为基督受苦不仅仅是“必然的恶”
马特·罗兹（Matt Rhodes）
神义（即神是否公义的）问题
在当今西方社会的传福音对话中，你很快就会遇到有人问你关于神义的问题：一个良善的神，怎能允许世界上存在苦难？在教会中，你也常常会听到这一话题被以某种形式提及。然而，情况并非总是如此。在世界的其他地区——例如我和妻子服侍的北非穆斯林——人们并不像西方如此关注神义问题，历史上大多数人也是如此。当然，圣经并没有像当今许多基督教作家那样，把主要精力放在对神义问题的辩论上。
部分原因在于，我们现代对神义的关注是适当的，因为它帮助我们回应周围不信者的问题。但我们不能忘记，这类问题往往带有预设性。就像在法庭上问被告：“你是不是已经停止打你的妻子了？”律师必然会提出异议：“法官大人，这个问题假设我的当事人曾经打过妻子。”这类问题需要被重新表述，而不是直接回答。关于“一个良善的神，如何允许苦难？”的问题也是如此——它在一开始就假设了神的“有罪”，迫使我们去证明相反的事实。在这种对话中，神最多只能被勉强“无罪释放”，几乎没有空间去积极论证他的良善。
重新界定问题
那么，圣经如何重新界定神义的问题呢？圣经首先提醒我们，人类所知道的实在有限。神并没有直接回答约伯关于神良善的质问，而是以自己的问题回应约伯：
“死亡的门曾向你显露吗？
阴间的门你曾见过吗？
地的广大你能名透吗？
若你全知道，只管说吧。”（约伯记 38:17）
神在指出，他的知识远远超出约伯微不足道的理解。约伯无法完全理解神的作为。同样的道理，当我三岁的孩子这周想要喝洗洁精时，我并没有回应他拉长的“为——什——么——呀？”因为他不知道什么是毒药，不知道急诊室，不知道死亡；他无法理解我的决定。而孩子的“为——什——么——呀？”就是一种带有前提的神义问题：“为什么好爸爸要阻止我喝那看起来好吃的东西？”
圣经可能没有为我们详细解释神为何允许世上存在苦难，但也并未回避这个话题。相反，圣经继续重新界定问题，把讨论焦点放在我们能够理解的方面。它讲述了苦难如何进入世界，以及神如何应对苦难的故事。
在这个故事中有多个人物，也有多层因果关系。圣经提醒我们，神创造世界之初并没有苦难，苦难是在全人类背叛神并受魔鬼谎言欺骗之后才出现的。魔鬼对我们的苦难有自己的目的，这与神的目的截然不同。神的旨意是引领人进入超越苦难的应许之地，那时他“要擦去他们一切的眼泪，不再有死亡，也不再有悲哀、哭号、疼痛” （启 21:4）。而魔鬼的目标，是让我们永远困在死亡与苦难中。
苦难作为撒但的工具
重要的是，魔鬼不仅希望死亡与苦难成为我们的永恒归宿，他也利用死亡和苦难引导我们走向那条路。撒但为何要让约伯受苦？他当然从约伯的痛苦中获得恶意的快感，但他追求的更大的目标是：“你且伸手伤他的骨和他的肉，他必当面弃掉你。”（伯 2:5）撒但希望约伯的痛苦让他认为神已经弃他而去，从而失去信心。
当我们因信受苦时，这种诱惑更加直接：“你孤身一人，耶稣救不了你。如果你不信他，你现在就不会受苦。”这就是为什么耶稣提醒彼得：“西门啊，西门，撒但想要得着你们，好筛你们像筛麦子一样，但我已经为你祷告，叫你不至于失了信心。”（路 22:31）耶稣知道撒但要来攻击彼得的信心。在十字架恐怖的时刻，彼得会被诱惑相信耶稣的敌人已经胜利。他会选择撒谎以自保，而不是信靠神的拯救。撒但的目标，是将彼得信心中的麦壳筛尽，留下没有麦子。
在新约中，我们多次看到撒但如此作工。正是在教会“遍布世界各地的苦难”之中，撒但“如同吼叫的狮子，遍地游行，寻找可吞吃的人”（彼前 5:8–9）。希伯来书的作者也告诉受逼迫的读者，人因“怕死”而被撒但“奴役终生”（来2:14–15）。
今天，人们仍因怕死而被奴役。在福音尚未广传的地区，不仅是错误教导，而是苦难的威胁，使人被奴役。人们害怕谈论基督，害怕听神的话，害怕相信。即使在福音广为传扬的地方，对死亡的恐惧——对短暂生命结束后没有意义的焦虑——也阻碍许多人信耶稣。
为基督受苦以祝福他人
感谢神，他不会让撒但的计谋得逞。神也在我们的苦难中做工，正如他在世上所有邪恶中做工一样，并且他在苦难中作工是为了善。今天，当基督徒谈论神如何借苦难成就美好时，我们往往集中在神借苦难塑造品格的方面。神确实会借苦难成就这一目的，但新约更多地将苦难描绘为一种牺牲，而非单纯的品格磨炼（参腓 2:17；西 1:24；提前 4:6）。经常将苦难看作是为他人而献给神的祭物（参约 12:24；约 15:13；西 1:24）。
那么，当我们为基督受苦时，别人如何得益呢？保罗解释道：“我们四面受苦，却不被困住；心里作难，却不至失望；遭逼迫，却不被丢弃；被打倒，却不至灭亡；我们身上常常带着耶稣的死，好叫耶稣的生命也显明在我们身上。”（林后 4:8–10）
正是通过保罗的受苦，耶稣复活生命的能力在他“必死的肉身”中显明出来，让他人看见。保罗的受苦不仅使他能够宣讲耶稣的大能，也让他人看到这大能。还有什么比这更重要的呢？撒但借苦难和死亡的恐惧来破坏信仰、束缚人，而我们的受苦则照亮复活和永远奖赏的盼望，从而带来自由。
保罗还说腓立比的弟兄姐妹是他“倾注如同奠酒的供物”的对象（腓 2:17），是他的“喜乐和冠冕”（腓 4:1）。因我们受苦而得以坚强的弟兄姐妹，将成为我们永恒奖赏的一部分——这份“冠冕”给我们勇气为基督受苦。推动我们前行的，不仅是永生的盼望，更是与耶稣及这些弟兄姐妹一同享受永生的盼望，使我们在苦难面前不至退缩。
你为基督所承受的苦难，不必非得特别伟大或充满英雄色彩，基督的大能才能在其中显明。神的能力不仅在保罗那些“非凡”的苦难中得以彰显——如船难、鞭打和被石头打——也同样借着一个看似更加“平凡”的身体软弱上显明出来（林后 12:7–10）。无论我们因信所承受的困难多么普通，都是神所悦纳的牺牲，他必按自己的旨意使用它们。
结论
在今生，我们无法完全知道为何苦难是神计划的一部分。但我们可以知道，苦难并不仅仅是“必然的恶”。它是一种耶稣已经应许要加以救赎的邪恶（苦难），并且他正是藉着这一切来成就那救赎。正是通过他的受苦与死亡，苦难和死亡终将被吞灭，为所有神的子民带来永远的自由。而他也在我们的受苦中做工，让他人同样认识这种自由。
我们所受苦难的救赎，尚未完全实现。有时，在软弱中，苦难远超过我们所能承受的。但有一天，当一切受苦结束时，我们将尝到基督无限的喜乐。到那日，我们将不再怀疑上帝在引导我们经历苦难时的良善，也不再怀疑他所引领我们的道路是值得的。
Rhodes, Matt. Persecution in Missions: A Practical Theology.
