Alright guys, go ahead and take your Bibles and turn to 1 Peter. Turn to 1 Peter in your Bible. And if this is your first time with us, we've got some guests with us. We're glad that you're here. And we've been studying together through The epistle, 1 Peter, that's gonna be towards the end of your New Testament. And in this book, Peter is writing to a group of believers that he calls the elect exiles. And Peter refers to them that way because they were scattered, they were run out of their homes, they were displaced, and they were facing immense persecution, these embattled believers, they needed to be reminded of the hope that they had in Christ first and foremost. And that is ultimately why Peter writes to them, to remind them of the hope that they had in Christ, the living hope and the eternal inheritance that they had waiting for them in heaven. And so the encouragement even for us today as believers is that we have the same inheritance waiting for us. We have a an imperishable, unfading inheritance, Peter says. That means nothing can be done to take away the eternal inheritance that you have. And this is, of course, unique from any kind of earthly possession that we may have or value that can be taken away. It does corrupt. It can be destroyed. And Peter writes to say, keep your focus on eternal things, things that cannot be corrupted and destroyed by the earth. And so Peter wants them to remain focused on spiritual pursuits. And as we had worked our way through the beginning of chapter four, we'll pick up in chapter four, but over the last two weeks, we've been looking at verses one through 11. And Peter begins at chapter four, reminding the believers of the responsibility that they had as stewards of God's grace. Peter says that they should steward the grace of God. What does this mean to be a steward? Well, Peter, he's really seeking to remind us, he's seeking to remind all believers of a very important reality, and that is that they were saved by grace, and because they've been saved by the grace of Jesus Christ, that grace should also transform their lives, right? we understand this. This is something that we've talked about several times in youth group. This is what we would say these are three separate parts to salvation. We have justification. This is the moment in time that you are justified before God. And then we have sanctification. This is the ongoing process of being transformed more into the image of Jesus Christ. And then finally we have glorification. This is the day that Jesus returns and believers are finally glorified. We are in a sinless state, we're no longer struggling with sin or the flesh. And so again, Peter wants the believers to recognize, most importantly, they have a responsibility as stewards of God's grace to not only be justified by grace, but if they were going to claim that they were justified by grace, they must also be sanctified by grace. The same truth exists for us today. And we see this in 1 Peter 4, verse 3, Peter says, for the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry. And so literally what Peter's saying in verse three, there's a lot there that he throws at the believers, but he literally is saying the time for sinning is over. As a believer, you are supposed to live differently. Your time for sinning is enough. And so once again, Peter reminds the believers then in verse seven, that they were living in the end times, and they must make their lives count for Jesus Christ. This is a practical way that they could steward the grace of God is that recognizing they're living in the end times, they needed to keep their focus on Jesus Christ and point the world to Jesus Christ. This is their focus. And so, Last week, we saw one of the primary ways that we can do this, that we can live by God's grace, is to use our spiritual gifts to serve one another. Notice, Peter says, love one another earnestly. And he goes on in verse 10, as each has received a gift, use it to serve one another. Again, as good stewards of God's grace. And so, as we consider this, Peter's going to continue now in verses 12 through 19, and he's going to continue with this theme of the end times, living in the last days, and he's going to also return to the theme of suffering for righteousness. And suffering is a powerful theme for us. It's something that we all have to face. It's something you all likely have already faced. It's something you will continue to face through life. And so it's a very practical message for us. How do we face suffering? How do we handle suffering in life? This is what Peter writes to us about. You can be informed about this. You can know how to respond to suffering. And so he'll talk about this through the end of chapter four. We'll look at verses 12 through 19 this evening. And so we'll go ahead and begin by reading our text. 1 Peter 4, verse 12 says this, Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you, but rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when His glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed because the spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. For it is the time for judgment to begin at the household of God. And if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And if the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner? Therefore, let those who suffer according to God's will entrust their souls to a faithful creator while doing good. As we normally do, let's go ahead and bow and ask for God's grace as we look at his word, ask for hearts that are ready to respond this evening. Dear Lord, we're thankful