Jesus said that he came to bring us abundant life. Satan came to steal, to kill, and to destroy, but Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil. What does this abundant life produce? Consider what Satan steals, what Satan destroys. He alienates people from God, and from God’s forgiveness and assurance. He corrupts people with evil in their hearts, with hatred, jealousy, and sadness. Jesus came to bring a life that reverses all of that. He caused us to be born again, and he made our hearts clean, holy, and righteous. He fills our hearts with love, contentment, worthy desires and ambitions, happiness, and strength. Satan corrupts the sinner’s inner being such that his intelligence also deteriorates. He thinks that he is clever, but he is most stupid. Jesus has come to restore our intelligence. God has made Jesus our wisdom, and we have the mind of Christ. As we continue to remain in him, these things will grow in us more and more. He came to bring us life, and life in abundance.

However, Satan does not steal only people’s wisdom and holiness. He does not work only in the realm of intellect and morality. He does not attack only the inner life. The destruction of righteousness in humanity also results in the destruction of health and long life, of prosperity and riches, of success and satisfaction in vocation, of relationships, and all the things that human life entails. It would be ludicrous to suppose that Jesus came to correct the root of the issue, but that all the effects of sin remain! It would be asinine to think that even though Jesus came to correct both the cause and the effect of human suffering, by some strange power the effect of righteousness are all suspended until after this life! This kind of theology is so foolish it is as if it was invented by someone who had never experienced the wisdom of salvation. It is as if his intelligence was never restored by God. It is reprobate theology.

Jesus said that a good tree will produce good fruit, and a bad tree will produce bad fruit. We would never say that the root of sin will produce the fruit of righteousness all through the present life, and it will produce the fruit of wickedness only after this life is over. Therefore, we must never say that the root of righteousness, the root of life, and the very root of God will produce the effects of wickedness all through the present life, and it will produce the effects of redemption only after this life is over. Theologians use the “already/not yet” distinction to excuse their reprobate theology. They claim that God has promised, but he has not yet delivered. However, the truth is that the blessings of redemption are already here, but they have not yet believed. They wish to say that we are waiting for God to deliver his promises, but the truth is that God is waiting for them to believe his promises.

The false and twisted way of thinking has been the assumption of theology throughout church history. It is often used to determine balance and orthodoxy. We must make two observations about this. First, Satan has been successful in deceiving the church, so that even if he cannot halt all the progress of the gospel, at least he could reduce its effectiveness and its resources in the world. Second, we must suspect the faith of those who think this way — that is, those who claim to have the root of righteousness, but reject the effects of righteousness. It is their attempt to camouflage their unbelief and counterfeit piety, and those who have true faith are suppressed by those who have appointed themselves as religious authorities and guardians. There is no reason to suffer unnecessary hardships. Why desire the approval of worthless men, and endure silly things from human garbage, rather than enjoy the approval of God, and all the blessings of faith? What would you do if a piece of garbage cries out from the trash can, “Get in here with me, or I will hate you”?

Jesus said that he came to bring us life in contrast to the fact that Satan was the one who would steal, kill, and destroy. And he stressed that he came to bring life in abundance. The life that comes from Jesus is far greater than the death that comes from Satan. Jesus gives more than Satan takes. As Paul wrote, “The gift is not like the trespass.” Accept what Jesus said about himself, about what he came to do. He came to bring us a full life, and a lot of happiness. And he delivered. He did not lie, and he did not fail. We can experience this life more and more. Cast aside man-made doctrines that encourage weakness and suffering, and embrace this life and happiness completely, without reservation. Then bring his life to others.

In many parts of the world, there is very little suffering for Jesus. This is because the gospel has been such a success that even unbelievers remain generally peaceful. Where the gospel is preached, and where it is accepted by a significant number, the entire culture is transformed, so that even those who are proud of their resistance to it unknowingly adopt some of its ideals and morals. As Jesus said, the kingdom of God is like a little yeast that works its way through the whole dough. In such a society, suffering for Jesus is reduced, not because the Christians have compromised, but because they have refused to compromise and have achieved success. It is reprobate thinking to insist that the same level of suffering, sickness, and poverty must remain no matter what, as if the Christian life is the accumulation of all the effects of sin! Christians are not the guardians of the works of Satan, but we are the enforcers of the works of Christ. We receive and dispense the treasures that Jesus has won for his people. It would be treason to return to the cursed life, and preach about it as if it is gospel.

