth, the
following words, “believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all
things,” all show that the apostle has done with those fruits of charity that
have chief reference to our fellowmen, as may be manifest hereafter, when these
expressions may be more fully considered. The doctrine, then, that I would draw
from the text, is,
THAT CHARITY, OR A TRULY CHRISTIAN SPIRIT, WILL MAKE US WILLING, FOR
CHRIST’S SAKE, TO UNDERGO ALL SUFFERINGS TO WHICH WE MAY BE EXPOSED IN THE WAY
ON DUTY.
And in clearing this doctrine, I would, first, briefly
explain it, and then give some reason or proof of its truth.
I. I would explain the doctrine. — And, in so
doing, I remark,
1. That it implies that those that have the true
spirit of charity or Christian love, are willing not only to do, but also to
suffer, for Christ. — Hypocrites may, and oftentimes do, make a great show
of religion in profession, and in words that cost nothing, and in actions that
involve no great difficulty or suffering. But they have not a suffering
spirit, or a spirit that inclines them willingly to suffer for Christ’s
sake. When they undertook in religion, it was not with any view to suffering,
or with any design or expectation of being injured by it in their temporal
interests. They closed with Christ, so far as they did, only to serve a turn
for themselves. All that they do in religious things is from a selfish spirit,
and commonly very much for their interest, as it was with the Pharisees of old;
and therefore they are far from the spirit that is willing to meet suffering
either in their persons or their interests. But those that are truly Christians
have a spirit to suffer for Christ; and they are willing to follow him on that
condition which he himself has given: “Whosoever doth not bear his cross, and
come after me, cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:27). And not only are they
willing to suffer for Christ, but,
2. It is also implied in our doctrine, that they
have the spirit to undergo all the sufferings to which their duty to Christ may
expose them. — And here,
First, they
are willing to undergo all sufferings, of all kinds, that are in
the way of duty. They have the spirit of willingness to suffer in their good
name; for Christ’s sake to suffer reproach and contempt; and to prefer the
honor of Christ before their own. With the apostle they can say, “Therefore I
take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions,
in distresses, for Christ’s sake” (2 Cor. 12:10). They have a spirit to suffer
the hatred and ill-will of men, as was foretold by Christ when he said, “Ye
shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake” (Mat. 10:22). They have a spirit
to suffer losses in their outward possessions; as says the apostle, “Yea
doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge
of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered. the loss of all things”
(Phil 3:8). They have the Spirit to suffer in their ease and comfort, and to
endure hardships and fatigues: like Paul, to approve themselves faithful, “in
much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, in stripes, in
imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in watchings, in fastings” (2 Cor. 6:4,
5). They have the spirit to suffer pain of body, like those who were tortured,
not accepting deliverance; and those who had trial of cruel mockings and
scourgings, and of bonds and imprisonment (Heb. 11:35, 36). They have a spirit
to suffer even death itself. “He that findeth his life shall lose it; and he
that loseth his life for my sake shall find it” (Mat. 10:39). These, and all
other conceivable sufferings in kind they are willing to undergo for
Christ’s sake, and in the way of duty. And so,
Second, they
are willing to undergo all sufferings, of all degrees, that are in the
way of duty. They are like pure gold, that will bear the trial of the hottest
furnace. They have the heart to forsake all, and follow Christ, and
comparatively to “hate” even “father and mother, and wife, and children, and
brethren, and sisters, yea, and their own life also,” for Christ’s sake (Luke
14:26). They have the spirit to suffer the greatest degrees of reproach and
contempt; and to have trial not only of mockings, but of cruel mockings;
and to bear not only loss, but the loss of all things. They have the
spirit to suffer death; and not only so, but the most cruel and tormenting
forms of death, such as “to be stoned, to be sawn asunder, and to be slain with
the sword, and to wander about in sheep-skins and goat-skins, being destitute,
afflicted, tormented” (Heb. 11:37). The fiercest and most cruel sufferings in
degree, they are willing to undergo for Christ. I proceed,
II. To give some reason or proof of the doctrine. — And that it is so, that they who have a truly
gracious spirit are willing to undergo all sufferings that they may be exposed
to in the way of their duty, will appear from the following considerations: —
1. If we have not such a spirit, it
is an evidence that we have never given ourselves
unreseveredly to Christ. — It is necessary to our being Christians, or
followers of Christ, that we should give ourselves to him unreservedly, to be
his wholly, and his only, and his forever. And therefore the believer’s closing
with Christ is often, in the Scriptures, compared to the act of a bride in
giving herself in marriage to her husband; as when God says to his people, “I
will betroth thee unto me for ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in
righteousness, and in judgment, and in loving-kindness, and in mercies” (Hos.
