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SUFFERING FOR GOOD:

THE PROCLAMATION OF SUFFERING AS A MEANS TOWARD HOLINESS

BY DAVID B. WARD

PROFESSOR OF HOMILETICS

INDIANA WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY

WESLEYAN THEOLOGICAL SOCIETY, MARCH 2007

DEDICATED TO JIM FULLER

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"I love a theological focus on holiness, I just wish it was preached on more pragmatically.

Tell me how to attain it." These are the words of a student on a quest for holiness. How exactly

does one pursue holiness? What means does God use for shaping our character after Christ’s

own? Though it may seem unrelated at first, for the last year and a half I have watched friends

experience multiple miscarriages, others lose young children to sudden death, still others become

paralyzed in tragic accidents, and I have personally received my own diagnosis of chronic

depression while trying to maintain a sense of Christian joy. The juxtaposition of my students’

desire for holiness and my own observations of suffering is the driving force for these

reflections. There seems to be a connection between the desire for holiness and the necessity of

suffering. Yet to even mention the correlation between suffering and personal holiness borders

on insensitivity. Who can demand anything further from those in these terrible conditions? Is it

not enough that they are going through this pain? Is it possible to reconcile suffering as more

than just a problem, or an evil? Is it truly Christian to view it as a means toward an end, or is that

simply a form of sadomasochism? What connection does it have with a desire for purity of heart

and perfection of love?

In order to explore these questions I will structure my thoughts around four sources of

reflection. First, statistically I will examine a survey sent to a modest sample of pastors in the

North American conference of the Wesleyan Church. Then I will attempt to move toward a

biblical theology of suffering and holiness. Third, I will examine three key sermons by John

Wesley on the topic in context with his other writings to discern his preaching practice on the

issue. Finally, I will endeavor to outline a brief practical theology of the proclamation of

suffering as a means toward holiness.

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Proclaiming or Decrying Suffering in the Wesleyan Church

My students1 and I began by passing out a survey to pastors from the differing thirty-six

districts within the Wesleyan church. We were interested to learn if preaching on suffering from

a biblical perspective was consistent throughout this denomination. We invited multiple pastors

from each North American district and from congregations of various sizes to participate in the

anonymous online survey.

The survey, beyond basic demographic information, was primarily aimed at determining

how many times the topic of suffering was the primary focus of the sermon in the main worship

service in the last twelve months. The greatest number of responses fell into the categories

“none”, or “once.” If suffering was addressed in these services it was often a “subtopic” of the

sermon. Twelve percent of those responding have not preached on suffering at all in the last year.

One pastor was honest enough to tell us his tenure was over six years at the church. In those six

years not one sermon had addressed the topic. Another twelve percent indicated they had only

addressed the topic once in any major way. One of these pastors replied, “I preached on it once

and the congregation threw a fit. I don’t want to have to go through that again.”

Perhaps more revealing than the number of times suffering is preached about, is the way

it is viewed when it is addressed. A brief sampling of several pastors’ responses indicates what is

most likely a negative view toward suffering. Those who did preach about suffering addressed

“How to manage the Christian blues,” “The dark night of the soul,”2 and “Why do the innocent

suffer?”3 Others took more positive slants on the issue in such titles as “Don’t Waste the Pain,”

“Learning from Suffering,” and “The Call to the Cross.” Given this diversity of responses, there

1 I am particularly indebted to the efforts of Jeff Brady, Todd Lynch, Will Shelor, Cassie England, and Eric Key.

2 See following exploration of this specific theme through Wesley’s sermon Heaviness through Manifold

Temptations for explanation as to why this popular concept is a negative view. 3 These titles could indicate a more constructive view of suffering, but only if they were the ‘hook’ to draw in the

congregation while the sermon ended in a much different direction.

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may be two radically different results from our research. For many of the pastors involved in our

survey, this paper will only strengthen their strong resolve, and increase their ability to proclaim

a Christian view of suffering in the face of a comfort driven society. For others, however, the

following thoughts will stand in stark contrast to their pulpit praxis.

Though this group is certainly not an exhaustive analysis of the Wesleyan Church, and

much less a fair representation of the holiness movement, it does reveal a lack of attention given

to the topic of suffering by this group which may represent the holiness movement as a whole.

When prompted as to how many sixty-minute hours were devoted to the topic of suffering in

their theological education, the majority of these pastors spent as little between zero and four

hours total thinking and reflecting on this difficult issue. It is relatively no surprise then that

some pulpits reflect the same general lack of attention given to the subject. Further, the small

amount of time given to the topic when coupled with the often negative view of suffering leads

to the initial hypothesis that suffering and pain in the minds of current homilists is something to

be avoided if possible in the pulpit and therefore in life. One has to ask, is this a biblical view

much less a holiness view of the problem of pain and suffering?

