Sermon Tone Analysis

*TITLE:*

*TEXT: 1 Peter 4:17-19    Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.

For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? [18] And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?

[19] Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.

*

“But if he suffer [reproach] as a Christian, let him not continue to be ashamed, but let him be glorifying God because of this name, for the time is now, of the judgment beginning at the house of God.

But if it start first with us, what shall be the end of those who are not obeying the good news of God?

And if he who is righteous is with difficulty being saved, he that is impious and a sinner, where shall he appear?

Therefore, also let those who are suffering according to the will of God be constantly committing the safekeeping of their souls by a continuance in the doing of good to a faithful Creator.”

[1]

 

 

|   | *17* |   | For |   | it |   | is |   | time |   | for |   | judgment |   | to |   | begin |   | at |   | the |   | household |   | of |   |

|   |   |   | ὅτι1 |   | • |   | • |   | ‹ὁ2 καιρὸς3› |   | • |   | ‹τὸ6 κρίμα7› |   | ►5 |   | ‹τοῦ4 ἄρξασθαι5› |   | ἀπὸ8 |   | τοῦ9 |   | οἴκου10 |   | ►12 |   |

|   |   |   | ὅτι |   |   |   |   |   | ὁ καιρός |   |   |   | ὁ κρίμα |   |   |   | ὁ ἄρχομαι |   | ἀπό |   | ὁ |   | οἶκος |   |   |   |

|   |   |   | C |   |   |   |   |   | RNSM, NNSM |   |   |   | RASN, NASN |   |   |   | RGSN, VIAD|VIAM |   | EG |   | RGSM |   | NGSM |   |   |   |

|   |   |   | 3754 |   |   |   |   |   | 3588, 2540 |   |   |   | 3588, 2917 |   |   |   | 3588, 756 |   | 575 |   | 3588 |   | 3624 |   |   |   |

 

| God; |   | and |   | if |   | it |   | begins |   | with |   | us, |   | what |   | will |   | be |   | the |   | outcome |   | for |   | those |   | who |

| ‹τοῦ11 θεοῦ12› |   | δὲ14 |   | εἰ13 |   | → |   | πρῶτον15 |   | ἀφ᾽16 |   | ἡμῶν17 |   | τί18 |   | • |   | • |   | τὸ19 |   | τέλος20 |   | → |   | τῶν21 |   | → |

| ὁ θεός |   | δέ |   | εἰ |   |   |   | πρῶτον |   | ἀπό |   | ἐγώ |   | τίς |   |   |   |   |   | ὁ |   | τέλος |   |   |   | ὁ |   |   |

| RGSM, NGSM |   | C |   | T |   |   |   | D|JASN |   | EG |   | PPGP |   | PGNSN |   |   |   |   |   | RNSN |   | NNSN |   |   |   | RGPM |   |   |

| 3588, 2316 |   | 1161 |   | 1487 |   |   |   | 4412 |   | 575 |   | 1473 |   | 5101 |   |   |   |   |   | 3588 |   | 5056 |   |   |   | 3588 |   |   |

 

|   | do |   | not |   | obey |   | the |   | gospel |   | of |   | God? |   |   |   |

|   | → |   | → |   | ἀπειθούντων22 |   | τῷ23 |   | εὐαγγελίῳ26 |   | ►25 |   | ‹τοῦ24 θεοῦ25› |   |   |   |

|   |   |   |   |   | ἀπειθέω |   | ὁ |   | εὐαγγέλιον |   |   |   | ὁ θεός |   |   |   |

|   |   |   |   |   | VPGPMPA |   | RDSN |   | NDSN |   |   |   | RGSM, NGSM |   |   |   |

|   |   |   |   |   | 544 |   | 3588 |   | 2098 |   |   |   | 3588, 2316 |   |   |   |

 

|   | *18* |   | And |   |   |   | “If |   | the |   | righteous |   | is |   | scarcely |   | saved, |   |   |   | /what will become of ~*/ |   | the |   |

|   |   |   | καὶ1 |   |   |   | εἰ2 |   | ὁ3 |   | δίκαιος4 |   | ►6 |   | μόλις5 |   | σῴζεται6 |   |   |   | ‹ποῦ11 φανεῖται12› |   | ὁ7 |   |

|   |   |   | καί |   |   |   | εἰ |   | ὁ |   | δίκαιος |   |   |   | μόλις |   | σῴζω |   |   |   | ποῦ φαίνομαι |   | ὁ |   |

|   |   |   | C |   |   |   | T |   | RNSM |   | SNSM|JNSM |   |   |   | D |   | VF3SPIP |   |   |   | D, VF3SFID |   | RNSM |   |

|   |   |   | 2532 |   |   |   | 1487 |   | 3588 |   | 1342 |   |   |   | 3433 |   | 4982 |   |   |   | 4226, 5316 |   | 3588 |   |

