The Theology of Christian Sufferings

1 Peter 4:12-19
P. G. Mathew | Sunday, December 03, 2017
Copyright © 2017, P. G. Mathew

 

In 1 Peter 4:12–19, the apostle Peter speaks about the theology of Christian sufferings. By way of introduction, we want to look at ten points about that theology:

1. Suffering is discipline, which proves we are children of God and that he loves us (Heb. 12).
2. Suffering makes us holy; it removes the dross from gold by fiery trials (1 Pet. 1).
3. Suffering is necessary for us to grow in our faith in God (2 Cor. 1:9ff).
4. Suffering tests our faith in Christ, to know whether it is true or fake faith (1 Pet. 4:12).
5. Suffering can be punishment for sinning (1 Cor. 11:30).
6. Suffering makes us mature (Jas. 1:2–4).
7. Suffering prevents us from sinning (2 Cor. 12:7–9).
8. Our suffering can be due to the world’s hatred of Christ and, therefore, of Christians.
9. Suffering is normal, not exceptional, for true believers.
10. Sufferings produce character (Rom. 5:3–5) and hope in the second coming of Christ.

As believers in Jesus Christ, we will experience sufferings. They will come when we least expect them; and they will come to us because God wants us to become like his Son, Jesus Christ.

Peter’s first epistle has a special emphasis on the theology of Christian suffering. Remember, Peter severely opposed Jesus going to the cross and dying. Now, Peter is remembering what Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Matt. 16:24). Jesus himself said to Peter, “‘I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.’” Then we read, “Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, ‘Follow me!’” (John 21:18–19).

Words of suffering appear more than twenty times in this epistle. There are six imperatives, six commands from God, in this passage (1 Pet. 4:12–19): three negative and three positive. We will consider each of them.

Don’t Be Surprised by Fiery Trials

Peter begins, “Do not be surprised by the painful [fiery] trial you are suffering as though something strange were happening to you” (v. 12). Peter was thinking of what had happened to the three Hebrew children in Babylon, who refused to worship the idol of King Nebuchadnezzar. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter.  If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up” (Dan. 3:16–18). They were thrown into the fiery furnace and suffered no harm, for God was with them. Jesus promised, “Behold, I will be with you always, even unto the end of the age.”

Christians follow Jesus. They never go alone anywhere. The three Hebrew young men were thrown into the fire, but when Nebuchadnezzar looked, there were four. Jesus said, “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish” (John 10:28). For Christians, suffering is the norm, not the exception. But God is with us always by his Spirit, to comfort us and to empower us to endure even martyrdom.

Therefore, suffering for Jesus’ sake should not surprise us. It is the normal Christian life. The world hates us, but God loves us. Nothing in all creation can separate us from the love of God.

We see the theology of Christian sufferings in the following verses:

• Matthew 5:10–12: “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
• Matthew 10:28: “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”
• Luke 14:26: “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple.”
• Luke 14:33: “In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.”
• John 15:18–19: “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.”
• John 16:33: “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
• John 17:14: “I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world.”
• 1 John 3:13: “Do not be surprised, my brothers, if the world hates you.”
• Romans 5:3: “Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces . . . character [holiness].”
• Romans 8:18: “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.”
• James 1:2–4: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”
• 2 Timothy 3:12: “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” God guarantees it.

You must think it through before you believe in Jesus. The teaching that says, “Believe in Jesus and you will become healthy, wealthy, famous, and powerful,” is a demonic lie. Such teachers are preaching a different Jesus, a different gospel, and a different Spirit. They are messengers of Satan. Paul writes, “For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. . . . Their end will be what their actions deserve” (2 Cor. 11:13–14). Their end is hell.

Christians are called to suffer. John the Baptist, James, and Paul were beheaded. Peter, the author of this epistle, was crucified. Stephen was stoned to death. Others were sawed in two or burned at the stake. But God was with all of them, and they all, in their perfected spirits, entered paradise.

Christ’s suffering atoned our sins, but God uses our fiery trials to remove the dross of sin from us. So Peter says, “In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed” (1 Pet. 1:6–7).

The ungodly hate holiness and love the pleasures of sin for a season. And so-called Christians who are, in reality, antinomians belong to the devil (John 8:44). But we must not be surprised when suffering comes to us. We expect it; it is our norm. God is with us, and the Holy Spirit is in us.

