WEBVTT 00:00:03.927 --> 00:00:08.494 I'm Pastor Scott, one of the pastors here and blessed to be a part of Trinity Community Church. 00:00:08.494 --> 00:00:12.247 Now we're at the clock's now 50 years and counting. 00:00:12.247 --> 00:00:12.929 We're going forward. 00:00:12.929 --> 00:00:15.621 It's an exciting time, okay. 00:00:15.942 --> 00:00:26.405 So for those that are joining us or maybe haven't been here for our series, we've been in the middle of a series on the book of 1 Peter, the epistle of 1 Peter, that we've titled Grace Under Fire. 00:00:26.405 --> 00:00:29.307 You guys been blessed by this series. 00:00:29.307 --> 00:00:32.601 I think it's been really timely it really has been. 00:00:32.601 --> 00:00:34.787 And today we're on sermon number 8. 00:00:34.787 --> 00:00:37.628 Next week Tyler's going to wrap it up with a final sermon. 00:00:37.628 --> 00:00:47.951 But we're on sermon number 8, which I have titled A Time for Judgment, and it's in 1 Peter 4, verses 12 through 19. 00:00:48.823 --> 00:00:51.744 So let's read those passages, beginning in verse 12. 00:00:51.744 --> 00:01:08.730 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, but rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. 00:01:08.730 --> 00:01:16.653 If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed because the spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. 00:01:16.653 --> 00:01:22.933 Let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. 00:01:22.933 --> 00:01:34.310 Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name, for it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God. 00:01:34.310 --> 00:01:39.152 And if it begins with us, what will the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? 00:01:39.152 --> 00:01:44.871 And if the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner? 00:01:44.871 --> 00:01:54.331 Therefore, let those who suffer according to God's will entrust their souls to a faithful creator while doing good. 00:01:54.331 --> 00:01:57.789 Father, we are so grateful for your word. 00:01:57.789 --> 00:02:01.290 I love, father, that your word was lifted up. 00:02:01.290 --> 00:02:05.510 I love that your word was quoted during the words that were given. 00:02:05.510 --> 00:02:11.882 I love the fact that your spirit was moving in this place, that people were speaking prophetic words and words of knowledge. 00:02:11.882 --> 00:02:17.181 Father, we're now opening your word and we're trusting that you're going to show us truth from this. 00:02:17.181 --> 00:02:31.171 And my prayer, father, is that I don't get in the way of what you're doing, and my other prayer is that everyone that's going to hear your word be impacted and changed for your glory. 00:02:31.171 --> 00:02:35.890 And I pray this and we pray this in the name of Jesus. 00:02:35.890 --> 00:02:38.288 And the congregation said Amen. 00:02:40.020 --> 00:02:49.680 Well, this passage of Scripture really has two primary themes to it the suffering through trials and the judgment on Christians and on unbelievers. 00:02:49.680 --> 00:02:58.468 And this theme of suffering really runs through all of 1 Peter, and we've had sermons on this already, we've talked about it because he talks about the issue of suffering. 00:02:58.468 --> 00:03:16.772 However, peter now introduces the concept of judgment, and it's specifically on judgment on believers in the context of suffering, and the concept of this judgment that's talked about in verse 17 is often taken out of context. 00:03:16.772 --> 00:03:21.389 So really, this morning, my purpose is I want to do two things. 00:03:21.389 --> 00:03:41.383 I want to examine these verses to gain a better understanding of two things Number one, the purpose of trials, and secondly, what exactly is the judgment that Peter is telling Christians that you're all going to experience in this life, and then, hopefully, from this we will be inspired and we'll be informed to walk forward in this truth. 