The Biblical Connection of Suffering and Perfection

Christian perfection is connected numerous times with the concept of pain, suffering,

trials, and persecution in the New Testament. Some of the most notable are passages in Romans,

1 Corinthians, Hebrews, James, as well as both Petrine epistles. Though each of these addresses

the topic for very different reasons they come to strikingly similar conclusions. This paper does

not allow the space required to do a thorough analysis of each of these passages. It should suffice

for these purposes, however, to analyze a few representative texts on the issue of suffering. In

order to do this I will limit myself to an analysis of the second chapter of Hebrews in context,

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Paul’s use of qlipsis, and the first chapter of James. To begin with Hebrews allows us to

begin with Christology and then move toward a Christological anthropology instead of the other

way around. Further, many believe Hebrews to be an extended homiletical endeavor. So its

contents may hold within it clues toward common first century perceptions on preaching about

suffering. Ending with James not only brings us to the most unsettling of passages in the New

Testament on this issue, it provides an immediate connection with the sermons of John Wesley.

Suitability and Completion by Suffering in Hebrews

In Hebrews the startling, yet familiar statement "it was fitting that God…should make the

author of their salvation perfect through suffering"4 rings with a high view of pain in the human

experience if Christ is actually believed to be human. This verse is contextually linked with

sanctification in the next verse of chapter two. Though the focus is on the common origin of

Christ and the reader (‘`enos), the unnecessary use of ‘agiazw in its participle form to identify

Christ and the readers points to a connection in the mind of the preacher. Christ’s suffering is not

demeaned as a necessary evil, but rather linguistically and contextually seen as a means to the

end of holiness.5 It is not seen as an obstacle, a difficulty to manage, or a discomfort to avoid.

Rather it is seen as a fitting means for the salvation of humanity. More importantly it is a suitable

means for the perfection of Christ in some way. Several wrong directions must be eliminated at

this point before an attempt to explain this connection can be made.

First, the author of Hebrews denigrates neither the divinity nor the humanity of Christ.

This high priest stands as the only perfect mediator between God and humanity precisely because

4 Hebrews 2:10, All scripture citations are from the New International Version (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1984)

unless otherwise noted. 5 Martin Luther, Luther’s Works, volume 29: Lectures on Titus, Philemon, and Hebrews, ed. Jarislov Pelikan and

Walter A. Hansen (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1968) pp. 132-133

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that divide is eliminated completely in his own person.6 Cyril of Alexandria finds this point to be

extremely important, in his Second Letter to Nestorius saying “the Lord Jesus Christ must not be

divided.”7 The unity of God and human beings is achieved only in the person of Christ – but it is

achieved. This raises a difficult problem for the impassibility of God. Yet giants such as

Augustine, the three Cappadocians, Anselm and Aquinas along with the great church councils all

hold to divine simplicity and divine impassibility.8

In the same line, a further dead end must also be avoided. There can be no sense in which

the Trinity was lacking before the incarnation. The Trinity has always existed in overflowing

love and perfection and needs nothing added to it. The Trinity existing in perfect perichoretic

love did not need to create humanity, nor suffer with humanity. If it was necessary for any part of

the Trinity to suffer in order to be teleos in terms of essential completion, then we have a

developing God and again contradicted the doctrine of impassibility and divine simplicity.

Chrysostom, the golden mouthed homilist, skirts this difficulty through paradox saying that

Christ “shows that the one who suffers for someone…becomes himself more glorious and more

perfect” yet qualifies this stating, “But when I say he was glorified, do not suppose there was any

addition to his glory for he always had that glory by nature.”9 Hebrews then cannot be construed

to indicate an increase or improvement in the essence or being of God.

How can one avoid both of these similar difficulties? One possible direction to take is to

understand teleiw in terms of reaching a completed end and perfected goal. Ken Schenck

takes this view of perfection in his work Understanding the Book of Hebrews stating “perfection

6 Karl Barth, The Humanity of God (Richmond: John Knox Press, 1960) p. 39.

7 Thomas C Oden gen. ed. Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, New Testament vol. X, (Downers Grove,

Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 2005) p. 46 8 Robert Duncan Culver “The Impassibility of God: Cyril of Alexandria to Moltmann” in Christian Apologetics

Journal, Volume 1. No. 1. Spring 1998. Presented at the 1996 meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society. 9 Oden, Hebrews, p. 42-43 emphasis added

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for Christ implies his successful, sinless completion of the human experience and his subsequent

attainment of glory.”10

This requires the object of teleiw to be the task or mission of Christ,

not Christ himself. This would mean Christ could not fulfill the role he was destined to fulfill

without this suffering. Though this is certainly true of Hebrews as a whole, which is Schenk’s

focus and therefore perfectly accurate, it seems to miss at least some of the force of the second

chapter of Hebrews. It points toward Christ himself as the object of the verb.

Therefore, it might also be said that for Christ this perfection seems to emphasize a

perfection of capability and suitability for his role. In this way, with Schenck, we emphasize the

perfection of function and role while not eliminating the actual effect on the humanity of Christ.

