Introduction
Every system of religious belief seeks to explain and justify the role of pain in human lives. One of the common factors that unite all people regardless of race or creed is our subjective experience of both physical and psychological suffering. We all feel the aches of illness, hunger, sadness, or plain inadequacy. Some religions advertise a particular method to avoid pain; others encourage followers to magnify it to extreme proportions as a form of expiation. Christianity falls into the latter camp as pain is viewed as an inevitable step on the path to redemption and everlasting life. In this essay, I will explore how New Testament passages justify the need for divine guidance, address the problem of suffering, and why certain interpretive challenges are important in modern Christian ministry.
The Need for Divine Guidance
Romans 6:12-23
In the Christian understanding, the essential problem of the world is the omnipresence of sin. According to Romans 6:12-23, our society and laws promote the sins of self-achievement, arrogance, and self-righteousness (Bassler 29). Human bodies are inherently weak and unable to attain salvation independently; in fact, submitting to the rule of law for guidance leads to certain death. However, God has an infinite capacity for forgiveness and can deliver us eternal life despite our past transgressions. Therefore, each individual is responsible for rejecting perverse self-striving and submitting to divine grace. Paul’s Epistle to the Romans emphasizes the power of salvation and eternal life comes from obedience to God, not worldly authorities.
2 Corinthians 1:3-11
According to Paul’s Second Epistle to the Corinthians, the sinful temptations of the world are part of the cosmic battle being waged between the powers of Satan and God. 2 Corinthians 1:3-11 highlights God’s role as the merciful, benevolent father that comforts us and delivers us from death. Although humans despair at the idea of dying, we can be liberated from it through devotion to Christ. Death is only an instrument of Satan that seeks to deceive believers away from the gospel by corrupting the soul with worldly concerns (Bowens 11). God is not just a master we must submit to for the sake of avoiding death, but a merciful figure that is trying comfort us in our suffering and save our souls from evil.
Revelation 21:1-8
The Book of Revelation illustrates the full meaning of God’s promise of eternal life. The current state of the world is only a temporary test of our faith, and evil will eventually be vanquished completely. Revelation 21:1-8 reveals the apocalyptic future in which God creates a world free of pain and death to be inherited by his faithful believers. Submitting to the sins of cowardice, murder, deception, and sexual immorality will result in consignment to a fiery lake of burning sulfur. This passage explicitly and vividly describes the fate that awaits disbelievers and why we need to overcome Satanic temptation and accept divine grace.
Synthesis
Based on the aforementioned passages from the New Testament, the central question of humanity is choosing whether to submit to sinful temptation or divine grace. Our souls are the stage of a cosmic battle between the forces of God and Satan, with the latter being a hostile power that aims to seduce us away from the righteous path towards certain death. It is impossible to withstand his manipulations independently; the only path to salvation is obedience to merciful and compassionate God. Eventually, He will prevail and establish a new world free of pain, death, and sorrow for his faithful children while disbelievers are punished for eternity.
Interpreting the New Testament on Suffering
Hebrews 12:5-12
Attitude to Suffering
Hebrews 12:5-12 answers the essential question of why an omnipotent being would allow suffering. Persecution and struggle are not punishment or signs of God’s abandonment, but simply a temporary side-effect of the growth process. It is similar to a father giving a time-out to a beloved child for hitting a sibling — the aim is not inflicting pain or humiliation for its own sake but correcting future behavior. God, out of his love for humankind, is giving us an opportunity for positive inner transformation that cannot be achieved without some pain as we abandon the earlier, weaker versions of ourselves. Our suffering is actually part of God’s divine plan and eventual salvation. Thus, we must strengthen our feeble bodies and submit to adversity with grace and gratitude. This passage serves as the basis for Christian fortitude and acceptance of suffering as an opportunity for self-development.
Challenges in Interpretation
Hebrews 12:5-12 can also be a subject of controversy because it advises us to submit to our own suffering but does not explain how we should regard the pain of others. It is unclear if alleviating other people’s difficult circumstances would be considered an infringement on their “discipline” and God’s divine plan. Perhaps helping the needy or the sick impedes their growth and moral development. Furthermore, depending on interpretation, this passage can also be viewed as justification for social hierarchies. If some people are born into families from a lower socioeconomic background and thus have to struggle more, it could be claimed that it is part of God’s divine plan because they require more discipline. Christianity has already been accused of propagating a victim-blaming mentality due to the imagery of Christ as the victim of humanity’s sins (Van Dijk 77). While the Bible promotes helping others and fostering a sense of social responsibility, this passage can be interpreted as a negation of these values that instead preaches bystander apathy and justifies social inequality.
