Suffering for Righteousness 1 Peter 4:12-19
SUFFERING FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS
1 Peter 4:12-19
Key Verse: 13
“But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.”
Good afternoon! Thank God for blessing Ben and Christy with their 8th grandchild yesterday. They are truly the Abraham and Sarah of faith for WestLoop ministry. Thank God for blessing the International Summer Bible Conference last week with the theme “His Glory!” Today I would like to go back to the series of 1 Peter which I started some time ago. It is believed that Peter was written in the end of 64 AD, which would fall in the timeframe of Christian persecutions by the Roman Emperors beginning with Nero. Nero wanted to find a scapegoat for the burning of Rome and he blamed the Christians. It was actually Nero, according to many historians, who started the fire because he wanted to rebuild a new city from the ground up. Many Roman citizens who were hysterical and outraged because they lost everything in the fire poured out their frustrations on Christians whom they already had some resentment towards. They whole-heartedly supported Nero’s policies to persecute, hunt down, and kill Christians. It was a time of darkness for Christians that would last for 200 years. In light of this terrible persecutions, Peter’s words in chapter 4 verse 7 becomes more meaningful, “The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray.” The spiritual meaning being the hope of Jesus’ second coming and the approaching judgment of God. In spite of what Peter intended, we know that all people in the world, including good Christians will suffer in one way or another. From Peter, we learn what kind sufferings as God’s children cause us to rejoice in spite of our human circumstances in the world.
Look at verse 12. “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.” When you encounter your precious brother or sister in Christ suffering you approach them with the love of Christ. This is why Paul addressed them as “beloved.” Here, I understand Peter’s father’s love for the early Christians because there is a person that I address “my beloved” almost daily. Do you know who? My precious granddaughter Stasia. Peter saw the early Christians as his own precious and lovely children, who were loved by God. As we know, Christianity had a rocky start when their leader and founder, Jesus, was crucified. But after seeing his resurrection the apostles and many other eye-witnesses were emboldened to preach the gospel and spread the good news to wherever they went. Though it was still not easy to declare oneself as a Christian, a follower of Christ, it was tolerable and for some not so difficult. But all of a sudden, especially with the megalomaniac Nero as Emperor, the degree of their persecutions would rise from warm to suddenly cosmic heat. This fiery persecution under Rome would last the next 200 years. It’s difficult for us to hear about wars that last one or twenty years, but our early brothers and sisters suffered severe persecution for 200 years. We know the terrible damage a fire can cause as we see many forest fires occurring in many parts of the world like Canada and Maui. But there is another way we can look at this as a refiner’s fire. This is fire that purifies gold and silver from dross to make it shiny and beautiful. To bring out the beauty and brightness, it is necessary to put them through very high temperature, otherwise they will forever remain the same dullness and not beautiful. As Peter wrote in 1 Peter 1:6-7, “In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 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.” You do not want to buy gold that was not put through a refiner’s fire otherwise they could be fake or contaminated with other impurities. In the same way, God wants the faith of his children to be pure gold and genuine. As we don’t want counterfeit money, God does not want counterfeit Christians. Who are they? I don’t know. But God knows and he reveals each believer’s faith or no faith through trials and testing. Therefore, God allowed them to go through fiery trials for their purification.
What were some of the types of fiery trials the early believers were going through? From Peter’s letters and from history we can see that they suffered terribly in many ways. They were mocked by people because they did not worship the idols in Rome nor participated in their sinful activities any longer. They were shunned and became outcasts of society. When they had to move to other countries because of persecutions they were considered as aliens and strangers in the world. But the worst types of sufferings came under Nero’s reign. As mentioned, because he blamed them for the burning of Rome, he had devised many tortures to kill Christians. He really hated Christians because they worshiped God rather than him as a god. He also wanted to consolidate his power and authority by doing whatever he wanted to the Christians. He would wrap them in animal skins and throw them to wild animals to be devoured to entertain people in the Roman Colosseum. He would roll them in pitch and light them on fire while alive to use them as light during his garden parties. They suffered in many different ways. Peter wanted the early believers to understand the spiritual meaning of their sufferings for Christ from God’s point of view.
This is why Peter continued in verse 12, “…do not be surprised when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.” Sometimes we may get confused as we live a seemingly faithful Christian life, then why are receiving some kind of trials? Doesn’t God love me? Why am I having problems at work or with my car or family problems? As we learned, the early Christians could have asked, “Why is my life and the lives of my precious children being threatened? Was I not a faithful follower of Jesus?” But Peter told them that God allowed sufferings to come to them to test their faith. God tests our faith to show that it is genuine and pure—like pure gold. Out of our pride, we can think that our faith is already good enough. We also don’t know the depth of our sin and the extent of our self-trust. However, in testing, that is really the time when we show the worth of our faith. In this earthly life, we will always be going through some kind of tests. Just ask any high school or university student. They are necessary because they give a good indication of at what level our understanding of a subject is. We are even tested when we first start working for a company—the time called probationary period to see if we are worthy to work in the company or not. In America, medicines, vaccinations, and products sold to the public must go through vigorous testing. When we claim that we are Christians and followers of Christ then, it should not surprise us that God tests our faith in order to help us know at what spiritual level we are in our lives of faith. If we complain and doubt God’s love at the first sign of trial, then we really have to reexamine our faith in God. Is it really genuine? What do I not to improve on spiritually to keep my walk of faith pure? Even our ancestor of faith Abraham was tested after 25-years of faithfully following God. If one is not a believer and does not accept God’s calling then God will leave that person alone because God honors a person’s personal freedom. But if we claim to be a follower of Christ then God will test us to improve, chasten, and strengthen our faith and then Peter says we should rejoice.