for your word, and we're thankful for the message of Peter to the beleaguered church, and Lord, we see even many similar themes carry over for our lives. Your word is always applicable to us, and so we ask for grace to see areas of our lives that need to change because of your word, because of the message of your word. Lord, I thank you for the group that we have here tonight, and I pray that we would all approach your word with a sense of humility, a sense of reverence, and that we would be ready to learn from the sole source of truth that you have given to us. In Jesus' name, amen. Well, Adoniram Judson, the dedicated missionary to Burma, had just recently been released from 21 long months in a Burmese prison. During his time in prison, Judson was malnourished. He lived in horrendous subhuman conditions. and he was regularly subjected to torture. Shortly after his release from prison, to make matters worse, Judson's wife, Anne, tragically died. And despite immense physical and immense emotional suffering, Judson pressed on undeterred, and he was determined to preach the gospel to a very hostile and remote village. And the story goes that upon arriving at the village, Judson asked the village chief for permission to preach to his people. The chief was a very hard and skeptical man. He was wary of outsiders, as most village chiefs usually are. And he responded, I'm not afraid of your message, I'm afraid of your scars. You see, the chief wasn't worried that Judson's words might sway his people or convince his people, but that Judson's powerful testimony of suffering would win them to Christ. His suffering, and not only his suffering, but his perseverance demonstrated that Judson had a truth worth suffering for. Today, as we look at this text, we will see Peter return to the powerful theme of suffering. Peter's gonna instruct the believers in three main ways. First, he's gonna tell them how they should respond to suffering. Then he's gonna tell them how to evaluate their suffering. Why are they suffering? And finally, he'll tell them who to turn to when they're suffering. Above everything else, Peter will demonstrate that believers have a truth worth suffering for. Understand that very clearly. Believers have a truth worth suffering for. And so Peter begins in verse 12, writing this, as though something strange were happening to you. And so Peter begins this passage and he refers to these believers as the beloved. And this is significant because it really demonstrates Peter's heart for these believers. And Peter's heart has been demonstrated throughout this letter, but here we see another tangible example of it. Peter is not writing as a far off, unaffected individual who does not truly, deeply care for these believers. He's kind of just giving them some instruction. Hey, you might want to think about doing these things. No, no, no. Peter is, he's writing again, almost as this father figure, a loving, a loving spiritual mentor. And he writes to inform them of something that is coming. Suffering is coming, it's going to be difficult, and he wants them to know how they should respond. Again, Peter wants the believers, he wants you and me today, to know how we should respond to suffering. Do you know how to respond to suffering? No matter what life throws at you, are you prepared to respond in a biblical way. If you're not, we can look at this text and be informed. Peter is going to accomplish that for us this evening. And so, remember the context of the epistle as a whole. Again, Peter says, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you. And so, we want to also remember, why is Peter writing to begin with? He's writing, again, to some very beleaguered They were likely living in or living near Rome before it was burned to the ground by Nero. And you might remember historically that Nero wanted to expand the infrastructure of Rome. He wanted to build this elaborate palace in Rome and there simply wasn't space. Rome was very built up at this point. And so Nero, what does he do? There's a very simple solution to this. and he burned Rome to the ground. And historians such as Tacitus and Suetonius immediately were suspicious of Nero. They accused him of burning the city to the ground. And so then Nero, of course, needed a scapegoat. Who is Nero going to blame instead? Well, the easy answer was the Christians. They were an easy mark. They were already a hated group. And so Peter's language in verse 12 It's very unique, and the term fiery trial, this may even hint at the burning of Rome. This term may even hint at the type of persecution that the Christians were going to be facing. But again, this is certainly indicating to us that the believers were facing immense, incredible suffering, incredible persecution. And so he says, don't be surprised at this. And again, the phrase fiery trial, this is used very few times throughout our New Testament. It could literally be translated. Do not be surprised at the burning ordeal. This is literally Peter's word that he uses here in the Greek. It's also translated elsewhere in the New Testament as simply burning. And so what exactly is Peter referring to? Some commentators believe that Peter might literally be referring to believers who were being burned alive. Don't be surprised at this level of suffering. And we would look at that and say, what are you talking about, Peter? I mean, this is incredible suffering. And he's telling the believers, don't be surprised at this. And so Peter may be communicating that. It's probably more likely, I think, that Peter's calling the suffering, he's