00:03:41.383 --> 00:03:44.009 So let's first, let's just jump right in. 00:03:44.050 --> 00:03:46.182 Let's first talk about the verses on suffering. 00:03:46.182 --> 00:03:54.448 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. 00:03:54.448 --> 00:03:56.331 Don't be surprised. 00:03:56.331 --> 00:03:58.723 One of my favorite videos to watch are surprise videos. 00:03:58.723 --> 00:04:04.225 My wife loves surprise videos and, by the way, they surprise people in my family too. 00:04:04.225 --> 00:04:05.890 They're jumping out of bathrooms and everything. 00:04:05.890 --> 00:04:10.389 They don't surprise me, though, because I said if you do, you're going to get hurt, so don't surprise me. 00:04:11.841 --> 00:04:20.420 But I think it was funny that he says don't be surprised when you go through suffering and trials, didn't? 00:04:20.420 --> 00:04:28.125 Jesus himself tells us, in this life you will have what Trouble You'll have trouble. 00:04:28.125 --> 00:04:31.007 He told us that we'll have a cross to bear. 00:04:31.007 --> 00:04:36.449 You know, being a Christian is not signing up for a 14-day Mediterranean cruise. 00:04:36.449 --> 00:04:38.834 It's not. 00:04:38.834 --> 00:04:43.350 And if your life has been that way so far, don't tell anybody else. 00:04:43.350 --> 00:04:49.367 We know, as believers, we're going to go through trials and tests. 00:04:49.367 --> 00:04:50.350 We know that. 00:04:50.350 --> 00:04:51.192 We understand that. 00:04:51.192 --> 00:04:57.045 I mean it could be health issues, it could be financial challenges, it could be challenges at work. 00:04:57.045 --> 00:05:02.031 I mean there's all kinds of things that we go through Struggles, trials. 00:05:02.031 --> 00:05:06.869 It's what we're promised, it's what we sign up for. 00:05:06.869 --> 00:05:10.992 So he's saying listen, don't be surprised that you're going to get hit with these things. 00:05:10.992 --> 00:05:17.129 And, by the way, sometimes these trials can be literally persecution for our belief. 00:05:17.129 --> 00:05:30.341 You know, we live in a country, and we live in the buckle of the Bible belt, right here in Knoxville, where you can pretty much still proclaim that you're a believer and you can talk about God in public and not be like strung up, right. 00:05:30.341 --> 00:05:33.848 But that's even changing here in Knoxville. 00:05:33.848 --> 00:05:41.086 You know it won't be long when the persecution is going to increase and we've talked about that before. 00:05:42.108 --> 00:06:01.031 The other thing that's interesting is I don't know if you guys have seen this, but there's many Christians that we're seeing well-known Christians, teachers, people in the music, the Christian music industry that have renounced their faith and they've walked away from it and it's called a deconstruction. 00:06:01.031 --> 00:06:04.112 That's the term that's been given for this deconstruction of their faith. 00:06:04.112 --> 00:06:05.026 In fact, there's a really good book that Neil put me on that I'm reading. 00:06:05.026 --> 00:06:05.973 That's the term that's been given for this deconstruction of their faith. 00:06:05.973 --> 00:06:08.454 In fact, there's a really good book that Neil put me on that I'm reading. 00:06:08.454 --> 00:06:24.103 It's called the Deconstruction of Christianity and what's so good about this book is it's really important that all of us get aware of what Satan is doing and how he's influencing people that have influence over other Christians. 00:06:24.103 --> 00:06:30.788 I mean, some of these are people, especially with our youth people from these musical groups. 00:06:30.788 --> 00:06:33.401 You know the lead singer for Hawk Nelson. 00:06:33.401 --> 00:06:35.526 He has deconstructed his faith. 00:06:35.526 --> 00:06:38.980 I remember listening to Hawk Nelson with my kids when they were teens. 00:06:38.980 --> 00:06:45.533 Great songs, some really powerful lyrics in there, and he's turned his back on his faith. 00:06:47.581 --> 00:06:54.550 And one of the reasons I think this is happening is because the pressures from our culture are getting stronger and stronger and stronger. 