2:19). But a woman, in marriage, gives herself to her husband to be his, and
his only. True believers are not their own, for they are bought with a price,
and they consent to the full right that Christ has in them, and recognize it by
their own act, giving themselves to him as a voluntary and living sacrifice,
wholly devoted to him. But they that have not a spirit to suffer all things for
Christ, show that they do not give themselves wholly to him, because they make
a reserve of such cases of suffering as they are not willing to bear for his
sake. In those cases they desire to be excused from being for Christ and his
glory, and choose rather that his cause should be set aside for their own ease
or interest, and indeed should entirely give way for it. But making such
reserves of cases of suffering is certainly inconsistent with truly devoting
themselves to God. It is rather being like Ananias and Sapphira, who gave but
part, and kept back part of that which they professed to give to the Lord. To
give ourselves wholly to Christ implies the sacrificing of our own temporal
interest wholly to him. But he that wholly sacrifices his temporal interest to
Christ, is ready to suffer all things in his worldly interests for him. If God
be truly loved, he is loved as God; and to love him as God, is to love him as
the supreme good. But he that loves God as the supreme good, is ready to make
all other good give place to that; or, which is the same thing, he is willing
to suffer all for the sake of this good.
2. They that are truly Christians, so fear God,
that his displeasure is far more terrible than all earthly afflictions and
sufferings. — When Christ is telling his disciples what sufferings they
should be exposed to for his sake, he says to them, “Be not afraid of them that
kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do; but I will
forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed, hath
power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, fear him” (Luke 12:4, 5). And so,
again, it is said by the prophet, “Sanctify the Lord of hosts himself; and let
him be your fear, and let him be your dread” (Isa. 8:13). Now they that are
truly Christians see and know him who is so great and dreadful a God, and they
know that his displeasure and wrath are far more dreadful than all the temporal
sufferings that can be in the way of their duty, and more dreadful than the
wrath and cruelty of men, or the worst torments that they can inflict. And
therefore they have a spirit to suffer all that can be inflicted, rather than
forsake God, and sin against him who can inflict upon them eternal wrath.
3. They that are truly Christians, have that faith
whereby they see that which is more than sufficient to make up for the greatest
sufferings they can endure in the cause of Christ. — They see that
excellency in God and Christ, whom they have chosen for their portion, which
far outweighs all possible sufferings. And they see, too, that glory which God
has promised to them that suffer for his sake — that far more exceeding and
eternal weight of glory which their sufferings for Christ’s sake work out for
them, and in comparison with which, the heaviest sorrows and most enduring
trials are but “light affliction, which is but for a moment” (2 Cor. 4:17).
Moses’ faith is given as a reason why he was willing to suffer affliction with
the people of God, and to endure reproach for Christ’s sake, because, in the exercise
of that faith, he saw something better than the throne and riches of Egypt laid
up for him in heaven (Heb. 11:24-26).
