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Please open God’s Word as we continue our consideration of 1 Peter. We are approaching the latter
part of this book, this letter, and tonight we are in 1 Peter chapter 4. We will consider
verses 12 through 19 of 1 Peter chapter 4. I’m going to begin reading at verse 7 to remind
us of the fuller context, but our focus will be especially on verses 12 through 19. You’ll
find this on page 1206 in your Pew Bibles. Dear friends, let us hear God’s Holy Word.
The end of all things is at hand. Therefore, be self-controlled and sober-minded for the
sake of your prayers. Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a
multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift,
use it to serve one another as good stewards of God’s varied grace. Whoever speaks as one who
speaks oracles of God, whoever serves as one who serves by the strength that God supplies,
in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to him belong glory and
dominion forever and ever. Amen. Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon
you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you
share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.
If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the spirit of glory and of
God rests upon you. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or a thief, or an evildoer, or as a
meddler. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God
in that name. For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God, and if it begins
with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And if the righteous
is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner? Therefore, let those who suffer
according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful creator while doing good. The grass
withers and the flower fades, but the word of our God endures forever. Let us pray. Heavenly Father,
once again we pray that by your spirit you would give us wisdom and insight as we consider
this portion of Holy Scripture, and we pray that by your spirit your word would find a lodging place
in our souls, and that you would bear much spiritual fruit in our lives through the word
that we consider this evening. Give me grace, Lord, to declare your word with clarity and power
and faithfulness this evening, and give us the grace, Lord, to hear your word and to embrace it
by faith with reverence and awe. In Jesus’ name we pray, and all of God’s people said, Amen. You may be seated.
The title of my sermon this evening is The Fiery Trial, and four key words for the children to listen
for this evening are the words suffering, rejoice, judgment, and persecution. Well, my dear brothers
and sisters in Christ, when we celebrate the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, which we are
scheduled to do on the next Lord’s Day evening, we are reminded in that sacramental celebration
that our Savior Jesus Christ suffered for us and for our salvation. Now throughout this epistle,
St. Peter the Apostle has repeatedly highlighted and reminded his readers of Christ’s sufferings
for them. For example, let me just remind you of a few passages where the sufferings of Christ are
brought to our attention. If you look back at chapter two, let me read once again chapter two
verses 21 through 25, where Peter writes this, For to this you have been called because Christ
also suffered for you, leaving you an example so that you might follow in his steps. He committed
no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return.
When he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued in trusting himself to him who judges
justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live
to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed, for you were straying like sheep, but
have now returned to the shepherd and overseer of your souls. Or consider what he says in chapter
3 verse 18, where he wrote, For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the
unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive
in the Spirit. Or consider chapter 4 verse 1, Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh,
arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased
from sin. Beloved brothers and sisters in Christ, in view of all that Christ
has suffered for us, we who by sovereign grace are united to him by faith should not be surprised
when God in his providence calls upon us to share in the same kinds of sufferings that were
experienced by our Lord. Now of course, unlike the sufferings of the Lord Jesus, our sufferings as
believers cannot, indeed they do not atone for sin in any way, nor do they have the power to
redeem. You can’t atone for your own sins by your own suffering, much less atone for the sins of
others. Only Jesus was qualified to do that. But at the same time, the sufferings of believers may,
and they often do, play an important role in furthering God’s kingdom purposes within history.
Dear ones, when we suffer graciously and with Christian dignity, loving our enemies, praying
even for those who persecute us, when we exhibit that kind of Christ-like love even in the midst
of hostility, that can be a powerful witness for Christ and may even be used by God as a means of
bringing his enemies to repentance and faith in Christ. Think about the Apostle Paul, Saul of
Tarsus, right? Paul was a witness of the martyrdom of Stephen, and no doubt that made a powerful
impact upon him as he witnessed Stephen’s gracious martyrdom as Stephen prayed for those who were
stoning him. As we saw when we considered verses 7 through 11 of this chapter, the Apostle Peter
had taken a brief break from this theme of suffering for righteousness’ sake in order to
direct the attention of his readers to do those things which are necessary to maintain the strength
and the vitality of the church, especially as the church faces hostility and persecution. And these
necessary components to a strong and healthy church include such things as living a life of
self-control and earnest prayer, fervent love for the Christian brotherhood, and a strong
love for the Christian brotherhood and using our spiritual gifts to benefit our brothers and sisters
in Christ. But here in verse 12, Peter begins a new section as he returns to the theme of suffering
for our faith in Christ. In this section, Peter recaps and he fills out some of the points that
he’d already made earlier in this epistle as he begins to wrap up his letter. And so let us now
turn our attention to considering the details of this passage of God’s Word. And I first want to
have us focus on verses 12 through 14 as we consider here the privilege of being a participant in
Christ’s sufferings, the privilege of being a participant in Christ’s sufferings. As he says
in verse 12, beloved, again notice how he addresses his readers. He loves them. He has a
pastor’s heart for them and he wants what is best for them. He says, beloved, do not be surprised
or as some translations put it, think it not strange at the fiery trial when it comes upon you
to test you as though something strange were happening to you, but rejoice in so far as you
share Christ’s sufferings that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.