00:06:54.550 --> 00:07:00.112 And those accusations like you're judging that's all you do is judging. 00:07:00.112 --> 00:07:02.867 I should be able to love whoever I want to love. 00:07:02.867 --> 00:07:05.788 Your absolute truth is in my face. 00:07:05.788 --> 00:07:13.012 Absolute truth is going to become very unpopular. 00:07:13.012 --> 00:07:18.252 It already is, but it's going to get more and more unpopular as we walk down this path. 00:07:18.252 --> 00:07:22.511 The point Peter is simply making is you're going to experience trials and persecution. 00:07:22.511 --> 00:07:24.326 Don't get surprised by it. 00:07:24.326 --> 00:07:25.262 It's going to happen. 00:07:25.262 --> 00:07:29.550 By the way, as a humorous side note, I get a kick out of this. 00:07:29.550 --> 00:07:30.973 The Princess Bride, right. 00:07:30.973 --> 00:07:32.322 I love the Princess Bride movie. 00:07:32.322 --> 00:07:39.607 If you haven't watched the Princess Bride movie, leave the church now and go watch it Now, wait for the sermon to finish. 00:07:41.271 --> 00:07:45.569 In there there's this scene where the dread pirate Robert who's really Wesley right. 00:07:45.569 --> 00:07:52.889 He's on this hillside with Princess Buttercup Love that name and she says you mock my pain. 00:07:52.889 --> 00:07:56.149 And he looks at her and he says life is pain. 00:07:56.149 --> 00:08:06.291 Your highness, anyone who says differently is selling something you know, unfortunately from pulpits in this country. 00:08:06.291 --> 00:08:15.627 They're selling a different gospel and it's not about the reality of being a Christian and persecution and trials and suffering. 00:08:15.627 --> 00:08:18.906 It's a different gospel and it's a false gospel. 00:08:18.906 --> 00:08:21.728 But it goes down as smooth as butter. 00:08:23.862 --> 00:08:27.483 Life is pain Verse 13,. 00:08:27.483 --> 00:08:33.811 But rejoice, insofar as you share Christ's suffering, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. 00:08:33.811 --> 00:08:42.910 The reward for our faithful suffering will be well, there's rewards right now, but it will be when Christ comes back. 00:08:42.910 --> 00:08:46.248 Don't you ever think about that? 00:08:46.248 --> 00:08:51.350 Sometimes about what will it be like when you are no longer the minority? 00:08:51.350 --> 00:08:54.519 Won't that be amazing? 00:08:54.658 --> 00:08:56.864 I really appreciated Rodney's word this morning. 00:08:56.864 --> 00:09:00.232 You know the word that came to me when he said that. 00:09:00.232 --> 00:09:05.068 When he said, what do you think of if the Holy Spirit was pulled away from you? 00:09:05.068 --> 00:09:08.822 The word that hit me was alone. 00:09:08.822 --> 00:09:20.585 I don't want to wake up without him in me and knowing that my life is guided by God himself through the Holy Spirit. 00:09:20.585 --> 00:09:22.649 How alone that would be. 00:09:22.649 --> 00:09:24.032 It would be like a void. 00:09:24.032 --> 00:09:25.333 It would be like space. 00:09:25.333 --> 00:09:28.982 Be like space. 00:09:28.982 --> 00:09:33.192 When Christ returns, all of that suffering will be worth it. 00:09:34.500 --> 00:09:35.524 Neil quotes some. 00:09:35.524 --> 00:09:40.945 I can't remember who you're quoting, but he says when we are face to face with Jesus for three seconds. 00:09:40.945 --> 00:09:55.927 It'll be worth all the suffering that we've ever gone through Verse 15 and 16, but let no one of you suffer as a murderer or a thief, or as an evildoer or as a meddler. 00:09:55.927 --> 00:09:57.312 This is interesting. 00:09:57.312 --> 00:09:57.812 Why does he say that? 00:09:57.812 --> 00:09:59.376 Well, I think it's interesting. 00:09:59.437 --> 00:10:02.691 I think what he's basically saying is listen, we can suffer for a lot of reasons. 00:10:02.691 --> 00:10:05.620 You can suffer because you believe in Christ. 