Reading: 1 Peter chapter 4 verses 12-19.
• We’ve noted in past studies that every Christian who lives a godly life;
• Will at some stage experiences a certain amount of persecution.
• That’s part of the package! i.e. 2 Timothy chapter 3 verse 12.
• The apostle Peter has already dealt with this kind of "normal persecution";
• If we can call it that in the previous part of this letter.
• In our section tonight,
• Peter talks about a special kind of persecution that Christians face;
• He calls it a “fiery ordeal” or a "fiery trial".
• This type of trial;
• Would not be occasional personal persecution from people around them,
• But rather it is official persecution from those in authority above them.
Note: Up to this point in Church history:
• Christianity had been tolerated by Rome;
• Because they considered it a sort of ‘sect’ of Judaism,
• And the Jews were permitted to practice their faith freely.
• But, that attitude was about to change;
• And the fires of persecution would soon be ignited,
• First by Nero, and then by other emperors that would follow him.
Quote: Stuart Briscoe:
The emperor whose unpopularity was well earned, was widely suspected of arson but managed to divert suspicion to the Christians, who were easy pray for his malicious slander.
They were horribly persecuted even to the extent that “new kinds of death were invented”,
they were devoured by dogs and some were “set apart…that when the day came to a close, they should be consumed to serve for light”.
Eventually it was decreed by Rome that it was “unlawful to be a Christian””
In this section of his letter;
• The apostle Peter gives his readers;
• Four instructions to follow in the light of the coming "fiery ordeal."
(1). Expect ordeals (vs 12)
“Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you”
Ill:
• A man found a cocoon of a butterfly.
• One day a small opening appeared.
• He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours,
• As it struggled to force its body through the little hole.
• Then it seemed to stop making any progress.
• It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could, and it could go no further.
• So the man decided to help the butterfly.
• He took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of cocoon.
• The butterfly then emerged easily.
• But it had a swollen body and small, shrivelled wings.
• The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment,
• The wings would expand and be able to support the body,
• Which would contract in time. Neither happened!
• In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life;
• Crawling around with a swollen body and shrivelled wings.
• It never was able to fly.
• What the man in his kindness and haste,
• Did not understand was that:
• The restricting cocoon;
• And struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening
• Were God’s way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into the wings;
• So that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon.
As a Church and as individuals sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our lives.
• If God allowed us to go through life without any obstacles,
• Like that butterfly it would cripple us and we would never be able to fly.
• At times God allows ‘Fiery trials’ to come upon us;
• To make our faith strong & to make our light shine brightly in this world of darkness!
Ill:
• A bar of iron worth £2.50,
• When wrought into horseshoes is worth £5.
• If made into needles it is worth £175.
• If into penknife blades it is worth £1,625.
• If made into springs for watches it is worth £125,000.
• What a ‘trial by fire’ that bar must undergo to be worth this!
• But the more it is manipulated, & the more it is hammered & passed through the heat,
• Beaten, pounded, and polished, the greater its value.”
Notice: Did you notice that little word "happen" or “happening” in verse 12:
• It is an important little word that means "to go together."
• In other words persecution and trials do not just happen,
• In the sense of being accidents.
• They are a part of God’s plan, and He is in control.
• They are a part of Romans chapter 8 verse 28 teaches us;
• That these problems & difficulties will work out for THE good;
• If we let God have His way.
Note:
• It is important to note that not all of the difficulties of life are necessarily fiery trials.
• There are some difficulties that are simply a part of human life;
• And almost everybody experiences them.
• Unfortunately, there are some difficulties that we bring on ourselves
• Because of disobedience and sin.
• Peter has already mentioned these in chapter 2 verses 18-20 & chapter 3 verses 13-17.
• Notice the fiery trial he mentions in verse 12 comes;
• Because we are faithful to God and stand up for that which is right.
• It is because we bear the name of Christ that the lost world attacks us.
• It is our identification with Jesus that causes this sort of opposition.
• ill: Jesus warned his disciples in John chapter 15 verses 20-21;
• That people would persecute them, as they had persecuted Him,
• And the reason they act like they do is because they do not know God.
(2). Rejoice in suffering (vs 13-14)
“But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. 14 If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you”.
• It literally reads "Be constantly rejoicing!"
• In fact, he mentioned ‘joy’ in one form or another four times in these two verses!
