1 PETER 4:12-192009 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: 1 Peter 4:12-19

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2009.

Suffering. We've been dealing with suffering for a little bit here in the book of 1 Peter. And it's not something that we really enjoy to think about and we don't enjoy going through it. And yet Peter is trying to explain to us that it's a part of the Christian life. It's to be expected and we are to handle it a certain way when we experience suffering in our life.

Last week we talked about suffering as well in the first part of chapter 4 verses 1 through 11. And how to handle that suffering, Peter said, first of all, were to arm our mind or to take on the mind of Christ. To expect and to accept that since Jesus suffered, I am going to suffer as well.

Peter also encouraged us to be praying seriously and watchfully. He encouraged us to love fervently, that we're in the midst of suffering. We have a tendency just to want to receive from everybody. But Peter says, no, you need to reach out and love others.

and give unto them and meet their needs. He also told us last week, we saw that we need to be hospitable in the midst of suffering, that we need to be generous to those around us and to bless them and meet their needs, even though we are suffering, it's the best thing for us. Finally, Peter last week encouraged us to use the gift that God has given to us and to minister to one another using the gifts that he's given to us to benefit the body of Christ.

And so as we deal with this subject of suffering, it really ties into...

What Peter has been sharing about being a sojourner, and we'll talk about that in a few minutes, but 1 Peter 2, verse 11 started a several week series that we looked at being a sojourner, being a foreigner in this world, that we're not citizens here on earth any longer, but our citizenship is in heaven. And so we are to live here.

according to where our citizenship is. And we're to demonstrate that we are Christians, that we are foreigners and strangers here by the way that we conduct ourselves so that people around us will see God in us and God will be speaking to them through the way that we live and the way that we act. And so as we are living as sojourners,

It goes right along with suffering. Let's check it out. Verse 12, he says, Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you as though some strange thing happened to you.

As he begins talking about suffering here in this last passage, he says, don't think it strange. Now there's three things I want to share with you today about how we're to handle suffering, how we're to respond to suffering. And the first thing Peter is going to share with us here in verse 12 and 13 is that we are to respond with rejoicing. How do you respond to suffering and persecution and trial? Peter says, rejoice. Rejoice.

First of all, he says, though, don't think it's strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you.

How many times do we have some difficulty in our life and some trial and tribulation that comes our way and we think it's strange? We think this is not right. This is not in line. This can't be what God wants for me. We ask God questions like, how could you let this happen? Or why are you doing this? Or why are you allowing this in my life? Because we think it's strange. We think it's out of place. We think, well, that doesn't really belong in my life.

But if you follow the progression of what Peter is saying here, again, going back to the idea of being a sojourner from 1 Peter 2.11, God...

through Peter, is calling us to be strangers here on this earth, to be foreigners. We don't belong here anymore. We're strangers here on this earth. He told us last week in chapter 4, verse 4, that the world around us will think that we're strange. It says, they think it's strange that you don't run with them in the same flood of dissipation, and they speak evil of you.

And so we're to live as strangers. The world around us is going to think that we're strange. And so it should be no surprise when we're treated like

Like a stranger, like a foreigner, like someone who's on the outside. And that's what Peter is dealing with here. This fiery trial is a result of the world around the Christians that he's writing to that has been treating them like strangers, persecuting them and bringing suffering into their life.

In 1 Peter 2, verse 21, Peter tells us that we were called to suffering. He says, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that you should follow in his steps. You were called to suffering. Christ is our example and we're to follow in his steps. And since he suffered, we are going to suffer.

It's what the Bible teaches. It's the reality of the Christian life. Now, Jesus as well expressed this same idea. And if you would, turn with me please to John chapter 15. We'll come back to 1 Peter in just a moment. But it's really important that we understand that this is

It's not a fluke thing. It's not something that happened by accident. But it's something that God knew about from the very beginning. And it's what we have been called to. We would rather not suffer. And yet suffering is going to be a part of our lives if we live the life that God has called us to live. Jesus in John chapter 15 says in verse 18, If the world hates you...

