An overview to help Sunday School teachers and Bible study leaders prepare for this week’s lesson. A video version of this overview is available on YouTube at:

INTRO:

A few years ago, Nik Ripken (pen name of a former Southern Baptist missionary) was interviewing some pastors and lay leaders in Russia who had endured decades of persecution in the old Soviet Union. They shared stories of how God brought them through hardship, oppression, and martyrdom. At one point, Ripken said he just couldn’t contain himself. He said: “Why haven’t you written these stories down? Where are the books that chronicle your faith and persecution? These stories are worthy of a movie; these are Bible stories come to life!” He said they just responded with confused silence.

But, finally, he said, one brother stood up, took him by the arm, and drew him to a window at the end of the large room. Looking out at the horizon, the man said to him, “Sir, when your sons were growing up, how many mornings did you take them to the window of your house and say, ‘Look, boys, the sun is coming up in the East this morning!’” Ripken said, “Well, I never once did that … my sons would have thought I’d lost my mind – the sun always comes up in the East!”

Then the Russian brother said: “That is why we talk little of our persecution and suffering. That is why we have not written our stories down, and why we have not made a movie. Our persecution is always with us. It simply comes as we walk with Jesus. It is like the sun coming up in the East.”

(Nik Ripken, The Insanity of God)

To those of us who have grown up in the United States, like Ripken, what those Russians endured sound unusual, because most of us haven’t experienced them. We’ve grown up here in America, with religious freedom, and no persecution for our faith. It’s been this way our whole lives. But we need to realize that THIS IS THE EXCEPTION. It has not been this way all through history. Christians being persecuted for their faith in this world is as commonplace as “the sun coming up in the east.”

Then you can transition and say: “This is one of the points Peter makes in his message to us this morning from I Peter 4.

CONTEXT:

We’re back (after our Easter break) to our study in I Peter. We’ve seen how Peter is writing to Christians who are suffering for their faith, and he reminds them to keep their eyes on the imperishable inheritance they have waiting for them in heaven. Several times in the first chapters of the book he encourages us to live in ways that reflect the gospel — including by submitting ourselves to legitimate authority — so that we will be good witnesses to those around us. Earlier in Chapter 4 he commanded us to be holy, and love each other, and use our spiritual gifts to serve in the church.

Now in today’s passage — the last part of Chapter 4, :12-19 — he returns to this theme of the persecution they faced. We may not have had as much of that as they experienced, but perhaps some of us have had some — and all of us need to be prepared to face it in the days ahead. Hopefully this lesson will help our members get ready for that. 

OUTLINE:

I.   The Inevitability of Suffering (:12-14)

II.  Contrasting Types of Suffering (:15-16)

III.  Contrasting Judgments in Suffering (:17-18)

IV.  Our Commitment in Suffering (:19)

TEXT: I Peter 4:12-19

I. The Inevitability of Suffering (:12-14)

:12 “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; 13 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 exultation. 14 If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.”

Peter returns to the theme of suffering to conclude the chapter. He says in :12, “Do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you.” In other words, don’t be surprised when difficulties come to you. It is not “some strange thing” happening to you. Jesus told His followers from the very beginning that there would be suffering:

— In some of His first calls to disciples in Luke 9:23 He said: ““If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.” The “cross” implies suffering. You will suffer if you follow Me, He said.

— In Matthew 24:9 He told His disciples: “Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name.

— In John 16:33 He said, “In the world you have tribulation”

— In John 15:20 He said, “If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you.”

Jesus made it very clear to His disciples: suffering and persecution are an inevitable part of being a Christian. “Do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal …”. This is part of being His follower. If you don’t use the Nik Ripken story for an introduction, you might use it here. Suffering for the Christian is as certain as the sunrise!

