Sermon Cloud

Last Sunday we began looking at this passage of Scripture and made it through verse 15. This morning we will pick up the text at verse 16 and Lord willing arrive safely home at verse 19.

One of the benefits to verse by verse preaching through books of the Bible is you come across passages and are forced to deal with the sticky issues that surround them whether you enjoy that or not. One of those sticky passages is verses 17 and 18 of our text today. By way of introduction I would like to deal with verses 17 and 18 if you will allow me. Read those verses with me.

¹⁷ 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? ¹⁸ And “If the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?” 

There are several things that we can pick up on just with a summary reading of these verses.

1. It is time for judgment to begin.

2. This judgment will begin at the household of God.

3. It will be extended to the unbelieving world.

4. The righteous are scarcely saved or saved through difficulty.

5. The lost world is in a lot of trouble.

Which leaves us with some questions.

1. How and why does God judge His own household?

2. What does it mean that we are saved scarcely or with difficulty?

I can probably assure you that Peter would have never asked the question, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” Now that is a question that is asked to almost every Christian that gets on national television for one of those news shows. If many of these men were preaching through 1 Peter they would come to this passage and find the answer. Let’s establish some facts concerning this age old question as to why bad things happen to good people.

1. I would like for the one asking the question to first show me a good person. God’s Word says that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Plus the Bible also says that the wages of sin is death. So if indeed as the Bible teaches that we are all born sinful and in need of a Savior and the cost of that salvation was the horrific crucifixion death of the only perfect human being that ever has walked the planet who is the eternal, sovereign, holy Son of God then how in the world can we question what happens to us? If Christ suffered horribly and He was innocent of all sin then what should happen to us? After all, by our sin we have offended the Creator of all that there is and we stand squarely and rightly under His judgment.

2. The proper question that should be asked that does have a biblical answer is, “Why do good things happen to bad people?” And the simple answer to that is common grace. God allows the rain to fall on the just and the unjust.

In New Testament times many assumed that if something bad happened to you then you were a far worse sinner than everyone else. I don’t think many people’s beliefs have changed much.

Luke 13:1-5 records a conversation between the Lord Jesus and some people who were basically asking this same question. Two groups of people endured suffering unto death. There were the Galileans whom Pilate had mixed their blood with the blood of their sacrifices and then the other group of eighteen that the Tower of Siloam fell on and crushed to death. Let me read you the conversation.

Which leads us to ask some important questions.

Why does God allow these things to happen? He is sovereign and there is not a stray atom in all the universe. Here are some examples.

1. How many Christians died on September 11?

2. Why did my friend and fellow pastor Freddie die at age 38 leaving a wife and 8 children?

3. Why do Christian people get sick or injured or even killed horrifically?

4. Why is Marielle Nish suffering from cancer at age 8 when her parents love the Lord and spend their days serving Him?

The answer is in verses 17 and 18. Look at the text again.

Without a doubt the Apostle Peter had some Old Testament imagery in mind. When the nation of Israel rebelled against God the wicked were not the only ones to suffer and die. Many who remained faithful to God endured severe treatment in the midst of the suffering of the wicked. Think about Daniel as a righteous young man carried off from his home, many of the people he knew were killed, and he was left a slave in Babylon . How many of the prophets wrote from other lands what they were enduring. Read the book of Lamentations and experience the anguish and the suffering of the Prophet Jeremiah as he watched the terrible destruction of the City of God .

There were undoubtedly godly people that had their blood mixed with the their own sacrifices by Pilate. Surely there were godly people in that group of eighteen that the Tower of Siloam fell on and crushed to death. There were Christians killed on September 11. How many of the troops who die in Iraq and Afghanistan are true Christians? I have no way to know but be assured some of those young men are believers.

A little closer to home, how many Christians lost their houses and their lives during Hurricane Katrina? How many churches were literally knocked off their foundations? How many Christians are still living in FEMA trailers?

The point to all this is what Peter said in verse 17 and 18. The household of God, the church, are not exempt from the judgment of God. And in His sovereignty He allows in the midst of judgment the suffering and death of His people. This on the surface sounds bad. It cuts right against the grain of modern American evangelicalism. But the text is very clear. Read it with me again.

What many have confused and constantly claim healing and deliverance in the name of Jesus because of, is a misunderstanding of redemption. Christ died to redeem us from sin and from the curse. As His children we are redeemed and in Ephesians are already seated in heavenly places with Christ. Our sin is no longer held against us because the Lord Jesus paid it all. But do we still sin? Yes.