00:10:05.620 --> 00:10:15.407 You can suffer because of doing right and people you know basically saying, hey, you're doing what's right, but that's not what we want to do. 00:10:15.407 --> 00:10:17.360 You know culture, all that stuff. 00:10:17.360 --> 00:10:26.333 But he's saying listen, if you suffer for doing evil, things that even the world thinks are evil, that's not really suffering for Christ. 00:10:26.333 --> 00:10:42.168 Right, if you drive your car 100 miles an hour down the road and you run into somebody and you kill them, you might be a Christian, but that suffering is not that you're about to go through, which would be jail time, manslaughter, all that stuff. 00:10:42.168 --> 00:10:45.229 The suffering you're about to go through you brought on yourself. 00:10:45.229 --> 00:10:48.586 I just find it interesting that he goes from. 00:10:48.586 --> 00:10:50.451 He goes, let's see. 00:10:50.451 --> 00:10:54.307 He talks about murderers and then he talks about meddlers. 00:10:54.307 --> 00:11:00.005 Yeah, if you suffer for being a meddler. 00:11:00.005 --> 00:11:01.530 That's a problem too. 00:11:01.530 --> 00:11:04.107 You're bringing that on yourself. 00:11:04.107 --> 00:11:11.267 But verse 60, he says yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. 00:11:11.267 --> 00:11:17.865 In the name of God, be glorified and truly, when we suffer for him, we can glorify his name and thank him for it. 00:11:17.865 --> 00:11:22.023 Many martyrs have praised God's name as they went to their death. 00:11:23.687 --> 00:11:25.591 Now we get to the scriptures on judgment. 00:11:25.591 --> 00:11:29.186 Okay, let's talk about that. 00:11:29.186 --> 00:11:30.846 Let's go to verse 17. 00:11:30.846 --> 00:11:35.791 For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God. 00:11:35.791 --> 00:11:41.611 And if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? 00:11:41.611 --> 00:11:50.226 Now, the word judgment can trigger a lot of things in our minds, especially when we think about the judgment of God. 00:11:50.226 --> 00:11:56.609 When we read about judgment, we can automatically have triggers in our mind, and most of us we think about. 00:11:56.609 --> 00:12:03.466 When we think God judgment, we think great white throne judgment, we think about people that didn't follow, cast into the lake of fire. 00:12:03.466 --> 00:12:04.629 We think of that judgment. 00:12:06.510 --> 00:12:09.495 But is that really what he's referring to here? 00:12:09.495 --> 00:12:17.879 Is he referring to a judgment unto salvation, or is he referring to something else? 00:12:17.879 --> 00:12:19.604 Well, let me tell you what he's not referring to. 00:12:19.604 --> 00:12:22.471 You know how you've heard that says scripture informs scripture, right. 00:12:22.471 --> 00:12:26.208 We interpret scripture through other scripture, right, and that's the problem. 00:12:26.208 --> 00:12:35.163 By the way, a lot of false teachers will take a scripture like this, they'll cut it out, they'll paste it up there and then they'll preach on it and it won't be informed by anything else. 00:12:35.163 --> 00:12:39.133 So we're going to look at this as informed by other scriptures. 00:12:39.133 --> 00:12:41.583 So I'll tell you what he's not referring to. 00:12:41.583 --> 00:12:47.313 He cannot be referring to the fact that our salvation is being judged by God. 00:12:47.313 --> 00:12:55.053 When I say salvation, your salvation, my salvation is assured in Christ Jesus, right? 00:12:55.053 --> 00:12:57.727 Well, let's look at that. 00:12:57.727 --> 00:13:02.605 There's three scriptures I decided to pull up, but you can find lots of them on this one. 00:13:02.605 --> 00:13:05.110 I decided to pull up, but you can find lots of them on this one 2 Corinthians 5.21,. 00:13:05.191 --> 00:13:18.249 For our sake, he, god, made him Jesus to be sin, who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the hold on the righteousness of God. 00:13:18.249 --> 00:13:22.695 Can sin stand before God? 00:13:22.695 --> 00:13:24.222 Can unrighteous stand before God? 00:13:24.222 --> 00:13:24.985 No, we become. 