来源：Crossway communications@crossway.org，2026年1月5日 20:49.
Why Suffering for Christ Is More Than Just a “Necessary Evil”
Matt Rhodes
Theodicy
You won’t go far in evangelistic conversations in the West today before someone asks you to explain the problem of theodicy: how it is that a good God could allow suffering in the world. Nor can you sit long in churches without hearing the topic addressed in some form. But it hasn’t always been that way. People in other parts of the world—in Muslim North Africa, for example, where my wife and I work—don’t share the West’s current preoccupation with questions of theodicy, nor have most people throughout history. Certainly, the Scriptures don’t give theodicy nearly the emphasis that Christian writers do today.
In part, our modern focus on theodicy is appropriate, as it helps us respond to the questions of unbelievers around us. But we mustn’t forget that questions can be loaded. Ask a defendant in court, “Have you stopped beating your wife yet?” and his lawyer is sure to object, “Your honor, the question presupposes my client has beaten his wife.” The question needs to be reframed, not responded to. Questions about how a good God could allow suffering are loaded in the same way. They begin by presupposing God’s guilt and demand that we prove otherwise. This leaves room, at best, for him to be reluctantly acquitted. There’s little room left in such conversations to argue proactively for his goodness.
Reframing the Question
So how do the scriptures reframe questions of theodicy? They begin by reminding us how little we know. Rather than answering Job’s questions about his goodness, God responds with his own questions:
“Have the gates of death been revealed to you,
or have you seen the gates of deep darkness?
Have you comprehended the expanse of the earth?
Declare, if you know all this.” (Job 38:17)
God is pointing out that his knowledge stretches infinitely past Job’s minuscule understanding. Job isn’t capable of understanding God’s actions. In the same way, when my three-year-old wanted to drink detergent this week, I didn’t answer his drawn-out “Why-y-y-y?” He doesn’t know what poison is, or an emergency room, or death; he isn’t capable of understanding my decision. And “Why-y-y-y?” is a loaded question. It’s toddler-level theodicy: “How could a good dad stop me from drinking that yummy-looking stuff?”
Now, the Scriptures may not detail for us why God ordained for there to be suffering in the world, but they don’t avoid the subject altogether. Instead, they continue reframing the problem by focusing the discussion on what we can understand. They tell us a story about how suffering entered the world and how God is responding to it.
