1 Peter 4:12

Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you. Rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's suffering, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part, He is blasphemed, but on your part, He is glorified.

But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people's matters. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter. For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God, and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? Now, if the righteous one is scarcely saved, where will the ungodly and the sinner appear? Therefore, let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good as to a faithful Creator.

Lord, we sang just a moment ago of our need for You. When we face difficulties, when we face trials and suffering, we are pressed into a place where we understand or comprehend the greatness of our need for You in a more full capacity. I pray, God, that we would see as we go through the text here this morning our need for You and the work of Your Spirit. We ask, God, that by Your word, You would transform our understanding so that we would be able to know, understand, and comprehend what is the reality and what is the tool of trials that You use in our lives.

So, Lord, transform us that we do as Peter says here, that we would not think it's strange when we encounter these things. We ask this in Jesus' name. And all those that agreed said, Amen. You can be seated.

Why do bad things happen? That is one of the difficult questions that all men struggle with. Sometimes we add to the end of it, why do bad things happen to good people? We won't even go there.

But why do bad things happen in general? The fact is, if you went and asked 20 people on the street why they think bad things happen, you would get a myriad of ideas. In fact, you would probably receive more than 20 answers, as there would be all kinds of different personal philosophical views in response to that question.

If you encountered someone from a Buddhist or Hindu background, they might tell you that bad things happen because of karma. Karma is essentially your future and your destiny, determined by your past. What you have done in the past will influence your future. For some who hold this Eastern view, it is not just the past in this life that matters, but also your past in other lives, which will determine your fate in this life. That is a heavy concept to comprehend. When you go through suffering or difficulty, it could be said that you must have been really bad in your last life. This perspective seems pretty fatalistic and deterministic, if you ask me.

If you spoke to someone who adheres to an Asian, specifically Chinese Taoist view, and asked why bad things happen, they might explain that it is an issue of yin and yang. The yin-yang symbol represents the idea that there is really nothing that is inherently good or bad in this world. Instead, there is just the appearance of what might be good or bad. In every bad situation, there is good, and in every good situation, there is bad. What starts out as bad might end up good, and what starts out as good might end up bad. Thus, it is an issue of yin and yang.

If you encountered a naturalist or an atheist, they might assert that there are no good or bad things, just things in a random universe. They might argue that while you may perceive certain events as good or bad, they are simply occurrences that randomly happen to all people. If something increases your well-being, you might perceive it to be good, and if it decreases your well-being, you might see it as bad. However, they would contend that there is no such thing as good or bad.

Conversely, if you spoke to a Muslim, they might explain that both bad and good things happen in this world because life is a significant pass-fail test. God, or Allah, is the cosmic proctor of that test, putting you through various experiences to determine whether or not you are worthy of Him.

And worthy of His heaven, His eternity. There are all kinds of different views about this discussion, this question of why bad things happen, even within theology and the Christian faith. This whole discussion of good or bad and why bad things happen falls into a category of theology called theodicy. That word was coined back in the 18th century by a German theologian. There are volumes of books written on this topic from a Christian perspective. If you ask a dozen theologians their view on why bad things happen, you will get many different perspectives, as many differing views among Christian theologians as you will among people who are not of faith.

Why do bad things happen? Peter has an interesting perspective in 1 Peter 4, verse 12. He says, "Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial." Here's the problem: more often than not, especially in 21st century American culture, we do think it's strange when bad things happen. That's why we even ask the question, "Why am I suffering?" Merely asking this question nods in the direction of the concept that we find it strange that trials and difficulties come into our lives.

When we suffer, every single one of us has an inordinate affection for ourselves, a great love for ourselves. We experience a kind of grieving over the suffering we are going through. We grieve because we are suffering, and we might even find ourselves going through the various stages of grief.

Have you ever heard of the stages of grief? You start out in the area of shock, thinking, "This can't be happening." Then you move into denial, saying, "This is not happening." From there, you might move to anger, asking, "Why is this happening to me? Why is it not happening to him?" After that, you may find yourself in the area of bargaining, thinking, "Maybe if I do this or that, then I won't be going through this situation."

Eventually, you might come to a place of depression, feeling, "Of course this is happening to me. These things always happen to me." Finally, after moving through all of this, you may reach a place of acceptance.