Some have thought that Christ’s death immediately releases us from the power of sin. They think that some second blessing will come along and enable us to live sinlessly. That errant belief dismisses the need for ongoing sanctification that culminates in our death and glorification. We sin and fall short of God’s glory and remain in need of His grace and will be sinlessly perfected in Heaven.

The same goes with the curse. We are ultimately redeemed from the curse but not yet. We still experience all of the effects of Adam’s sin. We now have inherited from Adam passed down through the human race the ability to get sick, injured, and to die. We are but weak and frail. So those that constantly claim healing based on the removal of the curse often simply misunderstand Scripture. If the curse were completely removed now we who are believers in the Lord Jesus would live forever in this physical body.

Plus we have Revelation 14:13 which says, And I heard a voice from heaven, saying, "Write, 'Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on!' " "Yes," says the Spirit, "so that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow with them."

The Puritans viewed death probably as we should. Many of them died at early ages and saw many of their children die on a regular basis. Here is how they understood death. And keep in mind that sickness, injury, and death are part of God’s original judgment on the race of Adam after the fall.

1. Death is inevitable and it is part of God’s punishment on original sin.

2. Evil men and evil spirits occupy the earth. In fact, all suffer from “utter and unalterable depravity.”

3. Death is a reward for the elect of God.[1]

Peter uses a classic “if-then” scenario. If this happens then this will be the outcome. In this text the ones in real trouble are not those in the household of God but the ones disobedient to the Gospel. Death for the Christian is not the end but according to Scripture we are ushered into the presence of God. Revelation 7:13-17 gives us a heavenly snapshot of this. Turn there with me. You have this group of people around the throne of God and John is asked a question by one of the elders.

So what happens to the ungodly if this happens to the righteous? If the righteous are allowed to have Towers fall on them and their homes blown off the foundation, and their churches destroyed, and their health to fail, and loved ones to die, and to lose children, and thousands of other infirmities and distresses, then how worse will it be for those who, as Peter says, disobey the Gospel of God?

If we used our collective imaginations we could not imagine the horrors of hell and the anguish that lost humanity will suffer because of their rejection of Christ. Hell will be far worse than any experience here on earth.

You probably have seen these T-shirts and hats that some men wear because they are war veterans. It says, “I know I am going to Heaven because I went through Hell here on earth.” I want to say to them that even though they experienced the terrors and horror of war, that will pale in comparison to the terrors and horrors of a godless hell. The Puritans called hell “unspeakable terrors.”[2]

Peter’s point is to show us that no matter what we have to endure for the sake of Christ whether it be in persecution at the hands of evil men or enduring the suffering as a result of God’s judgment on an evil world, we believers in the Lord Jesus Christ have an inheritance that we will not receive until we face death. We have a glorious eternity before us while the lost world is staring straight down the barrel of an eternal hell.

Therefore we, as we began to see last week, are called by God to endure persecution and suffering and we are to do it well.

Last week we saw that verse 12 teaches us that in order to suffer well we can not be surprised at the onset of suffering. We saw in verses 13-14 that in order to suffer well we are to rejoice and be glad in the midst of suffering. And third we saw in verse 15 that in order to suffer well we are not to suffer for doing evil.

So keeping those three commands to suffer well in mind, today from our text, I want you to see the final three commands that Peter gives us in order to be able to glorify God by suffering well.

4. In order to suffer well we are not to be ashamed for suffering for Christ. (16)

5. In order to suffer well we are to glorify God. (16)

6. In order to suffer well we are to entrust our souls to God. (19)

My purpose in preaching this section is to show you from the Word how we can suffer well. To not suffer well is to not bring glory to God. Over and over in the Bible we hear these words. “He who endures to the end will be saved.” Hebrews 10:36-38 says,

So look with me at these final three commands that Peter gives us so that we can glorify God by suffering well.

4. In order to suffer well we are not to be ashamed for suffering for Christ. (16)

Look with me at verse 16.

¹⁶ Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name.

Peter in verse 13 told us that when we suffer for the sake of Christ we are sharing in those sufferings. And now in verse 16 Peter tells us not to be ashamed if we suffer as a Christian. I want you to look closely at that verse. (Read with emphasis)

¹⁶ Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name.