Piety is not found in suffering, but it is found in faith, in love, in worship, and in obedience. Where persecution is intense, maintaining faith and obedience might entail suffering. However, in a society that has been transformed by generations of faith and obedience, even flawed faith and obedience, continuing in faith and obedience will not entail the same level of suffering. Due to their wickedness and ignorance, there are many who associate true religion with suffering itself. In a society where the gospel has defined much of the culture, this false piety manifests itself in false doctrine, so that suffering is no longer an attack of the devil against the people of God, but God himself is the one who inflicts suffering against his own people. God is the one who commands his people to follow and to preach his word, and at the same time this same God would attack his own people with sickness, poverty, and all kinds of calamity, because this is supposed to be piety.

True Christians follow Jesus Christ, and if there is persecution, then they might suffer. Even then, when they walk in faith, they are often delivered by spectacular miracles. False Christians follow their own invention – the false god of Suffering – so that whether or not there is persecution, they suffer. This is the difference. The people who insist that the Christian life is a life of suffering are often the ones who cause the suffering. Thus in places where the gospel has wielded much influence and the unbelievers are relatively peaceful, Christians receive more persecution than they should, because much of the persecution comes from those who claim to be Christians themselves. Of course, there are unbelievers who admit that they are unbelievers, but there are multitudes of unbelievers who claim that they are believers. Those who pretend to follow Jesus do not really believe what he said, but they claim to believe, and with so much pride and profit at stake in any religious debate, they attack those who truly believe the gospel, so that these imposters might establish themselves as the genuine followers of Christ.

The gospel has enjoyed a measure of success and influence in many parts of the world, and in many societies and cultures. This has drastically reduced suffering in both believers and unbelievers. It is religious insanity to manufacture suffering so we can simulate the experience of the early disciples of Christ. They suffered so much, in order that we would not have to suffer as much. It is a spiritual and psychological disorder to follow after Suffering when we ought to follow Jesus Christ. Nevertheless, Christians still suffer in many parts of the world. Rather than insisting on more suffering for ourselves because we suffer so little, we should take advantage of our freedom to improve the world by the gospel, so that in our generation and in future generations, there would be less suffering for others. Standard orthodoxy commands us to seek suffering, to look for more of it, and to praise and worship it, as if suffering is God himself. This is cruel and wicked. It is satanic. We ought to attack suffering in the name of Jesus, and bring the peace of Christ to all nations. When heathens see us approach, they should not think that we are coming to multiply their problems, but that in the name of Jesus we bring them the solutions they need.

The Bible teaches that God forgives all our sins and heals all our diseases. And it commands us to preach the gospel and heal the sick. If there are no sick people in an area because they have been healed by God, and because they have remained in health by faith, we would not infect them with sickness or injure them with violence, and we would not brainwash them to welcome this sickness and violence, just so we would have sick people to heal. This would, again, be religious insanity. This would be like the grotesque religion of heathenism – and the standard orthodox gospel of sickness and poverty is essentially heathenism, akin to a voodoo religion. Rather, we would recognize their health as a testimony to the success of the gospel. We would encourage them to remain strong in the healing power of God, to remain free from suffering, and to bring this same blessing to other parts of the world.

Jesus Christ is too powerful for Satan. The devil has no chance against the gospel in a direct confrontation. The only way he can win is to convince people to think that the Christian faith in fact teaches something like the religion of heathenism, a religion of sacrifice and suffering. He has been so effective in doing this that this version of heathenism characterized much of Christian thought in church history, and has been codified in creeds, and recognized as historic orthodoxy. This is not biblical orthodoxy, not authentic orthodoxy. It is a false gospel, a voodoo religion in Christian vocabulary. Jesus Christ came to destroy the works of Satan. He did not come to partner with Satan to destroy us, and to make us suffer even more.