And Peter here says, "Think it not strange concerning the fiery trial." I want to give a preface, a caveat to our study of this passage by saying that what Peter speaks of here might offend your sensibilities. I have spent hours this week having my sensibilities offended by this text, and I'm only going to subject you to 31 minutes. So you're getting off easy in relation to this.

How might Peter offend our sensibilities? Well, point number one, which is on your sermon guide, is that trials are normal, or suffering is normal. In other words, what Peter essentially says in this section of Scripture is, "Don't think it's strange when you suffer." Instead, think it's strange when you don't suffer. That small movement of the word "don't" is significant. Just that mere shifting of the word presents a very complex architecture for suffering.

To the question, "Why am I suffering?" Peter might respond, "Why not?" This is hard for us because none of us want to suffer. None of us welcome trials. None of us welcome suffering. He might even pose a better question: "Why are you not suffering?" You see, Peter's key starting point in this passage in 1 Peter 4, verses 12 through 19, is the simple statement, "Don't think it's strange when you suffer."

At this point, I think it is important to set a framework for suffering. I want to contend that there are two forms of suffering in the world. There is what I would call normal suffering, and there is what I would refer to as abnormal suffering. Normal suffering is the suffering that all human beings experience because we live in a fallen and broken world that is cursed through sin. It is the experience of all human beings living in a broken world.

There is a sense in which every single one of the people that populate this planet, all 7 billion of us, recognize that when we become self-aware and cognizant of the world, we understand that we live in a broken world.

Everybody understands this. There is a desire in us or a recognition that things are not as they should be. However, only the Christian faith leads us to the understanding of why things are not as they ought to be. If you've never looked at it before, read Genesis chapters 1, 2, and 3. It won't take you long, and you'll find very early on that God created everything good. He intended for us to live in a world without brokenness, suffering, death, or sin. Yet, through the fall of humanity, as described in Genesis chapter 3, we have sin, brokenness, and a curse in this world.

Every one of us becomes aware at some point in life that the world is not as it should be, and we wish that it were different. Only the Christian faith provides the explanation for why things are as they are. Normal suffering is the suffering that all human beings experience while living in a fallen, cursed, and broken world. What are those things? Cancer, disease, natural disasters, and accidents. Some of these things seem random and arbitrary; they just happen. Unfortunately, some of these things are the result of our own decisions or indecision. At times, we suffer because we chose to do something that perhaps we shouldn't have done, even when someone advised us against it. We often respond with, "No, no, I got this."

Sometimes we suffer because of our own decisions or indecisions, but these are the experiences of people living in a fallen, broken world. Abnormal suffering, on the other hand, is suffering that we might experience due to supernatural means. The naturalist, a person who does not believe in the supernatural, would discount the existence of abnormal suffering. However, a person of faith acknowledges that this world is not only what we see; there is more to it than meets the eye.

Abnormal suffering is that suffering we might experience because of or through supernatural means or forces. Depending on your view of the sovereignty of God and His directing hand, you may comprehend or interpret these abnormal sufferings in different ways. You might classify it as God-ordained suffering, meaning that God willed it or determined that you would go through this. Alternatively, you might see it as God-allowed suffering, where He did not specifically cause it but permitted it to happen. Or you may view it as suffering that arises because you are a follower of God, living in a world that is under the sway of the one who opposes the glory of God.

That's what the Bible describes. There is an entity, a spiritual being. We will be introduced to Him in chapter 5, where Peter talks about our enemy, the adversary, the devil, who goes about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. As the Bible describes, this supernatural entity opposes all things that pertain to the glory of God. The book of Ephesians states that all of this world is under His sway.

If you are a follower of Jesus today and you are living to promote the glory of God, you can anticipate that you will come in contact with this one who opposes the will and glory of God. This is what the scriptures describe as spiritual warfare. Paul speaks about it in Ephesians chapter 6, verse 12, where he says, "We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against spiritual principalities and powers and the rulers of the darkness of this age." He emphasizes that, therefore, since we do, we need to be thoroughly equipped and put on the whole armor of God.

As a follower of Jesus, you may encounter what I term abnormal suffering. This abnormal suffering is that which we encounter from supernatural means in this world. I would say this is a suffering that only the Christian experiences. Peter is primarily speaking of this abnormal suffering in Ephesians chapter 4. When he says, "Do not think it strange, the fiery trial," he is not referring to the normal suffering that all people experience. We can acknowledge that we suffer these things because we live in a broken, fallen world, as Genesis chapter 3 tells us.