If we suffer we are not to be ashamed. That is an imperative verb. Peter is not making a suggestion. Here is what was at issue. Much of the suffering that Christians had to endure in the first century was public. They were dragged before the courts and even the synagogues. Public beatings were frequent and so the human reaction to this kind of treatment was to be humiliated and ashamed.

If you discipline your child publicly you humiliate them in front of other people. That is why you take them to a private room.

But the sinful world longs to humiliate those who are suffering.

The word is still used in that same way today by those opposed to the faith. “those Christians!!!” Now Peter says to not be ashamed to wear that badge. If someone calls you a Christian take it as a compliment.

The fourth command that Peter gives us in order to suffer well is to not be ashamed for suffering as a Christian. Now I want you to see what you are to do in response to this suffering. And this is your next point, point five.

5. In order to suffer well we are to glorify God. (16)

Look with me at verse 16 again.

Already the use of the word, Christian by the lost world is supposed to bring about shame and humiliation. But the Christian can turn this into an opportunity to glorify God. This is another command. Instead of being ashamed we can use this suffering to glorify God. Look specifically at what Peter says.

In other words when someone reviles you and their intention is to degrade you by calling you a Christian, we turn that into an opportunity to glorify God.

Here is a scenario. Someone does not like the fact that you seek to live a life in obedience to the Lord. So they ridicule you as a Christian. Instead of backing into your shell why not use that as an opportunity to tell them exactly why you are a Christian. Tell them the Gospel of the Glory of God who received glory in the humble obedience of His only begotten Son who suffered immeasurably on a Roman cross, dying for the sins of the world. Tell them why you would gladly suffer ridicule and physical harm so that they might hear the message of salvation and repent and have faith in Christ alone for salvation. Tell them that without Christ they will endure unspeakable terrors in a place called Hell where God has refused His presence. Tell them unless they repent they will perish.

We have seen in order to suffer well we are to not be ashamed and we are to give glory to God.

Finally this morning I want you to see that:

6. In order to suffer well we are to entrust our souls to God. (19)

Look with me at verses 17-19.

After all that was said in the introduction, after all that was said last week and today, this is where the proverbial rubber meets the road.

Friday the kids and I watched a documentary on race cars. I was amazed as I saw the team of engineers designing the hull of that Indy car. It was a very tedious process where this hull was designed specifically for this driver. They built it and that was quite a technological wonder. The engines were designed to run at over 200 mph for more than two and half hours straight without coming apart. The exhaust pipes on these engines literally turned orange and red from the heat these engines produces. Everything is an exact science. The suspensions, the brakes, the front and rear wings, and even the underpan. It is all good theory. But it means very little until the car is together and the driver sits in the seat, he is handed the steering wheel and he turns the key. He goes out on the race track and drives this car to the limit at over 200 mph around curves. It all comes down to race day.

And just like all that we have studied since December 31, 2006 in this section of Scripture about suffering and evangelism, all will be for nothing if we miss out on the most important point of all and that is in verse 19. Look at the verse.

The final command for suffering well is to entrust your soul to a faithful Creator.

This means when the trouble starts, when the persecution comes, when you suffer whether by evil men or natural disaster, sickness, or whatever, if we as Christians are going to glorify God and suffer well we must trust our souls to God who created us.

Here, the Lord Jesus must be our supreme example. Knowing He was going to endure unspeakable torment at the hands of evil men, knowing that He would bear the sins of humanity on Himself, knowing that He who knew no sin, would become sin, knowing that for the first time in all of eternity the Father would turn His back on His Son and be unable to look upon Him, knowing that He would be marred more than any other man, bruised and afflicted, and that He would die, the Lord Jesus prayed, “Father if it be possible let this cup pass from me, but not my will but yours.” He cried out from the cross, “My God, my God. Why have you forsaken Me?” Then with His last breath He cried out with a loud voice and said, “Father, Into Your hands I commit my spirit.”

In all of the mangling and beatings and revilings and suffering the Lord Jesus brought glory to the Father b entrusting Himself to God. And by that suffering He brought all of God’s elect people to the Father.

And in a small way, as we suffer, as we endure to the end, we bring glory to God and we bring by our lives, examples, and witness, the elect of God to Christ for salvation.

And this will never happen unless we entrust ourselves to our faithful Father who made us, redeemed us, cares for us, and will ultimately glorify us with Himself.

May God help us to do just that.

Let’s pray.