Scripture and most of church history give us a much different story. Both not only speak to this all the time, but affliction was even welcomed and seen as coming from the good and wise hand of God. Sure, you do not go out of your way looking for suffering, but when it comes, you should try to see just how much God is involved in it, and why he is allowing it.

All of us can tend to be all rather quiet about certain issues. For example, we fully expect the world to remain silent about various things – especially things the militants and radicals have told us we are not allowed to talk about. You can get away with murder – quite literally – when you push this sort of out of sight out of mind campaign.
Thus we are not supposed to talk about the sanctity of life for the unborn – resulting in millions of them being slaughtered each year. We are certainly not allowed to speak about ex-homosexuals: they too are another invisible group of people.
But sadly Christians can be like this as well. Some things you seem to hear about very rarely in contemporary Western Christianity. Things like sin and judgment to come are obvious examples. But here I wish to speak about the dreaded ‘S’ and ‘A’ words: suffering and affliction.
It is quite odd that we hear so little about these matters. After all, we all suffer. Sure, we don’t want to suffer – I certainly don’t. But such a universal experience is often swept under the carpet in too many churches and Christian circles.
But that goes against Scripture and church history where these matters have always been discussed. The Bible even has entire books devoted to these issues. Think of Job and Lamentations for example. There would be many hundreds of passages that speak to this. If God takes it so seriously, why don’t we?
And most Christians throughout church history have spoken and written on this topic extensively. So why do we not do the same today? Part of the problem is a fake gospel being pushed in the West. The idea that Christians should always be healthy and wealthy and happy and have their best life now will certainly fill churches, sell books, and make the false prophets pushing this baloney celebrity pastors and teachers.
But as I say, Scripture and most of church history give us a much different story. Both not only speak to this all the time, but affliction was even welcomed and seen as coming from the good and wise hand of God. Sure, you do not go out of your way looking for suffering, but when it comes, you should try to see just how much God is involved in it, and why he is allowing it.
The psalmist constantly spoke to this, especially emphasising the educative and remedial aspects of suffering. Just three verses from Psalm 119 can be mentioned here:
Psalm 119:67 Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I obey your word.
Psalm 119:71 It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees.
Psalm 119:75 I know, O LORD, that your laws are righteous, and in faithfulness you have afflicted me.
And the great majority of Christians over the centuries have also echoed these themes. The Puritans certainly did. I have written before about some of them in this regard. One of the classic Puritan works for example is The Bruised Reed by Richard Sibbes. I discussed that amazing book here: billmuehlenberg.com/2015/03/11/a-bruised-reed/
Another Puritan classic worth being aware of is the 1652 A Treatise on Affliction by the English clergyman and member of the Westminster Assembly Thomas Case (1598–1682). A smaller edited version of it called When Christians Suffer was put out by Banner of Truth in 2009.
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While Lactantius appealed to Constantine to honour the weak, deal with evil patiently, and promote religious liberty, Constantine was emphatic that he would be a Christian “on his own terms” (p.260). Constantine denounced paganism and embarked on a Christianisation of the law with heavy penalties on what he saw to be immoral practices. He saw himself duty-bound to use the state’s power and wealth to ensure concord, and according to Kreider, while before Constantine “growth was a mystery, the product of God’s invisible power”, after Constantine there was a shift from “mystery to method” (p.267).

Part 1 of 2 of Review of Alan Kreider, The Patient Ferment of the Early Church, Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2016
This work of Alan Kreider’s has been without doubt one of the most important books I have read. While we may not align with Kreider theologically in several areas (for example, he is a pacifist and an anabaptist Mennonite) what he has left with this book is something that I think every pastor should read.
In this first part of a two-part review, I will record the highlights, while in the second part, I will offer some reservations and reflections.
Readibility
Although Kreider’s work is quite readable, I would not rate it is as highly accessible for the average reader. He writes like an academic! Nevertheless, it is well worth persevering with, to grasp his message.
Research
Kreider makes some bold assertions that requires significant level of evidence if they are to be held credible. Thankfully, he does provide this. Kreider’s work is well-researched, not surprising as he is a first-rate historian, being Harvard-trained, with teaching appointments that include Oxford.
Highlights
Instead of reviewing each part of the book, I thought it worthwhile to highlight the following points Kreider makes:

The early church was not at all intentional about its “missional strategy” in the way we modern churches are. If we can say the early church had any “strategy” it was their focus on the need for patience (e.g. patience in suffering, patience in doing good).