This means Christ’s suffering not only was the role he needed to play on earth for atonement of

sins, it also prepares him for the role he now plays. Hence the phrase "fitting." It fit the office of

eternal high priest that Christ should suffer for the sake of understanding.11

It is fitting that Christ

should be tempted in every way so temptation was no foreign or easily dismissed idea.12

In

Chrysostom’s eloquent words, “Now he is not ignorant of our sufferings, not only because as

God he knows them [one might add: he already knew them], but also because as man he knows

them through the trial with which he was tested.”13

Further, it is possible that the outworking of the character of God would have been

imperfect were it not for a willing choice to suffer with humanity. This is the definition God has

demonstrated for love. Love to God is not an easy emotion where one wishes another the best

from a distance. God is a descending, participating, and understanding companion. The love of

God compelled God to suffer with, sacrifice for, and die in order to perfect humanity. To do

10

Kenneth C. Schenck Understanding the Book of Hebrews; The story behind the sermon. (Louisville: John Knox

Press, 2003) p. 69 11

Hebrews 4:12-14 12

Hebrews 2:17 13

Oden, Hebrews, p. 50

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otherwise would not have left God imperfect in being, or incomplete in love. Either of these

would indicate a changing God. Rather, it would point to incompletion in the outworking of love.

A God whom knowingly creates beings to suffer relentlessly, die under judgment, and exist

eternally in punishment yet does nothing to redeem could not be a perfectly loving God. The

perfection of the love of God is the will to suffer among, with, and for creation. Therefore, as

Moltmann has so powerfully shown, the mercy of God and the justice of God meet in the event

of the cross and therefore complete his love, perhaps a partial reason for the cry tetelestai.14

If Christ's perfection is understood in this way there are several conclusions to be made

for a Christologically informed anthropology. First, certain roles of service are only perfectly

filled through the experience of pain. If Christ’s role as priest had requirements, how much more

should we expect to prepare for our own serving roles? A grief counselor who has never grieved

is ill-equipped. A general with no memory of the horrors of war is not fully prepared for the job.

A pastor unacquainted with the peculiar difficulties endemic to a region or city is not yet

perfectly suited. A ministry professor with no memory of the pains of church work is not fully

qualified. Therefore, suffering naturally prepares us for service to others. In this sense it perfects

our love. It completes that which was lacking in the area of empathy, understanding, and

compassion.15

Yet it also perfects our usefulness. Our suffering increases approachability. Just as

we boldly approach a throne through Christ who is our fully understanding advocate,16

so others

may approach the things of the divine through us who have suffered. In this way both our

suitability and our approachability are increased through suffering and pain.

14

Jurgen Motlmann, The Crucified God: The Cross of Christ As the Foundation and Criticism of Christian

Theology, SCM Press, London, 1973 15

Certainly one of the key concepts addressed in the first chapter of 2 Corinthians 16

Hebrews 4:16

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Further, when we are willing to enter into the painful living conditions, encounter the

squalor, and come out with the smell of the surroundings lingering in our nostrils, hair and

clothing we have chosen to ‘suffer with’ if even for a moment. In this way our love is completed.

When we align ourselves with the outcast and become outcast ourselves, our love is completed.

Just as when we align ourselves with Christ, and are persecuted for it, our love is completed.

There is no greater love than the laying down of a life for another.17

This indicates that concern

for the other which leads us to the point of death, if necessary, for the aid of that other is the

perfect love. So love is perfected when love is tested. Love is perfected when it is tested by pain

and that pain does not change the direction or intention of love.18

This in Hebrews, then, is

perfection and the means by which we must arrive at perfection ourselves.

Participation in Suffering, Persecution, and Perfection in Paul

Another theme of suffering is that of participation in the suffering of Christ. Though

paschw is used in Paul (seven times in all) it consistently refers to an analogy between the

sufferings of Paul and the sufferings of the readers. Perhaps more relevant is his use of

participation in the sufferings, qlipsis, of Christ. Paul celebrates this testing and proving of

faith through the fiery crucible of opposition and pain. Consistent with the New Testament

witness pain or persecution is not something to seek for its own sake. However, in Paul, the

participation in suffering because of the name of Christ includes us in the ongoing uncompleted

suffering of Christ.19

Further, in Paul's mind if we are included in Christ's suffering and death we will

somehow also be included in his resurrection and vindication. He seems to nearly pound this in

17

1 John 15:13 18

Chrysostom again proves persuasive at this point stating Christ was “at no point under necessity of being

crucified.” Rather it was a willful choice on the basis of perfect love. Oden, Hebrews, 211 19

Colossians 1:24

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Philippians 3:10-11 stating, “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the

fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to

attain to the resurrection from the dead.” This participation in the trappings of the Son’s death

qualifies us for inclusion in the eternal embrace of the Father. If one desires inclusion, the entire

experience of being "in Christ" must be embraced. This includes testing, suffering, persecution,

even the chance of violent death. Perhaps this echoes the words of Job. “Shall we accept good

from God and not trouble?”20

To accept one we must accept the other. None of these sufferings

should be pursued. But if the path toward inclusion in Christ is strewn with suffering and

persecutions, then they must be considered "light and momentary troubles" compared with the

goal of being included in the abundant glory of Christ.21

It is striking to note that the sufferings

of Paul were not delivered to him in his own indigenous environment. He suffered on the way to

fulfill his passionate love for the other. While attempting to witness to Christ so that others might

believe, he was flogged, beaten, stoned, and left for dead. This occurred on the way to something

else, not as an end in itself. He shows this others-focus clearly in passages like 2 Corinthians 1:6-

7 where Paul seems to indicate that he views all of the pain he is going through as being for those

to whom he writes.