ANOTHER ILLUSTRATION:

Mystery writer Agatha Christie writes in her marvelous autobiography of an episode at her girls school in Torquay as she was growing up: 

“I can picture one teacher there — I can’t recall her name. She was short and spare, and I remember her eager jutting chin. Quite unexpectedly one day (in the middle, I think, of an arithmetic lesson) she suddenly launched forth on a speech on life and religion. ‘All of you,’ she said, ‘every one of you — will pass through a time when you will face despair. If you never face despair, you will never have faced, or become, a Christian, or known a Christian life. To be a Christian you must face and accept the life that Christ faced and lived; you must enjoy things as He enjoyed things be as happy as He was at the marriage at Cana, know the peace and happiness that it means to be in harmony with God and with God’s will. But you must also know, as He did, what it means to be alone in the Garden of Gethsemane, to feel that all your friends have forsaken you, that those you love and trusted have turned away from  you, and that God Himself has forsaken you. Hold on then to the belief that that is not the end. If you love, you will suffer, and if you do not love, you do not know the meaning of a Christian life.’

She then returned to the problems of compound interest with her usual vigor, but it is odd that those few words, more than any sermon I have ever heard, remained with me, and years later they were to come back to me and give me hope at a time when despair had me in its grip.” (Agatha Christie, An Autobiography, p. 150)

What Mrs. Christie says there is so true: if we are really Christians, we must know not only the blessings of following Christ, but also the pain and suffering. It is an inevitable part of being a Christian, and as she wrote, if we don’t share in the fellowship of His suffering, we don’t really know a big part of the meaning of a Christian life.  

When the disciples had been flogged by the Jews, and warned to no longer preach Jesus, Acts 5:41 says: “So they went on their way from the presence of the Council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name.”

This is just what Peter is saying here — he had lived this out! — if you suffer for Jesus, then rejoice! It’s a sign that “the Spirit of glory” — the Holy Spirit — really is in you. If Jesus’ Spirit is in you, the world will react to it in a negative way. Peter teaches us here the inevitability of suffering in the Christian life.

But having said that, there are two very different types of suffering we can endure, as we see in the next point:

II. Contrasting Types of Suffering (:15-16)

15 “Make sure that none of you suffers as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler; 16 but if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name.”

Here we see very clearly that the Bible outlines two very different/contrasting causes of suffering: 

— one, suffering for one’s own sin; 

— another, suffering for being a Christian.

There is a big difference between the two, isn’t there?

Jesus refers to this in His Beatitudes of Matthew 5:10-12:

“Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.11 “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

Can you see the distinction in these verses:

— “for the sake of righteousness.” The blessing is not just for those who are persecuted for anything; but only for those who are persecuted for righteousness.

— Then :11 says you’re blessed when they insult, and persecute, and FALSELY say all kinds of evil against you BECAUSE OF ME.”

Again: it must be “falsely,” and “because of Me” — not just any suffering.

We have all probably seen and/or experienced both kinds of suffering: for doing what is right, and for our own wrongdoing.

Here are a couple of ILLUSTRATIONS you might want to share at this point:

SUFFERING FOR OUR OWN SIN:

One of my favorite real-life stories in this regard is from retired pastor Joe McKeever, well-known for his cartoons in Baptist Press. In January, 2010 he wrote on his blog (joemckeever.com) about a true life-experience he dealt with:
“Drunk and speeding and going around a curve on a country road, Edward slammed his car into a tree. Doctors told me he was lucky to be alive, that he had broken almost every bone in his body. The woman in the car with him was killed. When he recovered to the point where he could speak, Edward said to me, “Brother Joe, why did God do this?” I said, “He didn’t, my friend. You did this all by yourself without any help from Him.”

There are a lot of things like that in life. If we are honest, we will admit that much of the suffering we endure in life, we have brought upon ourselves.

SUFFERNG FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS:

Chaplain Bob Rogers, writing a history of Mississippi Baptists, shared this story:

Richard Curtis, Jr., Mississippi’s first Baptist pastor, July 16, 1795, defending his right to teach the Bible in his home, to the Spanish authorities of the Natchez District who had arrested him for leading worship that was not Roman Catholic:

“I am happy to think that I am persecuted and hated for well doing, and not evil, as was our fore fathers. Now what ever information may be against me, I have only taken the liberty which every man takes, and that is to be governor of my own house and what greater opposition can be upon a man than to deprive him of the full authority of my own house, if it should be the case.” (Bob Rogers Facebook post 2/07/25)

DISCUSSION/APPLICATION QUESTION:

??? Can you share a personal example/or an example of someone you know/have heard of, who suffered for being a Christian/doing what is right, AND/OR of someone who just suffered for their own wrongdoing???

