All right here we are, First and Second Peter, a message for today's church from Peter the Apostle this
is lesson number four
in this series. This particular lesson titled, The Meaning of Grace
and Suffering. And if you're following along in your Bibles you're at First Peter, chapter three.
We'll be picking up the passage from there. So we're
studying the various meanings that Peter the Apostle gives to the concept of grace
in his first epistle. And we've kind of
covered the territory where Peter talks about grace. When he's talking about grace,
he's referring to two things: one, God's work throughout the
ages to save man's soul through Jesus Christ, and, of course, the preaching the
gospel, the establishment of the church - God's grace being
exercised in that way;
and then the other way he talks about it is the effect that this salvation
has had on those who have been saved. So grace is what God has done,
and grace is also the effect of what God has done on us,
how it's changed us, what it's led us to. And that's kind of the thread that
we've been following here
in this study. In this epistle
Peter concentrates more on the effects of salvation, because the gospels have already
described God's work through Christ: the saved man. He's going to - he's not repeating the gospel here, my
point that he's not re-preaching the gospel. He understands, he knows that the people who
are reading his letter, they already know the Gospel. So far
in our study Peter says that the effect of grace, the
effect of grace on us is seen in several ways. For
example, we have a greater sense of security now. People are not afraid
of death, or are not afraid of condemnation, not afraid of an angry God, because of Grace. Grace
has brought us to this point where we feel secure.
Grace has brought us to a point of sobriety. We're not under the influence of
sin. I think in that lesson we said we're not drunk with sin anymore.
And because of that, that spiritual sobriety brings
with it holy living in a respect for God and Christian love.
And we're more spiritually-minded as a people. Then we talked
about Grace also leading us and enabling us
to exercise submission. In other words, knowing our place in God's
plan and not rebelling against it. So these are the effects of grace
in our lives as we are - as we become Christians and we begin to grow.
We begin to grow as Christians. In the following section Peter is going to add a fourth effect of grace in one's
life and that's suffering, but first he takes a pause
and he looks at the idea of grace and its effect from yet another perspective.
So we need to understand that so far he's been explaining how Grace affects the individual -
your sobriety, security, so on and so forth. So if one
is on the outside, what do they see when they look at a person who has
experienced grace? And Peter says, well that person will see someone
who is secure, or someone who is sober, spiritually sober-minded, someone who
is in submission to God. That's what they'll see.
Now in addition to this Peter says that Grace also affects these people not
only as individuals, but it affects them as a group. And that group,
of course, we call it the church, because this group will
interact with itself, and with the government, and with society, and with
other families in a much different way than groups who have not been
touched by the grace of God. The Masons they're not
acting out of an experience of the grace of God or the UAW or
the Boy Scouts of America, they're not acting out of an experience of
having come into contact with the grace of God, but the church,
that group has come in contact with the grace of God and that group is
affected by it. So Peter explains the
difference between all these groups in the next couple of
verses. So let's go - this is where our lesson picks up this week - let's go to verse
8, chapter 3. He says, "To sum up, all of you be harmonious, and
sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in
spirit;" So I'll come with a couple of the things that he mentions about the
group now, harmonious, of course, same-minded, of one mind. There's
no division, there's no conflict within the group. Brotherly means kind.
Brotherly-kindness, kindhearted. Another word for kindhearted is
compassionate, especially for those who are on the outside. Humble in
spirit, not proud, not self-centered.
So the idea is, I've talked to you how an individual is going to be
touched by grace, but when a group is touched by grace these are some of the signs that you
see: harmony, sympathy, brotherly kindness, and humble in spirit.
He goes on in verse 9 he says, "not returning evil for evil or insult for insult,
but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might
inherit a blessing." So the true spirit of Christ -
turning the other cheek, seeking peace rather than seeking always to win.
Peter says the motivation for offering the blessing is that we are the only
ones that have these blessings to look forward to. So we can offer
them now. We can go through the difficulty
necessary to be harmonious, to offer brotherly kindness, to
forgive and so on. Why? Because we've got some blessings waiting for us, additional
blessings waiting for us as a group. Goes
on in verse 10, he says, "The one who desires life, to love and see good
days, must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit. He must turn away
from evil and do good. He must seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of
the Lord are toward the righteous, and His ears attend to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against
those who do evil." This here is a quote from Psalm 34.
And Peter uses it to remind his audience of two things: one, much of the
behavior he mentions before, is possible if one is able to control and use his tongue
properly and avoid evil practice. Well, what is it that destroys
harmony between a couple, between a group in a church? Well, the
tongue, right? Gossip, evil words, lies,
deceit, harsh words.
