Years ago, when my wife and I were expecting . . . And notice that I didn’t say, “when my wife and I were pregnant”. That seems to be a thing these days, with husbands and wives saying, “we’re pregnant”. And I know it’s intended as a way for the husband to express solidarity with his wife, and to communicate that he’s right there with her every step of the way, but no, I’m sorry, fella. You are not pregnant. She is pregnant. She is the one who will be doing all the work for the next nine months. She is the one who will experience morning sickness, and swollen feet, and childbirth. So she is pregnant. Not you. OK, end of rant.
So as I was saying, when my wife and I were expecting, we had a lot of questions. And we came upon a helpful book, entitled “What to Expect When You’re Expecting”. It’s a huge bestseller, with sales of 43 million copies. It is the longest-running New York Times bestseller in history, and the publisher claims that it is read by 93% of pregnant women who consult a pregnancy book. The subtitle of the book is “America’s Pregnancy Bible”.
It has since produced several sequels: “What to Expect the First Year” and “What to Expect the Second Year”, and “What to Expect, the Toddler Years”. Because new parents also have lots of questions about their child’s development. There’s also this one for fathers: “What to Expect When Your Wife is Expanding”.
Now, why are these books so popular? What accounts for those amazing sales figures? Well, it’s simple. It’s right there in the title. People want to know what to expect. During pregnancy, a woman’s body goes through a lot of changes. I won’t go into detail, because the women who have borne children already know about them, and I suspect that most of the men feel that the less said about that the better.
But these books are hugely popular, because as a pregnant woman is experiencing one change after another over the course of nine months, she is asking herself, “Is this normal? Is what I am feeling and experiencing something that all pregnant mothers go through? Or is this something unusual, something that perhaps I should ask my doctor about?” In prior generations, when families tended to stay closer together, she might have asked her mother, or an aunt, but in today’s geographically fractured society, a book with answers to those questions has become a runaway bestseller.
And we all want to know what to expect as we go through the various phases of life, don’t we? There are books for parents of teenagers. Books for young people going off to college. Books for newlyweds. And books for people who are navigating a personal crisis: a divorce, or a serious illness, or bankruptcy, or the death of a loved one. We all want to know what to expect, and whether what we are experiencing is normal for people like us, people who are going through what we are going through. Because then we know how we should respond to it. What we’re experiencing may be difficult and painful, but if know that it’s normal, that knowledge helps us to regulate our emotions and respond appropriately.
Which brings us to today’s text, in which Peter is addressing a similar issue. Those to whom he is writing are suffering persecution for their faith. This is something new to them, something they haven’t experienced before. If their background was Judaism, that religion was officially tolerated in the Roman empire, even if not fully accepted. And if they came from paganism, and formerly worshiped one or more of the Roman deities, they would have fit right in with everyone around them. But as Christians, they are now being persecuted.
And so he begins this section with the words, “Dear friends, do not be surprised”. Surprised at what? “. . . do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.” (1 Peter 4:12) And so he acknowledges that they are going through a “fiery ordeal”, a severe trial. He doesn’t minimize their suffering. But the fact that this is happening, Peter tells them, is not surprising, or strange, or unusual. On the contrary, this is normal. Painful, yes. Unwelcome, certainly. But not unexpected.
Why did Peter need to say this? Why did Peter need to say, “do not be surprised”? Because they were surprised! They were not expecting this! It wasn’t what they thought they signed up for. To be shunned, and attacked, and persecuted for their faith in Christ; to lose jobs, and friends, and possessions; to be thrown into jail, or worse — this was not what they anticipated, not what they imagined a life following Christ would look like. And so when these things happened, simply because they believed that Jesus Christ had risen from the dead, and that he was the Lord and Savior of the world — when these things happened to them, they weren’t prepared. Instead, they were shocked and dismayed.
Now, we shouldn’t judge them too harshly for their reaction. Because there are several reasons why suffering might have come as a surprise to them. I’ll give you four. Why were they surprised at suffering? First, because of their sense of justice. The Bible tells us that God’s moral law is written on our hearts; that, as creatures made in God’s image, we all have a natural, internal sense of right and wrong. And because we all have this internal sense of justice, we intuitively feel that good should be rewarded, and that evil should be punished. We feel that people should experience the just consequences of their actions, whether those actions are right or wrong. We have an innate sense that people should get what they deserve.