(We call all think of some, and as you all share, it will help apply this principle to real life situations. But the point is: make sure that when you suffer, it is for Christ/righteousness alone, and not your own wrongdoing.)

III. Contrasting Judgments in Suffering (:17-18)

:17 “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? 18 And if it is with difficulty that the righteous is saved, what will become of the godless man and the sinner?”

The Bible says as Christians, we should live like people who know that judgment is coming; and that we are accountable to God for everything we think, say, and do. If there ARE things in our lives that are not as they should be — as we saw in the last point — then God will bring pressures upon our lives to purify us and bring us to repentance.  Verse 17 says “For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God”  He says we need to live like people who know that we serve a God who sifts and sorts and purifies us. Now, the “judgment” we will face as believers is not a judgment of condemnation — Romans 8:1 says “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” If you really know the Lord, you are saved and secure, and nothing can change that.  BUT Peter says here that God will allow judgments to come here on earth to PURIFY His people, and cause us to forsake our sins, and get serious about Him.

— Peter knew His Old Testament, and he knew that in Ezekiel 9, God commanded a judgment to come upon the land — but He commanded for it to begin in HIS TEMPLE, with HIS PEOPLE — Judgment would begin with HIS PEOPLE FIRST!  

— Peter also knew that the Old Testament closes with the Book of Malachi, which prophesies the coming of the Lord. People may have thought, “Oh, the Lord is coming; that’s good!” But Malachi says in :2 “But who may abide the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner’s fire.” (That verse put to music in Handel’s “Messiah” is one of my very favorite songs!) You might THINK that if a “Day of the Lord” was coming it would be good; but Malachi says He is coming to judge and to purify His people. Peter says Judgment will begin with the household of God; with HIS people — with US. We need to realize that we are accountable to Him.  

ILLUSTRATION

Years ago, the United States House of Representatives used to meet in what is now Statuary Hall, in the U.S. capitol building, instead of the House Chamber where they do now. In Statuary Hall, there is still to this day a sculpture which Carlo Franzoni crafted in 1810, depicting Clio, the Muse of History, riding the winged Car of History, keeping notes in her book. Historian David McCullough writes that Clio was there to remind our representatives who were meeting in her sight “that their words and actions would face the judgment of history …”. (Brave Companions, McCullough, p. 232). She was writing down everything they said and did!

Of course there is no real Clio, “goddess of history,” but there IS a very real God, who is truly watching over us, and who is recording everything that we think, say, and do, and we are accountable to Him. And we need to be aware as His people that He is not content for us to remain as we are. Jesus takes us as we are when we become Christians — but He does not LEAVE us as we are. He will purify us, cleanse us of sinful habits, and make us more like Him, to prepare us to be with Him in heaven forever.  

One of the worst mistakes we can make as Christians is to ignore this, and think we’re just here to live like the rest of the world, and “eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die.” That’s not God’s purpose for us. He will allow, and even cause, trials and judgments to come into our lives to cleanse and purify us. And we are foolish if we try to live as though we are not accountable to Him.  

Then Peter uses this interesting phrase: “If it is with difficulty the righteous is saved, what will become of the godless man and the sinner. What does this mean, “if it is with difficulty the righteous is saved.”

Well, think about it: salvation, though a free gift of God to us, came through great trials and difficulties:

If you don’t think that salvation was difficult, look at Jesus at the Garden of Gethsemane. Look at Him on the cross. Look at the blood He had to shed to pay for our sins — there was no other way. Then in the process of salvation itself, look at a sinner, sweating under conviction of sin, wrestling over whether he can give up a pet sin to repentance … . It IS with difficulty that the righteous is saved! 

