Tawa Baptist

Suffering

Scripture: 1st Peter 4:12-19

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Manage your expectations
  • Suffering is evidence
  • Entrust yourself to God
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

Today we continue our series in the New Testament letter of first Peter, focusing on chapter 4, verses 12-19. Peter was writing to encourage the fledging church in Asia Minor who were suffering because of their faith in Jesus.

In today’s reading Peter gives some practical advice on how Christian believers can handle suffering for their faith in a positive way. From 1st Peter, chapter 4, verse 12 we read…

12 Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you that is taking place to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ,so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. 14 If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed,for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. 15 If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. 16 However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name. 17 For it is time for judgment to begin with God’s household;and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18 And, “If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?”

19 So then, those who suffer according to God’s willshould entrust themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us.

As I mentioned at the beginning, this reading contains Peter’s advice on how Christians can handle suffering for their faith in a way that is life giving.

Three things Peter suggests: Manage your expectations. Think of suffering as evidence and entrust yourself to God.   

Manage your expectations

Peter, as you know, was a fisherman by trade. Fishing can be a fickle business and involves a fair bit of suffering. It is heavy, dangerous work. Sometimes you can be out all night and come home cold, wet and tired, with nothing to show for your efforts. It doesn’t seem fair. Eventually though, if you persevere, you get a reward. I guess through his work as a fisherman Peter learned to manage his expectations. 

Some of you, over the holidays, may have completed a jigsaw puzzle. Those puzzlers who like a bit of a challenge might be familiar with the Wasgij range of puzzles. Wasgij is simply the word ‘Jigsaw’ spelt backwards.

With a regular puzzle you have the advantage of seeing the picture you are putting together on the box. You know what to expect. But with a Wasgij the picture on the box is not the same as the picture you are assembling. So you don’t know what to expect. Often it is the inverse of the image you are given on the box.

In some ways the journey of Christian faith is a bit like working on a Wasgij. When we become a Christian we may (for whatever reason) have this picture in mind about how our life is going to be. We may think life will be easier now that we believe in Jesus because we have God on our side. We might imagine people will be okay with our decision to become a Christian and want to join us, but that is not necessarily a realistic expectation.

While it is true that God is on our side when we put our faith in Jesus, it does not automatically follow that our life will get better or that others will welcome our decision. Your life may improve in some ways but it will probably get harder in other ways. Some people may be tolerant of your decision to follow Christ, but you may also lose some friends.

Jesus of course was very clear that following him would be no picnic. He did not mislead anyone.

In verses 12 & 13 of chapter 4 Peter writes…

Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you that is taking place to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ,   

Peter, the veteran fisherman, is gently telling his readers to manage their expectations. People are naturally surprised when something does not happen as they expect. Peter is removing the element of surprise by reminding them that they can’t expect everyone to celebrate their decision to follow Jesus. They should expect a bit of push back. Christ suffered, therefore as his followers, you can expect to suffer as well, although probably not to the same extent.

Christianity, at that stage in history, was a brand new religion. It was not an established tradition and so the general population did not really know it or trust it. Most of the people Peter was writing to were Gentiles. For them converting to Christianity meant a comprehensive change of lifestyle.

At the time of Peter’s letter, it wasn’t that Christians were systematically persecuted as such. That came later. It was more that they were socially marginalized. People spoke against them to heap shame on them.    

Peter describes the rejection they are facing as a ‘fiery ordeal to test them’. This is a metaphor. Just as precious metals, like silver and gold, are tested and proved through fire, so too the precious metal of Christian faith is tested by the fiery ordeal of being insulted and put to shame. If Peter’s readers stayed loyal to Christ, even though people who were once their friends and family rejected them, then the metal of their faith was proved true.

Now in saying that we need to manage our expectations Peter does not mean always thinking the worst will happen. If we do that we will soon lose hope. Peter wants his readers to replace their surprise (or disappointment) with the joy that comes from hope. So, while we need to be prepared to suffer in the short to medium term, we still remain confident that God will work things for good in the long run. That is our hope and that is where our joy comes from.  

Last year we baptized a new believer here in our church. A few weeks ago we prayed for him as he had to return home to India. His prayer request was that he be able to confess the name of Jesus before his family and his community and that this would go well. But even if he was rejected he wanted to stay true to Jesus. This man was managing his expectations, just like Peter said. He was expecting a fiery ordeal but still hoping for the best.

