Sermon Tone Analysis

I Peter 1:6-9

I Peter 2:18-25

I Peter 3:13-4:7

I Peter 4:12-19

I Peter 5:6-12

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Introduction

I have never had a grandfather.

They were born in the same village in Russia and in 1937 all of the men of the village in which they lived were taken away and put in prison by the communists because they were Christians.

My grandmother (mother’s side)went to see her husband with her children, including the daughter who had been born after he was taken away, and after that they saw him only once more on the train that took them to another prison.

The family learned some time later that they died in prison.

The experience of suffering for being a Christian is something that is familiar and near in my family.

My children have never had a grandfather.

My father was a business man and enjoyed his work and was doing well at it.

In the spring of 1971, we noticed that there was something wrong with him.

In June of that year, he was diagnosed with cancer and in September he died.

He was 41 years old, I was the oldest son at 19 and my youngest brother was 13.

Carla’s father died in the same year as my father of a heart attack and so before we were married, both our fathers were gone.

The experience of losing someone close is something I experienced at a young age.

I do not tell you these stories so that you will feel sorry for me.

I tell them to you to let you know that these experiences have forced me to think about suffering.

At some time in life, all of us experience struggles of various kinds.

When we do, we engage in various mental, emotional and spiritual struggles.

We wonder about God’s care for us.

We wonder if God is paying attention.

We wonder if we have done something wrong to deserve more difficulty than some others.

We wonder if God is able to help.

I once heard that the church in China had not developed an adequate theology of suffering and when the communist revolution occurred and Christianity became illegal, the Christians not only suffered at the hands of the communists, but also in their spirits because they did not have a handle on how to deal with their suffering.

We generally live in affluence, comfort and ease.

The trials that come to us relate primarily to issues of health.

For example, I have experienced none of the things that my grandparents and parents experienced in Russia.

This has put us off our guard and we have not developed an adequate theology of suffering.

It is difficult to know exactly what kind of trials the people to whom Peter was writing were experiencing.

That it was intense is obvious because almost every chapter has something about suffering.

On the overhead, there is a list of the passages that deal with suffering.

I would encourage you to write them down and study further.

This morning, we will look at some of the key points that Peter makes as he encourages these troubled believers.

The things he says will help us work towards developing a stronger theology of suffering.

If you are following the outline, I would like to apologize because I have changed the order since it was printed.

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I. Don’t Be Surprised

There is a theology which is prevalent in North America today which teaches that if you are sick or if you are not doing well economically, you do not have enough faith.

It teaches that it is God’s desire that we all be healthy and wealthy.

There are several programs with this kind of teaching on television and also churches in Winnipeg which teach this.

It is embraced by many people in North America today.

Is this teaching Biblical?

When we read I Peter 3:13, we might begin to think that it is.

There we read, “Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good?”

Taken to its logical conclusion, if we read only this verse, we would have to agree.

What can harm us if we always do what is right?

We should always experience blessing.

But if we read only that passage, we have not read all of what the Bible says.

The next verse goes on to say, “But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed.”

That tells us two important things.

One, that the Bible recognises that trouble may happen to us.

And furthermore, contrary to some teachers, it does not say that trouble is an indication of lack of faith, but rather, that when we suffer for doing right, we are blessed.

In 4:12, Peter says, “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you.”

Indeed, we could look at many other passages in this book which say a similar thing.

When difficulties happen, do not be surprised.

Struggles, trials, suffering are going to happen.

They do not indicate that God has forgotten us, they do not necessarily indicate that we have done something wrong.

As long as we are in this world which is a broken world, we will experience difficulties.

I like Eugene Peterson’s translation of this verse in “The Message” where he says, “Friends, when life gets really difficult, don’t jump to the conclusion that God isn’t on the job.”

Throughout the book, Peter identifies some of the different trials we may experience.

In 1:6, Peter speaks about “grief in all kinds of trials.”

There are many different sources of difficulty and trial.

It may be illness, which Paul calls a messenger of Satan.

It may be too much rain when we want sunshine.

It may be loss of some kind.

In 3:17, he speaks about suffering for doing good.

As we noted a moment ago, it is our normal expectation that if we do good to others, we will not be harmed, but this verse indicates that this is not always the case.

Sometimes, we do good and still we experience suffering.

In 2:18, he addresses the case of slaves who do all the things their masters ask them but are beaten even though they have done everything right.

We say, that is terrible, it is an injustice and Peter agrees, but still acknowledges that it happens.

He speaks in 3:1,7 about the trial of a person who is living with an unbelieving spouse.

This is about someone who became a believer after they were married and their spouse did not and now the values of the believing spouse clash with the values of the unbelieving spouse and there is trouble.

In numerous passages in this text, in fact the suffering that is most clearly dealt with in this book, is the issue of suffering for being Christians.

In 4:13, he speaks about being “insulted because of the name of Christ” and in 4:16 about when we “suffer as a Christian.”

In 5:8 he recognizes that “your enemy the devil prowls around looking for someone to devour” thus identifying the suffering that comes from attacks of Satan.

Struggles and trials are thus recognized and identified as normal for a Christian.

Do not be surprised when they happen.

Peronne of Aubeton, was a pious woman who lived in the 1300’s.

She was publicly burnt for her faith in about 1373.

She had an adequate theology of suffering because as she was being killed, she testified quoting I Peter 1:7 acknowledging that suffering was not a surprise to her, she was ready to accept it as part of the life of being a follower of Christ.

Therefore, since suffering will happen, and since it is a part of life and Christians suffer even for doing good, the questions we have often asked ourselves, are perhaps the wrong questions to ask.

We often ask, “Why does God allow suffering?”

What are the questions we need to ask ourselves in order to develop a solid theology of suffering?

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II.

Questions To Ask In Suffering

!! A. What’s Wrong With Me?

We often ask the question, “what have I done wrong in order to deserve more suffering than the other person.”

As we examine Peter, we notice that the question of whether suffering is deserved is asked.

It is a valid question, but needs to be asked carefully.

In the discussion about slaves in 2:20, he acknowledges the possibility that slaves can suffer for doing wrong.

If they disobey their masters, then they should not be surprised that they are punished.

In 4:15, Peter also speaks about suffering for being a “murderer, thief, criminal or even as a meddler.”

It is possible that we will suffer for our own wrong doing.

If we  act as if we are holier than others we should not wonder that people mock our faith.

If we are aggressive and obnoxious in trying to get people to become Christians, we should not be surprised if they hate us.

If we are inconsistent and hypocritical in our faith and we are ridiculed, we should not think that this is a commendable kind of suffering.

If we are tormented by the government because we have not paid our taxes, we should not consider it a blessing to suffer in that way.

If we are constantly bothered by the police because we don’t obey the speed limit or wear our seatbelts, God is not impressed with that kind of suffering.