And because salvation is so weighty, so serious — so costly even for those who are saved — then what will happen to those who have rejected it? There is no hope for them, only the certainty of a judgment without mercy, and an eternity apart from God in torment. 

Yes, we as Christians may suffer some “judgments,” (or perhaps the word “chastisements” is better) but thank God that through Jesus we will not experience the final judgment that the world does. 

DISCUSSION/APPLICATION:

Randy Alcorn in his great book on Heaven wrote:

“For Christians, this present life is the closest they will come to Hell. For unbelievers, it is the closest they will come to Heaven.”

You might print/post this quote and have your class discuss it.
I believe the idea behind this quote is what Peter is talking about here in :17-18. Christians may experience some “judgments/chastisements” here on earth, but it’s far better than the eternal judgment that those who reject Christ will suffer forever. 

IV. Our Commitment in Suffering (:19)

19 “Therefore, those also who suffer according to the will of God shall entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right.”

“Therefore” refers back to everything we’ve looked at in today’s lesson. Because all this that we have talked about today is true, here is your “bottom line” lesson: “entrust your soul to a faithful Creator in doing what is right.” Trust God and do what’s right. If you want a “bumper sticker” summary of today’s lesson, this might be it: “Trust in the Lord and do what is right.” Some of your class members will have situations in thier lives this very week, that this verse will apply to very specifically and particularly: tell them to “trust in the Lord and do what is right.” 

This verse ties back very powerfully to Chapter 2, where in :21 Peter told them that Christ had left them an example to follow in His steps. Verse 23 says “and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously.”  

As always, Jesus is our great Example here. Do what He did. KEEP entrusting yourself to God. (And remember as we talked about in Chapter 2, that phrase “KEEP entrusting” means that we have to keep on doing it. Many of us have situations in our lives in which it is not enough to entrust ourselves to God once; we may entrust ourselves to Him — but then we’re soon tempted to take things into our own hands again, or to strike back against someone in an ungodly way because of what they’ve done to us. So we have to “KEEP entrusting ourselves to God.” It is a continual, daily — maybe even moment-by-moment — battle. Some of your class members are fighting this battle in some way right now — so encourage them here: “KEEP entrusting yourself to God, and doing what is right.” 

You may want to spend some time this week on Psalm 37, which to me is THE great commentary on Biblical “meekness”: trusting the Lord and doing what is right. In fact, my personal belief is that Psalm 37:3 gives us a Biblical definition of the “meekness” Jesus talks about in Matthew 5:5, when it says:  “Trust in the Lord and do good.” No matter what the “evildoers” and “wrongdoers” of Psalm 37 may be doing to you, the “meek/gentle/mature” Christian trusts in the Lord, and does what is right. And this just what I Peter 4:19 commands us here too. No matter what they’re doing to you, YOU entrust your soul to God; YOU do what is right. 

ILLUSTRATION:

A couple of years ago, one of our grandsons got in trouble at school for swatting at a boy with his backpack. Upon investigation though, it turned out the boy had been bothering him, and kept pulling at his backpack, until our grandson got tired of it, and in anger flung the backpack at him. 

But this was a good lesson for him: someone else’s bad behavior does not excuse yours. Whatever THEY do, YOU do what is right towards them. YOU “trust in the Lord and do what is right.” 

You can use this example if you’d like to — or share a similar case from your own experience. But this is the message of Psalm 37, and I Peter 4.  The lesson is clear here— and as I said, I don’t doubt that you will have members present in your class this week who need to hear this — no matter what anyone else does to you, that doesn’t excuse your bad behavior. Don’t strike back. Don’t take things into your own hands and do something wrong yourself. “Trust in the Lord and do what is right.” Of course, this teaching isn’t anything “new” or “groundbreaking” — but sometimes we all just need encouragement to keep on doing the right thing regardless of the difficulties we are facing. I’ll be praying that the Lord will use YOU to give your group that much-needed encouragement this week!

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