00:13:24.985 --> 00:13:30.106 We become the righteousness of God, the righteousness that was Jesus. 00:13:30.106 --> 00:13:36.826 Living a perfect life, going to the cross is a perfect, sinless sacrifice. 00:13:36.826 --> 00:13:40.071 That righteousness is actually placed on us. 00:13:40.071 --> 00:13:43.115 That's powerful. 00:13:43.115 --> 00:13:45.145 That's powerful. 00:13:45.647 --> 00:13:53.700 Romans 5, verse 1 says therefore, since we have been justified by faith has already happened. 00:13:53.700 --> 00:13:59.072 We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 00:13:59.072 --> 00:14:05.908 In that same chapter he talks about Christ died for us even when we were still his enemies. 00:14:05.908 --> 00:14:18.927 I don't care when you came to Christ, there was a time in your life where you were the enemy of Christ, you were his enemies, and yet he loved you so much that he died for you. 00:14:18.927 --> 00:14:24.240 And when you look at that, it says we have been justified, brethren. 00:14:24.240 --> 00:14:32.529 The word justified is no small word, it's a powerful word and that justification we live under every day. 00:14:32.529 --> 00:14:40.986 Every day I wake up, I thank God for what he's done for me. 00:14:40.986 --> 00:14:42.991 It's hope, man. 00:14:42.991 --> 00:14:43.793 It was great. 00:14:43.793 --> 00:14:48.042 I was just listening to these words and I was just like, oh, this is so good Hope. 00:14:48.042 --> 00:14:51.407 Hope Brooke was talking about, I think, was hope. 00:14:51.407 --> 00:14:58.046 We have this great power, wonderful hope because of what Christ did for us. 00:14:58.046 --> 00:15:00.972 It's amazing, it's powerful. 00:15:02.179 --> 00:15:05.562 Romans 8, verse 1, the last verse I'll use for this part, but again, there's many more. 00:15:05.562 --> 00:15:15.019 And this is a really important one, because when you think of judgment of those unbelievers, you think of the condemnation, right, but what does it say in Romans 8 1? 00:15:15.019 --> 00:15:15.019 . 00:15:15.019 --> 00:15:19.942 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 00:15:19.942 --> 00:15:20.844 Everybody say. 00:15:20.844 --> 00:15:33.852 Everybody say no condemnation, no condemnation, for the law of the spirit of life has set you free, in Christ Jesus, from the law of sin and death. 00:15:33.852 --> 00:15:38.956 You and I no longer are under that dark cloud of condemnation. 00:15:38.956 --> 00:15:45.388 We were at some time, some of you more recently than others, it doesn't matter. 00:15:45.388 --> 00:15:47.461 We were all under that cloud of condemnation. 00:15:47.461 --> 00:15:48.705 We are no longer. 00:15:48.705 --> 00:15:51.029 That's powerful. 00:15:51.631 --> 00:15:56.947 So if we've established that the type of judgment that Peter remember who's Peter talking to? 00:15:56.947 --> 00:15:58.414 He's talking to the church, right? 00:15:58.414 --> 00:16:08.467 If we've established that the condemnation that Peter's talking about cannot be the condemnation of our salvation, then what is this judgment that he's talking about? 00:16:08.467 --> 00:16:09.149 What is it? 00:16:09.149 --> 00:16:13.048 Context, context, context. 00:16:13.048 --> 00:16:16.279 We all know we have to look at the context. 00:16:16.279 --> 00:16:25.032 So let's get some context about what Peter's talking about, because it really sounds like he switched gears in the middle of this passage, but he really didn't. 00:16:25.032 --> 00:16:28.129 He's expounding on what he's already talked about. 00:16:28.129 --> 00:16:29.322 Now. 00:16:29.462 --> 00:16:31.312 There are some themes in the book of 1 Peter. 00:16:31.312 --> 00:16:33.038 We need to look at it. 00:16:33.038 --> 00:16:35.225 Just give us some insight into what Peter's talking about. 00:16:35.225 --> 00:16:38.705 And the first theme I want to point out is the believer's struggle against sin. 00:16:38.705 --> 00:16:42.004 Has anybody struggled against sin in the last hour? 00:16:42.004 --> 00:16:44.118 Put your hands up. 00:16:44.118 --> 00:16:44.921 Come on, just help me out. 00:16:44.921 --> 00:16:45.482 Put your hands up. 00:16:45.482 --> 00:16:46.615 Everybody. 