However, Peter is focusing on the abnormal suffering by supernatural means that you might experience because you are seeking to promote the glory of God in a world that is opposed to it. So, Peter says, "Don't think it's strange when you suffer these things." Notice that he begins verse 12 by saying, "Beloved." I think this is extremely important.

I have prayed with, and perhaps you have prayed with, other Christians who are going through trials and experiencing difficulty, the fiery trial. In the midst of that, we can be seduced or tempted by our flesh, the world, or even the devil.

To come to this perspective in the midst of the trial, we often think, "God's against me. He hates me. The reason I'm going through this is because God is angry at me." Have you ever met that person before? Many of us have. Or maybe we've even found ourselves falling into that temptation and that trap.

Peter begins by reminding us with this very simple word: you, as a follower of God, are beloved of God. God is not doing this to you because He is mad at you. This is such an important thing for us to grasp. If God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son when we were against Him, in opposition to Him as enemies, and He demonstrated His love towards us while we were yet sinners, then He loves you even more now that you're His child.

God is no more doing this to you than you, as a father or mother, would be doing that to your child if they were suffering or going through something difficult. However, as we go through the Scriptures, we find that God allows us to experience trials. If you're a parent, you know there have been times when you have not intervened in a situation with your kids. You allow them to go through it because there is something you want to result from that experience.

He starts by saying, "Beloved, remember this: you are loved of God." When you go through various trials, don't think it's strange, and don't think, "God's doing this to me." We are often tempted to think like that, aren't we? Peter says, "Do not think it strange, the fiery trial, as though some strange thing happened to you."

I know I skipped something in the middle of verse 12, and we'll get to that in just a second. But don't think it's strange, the fiery trial, as though some strange thing were happening to you. Christian, follower of Jesus, if you've put your trust in Jesus today, don't be shocked by trials as though some strange or shocking thing were happening to you. This is the normal Christian life. Trials are normal.

I'm going to say it over and over again because we need to put this in our minds. We live in a culture that says, "You're a Christian, no trials." The Bible doesn't teach that. Jesus didn't teach that. Peter does not teach that. Paul never taught that. Go through the Scriptures; the Bible never teaches that trials do not come upon the follower of God.

Living as a follower of God does not put a shelter over you that shields you from any sort of trial. That's not the case. Trials are normal. The question should be asked: if we're never suffering any trial for the name of Christ, have we become too much like the world and not enough like the kingdom of God?

He says, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial. The term "fiery trial" comes from one Greek word, pyrosis. That's right, pyro. Pyrosis literally speaks of a figure of the refiner's fire. What is the refiner's fire? Well, you would take some sort of metal, maybe gold, out of the ground, and it needs to be refined. It is filled with all kinds of impurities. The way to refine it is to heat it to its boiling point and continue to heat it until you can bring all those impurities to the surface or burn them off to purify it.

The trial that you face as a follower of God, supernatural and abnormal suffering, is, according to the Scriptures, a refining work that God is doing in your life and in my life. None of us like the refiner's fire. We used to sing a song called "Refiner's Fire," with the lyrics "my heart's one desire." But that is not our desire. I hated that song, and I don't think we sing it very much anymore. Every time I sang it, I thought, I don't believe this at all. Why am I saying this? I'm completely lying as I sing, "my heart's one desire, refine me." No! I don't want that.

Did anyone else feel kind of weird singing that song? I did. I thought, this is not true. Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the refining trial, which is to try you, as Peter says. It is brought into your life for the purpose of trying and testing.

This phrase, "to try you," is used by the Apostle Paul in a verse in 1 Corinthians. In 1 Corinthians 10:13, it states, "No trial or temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man. But God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able. But with the trial or temptation, He will also make a way of escape that you may be able to bear it."

Yes, God does allow trials into my life and into your life as a proving test, as a refining fire. It is a test. You remember that sound that comes over? It's a test. It's only a test. Sometimes we need to be reminded in the midst of that whole thing: this is a test. It's only a test.

Now, the immediate question would be, does that mean that the God of the Bible is just like the Allah of the Quran, whom the Muslim says brings these things into our lives as a pass-fail test? Are you telling me that the God of the Bible is just like Allah? No. Here's the difference. Whereas Allah in the Quran brings trials into the life of the Muslim as a pass-fail test to see if they are worthy of him and of his glory, God brings trials into my life and your life as a pass-test in which He reveals His faithfulness and refines ours.

