When we embrace suffering ‘for Christ’s name’s sake’ as part of our calling, we declare to a watching world that Jesus is worthy—not just of our words, but of our wounds.
In my previous Substack, we explored the place of suffering and martyrdom within God’s redemptive strategy—how hardship and even death, far from being interruptions to the gospel, are often its most powerful amplifiers.
But what if we took it one step further? What if suffering and martyrdom were not only part of God's plan like we spoke of last time, but also strategic tools in His mission to reach the world?
This isn’t a comfortable question, but it’s a necessary one, especially for those of us seeking to understand—and perhaps participate in—the theologies of Christian endurance.
Suffering as a Missional Tool
In the landscape of global missions, the idea that suffering could be useful—let alone missional—may seem counterintuitive. After all, shouldn't success in ministry be marked by safety, growth, and flourishing?
But time and again, we find that God uses suffering to refine His servants and deepen their fruitfulness. His math is often multiplication by subtraction. That’s counter to how many of us do math.
Suffering is a furnace in which Christlikeness is forged. I’ve been sharing some of the thoughts of Pastor Josef Tson, the Romanian Baptist pastor who wrote in the last century. He reminds us that “God has kept back nothing of His Son. He gave Him up to death. If you are His follower, you must lose everything.”
That loss is not without purpose. Around the world, religious hostility toward Christians acts as a refining fire—burning away pride, self-reliance, and the illusion of control. What emerges is a wiser, more spiritually mature vessel that’s wholly dependent on Christ.
The heart is humbled under hostility. Priorities shift. The Message becomes more than words—it becomes embodied in the life of the one who proclaims it.
The apostle Paul saw this clearly: “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed... always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies” (2 Corinthians 4:8–10). Suffering, in this sense, is not an obstacle to ministry; it is the vessel through which Christ’s resurrection life is made visible to a watching world.
In this way, suffering shapes us, carving out character that is not only Christlike but also compelling.
The Witness of Sacrifice
But shaping the individual is only part of the story; there is a powerful outward movement as well. In many places where the gospel is unwelcome, suffering functions as a powerful apologetic. When we willingly embrace hardship for his name’s sake—when we suffer rather than flee, when we persevere rather than compromise—we bear witness to the truth of what they proclaim.
In hostile or skeptical contexts, it is not the eloquence of the preacher but the costliness of the message that speaks loudest. Communities take notice when someone lays down their rights, comforts, and even safety for the sake of others. And in this, the gospel is not just heard—it is seen.
In cultural contexts where the gospel confronts deeply held ideologies, philosophies, or power structures, mere words often fall short. But when the messenger suffers for the truth, they proclaim that the true and transformative Jesus is the only answer for the sin-sickness that lives in us all. The world hates to hear it, but politics, culture, or false interpretations of Jesus cannot do what he can. It’s then that suffering bears this witness with weight that words alone cannot carry.
As Paul wrote to the Philippians: “For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ, you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake” (Philippians 1:29). That kind of suffering builds credibility—an authenticity that cannot be manufactured. The words “for his sake’ are often overlooked here: there are all kinds of suffering in the world, but what Paul has in view is enduring under a hostility that takes particular aim at the Christian simply because we claim Christ as our primary identity. That’s important to remember – especially for us in the freer world, as many cultural ideologies that are hostile toward biblical Christianity clamor for our attention and affections.
We are talking about suffering for his name’s sake – an important distinction!
Engagement in Contested Spaces
The presence of suffering sometimes signals that we are treading on spiritually contested ground. Tson argued that suffering shouldn’t surprise us—it should alert us. It means we are advancing into territory the enemy does not want to relinquish, to liberate people the enemy keeps enslaved; he will not give them up easily.
In these contested spaces, suffering is not simply collateral damage. It is a signpost that the kingdom of God is breaking in. When we understand this, we aren’t demoralized by resistance—we are emboldened. We trust that suffering places us in the thick of spiritual warfare, and that our prayerful perseverance proclaims the supremacy of Christ - even to unseen powers.
Seeing Beyond the Moment
So, can suffering and martyrdom be missional tools? According to Scripture, history, and the lives of faithful witnesses like Josef Tson—the answer is ‘yes.’ Not because we pursue suffering for its own sake, but because we follow the One who bore the cross before the crown.
This kind of theology—Christian Endurance Studies—sees beyond the pain of the present moment. It recognizes the strategic value of suffering in shaping the missionary, bearing witness to the world, and confronting the powers of darkness.
Tson lived it, and he called us to it: “The essence of martyrdom is giving your life for Christ, whether you die or not.” I think all of us must reckon with this, and we need to disciple others to reckon with it as well.
When we embrace suffering ‘for his name’s sake’ as part of our calling, we declare to a watching world that Jesus is worthy—not just of our words, but of our wounds.
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