We have all heard the expression, “No good deed goes unpunished.” Have you ever suffered because of a good deed?
I can think back on my life and remember many times I suffered for doing wrong, for making a poor choice and having to pay. This is only to be expected. One has to pay for their error. Scriptures tell us this is going to happen. Galatians 6:7 says, “Be not deceived, GOD is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.” For us to think otherwise is to make a mockery of GOD. Yes, we suffer the consequences for bad choices in life.
But what about suffering for doing good? Perhaps you can remember a time when you made the right choice, took a stand for what was right, and suffered because of it.
The key words to the book of 1st Peter are suffering and hope. I urge you to read the entire book noting each time you encounter the word suffering. Peter writes to Christians who are undergoing severe persecution. The book is also a book of hope. He gives us all hope as we deal with suffering for doing good.
In particular, he makes a statement that Christ suffered once for sins. This is in line with the statement found in Hebrews 9:28, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many.
Christ suffered only once? The passage in 1 Peter 3:18 doesn’t say He suffered only once. It says He suffered once for sins! Christ suffered many times for doing good. Consider the example of healing the blind man on the Sabbath found in John 9.
We will suffer for doing good. It may be in the workplace if we work in a non believing environment. It may be at the hands of a government increasingly hostile to Christianity. It may be in the loss of familial relationships. The list goes on, but the fact remains, we will suffer for doing good.
Let us return to the passage in 1 Peter 3. But while He suffered many times for doing good this passage notes, He suffered only once for sins. When Christ went to the cross, He bore the sins of mankind from Adam onward. That certainly includes mine and yours. What a burden He bore!
Isaiah 59:2 tells us that sin separates one from GOD. When Christ was crucified He was separated from GOD. Because of the separation from GOD that the blackness of sin caused, Christ called out “My GOD, My GOD, why have You forsaken Me?” For the only time ever, sin separated Christ from the Father. It wasn’t His sin but the sins of mankind. Thankfully the separation was only momentary. He suffered once for sins.
We are told in 2 Timothy 3:12 that all who live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. But Peter tells us how to deal with that persecution. He says among other things, to consider yourself blessed, do not be afraid, nor troubled, think about the LORD GOD, be ready to defend the gospel, have a good conscience and live a good life (3:17ff).
Suffering for doing good is never easy. But it will help if we remember that it is expected and that it produces a desirable benefit (James 1:3). Let us not be discouraged when we are persecuted but let us remember the LORD Jesus suffered once for sins, the Just for the unjust. And let us resolve to take advantage of His gift so that all our suffering occurs here on this side of eternity, remembering there will be no tears, no death, no sorrow, no crying, and no pain over there (Revelation 21:4).