• i.e. Three times in verse 13:
• "Rejoice” “... be overjoyed” & “you are blessed” or “you are happy"
• i.e. Once more in verse 14:
• “You are blessed” or “you are happy"
Ill:
• Alexander Solzhenitsyn was a Russian and Soviet novelist, dramatist, and historian;
• Through his writings he helped to make the world aware of the Gulag,
• The Soviet Union’s forced labour camp system
• One night while he was in prison in Siberia;
• His cell mate Boris Kornfeld, a Jewish doctor,
• Told Solzhenitsyn the story of his conversion to Christ.
• That same night Kornfeld was clubbed to death.
• He had been dealt eight blows on the skull with a plasterer’s mallet while he slept.
• He died the next day on the operating table, without regaining consciousness.
• Solzhenitsyn said that Kornfeld’s last words were, "lay upon me as an inheritance”
It was that experience that caused Solzhenitsyn to write:
“It was only when I lay there on rotting prison straw that I sensed within myself the first stirrings of good . . . Bless you, prison, for having been my life."
• Because the Christian knows God.
• They are able to rejoice even in the midst of opposition and suffering.
• In these verses the apostle Peter gives us several reasons;
• Why we can have that attitude to ‘fiery trials’.
• Three reasons that motivate us to rejoice in the midst of the ‘fiery ordeals’.
(A). OUR SUFFERING MEANS FELLOWSHIP WITH CHRIST (VS 13A).
“but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s suffering”
Ill:
• We started our service with the song ‘All I once held dear’.
• We sang the line: ‘and to know you in your suffering’.
• That line is a quote from Philippians chapter 3 verse 10:
• Where Paul talks about "The fellowship of Christ’s sufferings".
• To suffer for Christ this way is a gift from God,
• Not every believer grows to the point in their Christian life;
• Where God can trust them with this kind of experience,
• So says Peter we ought to rejoice when the privilege comes to us.
• It is an honour and a privilege to suffer with Christ;
• And be treated by the world the way it treated Him.
Quote: Joseph Tson. (undated paper: A Theology of Martyrdom):
• Joseph Tson, a Romanian pastor
• Who stood up to Nicolae Ceausescu’s repressions of Christianity, wrote,
• ‘This union with Christ is the most beautiful subject in the Christian life.
• It means that I am not a lone fighter here:
• I am an extension of Jesus Christ.
• When I was beaten in Romania, He suffered in my body.
• It is not my suffering: I only had the honour to share His sufferings’
• It is an honour and a privilege to suffer with Christ;
• And be treated by the world the way it treated Christ.
• The apostles certainly believed that and Peter practiced what he later preached!
• ill: Acts chapter 5 verse 41:
• “The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing
• Because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name”.
(B). OUR SUFFERING MEANS GLORY IN THE FUTURE (VS 13B)
“but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy”
Peter reminds us here that in a future day God will transform suffering into glory:
• ill: John chapter 16 verses 20-22:
• Jesus used the illustration of a woman giving birth.
• The same baby that gave her pain also gave her joy.
• The pain did not disappear it was very much there!
• But it was transformed into joy by the birth of the baby.
Life constantly reminds us that we pay a price today in order to have enjoyments in the future:
• ill: Kathy our daughter may not enjoy practicing the piano,
• But she knows that in the future because of her practice;
• She may well be able to play beautiful music.
• ill: The athlete may not enjoy exercising and practicing his skills,
• But again the athlete looks forward to competing and winning the race.
Peter reminds us that Christians have something even better:
• Our present day sufferings are not in vain;
• But will one day be transformed into glory,
• And then we will be "glad also with exceeding joy."
(C). OUR SUFFERING BRINGS TO US THE MINISTRY OF THE HOLY
SPIRIT (VS 14).
“If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified”.
• Peter tells us that the Holy Spirit of glory;
• Has a special ministry to those who suffer for the glory of Jesus Christ.
Quote: Rutherford said:
• “The Great King keeps his finest wine in the cellar of affliction.
• He does not bring it out to serve with chips and on sunny afternoons.
• He keeps it for extremities.
• If you say, "What is this?" –
• The Spirit of glory and of God resting on me in suffering -
• The answer is simply this: you will find out when you need it.
• The Spirit will reveal enough of glory and enough of God to satisfy your soul,
• And carry you through.
Ill:
• This verse helps to explain how martyrs could sing praises to God;
• While being burnt at the stake or as they were being torn apart by wild beasts.
• It also explains how persecuted Christians (and there are many in today’s world);
• How they can go to prison and to death without complaining or resisting their captors.
