Rejoice in Suffering

We continue with the theme of suffering this morning. Everyone in the room has experienced suffering in some capacity. If it hasn’t happened to you yet I’m almost certain it has happened to someone close to you. Having a proper theology of suffering is really important because without it suffering could lead to one leaving faith. In fact, many leave the faith because of difficult circumstances that they cannot reconcile with a faithful God. But our passage that Mary Claude just read actually argues that this is possible. Faith and suffering can be reconciled.

The Test is Coming:

"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."

As we have been going through this book all summer we have established that these believers in Christ came from a Gentile background. Peter is writing to churches in Modern day Turkey They were experiencing suffering predominantly through local persecution. More than likely, they were not expecting their new found faith in Christ to result in this type of suffering, and so Peter is writing to both encourage them and to give them a proper theology of suffering.

First, he tells them that the test is coming. Do not be surprised is the language that he uses, and when you dig a little deeper at the meaning of that verb it’s not just a tiny surprise but a BIG surprise. Like the kind of surprise that leave’s one with their mouth wide open.

The test happens, however, for a reason. Have you ever had that type of nightmare where you walk into class sit down and realize that you have a test that day, and you are completely unprepared for it? Perhaps it wasn’t just a nightmare for you but a reality. It’s a gut-wrenching feeling to not be prepared for a test. But Peter is telling these believers and us that we should not be surprised when the test comes our way. This is not an experience that is somehow out of the ordinary for a Christian.

One of the reasons I find Christianity so compelling is that it doesn’t leave you in the dark when it comes to evil or suffering. Jesus, Peter, and Paul all flesh this out in their teachings. And the consensus is that suffering happens in order to refine our faith and it’s an opportunity to make us more like Jesus. That explanation is not just me as a pastor trying to put a positive spin on bad situation that’s exactly what the Bible teaches. Our suffering reveals the genuineness of our faith and refines our faith.

These Gentile believers had never been the cultural minority before. When we read the OT we understand that the Israelites are a minority group. They are just one nation among many others, but these Gentiles before coming to faith in Christ were a part of the majority culture, but upon professing faith in Jesus they now become a minority group of believers in a predominantly pagan location. So the suffering and the hostility they were facing was a new experience for them.

• Again, I hope you realize how relevant this is for us as American Christians. Dr. Ryan Burge, a professor at Eastern Illinois University released a study in 2018 which showed that those who identify with no religious tradition, or the “Nones,” as they are typically called comprised 23.1% of the population that he surveyed whereas evangelical Christians represented 22.5% of the population. According to this survey and other research that is continuing to be done, we are not the cultural majority anymore. So the odds of us experiencing the type of hostility and resistance that we read about here in 1 Peter with these believers will soon describe us if it does not already. And so what should our response to this type of suffering be?

Rejoice:

"But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed." — 1 Peter 4:13

It sure would be easier if Peter told us that we could complain or play the blame game, but he doesn’t. He tells these believers to rejoice. Rejoice because as you suffer you identify with Jesus’s suffering. Peter Davids in his commentary on 1 Peter explains it this way, “In other words, as the Christians suffer because of their identification with Christ, they enter into the experience of Christ’s own sufferings. This experience creates a re-imaging of their own suffering, which will allow them to see the real evil as an advantage as their perspective shifts.” When you suffer you are entering into an experience similar to the experience that Christ endured on the cross on our behalf. With that type of mentality in mind, it allows your suffering to be an advantage to you because it not only makes you more like Jesus, but your identity becomes more like Jesus as well.

I think you have heard me enough at this point to figure out that the idea of our identity is really important to me. What do you primarily identify as: A husband or wife, a mother of father, a brother or sister, an employee, a student, a child. Where is your identity rooted? In your wealth, in your success, in your achievement, in your earthly relationships. All of those identity markers will fade away into history. The reason suffering is beneficial to us as believers is if we have allowed our identity to be rooted in someone other than Jesus than it can alter our identity back to Jesus. And if our identity is rooted properly in Jesus, then the hostility and insults don’t really fracture our psyche because our identity should not be consumed with what the world ultimately thinks about us anyways.

But we can also rejoice because we know that Jesus’s glory will be revealed when he returns one day. So as we experience suffering we can rest in the fact that Jesus will return one day. Perhaps you have been with someone who is close to death. And the suffering they are experiencing seems unbearable, but they communicate to you how ready they are to be with Jesus. And you can notice in them this inner joy even in the midst of terrible suffering. Keeping a heavenly perspective allows our suffering to be put in its proper context.
*Remember the story in Acts 7 where Stephen one of the first deacons in the church was stoned for his faith in Jesus. Acts 7:55-56 says this, “But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And he said, Behold I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God. Acts tells us that Stephen saw the glory of God and shortly before he experienced death he could rejoice in his suffering.

With persecution comes opportunity, after Stephen’s stoning believers began to scatter all over which led to more and more people hearing the Gospel. I have a friend who is serving as a missionary in China, and just this week he sent me an update to let me know that the church which he was a part of was visited by some government officials in May. This has forced the church to begin meeting in different locations and in smaller groups. But that type of persecution is an opportunity for the church of Jesus Christ in China to expand into coffee shops, apartment buildings, and other undisclosed locations for people to hear the love and forgiveness that Jesus offers. So we rejoice in our suffering.