4. If we are not willing to close with religion,
notwithstanding all the difficulties attending it, we shall be overwhelmed with
shame at last. — So Christ expressly teaches us. His language is, “For
which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first and counteth
the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? lest haply, after he hath
laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to
mock him, saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish. Or what king,
going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth,
whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with
twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an
ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace. So likewise, whosoever he be of
you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple” (Luke
14:28-33). The sufferings that are in the way of our duty, are among the
difficulties that attend religion. They are part of the cost of being
religious. He, therefore, that is not willing to meet this cost, never complies
with the terms of religion. He is like the man that wishes his house was built,
but is not willing to meet the cost of building it; and so, in effect, refuses
to build it. He that does not receive the gospel with all its difficulties,
does not receive it as it is proposed to him. He that does not receive Christ
with his cross as well as his crown, does not truly receive him at all. It is
true that Christ invites us to come to him to find rest, and to buy wine and
milk: but then he also invites us to come and take up the cross, and that
daily, that we may follow him; and if we come only to accept the former, we do
not in truth accept the offer of the gospel, for both go together, the rest and
the yoke, the cross and the crown: and it will signify nothing, that, in
accepting only the one, we accept what God never offered. to us. They that
receive only the easy part of Christianity, and not the difficult, at best are
but almost Christians; while they that are wholly Christians receive the whole
of Christianity, and thus shall be accepted and honored, and not cast out with
shame, at the last day.
5. Without this spirit which the text implies, we
cannot be said to forsake all for Christ. — If there be any one kind
or degree of temporal suffering that we have not a spirit to undergo for
Christ, then there is something that we do not forsake for him. For example, if
we are not willing to suffer reproach for Christ, then we are not willing to
forsake honor for him. And so if we are not willing to suffer poverty, pain,
and death for his sake, then we are not willing to forsake wealth, ease, and
life for him. But Christ is abundant in teaching us, that we must be willing to
forsake all that we have for him, if duty requires it, or we cannot be his
disciples (Luke 14:26, etc.)
6. Without this spirit we cannot be said to deny
ourselves in the sense in which the Scriptures require us to do it. — The
Scriptures teach us, that it is absolutely necessary to deny ourselves
in order to our being the disciples of Christ. “Then said Jesus unto his
disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his
cross, and follow me; for whosoever will save his life shall lose it; and
whosoever will lose his life for my sake, shall find it” (Mat. 16:24, 25).
These expressions, as here used, signify as much as a man’s renouncing himself.
And the man who acts according to them in his practice, lives as though he
disowned himself for Christ. He puts himself to difficulty or suffering, as
though he did not own himself. As the children of Levi were said not to know or
acknowledge their own relatives and friends, when they put them to the sword
for their sin in making the golden calf, so Christians are said not to
acknowledge, but to deny themselves, when they crucify the flesh, and undergo
great sufferings for Christ, as though they had no mercy on themselves. Those
that will do contrary to the will of Christ and his glory, for the sake of
avoiding suffering, deny Christ instead of denying themselves. Those that dare
not confess Christ before persecutors, do in fact deny him before men, and are
of the number of whom Christ says, that he will deny them before his Father in
heaven (Mat. 10:33); and as to whom the apostle says, “If we suffer, we shall
also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us” (2 Tim. 2:12).
7. It is the character of all the true followers of
Christ, that they follow him in all things. — “These are they,” says the
beloved disciple, alluding to those about the throne of God — “these are they
which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth” (Rev. 14:4). Those that are
willing to follow Christ only in prosperity, and not in adversity, or only in
some sufferings, and not in all, cannot be said to follow him whithersoever he
goeth. We read of one who said to Christ, while he was on earth, “Master, I
will follow thee whithersoever thou goest;” and that Christ said to him, “The
foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of man hath
not where to lay his head” (Mat. 8:19, 20). And by this he signified to him,
that if he would follow him wherever he went, he must follow him through great
difficulties and sufferings. They that are true followers of Christ, are of the
same spirit toward Christ that Ittai the Gittite manifested toward David, in
not only clinging to him in prosperity, but also in his adversity, even when
David would have excused him from going with him. He said, “As the Lord liveth,
and as my lord the king liveth, surely in what place my lord the king shall be,
whether in death or life, even there also will thy servant be” (2 Sam. 15:21).
