Sermon Tone Analysis

Triumphing in Suffering

The Church of Christ is no stranger to suffering.

The clash of truth and error, the kingdom of light and the kingdom of darkness, the children of God and the children of the devil inevitably result in severe conflict.

Opposition, rejection, scorn, contempt, ostracism, persecution, and even martyrdom have often been the lot of the followers of Jesus.

Revelation 12:

Our Lord pointed out this truth.

Isaiah prophesied that the Messiah would be “despised and forsaken of men.”

Jesus plainly told His disciples that He was going to “suffer” and “be killed.”

Luke 9:

The infant church suffered greatly.

Peter and John were beaten and thrown into jail for preaching the Gospel.

Stephen was murdered for preaching the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Severe persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem.

Saul of Tarsus, who would later become the Apostle Paul, “breathed threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord.”

And following his conversion while on route to Damascus, the Lord set the course for Paul’s ministry:

Acts 9

And suffer he did.

The church, always in conflict with this world, has been in periods of great persecution and suffering from day one.

From the Jewish and Gentile mobs, to the Roman government official policy of persecution, to the martyrdom of those under the Inquisition of the Roman Catholic Church — the martyrdom of Jan Hus, Hugh Latimer, Thomas Cranmer, William Tyndale — and today, the brutal repression of Christians by Communists and Islamic regimes across the world.

The Apostle Peter penned this letter probably just before Nero’s persecution broke out against Christians.

So, he saw the clouds gathering for immense suffering in the church.

In fact, we can see from verse 1 there was already a scattering of Christians to the provinces of Asia Minor, which is modern day Turkey.

So, this is not an evangelistic letter — this is a letter to Christians on Triumphing in Suffering.

And it’s interesting how he goes about it.

And so, this morning I want to give you the big picture, the panoramic view of 1 Peter.

I want to first draw your attention to the driving force of his letter — the Cross.

I.

The Force

1 Peter 1:18-19

This is the heart of Peter’s letter — the Cross of Christ.

Look again at

:24

Here again, Peter makes reference to the cross of Christ, signifying the crucial aspect of Christ’s sacrifice.

Look at 3:18.

1 Peter 3:18

So, here again is the heart of his letter, the driving force behind his message — the atoning blood of Christ.

Jesus Christ was the sacrifice of God, the substitutionary death of the just for the unjust.

At the cross, Jesus Christ died once.

And Peter seeks to remind believers of the clear necessity and efficacy of the sacrifice of Christ.

The heart of his letter is the imputation, the substitution, the propitiation, and the satisfaction of Christ’s sacrifice to the Father.

This is his driving force of his letter — the cross of Christ — but — and I want you to keep this in mind, but it is not the core of the letter.

The core of the letter, the purpose is Handling Suffering or better stated — Triumphing in Suffering.

II.

The Purpose

In verse 1 and 2, Peter identified that he was writing to “resident aliens,” in this world who are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, who were “set apart by the Spirit for obedience and for sprinkling with the blood of Jesus Christ.”

So, he is writing to believers.

Again, this is not an evangelistic plea.

He writes to believers — Those who were “given a new birth into a living hope” born again “through the resurrection.”

And so, as we saw, he makes this repeated point about the cross.

He writes to those who have obtained an “inheritance” in verse 4, “an inheritance that is imperishable, uncorrupted, and unfading, kept in heaven.”

He writes to those who are “protected by God’s power” in verse 5 “through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”

So, he’s writing to believers and the force of his letter is the cross, but the purpose concerns their present and future suffering.

1 Peter 1:6-7

Peter’s talking to them about Triumphing in Suffering.

He’s talking about going through these various trials that prove the validity of their faith because it is tested the way gold is tested in fire to remove the impurities and reveal the purity of the gold — So the suffering and trials will reveal the

“praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

In other words, the full outcome of your suffering is the salvation of your souls.

This is Triumphing in Suffering.

Peter reiterates his point in

:19

If you suffer harsh treatment because you’re living righteously unto God, then you find favor with God — this is Triumphing in Suffering.

If you are punished because of your sin, this is not the case.

And then to drive his point even more — Peter adds in verse 21 — “You were called to this!”

Called to what?

Called to suffer — to suffer triumphantly!

And look at the intensity of what Peter is talking about.

This is not some easy stuff.

1 Peter 3:9

The implication here is when you receive evil you are not to return evil for evil, or insult for insult — but, giving a blessing instead.

And notice again — “Since you were called for this.”

And Why?!?

Because that’s what God is ultimately going to give you in glory for all your suffering!

And now look down to verse 13.

1 Peter 3:13-

Again — he’s saying just hang in there and take the suffering because you’ve been called to this.

And now look at chapter 4.

1 Peter 4;12-13

Fiery ordeal — this is just another way to describe suffering.

This is not some kind of alien experience.

In other words, this is the usual thing for Christians.

What is unusual is when Christians are not under persecution.

He continues in verse 13.

So, instead of being shocked and surprised at the suffering — and you know you do this when your response is complaining or anger.

Instead!

Your response should be joy!

Why?

Because you understand that you are able to share in the sufferings of the Lord Jesus Christ — AND NOTICE THIS — “So that you may also rejoice with great joy at the revelation of His glory.”

The understanding of the suffering and the joy in this suffering is directly related to greater joy when the Lord returns.

But there’s more.

We can rightly understand our own suffering and respond rightly if we’ve first entrusted ourselves to our faithful Creator.

Entrust is a banker’s term referring to a deposit for security.

We generally don’t want to let go, do we?

But look who you are entrusting your soul to — the faithful Creator.

Because He is the Designer of all that is and the One who sustains everything (and not only His material creation) — only He is completely able and trustworthy in doing what is exactly right.

And so you can entrust yourself to His power and purpose.

And He is faithful because He Himself has promised.

And if we truly entrust ourselves to our faithful Creator then this would totally eliminate any anxiety.

But life happens, doesn’t it?

Look now to

You’re going to suffer to some extent.

You may suffer at the hands of persecutors, at the hands of slanderers, at the hand of evil people, at the hand of those who revile you, and possibly at the hand of Satan, who is prowling like a lion — what are you to do?

Cast all your anxiety on Him who cares for you.