Verse 1.

Verse 20. Remember the word that I said to you, a servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will keep yours. But all these things they will do to you for my name's sake, because they do not know him who sent me. Here Jesus explains, if you're surprised that the world hates you, remember that it hated me first.

Jesus says, don't be surprised. You know ahead of time the world hated me. So know that the world is going to hate you. He explains, look, if you were of the world, so instead of being a stranger and a foreigner, if you were not a sojourner, the world would love you. The world would embrace you. You would be part of the world and the world would not hate you.

But because you're not of the world, Jesus says, because you are a testimony of God to the world around you, because you are citizens of heaven, and because you live the Christian life, you walk with God and you're obedient to him. Because of this, the world hates you.

You, by living this way, demonstrate to the world that you're not of the world, but that you've been born again. And so he says, if you were of the world, the world would love you, but you're not. And that's why the world hates you. He says, remember I told you, a servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted me, he says, they're going to persecute you. For us to expect that we should not suffer persecution is to think that we are greater than Jesus.

But Jesus says, no, you're not greater than me. A servant is not greater than his master. And so if I suffer persecution, Jesus says, then you are going to suffer persecution as well.

He says they do it because they don't know God. They don't know the Father. They're in rebellion against Him. They have not turned to Him. And that's why they hate you and treat you that way just like they did to me. And so Jesus is saying the same thing that Peter is saying. It's not strange. It should not be a surprise when there comes fiery trials in our lives and suffering and persecution as a result of

of our lifestyle and our choices and our decisions and our actions. It's not strange, Peter says, as though some strange thing has happened to you. No, it's normal. It's expected. It's what was promised. And so we need to, in the midst of these trials, rejoice. Rejoice.

Not to be shocked, not to now begin to question our faith, but to recognize this is evidence of the faith that is there. This is evidence of the life that I'm living. I'm living as a sojourner, and so I can rejoice. I like how Peter makes reference to the fiery trial, which is to try you.

Sometimes we have trials and other times we have fiery trials, man, just the really intense ones. And it reminds me of the account in the book of Daniel chapter 3. You remember that with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego? There they are, they're in Babylon, they've been taken captive from Jerusalem. They're now in a foreign land and King Nebuchadnezzar sets up this big golden statue. And he says...

He makes a decree. Everyone, whenever the music plays, you're to bow down and you're to worship before this statue. And Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, they refuse. So the music plays and everybody bows down, but standing up there amongst the crowd is Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

And King Nebuchadnezzar is furious. He's upset. He said, don't you know, I told everybody, when the music plays, you have to bow down and worship before this image. And so he gives them another chance. He says, the music's going to play again. You have another chance, another opportunity. But they still refused. They still insisted, we're going to be faithful to God. We're not going to worship any other God.

And so King Nebuchadnezzar is furious. He says, I'm throwing you into the fiery furnace. He heats it up seven times hotter than it normally is. So hot that the guys who throw Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego into the furnace actually get burned up. They die because the fire was so hot in the furnace that they throw these guys into. But a strange thing happens.

There in the furnace, Nebuchadnezzar is looking and saying, these guys aren't burning up. What's going on? And not only that, but there's a fourth guy in there with him. And he looks like the son of God. Jesus was there in the midst of the fiery furnace with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

And so Nebuchadnezzar calls them out and learns to call upon God from that situation that happened. But that fiery trial that they experienced, it's not strange. Well, it's to be expected because they refused to conform to the world's standards and be like the rest of the world. It's going to be expected. There's going to be fiery trials as a result of walking with God.

Paul tells us that everyone who desires to live godly will suffer persecution. But interesting thing about the fiery furnace that I was thinking about as I was preparing for this morning, and that is that

When they came out of the fiery furnace, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, it says that they weren't burnt at all. Their clothes weren't burned. Their hair wasn't burned. Their skin wasn't burned. The only thing that burned when they were thrown in was the bonds that held them, the ropes that held them. So they tied them up and threw them in. The only thing that burned up was the things that were tying them up, the things that they were bound with. And as they came out, they were free. They were set free again.

through the fire. And I think that's really interesting considering what we learned last week in 1 Peter 4, verse 1. Peter says, And you know, it's through those fiery trials...