Of such a spirit are true Christians toward Christ, the spiritual David.
8. It is the character of true Christians,
that they overcome the world. — “Whatsoever is born of God
overcometh the world” (1 John 5:4). But to overcome the world, implies that we
overcome alike its flatteries and frowns, its sufferings and difficulties.
These are the weapons of the world, by which it seeks to conquer us; and if
there be any of these that we have not a spirit to encounter for Christ’s sake,
then by such weapons the world will have us in subjection, and gain the victory
over us. But Christ gives his servants the victory over the world in all its
forms. They are conquerors, and more than conquerors, through him that hath
loved them. Once more,
9. The sufferings in the way of duty are often, in
the Bible, called temptations or trials, because by them God tries the
sincerity of our character as Christians. — By placing such sufferings in
our way, God tries whether we have a spirit to undergo suffering, and so tries
our sincerity by suffering, as gold is tried by the fire, to know whether it is
pure gold or not. And as by the fire the pure gold may be known from all baser
metals, and from all imitations of it; so, by observing whether we are willing
to undergo trials and sufferings for Christ’s sake, God sees whether we are
indeed his people, or whether we are ready to forsake him and his service when
any difficulty or danger is in the way. It seems to be with this view that the
apostle Peter says to those to whom he wrote, “Though now for a season, if need
be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations; that the trial of your
faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried
with fire, might be found unto praise, and honor, and glory, at the appearing
of Jesus Christ” (1 Pet. 1:6, 7). And again, “Beloved, think it not strange
concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing
happened unto you; but rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s
sufferings, that when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with
exceeding joy” (1 Pet. 4:12, 13). And so God by his prophet declares, “I will
bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is
refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I
will hear them; I will say, It is my people; and they shall say, The Lord is my
God” (Zec. 13:9).
In the application of this subject, let it
1. Lead those who think themselves Christians to
examine themselves, whether or no they have the spirit to undergo all
sufferings for Christ. — It becomes all persons very strictly to examine
themselves, whether they are of a suffering spirit or not, seeing such great
importance is attached to such a spirit in the Scriptures. Though you never
have had the trial of having such great and extreme sufferings laid in the way
of your duty, as many others have had, yet you have had enough, in the course
of God’s providence, to show what your spirit is, and whether you are of a
disposition to suffer, and to renounce your own comfort, and ease, and
interest, rather than forsake Christ. It is God’s manner in his providence,
commonly, to exercise all professors of religion, and especially those that may
live in times of trial, with trials of this sort, by laying such difficulties
in their way as shall make manifest what their spirit is, and whether it be a
spirit of self-renunciation or not. It is often the case with Christians who
are exposed to persecutions, that if they will cleave to Christ, and be
faithful to him, they must suffer in their good name, and in losing the
goodwill of others, or in their outward ease and convenience, being exposed to
many troubles; or in their estates, being brought into difficulty as to their
business; or must do many things that they are exceeding averse to, and that
are even dreadful to them. Have you, when you have had such trials, found in
yourself a spirit to bear all things that come upon you, rather than in
anything be unfaithful to your great Lord and Redeemer? And you have the more
need to examine yourselves with respect to this point, for you know not but
that before you die you may have such trial of persecutions as other Christians
have had. Every true Christian has the spirit of a martyr. And if you have not
the suffering spirit in the lesser trials or sufferings that God may have sent
upon you, how will it be if he should expose you to bitter persecutions, such
as the saints of old sometimes were called to endure? If you cannot bear trials
in little things, how can you possess that charity which beareth all things?
