Transcript

Health and safety are very big issues today. People want to live as long as they can and as healthy as then can. There is certainly nothing wrong with wanting to be healthy. I admit that I ought to cut back on chocolate-covered doughnuts—limit them to no more than one a day. That is my plan.

The truth is, we should take care of our bodies; but no matter what we do, nothing can guarantee a long life. I read recently of an outstanding professional athlete—a specimen of health and strength—suddenly dying from heart disease. I also read about the oldest woman on record, who died at the age of 122, and she did not have healthy habits at all. In fact, she stopped smoking at the age of 117, and she stopped only because her eyesight was so bad she could not light her cigarettes anymore.

The moral of this story is not that we should start smoking. The moral is that a good life, a life worth living, is not measured by length or health or safety.

Now as we set sail one last time into 1 Peter, we are going to discover that life worth living might actually involve loss of health and safety for the sake of Christ.

Charles Spurgeon, the famous pastor from the 1800s once wrote, “Jesus . . . bears a cross, not that you may escape [yours], but that you may endure it.”[1] 

The apostle Peter would agree. Here in chapter 4, he encourages us to have the right perspective on suffering. He begins in verse 12:

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.

Suffering is guaranteed. Peter’s readers are already experiencing it, but he tells them here they should expect even more. In fact, he says that persecution and suffering are nothing “strange,” or foreign, for Christ’s followers. I have read that on average, even today, thirty Christians are martyred for their faith every single day.

But here is Peter’s perspective—verse 13: “Rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings.” Godly suffering brings you into deeper fellowship with Christ, who suffered supremely. We come to understand the ridicule, rejection, betrayal, and false accusations He faced. It is this fellowship in His suffering that causes us to rejoice and look forward to sharing in His glory when it is “revealed” at His second coming.

With that perspective, we can understand what Peter means in verse 14, that when we are insulted because of our relationship with Christ, we are “blessed.”

Now Peter is quick to note a condition for being blessed. This blessing is not for those who suffer because of their own wrongdoing, as he says in verse 15—that is shameful. He explains in verse 16, “Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God.”

Peter suggests in verse 17 that suffering for Christ has another unique purpose:

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?

There are two different results with regard to judgment here. The judgment of “the household of God”—the church—is disciplinary. That is, God allows persecution and suffering to discipline His children. As Peter wrote earlier, trials refine us in godliness so that we glorify the Lord (1 Peter 1:7). Suffering purifies our definition of a “good life”; it is not safety and health but a life that seeks to bring glory to God alone.

For unbelievers, however, a final judgment is coming, and there will be no good outcome for them. Tragically, while they pursued health and comfort and safety in life, when their life ends, what awaits them is God’s eternal judgment.

Peter then encourages every suffering believer with these words: “Let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good” (verse 19). “Entrust” means to deposit for safekeeping. We are to continually deposit our lives into the hands of God, trusting Him to keep us through whatever suffering we face.”

This correct, Christian perspective on suffering should be supported by correct leadership in suffering. Peter begins chapter 5 by appealing to church elders, the duly appointed leaders in these local churches. Most churches call them pastors. Peter calls them here fellow “elders,” and he exhorts them to “shepherd the flock of God” (verse 2).

As the church suffers, its leaders must diligently play the role of shepherds. They are not ranchers driving the herd; they are shepherds leading the flock. This shepherding metaphor implies a wide range of responsibilities such as guiding, guarding, feeding, counseling, rescuing, reproving, and encouraging. The elders must embrace this calling to shepherd the flock, and this is especially needed in times of persecution.

Peter presents their job description in the next few verses. They should exercise oversight willingly, thinking about the believers under their care rather than seeking any kind of personal “gain” (verse 2). They must not be “domineering,” using their authority to get their own way, but instead humble “examples to the flock” (verse 3). Then when they stand before the “chief Shepherd,” Jesus Christ, they will receive a special reward for the way they shepherded the people who belonged, not to them, but to God (verse 4).

As for the congregation, they are encouraged to show humility toward one another. In particular, Peter speaks in verse 5 of young people’s attitudes toward their elders. The term for “elders” does not have a definite article, which means Peter is referring to elderly people in general, not church leaders. Younger Christians in the church are to demonstrate humility toward the older generation.

This humble attitude toward others and God (verse 6) as you follow Christ through times of suffering will encourage you to do what Peter says to do here in verse 7: cast all your anxieties—all your worries—on the Lord “because he cares for you.”

You are not abandoned. You will never face trouble alone. He is always with you, and He will see you through.

With this wonderful promise comes a serious warning to stay alert to our spiritual enemy, Satan:

Be sober-minded, be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. (verses 8-9)

The devil is the instigator of persecution. He is behind the scenes, motivating the unbelieving world to intimidate, discourage, and persecute you. Satan hopes to “devour” you, meaning he wants to discredit or ruin your testimony for Christ. So, stand firm for Christ.

Peter concludes with this wonderful promise of God:

After you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. (verse 10)

What a comforting promise for all Christians who are suffering or will suffer for their faith. The suffering is just going to be a “little while.”

Peter then closes this wonderful little letter with some brief greetings, including greetings from “she who is at Babylon” (verse 13). This is a reference to the church in Babylon; and in the mind of Peter, “Babylon,” a city in rebellion against God, is almost certainly a reference to Rome. Peter is at the very center of the rising persecution of believers.

Let us adopt Peter’s perspective on suffering. And let us embrace God’s promise that our suffering is only for a little while.

And remember, no matter how long you live or how healthy you are, a life given fully to Christ is the only life worth living.