calling it a burning ordeal, to communicate the refinement that suffering brings. The refinement that it would bring specifically to the spiritual walk of the believers, to the believers' faith. And this is not a new idea for Peter. Earlier in chapter one, verse seven, Peter uses similar language to refer to the trials that the believers were facing. He wrote in verse seven, so that the tested genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. So as Peter issues this imperative command, he issues, once again, we've noticed this several times through Peter, imperative commands being issued. This is one of them. Do not be surprised. And at the same time, he's drawing on this previously used imagery that immense suffering is being used by God to purify his people. Incredibly difficult times, he's using this to draw his people closer to him. And I'm sure as you look back even over your life, there are situations that you could think back to, difficult times that you walked through, and why would that happen? This is the problem of suffering. This is an issue that people wrestle with all the time, still today, believers and unbelievers alike. Why do we suffer? Ultimately, because it draws God's people to himself. It draws God's people to himself. This is one of the biggest and best arguments that Christianity has for itself as a religion, is that suffering has a meaning within the realm of Christianity. Outside of Christianity, In a worldview like atheism, what's the purpose of suffering? We don't know. Life is hard and then you die. Deal with it. Christianity gives us a reason. God is using suffering to draw us to himself. This is the significance. And so we hopefully recognize that Peter's not teaching us anything foreign. This is not a foreign concept to the scriptures. proper biblical understanding of suffering is that it does purify the saints. It purifies the believer's faith. In Proverbs 27, 21, Solomon says, this isn't as common of a practice now but you see blacksmiths do this all the time and maybe if you're like me maybe you've seen some of these guys online that still do it the old-fashioned way and they've got a super hot furnace and I don't know the technical term for it but They'll take scraps of metal, metal that would be totally worthless otherwise, and they will put it into that furnace, melt it down, pour it into a form, and then we have this long process of cooling the metal, and reheating it, and shaping it, and cooling the metal, and reheating it, and shaping it. And why do we go through this process? So that something that was formerly worthless, metal that was otherwise scrap, trash, can be turned into a useful tool. And this is exactly what God does with His people. He takes faith that formerly is lacking, it's not fully formed, it's not perfected, and He transforms it through suffering, this refining process, into something that is usable. This is what is amazing about suffering. Again, we see this elsewhere in Scripture. Turn over just quickly to James 1, keep your finger in 1 Peter, and just look at James 1. Verses two through four, James says this, count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds. Four, you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness and let steadfastness have its full effect that you may be perfected and complete, lacking in nothing. And so Understand clearly, when we talk about suffering in the Bible, and we talk about the biblical understanding of suffering, Peter, James, the other apostles, maybe Paul, these individuals, these guys, they are not a crazy gym teacher mentality about suffering, right? Like, no pain, no gain. I mean, this is not the apostles or the biblical view of suffering, not at all. James doesn't say, count it all joy when you face trials because you love the pain. No, no, no, that's not what James says. He says, count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet these trials. Why? Because you know the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. Why do we count it all joy when we face suffering? Because we understand the end result. Because as children of God, suffering isn't meaningless. Suffering has a purpose. We know the end result and we hope in that. our suffering produces steadfastness. And James continues, let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfected and complete, lacking nothing. If you persevere, if you let steadfastness have its full effect, you will be complete, you will be fully equipped. This is the idea, you will be what God wants you to be. And this is, again, this is an incredible truth. hopefully you'll realize that these results, they don't happen if you're completely shocked by the trial. If you're going through life and you're totally caught off guard by suffering, and you weren't expecting it at all, and you don't even know how to respond to suffering, what's your response gonna be? You're caught off guard the whole time, the whole trial, you're just floundering through this trial and trying to find a way out and hoping that it's done at some point. And this is not what Peter wants us to do. This is not how James or Peter want us to respond. to suffering. You let steadfastness have its full effect," James says. Peter says, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal. And so they want us to be prepared. They want us to be equipped, not blindsided by suffering and, oh my word, how do we respond to this? I don't even understand what's going on right now. Just get this over with and get me out of this season of life. No, no, no, James and Peter, they say, let