As the prophet says in another case, “If thou hast run with the footmen, and
they have wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with horses? And if in the
land of peace, wherein thou trustedst, they wearied thee, then how wilt thou do
in the swelling of Jordan?” (Jer. 12:5). Our subject,
2. Exhorts all professors of religion to cherish a
ready spirit, for Christ’s sake, to undergo all sufferings that may be in the
way of duty. And here consider,
First, how happy those persons are represented in the
Scriptures to be, who have a spirit to suffer, and do actually suffer, for
Christ. “Blessed,” says Christ, “are
they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of
heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall
say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake. Rejoice, and be
exceeding glad; for great is your reward in heaven” (Mat. 5:10-12). And again,
“Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye that
weep now: for ye shall laugh. Blessed are ye when men shall hate you, and when
they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast
out your name as evil, for the Son of man’s sake. Rejoice ye in that day, and
leap for joy; for your reward is great in heaven” (Luke 6:21-23). And again,
“Unto you it is given, in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but
also to suffer for his sake” (Phil. 1:29). And again, “Blessed is the man that
endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life,
which the Lord hath promised. to them that love him” (Jam. 1:12). And again,
“But and if ye suffer for righteousness’ sake, happy are ye” (1 Pet. 3:14). And
the New Testament is full of similar expressions, all of which may encourage us
in the way of suffering for Christ. And consider, also,
Second, what glorious rewards God has promised hereafter to bestow on those that do willingly
suffer for Christ. It is said that they shall receive a “crown of life;”
and Christ promises, that those that forsake houses, or brethren, or sisters,
or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for his name’s sake,
shall receive an hundred-fold, and shall inherit everlasting life (Mat. 19:29).
And again we are told, of those who suffer for Christ’s sake, that they shall
be counted worthy of the kingdom of God (2 The. 1:5); and again, that it is a
faithful saying, that if we suffer with Christ, we shall also reign with him (2
Tim. 2:11, 12); and still again, that if we suffer with him, we shall also be
glorified together with him (Rom. 8:17). And we have also the most glorious
promises made to those that overcome, and gain the victory over the world — “To
him that overcometh,” says Christ, “will I give to eat of the tree of life,
which is in the midst of the paradise of God,” and “he shall not be hurt of the
second death;” and “to him will I give to eat of the hidden manna;” and “to him
will I give power over the nations;” and “I will give him the morning star;”
and “he shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out
of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before
his angels;” and “him will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he
shall go no more out; and I will write upon him my new name;” and “to him that
overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame,
and am set down with my Father in his throne” (Rev. 2:7, 11, 17, 26, 27, 28;
3:5, 12, 21). Surely promises so rich and abundant as these, should make us
willing to undergo all sufferings for the sake of Christ, who will so gloriously
reward us for them all. Once more, consider,
Third, how the Scriptures abound with blessed examples of those that have suffered for Christ’s sake. The Psalmist, speaking of the reproach and blasphemy he had suffered from the enemy and avenger, says, “All this is come upon us; yet have we not forgotten thee, neither have we dealt falsely in thy covenant” (Psa. 44:17, 18); and again, “The proud have had me greatly in derision; yet have I not declined from thy law… Many are my persecutors and mine enemies; yet do I not decline from thy testimonies… Princes have persecuted me without a cause; but my heart standeth in awe of thy word” (Psa. 119:51, 157, 161). And the prophet Jeremiah spake boldly for God, though he was threatened with death for so doing (Jer. 26:11, 15). And Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to bow down and worship the golden image that the king of Babylon had set up, though they knew they would be cast into the fiery furnace (Dan. 3); and Daniel himself would still faithfully pray to his God, though he expected for it to be shut up in the den of lions (Dan. 6). But the time would fail me to tell of apostles, and prophets, and martyrs, and saints, and of Christ himself, who were faithful alike through good report and evil report, and in sufferings and trials, and who counted not their lives dear, so that they might be faithful to the end. “Wherefore, seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith; who, for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Heb. 12:1, 2). “Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer. Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.