If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed because the spirit of glory and of God
rests upon you. Brothers and sisters in Christ, the sufferings that we may face
because of our faith commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ really should not surprise us.
Now we live in America. We enjoy the blessing of religious liberty and we’re able to gather
freely without fear of legal overt legal persecution or imprisonment or worse just
because we gather for the worship of God and we should thank God for this wonderful privilege.
But this is not the norm throughout Christian history. In fact, in the opening verses of this
passage, the inspired apostle exhorts God’s people with the words, do not be surprised
at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you. In other words, opposition to the sovereign
lordship of Jesus Christ and hostility toward his gospel and his people, this is to be expected
as the norm in this present evil age. Being opposed and slandered and even perhaps persecuted
for seeking to be faithful disciples of Christ ordinarily goes with the territory when it comes
to following Jesus, when it comes to seeking to live a faithful Christian life. Remember that our
savior warned us, beloved, that as his followers we would experience the same kinds of sufferings
that he had to endure. For example, let me take you to a few passages where Jesus makes this very
clear, where the word makes it very clear. In John chapter 15 verses 18 through 20, John chapter 15
verses 18 through 20, we read these words. The Lord Jesus says, if the world hates you, know that it
has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own,
but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.
Remember the word that I said to you, a servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted me,
they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. And the Apostle John
reflects this teaching in his own epistle, 1 John chapter 3 verse 13. If you look at 1 John
chapter 3 verse 13, the Apostle John writes these words. He says, do not be surprised, brothers,
that the world hates you. Don’t be surprised. Don’t let it shock you. Now again, because it’s not
usual in our experience here in America, it might tend to shock us if in God’s providence
persecution should ever come our way, but we should not be surprised at it. We also should
remember as well what our Lord said in Luke 6 verse 26 in one of his woes. He says, woe to you
when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets. If you never
face pushback or opposition for your faith in Christ, if everyone always speaks well of you
and is never critical of you for your stance of faith, well maybe there’s something awry there.
We need to be warned about that. So tempting to seek the world’s accolades and affirmation.
Brothers and sisters, when we face the fiery trial because we confess Jesus Christ as Lord,
when we confess him as the one and only way of salvation and because we seek to live in
submission to his Lordship and in obedience to his holy word, when we face pushback and hostility
and opposition and persecution for such things, the Holy Spirit through Peter says,
do not be surprised. Do not think it’s strange. Instead, rejoice to the extent that you partake
of Christ’s sufferings. Now it’s important that we understand, I want to make a few clarifications
here about what Peter is not saying in this passage. First of all friends, understand that
Peter is not telling us to rejoice in suffering itself. He’s not saying that suffering in and of
itself is a good thing. The kind of masochism that takes a perverse pleasure in suffering for
suffering’s sake is the furthest thing from Peter’s thinking here. Secondly, understand that Peter is
not telling us as believers to seek out persecution, to seek out suffering. If you’re not presently
experiencing persecution in your life, don’t think to yourself, oh well maybe I’m not radical
enough in my discipleship so I need to go out and actually look for persecution. I need to seek it
out. No, that’s not what Peter is saying. He doesn’t say seek out suffering, seek out persecution.
If suffering for our faith happens to come into our lives, we should be prepared to suffer for
righteousness sake, but we should never seek it out. If we live faithfully to Christ and to his
gospel, it will come in one form or another to one degree or another. It’s very likely to come, so
don’t seek it out. Well what is the purpose of Christian suffering? Well Peter makes that very
clear in verse 12. He says, beloved do not be surprised at the fiery trial. He expresses or
describes this persecution as a fiery trial when it comes to you to do what? To test you. The Lord
doesn’t tempt us to do wickedness, but the Lord does test us. The fiery trial here that is referred
to here, the Greek term that is translated as fiery trial, is the word pyrosis and it literally
means burning. It occurs in the Greek Old Testament, the Septuagint, in the metaphor of the
refining of metals. So in other words, beloved, just as metals are refined and purified in the fire,
so trials and persecutions are used by our sovereign God to purify and refine us in our
sanctification. This is what Peter is getting at when he says that these trials come to test you.
