The Follower: 1 Peter 4:12-19

Introduction

One of the larger lights in the history of Christianity is William Tyndale.

Tyndale is known best as one who championed translating the Bible into English. At that time, the Roman Catholic Church maintained its control by demanding it the text be in Latin. That made it unreadable to the masses, and they became dependent on priests to tell them what God wanted.

Tyndale was a fierce critic of Henry the Eighth and his marital abnormalities. That bought him no favors.

Eventually, he was betrayed to officials. He was tied to a stake and then burned alive. Then, just to stop him from being resurrected, his body was dismembered and scattered throughout Europe. His last words were, “Lord, open the eyes of the king of England.”

For us, it may be a fascinating story, but it remains history. Such things do not invade our lives. None that I know are under the same pressure as Tyndale was.

That was not true about being a Christian in the first century. It was a threat that hung over a believer’s head like the heat of summer. Followed by Domitian and a score of other hostile Roman rulers, Nero tried to exterminate Christianity by fear. And thousands of Christians lost their lives over those early centuries of the church.

But for us, we read this passage this morning more as spectators than participants. We have no physical threats to our lives, families, or friends because of our faith. The worst of our problems is an uncomfortable embarrassment in the presence among the wags of our day.

But Peter threads a timeless idea through this current crisis facing his readers in Asia Minor. What do we hear in those echoes of the past that leaves rug burns on our souls?

Discussion

The Problem of Suffering

This lesson has a single laser point—suffering. Three times, suffering is mentioned.

“But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.” (1 Peter 4:13, ESV)

“But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler.” (1 Peter 4:15, ESV)

“Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name.” (1 Peter 4:16, ESV)

Using a common vocabulary, Peter speaks of the “pathos” of suffering, the things that cause pain in life. Mostly, they were events inflicted upon men by outside sources.

We hear it tip-toe through English dictionaries. Empathy means to suffer within with another. A similar term, sympathy, means to suffer with someone.

At the root of Peter’s concern for the Christians is the encroaching pain, they will one day face. He wants them to come to grips with it before it assaults their bodies and souls.

He begins by drawing them close, like a father who wants to speak to his children passionately. He uses the word “beloved.”

“Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.” (1 Peter 4:12, ESV)

This is personal from one who has seen it and will experience it again in the worst way. And listen to what he whispers in their ear.

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.” (1 Peter 4:12, ESV)

For the second time, he brings us the surprise. The first was in verse 4 and the shocked irritation the pagans shown to moral and faithful followers of Christ.

Now, he turns to them. Why do you think this suffering is a novel experience, something new and unique to you? It has happened to believers throughout all time.

Joseph found himself manacled to a slave train headed for Egypt.

Daniel was cast into a den of lions.

Jesus himself felt the scourge tear his back, preparing him for both the humiliation and pain of the cross.

And Peter himself had his own stories to tell.

This suffering happens for a distinct reason. It’s not because you do something wrong.

He mentions the obvious ones—murderers and thieves.

“But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler.” (1 Peter 4:15, ESV)

But he also says you should not receive deserved punishment for being a meddler. It was a strange word that probably meant stirring the pot of trouble, inciting a riot and bad behavior in others. A meddler could always create the problem and stand back and say, “I did not do it.”

But, they will suffer only for their faith because they wear the name of Christ.

“If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.” (1 Peter 4:14, ESV)

People knew who they served, who their allegiance belonged to. They refused to offer incense to Caesar. They were the ones who did not go to the temples or participate in the drunken orgies.

Instead, they suffer as Christians.

“Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name.” (1 Peter 4:16, ESV)

But it is that name Christian that gets our attention. While many believe it peppers the New Testament, it is found in only three places, all with a tinge of judgment and suspicion about these people. There are no silver crosses handing around the name Christian in the first century.

It was found in the mouths of townspeople in Antioch as Paul and Barnabas one Gentiles to Christ. They were no longer only Jews. They were different. So, they coined a name.

“and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people. And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians.” (Acts 11:26, ESV)

The second comes in the Roman court, with Paul standing trial for his life before the skeptical Agrippa. Paul’s defense was nothing more than a sermon aimed at the heart of Agrippa, but he resisted, so he selected a term to shame him.

“And Agrippa said to Paul, “In a short time would you persuade me to be a Christian?” (Acts 26:28, ESV)

It was probably a term of derision delivered with a curled mouth and arched eyebrows. When you are different, people find an unattractive name.

When I was a boy in Santa Fe, NM, those who were Anglo were different from the distinctively Spanish majority. And just to keep us in their place, they called us “gringos,” a term that is a put-down.

It was probably a similar sentiment of the Gentiles, but the Christians owned it proudly. We are indeed followers of Christ.