The tongue is what destroys harmony. Brotherly kindness. So he
encourages them to be careful of that. Evil speech leads to the evil deeds, and
evil deeds destroy peace and harmony. And this, of course, is not a mark of
grace. And then the second thing he says, God blesses the group who acts
in harmony, and sympathy, brotherly love, but he punishes and works against
those who speak evil and do evil. Peter
says this is how Grace affects the group. This was a kind of an aside
here. He uses this last idea of God blessing the good
and punishing the evil to open up a fourth meaning regarding grace:
that grace may mean suffering. So he's gone from the individual to talk
about the group and how it should act and why it should act, and now he goes back to
talking about individuals. And he says, among other things, Grace
may lead you, the individual, into a time of suffering.
In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus, he says that his disciples are blessed or
happy if they suffer on his account, or because they are pursuing what is right
or good, Matthew chapter 5:10-12.
Peter echoes this very idea now,
when he refers to the suffering experienced by those who have
received grace. We know that in the first century the Christians
there were being persecuted. Grace doesn't
cause the suffering, but those who experience grace often experience suffering
because of their faith. And Peter refers to this kind of suffering, this
kind of persecution in these verses. At times, he says,
grace does not mean, excuse me. At times, he says, grace means
well, you have to suffer. And when you suffer
persecution, he says that we should remember several things about
this experience. And here is where he gets into the meat of the matter. So grace leads you
into suffering as a Christian, and if you are led into suffering
here's how - here are things that you need to remember as a Christian who is suffering.
Number one,
don't be afraid. Verse 13, 14, he says, "Who is there to harm
you if you prove zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for
the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. And do not fear their
intimidation, and do not be troubled." So grace leads you to
suffering, remember this, don't be afraid.
The harm is not physical harm, but spiritual harm. The enemies of right can only kill the
body, but cannot take away your life. So
grace gives us the power of not being afraid of wrong and of
those who oppose God. People say, wow what would happen -
there's this show, one of these new shows, High Castle, The Man in the High Castle or something,
it imagines if the United States had lost World War II
and the Nazis had actually won that war and now the Nazis are in charge of the United
States - it's a TV thing. It imagines that. And people say, wow wouldn't
that be terrible? What would we do if that was the case? And what would you do?
And in my case I said, well I'd be doing exactly what I'm doing now, except that would be a lot more difficult.
That's what I'd be doing.
Instead of being open here, an open meeting teaching the Bible,
openly online, openly in any public space to
preach the gospel. The difference is that we'd probably have to do this underground,
in secret. The message wouldn't change. The goal wouldn't change. This lesson
would not change. Nothing would change, it's just
what we would need to be doing would change. I think this is the sense that
Peter is talking about here.
Would you be afraid, or would I be afraid if someone threw you in a dark cell,
and chained you to the floor, and told you that tomorrow morning you
are going upstairs and are going to get a severe beating, of course I'd be afraid. Are you kidding me?
Who's not afraid of physical harm?
What he's saying here, don't be afraid for the big thing. Don't be
afraid for the big picture. Don't be afraid for your true life.
Secondly, he says, don't be quiet when suffering.
He says, "but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to
everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet
with gentleness and reverence; and keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which
you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to
shame." Don't be quiet, he says. Grace gives us courage
to withstand what is wrong, using the gospel of Christ. And it
qualifies that our response should be in humility and respect. We as
Christians, we don't throw bombs at abortion clinics. Is abortion
wrong? I believe, we believe that that is wrong, but as Christians we don't
bomb abortion clinics, we don't murder doctors.
We don't do that. That's not our way.
We don't attack people who have same sex
tendencies. We don't attack homosexuals. We don't do that.
We don't take arms against our government because we may not agree with
the policy. That's not us. Grace gives
confidence to respond to ignorance and immorality with what?
Well, with truth. With the power of the gospel
preached in love, preached in respect. It may have to be preached secretly. It may have
to be distributed discreetly because of whatever.
What we don't - we don't blow ourselves up for our faith, we don't do that.
Peter mentions that our response should not only be in words, but also in deeds that
reflect our words. This type of confidence, this type of witness, he
says, will win the respect of your enemies and prove that their reasons for
attacking in the first place were groundless.
So don't be afraid, he says, when you're attacked, when you suffer. And don't be
quiet. Thirdly, he says, don't suffer for a
wrong reason.
He says, "For it is better, if God should will it so, that you suffer for doing what is right
rather than for doing what is wrong."