Is this idea wrong? No. In fact, the Scriptures tell us that good actions will be rewarded, and that evil actions will be punished. There is a law of sowing and reaping:
Whoever sows injustice reaps calamity,
and the rod they wield in fury will be broken. (Proverbs 22:8)
“7 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8 Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.” (Galatians 6:7-8)
And this is why, when people suffer for no reason other than serving and worshiping Jesus Christ, when they actually suffer for doing something good, it feels wrong. It’s surprising. Because good actions should have good outcomes, not bad ones. Right? However, that sense of justice we all have, that sense that good deeds should be rewarded and that bad deeds should be punished, is not completely reliable. And the main reason is that we lack God’s perspective. We focus on the here and now, while God can see into the future. We want to see good rewarded and evil punished immediately, right now. But God has a longer term perspective, an eternal one. And so He is patient. He knows that there will be a judgement, and that each person will, in fact, receive what is due them. No good deed will go unrewarded, and no evil deed will go unpunished.
“6 God “will repay each person according to what they have done.” 7 To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. 8 But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger.” (Romans 2:6-8)
“10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.” (2 Corinthians 5:10)
And so, when we are surprised by suffering, especially suffering that seems to be for no reason, or suffering that comes as a result of doing good, especially suffering that results from following Christ, and we feel that this is unjust, we are right. It is unjust. But that injustice will be remedied when Christ returns. God will judge, perfectly and righteously, and the righteous will be rewarded while the wicked will be punished. No wicked deed will go unpunished, and no good deed will be unrewarded.
“And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward.” (Matthew 10:42)
In other words, the scales of justice will be perfectly balanced, and even the smallest of good deeds will be rewarded.
Now, let me anticipate a couple of objections. First, is it really true that all bad deeds will be punished? Including my bad deeds? I thought God had forgiven my sins. Will I still be punished for them? Yes, your sins will be punished, but no, you won’t receive the punishment. Because Jesus already suffered the punishment for those sins on the cross. And that was necessary because of God’s justice. God must punish sin. He cannot simply ignore sin, or pass over it; he is righteous and holy, and in order to remain true to his character, he must punish sin. But for those who have trusted in Christ, their guilt is transferred to him, and Christ experienced the punishment in our place.
“13 When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14 having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.” (Colossians 2:13-14)
“But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5)
This is the doctrine of “substitutionary atonement”. In order for God to forgive us while remaining righteous and holy and just, in order to forgive us while remaining true to his character, God had to punish someone else in our place. He needed a substitute. And the one who suffered the punishment for our sin was his own Son, Jesus Christ.
All right, you may say. I can see that forgiveness is consistent with God’s judgement on my sin, since Christ paid the penalty for sin. But what about positive rewards for good deeds? Doesn’t that imply that we earn salvation? No, because the good deeds don’t precede salvation, to earn it. They follow salvation, as its fruit. The order here is key. We can’t earn salvation, it is a gift. But once God has saved us and transformed our hearts, we will naturally seek to honor and please him with our lives by doing what is good and right. And once we are saved, then the good deeds we do, by the power of the Holy Spirit, will be rewarded. In effect, God is rewarding the results of his own gift of salvation. It’s a pretty sweet deal.
So again, when we are surprised by suffering, especially suffering that comes as a result of doing good, or suffering that results from following Christ, because we feel that this is unjust, we are right. It is unjust. But that injustice will be remedied, and reversed, when Christ returns. The scales will be perfectly balanced, and no one will be able to claim that they were unfairly treated.
All right. Reason number two. What is the second reason that these believers might have been surprised by their suffering? Because they expected God to protect them, to keep them safe. And that’s a common response to suffering. God, if you are all-powerful, and if you love me, then why am I suffering? This is an age-old question, and I’m not going to address it completely this morning. But fundamentally, the answer has two parts. First, because God has a different purpose and priority than we do. And second, because he has a different perspective than we do, an eternal one.
Let me explain. If we start from the assumption that God’s purpose is for us always to be happy and untroubled, that we should never experience pain or sorrow, then clearly we have reasons to complain. Because that is not what we experience. If we start with an expectation that if God loves us, he will shelter us from every trial, every disappointment, every kind of suffering, then we will be surprised when that doesn’t happen.
But that isn’t God’s purpose, at least not in the short run. And by “in the short run,” I mean in this relatively brief lifetime. God’s purpose for us in this lifetime is not uninterrupted comfort, or health, or freedom from pain. That isn’t his purpose for us in this lifetime. God’s overarching purpose is to reveal and vindicate his own glory, to display his holiness, and justice, ad love, and power. Happily for us, he has chosen to do that, to glorify himself, by saving us and granting us eternal life through his Son. But his purpose concerns first, himself, and his own glory, and our salvation and eternal life are a means to that end.