However, more striking in Paul is the willingness to “boast in his weaknesses…delight in

weaknesses, hardships, persecutions in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For

when I am weak, then I am strong.”22

He appears to be quoting the voice of God in his life when

after indicating his persistent pleas to God to remove his torment he receives the reply “my

power is made perfect in weakness.” The power of God reaches its end and highest form when it

20

Job 2:10 the LXX does not use qlipsis, but kaka which is perhaps more provocative when thinking of the

problem of evil. 21

2 Corinthians 4:17; Also see Victor Paul Furnish’s II Corinthians, Anchor Bible Commentary, vol. 32. (Garden

City, New York: Doubleday, 1984), pp. 288-292 22

2 Corinthians 12

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resides in the vessel of a human weakened through pain, suffering, and torment. This desire to

rejoice in the face of suffering most clearly resonates with James.

Character Forming and Rejoicing in James

Perhaps one of the most challenging passages for a robust understanding of Christian

suffering is the beginning of the letter of James. To "consider it pure joy" is a difficult mental

and emotional feat to accomplish. This is especially true when the fullest implications of the

word are understood. Pasan in this context implies unadulterated, unmixed.23

There is no alloy

in the metal of this attitude to weaken it. Its purity, homogeneity, gives it strength. This

imperative then requires us to think of trials of many kinds, trials of our endurance in many

shapes and forms, difficult periods which literally test our mettle as pure unadulterated joy. How

can the mother losing her child consider it pure joy? How can the laid-off factory worker who

has spent his last dime consider it pure joy? How can the victim of genocide, the innocent child

with HIV, or even the average depressed Christian consider their condition pure joy? Certainly it

seems that perhaps the previous insights into suffering cannot be left behind. Suitability for

ministry, completion of love for another, participation and qualification for inclusion in Christ

are all powerful reasons for gratitude in the face of suffering. Yet, for many with the above

circumstances these are far from sufficient reasons.

The author of James highlights a different, though not disconnected, reason than those

suggested so far. Using the participle of means, knowing that your suffering produces endurance,

the author points to the formation of character. Enduring suffering with joy increases the ability

to endure. Long-suffering endurance in the author’s mind holds completeness in character.

Because of this we can regard (in terms of a mental positioning, though not necessarily

23

Henrgy George Liddel and Robert Scott, A Greek-English lexicon (Oxford : Clarendon Press, 1996). See I.4 See

also Johnson, Luke Timothy The Letter of James, Anchor Bible Commentary Volume 37A. (New York: Doubleday,

1995) p. 177. Johnson indicates a similar though more simple sense of the word.

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emotional24

) it as reason for unqualified rejoicing as we consider the end it accomplishes. It is a

mental shift, a change in priorities of life from comfort preserving to character forming.

Certainly this passage is consistent with Irenaeus’ view of theodicy in which a world with

suffering was created intentionally to shape our souls.25

If we are most concerned with the kinds

of people we are becoming, then suffering can be for good. If our desire is to see our souls

shaped for eternity with God, then we will be willing to endure great pain in order to see that

occur—but can we rejoice in the middle of it? If regard is a mental perspective more than an

emotional reaction, does rejoicing make sense? How does one rejoice as a mental decision? Does

it require an emotional change?

Wesley's Perspective on Suffering for Good

Wesley clearly wrestled in depth with these very issues of human affliction, pain,

suffering, and temptation in conversation with the canonical texts. It is mentioned in no less than

fifty-seven of his sermons. It is often and regularly the primary topic of a paragraph or section

even when the sermon as a whole addresses a different theme. However, there are at least three

sermons that deal with the difficulties of preaching on suffering from a Christian perspective.

How does the homilist challenge the congregation to rejoice always while at the same time to

mourn with those who mourn? How can one have pure joy in the midst of soul consuming grief?

These are the questions Wesley answers in the first sermon we will explore.

Wesley in his sermon Suffering through Manifold Temptations26

deals with this difficulty

by comparing and contrasting two concepts - heaviness and darkness in the passage of 1 Peter 1.

In current parlance these might be better labeled grief and despair. For Wesley this issue needs to

24

Johnson, Letter of James, p. 177

25

This is not to denigrate or deny the reality of the more traditional Augustinian view of free-will as a responsible

answer for the problem of evil. 26

Wesley, John The Works of John Wesley 3rd edition Volume VI (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1978) p. 91

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be carefully weighed for several reasons. First, there is an apparent contradiction in scripture.

Grief or heaviness was uplifted and validated while darkness of heart or spirit (despair) was

denigrated and to some degree condemned. Some passages as addressed above call for rejoicing,

joy, and hope in all situations whether good or bad, pleasant or painful. Others call for mourning

whenever mourning was present, grief whenever loss is experienced. This conflict created either

an opportunity for doubt of the veracity and consistency of scripture, or enlightenment through

its paradox. John Wesley, of course, was concerned with proving the latter to be the best option.

