Suffering for Being a Christian
12 Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you. 13 Instead, be very glad—for these trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing his glory when it is revealed to all the world.
14 If you are insulted because you bear the name of Christ, you will be blessed, for the glorious Spirit of God rests upon you. 15 If you suffer, however, it must not be for murder, stealing, making trouble, or prying into other people’s affairs. 16 But it is no shame to suffer for being a Christian. Praise God for the privilege of being called by his name! 17 For the time has come for judgment, and it must begin with God’s household. And if judgment begins with us, what terrible fate awaits those who have never obeyed God’s Good News? 18 And also,
“If the righteous are barely saved,
what will happen to godless sinners?”19 So if you are suffering in a manner that pleases God, keep on doing what is right, and trust your lives to the God who created you, for he will never fail you.
1 Peter 4:12-19
1. Not if but when (v. 12-13)
I used to think that this was a bad campaign. Why are we perpetuating this? Why create a culture of fear?
But it is because we have such great faith that we can, and should. It is because of our great hope. That’s why we have the audacity to acknowledge this. We do not shy away from it.
And when the inevitable happens—the suffering, the hardship, the seemingly endless harsh realities of life—do not be offended. You are not being targeted, it happens to everybody. Nobody, as in nobody, lives such a charmed life that they will never encounter something that brings them to their knees.
2. Not cursed but blessed (v. 14-16)
What we have to remember is that whatever happens, we are the blessed people God. A holy nation. A chosen generation.
Some people have the tendency to curse God, and throw questions at Him, and spit out their doubt. These kinds of actions frighten me. The audacity! There is no one greater than God. Who could dare question Him? Much less curse.
Despite these unfortunate human tendencies (no one is exempt from weakness and occasional outbursts of emotion anyway), we are still blessed. Still! God is good and merciful.
3. Not afraid but assured (v. 17-19)
Because it’s all in the recovery. Like in sports, you can fall and get hurt sometimes, but it’s all in the recovery. We have to get up quickly. We have to remember our blessing.
Great fear is then replaced with great faith. And this great faith comes with it the assurance of a loving, just, and true God. The only One who truly knows us, also eternally blesses us. We are assured that this powerful God also has powerful love, and will never forsake us.
Conclusion
Tough times will come. When they do, the Church can either shrink back in fear, or soldier on with faith. When we choose faith, we are saying that we are ready to rejoice in trials and suffer with dignity. We are determined to keep doing good in bad times and persevere in fulfilling the Great Commission, being assured that God will ultimately deliver His people.
If we stay the course, God will ensure that we finish the race strong and well. We have His promise that as we fulfil the Great Commission together, Jesus Christ is always with us to the very end of the age.
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