2 Corinthians 4:7-18
Attitude to Suffering
2 Corinthians 4:7-18 consolidates Jesus Christ as the foremost model for correct Christian behavior. Just as Jesus chose to endure physical hardship to spread the gospel and was revived by God, so Christians should suffer as a temporary prerequisite for paradise and eventual resurrection. Pain is the defining aspect of Christian life because eternal glory is only attainable through the imitation of Jesus’ suffering. Furthemore, this passage clearly differentiates between the temporary fragility of our physical bodies that is outweighed by the eternal life of the soul. Difficult situations may negatively affect the former but only reaffirm and strengthen the latter. This passage qualifies suffering as not only the gateway to inner transformation, but also eternal glory and resurrection.
Challenges in Interpretation
However, 2 Corinthians 4:7-18 is also a potentially challenging passage for bible interpreters because it is unclear if suffering should be passively accepted or actively sought by believers. Firstly, it can be viewed as a guideline on dealing with unforeseen adversity: follow Christ’s example and act with humility and grace. Hardship is inevitable yet temporary, and our reaction to it will define the state of our soul and thus our eternal life. Secondly, it can be read as an appeal to emulate Christ absolutely by renouncing our material possessions and dedicating ourselves to a simple life of deprivation, and spreading the gospel. It is generally unclear if salvation is granted to those who simply accept difficulties with grace or those who willfully choose the path of most suffering to help others.
The New Testament and Suffering in the Modern Context
The biblical interpretation of suffering is a particularly relevant issue in Christian ministry today for multiple reasons. Although pain has always been present in human lives, it could be argued that we are living in a period that is unprecedentedly aware of its scale in the world. Firstly, we are currently going through a global health crisis with millions of people succumbing to Covid-19 and its dangerous mutations. The pandemic is also negatively affecting the economy and causing mass unemployment, social unrest, and increased poverty (Jackson et al. 1). The anxiety over Covid-19 is further compounded by other crises such as climate change, refugees, political polarization, and the increasing control of a few corporations over billions of lives. As more people either witness the impact of these issues or feel it firsthand, they will turn to religious institutions and texts for support.
Secondly, the spread of the internet and instant social media updates means that almost every individual is subject to a constant stream of bad news. A thousand years ago, one person was expected to be aware of specific events only in his family and village life. Now, we get notifications about horrible crimes, human rights violations, environmental disasters, and civil wars from all around the globe as soon as they happen. Studies have shown that negative news contributes to a more pessimistic view of human society and causes feelings of depression and helplessness (McIntyre and Gibson). Once again, biblical interpretation can be an important source of support and clarity for individuals struggling to find meaning in the face of seemingly ubiquitous suffering.
Conclusion
The world is a stage for the cosmic battle between God and Satan. Instead of being seduced by worldly temptations or acting on false pride, humans can only attain salvation through submission to divine grace and eventually inherit a world free of suffering and death. In the current state of the world, Hebrews 12:5-12 describes pain is a temporary side-effect of God’s loving “discipline” and positive inner transformation. 2 Corinthians 4:7-18 explains that suffering can only affect our temporal bodies but will eventually lead to the soul’s eternal glory, similar to the example of Jesus Christ. Both passages advocate for mental fortitude in the face of adversity but are challenging for Bible interpreters because of their lack of clarity concerning certain points. Hebrews 12:5-12 does not explain whether we should apply the same principle of acceptance to other people’s pain. In 2 Corinthians 4:7-18, it remains unclear if suffering should be actively sought in order to attain salvation. Regardless of these issues, these passages remain relevant today as people struggle to deal with the Covid-19 epidemic and the depression and helplessness caused by the constant media coverage of negative news.
Works Cited
Bassler, Jouette M. “Grace: Probing the Limits.” Interpretation, vol. 57, no. 1, 2003, pp. 24-33.
Bowens, Lisa M. “Divine Desire: Paul’s Apocalyptic God of Rescue.” Theology Today, vol. 75, no. 1, 2018, pp. 9-21.
Holy Bible, New International Version (NIV). Online edition, Bible Gateway, 2011. Web.
Jackson, James K., Weiss, Martin A., Schwarzenberg, Andres B., Nelson, Rebecca M., Sutter, Karen M., and Sutherland, Michael D. Global Economic Effects of COVID-19. Congressional Research Service, 2021, Web.
McIntyre, Karen E., and Gibson, Rhonda. “Positive News Makes Readers Feel Good: A “Silver-Lining” Approach to Negative News Can Attract Audiences.” Southern Communication Journal, vol. 81, no. 5, 2016, pp. 304-315. Web.
Van Dijk, Jan. “Victim Labeling Theory; A Reappraisal.” An International Perspective on Contemporary Developments in Victimology, edited by Janice Joseph and Stacie Jergenson, Springer, 2020, pp. 73-90.