If a person suffers for wrong-doing, or cowardice, or rebellion, there's
no glory in this. Those
people that we mentioned this, before, that picket the funerals of
fallen soldiers, and do
despicable things all in the name of Christ, do they glorify
God? Of course not.
Of course they don't.
Even Christians who watch that, they smack their heads and say, oh, that's terrible.
I hope that the world doesn't think that we're like that.
And yet that church of 32
people gets this humongous stage upon which to
promote their wacky ideas.
He says, if a person does right and suffers for it the experience may be unpleasant,
but it's pleasing to God. The next section he explains why this is so.
It's pleasing to God because it was this kind of suffering that Christ experienced which led to the
salvation of your soul. In verse 18 he says, "For
Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us
to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit;"
In other words, suffering for right, it has positive
effects. And he gives an example, Christ's suffering,
even though it led to His death, provided positive effects for
those who believe. Verse 19 and 20 continues, he
says, "in which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison,
who once were disobedient when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah,
during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons were brought
safely through the water."
So keep the idea in mind, what he's talking about, the suffering of Christ and some of the benefits
that have come from it. So he says, His suffering caused death, but His
death, meaning Jesus' death, His death provided him
the opportunity to show Himself to the unbelievers who had made other believers
suffer on His account in the past. And he chooses
Noah as a good example of one who suffered for righteousness, but now is
justified as Jesus proclaims the Gospel to the unbelieving spirits
in hell, that's what the prison is. He doesn't go -
He didn't go in the spirit world to those who are in prison. He doesn't go there to
save them. He goes to show them that they were wrong and that
Noah and other righteous men and women who suffered righteously were right all
along. In other words, we, you and I,
his audience that Peter is talking to, we go into all the
world to preach the gospel. This world. But Jesus
can and has - he's gone everywhere, even into the
spiritual dimension. And he mentions hell, the prison, to proclaim the gospel.
This is one of the advantages that was made permissible by
His death. He was able to go to other
dimensions as the savior, to proclaim - he may have gone to other
dimensions, but Peter only mentions this. So those who suffer for Christ
now can take courage because one day His return appearance will
silence the modern day mockers, and the doubters, and confirm that
we were right to believe and suffer for Him. You get the idea? It's
a complicated passage. The idea is, he dies, he's gone to the spirit world for those people who
were in the past, who were mockers, to show them that they were wrong. And in the future when we're
resurrected, those who were mocking from that point on, they're also going to
see that they were wrong
in disbelieving and in mocking those who believe.
Another positive benefit of Christ's suffering, verse 21 and 22,
he says, "Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you - not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but
an appeal to God for a good conscience - through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who is at the
right hand of God, having gone into heaven after angels and authorities and powers
had been subjected to Him." His suffering also
sets the stage for his resurrection, his ascension, and his exaltation to
the throne of God, to the right hand of God, to the throne of grace.
If he would have refused the suffering, he could not have sat at the
throne of God and offered us the grace of forgiveness received at baptism. The idea is,
look he had to suffer to give you what you have now. And maybe
you have to suffer too, to make possible some of the benefits that accrue to
yourself and to others around you. Peter uses this
opportunity to show that their baptism was not a mere ceremony or a
symbol, but it embodies the actual way that they receive this
forgiveness from sin that was obtained through Christ's
suffering. So let's not forget our main idea here, because it's a long passage,
it's complex. The idea is that we should be prepared to
suffer for Christ, because this is
pleasing to God and it produces spiritual
benefits. And Jesus, he says, is an example of this. His
suffering proved to all unbelievers, even those in the
spiritual dimension, that they were wrong and that the believers were
right. And His suffering purchased the forgiveness for our
sins that is received by all of us through faith.
And that faith is expressed in the waters of baptism.
Suffering is never pleasant, but if we share in the sufferings of Christ, he
says, we will also share in His glorious resurrection, His
glorification, and His exaltation. So when -
remember what we're talking about - when suffering, remember, one other one.
When suffering, remember, don't be seduced,
because it's when you're suffering, it's when things are going badly, it's when you're in the valley,
this is a time when you are susceptible to being
seduced. So let's read, he says, "Therefore since Christ has suffered in the flesh, arm
yourselves also with the same purpose, because he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from
sin, so as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts of
men, but for the will of God. For the time already passed is
sufficient for you to have carried out the desire of the Gentiles, having pursued a course
of sensuality, and lusts, drunkenness, carousing, drinking parties
and abominable idolatries. In all this, they are surprised that you do not run
with them into the same excesses of dissipation, and they
malign you; but they will give account to Him who is
ready to judge the living and the dead. For the gospel has for this purpose been preached
even to those who are dead," making that reference in the past, there.