Secondly, Wesley seems to be driven by his own inner conflict over the issue. It is well

known that Wesley’s life was not exempt from hardship. His journal is filled with miserable

weather conditions, exhausting travel schedules, violent mobs, slandering retractors, and deep

painful losses of life and love. He often defined holiness by the decree in Thessalonians to “be

joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances.”27

Yet clearly human beings as

evidenced by Christ himself go through significant times of grief and trouble. Even his chosen

text, 1 Peter 1:6, deals with this apparent contradiction in context. They are for a season in

“heaviness” or grief as the verse suggests.28

Wesley points to verse three, which to him clearly

indicates they did not lose their faith, and to verse eight pointing to their ongoing joy and hope.

So in their grief, they did not despair.29

Third, Wesley is concerned with the wrong-headed attempts to deal with this biblical

multivalence through conflation of these two poles of tension, or extrabiblical answers. Some in

27

John Wesley The Works of John Wesley 3rd edition Volume V (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1978)

“Circumcision of the Heart” 28

See Wesley’s sermon On Mourning the Dead for a more conflicted, and perhaps inconsistent dealing with this

issue. I chose not to analyze it at length since it seemed, not to be contradictory to his other sermons, but less clear

and lucid in the balance he consistently maintains elsewhere. 29

It is not difficult to note an echo of Paul at this point.

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an attempt to resolve the tension confuse the terms as Wesley indicates in his opening paragraph

regarding 1 Peter 1:

And so great is the resemblance between one and the other, that they are frequently

confounded together; and we are apt to say, indifferently, "Such an one is in darkness," or

"Such an one is in heaviness;" -- as if they were equivalent terms…they are far, very far

from [equivalent.] Darkness is one thing; heaviness is another.”30

This round rejection of a conflation of these concepts poses a helpful model for preaching on the

issue. It would probably seem natural to Wesley that preachers would feel the tension between

the two. Yet, great attention has to be paid to allow grief, while calling for joy; to admit to the

heaviness, which comes through suffering, while recognizing the ability for joy in its face.

One such example of these solutions Wesley deems false is that of the dark night of the

soul. He condemns it in strong language noting that he finds no record or support for this concept

anywhere in scripture.31

More importantly it runs contrary to the whole tenor of the Bible in its

description of the character of God as far as Wesley is concerned. The God of the Bible does not

withdraw his presence from the earnest seeker simply for the sake of spiritual formation. If we

draw near to God, God will draw near to us.

Wesley defines the manifold temptations or trials from 1 Peter as follows: temptations

from intense pain, long lasting pain or sickness, poverty or calamity, loss of loved ones, or

recognition that loved ones are eternally lost though living. Though these are not comprehensive

in scope, they do indicate the direction of Wesley’s thinking. His mind is not moving in the

direction of envy, lust, greed, rage, or any other typical manifestation of temptation. He is clearly

focusing the entire sermon on the difficulty provided for the believer in the experience of

suffering. This focus on suffering is not alien to Wesley, but perhaps here it is most pronounced.

30

Wesley, The Works of John Wesley: Volume VI, p. 92 31

Wesley, The Works of John Wesley: Volume VI, p. 98-99

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Wesley goes on to analyze what this suffering is not. Centering his statements on the

biblical context he notes these same believers were filled with joy, enjoying the love of God, and

rejoicing in hope. These believers were clearly not in what Wesley denotes as darkness, and what

I have here described as despair. There is no ever tightening circle of limited perspective. There

is no morose pessimism focused on a fatalistic end. These readers are not wallowing in self-pity

or shaking their fists at God. They are rejoicing in hope, persevering in faith, and enjoying the

love of God.32

Some might accuse Wesley of being triumphalistic at this point, which requires a

closer look at the tension in the sermon.

On a close read, Wesley balances out this bright and optimistic picture with a brief

realism as to how deep the heaviness may run. Those pressed down by this heaviness are said to

have the possibility of an overshadowed soul, a spirit so filled with deep sorrow that it even

causes further psychosomatic symptoms. It is “no more, nor less than sorrow or grief.” To admit

this is to concede a great deal in the area of realistic appraisal of the Christian condition. On the

one hand he points to a joy unspeakable, on the other an overshadowing sorrow. This sorrow or

grief brought on by physical pain, the pain of loss, or the excruciating reality of poverty provides

more than ample opportunity for temptation. Wesley notes this as a prime time for the “enemy to

stir up our hearts against God.” Though in current culture one would expect and desire the

preacher to delve more into the anatomy of this temptation Wesley moves on. However, it is not

difficult to extrapolate the resulting struggle in the life of the believer. “How could God be

loving and allow this to happen?” we might ask. Or, “If there is a God, I don’t believe in him

anymore,” we may say. Some may believe in God yet raise clenched fists of rebellion to the sky.

These questions and accusations seem easily dismissed when it is someone else’s pain, someone

else’s loss. They can plague the mind when it is one’s own.

