Enlisted to Suffer

Introduction

The other day, my wife and I watched All Quiet on the Western Front. It tells the story of WWI from the perspective of a young German soldier. At the beginning of the movie, you are introduced to a cheery-eyed group of young men, each one excited about the prospect of joining the German army. Each certainly knows that there is a great potential of death, but it is overshadowed by the idea of honor and glory, of dying for one’s country. However, their gleeful attitudes quickly disappear upon reaching the battlefield. To their complete and utter horror, war is not only not glamorous as it is depicted in the movie screens, but it is a living hell. By the end of the movie, the bright eyes and smiles have been replaced with lifeless eyes and mouths which no longer understand what it means to smile.

In Suffering for Christ ...

A. Recognize you are loved

B. Remain unsurprised, instead rejoice

C. Recognize you are blessed

D. Remain unashamed, instead glorify God

E. Recognize everyone will suffer

I. Recognize You Are Loved (vv. 12)

A. Understand first and foremost Christian, who you are in Christ.

In order to understand suffering for Christ, Peter implores his readers to remember they are dearly loved by God.

II. Remain Unsurprised, Instead Rejoice (vv. 12-13)

A. Do not think it strange

This does not mean we wish for suffering. It means when it comes, it does not catch us off guard.

Christians who experience suffering and think it strange are those who have not been prepared to experience it.

B. Fiery trial

It could be Peter uses the words ‘fiery trial’ due to the burning of Rome. However, this letter was likely written just a few years before those events.

The word used here means a ‘refiners fire.’ He is encouraging Christians not to think of suffering as evidence of God’s absence, but rather reassurance of His refining presence.

C. Which is to try you

The purpose of the trial is for your ‘testing.’

Various levels of testing in school to see how much you have learned and grown

What is the evidence of our growth in our testing? It is our ability to rejoice in the midst of, and after, the suffering.

D. But rejoice to the extent that you partake in Christ’s sufferings

In the midst of, and after, suffering, learn to rejoice as you see how much the Lord has brought you through. The more you learn to rejoice, the easier it will be.

Praying at a restaurant as a kid vs. Praying at a restaurant as an adult

Why do we rejoice?

Because suffering produces endurance.

James 1:2–4 NASB95

2 Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

Because if we can learn to rejoice now, we will be overjoyed at Christ’s return.

III. Recognize You Are Blessed (v. 14)

A. If you are reproached for the name of Christ

Reproach - to express disapproval, criticism, or disappointment

Matthew 5:10–12 NASB95

10 “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. 12 “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

B. For the Spirit … rests upon you

The moment you became a Christian, the Holy Spirit entered into your life. No matter what you go through, He remains there.

Isaiah 11:1–2 NASB95

1 Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, And a branch from his roots will bear fruit. 2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him, The spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel and strength, The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.

The same Spirit remains with every Christian, providing them with the necessary strength and discernment to persevere through every trial.

IV. Remain Unashamed, Instead Glorify God (vv. 15-16)

A. But let none of you suffer as …

Peter explains that blessing in the midst of suffering is conditioned upon suffering for the name of Christ.

The blatant sins are mentioned to help Christians to distinguish between Christian suffering and suffering as a consequence of wrong behavior.

Suffering for wrong behavior is deserving of shame.

B. Or as a busybody

Nowhere else is this word used in the New Testament, so its meaning is debated.

It means this: quit getting involved in other people’s business that is not yours, especially apart from Christ.

E.g. Abortion - The primary reason every Christian should oppose abortion is because God said murder is wrong and values every precious life. To champion a pro-life stance void of Christ as a Christian is worthless.

C. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian …

Christian simply means follower of Christ.

While suffering for evil behavior is deserving of shame, there is no shame for those who share the Gospel, live the Gospel, and suffer for the Gospel.

D. Instead, glorify God

Acts 5:41–42 NASB95

41 So they went on their way from the presence of the Council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name. 42 And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they kept right on teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.

V. Recognize Everyone Will Suffer (vv. 17-19)

A. Every person has a choice: you either suffer for Christ in this life, or you suffer apart from Christ for all eternity.

B. For the time has come for judgment to begin at the household of God

The Greek word for ‘time’ here is kairos, meaning the ‘opportune moment.’

The word translated as judgment does not necessarily mean condemnation. Rather, we can understand it almost as an evaluation, either good or bad. Continuing with Peter’s theme of refinement from chapter one:

1 Peter 1:7 NASB95

7 so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ;

We can understand this verse to mean that the time of God’s judgment, of His evaluation, will begin with the Church. For the Church, it will be a period of refinement. For the unbelieving world, it will be a period of judgment and condemnation.

Where does this idea come from?

Ezekiel 9:1–6 NASB95

1 Then He cried out in my hearing with a loud voice saying, “Draw near, O executioners of the city, each with his destroying weapon in his hand.” 2 Behold, six men came from the direction of the upper gate which faces north, each with his shattering weapon in his hand; and among them was a certain man clothed in linen with a writing case at his loins. And they went in and stood beside the bronze altar. 3 Then the glory of the God of Israel went up from the cherub on which it had been, to the threshold of the temple. And He called to the man clothed in linen at whose loins was the writing case. 4 The Lord said to him, “Go through the midst of the city, even through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations which are being committed in its midst.” 5 But to the others He said in my hearing, “Go through the city after him and strike; do not let your eye have pity and do not spare. 6 “Utterly slay old men, young men, maidens, little children, and women, but do not touch any man on whom is the mark; and you shall start from My sanctuary.” So they started with the elders who were before the temple.

Malachi 3:1–3 NASB95

1 “Behold, I am going to send My messenger, and he will clear the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; and the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming,” says the Lord of hosts. 2 “But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap. 3 “He will sit as a smelter and purifier of silver, and He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, so that they may present to the Lord offerings in righteousness.

It is possible that Peter’s language more closely resembles that of Ezekiel 9, but the concepts he presents are more closely associated with Malachi 3.

C. Summary

House of God - the Church

1 Peter 2:5 NASB95

5 you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

If the presence of God dwells within His new temple, that is, every Christian,

1 Corinthians 3:16 NASB95

16 Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

Then Christians should not be surprised at the trials and testing which take place among them in order that they may presented holy and blameless in the sight of God.

I suggest to you that it is because God loves us that He gives us the gift of suffering. Pain is God's megaphone to rouse a deaf world. You see, we are like blocks of stone out of which the Sculptor carves the forms of men. The blows of His chisel, which hurt us so much are what make us perfect.

And if the evaluation of God begins with His people, His Church, for the purpose of refinement in this life, what will happen to an unbelieving and disobedient world who will one day stand in the presence of the great Purifier, God the Father?

D. Let those who suffer according to the will of God

No better comfort can be found for suffering because of the name of Christ than this: that it is God’s good and perfect will.

The blows of His chisel, which hurt us so much are what make us perfect.

E. Commit their souls to Him in doing good

This goes beyond trusting God. The word ‘commit’ means ‘to give to someone for safekeeping.’

Luke 23:46 NASB95

46 And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.” Having said this, He breathed His last.

In other words, we commit to pursuing the will of God in this life, no matter what may come, because we know who holds our lives in His hands. In other words, Christians should view their suffering not from a temporary perspective, but from an eternal perspective.

2 Corinthians 4:17–18 NASB95

17 For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, 18 while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

Conclusion