Most of us have not had to suffer the kind of test of faith that many of our Christian brothers and sisters overseas have. But even so we still do come under some scrutiny and pressure for our faith in Jesus. The wider NZ society in which we live is not as friendly toward Christians as it once was. There is a certain loss of face and loneliness that comes with following Jesus, which is one reason why we need to love one another. 

I remember when I left my job in Tauranga to train for ministry in Auckland, I got a mixed response. Some people were encouraging and supportive. Some couldn’t understand it and told me so. Others didn’t really care. Then there were one or two who, after I had left, said some things that were unkind and untrue. We can’t expect everyone to like us let alone understand or accept us.

The journey of faith is like a Wasgij puzzle. The picture we have in our mind beforehand is seldom, if ever, the same as the reality we end up experiencing. One strategy for handling suffering is managing our expectations. Another strategy is to think of suffering as evidence.            

Suffering is evidence

When we suffer in some way we tend to ask ourselves, why? Why is this happening to me? Why does this sort of thing happen to anyone?

If you are a person of faith, then your mind may take you down one of a number of different paths. If you have a sensitive conscience you might, for example, ask, ‘What have I done wrong? Is God angry with me? Am I being punished, is that why I’m suffering?’

On the other hand, you could go down another path in your mind and think to yourself, ‘This isn’t fair. God must have abandoned me. He doesn’t care.’

Or you might try to give meaning to your suffering by telling yourself, ‘This is character building. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.’

Peter’s first century audience were suffering injustice for their obedience to Christ and Peter offers a completely different way to think about it. Peter’s advice is not to think of suffering as a mystery or a problem to be solved. (Don’t go down that rabbit hole. You risk getting lost.) Instead think of suffering as evidence. In particular, suffering for Christ is evidence that the Spirit of God is with you. It’s also evidence that you belong to the household of God. From verse 14 Peter writes…

14 If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed,for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.

Now when Peter says, if you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, he does not mean that suffering and insult are a blessing. They are not. Suffering and insult hurt. Under certain circumstances suffering can be character building but it is more likely to destroy character. It is more accurate to say that suffering reveals character. Suffering provides evidence of what a person is like on the inside.

In any case the blessing is not in the suffering. The blessing is in the presence of God’s Spirit. 

Suffering for Christ is no cause for guilt or shame. God is not punishing you. To the contrary, being insulted for the name of Christ is evidence of the Spirit of glory. Suffering injustice, in a noble way, is the prerequisite of glory.  

What’s more, suffering for your association with Jesus does not imply that God has abandoned you. Far from being abandoned, suffering for Christ is evidence of God’s presence. The Holy Spirit being the manifestation of God’s presence.

Most of you would have heard of the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. The thing that people seem to overlook about Goldie Locks is that she was a burglar, a vandal and a meddler. She broke into someone else’s house, ate their porridge, wreaked their furniture and messed up their beds. Being blonde and cute is no excuse for bad behavior. You have to ask yourself, what was a small child doing on her own in a bear’s house? I expect her family and friends told her to go and play in the woods because she was annoying them. 

The real heroes in this story are the three bears because (in one version of the story at least) they showed Christian love and forbearance to the delinquent child. Despite the bad reputation bears get in the media they didn’t eat her or take revenge in anyway. They didn’t even file a complaint with the police or try to press charges. They simply let Goldilocks go, cleaned up her mess and quietly got on with their lives.  

In verses 15 & 16 Peter makes it clear that not all suffering qualifies for the blessing of God’s Spirit. Peter says…

15 If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. 16 However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name.

We all have a bit of Goldie Locks in us, don’t we. You know, we are not easily satisfied. We want things ‘just right’. It’s like Peter is saying, ‘Don’t be like Goldilocks. Be like the three bears’.

The label ‘Christian’ was not thought up by the followers of Jesus. The nickname ‘Christian’ was coined by unbelievers. It was not a term of endearment either. It was an insult. Like bears, Christians had a bad reputation. People hated them because they were different. Christians wouldn’t bow to idols or participate in pagan rituals.

To most people in the first century Christians were a detestable lot and lumped in the same category as criminals. Not because they broke any laws or did anything wrong. But simply because their religion was new and unusual.  

Peter’s point is that you cannot expect the blessing of God’s Spirit, the Spirit of glory, if you do things that are clearly wrong (like murder and theft). Nor can you expect God’s blessing if you do things that are simply annoying (like meddling in other people’s business). If someone suffers for being bad or foolish (like Goldilocks did) then they are not suffering according to God’s will; they are suffering by their own hand and deserve what they get.     

The suffering Peter has in mind is suffering for bearing the name of Christ. It is undeserved suffering, similar to what the bears endured as a result of Goldilocks’ visit. 

