Suffering for Righteosness’ Sake: Finding Joy in Trials

Bible Passage: 1 Peter 4:12–19

Introduction

In 1 Peter 4:12-19, the apostle Peter addresses the reality of suffering and encourages us to embrace it as part of our Christian journey. Suffering for Christ should not surprise us but rather lead us to rejoice, for by it we become partakers in Christ’s own sufferings.

Big Idea:

Suffering for Christ is unavoidable; it also serves the purpose of bringing us closer to the Lord; and so we should rejoice in the painful trials that come our way and support one another as we endure together.

12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering as if something strange is happening, 13 but to the degree that you share in the sufferings of Christ rejoice, so that you may also be overjoyed with exceeding joy at the revelation of his glory.  14 If you are mocked and insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.  15 For if anyone of you is suffering let it not be as a murderer or thief or evildoer or a meddler in other people’s affairs, 16 but if you are suffering as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but glorify God that you are called by his name. 17 For it is time for judgment to begin with the house of God, and if it begins from us first what will be the end of those who are disobedient to the good news of God?  18 And if the righteous are saved with difficulty, what will become of the ungodly and sinners?  19 So then the ones who are suffering according to the will of God must entrust their soul to a faithful creator by doing good.

George Matheson was born in Glasgow Scottland in 1842 with poor eyesight and by the age of eighteen it had deteriorated to the point where he was almost completely blind.  But without physical eyesight he was able to perceive spiritual clarity with great insight.  The purpose of suffering in a believer’s life was something he saw clearly.  He eloquently said;:

There is a time coming in which your glory shall consist in the very thing which now causes your pain. Nothing could be sadder to Jacob than the ground on which he was lying with a stone for his pillow. This was the hour of his poverty. It was the season of his night. It was the place where God seemed absent. Yet the Lord was in that place and Jacob knew it not. Awakened from his sleep he found that the day of his trial was the dawn of his triumph.

Ask the great ones of the past where has been the place of their prosperity and they will say, “It was the cold ground on which I was lying.”  Ask Abraham; he will point to the sacrifice on Mount Moriah. Ask Joseph; he will direct you to the dungeon. Ask Moses; he will date his fortune from his danger in the Nile. Ask Ruth; she will bid you to build her monument in the field where she toiled. Ask David; he will tell you that his songs came in the loneliness of the night. Ask Job; he will remind you that God answered him out of the whirlwind. Ask Peter; he will commend his submersion in the sea. Ask John; he will tell you of the path to Patmos. Ask Paul; he will attribute his inspiration to the light which struck him blind.

Yet there is one more you must ask!—the Son of God. Ask Him from where came His rule over the world; he will answer, “From the cold ground on which I was lying—the ground of Gethsemene—I received my scepter there.”

This is the road to your glory as well beloved.  We gain the crown of life following this path and on it we learn to say by the grace of God, “If it be Thy will, take this cup from me, yet not my will but Thy will be done”.[1]

So with regard to suffering, we should expect and embrace it, receive it as a blessing from God, and recognize it the purifying judgment of God in our life.

Expect It, Embrace It

12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering as if something strange is happening, 13 but to the degree that you share in the sufferings of Christ rejoice, so that you may also be overjoyed with exceeding joy at the revelation of his glory.

We learn throughout the New Testament that painful trials are inevitable and bring suffering.

· Think of Paul’s painful experiences described in 2 Corinthians 11:23-27 and the many times when he lacked power, provision, protection, even a sense of permanence.  He was being compared by the church in Corinth to the other traveling  Apostles and was considered inferior and not worth listening to because he was unimpressive and trouble seemed to follow him around.  So he began to brag a little with regard to the things he had suffered for the name of Christ.

23 Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one—I am talking like a madman—with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. 24Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. 25Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; 26 on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; 27 in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.

· There will be times when you are verbally attacked, slandered, excluded, ignored, and pushed away leaving you to think you are alone and without friends or support.  This happens because you follow the Word of God and because you live differently from those in the world.  They act surprised when you do not follow them into the same errors they follow – living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry[2].  And they will malign you for being different.

· Painful trials also include times of physical pain for either yourself or for a loved one suffering from debilitating illness or other physical pains.

[Pastor Bill Collier – he, through the suffering of colin cancer made up for what was lacking of the sufferings of Christ for the sake of the body of Christ (Col 1:24).  In other words, through his suffering, as he remained full of faith and the joy of the Lord, shared his hope with many and introduced them to the Savior.  Those in the church prayed fervently and suffered with him.  But they were tested as well because it was required of them to have faith and believe in the goodness of God even though their many prayers for Pastor Bill’s healing remained unanswered.]