The test is not to bring us to the point of failing so that we will fail. The test is to bring us to the point of seeing His faithfulness and strengthening our faithfulness. Is that really true, you ask? Well, again, let me read 1 Corinthians 10, verse 13, and let's look at it a little bit more closely. He says, "No trial has overtaken you except such as is common to man, but God is faithful."

What's happening in the midst of the trial? We are discovering in this trial, in this temptation, in this suffering—call it whatever you will—in this thing that God is allowing in your life. You are coming into the experience of the faithfulness of God. He is faithful and will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able. So, He is not going to make you fail. He is not doing this in your life to see, "Oh, well, you couldn't make that one, could you?"

He is faithful and will not allow us to be tempted, tested, or tried beyond what we are able. But with the temptation, the test, the trial, He, in His faithfulness, will also make a way of escape that you may be able to bear it.

So, point number two on your outline: trials prove God's faithfulness and refine ours. Why does God allow these things in my life? Because trials prove God's faithfulness and refine ours.

And so Peter says in 1 Peter 4, verse 13, "Beloved Christian, follower of Jesus, do not think it's strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing were happening to you." Don't be shocked by it, but instead rejoice in it. Why? Because in it you are a partaker of Christ's sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.

Peter basically says this: don't be shocked, do rejoice. Really? I'm working on this one—rejoicing in trials. I haven't quite got it; I'm almost there. The reason we're so shocked is that our culture tends to lead us in the direction of asking, "Why is this happening to me? This shouldn't be happening to me." But Peter says, "No, this is normal. It's normal."

Now, we've already considered this concept of the normalcy of trials, the work of trials in our lives, and our rejoicing in trials previously in 1 Peter. If you're in 1 Peter chapter 4 with me, turn to the left to 1 Peter chapter 1. Look at verse 6: "In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials." Why? "That the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold, though it perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ."

Now, Peter, as well as Paul, James, and other New Testament writers, speaks about this rejoicing and joy in the midst of trials—not because the trial is so enjoyable, not because we want the trial in our lives, but because of the outcome of the trial and what God brings through the trial.

What do we see that He brings through this? Well, one of the things is that we learn His faithfulness. We are refined in our faithfulness. We rejoice in this point: trials forge our partnership with Christ in His suffering and His glory.

Trials in the life of the Christian forge our partnership with Christ in His suffering, just as He suffered 2,000 years ago here on earth, on the cross. They create our partnership with Him in His suffering, but they also establish our partnership with Him in His glory. The New Living Translation translates verse 13 like this: "Instead, be very glad for these trials. Be very glad for these trials, because they make you partners with Christ in His suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing His glory when it is revealed to the world."

What Peter is saying here is that being in the midst of suffering for the name and sake of Christ makes you a partner with Him in His sufferings, but it also partners you with Him in the glory that He reveals. It is not just Peter who says this; Paul also affirms this in Romans chapter 8, verse 15. Paul writes, "For you, Christian, did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the spirit of adoption, by whom you cry, 'Abba, Father.' The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. And if we are children of God, then we are heirs of God, heirs and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified with Him."

Grasp with me, if you will, what both Peter and Paul are telling us here. If you're a Christian and you suffer because of being a Christian—abnormal suffering, supernatural trials—because you're a follower of God, you're suffering with Christ, and you will also receive His glory. You are partnered with Him in suffering, and you will be partnered with Him in glory as well.

Now, I think that's something to rejoice in. Yes, you suffer, but the reward of the suffering is to be glorified with Christ. Jesus was glorified before His disciples in Matthew chapter 17, on what is called the Mount of Transfiguration. It was so awesome, the glory of Christ, that they couldn't even fully behold Him. That was just a sneak peek of the glory that would come. We can't even begin to comprehend the glory that shall be revealed in us. Paul says in his writings in Romans chapter 8, "Eye has not seen, ear has not heard, neither has it entered into the mind of man the things that God has prepared for those that love Him." The sufferings of this present world are not worthy to be compared.

Compared to the glory that shall be revealed in us, if you're a Christian and you partner with Christ in His suffering, you'll be a partner with Him in His glory. Amen.

Peter continues in verse 14: "If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you. For the spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part, those who are not believers, He, God, is blasphemed. But on your part, He is glorified." I love the New Living Translation of this verse. It says, "So be happy when you're insulted for being a Christian." Why? For then the glorious spirit of God rests upon you.

