1 Peter 4:12-17; 5:6-11 Surprised? Stand Firm

1 Peter 4:12-17; 5:6-11 (Evangelical Heritage Version)

12Dear friends, do not be surprised by the fiery trial that is happening among you to test you, as if something strange were happening to you. 13Instead rejoice whenever you are sharing in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.

14If you are insulted in connection with the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. 15Make sure that none of you suffers as a murderer, a thief, a criminal, or as a meddler. 16But if you suffer for being a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God in connection with this name. 17For the time has come for judgment to begin with the household of God. Now if it begins with us, what will be the end for those who disobey the gospel of God?

5:6Therefore humble yourselves under God’s powerful hand so that he may lift you up at the appointed time. 7Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you. 8Have sound judgment. Be alert. Your adversary, the Devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. 9Resist him by being firm in the faith. You know that the same kinds of sufferings are being laid on your brotherhood all over the world.

10After you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who called you into his eternal glory in Christ Jesus, will himself restore, establish, strengthen, and support you. 11To him be the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.

Surprised? Stand Firm

I.

We’ll call him Max, even though it was long, long ago and far, far away, to protect his name. Max had everything to the max for a regular guy. He owned his own business; a couple of related businesses, in fact. He had all the toys one could want in that area—outdoor equipment and recreational vehicles that were second to none. Multiple homes. A nice family.

Whether or not he was generous to the church, I don’t know—I am not privy to giving statements; I never have been and I don’t want to be. I went by what I could see. Everyone did. Max was successful. He had it all. He was living the American dream.

No one knew it was all a facade. His debts were enormous. It looked like he owned it all, but the bank really owned everything. His children knew nothing of his debts. Not even his wife knew what he was really doing. To try and dig out of debt, Max maxed everything out—his credit cards, his available cash on his loans, the equity on his homes and businesses.

Even that wouldn’t keep up with the bills piling up. So he started cheating on his taxes to try to dig out. Max lied to his customers. It wasn’t long before the facade crumbled. Max was brought up on charges, convicted, and went jail.

Some people live like they have it all. But do they? Everyone who heard about Max was shocked. He seemed to have everything together. But he didn’t.

Peter begins today’s Reading: “Dear friends, do not be surprised by the fiery trial that is happening among you to test you, as if something strange were happening to you” (1 Peter 4:12, EHV).

Peter knew something about trials. Early in his discipleship he had developed a reputation for being a bold follower of Jesus, and a bold confessor of Jesus. Sometimes even when the going got tough, Peter would present a brash and bold exterior—like when he cut off the soldier’s ear in the Garden of Gethsemane, or when he boldly confessed that Jesus was the long-promised Messiah.

But Peter regularly immediately followed up his moments of brashness with cowardice. Immediately after confessing Jesus as the Christ, Jesus had to say to Peter: “Get behind me, Satan! You do not have your mind set on the things of God, but the things of men” (Mark 8:33, EHV). Peter wanted Jesus to avoid the suffering he was soon to face. After drawing his sword in supposed defense of Jesus, Peter followed up by denying Jesus three times, though he had sworn he would never do so.

Early in his walk with Jesus, Peter seemed to want to avoid the fiery trials that he predicted in today’s reading. Now he tells those who follow Jesus, “expect trouble in your life as a believer. Don’t be surprised!”

All though the Easter season we have joyfully lifted our voices in song to say: “He lives!” But Peter prepares us for suffering “In connection with the name of Christ” (1 Peter 4:14, EHV). If Christ is risen and victorious, why does following him still bring trials and problems in this world?

II.

Persecution has been the norm throughout the history of the Christian Church.

Many of the believers Peter was writing to had already and would continue to experience persecution because of their faith in Jesus. Peter himself changed drastically after Jesus’ resurrection; he absolutely refused to back down in the slightest from his confession of the risen Christ. Tradition says that Peter was crucified upside-down because of his unwavering confession.

As history continued, persecution of Christians continued. In the Middle Ages there was a plan to stamp out heresy in the church. If someone had claimed to convert to Christianity, but was suspected of continuing in their former faith, they were put to death. Anyone not preaching and teaching the official doctrine of the church was also put to death.

In the early 1900's my Grandfather was persecuted and put in jail in Russia because of his Christian faith. Even today, Christians are persecuted and killed because they believe in and confess Jesus in countries like China and Egypt and many Middle-Eastern nations.

Perhaps it could be said that we have lived in an anomaly here in America. But mockery of Christians has been increasing. You will be laughed at if you believe God’s creation account. Those who are pro-life are labeled as haters. If you insist on the Bible’s definition of acceptable human sexuality and marriage, you will be called unloving or outdated.