Rejoice Continually

The second imperative is a positive one: “Rejoice continually” (v. 13). Christian suffering proves our faith in Christ. As believers, we are vitally united with the vine, Jesus Christ; therefore, we share in the life of Christ as well as in his suffering. And we rejoice in our sufferings because the Holy Spirit indwells us, and the fruit the Spirit produces in us is love, joy, peace, and so on. We must be born again in order to see and enter the kingdom of God, and that kingdom is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.

Thus, even in the midst of intense suffering, we can experience joy produced by the Holy Spirit, as we read in the following verses:

• Acts 5:41: “The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.” The Sanhedrin had flogged the apostles for their faith in Christ.
• Acts 16:25: Paul and Silas were beaten in Philippi and put in prison. Then we read, “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.” They had been stripped and beaten, and their feet put in stocks. After sleeping, they got up and began to pray and sing. This is what it means to rejoice in sufferings
• 2 Corinthians 6:10: Paul says as believers we are “sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything.” Those who possess God possess everything.
• James 1:2: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds.” There are trials coming of many kinds.
• Hebrews 10:34: “You sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions.”
• Colossians 1:24: “Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church.”
• 2 Corinthians 4:16–17: “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” Momentary means seventy years or by reason of strength eighty.

Our rejoicing during sufferings is a prelude to the great rejoicing we will experience when Jesus comes again. At that time, he will put an end to all sin and suffering, and we will be glorified. Paul writes, “Our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body” (Phil. 3:20–21).

But even now, the text says, we are blessed though we are insulted for the name of Christ daily (v. 14). Do you know why we are insulted? We are insulted because we are living holy lives (1 Pet. 4:3–4). We are not sinning as the unbelievers do. We are not fornicating as they do. We are not lying and cheating, as they do. Rather, we are bearing by grace the fruit of the light: righteousness, goodness, and truth (Eph. 5:8–10). We are living to please the Lord, not ourselves. We are different, because the Holy Spirit is resting upon us as he rested upon Jesus, comforting, guiding, and empowering us to suffer persecution.

The Holy Spirit rested upon Jesus at the moment of Christ’s baptism: “As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him” (Matt. 3:16). This was predicted long ago: “The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord” (Isa. 11:2).

Jesus said the Holy Spirit would also rest on his followers: “When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say” (Luke 12:11–12). He also said, “For it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you” (Matt. 10:20). That is why we believe in the baptism of the Holy Spirit. We must be being filled with the Spirit, powered by the Spirit, taught by the Spirit, guided by the Spirit, and empowered by the Spirit to live lives pleasing to God.

Friends, we are a blessed people, not cursed, and the proof is that the Holy Spirit is resting on us. And he will never leave us as he left King Saul. So we rejoice in our suffering. The cross will lead to the crown. We experience suffering now but glory later, when Jesus comes again.

Joseph suffered much. He was thrown into a pit by his own brothers and sold as a slave. Then he was thrown into a prison as a criminal. At first, he did not understand why these things were happening to him, but eventually he understood. All these were steps leading him to glory as the prime minister of Egypt, to provide for the salvation of Israel. So he told his brothers, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives” (Gen. 50:20).

Paul writes about this: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified” (Rom. 8:28–30).

Polycarp was bishop of Smyrna in the second century. When he was told to blaspheme Jesus, he told the authorities, “Eighty-six years I have served him, and he never did me any wrong. How can I blaspheme my King who saved me?” And Polycarp was burned at the stake for his refusal to deny Christ.[1]

Don’t Suffer as a Lawbreaker

The third imperative is a negative command: “If you suffer, it must not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler” (v. 15).

Peter commands us not to suffer as murderers. This means, for example, that a woman cannot abort her baby. Abortion is murder, a violation of the sixth commandment. But there are other ways we can also be guilty of murder. Jesus said we must not be angry sinfully, for it is like murder: “I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment” (Matt. 5:22). Paul writes, “‘In your anger do not sin’: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry.” God wants us to repent before the sun goes down, although we do not have to wait until then; we can and should do it as soon as possible. Yet how many people have gone to bed fighting, displeasing God? What is the problem with doing that? Paul continues, “and do not give the devil a foothold” (Eph. 4:26–27). When there is no peace, you are giving the devil a place in your heart.