So often that God delivers us from bondage. The sin that binds us, the sin that we try really hard and we can't get rid of it, the sin that has us bound through the fiery trial, God burns it away. He deals with it and sets us free. And so it's one way that the fiery furnace can be, well, accomplishing good things for us and working in our lives to bring us to the place where God wants us to be.

Another interesting thing I think about the fiery furnace with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego is that it says when they came out they did not smell like fire. You can read this all in Daniel chapter 3.

They didn't smell like fire. Now, yesterday was the Youth Purity Conference. It was a great time. We had a really good turnout. We ministered to the kids about purity and they were going to be serving them dinner. And so I was hanging out outside for a little bit and just about five or ten minutes and the guys were barbecuing hamburgers and I'm sitting there talking with a couple of the guys. And then I go and meet with Kim. She picks me up and she says, what did you eat? You smell like food.

I didn't need anything actually. I just was hanging out kind of near the barbecue and the smoke from the barbecue was going past us as we're talking and I smelled like food the rest of the day. But these guys, they're in the midst of the fiery furnace. They come out. There's no smell of smoke. There's no smell of burning. There's no smell of fire on them. And you know, sometimes in the midst of the trial we think,

This smell is going to be with me the rest of my life. This is so intense. This is so hurtful. I will never be able to enjoy life again. I will never be able to get beyond the pain and the difficulty of this trial that I'm experiencing.

But the reality is, as you come forth from that, as God brings you out of that trial, you don't smell like smoke. You don't smell like fire. It doesn't last with you. Instead, you have the aroma of Christ, as Paul described, I think it was in 2 Corinthians. We don't have the smell of fire when we're done. God uses the fire to...

But it doesn't affect the rest of our life in a way that, well, we can never enjoy life. We always have this smell of how bad things were and how difficult things are. No, we have the sweet smelling aroma of life that's found in Jesus Christ.

And so the fiery furnace is not a strange thing for us. It's not unexpected. It's not, whoa, that's just not right. That's out of line. Peter says, don't think it's strange as if some strange thing was happening to you. Instead, verse 13, he says, 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.

So instead of thinking it's strange when we go through fiery trials, Peter says, rejoice. Rejoice. Have great joy. Be overwhelmed with joy in the midst of the fiery trials that you endure. How is that possible? Well, he doesn't say rejoice because it hurts so bad. He's not asking in some weird way for us to enjoy pain or to like pain.

But he's saying rejoice over the promise of the future that this secures for you. He says rejoice that when his glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. Peter's telling us to rejoice not based on the present circumstances, but based on the future that is promised.

That when His glory is revealed, that when Jesus Christ returns, rejoice right now, even in the midst of suffering, about what this suffering is accomplishing for you that will be realized and revealed when Jesus returns. When you will have gladness and you'll have exceeding joy. Jesus said something similar yesterday.

In the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter 5, he said, Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you and say all kinds of evil against you for my sake. He says, Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven. For so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Jesus says, Why? Because you have a great reward in heaven. In the midst of reviling and persecution and saying all kinds of evil against you and suffering and fiery trials, Jesus says, Peter says, Rejoice!

Because what you have in store for you, there's a reward that is awaiting you in eternity that is because of the trial that you're going through and because of the suffering that you're experiencing. And as you endure it, as you go through it, God has this great reward for you in eternity. So rejoice. And notice that he says the rejoicing is proportional to the suffering. He says rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings.

So if you're only suffering in the name of Christ a little bit, well, then you rejoice a little bit. But if you're suffering greatly, then you rejoice greatly. To the extent that you suffer and partake of His sufferings, to that extent, we are to rejoice. Because as you rejoice greatly, as you suffer greatly, you rejoice greatly because you know great is your reward in heaven.