"that though they are judged in the flesh as men, they may live in the spirit according to the will
of God." So don't be seduced when people have to suffer because of their
faith, it is easy for them to quit. And having
nowhere else to go, I mean, after you quit Christianity, where do you go?
Well, you just go back to your former life that you once knew.
Peter reminds them that grace has taken them out of the world and saved
them from the judgment to come. He says, don't be seduced.
Both the promise of salvation for the faithful, all of the faithful,
and the promise of condemnation for the unfaithful, both of these
promises are equally true. So don't be seduced. Remember the first
sin, right? And in the first disobedience, what did the devil say to her? Did he really say
that? Did he really say that if you eat you
die? Really? Is that what he said, causing you to doubt one of the promises
if you obey you live, if you disobey you die. Those are both promises.
When suffering, don't be seduced. When suffering,
don't give up. Verse 7-11, he says, "The end of all things is near; therefore,
be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer. Above all, keep
fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of
sins. Be hospitable to one another without complaint.
As each one has received the special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the
manifold grace of God. Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the
utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength
which God supplies, so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ,
to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen."
Suffering obstacles to faith the sinlessness and disbelief of others. All of
these things are discouraging, but, he says, don't give up. Don't give up in
living like and acting like a Christian
each day. In this section he mentions several things that can be
maintained despite suffering. Despite the
suffering, he says, remain sober minded, don't get panicky,
don't get depressed, don't get drunk with sin. Despite the
suffering, remain fervent in prayer. Despite the suffering, remain
loving and hospitable. A lot of people when they're suffering they think it's an excuse to be grouchy.
They think it gives them a pass on being loving and kind,
because I'm suffering. Well, I don't have to make the effort to be kind. And yet he
says, no, while you're suffering you still need to make that effort to be loving and
kind. Why? Because of who you are. That's why.
And despite the suffering, he says, remain helpful, using your talents to serve one
another and to build one another up. Hard times, persecution,
these things do not have to destroy how we treat each other in the church.
Especially persecution that is caused by a person's faith. On the contrary he says,
suffering for Christ usually brings out these things in abundance
and it helps the church to grow. The church always
grows dramatically under persecution. When we've got good times and everything is
fine, it's just human nature, we get lazy, we get complacent, but
when you really, when you really have to suffer for your faith, that trims the tree, right?
Trims back the bushes, gets rid of the deadwood. The people that are not serious about their faith, they're
gone. What was it in one of the debates or something, there was the
mention that you had, we ought to, we ought to take away the tax break,
the tax exemption for churches. And I heard some
people say, oh if that happens it's wrong and that's terrible.
And the question we have to ask ourselves is, so what? What if the government
decided yeah, you don't get a tax exemption. So what? What does that
change? Does that actually change anything? No.
You think every country in the world provides a tax exemption for Christians? They don't
do that in Russia. They don't do that in China. They don't do that.
And yet those people are faithful.
When things get rough, sometimes that's the best thing in the world that could happen to you.
I remember when we were
doing the construction of this building here and it was just dirt
and - remember, those of you who were here? We had to bring the chairs. You remember, you guys, Bill, Bernice.
We had to drag the chairs in here. Ron, remember we did it every Sunday, had to
drag in hundreds of chairs and it was dirty and there was plastic everywhere and dust you couldn't sit
anywhere and not for a weekend. I mean, it went on for weeks and weeks and weeks.
And yet attendance was steady and the offering was steady,
we had to gut it out. We had to be inconvenienced for a couple of months - 18 months
actually. It was a long hall, but we didn't lose anybody.
Some say it was probably one of the most exciting times that we had.
Why? There was no doubt that we were making an effort for the
Lord.
In suffering, don't stop being a Christian, just because you're suffering.
And then he says,
when suffering, don't be surprised. He says, "Beloved, do not be surprised at the
fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were
happening to you; but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ,
keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with
exaltation. If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the
Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. Make sure that none of you
suffers as a murderer or thief, or evildoer, or troublesome meddler; but
if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God,
in His name. For it is time for judgment to
begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who
do not obey the gospel of God? And if it is with difficulty that the righteous is
saved, what will become of the godless man and the sinner? Therefore, those also
who suffer according to the will of God's shall entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in
doing what is right." So in the end, if the head of the church
who was perfect and sinless was cursed and killed,
why should we be surprised when his followers are persecuted? Why should we be surprised about that?