suffering run its course because you understand the end result. And so consider maybe even as you think back to a time where you were faced with a difficulty, a trial, What was your response? Maybe that suffering is just a normal part of life. Maybe the suffering in your case was a situation that was brought on, maybe by God's grace, because of your Christian testimony. Were you surprised at it? Were you prepared to face it? Were you prepared to walk through it? Did you handle it in a biblical way? Peter says, number one, first and foremost, don't be surprised when you're faced with trials and suffering. And so this is our number one goal. Do not be surprised. Don't be caught off guard. Know what's coming. And this is well understood, even in modern military schemes. I was listening to a military strategist talk just a couple of days ago on the radio. And he was saying the United States has military plans for every possible scenario or war or outbreak that could possibly happen. We have plans for them. That's what believers should be as well. Believers should be similarly equipped. We have a plan for every possible thing that could happen. We are equipped. Our minds are sharp. This is Peter's idea of sober-mindedness spiritually. You are ready, prepared for spiritual warfare. And so in verse 12, he tells us how we should not react. In verse 13, he's gonna get more detailed and tell us how we should react. And so notice verse 13. Peter says, but rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. And so Peter begins this verse saying, but rejoice. This is to say rather or instead. So he begins verse 12 saying, do not be surprised and then jump to verse 13. But instead, rather, instead of being surprised, what should you do? You should rejoice. And again, you'll notice straight away as you look at verse 13, the emphasis in verse 12 is that negative response to suffering. It's how you should not respond to suffering. Do not be surprised. And then as we look at verse 13, Peter gives us the positive response to suffering. What should you do instead? You should rejoice. This is the right response. If you're a believer, what should mark your attitude towards suffering and trials is rejoicing. You should rejoice, Peter says, insofar as you share Christ's sufferings. This word insofar as, this is really an interesting word. It literally means to the extent that you share in Christ's sufferings. Essentially, if you're met with trials and persecution, you should rejoice. If that persecution escalates, what should you do? Meet it with escalating rejoicing. This is what Peter means when he says, insofar as you share in the sufferings of Christ, as long as you continue to face suffering, you keep on rejoicing. This is Peter's purpose. In this response, it may seem hard to imagine. It may seem difficult to fathom. But we see examples throughout Scripture that confirm true believers do respond this way. If you look at Acts 5, verse 41, Peter and the apostles, they're actually, they're dragged before the Sanhedrin for preaching the gospel, and they're beaten, they're charged by this governing body not to preach the gospel anymore. And so this governing body brings them in, they say, don't preach the gospel anymore, and they beat them and they let them go. And in verse 41 we see the response, then they left the presence of the council rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name. This is the response of believers to suffering for the name. Righteousness, again, we see another example in Acts 16. Paul and Silas, they have been beaten and jailed again for preaching the gospel, specifically for casting a demon out of a young girl. And so they're helping this young girl and they're thrown in jail for this. And we find them in verse 25, praying and singing hymns. This is the power of God at work in an individual's life, that they can face suffering and rejoice. This is the response in Romans five, verse three, Paul says this, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance. Again, this isn't just a brainless, no pain, no gain mentality. That's not what Paul is talking about. He says we rejoice in suffering, why? Because we know what it produces. It produces endurance. And so we rejoice in this suffering. The author of Hebrews writes in Hebrews 10, Verse 34, for you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property. Don't miss that. You joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one. Do you see the common effect that suffering has? It produces an incredible spiritual maturity. It gives us an eternal focus that we are hard-pressed to acquire anywhere else. These believers have their personal property plundered. This is ravaged, decimated, stolen, destroyed, and they rejoiced in it, and they accepted it. Why? Because they knew they had something greater, an eternal inheritance. And for us today, it's highly unlikely as we would go out from this place and as we would go about our business this week, it's very unlikely that any of us in this room would be beaten, would be jailed, would have our property plundered for the sake of the gospel, for the sake of Jesus Christ. But what about something as simple as your reputation? What about popularity with unsafe friends? You willing to lose those things for the sake of the gospel? For the sake of Jesus Christ? And truly hope that we are, because if you're not, there are consequences. Notice the very last phrase of verse 13. Peter says, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. And this one's pretty simple. If you choose earthly possessions If you