00:16:46.615 --> 00:16:46.836 Look. 00:16:46.836 --> 00:16:48.061 Whoever didn't have their hands up. 00:16:48.061 --> 00:16:49.566 Make sure they buy you a donut. 00:16:49.566 --> 00:16:52.681 By the way, we had squash donuts today. 00:16:52.681 --> 00:16:53.503 Did you see that I like them? 00:16:53.503 --> 00:17:05.630 I've never had squash donuts, but they were good. 00:17:05.630 --> 00:17:12.217 We all struggle against sin. 00:17:12.217 --> 00:17:13.482 We all struggle against sin and we are new creations. 00:17:13.482 --> 00:17:14.005 We know that. 00:17:14.005 --> 00:17:14.769 We know that we're new creations. 00:17:14.769 --> 00:17:15.432 We know that we've been reborn. 00:17:15.432 --> 00:17:16.115 We understand that. 00:17:16.115 --> 00:17:17.659 But we still struggle against sin. 00:17:18.259 --> 00:17:22.298 And if we go back in 1 Peter and go to chapter 2, this is what we read in verse 1. 00:17:22.298 --> 00:17:27.945 He's telling them so put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. 00:17:27.945 --> 00:17:30.799 Oh, you're talking to Christians. 00:17:30.799 --> 00:17:32.065 Why are you talking about this stuff? 00:17:32.065 --> 00:17:33.498 Because they struggled with it. 00:17:33.498 --> 00:17:39.781 Anybody here felt any malice, maybe some deceit in your heart this week. 00:17:39.781 --> 00:17:51.584 Verse 11 of chapter two says Beloved, I urge you, as sojourners and exiles, to abstain from the passions of the flesh which wage war against your soul. 00:17:51.584 --> 00:17:54.442 They wage war against your soul. 00:17:54.442 --> 00:17:59.960 He's constantly encouraging them to put away sin from their lives, all through the epistle of first Peter. 00:17:59.960 --> 00:18:02.586 Okay, so that's a theme, that's one theme. 00:18:02.586 --> 00:18:03.395 Keep that in mind. 00:18:03.957 --> 00:18:18.563 The second thing we've already begun to talk about is this theme of understanding the judgment and the reality that Christians are going to suffer trials, and we've already talked about some of that already, but it continues to go forward. 00:18:18.563 --> 00:18:35.665 Because if you read in verse 12, there's something that's really really important that we understand and I read through it kind of quick before because I didn't want to show it to you too quick but there's a key phrase in verse 12 that we sometimes forget. 00:18:35.665 --> 00:18:46.125 Verse 12 says Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you. 00:18:46.125 --> 00:18:57.541 So let me get this right Trials and persecutions have a purpose. 00:18:57.541 --> 00:19:04.079 Yeah, they do, and he says that purpose is to test us. 00:19:04.079 --> 00:19:13.378 To test us, and that means for believers, the trials and persecutions that we go through have a purpose. 00:19:13.378 --> 00:19:16.262 Praise God. 00:19:16.262 --> 00:19:23.980 You realize your neighbor down the street from you that doesn't know Jesus, that gets cancer. 00:19:23.980 --> 00:19:31.179 He's going through the same trial that somebody in the church that you know is a sold out believer that gets cancer. 00:19:31.179 --> 00:19:31.900 Same trial. 00:19:31.900 --> 00:19:34.104 One has no purpose. 00:19:34.104 --> 00:19:37.150 One has every bit of purpose. 00:19:37.150 --> 00:19:44.347 So we know from what he said that there's a purpose for these trials. 00:19:46.017 --> 00:19:51.665 I think everybody would agree to that, and Peter's talked about this concept of testing already in 1 Peter. 00:19:51.665 --> 00:20:02.186 In fact, if you go back to chapter 1, verses 6 through 7, he says this In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you've been grieved by various trials. 00:20:02.186 --> 00:20:04.022 Okay, there's the theme of trials again, right. 