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I read, "On Wealth and Poverty," per your advice and it addressed my original question very well. It sounds like St. John Chrysostom is saying that suffering on earth leads to a more beneficent condition in the life to come by either increasing the glory of those who will enter the heavenly Jerusalem, or reducing the torment of those who will be cast into the lake of fire. However, I am still not fully understanding:

 

1. Is it true that we believe that suffering on earth will indeed either lessen the torments of those not saved in hell or increase the glory of those saved in heaven?



2. If the answer to the previous question is "yes," then it sounds that this is because God does not recompense the same sin twice. In which case, the improvement in the condition of one's eternal life is the result of God's justice and not a function of one's response of repentance resulting from the sin. Would it be true that the improved condition in the world to come is due to repentance in response to the suffering? Or is it grounded in the justice of God to not recompense the same sin twice, both on earth and in heaven?



3. I have heard a sermon by Your Grace where you mention that suffering results from one of the following sources: (1) Personal sins, (2) The corrupted world in which we live (3) Satan's attacks (4) Discipline of the Lord, (5) Test of faith. Within which category would this type of suffering fall?

 

4. We know that God "has appointed a day for recompense, on which He will appear to judge the world in righteousness and give each one according to his deeds." If our judgement is based on our deeds, then where does our sufferings in this world fit in with this criteria of judgement? Does God judge us according to our deeds which have not already been recompensed on earth? Is this also the reason why we will not have a reward from God if our charitable deeds are seen by men (Mt 6:1-7)?

1) Yes, according to the example of the rich man and Lazarus are an example: "But Abraham said, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented.'" (Luke 16:25). 

2)Rewards and punishment can be here on earth as well as in heaven. The recompense on earth is minimal to the grandeur of inheriting the kingdom of God, forever. For those who chose to not repent, it is torment forever. Refer to the Beatitudes in the Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew 5:1-12. Also, there is no contradiction between the justice of God and being the function of one's response of repentance since God, in His justice, wanted to reward the person as well as not recompence the same sin twice.
  
3) All of these are results on earth and will have consequences in eternal life as well. An example of a personal sin can be gambling. One wastes and squanders his money in gambling and refuses to work, loses everything, is indebted, abandons his family, and does not repent. Thus, the quality of his life on earth is diminished, and without repenting, he cannot enter heaven. If in the same family, his wife works two jobs to make ends meet, raises their children to be God-fearing and righteous, God will send them certain blessings to let them know that He is there with them. Perhaps, they will have a home, employment, and the children may obtain an education, a career, and live a better life on earth, but even better in heaven. Another example is the account of Tobit and the messages Archangel Raphael gave them: "For almsgiving delivers from death, and the same is what purges sins and makes one able to find mercy and everlasting life. But those who commit sin and iniquity are enemies to their own soul. Therefore, I reveal the truth to you, and I will not hide the explanation from you. When prayed with tears, and buried the dead, and left behind your dinner, and hid the dead by day in your house, and buried them by night: I offer your prayer to the Lord. And because you were acceptable to God, it was necessary for you to be tested by trials. And now, the Lord has sent me to cure you, and to free Sarah, your son's wife, from the demon. For I am Angel Raphael, one of the seven, who stand before the Lord" (Tobit 12:9-15). The suffering in the story of Lazarus is from the corruption of the world.
 
4) These are two different premises. From the fall of our father Adam and our mother Eve, all of humanity was exiled with them to a life of toil and turmoil (read Genesis 3). In Matthew 6:1-6, if one does good deeds merely for the sake of praise, then that is the reward that he is seeking and has already received it. God knows all that we do, good and bad. We cannot try to hide the bad and boast about the good. We know He sees it all. Thus, we must have a contrite heart when we sin and a humble heart when we do good as we ought to do as His children and believers. The reward in heaven far exceeds what anyone can do. Suffering on earth has a purpose of salvation and repentance, but the judgment on the Last Day, it is only judgment with no hope for salvation.