We're not happy because of the suffering; we're not sadistically enjoying the trial. We understand, or at least all the writers of the New Testament are trying to get us to understand, that this is merely a blip on the radar of eternity. There is so much more that is great and beyond all of this in glory. This abnormal suffering that only the Christian experiences is ultimately going to produce glory in our lives.

So much so that Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount, said this in Matthew chapter 5, verse 11: "Blessed are you. Oh, how happy are you when they revile and persecute you and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad. Why? For great is your reward in heaven."

Now, there's this group of people within the church called ethicists. They write books on biblical ethics and say things like, "You should never serve God for the reward that you're going to get from Him." Yet, constantly in the Bible, it says to serve God for the reward that you're going to get from Him. So, I'm going to believe the Bible.

We go through trials with joy, not because we're weird and twisted and like trials, but because we know that the testing of our faith produces patience, and patience will have its perfect work in us, that we will be perfect, complete, lacking nothing. We glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance, and perseverance hope, and hope does not disappoint.

What is our hope? Our hope of eternity, where there is no suffering, no death, no trials, no sin, and no curse. That's where our joy and rejoicing come from. That's where we can actually fulfill the exhortation of Peter.

To be happy when we are insulted for being a Christian is a challenging concept. Point number four on your outline is that trials can produce joy in this life and will be rewarded in the next. I purposefully said "can" because the fact is that the same trial can equally produce bitterness in the life of the person who professes to know God.

Maybe you've met that person who encountered a trial or some sort of suffering for the name of Christ, and they gave up. I think they are the ones described in what is called the parable of the sower. In this parable, the seed fell upon shallow ground, sprang up quickly, but then the sun came and burned it out. Later on, Jesus tells His disciples what this picture means. He says the seed is the Word of God, the soil is the heart of man, and the shallow ground that sprang up quickly represents those who received the gospel with joy. However, when trials came, they burned it out, and instead of becoming better, they became bitter.

What's the only difference between better and bitter? I. When I get inordinately focused on myself, I lose sight of the bigger picture. I didn't make that up; I know some of you might think that's impressive, but it's true. By nature, I am always inordinately focused on me. Who's the first person you look at in a family picture? It's you. The picture is good or bad based on how you look. Everyone else can look perfect, but if you don't look good, you might have that half-smile and think, "This is a bad picture." Thank God for Photoshop! Have you seen that app where people are replacing faces? That is so creepy.

We can get so focused on ourselves that we fail to see God, Christ, and the work He wants to do. In the trial, we can find joy, but more often than not, because we're focused on ourselves, we become angry and bitter. Frankly, this offends our sensibilities. What Peter is teaching here offends the sensibilities of our carnal nature, which does not want to suffer, does not want any discomfort, and does not want to go through any sort of trial. And that is the very thing.

God needs to purge from me what is not going into eternity. That will be left behind. This corruption will put on incorruption, and this mortality will put on immortality. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, we shall be changed. We shall be like Him, and this fallen flesh that abhors any sort of discomfort will go away. Only the soul will continue.

Now, if it is true, as Peter presents here, that trials produce reward, then shouldn't we just seek to experience trials? Should we try to induce trials? Should we do things to make us suffer? No. Look at verse 15 of 1 Peter 4:15. "But let none of you suffer as a murderer, as a thief, as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people's matters." Yet, if—circle the word "if"—anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter.

Let no one suffer in things that even non-Christians see as evil: murder, theft, evil works. Let no one suffer in these things because they dishonor the name of God and bring shame against it. Therefore, don't suffer in these things. It seems like a given. Christ is to be glorified in the life of the Christian. He is to be honored and lifted up over the life of the person who follows Jesus. These actions dishonor and shame the name of Christ.

Interestingly, he says in this verse, "Let no one suffer as a busybody in other people's matters." I understand murder, theft, and evildoing, but what is a busybody in other people's matters? Let me read to you from Thayer's Greek Lexicon dictionary, as there is only one Greek word translated as "busybody in other people's matters." The definition from Thayer's Greek Lexicon states that this refers to those who, with holy zeal, meddle in the lives and affairs of others in order to make them conform to the standard of Christ.

What does this mean? Simply this: If you suffer...

Because you're a Christian and you're trying to force your Christian standards, values, and faith on a Christ-rejecting culture, you suffer because they reject that. They say, "No, we're going to reject you, and now we're going to get you and kill you." If you suffer for that, Peter says, "No, don't suffer for that."