There are multiple characters in this story and multiple levels of causation. The Scriptures remind us that God created the world without suffering and that suffering only appeared in the world after humanity rebelled against him and gave in to the devil’s lies. The devil has his own agenda in our suffering, and it couldn’t be more different than God’s. God’s agenda is to lead people to a promised land beyond suffering where he “will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore” (Rev. 21:4). The devil’s agenda, on the other hand, is to trap us in death and suffering forever.
Suffering as Satan’s Tool
Importantly, the devil not only wants death and suffering to be our eternal destiny, he also works through death and suffering to lead us there. Why does Satan want Job to suffer? Certainly, he finds malicious delight in Job’s pain, but he has a bigger prize at stake. “Stretch out your hand,” he says to God, “and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse you to your face” (Job 2:5). Satan hopes Job’s pain will make him think God has forsaken him. He hopes suffering will make Job lose his faith.
When we suffer for our faith, this temptation is even more direct: “You’re all alone. Jesus can’t save you. If you hadn’t trusted him you wouldn’t be suffering right now.” That’s why Jesus warns Peter, “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail” (Luke 22:31). Jesus knows Satan is coming for Peter’s faith. In the terror of the crucifixion, Peter will be tempted to believe that Jesus’s enemies have won. Rather than trusting God for deliverance, Peter will lie to save himself. Satan hopes that when the chaff of Peter’s faith is sifted away, no wheat will be left. We repeatedly see Satan at work in this way in the New Testament. It’s through the church’s “suffering . . . throughout the world” that “the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Pet. 5:8–9). And the author of Hebrews tells his persecuted readers that it’s “through fear of death” that the devil subjects people “to lifelong slavery” (Heb. 2:14–15).
The fear of death still holds people in slavery today. In the parts of the world that remain least reached by the gospel, it’s not only false teaching but the threat of suffering that enslaves people. People are afraid to speak of Christ, afraid to hear his word, and afraid to believe. And even where the gospel is widely proclaimed, the fear of death—the gnawing worry that this short life is all there is, and has no point aside whatever brief pleasures we experience before it ends—stops many people from believing in Jesus.
Suffering for Christ to Bless Others
Thankfully, God doesn’t let the devil get the last word. God is at work in our sufferings too, as he is in all evils in the world, and he’s at work in them for good. Today, when Christians speak of how God brings good out of suffering, we tend to focus on the ways he uses it to refine our character. God certainly uses suffering to this end, but the New Testament describes our sufferings far more often as a sacrifice than it does as an exercise in character growth (see, e.g., Phil. 2:17; Col. 1:24; 1 Tim. 4:6). It often paints our sufferings as being offered to God for the sake of others (see, e.g., John 12:24, 15:13, Col. 1:24).
How, then, do others benefit as we suffer for Christ? Paul explains, “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our bodies” (2 Cor. 4:8–10).
It’s through Paul’s sufferings that the power of Jesus’s resurrection life to sustain him is “manifested in [his] mortal flesh” for others to see. Paul’s sufferings enable him not only to tell people about Jesus’s power but also to show them his power. What could be more important? Where Satan uses suffering and the fear of death to undermine people’s faith and enslave them, our sufferings illumine the hope of resurrection and eternal reward that can set them free.
Where Satan uses suffering and the fear of death to undermine people’s faith and enslave them, our sufferings illumine the hope of resurrection and eternal reward that can set them free.
Moreover, Paul describes the Philippians, on whose faith he is being “poured out as a drink offering” (Phil 2:17), as “my joy and crown” (Phil 4:1). The brothers and sisters who are strengthened by our sufferings are a part of the eternal reward—the “crown” that gives us courage to suffer for Christ. It’s not only the hope of eternal life but of eternal life together with Jesus and these brothers and sisters that drives us onward when suffering would otherwise be too much to bear.
Your sufferings need not be especially great or heroic for Christ’s power to be seen in them. God’s power was not only revealed in Paul’s “extraordinary” sufferings—shipwrecks, beatings, and stonings—but also through an ostensibly far more “ordinary” physical ailment (2 Cor. 12:7–10). Whatever difficulties we bear in faith as we follow Christ are acceptable sacrifices to God, and he will use them for his purposes.
Conclusion
This side of eternity, we can’t know completely why suffering in the world was a part of God’s plan. But we can know that suffering isn’t merely a necessary evil. It’s an evil that Jesus has promised to redeem and through which he works to bring that redemption. It’s through his suffering and death that suffering and death will be swallowed up one day, for all God’s people, forever. And he’s at work in our sufferings to help others know that freedom, too. The redemption of our suffering isn’t yet complete. Sometimes, in our weakness, suffering is far heavier than we can bear. But one day, when sufferings are over, we’ll taste Christ’s infinite joy. There will be no room left on that day to doubt that God was good to lead us through suffering, or that the road was worth it.
Matt Rhodes is the author of Persecution in Missions: A Practical Theology.
From Crossway <communications@crossway.org>Jan 5, 2026, 8:49 PM to me.