32

Wesley, The Works of John Wesley: Volume VI, p. 100

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So why would God allow this excruciating suffering, or as Peter puts it a “fiery trial,”

when those suffering are his own children? Wesley does not offer philosophical possibilities or

formulations. He does analyze what the text has to say. First, the value of the suffering is noted

as “more precious than gold.” The common perspective faces the gospel’s reverse of value in this

one statement. A struggle which would be gladly avoided is now more precious than gold. This

precious metal is purified through fire, the dross is removed, and it is strengthened in its quality.

In Wesley’s interpretation this means, “The first and greatest end…is the trial by faith…even as

gold in the fire.”33

Wesley draws out the trajectory of the text, and the implication of its view of

suffering by stating that far from decreasing our faith, suffering is meant to increase it. It is this

pain that purifies, confirms, strengthens, and abundantly increases faith. For the biblical writers,

and for Wesley, the view that suffering is an obstacle to faith is the farthest thing from reality.

The temptation to not believe is exactly the means God uses to strengthen belief.

This teleological perspective on suffering is the primary reason for joy in Wesley’s mind.

If to suffer well is to increase faith, then that must increase hope. Our hope is the result of our

faith. If faith increases then so must hope. If hope increases then so must joy. Hope is the true

wellspring of joy in this sermon, therefore one leads to the other. It is in this way the believer

rejoices in suffering. There is no masochistic love of pain. Wesley does not begin to paint a

heroic picture of the sufferer’s struggle or the martyr’s end. It is not even implied that the Christ

follower should seek out pain, look for suffering, or ask for greater trials. These bring on

heaviness, sorrow, and a pressing grief. There is no reason to chase after them. Yet, at the same

time, there is no reason to resent them or God when the trial comes.

33


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The final end of suffering in Wesley’s sermon is perhaps the most important for our

purposes here. It serves as a means toward holiness. In Wesley’s terminology suffering serves

the sufferer by increasing her “advance toward holiness.” Ever mindful of trajectory as much as

position, Wesley sees suffering as raising the arrow of a person’s life toward the holiness God

has in mind. It does this through several means. First, it purifies the believer of pride and

humbles the soul. Not merely acting in the negative it adds to the necessary character of holiness

in humility.

Second, these fiery trials calm the rebellious tendencies of our souls. They “calm and

meeken our turbulent spirit”34

Wesley asserts. To stand calmly in the face of great pain is to

shape one’s soul toward surrender, not rebellion. Third, these struggles, far from pushing us from

God, teach us to rely on God alone, to look to God first in trials, and to “expect all our strength

from, and seek all our happiness in God.”35

When this world offers pain instead of pleasure it

naturally breaks our ties with it, lessens our love for it, and turns our attention elsewhere. When

earthly efforts prove weak and impotent in the face of unrelenting pain the soul naturally turns

upward.

Fourth, these struggles and trials cause an “advance in holiness” when properly

perceived.36

Since these trials purify from “pride, self-will, passion, the love of the world, foolish

and hurtful desires, and from vile and vain affections” they are to be embraced toward this end.37

Wesley presses this point even further, with even more precise language. Not content to simply

mention the benefit of pain toward holiness he emphasizes its efficacy and power. As he states it

clearly, “Sanctified afflictions have, through the grace of God, an immediate and direct tendency

34




Wesley, The Works of John Wesley: Volume VI, p. 100-101

17

toward holiness.”38

Therefore, if one is truly looking for the highway of holiness, it will not be

found on a path of comfort. Could he be more clear? Could he emphasize his point more

strongly? Suffering for Wesley is one of the greatest, most efficient, and most immediate means

toward holiness through the grace of God.

It should also be noted that Wesley’s view of holiness was not merely a vertical or prayer

closet paradigm. It is no small benefit in Wesley’s mind to have one’s witness for Christ

increased in authority, deepened in meaning, and made more attractive to the onlooker.39

He

emphasizes the idea that suffering may not be intended only for the good of the sufferer. It is

possible the suffering of a believer is intended for the good of the world. A believer suffering in

the fruit of the spirit rather than irritability, anger, or despair displays a difference demanding

explanation. Their holiness of heart naturally lends itself to a holiness in conversation, which

leads to “a deeper impression” and a “stronger influence.”40

In this way suffering if endured with

humility and grace might not only shape the soul of the believer, it may save the soul of the

onlooker.

Finally, and most importantly, when suffering is allowed to eliminate pride, increase

humility, shape our souls in surrender, and place our hope in God we learn to find sustaining

strength only in God through the intercession of Christ. The more God sustains us through pain,

the more we love him for it. So, not only are faith, hope and joy increased, and not only is

holiness in terms of purity increased, love is increased. In this increase of faith, hope, joy and

love we must find the very definition of a Wesleyan pursuit of holiness with the ultimate end and

source being God alone.

38




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Contextualization of Wesley

The two surrounding sermons within Wesley’s Works are the sermons on “The

Wilderness State” and “Self-Denial.” Not in any way accidental in their placement, these

sermons qualify and further the claims made in “Heaviness through Manifold Temptations.” A

brief examination of these sermons will demonstrate their consonance with the above

conclusions as well as further practical instructions in regards to suffering as a means toward

holiness.