· Jesus was mocked, ridiculed, slandered, and eventually beaten and killed.  The sufferings of Jesus were necessary in order to restore lost sinners to a loving and peaceful relationship with God.  1 Peter 3:18 says, “Christ suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that He might bring us to God.”  It is our privilege to share in his suffering and see God use our trials to accomplish His purposes, according to His will.  We learn to die to self, take up our cross and follow Him on the same path of glory.

Suffering Is A Blessing

14 If you are reviled (mocked and insulted) for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.  15 For if anyone of you is suffering let it not be as a murderer or thief or evildoer or a meddler in other people’s affairs 16 But if you are suffering as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but glorify God that you are called by his name.

· Jonathan Edwards, pastor of the prestigious Northampton, Massachusetts, Congregational Church, was a leading figure of the eighteenth century First Great Awakening. Religious leaders, like the famous preacher George Whitefield, traveled great distances to meet with him and discuss theological matters.

Yet even a man of Edwards's credentials wasn't exempt from criticism. When Edwards sought assurance that those in his congregation had experienced genuine conversion, a group of discontented church members took exception. They launched a slanderous campaign against him that ultimately led to his dismissal from the church he'd made famous. Edwards assumed a modest pastorate in the small frontier town of Stockbridge. One of the greatest theological minds and most devout pastors in American history was forced out of his church by malicious detractors.

Eventually Jonathan Edwards was vindicated before his critics. Some of his most vocal opponents publicly confessed their sinfulness in attacking their godly minister. Ultimately, Princeton University hired Edwards as its president.[3]

· It is not uncommon that some feel they have been forgotten by God or are being punished by Him when they go through painful trials.  But Peter says the opposite is true.  You are blessed.  Times of trial are unique in a believer’s life.  These are times when God’s smile and approval are especially upon you. God’s glory and God’s Spirit rest upon us and his presence is very real and near.

· Insults and mistreatment from others become for us a badge of honor from God.  We suffer because of our faith and obedience, all the while holding on to hope and the knowledge that God is good.  In the end we know that God is good for no other reason than this:  As we continue to walk with him and His presence is in us, we come to know his voice and see Him more clearly.  To know God is to know good.  Our desire for Him grows more and more and we learn to to respond in all things doing what is right and good in order to please Him.

· Suffering for our faith validates that we belong to Him and that He is at work in our life accomplishing His will and purpose.

To suffer for Christ’s name is to be blessed.  We are not to suffer for being a murderer or thief or evildoer or a meddler in other people’s affairs.  But if we have done good in obedience to the Lord and then we suffer for it, we should rejoice.  Because when Jesus appears, all that we have been through for Him will be fully known and our struggle will be over.  We will experience overwhelming joy, and will rejoice with Him with exceeding joy.

Judgement Begins with Us

17 For it is time for judgment to begin with the house of God, and if it begins from us first what will be the end of those who are disobedient to the good news of God?  18 And if the righteous are saved with difficulty, what will become of the ungodly and sinners?

A difficult truth about suffering is God uses it to purify and cleanse his holy ones from iniquity.  He uses suffering to take away selfish-centeredness and desire for evil things.  God is in the business of rebuilding our attitudes, thoughts, and actions to conform us into the image of His Son.  Suffering through painful trials is part of God’s refining process.  It brings us to a place where we truly say to Him, “not my will but thy will be done”. 

“If it is with difficulty that the righteous are saved – in other words, there is a process we must go through that builds faith, obedience, love, and purity through the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit.  And the refinement of suffering through painful trials is part of the Spirit’s method.

This assures us that the judgment of God is real and the ungodly and sinners who are disobedient to the Word of God will also one day have to face the severity of God’s judgment.  For us God’s judgment is a purifying kindness, for them it will be relentless and severe (Romans 11:22).

Commit Yourself to Him

19 So then the ones who are suffering according to the will of God must entrust their soul to a faithful creator by doing good.

Whether we suffer for doing good and following Christ or for sins we have committed, we are called upon to trust our souls to the one who is faithful and who is making us a new creation in the likeness of Jesus our Lord.

Remember George Matheson, the young man who was nearly blind from birth?  At the end of his days he wrote the following poem.

O Joy that seekest me through pain,

I cannot close my heart to thee;

I trace the rainbow through the rain,

And feel the promise is not vain,

That morn shall tearless be.6

[1]David R. Helm, 1 & 2 Peter and Jude: Sharing Christ’s Sufferings, Preaching the Word (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2008), 148-149.

[2]The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), 1 Pe 4:3.

[3] Henry and Richard Blackaby, Spiritual Leadership (Broadman & Holman, 2001).  From PreachingToday.com

6George Matheson, “O Love That Will Not Let Me Go,” The Worshipping Church Hymnal (Carol Stream, IL: Hope Publishing Company, 1990), #531.