Have you ever expressed your belief in a loving way but to your dismay your friends still accused you of being biased or opinionated? Or, you made a stand about an issue in your company and yet you end up being ridiculed for what you stood for even if your stance was actually right? Or, you tried your best to live a consistent Christian life but you made one mistake and your relatives ganged up on you and they even accused you of hypocrisy? If you can identify with what I told you, then you have something in common with the original readers of the second letter of Peter.
This morning, we will look into how to “make every effort to supplement… self-control with steadfastness”[1] or endurance as we continue our series on “Our Pursuit for Our Growth.” Last week, we talked about self-control, which “has to do with handling the pleasures of life”.[2] This morning, we will talk about perseverance, which has to do with handling “the pressures and problems of life.”[3] Let us pray…
The readers of 2 Peter were being attacked from two directions… false teachers from within and persecution from without. At that time, a massive fire destroyed half of the city of Rome.[4] There was a growing suspicion that Emperor Nero was behind it. Using the Christians as a scapegoat, he blamed them for the fire and pointed out that they often preached about hell fire. As a result, severe persecution broke out. One Roman historian described what happened, “Derision accompanied [the Christians’] end: they were covered with wild beasts’ skins and torn to death by dogs; or they were fastened on crosses, and, when daylight failed, were burned to serve as lamps by night.”[5] In fact, Peter himself wrote this second and last letter on the eve of his death. He suffered a martyr’s death. If there’s one thing that the early believers needed at that time, it was to be steadfast.
In the Greek, the word “steadfastness” literally “means ‘staying under.’ It is frequently used in the New Testament to refer to constancy or steadfast endurance under adversity, without giving in or giving up”.[6] It can also be translated “patience,” “endurance” or “perseverance.” A person is steadfast when he can stay under the pressures of his problems without giving in or giving up. Someone also wrote, “Perseverance is keeping going until the very end.”[7] On God’s part, 2 Peter 2:9 assures us that “the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials”. What about our part? We must “make every effort to supplement… self-control with steadfastness”. How do we add endurance?
Open your Bibles in 1 Peter 4:12-19. “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.” Here we will see that we can CONQUER life’s challenges through the right COMMITMENTS. To become steadfast, we must make the right decisions.
Verse 12 teaches us that challenges will inevitably COME: “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.” Note that Peter wrote “when” instead of “if.” Trials will definitely come to test us. We must not even be shocked because it is actually normal and not strange to face challenges in life. We don’t even have to seek those problems. They will come. The Bible does not say that trials will only come one at a time. It may come all at the same time. All we are told is that it will surely come.
Instead, we must GO through it with the right attitude. Verse 13 goes this way: “But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings”. In the Greek, the conjunction “but” gives a strong contrast. It means that, instead of being surprised that the trial came, we must rejoice. Instead of complaining, we celebrate when trials come. That’s why we can stay under the pressures of our problems. That’s adding steadfastness. Verse 16 encourages us, “Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name.” Instead of being embarrassed, we should exalt God in our trials.
We rejoice not because we have trials. We rejoice because of what the trials will do to us. Challenges have an ultimate CAUSE. We rejoice not because of what’s happening at present but what will happen in the future. “But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.” The Contemporary English Version goes like this, “Be glad for the chance to suffer as Christ suffered. It will prepare you for even greater happiness when he makes his glorious return.” That’s why Peter called trials “the fiery trial”. It is “a refining process rather than a divine judgment”.[8] Just as fire does not destroy gold, so also trials do not destroy but rather purify us. That was what Peter meant when he wrote, “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?’” The “judgment” referred here is the discipline that the Lord imposes on Christians who are sinning. God uses trials to correct us. It is good to suffer now here on earth rather than suffer in the future there in hell. According to the Bible Exposition Commentary, “Our present ‘fiery trial’ is nothing compared with the ‘flaming fire’ that shall punish the lost when Jesus returns in judgment”.[9]
According to 1 Peter 1:6-7, trials prove that we are really believers. “In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
So, we have a reason to rejoice when we have trials because it certifies that we are really Christians. Verse 14 tells us, “If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.” The word “blessed” can also be translated “happy.” When we are persecuted because we did what was right, we should be happy. Someone wrote, “Anything that we suffer for the sake of Christ is a privilege, not a penalty.” Why should we feel blessed? Verse 14 explains that it is “because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.” In other words, when you suffer for Christ, it shows that you belong to Him. Romans 8:9 tell us, “Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.” Having the Spirit of God is the proof that you are really a believer.
The problem is that there are times we suffer because of our sins not because of our submission to Christ. Verse 15 warns us, “But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler.” According to the Bible Knowledge Commentary, “Christians were not to retaliate… Physical violence was not to be met by murder. Confiscation of property was not to be compensated for by theft. No matter what their trials, Christians were to do nothing that would justify punishing them as criminals… Even interfering in other people’s affairs is out of place for Christians”.[10] When we suffer because of our own sins, we brought it upon ourselves. 1 Peter 2:19-20 tell us, “God will bless you, even if others treat you unfairly for being loyal to him. You don’t gain anything by being punished for some wrong you have done. But God will bless you, if you have to suffer for doing something good.”[11]
So, we must GROW through the process. Verse 19 tells us, “Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.” When we are persecuted for standing for what is true, when we “suffer according to God’s will”, we become more like Christ. To grow through this purifying process, we must “entrust [our] souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.” To entrust in the Greek can be translated “to deposit.” When we deposit our money in the bank, we trust that the bank will handle it well. So also, when we face challenges, we must trust that He knows what He is doing in our lives. That is adding steadfastness.
So, let us conquer life’s challenges through the right commitments. First, since challenges will inevitably come, go through it with the right attitude of rejoicing. That’s our first commitment. The second commitment is that, since challenges have an ultimate cause, we must grow through the process. When we make those commitments, we will be able to conquer life’s challenges, we are actually adding steadfastness.
Let us pray…
[1]2 Peter 1:5a, 6b. All Bible verses are from the English Standard Version, unless otherwise noted.
[2]Wiersbe, Warren W.: The Bible Exposition Commentary. Wheaton, Ill. : Victor Books, 1996, c1989, S. 2 Pe 1:5.
[3]Ibid.
[4]Wilkinson, Bruce and Ken Boa, “Talk Thru the New Testament.”
[5]Lucas, Dick and Christopher Green, “The Message of 2 Peter & Jude (The Bible Speaks Today)”.
[6]Walvoord, John F. ; Zuck, Roy B. ; Dallas Theological Seminary: The Bible Knowledge Commentary : An Exposition of the Scriptures. Wheaton, IL : Victor Books, 1983-c1985, S. 2:866
[7]Lucas.
[8]Wiersbe.
[9]Wiersbe.
[10]Walvoord.
[11]CEV.
