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A Response to Bill Mounce’s God's Gracious Gift of Suffering (Phil 1:29)
By Author Eli Kittim 🎓
Bill Mounce is a well-known scholar of New Testament Greek. He serves on the Committee for the NIV translation of the Bible, and has written a classic biblical Greek textbook, “Basics of Biblical Greek,” among other things. He blogs regularly on New Testament Greek at BillMounce.com.
Does God Give us the Grace to Suffer? Or the Grace to Endure Suffering?
Recently, I came across a piece of writing by Greek scholar Bill Mounce. In that paper, Mounce took issue with what “a popular preacher” was saying, namely, that “All suffering … is outside of God’s will.” Mounce shot back at the pastor for making an “absurdly non-biblical statement.” In calling him out, Mounce began to expound Phil 1.27–30. He writes:
Translations generally are not able to bring
out the nuances of this verse, nor the
awkward Greek. Paul begins, ‘for it has
been granted (ἐχαρίσθη) to you on behalf of
Christ.’ χαρίζομαι means ‘to give freely as a
favor, give graciously’ (BDAG). χαρίζομαι is
the cognate verb for the familiar noun,
χάρις, meaning ‘grace.’ The NLT translates,
‘you have been given ... the privilege.’ The
following are gracious gifts to Christians:
to believe in him (τὸ εἰς αὐτὸν πιστεύειν),
and
to suffer for him (τὸ ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ πάσχειν).
The theology of the “popular pastor” denies
God’s gracious gift of suffering.
In other words, Mounce believes that our suffering——regardless of what form it takes——is actually a gracious gift from God. Thus, one can reasonably argue that if a person has cancer, or if he has lost all his limbs, as well as his eyesight or hearing, then this is a wonderful, gracious gift from God, and, therefore, the person should thank him for it! Not only does this view attribute the cause of all evil to God (cf. 1 John 1.5), but it also calls evil good (cf. Isaiah 5.20). Paradoxically, it is a glorification of suffering and evil. Mounce writes:
I have heard sermons on God’s gracious gift
of faith to his children; I have yet to hear a
sermon on God’s gracious gift of suffering.
That’s unfortunate, to understate it in the
extreme.
But just because we may have faced similar struggles with our fellow Christians, or we may have suffered for righteousness’ sake, doesn’t mean that these evils were deliberately sent our way. And just because suffering can test us, through which we may be purified, doesn’t mean that God himself is behind these temptations, orchestrating them, one by one. It would be far more accurate to call it God's "permissive will” in allowing suffering and evil to exist.
This idea is often misunderstood by other writers as well. For example, if the followers of Christ are said to experience the same sufferings that the Apostles in the New Testament experienced, then it means that they, too, have entered into the kingdom of God, renewed their minds, and shared in God’s consolation. In other words, the afflictions exist to frighten us from walking along the spiritual path (cf. Phil. 2.12). It doesn’t mean that these obstacles, temptations, and afflictions are ipso facto created by God. That’s what Paul means in 2 Corinthians 1.6-7:
If we are being afflicted, it is for your
consolation and salvation; if we are being
consoled, it is for your consolation, which
you experience when you patiently endure
the same sufferings that we are also
suffering. Our hope for you is unshaken; for
we know that as you share in our sufferings,
so also you share in our consolation.
Mounce then goes on to enumerate the various benefits that suffering brings to the followers of Christ. He says “Suffering binds us together,” “strengthens our faith,” purifies our faith, and so on. And he rightly says that “if we are not suffering, then we need to ask if we are living out our allegiance to Christ.” That is quite true. He correctly points out that suffering is “so essential that without it one’s salvation is in question.” But he confuses the *benefits* of suffering with the *causes* of suffering. He assumes that since suffering brings the Christian so many blessings, then it must be part of God’s plan. God must be behind all this. It must be part of his sovereign will. Mounce writes:
Not only is belief a gracious gift from God,
but so also is entering into suffering on his
behalf. To deny the reality and the gift of
suffering is to rip out half of God’s gracious
gifts to us that Paul is discussing.
Then he admits that he’s reformed in his theology. To show the importance and necessity of suffering, he quotes Paul who says that “we are children of God, … and joint heirs with Christ—if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him” (Romans 8.16-17 NRSV). I concur with Mounce that “Our glorification depends on our suffering,” and that our suffering depends upon our courage to follow Christ no matter what the cost may be. Mounce concludes:
Suffering for Christ as we live out our lives is
a gracious gift from God, confirming and
strengthening his gracious gift of faith to us.
As Fee writes (quoting Lightfoot), “suffering
should not surprise or overwhelm them; it is
rather evidence that ‘God looks upon you
with favor’” (171).
Anyone who teaches otherwise is teaching
false doctrine and is robbing God’s children
of the joyful benefits of suffering.
Conclusion
Bill Mounce is essentially saying that suffering itself “is a gracious gift from God.” It’s a sign of God’s love for you. He’s basically saying that God gives us the grace to suffer. But I think that Bill Mounce is wrong. By contrast, I hold that God gives us the grace to endure suffering. In other words, God doesn’t predestine suffering; he foreknows it, and therefore gives us the grace to overcome it. Otherwise, God would be accused of being the author of evil. Mounce interprets Philippians 1.28-29 as if it is saying that God *causes* us to suffer. However, I think it teaches that God gives us the grace to *endure* suffering.
Philippians 1.28-29 (Stephens 1550 Greek
text):
28 καὶ μὴ πτυρόμενοι ἐν μηδενὶ ὑπὸ τῶν
ἀντικειμένων ἥτις αὐτοῖς μέν ἐστὶν
ἔνδειξις ἀπωλείας, ὑμῖν δὲ σωτηρίας,
καὶ τοῦτο ἀπὸ θεοῦ,
29 ὅτι ὑμῖν ἐχαρίσθη τὸ ὑπὲρ Χριστοῦ, οὐ
μόνον τὸ εἰς αὐτὸν πιστεύειν ἀλλὰ καὶ
τὸ ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ πάσχειν
My Translation (Philippians 1.28-29):
28 And don’t be terrified by anything with
regard to your adversaries, which to
them, on the one hand, is an indication
of perdition, but to you, on the other, of
salvation, and that of God.
29 Because unto you the grace has been
given concerning Christ, not only to
believe in him, but also to suffer for his
sake.
Biblical Greek Exegesis
The Greek text of Philippians chapter 1 verse 28 says σωτηρίας, καὶ τοῦτο ἀπὸ θεοῦ, meaning that salvation is by God alone. That is, it’s granted only by God; it’s a grace. Verse 29 says ὅτι ὑμῖν ἐχαρίσθη, meaning, “to you the grace has been granted.” But what type of grace has God given us? The grace to suffer or the grace to endure suffering? The former view implies that God himself gives us the suffering. The latter position implies that God allows suffering, but gives us the ability to endure it. Being of the reform tradition, Mounce implies that God creates evil and thus brings suffering into our lives. However, this is not necessarily the only possible exegesis from the Greek. Verse 29 could also mean that God’s grace has been given to us not only to believe in Christ, but also to *endure* suffering for his sake!
For further details on the theological implications of Bill Mounce’s exegesis, read my paper:
Does God Create Evil?: Answering the Calvinists
https://eli-kittim.tumblr.com/post/656643262452531200/does-god-create-evil-answering-the-calvinists
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