In other words, we don’t come first in God’s list of priorities; he does. And so, if we experience some temporary suffering, it is because that suffering is a part of his plan to glorify himself. Now, I want to be clear. This doesn’t mean, at all, that he doesn’t love us. He does, more than we can possibly understand. And it doesn’t mean that he is callous, or unmoved by our suffering, as if that were simply the price that has to be paid for his glory, and if we don’t like it, too bad for us. On the contrary, he cares deeply about our suffering.
32 “Though he brings grief, he will show compassion,
so great is his unfailing love.
33 For he does not willingly bring affliction
or grief to anyone.” (Lamentations 3:32-33)
God does have compassion on his people, and feels deeply for our suffering. But the point is that God is at the center of his own plans and purposes, not us. I know this may sound shocking, because we are so accustomed to putting man, and ourselves, at the center of the universe. But we aren’t at the center. God is.
“Bring my sons from afar
and my daughters from the ends of the earth—
7 everyone who is called by my name,
whom I created for my glory,
whom I formed and made.” (Isaiah 43:6-7)
“11 In him we were also chosen . . . 12 in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.” (Ephesians 1:11-12)
God created us for his glory. God also saved us for his glory. And so if his purpose to glorify himself includes suffering in this life, as it often does, it does not contradict his love or power. He loves us. He has compassion for us, and for our suffering. But his purpose, his central purpose, is to glorify himself.
Let me give you an example from the gospel of John. When Lazarus became ill (this is the man whom Jesus would raise from the dead), this is what happened:
“3 So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.” 4 When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” (John 11:3-4)
Two points: First, Lazarus’ sisters refer to him as “the one you love”. Jesus was not indifferent to Lazarus’ suffering; Jesus loved him. In fact, the narrative tells us that when Jesus later arrived at Lazarus’ tomb, he was so moved that he wept. But second, look at the reason. “It is for God’s glory” that Lazarus fell ill, “so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” His illness had a purpose, to glorify God. Jesus was glorified by raising him from the dead. And although God’s purpose is not always to heal, his purpose is always to glorify himself, including times when that involves the suffering of his people, whom he loves.
The good news is that we will share in that glory when Christ returns:
“16 Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)
From our perspective now, our suffering can be a great burden, and it may seem to go on and on, so that we struggle to bear up under it. But from God’s perspective, it is “light and momentary”; something relatively insignificant which lasts only the blink of an eye. We have to trust God on that; we have to take it by faith, because we can’t yet see it. All we can actually see is the here and now, and right here and right now, our suffering may seem severe, and much too long. But God is telling us, trust me, when you look back on this from eternity, you will realize that it was very light and very, very brief. Because the glory to come will be far, far greater than our present suffering, and it will last forever. So God is glorifying himself through our suffering, but we will also share in that glory.
Reason number three. A third reason that they might have been surprised is that some of the people persecuting them were their friends. People they had grown up with, gone to school with. People they had laughed with, cried with, shared joys and sorrows with. People whose weddings they had been in. These were the ones who were attacking them verbally, and shunning them, and turning them over to the authorities for prosecution. And not just their friends, but even their own family members. Brothers and sisters. Sons and daughters. Deciding that because of their Christian faith, they no longer wanted to have anything to do with them. Telling them that their decision to follow Christ meant they were no longer worthy of being friends with, no longer someone they could associate with. Are we seeing this today? Sadly, yes.
So this was surprising to them, because it isn’t right that longstanding bonds of friendship and family should be severed because someone chooses to seek God and follow him. Deeply rooted relationships shouldn’t be cast off because someone has a different opinion on religious matters. But it really shouldn’t have surprised them. Because the Lord Jesus told us this would happen.
“51 Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. 52 From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. 53 They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.” (Luke 12:51-53)
“a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household” (Matthew 10:36)
Does that mean that we should consider those who do not know Christ as enemies? No, it means that some of them may consider us to be their enemies, even our own family members. Now, they might not say explicitly that they are attacking you because of your Christian faith. No, instead, they’ll accuse you of being hateful, and biased, and anti- this and anti- that, and -phobic this and -phobic that. If you dare to say anything in defense of Biblical morality or Christian values, they’ll accuse you of hating the people whose beliefs or conduct you disagree with. And ironically, often the ones accusing Christians of being “haters” are the ones who are the angriest and most hate-filled themselves.
Which goes to the fourth reason that those receiving Peter’s letter might have been surprised by suffering, which is that the attacks on them seemed greatly disproportionate to what they were actually doing. Were the Christians attacking anyone? Were they committing violence against their neighbors? Were they committing crimes — murder, or theft, or slander, or rioting? No. They were simply trying to honor Christ peacefully with their lives and follow God’s directions as to how to live. They were merely sharing with those around them the good news of the gospel. So how do you explain the intensity of the attacks on them, the hatred, the anger, the vile things that others were saying about them?
