1 Peter 4:12-19 Revised Standard Version

12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal which comes upon you to prove you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice in so far as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. 14 If you are reproached for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the spirit of glory[a] and of God rests upon you. 15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or a thief, or a wrongdoer, or a mischief-maker; 16 yet if one suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but under that name let him glorify God. 17 For the time has come for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18 And

“If the righteous man is scarcely saved,
where will the impious and sinner appear?”

19 Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will do right and entrust their souls to a faithful Creator.

 

First Impression?

Scarcely saved stood out to me. Christ won easily, but sometimes I forget how close I was to having missed the party.

12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal which comes upon you to prove you, as though something strange were happening to you. 

• I had a dream in which the emotions were frightening and the remembrance of which reminds me of the multitude of opportunities around me to fail. How do we get comfortable with the strangeness of our trials?

For those who have never figured this out, I often throw in questions that seems to make no sense to force my guys to think hard. This one about being comfortable in our trials had that effect. We are not supposed to be “comfortable”, but we are supposed to lean into the trial knowing God will bring us out the other side more aligned to His will for us.

13 But rejoice in so far as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. 

• Amidst my failures, how do I differentiate between suffering from ignorantly trying and being persecuted by the world?

The idea here originally was that sometimes I am so ignorant, that I do something “sinful” because I did not know any better. I look back at the ninth grade and I wish someone had been able to get more threw my thick head about right and wrong and better. It is hard to realize how far from maturity we are sometimes. I am more mature than I have ever been, but much more so than three years ago when I would have thought the same thing.

14 If you are reproached for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. 

• This seems so much clearer. Is it?

Yes. One of our guys loves to hammer home how context is so helpful in understanding scripture. This verse is a good example of revealing a little more than the ones it follows.

15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or a thief, or a wrongdoer, or a mischief-maker; 

• Agreed, but who defines mischief?

In Calvin and Hobbes, it sure is not Calvin. As before, the killing and stealing can be easy to avoid, but never doing wrong and never causing trouble for others are infinitely higher hurdles, so to speak.

16 yet if one suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but under that name let him glorify God. 

• I am not ashamed, but how do we balance the want to do good with the want to not do harm?
• How do I know where the line is for others?

As in part 1 of this lesson, the difference between doing good and doing no harm is all about following God. I want to teach people not to run stop signs, but God only gave me that role for my two girls. Nothing I can do will help anyone else in this matter.

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

• I am satisfied to be judged by God, but I know people judge me also. I know the end, but how do we address the incorrect judgement of others now?

We had a huge discussion about the differences between not caring if people do not like us and caring about people enough to show God’s love to them. We do not want to seem a fool, but if we do not care what they think of us, why do we care if they think us a fool? I want others to think of me as a source of knowledge of God’s word. (Not exactly, but for arguments sake.) How can I help anyone if I never speak to them?

18 And

“If the righteous man is scarcely saved,
where will the impious and sinner appear?”

19 Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will do right and entrust their souls to a faithful Creator.

• Is it just me, or does this answer my questions?

In wrapping up the chapter, we discussed that God’s will has us suffer for 1) our sins, 2) our standing up for God, and 3) just to make us better. We are to accept our suffering for sin as our due. We are to rejoice in our suffering for standing up for God. We are to grow in our suffering that we can not trace to anything else. The fire of trials and suffering are not so that we like Job can walk out the other side to an even better life. They are so we can walk out the other side as a better tool for Christ. There is an old negative phrase “Don’t be a tool.” I say be a useful tool.