Heirs of Wealth and Suffering

Proverbs 22.4; Romans 8.17

Many Christians are often confused about what our lives should be like. Because of the gospel of Jesus Christ, we have been made co-heirs with Christ so that all of God's riches now belong to us! On the other hand, because we are in Christ, we have been crucified to this world and our life is one of suffering.

This sermon will focus on the wealth of God. Proverbs 22 makes it clear that God is the one who is the source of all wealth. We also see this same truth emphasized throughout Scripture. Additionally, God is also the distributor of all wealth. He determines who the recipients of wealth are.

Those who are in Christ might not enjoy earthly riches. This is never guaranteed to Christians. However, because we are co-heirs with Christ, we are promised God's heavenly riches. Therefore, regardless of how wealthy we are on earth, we are actually heirs of God's infinite wealth! This should drastically change the way we pursue our desires, and how we see ourselves and those around us.

As much as we are heirs of God's wealth, Scripture also teaches us that we are heirs of suffering. This connection is explicit in Romans 8.17. Therefore, we should not be surprised or discouraged when we experience suffering in life because suffering is linked with wealth. On the other hand, we should not be consumed by any success or wealth that we enjoy on earth because as followers of Christ, we are called to suffer like our master.