00:20:04.022 --> 00:20:20.559 Then he says verse 7, key interpretation here so that the tested genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 00:20:20.559 --> 00:20:23.968 Praise God. 00:20:23.968 --> 00:20:34.276 The reality is, god allows trials and persecution to come to us in our lives to test us for the purpose of refining and building our faith and character. 00:20:34.276 --> 00:20:39.637 God allows these things to happen for the purpose of refining us. 00:20:39.637 --> 00:20:40.440 I love how he says. 00:20:40.440 --> 00:20:50.670 If you read that he says more precious than gold that perishes though it's tested by fire, our faith is more precious than gold. 00:20:50.670 --> 00:20:53.718 We're being refined every day. 00:20:55.080 --> 00:20:55.981 And this process? 00:20:55.981 --> 00:20:58.708 Anybody venture to think what this process is called? 00:20:58.708 --> 00:21:03.743 We call it all the time Sanctification, sanctification. 00:21:03.743 --> 00:21:06.189 Wayne Grudem says this about sanctification. 00:21:06.189 --> 00:21:16.022 He says sanctification is a progressive work of God and man that makes us more and more free from sin and like Christ in our actual lives. 00:21:16.022 --> 00:21:27.048 Good definition, because there's a partnership that's going on here between God and man and it's that progressive work of God. 00:21:27.048 --> 00:21:32.506 So we've established that we struggle against sin. 00:21:32.506 --> 00:21:37.936 We established that there's a purpose for testing or, excuse me, there's a purpose for trials and suffering. 00:21:37.936 --> 00:21:43.067 It's to test us and it's to test us so that we might be more like Christ. 00:21:43.895 --> 00:21:51.987 So with that context, I want to read verse 17 of chapter 4 again, for it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God. 00:21:51.987 --> 00:21:59.948 And if it appears, if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the commandments of God? 00:21:59.948 --> 00:22:04.646 So we know, first, that God's the one that does the judging. 00:22:04.646 --> 00:22:10.065 Secondly, we know this judgment cannot be a judgment about salvation. 00:22:10.065 --> 00:22:20.105 Therefore, it stands to reason that this judgment has to do with temporal judgment by God on his people, here and now, for the purposes of sanctification. 00:22:20.105 --> 00:22:25.621 You see the relationship between what he just talked about, judgment, and the trials that we're going through. 00:22:25.621 --> 00:22:29.842 That's the testing, this judgment of God. 00:22:29.842 --> 00:22:39.097 He's working with us every day and you know you might say are you saying God judges me every day, yeah, yeah, not in the way again that you might say, well, are you saying God judges me every day? 00:22:39.097 --> 00:22:41.319 Yeah, not in the way again that you might think about judgment. 00:22:41.319 --> 00:22:45.045 But he's working with us, he's shaping us, he's guiding us. 00:22:45.625 --> 00:22:50.911 Have you ever been on a sports team and maybe you're in volleyball and you're serving and you have a coach. 00:22:50.911 --> 00:22:54.078 What's the coach doing? 00:22:54.078 --> 00:22:54.881 As they're watching you serve? 00:22:54.881 --> 00:22:56.065 Are you serving the right way? 00:22:56.065 --> 00:22:58.395 Do you have the right form? 00:22:58.395 --> 00:22:59.258 Are you following through All that stuff? 00:22:59.258 --> 00:23:01.102 They're judging you as you walk through. 00:23:01.502 --> 00:23:06.439 We have a God that walks through life with us. 00:23:06.439 --> 00:23:16.945 He's with us, he's informing us, he's helping us and there are times, in his sovereign will, that he will discipline us. 00:23:16.945 --> 00:23:25.140 Even I said the word, I said discipline, but that's what he does In his perfect and sovereign will. 00:23:25.140 --> 00:23:27.567 God allows trials to come on us. 00:23:27.567 --> 00:23:35.826 He judges our actions and lives and sometimes he disciplines us for the purposes of refining us into the image of Jesus Christ. 00:23:35.826 --> 00:23:39.138 You know trials and persecutions. 