We also must not suffer as thieves. This includes lazy people who live off of others instead of working. So if you have been stealing in any way, what should you do? Paul writes, “He who has been stealing must steal no longer but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need” (Eph. 4:28).

We also must not suffer as evildoers or meddlers. In the Greek, the word for meddler is allotriepiskopos. It literally means acting as the bishop of other people’s affairs. But what others do is none of our business. This is a particular danger for retired people. There is a tendency to want to get into other people’s business. If you are doing that, I urge you to stop right now.

Paul wrote about meddlers: “We hear that some among you are idle. They are not busy; they are busybodies” (2 Tim. 3:11). What should idle, retired people do? They should become rich in good works. Good works are what God wants us to do, as Paul explains: “We are God’s workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God has foreordained that we should do them” (Eph. 2:10). We are to do God’s work and then die in faith.

So do not be a meddler, getting into other people’s business. And if you suffer for breaking God’s law, do not be proud. Suppose you lied, cheated, or fornicated. It is a shame. Be ashamed, and pay for your crimes. God is not pleased when we violate his law. If a child does not obey his parents, God is not pleased with that child; he is cursed. Such a person is an antinomian, on his way to hell.

But I have good news for such people. What is it? Repent. Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” (Matt. 7:21­–23). My prayer is that they be born again, receiving a new heart, that they may obey God and prove their repentance by their deeds.

Don’t Be Ashamed

The fourth imperative is “Do not be ashamed” (v. 16). The idea is, if we suffer in the will of God, we must not be ashamed of our situation. “If you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed.” This word “Christian” [Christianos] appears in the New Testament three times: Acts 11:26; 26:28, and here in 1 Peter 4:16. So Peter is saying that we need not be ashamed but, rather, we should be proud of the fact that we are Christians, followers of Jesus Christ. We have been born again by the Spirit, that we may repent and believe in Christ. It is the greatest privilege we can have.

Few are going to be saved. For example, during the time of the flood, only eight people were saved. When people asked Jesus, “Are only a few going to be saved?” he told them, “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door,” to be saved (Luke 13:22–24).

Be proud of being a Christian. Tell others about your faith in Christ. That is what it means to shine as stars, holding forth the word of life. Tell them, “I am a Christian. I belong to Jesus Christ. To whom do you belong? What do you worship—money or mansions or power or fame? Who is your God? My God is Jesus Christ.” Be like Andrew who, when he met Jesus, went to his brother Simon and said, “We have found the Messiah.” In the same way, Philip, after being called by Christ, went and shared with Nathanael, saying, “We have found the Messiah! He is from Nazareth; his name is Jesus” (see John 1:35–51).

Are you ashamed of Jesus? People are ashamed of Christ when they are living in sin. Those who do what is righteous are bold. Such people will fearlessly declare to their family and friends, “I am a Christian.”

Who gave us the name Christian? Unbelievers gave that name to the followers of Christ (Acts 11:26). In the same way, the Puritans were first called Puritans by unbelievers, not by themselves.

Earlier, Peter wrote, “They think it strange that you do not plunge with them into the same flood of dissipation, and they heap abuse on you” (1 Pet. 4:4). Unbelievers heap abuse on God’s people because we speak about and live holy lives.

Praise God We Bear the Name of Christ

The next imperative is positive: “Praise God because we bear that name [of Jesus]” (v. 16). Praise God if you are a Christian. Worship and thank God that, in his mercy, he chose you from all eternity to be saved. Praise God continually because he has saved you by grace.

The Holy Spirit dwells in us, enabling us to praise God for what he has done. We are nothing, but God chooses the foolish, the weak, the lowly, the despised, and the nothings of this world to be saved. Paul writes,

Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth.  But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.  Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.” (1 Cor. 1:26–31)

In all eternity, God foreloved and chose Jacob, not Esau; he chose Rahab the prostitute and her family; he chose Ruth; he chose Manasseh, the most wicked king; and he chose the publicans and prostitutes. In the same way, he foreloved and chose us, and he enabled us, by grace, to turn from idols to serve the living and true God as we eagerly await his second coming. So we live to praise God through our words and deeds. We live to obey God. Our joy comes through obedience to God.