And so Peter says, rejoice. It's how we're to respond and react. It's to be the attitude of our hearts as we experience persecution and fiery trials. Sometimes we kind of downplay this idea of persecution for ourselves. Here in the United States, we have it pretty mild sometimes.

Around the world, there is much more severe opposition and persecution for the Christian faith. And people are martyred for their faith. They're put to death. They're imprisoned. They're beaten. They're tortured for believing in Jesus Christ. And we don't experience that kind of thing. And so sometimes we kind of downplay and we think that we don't suffer. But I found it interesting what Jesus said in Matthew 5, verse 11. He said, Blessed are you when they revile you.

and persecute you and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for my sake. The persecution that we face may not be physical. It might not be torture and putting to death at the moment anyways. But there is the persecution, the suffering that comes from reviling, which is mockery and insulting and coming against us. He says, persecuting you and saying all kinds of evil against you falsely for my name's sake.

We get that type of persecution for sure. And Jesus says, you're blessed. And you're to rejoice because great is your reward in heaven. And so don't think that this great reward is only for those who suffer and have to give their lives for the gospel. They have a great reward, I'm sure. But even for us in the blessed environment that God has given to us, we still suffer persecution of a different kind. And Jesus says, you're blessed. Rejoice.

Rejoice because you have a great reward in heaven. When people mock you and make fun of you, this type of persecution and suffering, it's cause for rejoicing. Don't think that it's strange. Again, Jesus suffered and we're his followers. We're his disciples. And so we're going to suffer as well.

After Jesus ascended to the Father and the church was being established, the apostles were there in Jerusalem leading the church and very early on in Acts chapter 5, they suffered. They were beaten by the same religious leaders who turned Jesus over to be crucified. Later on in Acts chapter 8, the whole church suffered persecution and was scattered all throughout the known world.

So Jesus suffered. His immediate followers suffered. The disciples and apostles. The rest of the church suffered. And it's continued on through history even to the present day. Those who follow Jesus Christ will suffer. It's not strange. It's expected. And so he says, rejoice. Well, not only are we to rejoice, but Peter goes on to explain that we are to glorify God. Look at verse 14.

He says, 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 says, if you're reproached for the name of Christ, you're blessed. Very similar to what Jesus said in Matthew chapter five. You're blessed. It's good. There's reward waiting for you.

You can rejoice if you're reproached for the name of Christ. The word reproach, again, it means insulted. People come against you. They insult you. They mock you. They speak evil of you. For the name of Christ, Peter says, you're blessed. You're blessed if that is taking place. You're blessed, he says, because the spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.

You're blessed because it means that God is with you and that you're walking with Him. You're walking in the Spirit. They see that. Remember the idea of being a sojourner was to conduct ourselves according to what God has said and to be obedient to Him so that the world around us can see and can know that we have committed ourselves to God, that He is alive and He's speaking to them through us and our witness of Him. And they can see that.

And so they revile, they reproach, they persecute. And so He says, you're blessed because it means that the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. It means that you're walking with Him. They see the difference. They see that God is with you and working in you and transforming you. You know, we try so many times really hard to fit in with the world. We try to not be different, but to look like the world.

But that's not what God calls us to. He doesn't call us to blend in, to fit in, to look like the world. He calls us to be strangers, to be sojourners. But we don't like that because, well, it makes us different. And then we're treated different. It puts a target on our chest. We're afraid of that suffering that it would bring. We're afraid of the trial that might come, what might be said. What will they say if I...

I'm obedient to God. What will they say if I conduct myself that way? What will they say if they know that I believe in Jesus Christ? We're afraid. We're timid. We hold back. But God says, look, this is an opportunity for you to glorify me. You're blessed if you're approached for the name of Christ. If you stand up for Jesus, for the truth, for the reality of a life with God, you're blessed.