For example, Justin writing in the second century wrote, “by our patience and meekness [Christians will] draw all men from shame and evil desires” (p.16). This theme can be detected as the dominant theme in the writings of the church fathers such as Justin, Clement, Origen, Tertullian, Cyprian, Lactantius.

The early church’s “strategy of patience” had its outworking in many ways – including distinctive business ethics, sexual ethics, ethics around the treatment of women and children, care for the poor, refrain from taking part in violence, refrain from compelling, and prayer having a central place in the life of the community (pp.93-130).

Perhaps the key outworking of this “strategy of patience” was the focus on spiritual formation of new members via catechesis (which we might call a learning program). The early church recognised that the integrity of the church depended on the quality of its members. Christians that spoke like Christians but acted like pagans would soon mean that the church would no longer be Christian (p.176).

Catechumens (those trained by catechists in this program of catechesis) were to embody what he calls a “habitus” of a patient Christian witness.
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God graciously chose to covenant with us, and second, he undertook the conditions of the covenants on our behalf when we failed to do so. When we understand this covenant love, we are motivated to respond with lives of grateful obedience. We are inspired to obey his law, not as a means to earn salvation under the Covenant of Works, but as a joyful response to his covenant faithfulness to us.

The Bible is a book about the greatest story, and it touches on hundreds of themes. When we read it, we tend to focus on one of these things; the overall narrative or the themes. Typically we use biblical theology to follow scripture’s story; and systematic theology to trace scripture’s themes. Covenant theology combines these approaches. It helps us step back and see that the Bible tells the story of redemptive history (biblical theology) by using a specific theme or structure: God’s covenants (systematic theology).
Now, this doesn’t mean that covenant theology replaces the other approaches. Covenant theology is really a hermeneutic, a way of reading the scriptures, building on the strengths of both biblical and systematic theology to understand the Bible as a cohesive whole.
In this article, I’ll briefly define a covenant, introduce the Covenants of Works as well as the Covenant of Grace, and in so doing demonstrate how covenant theology helps us understand what Christ has done for us. Some will be familiar with the concepts, while others may have only recently discovered covenant theology. This article is primarily written for the second group, though I hope those of us familiar with these concepts will find our memories refreshed and our hearts encouraged.
What Is a Covenant?
A covenant is a mutual agreement between two parties, where both parties are bound to each other to perform the conditions contracted. At a basic level, it’s a contract. There are blessings for keeping the terms of the covenant, and curses for breaking them. But biblical covenants are deeper than just an agreement to perform a certain action. They connect people to each other and establish a relationship between them; in the scriptures, especially, they connect man and God.
Covenants are typically agreements between equals. So we must for a moment acknowledge the obvious imbalance between God and man. First, we are not equals. Humans depend on God for existence. He is the Creator. We are the creature. Secondly, as part of God’s creation, he has authority over us. He doesn’t need our consent. But God doesn’t force us to simply do as he commands. Instead, he graciously condescends to us, coming to our level and binding himself in covenant to us. By covenanting with us, God chooses to enter into relationship with us. And this means that every covenant is based on God’s grace, even the Covenant of Works.
The Covenant of Works
The Covenant of Works was made with Adam in the Garden of Eden, before the fall. But this covenant doesn’t just involve Adam: God appointed Adam as a representative of all humanity. Adam had a natural right to represent us as the first man, and perhaps more importantly, a legal right which he received from God. This means that Adam’s actions affect us, just as a king who signs a peace treaty signs not just for himself, but for every citizen.
One might summarise the Covenant of Works in this way: “Do this and live.” Note: God does two things here. Firstly, he sets a law (do this) and gives a promise (you will live). If God had only commanded us to do this, there wouldn’t have been any grace. He would simply demand obedience. If God only told us to live, then we’d have a promise but wouldn’t be drawn closer to God. It’s only as a covenant, a mixture of promise and law, that we get the full picture. For it’s by obedience to God that we can draw closer to him and enjoy life. This is the blessing offered under the Covenant of Works.
Let’s expand on that summary. God required Adam to perfectly and personally obey his Law. Adam knew the Law through reason, nature, and of course, God’s plain command. The Ten Commandments would later summarise what Adam was required to obey (Exodus 20:1-26). “Perfectly” and “personally.” These words are important. Perfectly is simple enough to understand.
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