Paul writes, “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Eph. 2:10). We are to obey God. Obedience and faith are linked forever. Yet many wicked professors and pastors say that people can believe in Jesus, but they do not have to obey him. Such teachings are damnable heresy. “Obey” and “believe” are inextricably linked. Therefore, Paul coined the phrase, “obedience of faith” (Rom. 1:5, 16:26). If a person does not obey Jesus Christ, he is not a Christian. He is a fake. Christians are to live holy lives. Christians are to be like Jesus Christ.

Jesus himself spoke of the need for obedience: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’” In other words, “Get us into heaven.” But Jesus continued, “Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you [disobedient ones, antinomians]!” (Matt. 7:21–23). Jesus continued in Matthew 7:24–27, “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. . . But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.” The Lord Jesus Christ himself said this. The mark of a Christian is obedience.

Commit Yourselves to Your Faithful Creator

The sixth imperative is, “So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good” (v. 19). When we suffer according to the will of God, we must commit ourselves to our faithful Creator. What does that mean?

Earlier, Peter said, “For it is time for judgment to begin with God’s family; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And, ‘If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?’” (vv. 17–18). He will send the ungodly and sinners to hell. The final judgment is coming. Jesus is coming in glory, and he is ready to judge the living and the dead, as Peter said in 1 Peter 4:5.

Christ is coming, and he is the judge. Peter said so: “Since you call on a Father who judges each man’s work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear” (1 Pet. 1:17). He also said, “When they hurled their insults at [Jesus], he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly” (1 Pet. 2:23).

Christ can come any moment. This idea of judgment is seen throughout the Bible. Through Jeremiah, the Lord said, “See, I am beginning to bring disaster on the city that bears my Name, and will you indeed go unpunished? You will not go unpunished, for I am calling down a sword upon all who live on the earth, declares the Lord Almighty’” (Jer. 25:29). Paul wrote, “This will take place on the day when God will judge men’s secrets through Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares” (Rom. 2:16). Jesus himself said, “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left” (Matt. 25:31–33). Those who are goats will be damned unless they repent and call upon the name of the Lord, that they may be saved. (PGM) Jesus concluded, “Then they will go away to eternal punishment [unending eternal punishment in hell], but the righteous to eternal life” (Matt. 25:46). There is no annihilation. There is only eternal heaven and eternal hell.

True believers, the righteous, will be saved, though they experience severe sufferings now. The psalmist said, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me” (Ps. 23:4). Peter says those who are going through severe sufferings for the sake of Christ will be blessed, “for the Spirit of glory and of God” is resting on them to help them (v. 14).

Believers will be justified, and even rewarded for their good works. It is guaranteed. Paul writes, “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 5:1). He also says, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1). Are you in Christ Jesus? He said, “I am the vine; you are the branches.” Are you grafted into him? In other words, do you have such saving faith in Christ?

Paul writes,

What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? . . . No, in all these things we are more than conquerors [language fails him] through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom. 8:31–35, 37–39)

Peter uses the phrase, “those who do not obey the gospel of God.” We already said that faith and obedience are linked and they will endure forever. What if someone does not want to obey Jesus? Consider what we read in 1 Samuel 15:22: “Samuel replied: “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord?  To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.” And consider Peter’s own words: “Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart” (1 Pet. 1:22). It is demonic to say that a person can believe in Christ and yet not obey him. This is dispensational theology. It is demonic to separate faith from obedience. Any person who does so is sending his hearers to hell by preaching a different gospel, a different Jesus, and a different Spirit.

The apostles said, “We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him” (Acts 5:32). The Hebrews writer says, “Although he was Son, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him” (Heb. 5:8–9).

Obedience is necessary. Unbelievers refuse to obey the Lord. Thus, when Christ comes, he will send them to eternal hell, to experience eternal fire, eternal agony, and eternal torment. Jesus himself said so in Luke 16.

But true believers in this world will suffer fiery trials because they bear the name of Christ. In fact, they will even suffer at the hands of so-called Christians, who are wicked and bound for hell. Yet they can be comforted knowing that they are suffering in the will of God, even as Peter suffered crucifixion, as prophesied by Jesus himself.

So the sixth imperative is a command to entrust, to commit, to deposit our souls for safekeeping to our faithful Creator and to continue to do good. This is what Jesus did. We read, “Jesus called out with a loud voice, ‘Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.’ When he had said this, he breathed his last” (Luke 23:46). This is also what Paul did. He wrote, “That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.” He had committed his entire life to Jesus Christ, knowing that he would keep it (2 Tim. 1:12).