Sadly, the church in its history has blights upon its record, wherein it has, through political or military means, tried to force people to live a converted life. That's not the gospel as God intends it. The gospel is the call to fallen, sinful people to turn from their sin and to turn to Christ for grace, forgiveness, and salvation. When the church has moved through military power or political means to try and impose the standards of the gospel and the kingdom of God upon society, and society rejects that, Peter says, "No, that's not the way of the gospel."

This is what it means to be a meddler in the affairs of other people. This is not the church and the gospel as Christ intends it. If you suffer for doing that, Peter basically says that is deserved suffering. However, he also states that it is no shame to suffer for being a Christian. Praise God! The New Living Translation says, "Praise God for the privilege of being called by His name."

Point number five on your outline: Trials are the unashamed privilege of the Christian. Though a world that lives in opposition to God may shame, ridicule, and insult the Christian, and they suffer shame for His name, don't be ashamed. It is a privilege to suffer shame for the name of Christ. We do not glory in suffering, but we glory in suffering, and we glorify Him for what He will accomplish in us and through us because of that suffering.

Peter continues in verse 17 of 1 Peter chapter 4. He says, "For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God. If it begins with us, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel? Now, if the righteous one is scarcely saved, where will the ungodly and the sinner appear?"

Peter here makes an interesting and complex shift in what he is speaking of, but it needs to be understood in the context of the abnormal suffering that a Christian experiences while living for the glory of God in a world that is opposed to the glory of God. Peter seems to indicate in this verse that the suffering you may experience as a follower of God in a world that is opposed to Him is like a form of judgment.

Here’s the thing: if God will allow His people, whom He loves and who are living for His glory, to experience the judgment of those trials and not take them out of it—like Jesus prayed in John chapter 17, "I do not pray that you take them out of the world"—then it should be incredibly sobering to think of what will actually happen when He judges those who are unbelievers.

So, Peter says here, "If the righteous one is scarcely saved." Does he mean that salvation is really hard to earn? No. Notice he puts "righteous" before "saved." So what is he speaking of here? A lot of times, when we hear the word "saved," we think of it in the context of being saved when we put our faith in Christ. You became a believer in Jesus at a Billy Graham crusade, a Harvest crusade, at this church or another church, and you are saved.

However, ultimate salvation doesn't happen until God redeems us out of this world. We are looking forward to the salvation of our souls. Peter already spoke of this in 1 Peter chapter 1, verse 5. He says that we Christians are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. A few verses later, in verse 9 of 1 Peter chapter 1, he says, "receiving the end of your faith, the salvation of your souls."

So, Peter says here, if the righteous one—one who is made righteous by the grace and gift of God—is scarcely saved or saved through much hardship in this world, what will become of those who do not obey the gospel? If God allows you to go through trials and difficulties here in this life, what does that mean about what He will accomplish in His judgment upon those who refuse to obey the gospel? It’s a sobering thought.

But here’s the point: the suffering of trials is as bad as it will ever be for the Christian.

The suffering of trials is as bad as it will ever be for you if you're a Christian. As one preacher put it, this is as close to hell as the Christian will ever get. The sobering reality is that the hardness of this life is as close to heaven as the unbeliever will ever get.

Peter applies this in 1 Peter 4, verse 19. Therefore, let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good. God is allowing it; God is ordaining it. Continue to do good as to a faithful Creator. Trials are normal; they are the refining tool of God used in our lives as we partner with Him for His glory. Yes, we may be partnered with Him in suffering, but He will one day reward us as we follow Him by faith, faithfully enduring the trials that we face in this life.

So do not be ashamed of the trial that you go through, and do not think it strange as though some unusual thing were happening to you. Rejoice, knowing that this suffering is the worst that it will ever be, and God in eternity has a great reward for us. Amen?

Let's stand and close in prayer. Father God, help us to comprehend these things that are difficult and that our fallen nature struggles with. We don't like to suffer; we don't like discomfort. But I pray, God, that You would help us to recognize that these things we might endure in this life are a momentary light affliction, and they are working for us a far greater and eternal weight of glory.

God, transform our understanding and help us to rejoice in whatever we face in this life, knowing that this life is not all there is. Help us to have a proper view, to see You seated high and lifted up, and to understand that this life is a shadow of what is to come. Work in us this week, I pray in Jesus' name. Amen.