Look at verse 13. “But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.” He encouraged them to rejoice in their sufferings. Now if Peter lived in our day, he would be considered a fool with a psychological problem. Why encourage others to rejoice in their sufferings? He sounded like a masochist and an insensitive old man. It is completely opposite of the prosperity gospel that we here today—health, wealth, and happiness. However, we must continue in verse 13b, “…insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.” From Peter we learn we must evaluate why we are suffering. Suffering for righteousness means suffering for the name of Jesus. This is the most meaningful suffering of all for believers. In our modern times, there is a list of 50 countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian because of persecutions. Among the top countries include North Korea, Somalia, and Yemen. Our brothers and sisters in China are forced to worship Jesus in secret underground churches. Some of the persecutions include killing, maiming, rape, kidnapping, being displaced from their homes, and under constant surveillance. At ISBC, we heard the testimony of brother Moody from Quatar UBF. At first, he did not want to share the gospel with Muslim people because he knew there could be dire consequences living in a Muslim country. But he could not ignore God’s calling and when he did so God blessed him to teach the Bible to Muslim people. The government found out about his Christian activities, called him to the police office, and he was forced out of the country. But he was so joyful and full of spirit to share his testimony of God’s work in his life and would continue to preach to Muslim people. Our Ukrainian sister Darina married a Christian refugee in Turkey, Omid, from Iran because he had to flee from his country due to persecution. Though persecution in Turkey is not as bad, there are still anti-Christian sentiments there as well. But Darina and Omid are so happy to serve Jesus at their local church. Though it is difficult for us to hear news of persecution we believe that God is with them and they will be glorified with him forever in the kingdom of God. We rejoice because God’s glory is revealed in and through us. We can also rejoice in the ultimate good that will come out of trials. As Abinav mentioned in our Bible study Paul wrote in Romans 5:3-4, “ Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope.” Most of all, we endure sufferings for the name of Jesus.
Look at verse 14. “If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.” Now we can begin to dissect and analyze what kind of sufferings is considered righteous and deserves merit in the sight of God. They are sufferings related to our faith in Jesus. They are sufferings because we are Christians and follow the teachings of Jesus in the Bible. This was the root cause for the early believers’ persecutions and sufferings. There are sufferings we cause upon ourselves because of our sins. Look at verse 15. “But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler.” If we commit a crime or steal from someone and call ourselves a Christian it is a shameful suffering. If we are a Christian but a lazy and irresponsible worker, we should not say, “I’m suffering as a Christian because my boss is persecuting me.” If we do not eat healthily and drink alcohol excessively to the point of ruining our health we should not say, “I’m suffering because of my faith and serving God.” Peter makes it clear, “If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed.” We are blessed because we are sharing in the suffering of Christ. Paul emphasized this in his writing in Philippians 3:10, “…that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death.” As we know from Dr. Ben’s study on the book of Acts, Paul suffered many things for the name of Christ. He suffered beatings, mocking, jail time, whipping, ship wrecks, and many other things. Most of these sufferings came from enemies of the gospel who wanted to extinguish completely the new growing Christian movement. But he never felt sorry for himself for following Jesus, but he rejoiced and felt blessed because he could share in Jesus’ sufferings. One time, he was sitting in jail with Silas but they started to sing with a joyful spirit. We are also blessed according to the end of verse 14, “…because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.”
Humanly speaking, it is impossible for us to rejoice in the midst of suffering. God knows us better than ourselves. That is why in the midst of suffering for the name of Christ, God gives a special dispensation of his Holy Spirit to dwell with his people. We can see this clearly in the example of Stephen, the first Christian martyr. He was persecuted and put on trial because of his faith in Jesus. But he did not waiver but boldly proclaimed the gospel even before his enemies. When they heard him speak the gospel, they became enraged and picked up stones to kill him. Though Stephen was being stoned he did not regret his faith in Jesus nor despise his murderers. In the midst of suffering, God poured out his Holy Spirit on Stephen so that he could see a vision of Jesus. Acts 7:55-56, “But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And he said, ‘Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.’” I don’t know exactly how it happened—if Stephen was experiencing the pain of the large rocks being thrown at him. But even though his physical body was racked with pain, his soul was rising in glory to the kingdom of heaven. In the Bible, Jesus is described as sitting on the right hand of God. But in Stephen’s vision he saw Jesus standing at the right hand of God. Our Lord Jesus was standing to welcome his faithful servant Stephen with the words, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.”