choose fame and popularity with the world over loyalty to Christ, you won't be rejoicing when his glory is revealed in the final day. That's what Peter's communicating. Choices have consequences. What do you value? If you value those things now, you won't rejoice then. This is Peter's point, your eyes will be open on the last day. You will recognize that it would have been a horrible mistake to live your life with a fleshly temporal perspective. And Peter's just told us in verse seven that the end of all things is at hand. Again, we are living in the last days. Jesus will return to rapture us to heaven. This is coming. It is a reality. Don't balk at it. Let it impact your life because it will happen. And Peter's saying, when it does, how you have lived your life will matter. And so when Jesus Christ returns, there are no do-overs, there are no retries. Will Jesus be pleased with how you've lived your life? Will he find that you were even a true follower? And why would I say that? Because Jesus himself speaks about the importance of our Christian testimony. In Matthew chapter 10, verse 28, Jesus says this, Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, instead, fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. If you look at verse 32 and 33, Jesus continues, so everyone who acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge before my Father who's in heaven. But whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven. Peter says, rejoice as you share in Christ's suffering so that you can rejoice at his second coming. Again, there will not be rejoicing for those who are not in Christ. There will not be rejoicing for those who are not in Christ. Again, Peter continues in verse 14. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed because the spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. And so Peter stresses once again that the reason for our suffering is as significant as the suffering itself. Evaluate why you are suffering. And so Peter's instructed us in verses 12 and 13, how we should respond to suffering, not to be surprised at it, but to rejoice in it. And now in verses 14 to 18, Peter is going to instruct us on how we should evaluate our suffering. Why are we facing persecution. He says, if you are insulted for the name of Jesus Christ, you are blessed. But, in verse 15, let none of you suffer as a murderer. And so, understand, suffering can, if we suffer for the right reasons, suffering can demonstrate the genuineness of our salvation. We've seen that over and over again through 1 Peter. We see it elsewhere in the Bible. But notice what Peter says at the end of verse 14, because the spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. This is again, this is referring to the presence of the Holy Spirit in a unique way, not only confirming the steadfastness of your faith, but also enabling you to persevere. And so Peter's point is primarily that suffering for Christ confirms the believer's conversion. It sets the individual apart. It demonstrates they belong to Christ. Now, of course, could a Christian respond in a sinful way to a trial? Absolutely. Could a Christian be unprepared for a trial, like we talked about earlier, and not respond in the biblical way, which is to rejoice? Is that possible? Absolutely. But when that happens, we recognize hopefully that a true believer is going to repent, a true believer is going to seek to respond rightly in the future. we hopefully understand it would be highly unlikely for an unbeliever to suffer for the name of Jesus Christ. This is actually one of the greatest testimonies we have to the resurrection of Jesus, is that every single one of his apostles dies a martyr's death for the resurrection, refusing to recant their beliefs that Jesus Christ truly raised from the dead. And why is that a powerful apologetic? Because people don't usually die for something they know is not true. And this is the same thing for suffering. Most of the time, if you don't believe in Jesus Christ, you're not going to be very willing to suffer for Him. Those who are, it demonstrates their reality as a true believer. You are willing to face hardship, persecution for your relationship with Jesus Christ. That demonstrates your true conversion. demonstrates that you are Jesus's, you are owned by him. And so notice verse 15, as Peter continues to evaluate the different causes of suffering, and one can certainly suffer for righteousness sake in verse 14, we see that you can suffer for righteousness sake, but there are other reasons that you could suffer. Notice verse 15, Peter says, but let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. A few times that Peter has discussed suffering in his short epistle, he seems to recognize frequently the importance of suffering for righteousness' sake. Back in 1 Peter 2, 20, when we first saw this theme of suffering in his epistle, Peter says, for what credit is it if when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it, you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. And Peter definitely wants to make very clear there are no bonus points for suffering just consequences of sin. Understand that clearly. If you do something sinful and you're caught and punished for it, that's not suffering in a good way for the glory of God. Peter says, I hope we understand that, but just in case we don't, Let's make it really, really clear. None of you should suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer. You might even say not all suffering is created equal in this way. And so if you've made a mistake or you've