Peter says that God permits our suffering for His own purposes and for our
good. Suffering provides an opportunity to test, re-examine our
faith and maturity, to see what needs strengthening. I mean anybody - don't you
test stuff? Every company I've ever worked for always had some kind of quality control to
make sure the product was okay. Well, the quality control
department in the church is suffering. That's
the quality control. That's where God picks you up and puts you up against the light,
examines your faith, what's needed here, what's weak?
Peter says don't be surprised, like, what's happening?
Why is this happening to me? What? Don't be surprised, it's part and parcel of
Christianity, that you suffer for some thing.
If you don't test, you don't know what needs to be fixed. He also says that
suffering provides an opportunity to more fully reveal Christ to those who do not
believe. We always mention our brother Jim McRae and the
people - two plus year war with cancer and
how many people are just amazed at his spirit, and his family, and the care
that he has received, and the support he has received from the church. What a witness. I don't
think he has spelled out, well, first you have to hear the gospel, and then believe the
gospel, and then repent. I don't think he's uttered those words.
But there's nobody at the hospital, or wherever he's gone for his cancer treatment, that
does not know that he is a faithful Christian and so is his wife. That's a witness.
Suffering for Christ, Peter says, is a privilege and it's a proof of God's
presence in your life. They do not persecute unbelievers for their
unbelief. When was the last time the atheists were persecuted because they
didn't believe? Anybody?
Is there any hint of that anywhere?
Peter finishes this section with a reminder that he is talking about suffering
for Christ, not suffering for sin. If you're an alcoholic
and your liver is ruined, and you're suffering because of that well, you're suffering because you sinned.
It's not the same thing. Suffering for Christ is a
necessary part of a Christian life. And we shouldn't be surprised when it happens.
We should rejoice, we should glorify God for the privilege. At least we
understand the purpose, and the nature, and the blessing of it. Pity those, he says, who do not know
God's grace and have disobeyed the gospel.
Imagine what their suffering is like. Imagine the hopelessness
of their suffering.
Imagine you're sick, you do not believe, the doctor says well, you don't have more than six months to a
year or two to live. For the unbeliever, for the
disbeliever, what's going through his mind is: is that it? That's my life?
That's all I get, 42 years?
I don't get to do this. I don't get to do that. I don't get to see this. I don't get to experience that. That's
all, I'm done.
So he says, imagine those people, the suffering that they go through.
So in the end, the way to cope with suffering is to trust God completely for
two reasons. One, He is faithful. He will fulfill His promises not
to put too much on us and to resurrect us in the end.
The same God who said, "Let there be light" and there was light; the
same God said, I'll resurrect you. It's a promise. And two, He
is righteous no matter what. He always does what is right. No matter
what. I think of - I've said this before I think. My dad died when I was 15.
I wasn't even a Christian yet. And I think a lot of us have had that experience,
right? We've had parents that we became Christians long after that either they were gone or they were way
too old.
You know what I'm saying - we didn't have a chance to even share the
gospel with them. We didn't have a chance. This is the promise that
brings me comfort.
God is a righteous God. He will do the right thing. He's going to do the right thing by me.
He's going to do the right thing by my wife. He's also going to do the right thing by Tony, my dad. He's going
to do the right thing by Tony. He's going to do the right thing by Jane.
He's going to do the right thing by Blanche,
my grandmother. He's going to do the right thing by Joseph, my grandfather.
You know what I'm saying. He's going to
do the right thing by Luigi, my other grandfather. He's gonna do the right thing.
Don't worry about that.
So let's finish up. Peter explains that grace also leads us to suffering at times.
And when it does, we need to remember several things. Very quickly now, put them
all together. When suffering, remember don't be afraid. God is our shield.
And don't be quiet. The gospel, that's our voice. And don't suffer for
wrong. Happy are those who suffer for Christ's sake. And don't be
seduced, God will punish sinners. And don't give up, stay busy
in doing good. And don't be surprised, suffering is a normal part of
Christianity. And to these I add a seventh idea - me.
But I think the spirit of this idea is in the Bible. Don't procrastinate.
If you're suffering guilt and trouble because of your sins, then don't hesitate to
receive a clear conscience. Call on God to forgive you as soon as
possible. Call on God in the water of baptism, if that's what you need, as
soon as possible. If you've been afraid or quiet, seduced by the
world, given up faithful Christian living because of sin or discouragement, make sure that you're
restored as soon as possible. Don't put off those things. Don't
procrastinate. Peter doesn't say this in his letter to the churches
at that time, but if he were here today, I believe, he would have added that
seventh thing, don't procrastinate. All right.
That is our lesson for today, in this particular series. We'll keep on going with First Peter next time.
Thank you for your attention.