(3). Examine your life (vs 15-18)
If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. 16 However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name. 17 For it is time for judgment to begin with God’s household; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18 And,
“If it is hard for the righteous to be saved,
what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?”
The fiery trial is a refining process by which God removes the dross and purifies us.
Ill:
• In the days when gold was purified by hand,
• They used a big vat.
• The refiner would keep stirring it over and over and over the fire;
• Until he could see his own face in it perfectly,
• When he could see his face clearly he would stop refining it.
• Job done!
• Peter tells us that our faith is tested in the fire for our own good!
• So that we become increasingly Christ-like.
In verse 17-18 Peter tells us that:
• One day, a fiery judgment will overtake the whole world;
• Peter talks about this in 2 Peter chapter 3 verses 7-16.
• And calls it ‘The Day of the Lord’.
• Meanwhile, God’s judgment begins “with the family (or house) of God,"
• That is the church (1 Peter chapter 2 verse 5).
• Because judgement is coming;
• You and I ought to be motivated to be as obedient and pure as possible.
There are several questions we should ask ourselves as we examine our own lives.
• (a). WHY AM I SUFFERING? (vs 15).
• Is it the result of our own foolish actions?
• e.g. If a Christian commits a serious crime and is caught;
• Then obviously they will suffer the consequences for their actions.
• e.g. If a Christian is a meddler, and nuisance and an annoying person ;
• Again they should not be surprised when their actions result in repercussions.
• Examine you life says Peter;
• And be sure we are suffering because we are Christians;
• And not because of our own foolishness!
• (b). AM I ASHAMED, OR GLORIFYING CHRIST? (vs 16).
“…if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed,
but let him glorify God in this matter”.
This is one of only three occasions when the word Christian is used in the Bible.
• e.g. It was first used in Acts chapter 11 verse 26:
• It was a term of derision, a vulgar word.
• e.g. The second time it was used by Agrippa in Acts chapter 26 verse 28:
• He was scornful, derisive and mocking towards the apostle Paul when using it.
• e.g. In verse 16:
• This is the third and final time the word is used.
• Once again the context is not favourable;
• The suggestion is when people know you are a ‘Christian’ then expect rouble.
• Although that name has been devalued in our culture and society;
• For many believers around the world it still causes that same reaction.
• ill: In some countries you may be denied a job because you are a Christian.
• ill: In some countries you may face a prison sentence because you are a Christian.
• Peter’s advice is twofold:
• "Not be ashamed" is negative; "Glorify God" is positive.
• If we are seeking to glorify God,
• Then we will not be ashamed of the name of Jesus Christ.
• (c). AM I SEEKING TO WIN THE LOST? (vs 17-18)
• “What will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?”
• The argument of this verse is clear:
• If God sends a "fiery trial" to His own children, and they are saved "with difficulty,"
• What will happen to lost sinners when God’s fiery judgement falls on them?
• Well we know the answer;
• So it is our task despite the persecution & trials to witness to them who cause us harm.
• Quote: There is a well known saying:
• ‘The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church’.
Ill:
• The apostle Paul was proof of that;
• Before he was converted his one mission in life was to destroy Christians.
• And he played a leading role in the execution of Stephen the first Christian martyr.
• Quote: Augustine: “The Church owes Paul to the prayers of Stephen”.
• So it is our task despite the persecution & trials to witness to them who cause us harm.
(4). Commit yourself to God (vs 19)
“So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.”
This is the only occasion in the New Testament where God is referred to in this way.
• He is our creator; he is the controller of life.
• He is the one who knows the purpose behind our suffering.
• When we are suffering in the will of God,
• We can commit ourselves into the care of God.
• He can be trusted!
Ill:
• The word ‘commit’ or ‘entrust’ is a banking term;
• It means "to deposit for safe-keeping".
• In ancient days there were no banks;
• And few really safe places in which to deposit money;
• So before you went on a journey;
• You often left your money in the safe-keeping of a trusted friend.
• So when a Christian deposits their lives into God’s safekeeping,
• They are confident of his reliable and trustworthy character.
Ill:
• Jesus himself used this same word when dying on the cross;
• We read (Luke chapter 23 verse 46):
• Jesus ‘committed’ or ‘entrusted’ his spirit to the Father’s care.
• So too when a Christian deposits their lives into God’s safekeeping,
• They are confident of his reliable and trustworthy character.
• This picture reminds us that we are valuable to God.
• He made us, redeemed us, lives in us, guards, and protects us.