When people reproach you as a result of that. He says, those who reproach on their part, God is blasphemed, but on your part, God is glorified. God is blasphemed on their part. Now, what Peter is explaining is that when people reproach you for the name of Christ, it's really not you that they're reproaching. They're not insulting you. They're not upset with you. They're not fighting against you as much as they're fighting against God.

And it's God in you that they hate. It's God in you that they're fighting against and rebelling against. That's why Jesus said, look, if you were of the world, the world would love you. You wouldn't have these problems if you were of the world, Jesus says. But the world comes against you because it hates God. The world reproaches you because the world is in rebellion against God. And they're resisting God. And you're a reminder of God to them. And so they fight against you.

And so on their part, God is blasphemed. They're attempting to blaspheme God, but on your part, God is glorified. For you, you can glorify God in the midst of that for a couple of reasons. First of all, the fact that they're reproaching you and coming against you so severely is a testimony of the work that God is doing in you and that you're walking as a sojourner and living as a stranger and they think it's strange and that's why they're coming against you.

And so you can glorify God and say, thank you God, you've done a work in my life that people can see. You've transformed me. I'm not the same person anymore. I don't live like the rest of the world any longer. And they can see that, oh, thank you God. I glorify you. I praise you. I magnify you. You are good because you've done that work in me. On their part, he's blasphemed. But on your part, he's glorified.

He's also glorified because the very fact that they're fighting against you and persecuting you is their own testimony that God is speaking to them through you and they're rebelling against Him. God is glorified either way. On their part, He's blaspheming, but on your part, God is glorified. Verse 15, He says, But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people's matters.

So on the one hand, we're to expect suffering. On the other hand, not all suffering really what God intends for us. He says, let none of you suffer as a murderer. To suffer the consequences for wrongdoing, there's nothing valuable in that as far as what Peter is talking about here. That's not glorifying God. So you do wrong, you get caught, you suffer the consequences. There's no glorifying God in that.

So we're to suffer, but we're to suffer for the name of Christ. We're to suffer because we're living the way that God has called us to. We're to suffer because we're witnesses of Him and we're obedient to Him. But we're not to suffer as a murderer or as a thief, as an evildoer or as a busybody in other people's matters. Now, some people become, well, they go beyond what the scripture has instructed us.

So we could think, well, who would suffer as a murderer if they're a Christian? That doesn't make any sense. Well, think about, for just a moment with me, those who would go to any length for their cause. Let's say those who are against abortion. Now, abortion is wrong, and it's not right, and we oppose it. But that does not mean that we should suffer as a murderer. Even very recently, back in May of this year,

A guy by the name of Scott Roeder went into a Lutheran church where there was an abortionist doctor and he murdered him there in the middle, in the church foyer. Why? Well, because abortion is wrong. And so now he's in prison. He's on trial, charged with murder. That's not the kind of suffering that Peter is talking about. That's not the kind of suffering that we're to endure. It's not that we just kind of do whatever it takes to

That we shine the light of Christ. That we live our lives in such a way that the world knows that God is working in us and through us. We're not to suffer as thieves. You could say, well, hey, I'm taking the money, but I'm giving it to the church. I'm tithing on it. So, you know, it's good. It's working out for good. It doesn't work that way. Robin Hood is a story. It's not a model for your life. It's not how God has called us to suffer.

We are going to suffer, but we're not to bring on the suffering. We're not to do stupid things and just suffer the consequences. We're to live as witnesses for Jesus Christ and then to rejoice and glorify God in the midst of the suffering that comes. And so we're not to suffer for doing evil. And I think Peter here, of course, he's not listing every sin. He's kind of just throwing out a couple examples and giving a wide range of things. You notice busybody is thrown in there along with murderers and thieves and evildoers.