sinned against someone and you suffer the consequences of that, please don't be fooled into thinking that somehow you're glorifying God because you're suffering the just consequences of your sin. In fact, Peter's so adamant that none of the believers should ever suffer for wickedness, because just like suffering for righteousness can bring glory to God, which has been Peter's frequent theme, if you suffer for righteousness, it glorifies God. In the same way, suffering for wickedness would certainly bring dishonor to God's name. And so several sinful activities are completely condemned by Peter, he says, murder, theft, general evil doing, we see those and we could probably for the most part say, yeah, I get off pretty clean in that list, I'm not really a murderer or a thief or maybe an evildoer, some of you might be, but one activity seems a little bit more harmless than the rest. And Peter tells the believers that none of them should ever suffer for being a meddler. And this is a rare term, it's scarcely seen in the New Testament, but it can refer to a gossip or a busybody, just someone that is unnecessarily involved in other people's business. You might say sticking your nose where it doesn't belong. This is what it means to be a meddler. This is meddling. And it would make sense that someone who gets involved in other people's business, at some point they learn a hard lesson. Proverbs 26, 17 says this, whoever meddles in a quarrel not his own is like one who takes a passing dog by the ears. We understand in today's culture, dogs are pets and dogs are domesticated. Back in the time that these books are written, dogs are not domesticated. Dogs are trash dumpsters. They go around the city and they eat garbage. And they're very mean and not house pets at all. And so Solomon says, if you meddle in somebody else's quarrel, you meddle in a problem that is not yours, it's like grabbing a wild dog by the ears. You're probably gonna get bit. something negative is going to come out of that interaction. And you'd be a fool to walk away from that and go, oh, what's the matter with that dog? Why did he bite me? Sheesh. And well, no, you grabbed a wild dog by the ears. That's foolish. And so in the same way, it's foolish to meddle in a problem that is not your own. And so Peter says again, this does not bring honor to God when you suffer for unrighteousness. This should never be the case, instead, notice verse 16, yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. And so with verse 16 in mind, we understand that there should be, and there definitely is a sense of shame for a believer who suffers for unrighteousness. There is shame in that kind of suffering. But if anyone suffers as a Christian for righteousness sake, let him not be ashamed. There's no reason for shame there, but instead let him glorify God in that name. This is a stark contrast to one who suffers for wicked behavior, one that suffers as a Christian. Again, they should glorify God. The title Christian, it appears In three places in our New Testament, this is one of those three places. The other two are Acts 11 and Acts 26. The word Christian, it literally means a follower of Christ. It doesn't mean little Christ, some people say that. It literally means, it's literally translated a follower of Christ. This is a unique way of saying that essentially the Christian should act in accordance with their name. When Peter says, let him glorify God in that name, he's literally saying, you should act in accordance with the name that you claim. Just as their name suggests, they should live like Christ when faced with suffering. And so as we Look at verse 17 now. Remember that we're still under the banner of Peter explaining why suffering is happening. Peter has been walking us since verse 14 through the evaluation of our suffering. And notice verse 17, he continues, for it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God. And if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And Peter really seeks to add context with verse 17, all of the talk about suffering, all of the instruction up to this point about how we should face it and how to evaluate its origin. Everything points us to verse 17, where Peter unveils the ultimate reason for suffering. God has begun his judgment of the church. And you may initially look at that and say, well, what is that talking about? What is Peter talking about? This word judgment, it's not so much a condemnation. God is judging and condemning the church. Instead, this word judgment, it could mean a judgment that yields a positive or a negative result. This is a pass or a fail test. You might think about it that way. In essence, God is cleansing the church. He is purifying the church. He's refining the believers to be more sanctified and holy as they walk with him. This is the purpose of the suffering. It's not a condemning judgment, but rather a judgment that seeks to cleanse and purify the believers. Peter says, the time will come when those outside of the church, the unbelievers outside of the church, will also be judged. And Peter says, literally, if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? This is a serious warning to all who do not believe. For all unbelievers in the world, take note of how the church is persecuted, take note of how believers suffer, and begin to imagine how bad it's going to be for you on judgment day. That's what Peter's saying. If you think it's bad for believers now, and that deters you from being a Christ follower? Well, look at the suffering that they faced because that was a real issue in this