But none of the shame and pressure walks into our living rooms. We are blessed with peace. Western culture tends to insulate religion, or at least has a tolerance to it. They may think it silly and superstitious, but they just sneer at Christians. None of us are tied to a stake awaiting the torch put to the straw at our feet.

The closest we get is silly hypotheticals. In college, the Cold War continued to rage. The hated “Communists” could invade America. At least that was the thinking.

The popular thought question was what would happen if the Russians conquered the United States. If they knocked at your door and put a rifle barrel on your forehead and asked, “Are you a Christians?” would you tell them?

In the whole time, I never encountered anyone who would deny Christ, even those who slept through church every Sunday morning.

We don’t have that gun barrel imprint on our brow like Peter’s audience experienced.

But for people who are innocent, moral, good, the question of suffering is why. What good does it do to make Christians suffer? Why does God allow it? Or does he even care?

Peter wants them to understand that God can use these desperate circumstances for good, even if they cannot see it immediately.

The Purpose of Suffering

Peter says that their suffering has meaning in four different ways.

It Reveals and Refines

Peter adopts both the language of the Old Testament and the metals merchant.

“Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.” (1 Peter 4:12, ESV)

What is this fiery trial?

It could be literal. When Nero turned to persecute Christians, he made his point in a gruesome way. He rounded up local Christians in Rome, tied them to stakes lining the streets, and set them on fire. He decided to make them human torches amid their screams.

More likely, it is the image of the crucible placed in the furnace. The crucible would cradle a piece of metal ore. It would be thrust into a white-hot furnace until it became molten. The dross would drain, leaving the pure metal in the crucible.

It was a popular image used through Scripture.

Proverbs says:

“The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, and a man is tested by his praise.” (Proverbs 27:21, ESV)

The prophet Zechariah, explaining the opposition of his time, returned to it.

“And I will put this third into the fire, and refine them as one refines silver, and test them as gold is tested. They will call upon my name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘They are my people’; and they will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’ ”” (Zechariah 13:9, ESV)

It is his reference that illuminates 1 Peter. God is tested, and only the faithful will remain.

Pressure and pain reveal a depth or shallowness of faith. After all, if this is what Christianity means, I will pass. Some fell away.

But others found their faith growing stronger because of what they encountered. The evil of life became more remote.

We know that fire does something interesting. When I was a boy, I might get a splinter in my finger. My mother said, “we have to get that out.” After all, it might get infected, and your entire arm turns green and fall off!

So, she took a sewing needle and heated it with a match to kill the germs. Then, once it was purified of the danger, she dug out the splinter. (At times, I would have preferred my arm to fall off to the pain inflicted!)

It’s hard to believe this when it is happening. It is a perspective that must be held in mind…That God can take the worst in life and do something for me and for his good.

Peter wants them to store this thought into their lives to keep them focused when the fire comes.

It Identifies with Christ

In the New Testament, suffering is the Siamese twin of Jesus. They go together.

Jesus is the pioneer. He suffered for us and for all mankind. And when we suffer, we “share” in the suffering of Christ.

“But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.” (1 Peter 4:13, ESV)

The word share shows up in the New Testament in other forms, such as fellowship or something you have in common. When the Christians suffered, they had something intimate in common with the Lord they served.

Having something in common with another provides a link.

A few years ago, one of our members was hospitalized. I went to visit him, and his son was there. The son lived in Granbury, so we started talking. I found out that he graduated from high school the same year I had, except Richardson High School, and I had graduated from Pearce High School.

And we started talking, and we found what we had in common. Do you remember the circle that used to be at Coit and Belt Line? Do you remember the burger place called Next Door? Did you go to the Westwood theater, and what movies did you see?

I had gone to visit his dad, but his dad enjoyed seeing us have something in common!

When Christians suffered, they knew what Jesus did for them and how tied together they were with their Lord. They are doing nothing more than what Jesus did.

Peter says for that, “rejoice and be glad.”

Make sure you continue rejoicing and have this rapturous feeling about suffering.

Did Peter give them an impossible command? How can you rejoice when you are miserable at the same time?

It’s not about the feeling but the purpose that gives the joy. And Peter was not asking them for anything he had not already done.

In the early days of the church, the Jewish leaders seethed that these fishermen were keeping Jesus alive through their proclamations. So, they arrested them and tried to strong-arm them into silence.

When they found out that threats did not work with Peter and John, they brought out the rods and beat them. It had an effect—it gave them joy.

“Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name.” (Acts 5:41, ESV)

Since we partner with Christ in suffering, we will share the same resulting glory.

“But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.” (1 Peter 4:13, ESV)

The cross claimed the body of Jesus. It was sealed in a tomb, but God split the opening, and resurrection resulted on Sunday morning. He had conquered death and returned to his home in glory.

If the Romans killed the boy, God would claim their soul, and they would be united with the Lord in glory.

It is a grand promise.