The first sermon comments on a traditional interpretation of the wilderness wanderings of

Israel as a type for believers who wander into a wilderness period of faith. Wesley sees this

condition as not only common, but radically destructive. Defining it, he asserts, “It properly

consists in the loss of that faith which God once wrought in their hearts.”41

This state is one in

which painful doubt is the primary characteristic even to the point of doubting “whether we ever

did, or…ever shall, believe.”42

This at first may seem to be a generic state of doubt. However,

Wesley seems to indicate a certain attitude toward suffering as being significant. In his words

and the words of Job 13:15, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him,” is no more the language

of their heart; but they are shorn of their strength, and become weak and feeble-minded, even as

other men.”43

The results of this condition of wilderness are the loss of faith, love, and joy.

Apparently in Wesley the absence of a right perspective of suffering and pain can create in turn

weakness as opposed to strength, feeble thinking as opposed to firmness of mind, and eventually

a pain of doubt, overwhelming the soul in darkness.

However, in this sermon he also qualifies his perspective on suffering several times. Part

of this right perspective on the issue of suffering for Wesley must be a right understanding of the

41


Wesley, The Works of John Wesley: Volume VI,, p. 79 43


19

heart of God. When first introducing the causes of wilderness he claims to “dare not rank among

these [causes] the bare, arbitrary, sovereign will of God.”44

Quoting Lamentations 3:33 he points

directly away from a sadistic God who willingly afflicts his children for the sake of their

supposed good. This God does not in what Wesley names “bare, arbitrary” sovereignty assign

pain and suffering to the believer. Key to a fair understanding of Wesley on the point of

suffering, no matter what the good end may be, is that God does not see sorrow as the best means

toward holiness. The opposite is true. Consonant with James, Wesley sees joy as the primary

means through which we are purified. He clearly indicates that “Joy in the Holy Ghost will far

more effectually purify the soul, than the want of that joy, and the peace of God is the best means

of refining the soul from the dross of earthly afflictions.”45

In this way pain and suffering do not

become ends in themselves to be pursued because of intrinsic good. Rather, the joy and peace

one may have in the middle of these painful circumstances are what purify the soul and shape the

character of the believer toward holiness. This holds up logically, since it would be difficult to

claim suffering alone as a means toward holiness. Suffering itself is precisely what, if

misunderstood or inappropriately blamed, can lead believers into a wilderness of doubt, and a

desert of unrelenting anguish.

If “The Wilderness State” primarily addresses what attitude to avoid in the midst of pain,

Wesley’s sermon on “Self-Denial” outlines those types of hardships a Christian must receive and

those types the believer must pursue. First of all, Wesley’s view of pain is a refining or purifying

force it confirms our previous conclusions. By stating, “The Lord then sits upon the soul as a

refiner’s fire, to burn up all the dross thereof” as well as asserting, “the soul cannot be thus torn

44


Wesley, The Works of John Wesley: Volume VI,, p. 90

20

asunder, it cannot pass through the fire, without pain” he promotes the view of pain as a

necessary element in the pursuit of holiness.

The sermon goes on to outline the first of two types of suffering connected with self

denial. Using the first half of Luke 9:23 Wesley highlights suffering which comes upon us

“without our choice” as the cross we must bear with “meekness and resignation.”46

The concept

of bearing the cross is never far removed in his thinking from the desire for holiness. Not only in

the sense of character forming, but also in the category of participation with Christ the sermon

points toward painful experiences as necessary means for us to become “partakers in holiness”

through the gentle touch of a physician who though he may put to pain, does so only to heal.47

The second category of pain Wesley addresses is the namesake of the sermon, self-denial.

Apparently, the concept was no more popular in Wesley’s time than in this. The age-old

accusations are even quoted and placed in print so that we may not be excused from preaching

like Wesley because of a change in time. “Legality” they cry. “Preaching the law” they accuse.48

These voices are certainly heard just as loudly in the twenty-first century as in the eighteenth.

Perhaps they are even more loudly heard within our own minds than in actual conversation.

Though it is not the intention of this paper to summarize his sermon, it is worth listing in general

principle the elements of self-denial Wesley seems to believe are necessary. They are in general

as follows: persistence in difficult prayer, fasting, works of charity and piety, doing good to all,

by all possible means to both soul and body, giving to the poor even if it means wearing cheaper

clothes and eating coarser food, visiting the sick and imprisoned, risking persecution by

confronting a neighbor, and all other works of piety and mercy.49

It is for lack of these minor

46





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sought out, or at least unavoided, inconveniences, discomforts, pains, and even persecutions if

necessary that Wesley believes many are not “made perfect.”50

Suffering for Wesley is clearly

and undeniably a means toward the end, the end of perfection in love.