This is what Abraham, the father of all believers, did when he was tested by a fiery trial. We read, “Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, ‘Abraham!’  ‘Here I am,’ he replied.  Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about’” (Gen. 22:1–2). This was a fiery trial, a trial of his faith, a trial, which Jesus also spoke about. We are to love God more than our father and mother, sons and daughters, and even our lives (Matt. 10:37–39).

Continuing the account of Abraham, we read,

Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?” ‘Yes, my son?” Abraham replied. ‘The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, ‘but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together. When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood.  Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.  But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied. “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.” Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. (Gen. 22:7–13).

John the Baptist declared when he saw Jesus coming, “Behold, the Lamb of God who taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). Jesus suffered and died in our place for our sins that we may be saved and spared. We have much to thank God for! We are told in the book of Hebrews that Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead from the ashes (Heb. 11:19), and he did. This is great faith.

In Acts 26:8, Paul, with chains on his hands, said to Festus, King Herod Agrippa II, and all the rich and famous who were gathered together, “Why should any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead?” This is the one verse we need for all apologetic purposes. God created the world and God raises the dead. We believe the Bible from beginning to end.

Friends, commit your entire lives to your faithful Creator. God is almighty Creator, and he is faithful. He cannot lie or die. He keeps his word, and he will save us. He saved us, he is saving us, and he will save us.

Paul writes, “But as surely as God is faithful, our message to you is not ‘Yes’ and ‘No.’ For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by me and Silas and Timothy, was not ‘Yes’ and ‘No,’ but in him it has always been ‘Yes.’ For no matter how many promises God has made, they are ‘Yes’ in Christ. [What must I do to be saved? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved] And so through him the ‘Amen’ is spoken by us to the glory of God” (2 Cor. 1:18–20). So we read, “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful” (Heb. 10:23).

Finally, consider what Peter wrote earlier in this epistle:

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials” (1 Pet. 1:3–6)

 Our salvation, our inheritance, is guaranteed. We are kept here on earth, and our reward is kept in heaven for us. We are kept by God. Jesus said, “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish” (John 10:28). Fools are those who will not obey the gospel of God.

Finally, consider the following truth: In this epistle, Peter by the Holy Spirit is writing to God’s beloved people, agapêtoi (1 Pet. 2:11; 4:12). The correct translation is not “Dear friends”; it is “Beloved.” So we take comfort in the following:

1. We are loved.
2. We are loved by God.
3. We are loved from all eternity.
4. We are loved as he loves his own Son, Jesus Christ. I am my beloved’s and he is mine, and the banner over us is love, eternal love.

We are loved—loved by God, loved from eternity, foreloved, chosen, predestinated to glory, effectually called, justified, adopted, being sanctified, and will be glorified when Christ comes again.

Our God can be trusted. He is truth, and he speaks truth. And he paid the infinite price, the blood of God’s Son, to save us. He loves us even as he loves his own Son. Jesus said, “I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me” (John 17:23). Our minds have no capacity to fully understand this glorious truth!

Therefore, I urge you, entrust your souls to him. The thief who trusted in Jesus was told, “Today you will be with me in paradise.” Cry out, “What must I do to be saved?” And heaven will respond though the mouth of a preacher, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved.”

If you are God’s beloved, you will believe and obey the gospel of God. To you God is speaking this Lord’s Day. May God help you to remember these things often as you go through suffering:

1. Do not be surprised by fiery trials that test your faith. You will prove faithful.
2. Rejoice continually, for the Holy Spirit rests on you as your comforter and guide and strength, that you may endure suffering to the end.
3. Do not suffer as a covenant-breaker. It is a shame. Repent and prove your repentance by your righteousness.
4. Do not be ashamed to suffer as a Christian. Such suffering proves you are a true believer.
5. Praise God in the name of Jesus Christ.
6. Entrust yourselves, your souls, to your faithful Creator who will bring you safely to heaven. And you will enter Zion with singing, everlasting joy will crown your heads. Gladness and joy will overtake you, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.

May God fill us with the Holy Spirit, that we may understand these truths, practice these truths, and be blessed forever. Amen.

 

 

[1] Edmund Clowney, The Message of 1 Peter: The Way of the Cross, The Bible Speaks Today series (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1988), 191.