Insults are Blessings:

"If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you." — 1 Peter 4:12

Peter is telling us as the readers that these Gentile believers were being insulted for their faith in Christ. Most likely, being insulted because their behavior was different from the surrounding culture and also insulted because they were verbally professing their faith in Christ. They were being insulted for both the words they used and the actions they took.

There should be a difference in the way you live your life from the way those that are not in Christ live their lives. Blending in is not what Jesus calls us to do. The blessing occurs because the Spirit of God rests upon you. So as you experience the insults or the isolation you can know that you are not alone. The Spirit of God does not leave you or forsake you in that moment or in any moment for that matter. You are not alone during your suffering. The Spirit is ministering to you throughout the entire process.

Peter clarifies that only suffering for doing the right will result in blessing. I think it’s pretty obvious that murderers, thieves, evildoers, and meddlers will not be blessed in their suffering. So in other words, when we deal with the consequences of our own sin that type of suffering will not be blessed by God. Peter makes it clear that if you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed.

The Greek word for meddler we only find one time in the entire New Testament. Peter was concerned that these Gentile Christians were going to stick their nose in other people’s business in a way that wouldn’t cause the pagan culture around them to come to Christ at all. I think there is a lot of wisdom in what Peter is telling us here. It is our tendency to want to correct other people’s behavior when we bring up the Gospel with people. We often times want to show them the error of their ways. Now I do believe it is important to call attention to sin and accurately define what that is to people, but we should go about doing that in a gentle and compassionate way. Yelling and screaming typically are not effective solutions for people. I love this quote from Trevin Wax: “Too many Christians today believe they are fighting for righteousness in their online interactions or their heated discussions with co-workers when in reality they are engaging the world the same way non-Christians do (except perhaps without the profanity). The church cannot stand out amid polarization and fragmentation as long as our members are actively contributing to it.” In other words, we don’t combat yelling and fighting with more yelling and fighting. We show them a better way. We resist the culture not by simply resisting but also redirecting. It’s our job to show them a better way of doing life. Simply resisting will not solve the bigger issue of the heart.

But if you do suffer as a Christian for doing the right thing. If you compassionately love someone and point out the error in their ways and still suffer or experience persecution do not be ashamed because you are glorifying God. If you are someone who likes to be liked by everyone, it can be difficult to be comfortable with people throwing insults at you or being embarrassed, but it goes back to identity. We must ask the Spirit to train our hearts and minds to be comfortable with our identity coming solely from who we are in Christ.

Trust the Faithful Creator:

"Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful creator while doing good." — 1 Peter 4:19

A sign of suffering for these believers was the final judgment. The Old Testament indicated that the final judgment would begin with God’s own people and in God’s own temple. The New Testament church also knew this and saw the final judgment as a way of purifying the church.

During our time of transition here I think it’s important that we as individuals in this church spend some time reflecting on our own relationship with Jesus. God already knows the person who will lead our church, but perhaps he is waiting on us? Maybe our hearts are not ready. Maybe we all need to reaffirm our commitment to be in the Word, pray, and serve others.

The judgment for those in Christ will be difficult, but Peter says imagine those that do not know Jesus. Verses 17-18 should simultaneously make us do two things: 1) Be thankful for the salvation that we find in Jesus, and 2) make us see the urgency in sharing the Gospel with those that do not know Jesus. Peter isn’t beating around the bush. The consequences for those that die without Christ are real and awful.
 

Peter cites Proverbs 11:31. In the context of that verse in Proverbs its talking about deliverance from worldly things like disease or enemies, but Peter is taking that verse from Proverbs and using it as a way to talk about the final judgment.

The final judgment or the suffering that Christians experience is vastly different from the final judgment and the suffering that non-Christians endure. Peter says those who suffer according to the will of God can put their own souls in the care of another. The way Peter describes God here is that of “faithful creator.” Everyone has been created in the image of God, and God is faithful to ALL of the promises he makes in Scripture.

• Being a pastor you make a lot of hospital visits, and while I haven’t been doing this 25 years yet I can tell when I go to the hospital and visit someone who is a believer in Christ as opposed to one who is not there is a difference. A difference in the anxiety level, a difference in the amount of hope that person has, and just their overall disposition. I realize that the suffering we have been discussing in 1 Peter is persecution, but more than likely the suffering we will experience will be physical and emotional suffering. And if you are in Christ, you can trust the faithful creator. Whether you deal with physical suffering or persecution for your faith in Christ, God does not change. He will be faithful to you during your suffering.

Are you prepared for the test that is coming? I promise you it is coming. Those that are in Christ will pass the test because like Peter tells us in this passage they are not surprised. I challenge all of us to spend some time this morning reflecting on suffering. Are we ready spiritually the suffering that will one day come our way? Will it be an opportunity for us to grow in our intimacy with Jesus? Or will it cause us to have further dependence on an idol that already exists in our life? A large scale attack in Southern Ethiopia left 3 people dead and 38 homes destroyed in 2017. Church leaders in that area decided to spend their time encouraging their people, and now two years later attendance at one church has doubled while another church has planted two additional churches. One pastor said that the love displayed by Christians in the aftermath of that attack caused Muslims in his community to approach him and ask how they could become followers of Jesus. These believers in Christ show us how to entrust our suffering to the Faithful Creator.