Christian, Beware!
I Peter 4:12-19
One of the most famous photographs of the 20th century is of British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlein.
It is 1938 and he has just returned from Germany.
A crowd of people met him at the airport in London.
In the photograph, Chamberlain is waving some papers.
It is the Munich Agreement, in which the European governments thought they had contained Hitler and Germany from attacking any other nations.
“Peace for our time!” was the phrase of the day.
“Peace for our time!”
How well did that work out?
Well, 11 months later Germany invaded Poland which ignited the Second World War.
Chamberlain and the like refused to acknowledge the danger and the evil they were facing.
They cried “peace”, but it was war that inevitable.
I am reminded of the prophet Jeremiah.
He had the burden of proclaiming the coming judgment upon Judah.
He warned the nation and its leaders that they should repent for their sins before God sent Babylon to conquer them.
Now, Satan always make sure there are more false prophets that true ones.
Jerusalem was full of these hirelings, who spouted out whatever their patrons desired.
They said, “Oh, Jeremiah! You are too old-fashioned! God is going to bless us! We will have peace!”
Guess who the people flocked to?
Jeremiah famously write about their actions in Jeremiah 6:14:
Jer 6:14 They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly,
That is, they had put a band aid on a cancer – it was no help.
saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.
Friends, beware of any preacher, pastor, teacher, or anything that claims the name of Christ who tells you will have peace in this life.
Oh, we can have peace within our hearts and souls.
We can have peace in our salvation.
We can have peace in our destination.
But there is not a single guarantee in this old black book that says our lives will be at ease.
It is actually quite the opposite.
Christ did not tell His disciples that they would be heralded as heroes for bearing the Gospel to the world.
No, Christ said they would be despised and rejected, just as the world treated Him.
Jhn 15:18 If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.
Jhn 15:19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.
That was not just for the Apostles.
John warned us:
1Jn 3:13 Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you.
That is practically what Peter says in our text:
1Pe 4:12 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you,
Marvel not, do not this it is odd, when you face opposition to your faith.
Peter is talking about being persecuted for Christ’s sake.
As he continues, there are also two forms of judgment that he mentions.
We will examine each of these this morning.
I. Persecution
This is the primary theme of this section.
It is suffering as a Christian for Christ’s sake.
1Pe 4:12 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:
1Pe 4:13 But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.
1Pe 4:14 If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.
Note that is likened to Christ’s suffering.
He was targeted, attacked, mocked, ridiculed, beaten, and killed.
The did not cry, “Crown Him! Crown Him!”
No, it was “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!”
Friends, there is nothing less tolerated in this world than a committed, faithful Christian.
You will get ostracized.
You will lose friends.
You will be mocked.
People are not going to comprehend why you live the way you do.
You are going to stick out like the proverbial sore thumb.
That is not about you.
It is about Who you represent.
It is about Whose light is reflecting off you.
That is key to understanding this passage.
This opposition come naturally because you are a Christian.
You are walking and talking like one.
You are suffering because you are doing something right.
1Pe 4:16 Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.
This is not because you broke the law or did something stupid.
This is because you were doing what you were supposed to do.
Now, how do we endure this persecution?
First, take it as a sign you are doing something right.
1Pe 4:14 If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you:
A Christian that doesn’t make waves or even ripples in this world is not doing it right.
Second, know that God is glorified in your persecution.
1Pe 4:14 … on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.
This is counter to man’s wisdom.
When darkness rejects the light, it only makes the light that much more precious.
Remember, it is not about us!
Be like John the Baptist, whose life’s goal is summed up: “He must increase, but I must decrease.”
Third, find refuge in Christ.
1Pe 4:19 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.
We have the Rock of Ages that we can find safety and peace in.
We have a Shepherd who will shelter us.
Do not try to endure this alone – RUN TO CHRIST!
II. Correction
We began with suffering because we are Christians are being faithful.
Now, we see suffering as Christians for being unfaithful.
1Pe 4:15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men’s matters.
1Pe 4:16 Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.
1Pe 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: …
Being saved means we will not face the eternal judgment of God for sins, but it does not mean we will not face consequences for our action.
In a sense, God holds us accountable for the consequence of our actions in this life, not the next.
If you tell a lie as a believer, it will not send you to hell.
In that case, our sins are all forgiven and forgotten, paid for by Christ’s blood on Calvary.
But, if you tell a lie as a believer, you will still face its consequences here.
Any harm done by it is not lessened because you are a believer.
You have still wronged both God and man in your actions.
You do not get a pass from that, even if it does not affect your eternal salvation.
In a positive sense, this can be seen a means by which God is sanctifying us:
Heb 12:6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
I think of army recruits.
That drill sergeant is rough on them, but it has a purpose!
He is training them, ridding them of bad habits, and molding them to be effective war fighters.
God does similar with us, to make us stronger as Christians.
However, I don’t think that positive sense is being discussed here.
Look at verse 15:
1Pe 4:15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men’s matters.
Peter is saying, “Dear believer, you are going to suffer, but don’t let it be because you were stupid and got yourself in trouble.”
This is the negative sense of the correction of a believer.
You do not have a license to sin.
You do not have a “Get out of sin free” card.
No, God is going to hold you accountable for your sin.
We have a high responsibility to make sure that if, or shall I say when, we suffer, it is for Christ’s sake and not our own.
We must guard ourselves, our families, our churches, and the Christian community with all vigilance.
The saddest thing about the opposition we face today as Christians is not that it is persecution.
It is correction.
A person who claimed the name of Christ shamed that Holy name through their actions.
I am going to say this, but in most of those cases it was because the local church or broader community of believers failed to deal properly with sin in their midst.
Because we did not deal with it, it leaks out into the world and those natural consequences come calling.
It is not persecution when a preacher falls, it is correction against the church.
I know we are all sinners saved by grace, but there are lines you cannot cross.
A rapist, pedophile, a thief – we cannot let the world be the ones to bring judgment against them and force them out of a church.
We have responsibility to judge ourselves, lest we be judged by others.
Get rid of the rattlesnake in your house and you won’t be on the news when it bites someone.
III. Judgment
1Pe 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?
1Pe 4:18 And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?
Peter’s logic is that if God would judge the sins of His own children, will He not also judge those who reject Him?
If a believer cannot escape the consequences of sin in this life, then it is sure that the unbeliever will face the consequences of their sin in the life to come.
Judgment begins at the house of God, but it does not end there.
I thought of really hard football coach, the kind that would get fired today.
If I was on the other side watching him torture his own team in practice or warmup, in the back of my mind I would be thinking, “If he does that to his won guys, what’s he gonna do to us?!?”.
It is a sobering thought that God is righteous and just.
That phrase from Numbers 32:23 haunts me: “Be Sure your sin will find you out.”
CONCLUSION
- If you do not know Christ, you better bow before Him now.
- There is no escape from what is to come.
- If you are a Christian
- Guard your life
- Eradicate sin, do not cover it up.
- Do your part in warning the lost about the coming judgment.