Last Friday, we celebrated the memorial service for Dr. Joseph Chung, who had served God’s work for many decades in Korea, America, and Africa. He was also Maria’s father’s first Bible teacher. Though he suffered a lot to serve the gospel everyone testified that he had always encouraged everyone with the gospel truth, his joyful spirit, and sense of humor. When I met him he was always joyful and with the spirit of Jesus. He is at rest now with our Lord Jesus who welcomed him with the same words to Stephen, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.” Whenever we suffer for Jesus, we should not be ashamed.
Look at verse 16. “Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name.” To suffer as a Christian, a believer must first be recognized by the people of the world as a follower of Christ. If you hide the fact that you are a Christian and always behave as others you can be like a Ninja Christian and not suffer for it. However, others may discover you are a Christian even though you don’t proclaim the gospel because you pray before you eat or when you ask your boss for days off you tell them it’s for a Bible conference. Others may ask you what you do on the weekends and you tell them you go to church or study the Bible. If you are doing your job, living a peaceable life, honoring Jesus Christ, and you suffer for it, then you have no reason to be ashamed. Instead, when you stand firm and do not compromise with immoral cultural standards you will glorify the name of Jesus. Others may even respect you more for standing your ground rather than living as a hypocrite. You are adding weight to your eternal glory waiting for you. Most of all, you will be able to pass God’s judgment on the last day.
Look at verse 17. “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?” As I mentioned in my introduction, Peter wrote in chapter 4 verse 7a, “The end of all things is near.“ The early believers, including Peter, believed that Jesus was coming back soon. And that God’s final judgment was coming to all mankind. They also believed that God’s judgment would first begin with the people of God. This gives us a better insight into why God is testing us and putting us through trials now so that we will be ready for the final judgment. As a university student and as a personal preference, I always liked professors who gave quizzes and mid-term exams before the big final exam. During the semester the quizzes and mid-term exams gave me a good indication of how I was doing in the class. If I got A’s on them, I knew I was doing fine. But if I got bad grades or completely blew it, I knew that I was in trouble and that I had better start working harder. Through trials and testing God is actually getting our faith in Jesus ready so that we will pass with flying colors and get an A+ on the Final Judgment to come. That is why God is now judging, testing, chastening, and purifying his Church. Another reason God purifies the Church is to make her a useful instrument for the evangelizing the world. The Church must be purged from sin, the true separated from the false, and the carnal cleansed or removed. And then, the pure church can move forward with the banner of the gospel to a fallen and sinful world.
Look at verses 17b-18. “…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?’” Wow, from Peter’s quote from Proverbs 11:31, he knew that salvation was not just a free for all, but a very precious gift from God for those who believe. Peter is saying it is better to suffer a little in this world, rather than not suffer at all, then suffer for eternity in the life after. Second Thessalonians 1:5 reads, “This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering.” God’s standard of righteousness is too high for anyone to stand on his own merits. We are not worthy in ourselves to enter God’s kingdom. That is why it is vital that we only stand on the rock of our salvation Jesus Christ. After justification in the name of Jesus we must go through the process of sanctification. The final step after God’s judgment will be glorification forever with Jesus and all of God’s people in paradise.
Look at verse 19. “Therefore, let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.” Here we see Peter’s final encouragement in this passage to entrust ourselves into God’s hands during suffering. This is what really distinguishes us from the ungodly people of the world. They will not entrust their lives into God’s hands, much less believe in his love and mercy through his Son Jesus Christ. Therefore, they suffer in meaninglessness and hopelessness not knowing what is the final destiny waiting for them. But God’s people are different. They entrust themselves to the perfect providence of our sovereign God. God, who is the Creator of the heavens and the earth, will protect our souls and give us the faith to go through any kinds of trials. He alone allows the trials and testing to come into our lives to chasten and purify our faith in him. Even though it may be painful and costly, God does not want us to stop doing good. Rather, he wants us to entrust our souls into his good hands and keep serving and doing good to others in the name of Jesus.
In this passage, I thank God for his many trials and testing upon my life in order to chasten and purify my faith. I know that some of the trials were because of my Christian faith and others because of my own sins. But through them all I know that God has his own plan to chasten and purify my faith. I know that even though I have been serving God in UBF ministry the last 40 years I still have many rough edges and can improve in many areas of my spiritual life. For example, I still have a bad habit of making fun of others and doing small pranks which irritate others, especially my wife and Elena too. Also, I have been neglecting my own personal theological studies with the excuse that I have been too busy. But I pray that God may purge impure and harmful sinful habits in my life of faith and make me a mature servant of God. May God help each of us rejoice and endure sufferings for our faith for the glory of God and his Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.