 

| ungodly |   | and |   | the |   | sinner?” |   |   |   |

| ἀσεβὴς8 |   | καὶ9 |   | → |   | ἁμαρτωλὸς10 |   |   |   |

| ἀσεβής |   | καί |   |   |   | ἁμαρτωλός |   |   |   |

| SNSM|JNSM |   | C |   |   |   | NNSM|JNSM |   |   |   |

| 765 |   | 2532 |   |   |   | 268 |   |   |   |

|   | *19* |   | • |   | Therefore |   | let |   | those |   | who |   | suffer |   | according |   | to |   | God’s |   | will |   |

|   |   |   | καὶ2 |   | ὥστε1 |   | ►12 |   | οἱ3 |   | → |   | πάσχοντες4 |   | κατὰ5 |   | ← |   | ‹τοῦ8 θεοῦ9› |   | ‹τὸ6 θέλημα7› |   |

|   |   |   | καί |   | ὥστε |   |   |   | ὁ |   |   |   | πάσχω |   | κατά |   |   |   | ὁ θεός |   | ὁ θέλημα |   |

|   |   |   | C |   | C |   |   |   | RNPM |   |   |   | VPNPMPA |   | EA |   |   |   | RGSM, NGSM |   | RASN, NASN |   |

|   |   |   | 2532 |   | 5620 |   |   |   | 3588 |   |   |   | 3958 |   | 2596 |   |   |   | 3588, 2316 |   | 3588, 2307 |   |

 

| entrust |   | their |   | souls |   | to |   | a |   | faithful |   | Creator |   | while |   | doing |   | good.

|   |   |   |

| παρατιθέσθωσαν12 |   | αὐτῶν15 |   | ‹τὰς13 ψυχὰς14› |   | → |   | ►11 |   | πιστῷ10 |   | κτίστῃ11 |   | ἐν16 |   | → |   | ἀγαθοποιΐᾳ17 |   |   |   |

| παρατίθεμαι |   | αὐτός |   | ὁ ψυχή |   |   |   |   |   | πιστός |   | κτίστης |   | ἐν |   |   |   | ἀγαθοποιί̈α |   |   |   |

| VF3PPVD|VF3PPVP |   | PPGPM |   | RAPF, NAPF |   |   |   |   |   | JDSM |   | NDSM |   | ED |   |   |   | NDSF |   |   |   |

| 3908 |   | 846 |   | 3588, 5590 |   |   |   |   |   | 4103 |   | 2939 |   | 1722 |   |   |   | 16 |   |   |   |

[2]

*THEME:        Persecution*

*PROP.:

We must understand the truth about persecution*

*INTER.:

What is the truth about persecution?*

*INTRODUCTION:* \\ \\ Persecution is a strange thing.

Why would God ever allow a person who believes in God, who really loves and follows God, to suffer persecution?

This is the point of this passage, to discuss the question of persecution, of the fiery trial that the believer sometimes has to suffer.

The believer is to stand up under the fiery trials of persecution.

\\ \\ Believers often do not understand why they have to suffer.

When they suffer, they are surprised and astonished, and they wonder why God does not protect them from suffering and from persecution.

This is especially true when persecution is fiery, and so long as the believer is upon earth, he is going to be called upon to face fiery trials.

Being a genuine believer in a corrupt world is difficult.

People often oppose the believer’s stand for Christ.

*I           The Person of Persecution*

* *

*1 Peter 4:16 *

*    Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.

*

* *

*let him not be ashamed*—though the world is ashamed of shame.

To suffer for one’s own faults is no honor (1Pe 4:15; 1Pe 2:20),—for Christ, is no /shame/ (1Pe 4:14; 1Pe 3:13).

*but let him glorify God*—not merely glory in persecution; Peter might have said as the contrast, “but let him esteem it an honor to himself”; but the honor is to be given /to God,/ who counts him worthy of such an honor, involving exemption from the coming judgments on the ungodly.

*on this behalf*—The oldest manuscripts and /Vulgate/ read, “in this /name,/” that is, in respect of suffering for such a name.

/1 Peter 4.16./

It may be important to make the adversative conjunction /However/ quite emphatic by some such phrase as “on the contrary” or “in contrast with that” or “that should not be but....”

In the Greek, the verb is found only in verse 15, and a literal translation of verse 16 would be “but if as a Christian....” It is clear, however, that the implicit verb is “suffer,” and most translations repeat the verb here in order to express the meaning more clearly.

The term /Christian/ is a technical term for Christ’s followers; in the book of Acts, it is recorded that the believers in Antioch were the first ones to be called by that name (Acts 11.26).

It is very possible that this name was used initially by heathens as a way of ridiculing believers, but that it soon came to be used as a general designation without the negative connotation.