They are for the purpose not of crushing you, but of purifying you, refining you, and conforming you
into the image of Christ. And he goes on to say, rejoice, verse 13, but rejoice in so far as you
share in Christ’s sufferings. What does it mean to share in Christ’s sufferings? I mean, Christ did
suffer horribly, especially in his crucifixion. Well, obviously this does not mean that our
sufferings as Christians somehow help Christ to atone for our sins. Our sufferings as Christians
we don’t participate in Christ’s sufferings in the sense that we contribute to his atonement.
No, that’s a blasphemous thought. Jesus alone paid the penalty for our sin. And while there are
different ideas about what it does mean to participate in Christ’s sufferings, the simplest
explanation seems to be that our suffering for our faith resembles Christ’s sufferings. It means
experiencing the same kinds of sufferings that Christ experienced. I mean, what are some of the
sufferings that Christ endured? Well, Christ was mocked and he was ridiculed. Christ was
misunderstood. Christ was marginalized and he was slandered. And not only that, he was outright
mistreated and crucified. And so we participate in Christ’s sufferings by enduring things like
slander and suffering unjustly at the hands of the wicked. And we suffer in this way simply
because of our allegiance to God’s kingdom. And Peter makes an astounding claim here. He says
that we are to rejoice. Rejoice in so far as you share Christ’s sufferings,
that you may also be glad when his glory is revealed. He says if you are insulted for the
name of Christ, you are blessed. Oh, this is the opposite of the way that the world thinks,
isn’t it? If you suffer for the sake of Christ, you are blessed because the spirit of glory
and of God rests upon you. He gives some reasons here in verses 13 and 14 why we are blessed if
we partake of Christ’s sufferings and why such suffering should actually lead us to rejoice.
Again, he’s not calling us to rejoice in suffering for suffering sake, but when we suffer as
Christians because of our allegiance to Christ in his gospel, that is a good thing. That is
something that we can rejoice in. First of all, we are to rejoice in so far as we share in Christ’s
sufferings that when his glory is revealed, we may be glad with exceeding joy. When you endure
suffering because of your Christian faith, it reminds you that there is glory. There is a crown
to come. It’s not a crown that you earn by your works or by the merit of your suffering, but it
is a crown of grace that God gives to Christ’s disciples on that final day. We rejoice in so
far as we share in Christ’s sufferings so that when his glory is revealed, we may be glad with
exceeding joy. Now, don’t misunderstand what Peter is saying here. This does not mean that suffering
for our faith somehow earns us eternal glory, but it does seem to indicate that the way that we
respond to suffering for our professed Christian faith is an indication of whether or not our trust
in Christ is genuine. If we counted a privilege to suffer shame for the name of Christ and if we know
that the end of that suffering leads to ultimate glory, well then it shows that our faith in Christ
is a living faith and that should bolster and strengthen our hope and our assurance. We are
also to rejoice in so far as we share in Christ’s sufferings, for we are blessed because the spirit
of glory and of God rests upon us, as we’re told here in verse 14. Now, when Peter here uses this
term glory, he may be alluding to what I mentioned, what I spoke about in my sermon this morning,
namely the Shekinah glory of God, the glory cloud which hovered over the tabernacle in the Old
Testament and which dwelt in the Jerusalem temple and which symbolized God’s presence with his people
and his special protection of them. Peter’s words would seem to indicate that believers who suffer
for the name of Christ are blessed with a special presence of the Holy Spirit who rests upon them
in grace and blessing. Now, all Christians, whether they’re persecuted or not, the Holy Spirit
abides in all of us. He indwells us and he is amongst us and in us, but there’s a sense in
which the spirit of glory rests in a special way upon those who suffer shame for the name of Christ.
Believer, however others may react to your confession of Christ, know that you are truly
blessed even when you are reviled and insulted because you are a Christian. You’re blessed
not because suffering in and of itself is a blessing, you’re blessed because the spirit of
glory and of God rests upon you. Dear listener, are you a true Christian? Have you embraced and
confessed Jesus Christ as your very own Lord and Savior and are you willing by the grace of God
to confess him before others? As we move on in our passage to verses 15 and 16, we consider next
the kind of suffering to be avoided in contrast with Christian suffering. Peter next points out
the kind of suffering that we Christians should seek to avoid in contrast with Christian suffering.