Someone who's a gossip and a slander and involved in other people's matters. And we're not to suffer as that as well. Instead, we're to suffer for being an example of God, the light of Jesus Christ to the world around us. Verse 16. He says, Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter. So not as an evildoer, not as someone who does wrong. That's not how we're to suffer. But if we suffer as a Christian...

if we suffer because we have taken for ourselves the name of Christ, if we suffer because we've taken for ourselves the heart of Christ and the attitude of Jesus, and we walk in His ways and we serve others like He did because we're walking with Him and following Him and modeling our life after His, if we suffer because of that, Peter says, well, don't be ashamed, but glorify God in this matter. Don't be ashamed of that.

If someone comes against you and you experience suffering and persecution because of the name of Christ, don't be ashamed, he says. Now, I'm not an expert in history, nor am I an expert in projecting the future. But in the recent months, there's been quite a few pastors who have shared some very serious things about what they see coming and what is being lined up for us in this country. Many godly men say,

who we all know and trust, have been sharing that tougher times are coming for Christians here in the United States. That freedoms, if things continue on the track that they're on, are going to be restricted. And there's going to be more severe persecution than we've experienced in the past. And that's very possible. But don't think that it's strange. And don't be freaked out about it. If you suffer as a Christian, it's an opportunity for you to glorify God

to bring glory to His name. It's not something to be ashamed about. Now, sometimes when we suffer persecution as Christians, well, it causes us to be ashamed. You know, people mock and ridicule us and, oh, it's so stupid. How could you believe in God? And then we quiet down about our faith. Now I feel stupid. I don't want to talk about that. But Peter says, no, no, don't be ashamed. Don't be ashamed.

Don't back down in your witness. Don't cower in a corner and be afraid to shine the light. Don't put a cover over the light that's on the hill or the candle that's in the room. No, glorify God in this matter. Don't be ashamed. Don't feel like you've brought anything bad upon the name of Christ because you couldn't answer their ridiculous questions. You don't need to be ashamed.

Because people have come against you. No, it's an opportunity for you to glorify God. In the book of Acts chapter 5, when the apostles were beaten by the religious leaders, it says that they went away rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name. So they went away rejoicing, just like Peter tells us to, and they were rejoicing because, oh man, praise God, we were counted worthy to suffer for the name of Jesus Christ. It was a privilege. It was something that they were able to rejoice in.

But what's interesting is the very next verse tells us, And daily in the temple and in every house they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ or Jesus as the Messiah. And so what did they do? They're beaten. They suffered for the name of Christ. And then they continued doing what God had called them to do.

It's not that they suffered and they rejoiced, oh great, and then they said, okay, well, we've got to stop doing that because we're going to experience more suffering, or they told us not to. They didn't go and cower in a corner and not do what God had called them to. In the temple every day, that's publicly, they were proclaiming Jesus Christ, even though they'd just been beaten for...

that same proclamation. Personally, as they met people and privately, they were going house to house. They were proclaiming Jesus as the Christ. They were faithful to the call that God had given to them. If you suffer for the name of Christ, if you experience persecution, don't be ashamed. Don't stop doing what God has called you to do. But glorify God. Be faithful to what He's called you to. And praise Him. Exalt Him. Magnify Him.

As you continue to be obedient to him. And so we're to rejoice in the midst of suffering. We're to glorify God in the midst of suffering. And finally, number three, we're to commit our souls to him. Look at verse 17. He says,

Verse 18. Verse 19. Verse 20.

Commit your soul to Him. In the midst of suffering, in the midst of hardship, in the midst of persecution, trust yourself to God. Trust your soul to God. He explains that the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God. The time has come for there to be judgment in the house of God. Now, the judgment is not eternal judgment. It's not punishment. That was taking care of the cross, but it

It's a judgment of purification. With the idea of the fire, the fiery furnace that we go through in trials and afflictions and persecutions. The fire for us is purification. The fire for those who do not believe in God, well, that's a fire of punishment. David Guzik shows it this way. He says, "...the same fire that consumes straw will purify gold." The fire is the same.