Here’s at least part of the answer:
“14 But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere. 15 For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. 16 To the one we are an aroma that brings death; to the other, an aroma that brings life.” (2 Corinthians 2:14-16)
We who follow Christ have a kind of spiritual aroma. For those who are being saved, it is a pleasing aroma. It gives pleasure to them. It smells like forgiveness, and joy, and peace, and love. And we have all experienced this. When we are among other Christians, even those we are meeting for the first time, there’s an immediate sense of connection, a feeling of pleasure from being with others who know the Savior. That’s the spiritual “aroma” that Paul is writing about. But to those who do not know Christ and are not seeking God, that very same aroma, the aroma of Christ, is the stench of death. Have you ever smelled a dead animal? It is vile, and disgusting. It makes you want to vomit. That spiritual aroma, that smell of death, is one reason for the extreme reactions of those who are falsely attacking the followers of Christ.
Note that I said “falsely”. Jesus told us to expect that we would be lied about:
11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.” (Matthew 5:11)
Those who oppose you because of your Christian faith will not limit themselves to making arguments that are fair, or factual, or reasonable. Jesus told us that they would “falsely say all kinds of evil” against us because of him. And we are seeing this today. Christians are being accused of doing, and saying, and believing things that are not only false, but obviously false. Accusations that make no sense. Accusations which are actually descriptions of what the accusers are themselves doing. And frankly, it can be a bit disorienting. You want to say, “can’t you see?” “Isn’t it obvious to you that this is untrue?” And the answer is that, no, many of them can’t see. Some are simply lying; they know that what they are accusing Christians of isn’t true. And they’re lying in order to gain some kind of political, or social, or economic advantage. But many can’t see. They genuinely believe what they are saying. And you ask, how can that be? Because they’ve been blinded.
“4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” (2 Corinthians 4:4)
What we sometimes forget is that all of the truths that seem so obvious and clear to us are only obvious and clear because our eyes have been opened by the Holy Spirit; He has given us sight. That’s what happens when you come to faith. The spiritual blindness that preventing you from seeing the truth about God, and about Jesus Christ, and the world, and reality, was lifted. Perhaps gradually, or perhaps suddenly. Your views on right and wrong, your views on truth and falsehood, your views on everything — they were changed. And now you can’t believe you didn’t see it before. It’s like turning on a light: everything is illuminated. When the man healed by Jesus was brought before the Pharisees, what did he say? “One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see”. Like him, we were blind, utterly incapable of seeing the truth. And now we see. But only because Jesus opened our eyes.
By the way, does everyone who doesn’t know Christ realize that they don’t know Christ? Sadly, no. There are people who are walking in darkness who are religious. They may even attend church. They are convinced that they see clearly. Satan has blinded them even to the fact of their blindness.
So what should be our reaction when we are attacked falsely, in a manner that seems all out of proportion to the supposed offense, and even by friends and family? Our answer comes from Paul’s second letter to Timothy:
“22 Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. 23 Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. 24 And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. 25 Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, 26 and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.” (2 Timothy 2:22-26)
We should do what we can to “gently instruct” those who attack us, to share with them the truth about Christ and salvation, “in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth”, because only he can do that. Overcoming their blindness requires a work of the Holy Spirit to open their eyes. But we have to realize that if they are acting irrationally or hatefully, it is because they have been taken captive by the enemy, as Paul tells us. They are victims of his evil and destructive power. And only God can release them and bring them to their senses. So even as we seek to defend ourselves, while not giving in to anger and hatred ourselves, not being quarrelsome or resentful, but being kind and gentle, we also must pray that God will open their eyes and release them from their bondage. Because that is the only thing that will ultimately allow them to grasp the truth.
Let's summarize: We’ve looked at how we should not respond to suffering; that is, by being surprised when it comes. We shouldn’t be surprised that our suffering seems unjust, for although it is unjust, the injustice will be remedied when Christ returns. We also shouldn’t be surprised that God is not protecting us from experiencing suffering, because we know that the suffering we experience in this life will last only a short time compared to eternity, and that it has a purpose in bringing glory to God. And finally, we shouldn’t be surprised when the suffering comes from those close to us — including even our friends and family — or when the attacks on us seem out of proportion to the supposed offense. Because we know that those who do not know Christ have been blinded, and that the aroma of Christ which we bear is the stench of death to them. And so we should reason with them patiently and pray that God will open their eyes to the truth of the gospel.
Can we do that? By God’s power, we can. So let’s resolve to ask him for the strength and wisdom to do so. Amen.