It Indicates God is Active

Think about how believers face these kinds of troubles. What is God doing? Why does he allow this? Why doesn’t he intervene? Why doesn’t he end the world right now?

It is normal and something that Peter answers.

“For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And “If the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?” (1 Peter 4:17–18, ESV)

God is judging. But don’t grow confused by the language. He doesn’t mean condemning Christians for something they have done.

Instead, there is a winnowing taking place.

When a farmer cut the wheat, it was with wheat and chaff together. You could not tell them apart easily. The grain would be thrown into the air where the wind would blow away the chaff, leaving the wheat.

God is winnowing the world constantly, searching for what is true and what is false. It comes from the everyday experience of humanity.

Peter wants them to understand God’s grand purposes. He starts with the household of God. He examines the Christians and in their faithfulness will be clear. But the experiences of life afflict others as well. And they will be revealed for what they are.

And if it is hard on Christians, imagine the outcome for the ungodly!

Perhaps they can understand that God can use this tragedy in their lives to accomplish his purpose.

The Principle of Suffering

But get real. If you are watching this morning, you know you don’t suffer like this. Yes, we have the harsh experiences of life but nothing as a direct result of our faith.

So it is hard to apply this passage to our lives directly. However, buried in this lesson is a principle that suffering teaches all people.

A principle is true about all times, not just a single circumstance. Peter gives the eternal principle while discussing a specific problem. We can follow the principle every day of our life.

What is it?

Remember, Peter told the Christians they “share” in Christ’s sufferings. But Peter is not the only one who says it. It is scattered through the pages of the New Testament.

Paul told the Philippians of what he would trade the glories of earth to have.

“Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.” (Philippians 3:8–11, ESV)

He reminded the Corinthians that something gives comfort through the pressures the pagan culture brought to their lives.

“But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.” (2 Corinthians 4:7–10, ESV)

Indeed, it forms the basis of the experience of baptism. Perhaps we don’t see all we can see in baptism. Listen to Paul explain it:

“What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.” (Romans 6:1–6, ESV)

What we know of the Christian experience is that we join with Christ in both life and death. Our goal is to mirror him in all we do and all that we are.

Or, as Peter says, “we share in the plight of Christ.”

That means that Christianity has its moments of difficulty when we don’t understand all things. We want it easy, but it gets complicated.

Think about what happened in John 6. Jesus had a crowd gather around him to do nothing more than getting a free meal. So, he issued a challenge. It’s not about eating food. It is about consuming me. If you don’t eat my flesh and drink my blood, you have no part of me.

It was offensive and shocking. It is a message the masses were not prepared to accept.

“When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?”” (John 6:60, ESV)

It had its effect. Those who could not stomach the commitment left.

And it had an effect—“After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. So Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life,” (John 6:66–68, ESV)

Read that again. It was Simon Peter who answered. To whom shall we go?” He is only echoing that sentiment in our class today.

He was taking a mammoth step. Those who stayed standing there while everyone else left would pay for their allegiance. We call them disciples, those who followed Jesus.

And in it, we find the principle of this passage.

When life gets hard, we have to be more than a believer. We have to be a follower of Jesus.

Believers can have the right doctrine. They can sing I Love Jesus with gusto. They accept the principles and truth of Christianity.

But followers following Jesus into the worst of life, when pain and even death is inflicted. When Jesus goes to the cross, they will.

Tradition says that he was crucified within months of this letter but demanded it be upside down because he was not worthy to die in the same manner as his Lord. Peter did more than believe. He followed Jesus.

But the believer may never experience the true joy of life. Because only the follower of Jesus find the glory, Jesus has.

The meaning of baptism is not that we believe in Jesus. Instead, we identify with him and will follow him wherever he leads..whether into peace or into the jaws of suffering. If Christ goes, I go with him.

Conclusion

The question Peter answers is, “how can we endure as a Christian when life gets hard?” When faith gets tested when pain comes, how can you and I stand it?

He answers that in the last verse of today’s lesson.

“Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.” (1 Peter 4:19, ESV)

We entrust our lives into God’s hands. We have to believe that about God, like handing all of our retirement money to our broker, trusting he will manage it and give it back with dividends.

He will take our life, uses it as he must, but return it with even more glory than we can imagine.

The only question for us is, are we ready to do more than believe Jesus? Are you prepared to follow him?

Dr. Paul Brand had a unique medical practice. He served among those who were stricken with Hanson’s disease, otherwise known as leprosy.

In India, he experienced a woman who had no fingers due to the damage of the disease.

Brand took her hand and said: “I am a hand surgeon, so when I meet people, I can’t help looking at their hands. I would like to have examined Christ’s hands. With the nails driven through, they must have appeared twisted and crippled. Remember, Jesus, in the end, was crippled too.”

Will you be crippled too?