What does First B Jackson teach about suffering for faith?
Drawn from the messages where it was actually addressed: the words said from the front, the passages taught, and where to hear the whole thing.
At First B Jackson, the teaching on suffering for faith starts with a clear premise: opposition to the gospel is not a sign that something has gone wrong. Pastor Brian, preaching from Acts 5, drew on James Montgomery Boice to frame it plainly: if a church is witnessing, serving, and breaking new ground, pressure should be expected. A church only going through the motions gives the enemy little reason to bother it. The apostles in Acts 5 were flogged, jailed, and ordered to stop teaching, and they left the council rejoicing that they had been counted worthy to suffer for the name of Jesus. That pattern, blessing drawing attack, runs through the whole series.
Pastor Jeff, working through 1 Peter 3:13-22, traced the same logic back to Christ himself. Since Christ bore witness through his suffering and was vindicated by God, every believer who faces opposition for doing right is following the same path, not a detour from it. Jeff was careful to say the command to be ready with a defense, an apologia, is not mainly about mastering arguments. It is about having thought through your own testimony of what Jesus has done, so that when someone notices you are still standing and still kind in hard circumstances, you can tell them why, and do it with gentleness rather than trying to argue someone into a corner.
Pastor Chad, in 2 Timothy 2:1-13, showed that Paul expected suffering to be part of ordinary Christian life, and that the gospel of grace is precisely what makes it possible to endure. The soldier does not entangle himself in the affairs of everyday life because the mission takes priority; the athlete competes according to the rules; the farmer works hard and does not walk away. Each image assumes that the person who holds the gospel will have to pay something to carry it forward. Pastor Carl, preaching Colossians 1, put it in terms of Paul filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions: not that anything was missing from Christ's sacrifice, but that the willingness to carry the gospel into places where it costs you something is what Paul is describing. The lack is not in what Christ did, but in the delivery of it to people who have not yet heard.
Taught from Acts 5:12-42 · 1 Peter 3:13-22 · 2 Timothy 2:1-13 · 1 Peter 4:1-6 · Colossians 1:24
The passage taught · 1 Peter 4:12-16
12 Beloved, don’t be astonished at the fiery trial which has come upon you, to test you, as though a strange thing happened to you.
13 But because you are partakers of Christ’s sufferings, rejoice; that at the revelation of his glory you also may rejoice with exceeding joy.
14 If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed; because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. On their part he is blasphemed, but on your part he is glorified.
15 For let none of you suffer as a murderer, or a thief, or an evil doer, or a meddler in other men’s matters.
World English Bible
The messages that teach on it
- December 12, 2024 Sunday, December 8, 2024 - 9 a.m. Contemporary Service - The Acts of the Apostles Peter and the apostles are jailed, freed by an angel, and hauled before the Sanhedrin again. Acts 5 shows why the gospel could not be silenced.
- December 8, 2024 If It Is of God, You Cannot Overthrow It Peter and the apostles face arrest again in Acts 5, yet keep preaching Jesus as Messiah. A study in boldness, suffering, and the unstoppable advance of the gospel.
- January 20, 2019 The Word of God Is Not Imprisoned The pastor walks through 2 Timothy 2, exploring Paul's three soldier, athlete, and farmer similes alongside five trustworthy sayings that anchor the gospel of grace.
- October 7, 2018 Done With Sin Peter calls believers to be done with sin, armed with Christ's purpose, ready to suffer for righteousness, and assured that God will judge the living and the dead.
- September 30, 2018 Bearing Witness Through Suffering A sermon on 1 Peter 3:13-22 exploring how Christ's unjust suffering and vindication give Christians courage to stand firm, suffer well, and speak honestly about their faith.
- February 12, 2017 Filling Up What Is Lacking Colossians 1 sermon on what Paul meant by "filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions" and how believers carry the gospel forward through suffering and service.
Mentioned along the way
- January 13, 2019 Retain the Standard of Sound Words Paul's final letter urges us to hold the gospel tight, guard it from distortion, pass it on faithfully, and be willing to suffer for it. A study in 2 Timothy.
- December 30, 2018 God Has Not Given Us a Spirit of Timidity The pastor opens 2 Timothy showing how God gives believers not timidity but power, love, and a sound mind to face the future boldly as the new year begins.
- November 26, 2017 Philippians 1.27.2.2 Contemporary Servcie (3) Pastor Ray walks through Philippians 1:27-30, calling Christians to stand firm together in one spirit, striving fearlessly for the gospel rather than settling for an individual faith.
- November 26, 2017 Standing Fast in One Spirit Philippians 1:27-30 calls believers to stand firm together, strive fearlessly for the gospel, and embrace both faith and suffering as gifts from God.
- November 19, 2017 To Live Is Christ, To Die Is Gain A sermon on Philippians 1:18-26 asking one honest question: if you filled in the blank, "for me, to live is ___," what would your answer be?