"Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution" (2 Timothy 3:12).
This does not mean that every Christian will suffer physical abuse as evidence of true salvation. While many Christians have sealed their faith with their blood, many more have had to withstand the social temptations and pressures of the world in order to live effectively for Christ.
Jesus said, "If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you" (John 15:18).
Jesus often spoke of Christianity as a banquet—because He has invited us to the table of salvation—but never as a picnic.
I. HAVE THE RIGHT PERSPECTIVE IN SUFFERING (3:13-18).
The suffering in these verses mainly deals with Christians suffering at the hands of the unsaved.
A. There is a reward (vv. 13-14).
Peter asks the question, And who is he that will harm you, if ye followers of that which is good? Generally, if you are doing good, people will not harm you. But there are exceptions to every rule.
Jesus warned us that His followers would be persecuted for doing good: Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you (Matthew 5:10-12).
Both Jesus and Peter tell us to be happy when we are suffering for doing right. This does not mean we should be singing about suffering, but rather we should be privileged to suffer for the sake of Christ. And if we do endure suffering for Christ, we will receive a great reward.
Now some people can take this to the extreme. Some Christians are obnoxious and, as a result, suffer.
Illustration: people with John 3:16 signs at sporting events.
B. There is an opportunity for witness (v. 15).
C. There is an example to follow (vv. 16-18).
Christ suffered for doing right. He did the Father’s will and that means dying for the sins of the world.
It is better to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.
II. HAVE THE RIGHT RECOLLECTION IN SUFFERING (3:19-20).
When did Christ preach to the spirits in prison? The key to the answer is the little word “when.” When once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah. In Christ’s day, the spirits of those men to whom Noah had preached were in prison because they had rejected the message of Noah. For 120 years Noah had preached the Word of God. His family was saved but no one else. It was the Spirit of Christ who spoke through Noah in Noah’s day. In Christ’s day, those who rejected Noah’s message were in prison.
A. Noah was ridiculed by the world.
Noah preached that God was going to judge the world by sending a flood, but he was laughed at because at that time it had never rained upon the earth.
We are often ridiculed for trusting in a God that cannot be seen.
B. Noah and his family were few in number compared with the world.
C. Noah’s message was not accepted by the world.
D. Noah was taken care of by God.
III. HAVE THE RIGHT ASPIRATION IN SUFFERING (3:21-4:1-6).
A. Desire to please God (vv. 1-2).
In verse 21, the phrase "baptism doth also now save us" may be puzzling to you. Here Peter is comparing the ark and baptism. Technically, of course, it is not true that baptism saves; the merely mechanical performance of water baptism would only make a sinner into a very wet sinner. Peter explains this when he writes, not the putting away of the filth of the flesh. In other words, the water in baptism does not wash away a person’s sins. What Peter was saying was that just as the ark had something to do with the deliverance of Noah and his family from the judgement of the Flood, so baptism, assuming that a person has accepted Christ as Savior and desires to obey in this ordinance, has something to do with deliverance from sin. Both the ark and baptism are pictures of salvation. What water baptism does save a person from is a bad conscience toward God.
When a person is baptized it is a public declaration that he has trusted Christ and is committed his life to following Him. It demonstrates his desire to please God. To please God, a person must do His will, and sometimes it is God’s will that we suffer. Peter gives the example of Christ in verse one. Jesus did the will of the Father, and it cost Him His life. Peter writes that if a person is willing to suffer for Christ, then he has decided to stop sinning. He is done with pleasing himself and pleases God.
B. Don’t try to please those who want you to sin (vv. 3-6).
Some of you here were probably involved in all sorts of sin before you were saved. We find a list of sins in verse three. The list includes lasciviousness (sexual immorality), lusts (lusting after the things of the flesh), excess of wine (drunkenness), revellings and banquetings (wild parties), and abominable idolatries (today it would be covetousness). Does that sound like your days before you were saved?
If you were involved in these sins prior to your salvation, you probably had friends who committed these sins with you. And when you were saved and turned from these sins, these friends were surprised when you no longer joined them. Maybe your friends then turned on you. Peter says that this is normal (v. 4).
Illustration: the prodigal son.
People often ask, “Can a Christian do this or that?”
We are all faced with a choice: we can either please God or please men.
IV. HAVE THE RIGHT ACTIONS IN SUFFERING (4:7-11).
A. Be prayerful (v. 7).
The first thing we should do is take our troubles to the Lord in prayer.
Listen to the words of the hymn What a Friend We Have in Jesus:
What a Friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
Ev’rything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit,
O what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry
Ev’rything to God in prayer!
Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged—
Take it to the Lord it prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful
Who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus know our ev’ry weakness—
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Are we weak and heavy laden,
Cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Savior, still our refuge—
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Do thy friends despise, forsake thee?
Take it to the Lord in prayer;
In His arms He’ll take and shield thee—
Thou wilt find a solace there.
B. Show love (v. 8).
The words "fervent charity" mean a warm or deep love. This love is more than the formal, outward courtesy of good culture. This verse is a quotation from Proverbs 10:12: "Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins." When is it the most difficult time to show love to other? When you are suffering.
C. Be hospitable (v. 9).
We are told to have hospitality without grudging.
D. Use the gift God has given you (vv. 10-11).
In verse eleven we see that the goal is that God be glorified by the use of our gifts. God can often be glorified the greatest through suffering.
When we are suffering God expects us to live the same way that He always wants us to live.
V. HAVE THE RIGHT ATTITUDE IN SUFFERING (4:12-19).
A. Expect it (v. 12).
We should not be surprised when suffering comes our way. When suffering comes most of us react as if it were something strange—we feel that nobody else has ever suffered like we have suffered.
Illustration: we always think our cold or flu is the all-time worse.
B. Be thankful for the privilege of suffering for Christ (vv. 13-16).
1. Be happy for the future (v. 13).
2. Be happy right now (vv. 14-15).
The greatest proof that you are a child of God is that you can endure suffering.
A “Busybody” is a person who gossips and criticizes others.
3. Be proud of what you are (v. 16).
You are a Christian.
C. Be prepared for judgement (vv. 17-18).
D. Commit everything to God (v. 19).
God is faithful. He will never fail you. Maybe you have a safety deposit box in which you keep your valuables. When you go to sleep at night, you don’t worry about them at all. I went to sleep last night, and I didn’t worry about Jonathan McLeod’s soul. I went to sleep last night in peace because Christ has taken care of all that. I’ve made my deposit with Him, and I trust Him today. Have you made a deposit with Him? Have you committed your soul to Him? If you have done that, even when trouble comes to you, even when the dark day comes, even when you are called to go down through the valley, you can do it knowing that He will take care of you.
God hath not promised skies always blue,
Flower-strewn pathways all our lives through;
God hath not promised sun without rain,
Joy without sorrow, peace without pain.
God hath not promised we shall not know
Toil and temptation, trouble and woe;
He hath not told us we shall not bear
Many a burden, many a care.
God hath not promised smooth roads and wide,
Swift, easy travel, needing no guide;
Never a mountain, rocky and steep,
Never a river, turbid and deep.
But God hath promised strength for the day,
Rest for the laborer, light for the way,
Grace for the trials, help from above,
Unfailing sympathy, undying love.
“God Hath Not Promised”
—Annie Johnson Flint
jonathanrmcleod@yahoo.com