But its purpose and application is different. And its effect is different upon the straw and the gold. And so you and I as Christians, we, well, we're put through the fire. But those who are born again, they're not straw. They're much more precious. It's a refining fire, like fire refines gold. It's a purification that takes place. And through the trial, through the suffering, God is working in us

and conforming us into the image of His Son, Jesus Christ. For the unbeliever, the fire that awaits them is a fire of judgment and punishment. God uses trials and sufferings in our life to refine us and purify us. We're familiar with that from James chapter 1. There in verse 2, James says, Why? Because you know that the testing of your faith produces patience.

Romans chapter 5, Paul says, we glory in tribulations knowing that tribulation produces perseverance and perseverance character and character hope. God uses affliction, difficulty, trials and tribulations in our life to bring forth the characteristics and the traits that we desperately need. So judgment begins at the house of God. We're disciplined. He deals with us. He refines us. He purifies us.

To deal with the impurities, to get rid of them. But he asked the question, so if it begins with us first and we're experiencing the refining fires of God, he says, what will the end of those who do not obey the gospel be? What's going to be the end of those who are disobedient to the gospel? Those who do not believe in Jesus. What will be the end of them? He quotes Proverbs 11.31, He says,

Saying, verse 18, now if the righteous one is scarcely saved, where will the ungodly and the sinner appear? So the righteous one is saved through fire, in a sense, through the afflictions, as God is doing this purifying work. And if that's going on for Christians, for those who believe in God, well, what's happening for those who do not believe in God? Well, as he is alluding to, and as I referred to, there's a different fire that awaits those who do not believe in God.

It's the lake of fire. It's eternal judgment. It's separation from God for eternity. Righteousness and salvation is found only through Jesus Christ. And it's by faith in Jesus that we have the righteousness of God, that we're clothed in His righteousness, and that we have right standing with God until we enter into eternity. God's still working on us, though. We have right standing with God right now, but He's still working in us, purifying us.

bringing us to the place that He desires for us to be. But for those who do not believe, they have a different destination. We're looking forward to, we're going through these fiery trials with the hope of eternity and the reward that's in heaven. But the world around us, they don't have that same destination. Those who do not believe, those who are disobedient to the gospel of God, who refuse to put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ,

they will suffer the consequences eternally, separated from God in the lake of fire. Verse 19, Therefore, let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good as to a faithful Creator. So he's giving the contrast here. Suffer now, reward in heaven. Refuse to listen to God now, eternal suffering.

And so he says, let those who suffer according to the will of God. The will of God is for us to right now endure these afflictions and go through so that we can spend eternity with Him. This is part of the will of God. It's part of the plan of God. And therefore we can know that it's good. God's priority is not your immediate comfort or happiness. His priority is your eternal joy, your eternal state.

And so He works in us right now because of what He knows awaits us in eternity. He's working in us things that we'll enjoy for the rest of eternity through the life that we're living, through the things that we're experiencing as we live our lives as sojourners. And so Peter says, commit your souls to Him in doing good. Commit yourself to Him. Commit your soul to Him. Trust in Him, even in the midst of suffering and difficulty and affliction.

Because He is a faithful Creator. Trust in Him. You can trust Him with your life. You can trust Him even in the hardship. You can trust that He is a faithful Creator. But notice He says, committing your souls to Him in doing good. Very rarely is there immediate reward for doing good. Kind of as a rule of thumb, doing good is rewarded later.

Doing evil is rewarded immediately. And that's where faith comes in. Because God calls us to do good, to obey Him. We don't experience the reward right away. The reward is promised for later. We're trusting Him in the meantime, committing our souls to Him. Think about it this way. If you rob a bank, there's immediate reward. Right there, immediately, you get the money. But later on come the consequences for that. And the suffering is a result of that.

But if you, instead of taking money out of the bank, robbing the bank, if you open a savings account, you put money in the bank, well, you don't get the reward right away. In fact, you kind of suffer the loss because you don't have that money that you put into the bank. But later on, you get the return. The reward comes later. In the same way, spiritually speaking, in life in general, right now, we're doing good.