He says in verse 15, but let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a
meddler, yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, a Christ follower, if anyone suffers as a Christian,
let him not be ashamed but let him glorify God in that name. That name meaning either the name of
Christ or the name Christian. Now in verse 15 he says, let none of you suffer as a murderer or a
thief. Now these types of these descriptions, the murderer and the thief, this indicates criminal
behavior. Let not the Christian suffer for criminal behavior but he also uses terms that refer to
non-criminal yet sinful behavior. By the way, every genuine crime is a sin but not every sin
is a crime in the realm of the civil realm. But evildoer and meddler, these are terms that can
refer to non-criminal though sinful behaviors. Being a good witness for Christ friends means
more than merely avoiding overtly criminal and extreme behaviors. All unseemly and sinful behavior
must be avoided for the sake of our witness for Christ. And Peter’s point here is that there’s
no virtue in patiently suffering the consequences of your own sinful behaviors and choices.
Let me give you an example. Not all suffering leads to the kind of blessing that Peter had referred
to in the previous verse. There’s nothing noble about suffering the consequences of your own
wrongdoing. And so for example, if you steal an item from a store and have to face legal consequences
for shoplifting because you get caught, perhaps those legal consequences would include having a
criminal record and perhaps even having to do some jail time. There is nothing virtuous about
patiently bearing up under such suffering in those circumstances. In that case, the consequences that
you are suffering are deserved consequences. Contrary to what our culture tells us, our
culture constantly gives us the message that, well, you know, we’re all basically good people. We make
mistakes, you know. No. And our mistakes, if we mess up and make mistakes, we should blame society
or blame our upbringing or whatever. No. You and I are held responsible before God. We are moral agents.
We have personal agency. And so if you suffer the consequences of your own sinful attitudes,
actions or behaviors, there’s nothing virtuous about suffering patiently the consequences of
your own evil. If a college student cheats on an important test that he must pass in order to
graduate and is caught with the consequence that his professor fails him for that course and
therefore he is unable to graduate, there’s nothing noble about that student patiently enduring
the penalty for his sinful behavior. I think you get the point. Many other examples could be given.
Beloved, as followers of Christ, we need to make sure that we do not suffer as a result of evil
or sinful or unbecoming behavior. But if we suffer because we are persecuted for our Christian faith,
if we suffer because we are Christians, not because we’re obnoxious or because we’re
we’re misbehaving, but because we’re Christians, then let us not be ashamed of our suffering.
Let us not be ashamed of Christ. Instead, let us glorify God in that name.
And finally, as Peter wraps up this section here of our passage for this evening, we note
that God, we note the distinction being made between God’s judgment of his people in contrast
to his judgment against the ungodly. This is the final point in your sermon outlined this evening.
We note God’s judgment of his people in contrast to his judgment against the ungodly.
It says in verse 17, for it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God. That’s the church,
the professed church of God. And if it begins with us, what will be the outcome of those who
do not obey the gospel of God? And if the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become
of the ungodly and the sinner? Therefore, let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust
their souls to a faithful creator while doing good. Now this is another set of verses,
this passage is another set of verses that has caused some debate among Bible commentators and
scholars. But I tend to agree with Dr. Marshall when he writes that God’s judgment of his household,
as mentioned in verse 17, is God’s judgment as it is directed against the church as the company
of people who profess to believe in him. I think what Peter may be getting at here in this language
in these verses is how God uses persecution to expose the false professors and hypocrites
and to weed out the false believers from true believers in the church. You know,
persecution tends to have the effect of separating the wheat from the chaff. It tends to weed out
false believers and hypocrites in the visible church while at the same time refining and purifying
the true believers within the church. Remember our Lord’s parable of the soils, sometimes it’s
called the parable of the sower. The sower goes out to sow the seed and the seed represents the
word of God, the message of the gospel, and there’s different responses to the gospel.
Some seed falls on the ground and is taken up by the birds, other seed falls on thorny ground,
some on good soil, but there’s seed that falls on rocky ground. And remember the shallow soil convert,
it says that it springs up immediately but it doesn’t last because when the sun rises,
when the heat of the sun rises, it doesn’t have any root and it withers away. In that parable,
Jesus warned about the shallow soil hearer who makes an emotionally based profession of faith
but who ends up falling away from that profession once persecution arises on account of the word.
I knew someone in a friend in college who I believe fit into this category. She made a very
excited profession of faith in Christ and she became part of our college Christian fellowship.