People might label all kinds of things in life as fiery trials. There are no end of problems that human beings have to face. Peter, however, makes a distinction among all the various “fiery trials.” “Make sure that none of you suffers as a murderer, a thief, a criminal, or as a meddler. 16But if you suffer for being a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God in connection with this name” (1 Peter 4:15-16, EHV). Criminal suffering is something to be ashamed about. But suffering simply for being a Christian, for your faith in Jesus, is honorable.

There is a concern, however, when you suffer because of your Christianity. “Be alert. Your adversary, the Devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8-9, EHV). The devil uses persecution to create fear and cause denial.

Since Jesus himself was hated, you can expect to be, too. He said: “If the world hates you, you know that it hated me first” (John 15:18, EHV).

When you suffer because you are a Christian, the devil and the world tempt you to renounce your faith. The sinful nature willingly joins in, too. Like Peter at times in his early walk with Jesus, the sinful nature seeks to avoid the crosses Jesus told us believers would carry.

Today’s Gospel was part of Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer for his disciples. He prayed: “I am no longer going to be in the world, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by your name” (John 17:11, EHV). Jesus knew what his followers would face. He prayed that we would endure, no matter what the devil, the world, and our sinful flesh throw our way.

When Peter spoke of fiery trials, his readers perhaps turned back the the first chapter of his Letter. There he wrote: “You have been grieved by various kinds of trials 7so that the proven character of your faith—which is more valuable than gold, which passes away even though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed” (1 Peter 1:6-7, EHV).

III.

Our old Sinful Self recoils at the fiery trials we face. We feel anxious and unprepared. Though Peter told us not to be surprised, we are surprised. How can we possibly stand firm?

“Rejoice whenever you are sharing in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed” (1 Peter 4:13, EHV). You and I do not suffer alone. When we suffer because of our faith, we are sharing the sufferings of Jesus, himself. Peter says there is even a purpose to such suffering: Jesus’ glory is revealed, even in the midst of our suffering.

“If you are insulted in connection with the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you” (1 Peter 4:14, EHV). Insults that come because you are a believer are a badge of honor. Bearing the Name of Christ is a privilege.

“After you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who called you into his eternal glory in Christ Jesus, will himself restore, establish, strengthen, and support you” (1 Peter 5:10, EHV). Believers have an expectation of glory. Remember again the Gospel for the day: it is part of Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer. He intercedes for us. He brings his request before the throne of God the Father and prays for us to be strengthened in our faith as we walk the walk of faith amid all the fiery trials.

“Therefore humble yourselves under God’s powerful hand so that he may lift you up at the appointed time. 7Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you... 9Resist [the Devil] by being firm in the faith” (1 Peter 5:6-7, 9, EHV).

Peter had to undergo fiery trials. He denied Jesus, yet Jesus reinstated him. He was timid and hid with the rest behind locked doors on Easter Sunday. But the experiences hardened him and purified his faith. Peter was ready to confess Christ to the bitter end.

Jesus uses all the events of our lives, including and especially, those in which we are ridiculed for the sake of our faith in him. Like Peter, we have to be restored some times. Like Peter, we can look back and say that those experiences prepared us for the challenges to our faith that have come—and are still to come. The same risen Lord who conquered death stands with us in the fiery trial.

IV.

So, “Dear friends, do not be surprised by the fiery trial that is happening among you to test you, as if something strange were happening to you” (1 Peter 4:12, EHV). It is normal to experience trials as a believer. Don’t be Max, trying to set up a facade to hide your Christianity.

“Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you. 8Have sound judgment. Be alert” (1 Peter 5:7-8, EHV). There’s no reason to seek out persecution, but at the same time, don’t fear it. Be alert and ready to confess your faith boldly when confronted. Your Lord Jesus will deal with your anxiety, because he cares for you.

“After you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who called you into his eternal glory in Christ Jesus, will himself restore, establish, strengthen, and support you” (1 Peter 5:10, EHV). Sometimes it may not feel like only “a little while,” but the fiery trials you experienced will end. On the Last Day you and I will be overjoyed to enter eternal glory with our Lord Jesus Christ. Until then, Jesus himself will restore, establish, strengthen and support you.

“To him be the glory and the power forever and ever” (1 Peter 5:11, EHV).

How will people identify you? Will you be like Max, carefully creating a facade so that you don’t have to deal with any fiery trials? Will you do everything in your power to avoid suffering as a Christian?

When the suffering and the persecution and the fiery trials come your way, embrace them as the badge of honor you wear as a follower of Christ Jesus. His is the glory and the power forever and ever. Don’t be surprised. Stand firm. Stand firm until your Lord Jesus brings you home. Amen.