45 Bible Verses about Suffering, Of Believers

and ye shall be hated by all the world for professing my name: but he that perseveres unto the end, shall escape.

you will be the object of universal hatred upon my account; but he that shall persevere unto the end, shall be saved.

be upon your guard with such men, for they will deliver you up to their tribunals, and scourge you in their synagogues.

wherefore I shall send you prophets, and wise men, and Scribes; you will kill some, and crucify others, many will ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city.

then shall they deliver you up to torments, and to death: and ye shall be hated by all nations upon my account.

you will be betrayed even by your very parents, and brethren, and kindred, and friends. nay, some of you they will prosecute even to death. you will be hated by all mankind for professing my name,

encouraging the disciples, exhorting them to persevere in the faith, representing that it is thro' much tribulation that we must enter into the kingdom of God.

and those who will live like Christians, shall generally suffer persecution.

for it is a favour bestowed upon you, that you not only believe on Christ, but suffer also for his sake,

Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you.

fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.

for as it is written, "for thy sake we are sacrificed every day; we are counted as sheep for the slaughter:"

chusing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; esteeming the sufferings of Israel greater riches than the treasures of Egypt: for he had an eye to the reward.

and they laid hands on them, and put them in prison, till the next day: for it was now evening.

after the apostles were called in, and scourged, they charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and then releas'd them. out they went from the council,

and he openly preach'd in the name of the Lord Jesus, and disputed against the Hellenists, who therefore plotted against his life:

About that time, king Herod Agrippa began to persecute some of the church. he caus'd James the brother of John to be beheaded. and perceiving that the Jews were pleas'd with this, he proceeded to secure Peter during the feast of unleavened bread:

so am I: are they ministers of Christ? is it my vanity? I am more so: in toilsome labours I surpass them, in stripes I am exceedingly beyond them, in prisons I have been oftner, and frequently in the very jaws of death. from the Jews I have five times received forty stripes save one. thrice was I whip'd with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I was shipwreck'd; a night and a day I was floating on the deep:read more.
in my voyages I have been frequently in perils from rivers, in perils from robbers, in perils from my own countrymen, in perils from the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the country, in perils at sea, in perils among false brethren; expos'd to toil, to fatigue, to frequent watchings, to hunger and thirst, to frequent fastings, to cold and penury. besides these troubles from without, that which crouds upon me daily, the care of all the churches. who is afflicted, and I not suffer? who is offended, and I not inflam'd?

have you suffered so many things in vain?

on the contrary, notwithstanding the outrages, you know we suffer'd at Philippi, we had still the resolution, by the divine assistance, to preach the gospel of God to you without reserve against all opposition.

As they think it strange, that you don't concur in the same profusion of luxury, they traduce you.

Call to remembrance the former times, in which after ye were illuminated, you were forc'd to struggle with sufferings, some of you being expos'd to publick obloquy and persecution: whilst others had their share of affliction in seeing such treatment. for you were passionately affected for those who were in bonds, and were pleas'd at the seizing of your goods, knowing that you have what is more excellent and lasting.

Blessed are they who are persecuted upon the account of righteousness: for their's is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed shall you be when men shall revile and persecute you, and falsely charge you with all manner of evil for your attachment to me. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great will be your reward in heaven: for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Then directing himself to his disciples, he said, blessed are ye, that are poor: for the divine kingdom is yours. blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be satisfied. blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall find matter of mirth. blessed are you, when men shall hate you, discard you, reproach you, and treat you as infamous, for your attachment to the son of man.read more.
then you may triumph with joy; secure of being greatly rewarded in heaven: for such was the treatment the prophets received from their forefathers.

full of joy, that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for the name of Jesus.

be not therefore asham'd of the testimony of the Lord, nor of me who am a prisoner upon his account. but share with me in the afflictions, which attend the gospel, supported as you are by the power of God,

but even to the morose. for it is a recommendation to the divine favour, to suffer unjust persecution

for since it is the will of heaven you should suffer, it is better you should suffer for your virtue, than for any crimes.

My dear brethren, don't be surpriz'd at your being brought as it were to the test of fire; as if some strange thing had happen'd to you. on the contrary, rejoice at the share you have of sufferings, as well as Christ: that you may likewise triumph, when he shall appear in his glory. if you suffer indignities in the cause of Christ, you are happy: for the glorious spirit of God rests upon you.read more.
take care therefore not to suffer upon the account of homicide, or thievery, or for any criminal, or pragmatical practices. but whoever suffers as a christian, let him not be asham'd, but rather give thanks to God upon that account.

if you are to endure chastisement, God treats you as his children: for where's the son whom his father does not chastise?

if you were of the world, the world would love its own: but because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world does hate you.

I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; although we now suffer with him, that we may also be glorified with him.

from henceforth let no man give me trouble; for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.

so that you are the subject of our glorying in the churches of God, for the constancy of your faith, under all the persecutions and afflictions you endure from men, by which you may be assur'd, that they will be punish'd by the divine justice, and that you shall be rewarded with the kingdom of God, for which you suffer;

'tis true, all correction at first is far from appearing agreeable, yet afterward it produces the agreeable fruits of virtue in those who are exercised thereby.

every branch in me that beareth not fruit, he takes away: as for the branch that bears fruit, he prunes it clean, to make it more fruitful.

This it is that fills you with joy, notwithstanding the various tryals, which still necessarily afflict you, that your faith being put to a more advantageous proof, than that of gold, which loses by the essay, may redound to your praise and highest honour at the appearance of Jesus Christ:

always bearing about in my body the marks of sufferings like those of Jesus, so that Jesus might be plainly prov'd to be alive by the sufferings of my body.

Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and am filling up the measure of those remaining afflictions, which in my turn I am to suffer in this life, in the cause of Christ, for the sake of his body, which is the church:

for I will make him see how much he must suffer for my name.

save what the holy spirit in every city declares, "that bonds and afflictions wait for me." things that little affect me, nor is life so much my concern, as to finish my course, and the charge I receiv'd from the Lord Jesus, to attest the declaration of the divine favour.

for it seems as if God had exposed us apostles the last upon the stage, as persons appointed to death. for we are made a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men. we are made fools for our attachment to Christ, while you, who are christians too, still pass for the wise: we are in poverty, but you are in power: you meet with esteem, but we find contempt. to this very day we suffer both hunger, thirst, and penury: we are buffeted from place to place, as vagabonds:read more.
we are fatigu'd by our manual toil: when reviled, we pray: when persecuted, we don't repine: and when we are defamed, we intreat: in a word, we are look'd upon as the dregs and scum of mankind, even to this day.

Blessed be the God, and father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the father of mercies, and the God of all consolation: who comforteth me in all my tribulations, that I may be able to comfort them who are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith I myself am comforted of God. for as I have greatly suffered for Christ, so I have been greatly comforted thro' Christ.

my dear children, how am I in pain, till Christ be formed in you?