1 Peter 1:6-9

1 Peter 1:6–9 (KJV (WS))

6 Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: 7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: 8 Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: 9 Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.

Introduction

Last week we looked at the preemptive efforts of Peter to encourage his readers who are facing difficult times in their lives.

We have a living hope.

We have an inheritance secured in heaven.

We ourselves are kept for this inheritance.

While we wait for these things, trials are a real part of our terrestrial experience.

In this passage we see how we can face our trials with joy.

We also learn the purpose of these trials in our lives.

Before we begin, I want to you to think about automobile testing.

If Ford wants to discover the weaknesses of a Chevy for marketing purposes, they will put it through tests to expose the vehicle.

If Ford wants to discover the weaknesses of a Ford for the sake of improving their design, they may put it through the same tests but with a different intent.

The Christian example of suffering.

All of humanity faces difficulty in life.

Job 14:1 “1 Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble.”

The Christian sets himself apart from the rest of humanity by rejoicing during times of temptation.

The philosophic worldling can suffer w/o complaining.

Only the regenerate one can glory in tribulation.

The primary form of temptation in 1 Peter is persecution.

When facing temptation, there are a few things we need to remember.

All temptations are only for a season.

No temptation, trial, or persecution, lasts forever.

Even life-long battles will one day be over.

The Christian rejoices in temptation because he knows that it will not last.

Sometimes temptation is needful.

God knows when we need to go through a trial.

This is where the right view of God must come into play.

Is God sovereign?

Is He good?

Then, when God allows temptations into my life, I must trust him that it is for my good that he has allowed this.

If God is doing something good in my life I should rejoice.

Recognizing that temptation brings heaviness.

Heaviness is the same as grief.

We try to avoid grief at all costs.

Peter is trying to help us see that rejoice and grief are not mutually exclusive.

Rejoicing can exist next to grief in our lives.

Many of our Biblical examples and even modern martyrs have demonstrated rejoicing in the face of even death.

Rejoicing does not negate the reality of heaviness.

Heaviness is allowed, but Christians shouldn’t let heaviness stifle their rejoicing.

Temptation can come through a manifold of circumstances.

Manifold = variegated, many colored.

Temptation and testing can take on many forms.

The reason for Christian suffering.

Testing can be joyous rather than grievous when we know in advance the goal of the testing.

Peter solves this problem by showing us God’s purpose for trials in our lives.

The trial of our faith exposes the genuineness of our faith.

We see this through the reference to Gold.

Gold is a perishing metal.

It will not outlast earth.

Gold, which is temporal, is tested and proved to be genuine.

How much more then should faith, with its eternal value not also be tested.

Gold can face the fire and not burn up like wood or straw.

Fire cannot lessen the value of gold, it can only make it more precious.

Peter does not speak of dross in this passage.

Many times we use this to point to the refining processes.

This is an illustration used in other places of scripture.

This is not Peter’s primary goal, here, though.

In this instance the fire is used only to determine if the gold is really gold.

What does this mean?

It means that are false professors claiming to be Christians.

One of the ways that God weeds them out is through trials.

God cares about the purity of his church and those that claim his name.

He will use persecution to separate those with genuine faith from those that are only pretending.

It is good for a church to face trials and testing together.

300 Sermon Illustrations from Charles Spurgeon The Church Healthier after Trial (Hebrews 12:27)

That old oak in the forest is one of the noblest works of God. Look at it bursting into full leaf, bearing well its verdant honors, and making a picture worthy of the artist’s rarest skill. What are these dry pieces of wood that strew the ground beneath it? What are these large branches that rot under its shade? It is needless to ask, for we all know that they fell from the tree during winter’s storms. Is it a cause of regret for the sake of the tree that those rotten branches were broken off? It may be a lamentation as far as concerns the broken boughs, but the tree itself would have never been so healthy, and never looked so complete if the rotten branches had been suffered to abide. When the hurricane came howling through the woods, the old tree shivered in the gale, and mourned as it heard the cracking of its boughs. Yet now it is thankful because the sound healthy branches with sap and life in them are all there, and the withered ones no longer encumber the trunk.

I do not think times of storm to a church are in the long run to be regretted; a calm is much more dangerous.

No one will be able to sneak into heaven.

God will either expose the pretenders in this life or they will be exposed in the judgment.

At least those that are exposed in this life have the opportunity to become genuine believers.

For true Christians, trials serve to prove what was already there.

Through trials, genuine faith leads to praise and honor when Jesus returns.

How many of you long to hear, well done, thou good and faithful servant some day?

If our profession is true, we will.

Christians have access to a help in passing through temptations.

The Christian’s strength in suffering.

It’s Jesus, and our relationship with him.

We love him because, of course, he first loved us..

We believe in him, but then again he has given us the faith we need to believe.

We rejoice in him, because of his loving-kindness.

In times of peril, we remember that from him we will receive the end of our faith, the salvation of our souls.

Application

You will face temptations in this life.

As a Christian, we can rejoice in trials.

As a Christian, we know the reason for trials

As a Christian, we find strength in Jesus for our trials.

What was the last testing that you faced?

Did you remember that temptation is temporary?

Did you find comfort in the needfulness of God’s plan?

Have the testings if life deepened and proven your faith?