We're shining the light of Christ. We're called to be sojourners, to live the way that God has called us to. This brings upon us suffering, persecution, attack for the name of Christ. We're not experiencing the reward of the life that we're living for God at the moment. And really, we shouldn't be expecting to because the reward that God has for us, Jesus says, great is your reward in heaven. That's the reward. That's what we're working for. That's what we're going towards.

That's the reward that we're hoping for. And so in the meantime, we commit our souls to Him. We say, Lord, I'm suffering, I'm hurting, I'm doing what You've called me to do. I'm not reaping the benefits of it yet, but I trust You. And so I'm committing myself to You and I'm continuing to do good even though I'm suffering, even though it's bringing persecution, even though it's bringing attacks in my life. I'm going to be faithful to You because You're a faithful creator and I can commit myself to You.

The Apostle Paul expressed this in 2 Timothy 1, verse 12. He's there in prison writing to Timothy and he says, Paul says, look, I'm suffering, I'm imprisoned, I've experienced all kinds of tribulations, but I'm not ashamed.

I'm not holding back. Now I'm not going to stop preaching the gospel because I've suffered all these things. No, I'm going to be faithful because I know the one I've believed. I know God. And I'm persuaded, Paul says, that He is able to keep what I've committed to Him. That's my life. I've committed to Him my soul. And it's yours, Lord. And you're going to keep it until that day. And so Paul says, I'm not ashamed. I'm suffering now.

But I know that God is able to keep what I've committed to Him. Commit your souls to Him in doing good. Continue to do good. You know, for us as Christians, as we're obedient to what God has instructed us, we experience the persecution, the suffering that comes for being a witness of Christ. The suffering that we experience here, it's the worst thing that we will ever experience in a good way.

Meaning that we suffer here for a little bit, but we have eternity in store for us. God will wipe away every tear. There'll be no more sorrow, no more death. The suffering will be done. We suffer for a short time here in following Jesus and being obedient to Him as strangers and foreigners here in this world. But what we go through here is the worst that it gets. It's only up from here for Christians. There's much great reward in store for those who walk with God.

For those who do not believe, the things that they experience in this life is the best they will ever experience. Because what's in store for those who do not believe, well, it's far worse than any of us can imagine. And so Peter's saying, look, you're called to be a sojourner. You're called to be a stranger, to be different, to conduct yourself in a way that the world around you knows better.

You believe in Jesus Christ and that you love him and that he is working in your life that he is alive and through your life God will be speaking to the people around you and because they're in rebellion against God Well, they're gonna attack you and they're gonna bring persecution because they don't want to be reminded of God and you to them are a reminder that God is reaching out to them and calling out to them and so there's going to be suffering and

But in the midst of it, you can rejoice. Because that suffering is storing up for you treasure in heaven. There's a great reward for you in heaven as you endure suffering for the name of Jesus Christ. And so you can glorify God and praise Him and magnify Him and exalt Him because of the work that He's doing in you, even in the midst of the suffering. So Peter says, commit your soul to Him. Trust in Him. He's a faithful creator. He won't let you down. Continue to do good.

Continue to do what God has called you to do. Because there's a lost and dying world around us. And they need to hear the gospel. Stop trying so hard to fit in. Be the witness that God has called you to be. That they may have an opportunity to turn and get right with Him. Amen? Let's pray. God, I pray that you would help us not to shrink back from suffering. Not to be so fearful of it that we...

are ashamed and we hold back and we do not do what you've called us to do. But God, I pray that you would help us to live as sojourners, that we would walk with you, that we would be obedient to you. And God, yes, it's going to bring suffering. It's going to bring persecution and hardship. But I thank you, God, that you are a faithful creator and we can trust completely and wholly in you. Fill us with your spirit, God, that we might have boldness

to declare Your Word with clarity, to preach Your Gospel without apology. Help us, Lord, to accurately represent You in the things that we say, but also in the way that we live. Teach us, Lord, to be sojourners and strangers and in the midst of suffering. I pray that You would help us to rejoice, to glorify You, and to commit ourselves to You completely. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

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