She seemed so excited about her newfound faith and she just seemed to be bubbling over with joy
but over time she drifted away. She drifted away from the church, she drifted away from Christ,
and I think she ended up in some kind of new age or false religion and it was very sad to see.
Well friends, this can have, persecution has the way of weeding out and distinguishing between the
wheat and the tares. But while all of this is true, it may also be the case that here Peter is simply
speaking of judgment on the house of God in the sense of God spiritually refining and purifying
his elect people through their sufferings. God’s judgment upon his people is not a judgment of
wrath. Now some of you may look at this passage and say judgment begins with the house of God.
I thought my sins were already judged on the cross of Christ. Doesn’t Jesus say that truly,
truly I say to you he who believes in my word has passed from death unto life and will not come into
the judgment? Well certainly Jesus took the wrathful judgment of God upon himself in our place,
in our stead. That’s not the judgment that Peter is speaking of here if that’s
what he is saying. Jesus has taken that judgment upon himself but God does judge his church
not in the sense of wrath. This is not a judgment of wrath since Christ took that wrath for us on
the cross but instead it is a judgment of fatherly chastisement and purification. It’s a gracious
judgment that has the effect of purifying us and so it goes on to say if the righteous is
scarcely saved what will become of the ungodly and the sinner. Now don’t misunderstand what
this passage here this verse here Peter is not saying that our that we’re just barely saved
that that our salvation is uncertain. He’s not saying that he’s in the context here he’s pointing
out the fact that our experience of salvation comes through many trials and tribulations as
as Paul says elsewhere it is through many tribulations that we must enter into the kingdom
of God and here by the way in this verse verse eight in verse 18 Peter is quoting from Proverbs
11 verse 31 believers only enter the consummated kingdom through many trials those trials don’t
save us they don’t add to our salvation but they are the means by which God sanctifies us and fits
us for glory and so what is what is the end of this passage what is it that we are to do in light
of all of these truths we’ve considered tonight. Well I think Peter puts it very plainly in verse
19 therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will according to God’s will it may be God’s will
that we go through seasons of suffering for our faith may not be God’s will but if you are one
who suffers for your faith in accordance with God’s will what are you to do let those who suffer
according to God’s will and trust their souls to a faithful creator while doing good. God is described
here as a faithful creator why does he refer to God as the creator why doesn’t he say you know
entrust your souls to your loving heavenly father well he’s emphasizing the power of God. God as the
creator of heaven and earth is the omnipotent God who spoke all things into being out of nothing
and if he had the power to create this vast universe he certainly has the power to preserve
you in the midst of such sufferings for the faith so entrust your souls to a faithful creator a
creator who will vindicate you sooner or later who will sooner or later deliver you a creator
who will preserve you and vindicate you in the end but in the meantime keep doing good
let those who suffer according to God’s will and trust their souls to a faithful creator
while doing good instead of sitting around saying woe is me I’m suffering continue to walk
in the Lord continue to abound in love and good works out of gratitude for what Christ has done
for you amen let us pray heavenly father sovereign and eternal God we thank you and praise you
for the finished work of Christ we thank you that Christ our savior suffered for us
we ask that you would grant us the grace to suffer for his name should you in your providence call
upon us to do so we do not desire or seek such suffering but we know lord that you are a faithful
creator and that you will preserve us through any suffering that you may call us into so be with us
lord comfort your people especially we remember again your persecuted church praying that you
would be with our persecuted brothers and sisters in their trials and sufferings prove yourself to be
a faithful powerful creator and preserver and a gracious lord in the midst of their sufferings
we pray all of these things heavenly father in Jesus name and all of God’s people said
amen as we close our time of worship this evening let’s rise for our closing psalm number 91b
who with God most high finds shelter 91b
we’ll rise and sing together
so
who with God most high finds shelter lives in God Almighty’s
I will say to God my God my fortress where my trust is stayed from the fowler snare he’ll save you
from the deadly pestilence cover you without spread pinions make his wings your confidence
God’s truth is your shield and buckler you will fear no will by night
nor the shafts in daylight flying nor disease that shines the light
nor the plague that way sat noonday at your side ten thousand fall
you will only see the judgment which the wicked will be fall
oh you have made the lord your refuge God most high your dwelling place
nothing evil shall befall you near your tent no skirt your face
he will angels charge to keep you guard you well in all your ways
bear you up with hands that hold you lest your foot a stone should graze
you shall trample serpents lions tread on all your deadly foes
since he loves me I will save him keep him for my name he knows
I will honor I will save him when he calls I will reply
I will show him my salvation with long life will satisfy
amen beloved children of God look up and receive