Sunday message · To My Friend Who Left the Faith series
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Message Summary
In the fourth message of the series To My Friend Who Left the Faith, Pastor Phillip Santillan steps away from a single passage to address a major reason people leave the church or the faith: suffering. Most of us know people who say they used to be Christians, and he hopes to equip listeners to come alongside them. His answer is that God’s response to suffering is not an explanation but Jesus himself.
Not everyone who leaves is angry or hurt. Citing Lifeway Research, Phil notes that some simply fall out of the habit, the way his own daily piano practice faded after two decades without his ever deciding to stop. Some wake up to find they no longer feel a need for God. Others leave because their needs went unmet, whether they treated church like a vending machine or carried deep, legitimate needs born of real suffering.
Jesus warned that in this world we will have trouble (John 16:33). He did not mean car trouble or late bills, but suffering that takes parents from children too soon and leaves spouses widowed. Such suffering opens a window to doubt, can leave people feeling the church did not show up when they needed it, and tempts them to believe God is uncaring or not there at all. Job knew this. After losing his wealth, his children and his health, he first blessed the name of the Lord, but he eventually reached a breaking point and poured out his bitterness and questions (Job 10).
Jesus also said that those who mourn are blessed. God does not expect us to always be happy, and some leave the faith after believing the myth that Christians should always be smiling. So, as with church hurt, the answer is Jesus. God’s ultimate answer to suffering is not an explanation but the incarnation, the Word made flesh (John 1:14). We have a high priest who sympathizes with our weaknesses, so we can approach God’s throne with confidence to find grace in our time of need (Hebrews 4). As the book behind the series puts it, God does not just ask us to endure suffering; he came down to endure it with us.
At the cross, when God seemed least in control, he was fully in control, and one day he will restore all things. Job never learned why he suffered. God answered by revealing himself, and as scholar John Walton observes, God asks for trust, not understanding. Knowing who God is was enough for Job.
We cannot give others what we do not have, so Phil urges listeners to know Jesus more deeply. Apologetics may help some, but friends brought back to church without the foundation of Jesus will not stay. Paul writes that the God of all comfort comforts us so we can comfort others (2 Corinthians 1). Phil closes by calling the church to be patient, as God is patient, and to tell the story of how God met them in their need, so others can turn to him in theirs.