But wait, suffering provides even more evidence. Suffering for Christ now (in this life) proves you are part of the household of God and therefore will be saved in the long run. From verse 17 Peter writes…

17 For it is time for judgment to begin with God’s household;and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God?

Judgment has become almost a swear word in the English language today. It has undertones of condemnation and punishment. However, there is more to God’s judgment than that. Judgment also includes the process of discerning or sorting or deciding. And that is probably the sense in which Peter is using the word in relation to God’s household.  

Peter is implying that the hostility his readers are experiencing is an integral part of God’s end-times judgment. [1] It has the effect of sorting out those who are loyal to Christ and those who are not. If it was too easy to obey Jesus everyone would do it and how would you know who was truly loyal.  

Everyone, whether they are a Christian or not, must face God’s judgment at some stage. Believers get judged first but if we remain loyal to Christ we do not need to fear. Suffering for Christ now is, in fact, evidence that you belong to God’s household and that is something to celebrate.

Okay, so Peter’s first two pieces of advice for handling suffering are:

Take the element of surprise out by managing your expectations, and

Don’t approach suffering as though it were a mystery to be solved, rather think of suffering as hard evidence that God is with you and for you.

Peter’s third piece of advice is, entrust yourself to God.

Entrust yourself to God

When you reach a certain age, or when you get married or when you have children, it is advisable to update your will. When you go to the solicitor they normally ask you who you would like to appoint as your power of attorney. And if you have children they want to know who you will entrust with the care of your children.

You go to the solicitor imagining it is going to be a quick appointment and you come away thinking who can I really trust with my children and my money? 

In verse 19 of chapter 4 Peter says quite plainly…

19 So then, those who suffer according to God’s willshould entrust themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.

In the first Century they didn’t have banks like we do today. So if you wanted to go away for a while you had to find a friend (someone you trusted completely) to look after your life savings. You committed or entrusted your nest egg to that person and on your return they were honour bound to give it all back to you.

The Greek word Peter uses for entrust, in verse 19, is the technical word for depositing money with a trusted friend. It is the same word used by Jesus on the cross, in Luke 23:46, when he said: “Father, into your hands I commit (or entrust) my spirit.”  

Peter is saying, when we suffer according to God’s will (and not as a murderer or a thief or a meddler) we should entrust ourselves to our faithful Creator and continue to do good.

The implication is that God is a close friend to those who suffer according to his will; close enough to be your power of attorney and banker all rolled into one. Except it isn’t just your money you are entrusting to God. It is your reputation, your job, the rightness of your cause, your family and your very life you are placing in God’s hands.

Peter describes God here as a faithful Creator. This speaks of God’s trustworthiness and also his wisdom and power to make things new and to restore order to the world.

The message here is that we are not defined by what others say about us or do to us. Therefore, we do not need to waste our time and energy trying to justify ourselves to others. We have nothing to prove. God will vindicate us in the end. So we can invest our time and energy into doing good now.

Suffering drains life and vitality from you. Too much suffering is soul destroying; it weakens your character. Doing good, on the other hand, nourishes your soul; it affirms your identity in Christ and builds character.               

Conclusion:

This morning we have heard three pieces of advice, from Peter, for those who suffer for being a Christian.

Do not let suffering take you by surprise. Manage your expectations.

Do not try to solve the problem of suffering in some deep philosophical way. Instead think of suffering as hard evidence that God is with you and for you.

And thirdly, when you suffer injustice, entrust yourself to God and do those things that are good for you and good for others. In this way you will restore what the locusts have eaten.

May God give us the strength to remain loyal to Christ when our faith is tested and the grace to apply Peter’s advice when we suffer.

If you are going through a hard time at the moment and would like prayer, then there will be someone available to pray with you after the service at the front by the water cooler.

The musicians will lead us now in our closing hymn.  

Questions for discussion or reflection:

What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?

  • Have you ever suffered because of your association with Christ? What happened and how did you feel?
  • How might we manage our expectations, without always thinking the worst?
  • When you suffer, what path does your mind go down? (E.g. do you think you are being punished or do you think God has abandoned you or do you think this is character building or something else?)
  • What difference does it make thinking of suffering for Christ as evidence that God is with you and for you? What is the blessing in being insulted for bearing the name of Christ?    
  • What does it mean to entrust yourself to God and do good? How might we do this? What good things can you do for yourself and others that will nourish your soul and build your character?

[1] Karen Jobes, Commentary on 1st Peter, page 292