Constructive Practical Theology for the Proclamation of Suffering

Suffering for good requires us to “in all things see God.” If God is love, and there is no

situation in our lives unmonitored by that loving God, then suffering must have a good end even

if it is not a good in itself. It is the task of the preacher to reorient the worldview of the

congregation toward the upside-down kingdom. More correctly put, the proclaimer in the pulpit

helps the congregation as a whole to recognize that the perspective they brought in was actually

turned on its head.51

Scripture only sets it aright. Yet, how can a compassionate preacher speak

pastorally on suffering as having a good end when congregants have lost spouses suddenly and

early, miscarried for no apparent reason, been paralyzed, bedridden, impoverished through

injustice, or wounded by the sin of others? It is a difficult thing for the preacher to stand on a

platform and say “be joyful in hope, and patient in afflictions” without being insensitive.

Examples in scripture may provide the best illustrations of this balance. Within the pages

of the New Testament we do not have examples of apostolic approaches wherein suffering is

covered over, avoided, or sugar coated. It is a fiery trial and a heavy burden. These truths are

vividly impressed on the mind of the reader. However, consistently the character of God as

loving is carefully proclaimed. The intention of God toward good and not evil, holiness and not

loss of faith is consistently described. And the power of the enabling Spirit to give joy that is not

logical, hope that is not vague, and faith that will not waiver, is celebrated. Further, all of this is

accomplished from a Christocentric perspective. In the life of Christ there is no absence of

50


Eugene Lowry’s The Homiletical Plot: The Sermon as Narrative Art Form. (Louisville: West Minster John Knox

Press, 2001) p. 101

22

suffering, or even any effort to avoid it when it seemed to be the will of the Father. If we choose

to enter into the life of Christ, we are also choosing a life filled with sorrows, grief, suffering,

and even death. When we suffer we participate with Christ. A Christian cannot hold onto Christ

without embracing pain.

Secondly, Wesley provides a powerful example of balance and sensitivity birthed from

saturation in scripture. Grief is neither condemned nor diminished. There is no command to deny

the pain, hold down the urge to grieve, or shortcut the necessary mourning process. Instead, grief

is valued and cherished within community. But it must not have the final word. Joy for the end

result of holiness through suffering must be the final word. It connects us with Christ. Through it

we participate with Christ. By enduring it, the patience of Christ is formed. By rejoicing in the

middle of it, our faith and hope are increased as we look to what is not seen over that which is all

too painfully present. And by not avoiding concrete expressions of compassion simply because

of the pain involved, the risk entailed, or the threat of persecution, we allow our love to be

perfected by reaching its destination.

Also from Wesley, we realize our proclamation of suffering as a means toward the end of

holiness must help congregants and the preacher break free from their sinful self-centering, the in

curvatus in se Luther so famously described. If we continue to view suffering as primarily

concerning the life of the sufferer we have left behind a biblical view for an individualistic

perspective. Suffering patiently endured stands as a blaring reminder of a different world, a

world where God reigns and selfishness has died. The Christian sufferer who is able to both

authentically grieve and truthfully rejoice is a witness to the power of God in the world, a God

whose strength is made perfect in weakness. The preacher’s challenge is to begin with a

gathering of individuals who come in primarily concerned with their own questions, struggles,

23

and pains and end with a community willing to suffer for the sake of the world; a community

perfected in love.

Conclusion

Suffering is not to be seen as purely good, or purely evil. Suffering is not the pearl of

great price. Yet, to find the pearl of great price the seeker will most likely have to go through

pain. Suffering is an opportunity to participate with Christ, become more like Christ, and to

demonstrate the character of Christ to the world. It may perfect our union with God, our

character in the midst of trial, and our love for the world. It is not merely an obstacle to

overcome, a challenge to the faith of a believer, a tragedy to mourn, or a loss to grieve. Though

all of these may be true they are not the primary perspective of a Christian sufferer.

If I could not hold these thoughts against the memory of lost loved ones with integrity I

would not be able to stand with the conclusions. However, I have seen in the last days of friends

these very qualities and been perplexed by their humble holiness. Jim stood with me in the late

stages of ALS (Lou Gherig’s disease) barely able to speak, nearly choking in every attempt to

swallow as he shared with me reports of the twenty five people he had introduced to Christ

through his disease. I wept, and he wept, for very different reasons. I wept over seeing my friend

suffer, as I should. He wept that more in his ALS support group still did not know Christ and his

voice was failing. He rejoiced in the twenty five, in the face of his disease. His funeral was

tremendous; his life testimony remarkable. His suffering was an awfully beautiful thing to

behold.

Wesley in his thoughts on the origin of evil states, “that natural evil or pain is no evil at

all if it be overbalanced with following pleasure.”52 If suffering shapes our souls into the

52

Bicentennial Edition of Wesley’s Works. (Nashville: Abingdon Press:1975) "The Promise of Understanding"

4:285

24

likeness of Christ, and offers the opportunity for those to know Christ who would have otherwise

rejected him, then there is great joy to be had in suffering for the believer whose primary goal in

life is to become like Christ, and introduce others to him. May we preach Christ and him

crucified, for the holiness of the believer and the salvation of the world. And may we be able to

say with Paul and perhaps with Jim, “in all our troubles, my joy knows no bounds.”53

Amen.

53

2 Corinthians 7:4

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