It should also be noted that the third person singular pronoun is used in both verses 15 and 16, but since it is clear that it is the readers who are being addressed, the /TEV/ and many other translations have substituted the second person plural pronoun.

/Because you are a Christian/ may be rendered as “because you are a believer in Christ” or “because you follow Christ” or “because people know you as one who trusts in Christ.”

If one is persecuted because he is a Christian, he should not be /ashamed/; or in other words, he should not consider this as a disgrace or a cause for shame.

On the contrary, he should /thank God/ that he bears /Christ’s name/.

This last part is literally “glorify God by this name.”

“Name” most probably goes back to /Christian/; the meaning then is that the believer should thank God because he is called by the very name of Christ, that is, a /Christian/ (compare /JB/ “he should thank God that he has been called one”; Brc “He must make the name Christian a name which brings honour to God”).

/Don’t be ashamed/ is frequently expressed in an idiomatic manner, for example, “do not hang your head” or “do not look to the side” or “do not feel like hiding.”

The pronoun /it/ in the expression /don’t be ashamed of it/ refers to the fact of one’s being a Christian.

It may be necessary to make this explicit, for example, “don’t be ashamed of being a follower of Christ.”

A literal translation of /thank God that you bear Christ’s name/ may be misleading, since it might suggest that Christians were pretending that they themselves were Christ.

A more appropriate translation may be “thank God that people call you Christians” or “...followers of Christ.”

[3]

* *

SCRIPTURES TO PONDER \\ \\ "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek" (Romans 1:16).

\\ \\ "According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death" (Phil.

1:20).

\\ \\ "And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming" (1 John 2:28).

\\ \\ "Give unto the lord the glory due unto his name; worship the lord in the beauty of holiness" (Psalm 29:2).

\\ \\ "O magnify the lord with me, and let us exalt his name together" (Psalm 34:3).

\\ \\ "Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; let thy glory be above all the earth" (Psalm 57:5).

\\ \\ "Let them exalt him also in the congregation of the people, and praise him in the assembly of the elders" (Psalm 107:32).

\\ \\ "O Lord, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things; thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth" (Isaiah 25:1).

\\ \\

 

*II         The Purifying of persecution*

* *

*1 Peter 4:17  For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? *

* *

Another ground of consolation to Christians.

All must pass under the judgment of God; God’s own household first, their chastisement being here, for which they should glorify Him as a proof of their membership in His family, and a pledge of their escape from the end of those whom the last judgment shall find disobedient to the Gospel.

*the time*—/Greek,/ “season,” “fit time.”

*judgment must begin at the house of God*—the Church of living believers.

Peter has in mind Ez 9:6; compare Am 3:2; Je 25:29.

Judgment is already begun, the Gospel word, as a “two-edged sword,” having the double effect of saving some and condemning others, and shall be consummated at the last judgment.

“When power is given to the destroyer, he observes no distinction between the righteous and the wicked; not only so, but he begins first at the righteous” [Wetstein from /Rabbins/].

But God limits the destroyer’s power over His people.

*if … at us, what shall the end /be/ of them,* &c.—If even the godly have chastening judgments now, how much more shall the ungodly be doomed to damnatory judgments at last.

*gospel of God*—the very God who is to judge them.

*ἀπειθέω **/apeithéō/*; contracted /apeithó//̄/, fut.

/apeithé//̄sō/, from /apeithé//̄s/ (545), disobedient.

Not to allow oneself to be persuaded or believe, to disbelieve, be disobedient.[4]

[5]

* *

*We need to accept persecution as the purifying judgment of God.* Scripture clearly says that persecution is used by God as a judgment upon believers.

Judgment, in fact, must begin at the house or church of God.

What does this mean?

When things are going well for the believer, he tends to feel more and more secure in himself and tends to partake of the world more and more.

Perhaps he partakes of only little tidbits of the pleasure and possessions of the world, but nevertheless, he is still partaking of some worldliness.

The result is that the believer does not concentrate and focus upon Christ like he should.

When things are going well, he does not pray and worship nor fellowship and commune with God like he should.

He becomes somewhat contaminated and polluted with a sense of self-sufficiency and worldliness.

When this happens, God has to do something to awaken the believer.

One thing that He often does is use persecution to arouse the believer.

God can use persecution as a means of judgment, as a means to stir the believer to clean up his life and to draw closer to God.

Think about it: When a believer is persecuted, to whom can he turn?

There is only one sure deliverer and that is God.

Therefore, persecution causes the believer to flee to God for deliverance and protection; it causes the believer to turn his attention from self and the world and to focus and concentrate upon God.

 

/1 Peter 4.17./

Peter now picks up the theme of judgment which he has already introduced earlier.

Once again, he affirms the imminence of this judgment: it is about /to begin/.

The judge is not explicitly mentioned; it could either be Christ or God, but probably the latter (compare Phps, /GECL/ “God’s judgment”).