day and age. People would look at the church and see the suffering that was facing them and they would say, you know, I really don't know that I want a part of that. It's a religion about taking up a cross. They worship a man who was slaughtered on a cross. I don't really know that I want to be a part of that religion. And Peter's purpose here is to say, If you think the persecution God's own people face now is bad, imagine what's waiting for you on judgment day. You don't want to experience that. This is, again, it is a serious warning. If the church has faced this severe persecution, you cannot begin to fathom the incredible suffering that waits the ungodly in the last judgment. And to this end, to really drive home his point, Peter quotes from Proverbs 11 in verse 18. Notice his quote in verse 18. Peter says, and if the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner? Verse 18, effectively it summarizes the theme of verse 17. On the final day, when we see the judgment of the unbelieving, the sufferings of Christians while on earth will seem mild by comparison. Again, when you see the judgment of the unbelieving, suffering as a Christian doesn't seem so bad anymore. This is Peter's motivation, again, to the believers. Don't value the temporal. Don't value what's here and now, what's right in front of you, over the eternal, what is everlasting. Don't get your priorities confused. So finally, in verse 19, we arrive at the major point of application this entire text has been building towards. What should we do when faced with suffering? Who do we turn to when we're faced with this incredible suffering? He began in verse 12 saying this fiery ordeal, this immense pain, horrible, unfathomable suffering. First, what should you do? Notice verse 19, let those who suffer according to God's will and trust their souls to a faithful creator while doing good. And first we should notice that we must continue to do right. You must continue to live a moral life. What should you do when you are faced with suffering? Because Peter begins saying, don't be surprised by suffering, instead rejoice. And we have things that we're supposed to do, things that should mark our lives as we face suffering. What should those things be first? Continue to live a moral lifestyle, continue to honor God with your life while doing good, Peter says. And that can be incredibly difficult, especially when the suffering is the cause of doing right. You've been doing right, and you're facing suffering for doing right. And Peter says, continue doing right. The temptation can be incredible to just simply stop doing right, and the suffering will stop. And if you just stop following Jesus, and you stop standing out from the crowd in this way, then people will just stop persecuting you. If you would just stop fighting for what was right, then no one would be upset with you anymore. And Peter says, don't do that. Continue doing good. Keep living how you know you ought to live. This is the frequent theme that Peter has raised. Live for an audience of one. Your reputation doesn't matter. You care what one person thinks about your life, and that's God. And so Peter says, keep doing what is right. you must continue to trust your faithful creator. This is also a difficult calling, and it requires you to truly know God. And I think that this is such a difficult struggle for us, because we really don't know God. And so when we're faced with suffering, and when we're faced with trials, it's difficult to fully entrust our situation to the creator God, because we really don't know him as well as we think we do. And I would challenge you, if that's where you find yourself frequently struggling to entrust battles in your life to the Father, I would challenge you, get in your Bible, raise your view of God, have a bigger view of God. That's what will solve your trust problem. And so Peter encourages us, you can't trust a God you don't know, trust your faithful creator. When you truly know God, you know that he is good, You know that he's loving, he's a God of perfect justice, and so you can entrust any mistreatment done to you to his sovereign care. So really with that, we close out our study of 1 Peter chapter four, and we see once again the importance of living under the power of grace, being transformed by grace, so that all of these requirements, all of these commands that we see through chapter four, will continue to affect our lives. We continue to be sanctified, looking more like our Savior, Jesus Christ. And so let's go ahead and close out our time together with a word of prayer. Dear Lord, we thank you for the encouragement that we see from your word. We thank you that we truly have a good and gracious God, a sovereign God who has a purpose in our suffering. That we can entrust our souls to the care of a faithful creator. That we can continue doing good because we live for an audience of one. Lord, I pray that this would truly be the truth, that this would describe the believers that are in this room this evening. And God, I pray for any that may not have a relationship with you. I pray for any that do not know you, that they walk through life without a sense of purpose, without a sense of meaning. They struggle with suffering because it does seem meaningless. No one seems to care. But God, you have a purpose. I pray that we would continue to entrust ourselves to your care, and I pray for any that don't know you in this room this evening, that they would recognize their need for you, and that they would turn to you in full faith and repentance, in Jesus' name, amen.