00:23:39.138 --> 00:23:47.483 We experience their tests for us, and sometimes they're just the discipline of the Lord as part of the sanctification process. 00:23:47.483 --> 00:24:05.926 Note that I said sometimes I have been of a different camp, and that camp was anything bad that happened to me was God spanking my butt. 00:24:05.926 --> 00:24:18.868 Anything bad was like oh, this is oh, god's correcting me, he's correcting me and you know, what happens after a while is my view of God is just a big, mean corrective God. 00:24:18.868 --> 00:24:27.021 There are other people, by the way, that are more on the other side, where they think everything they go through is an attack of the enemy. 00:24:27.021 --> 00:24:29.407 Is that true? 00:24:29.407 --> 00:24:31.912 No, it's not. 00:24:31.912 --> 00:24:32.757 It's not. 00:24:32.757 --> 00:24:37.780 Everything we go through is an attack of the enemy Because of God's discipline in me. 00:24:37.780 --> 00:24:39.425 There's a purpose for that. 00:24:41.635 --> 00:24:47.188 The Apostle Paul talks about this process in the context of being judged by the Lord in 1 Corinthians 11. 00:24:47.188 --> 00:24:50.085 And this is really a powerful, powerful verse. 00:24:50.085 --> 00:24:55.186 In the context of 1 Corinthians 11, he's talking about the abuse of the Passover. 00:24:55.186 --> 00:24:56.259 We talk about this a lot. 00:24:56.259 --> 00:25:01.036 We use this scripture to talk about how to correctly take, you know, the Passover service together. 00:25:01.036 --> 00:25:08.441 But right in the middle of this correction where he says you come and you know you eat and all this stuff, he says this in verse 32,. 00:25:08.441 --> 00:25:16.925 But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world. 00:25:16.925 --> 00:25:20.253 We are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world. 00:25:20.253 --> 00:25:31.615 He used the phrase judged by the Lord, and he equates it and joins it with discipline Okay, discipline. 00:25:31.615 --> 00:25:33.344 He draws a firm line, though, between that judgment and the judgment that will come on. 00:25:33.344 --> 00:25:35.974 Unbelievers that of course is the condemnation of eternal punishment. 00:25:35.974 --> 00:25:39.534 Unbelievers that of course is the condemnation of eternal punishment. 00:25:39.534 --> 00:25:40.878 So God disciplines us. 00:25:40.878 --> 00:25:43.244 Well, the Bible talks about what that process looks like. 00:25:45.694 --> 00:25:47.117 Let's look at Hebrews, chapter 12. 00:25:47.117 --> 00:25:49.501 This is a long section, but I want to read the whole thing. 00:25:49.501 --> 00:25:51.285 Trying to cut this down didn't make sense. 00:25:51.285 --> 00:25:52.989 We're going to just read about eight, nine verses. 00:25:52.989 --> 00:26:04.480 In verse three of Hebrews 12, it says this considered him, excuse me, consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against him, so that you may not grow weary and faint hearted. 00:26:04.480 --> 00:26:09.105 Listen, if Christ went through it, he's going to give us the strength to go through it. 00:26:09.105 --> 00:26:10.231 Right, this is perspective. 00:26:10.231 --> 00:26:12.519 That's a very perspective gaining verse. 00:26:12.961 --> 00:26:18.895 In verse four in your struggle against sin, have you not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood? 00:26:18.895 --> 00:26:23.846 Excuse me, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. 00:26:23.846 --> 00:26:27.801 And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? 00:26:27.801 --> 00:26:33.520 And then he quotes from Proverbs 13, which back then wasn't Proverbs 13, but it was one of the scroll it. 00:26:33.520 --> 00:26:50.182 My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him, for the Lord disciplines the one who, he what, yeah, and then he expounds, and it's beautiful. 00:26:50.182 --> 00:26:54.203 It is for discipline that you have to endure. 00:26:54.203 --> 00:26:59.386 God is treating you as sons, for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 00:26:59.386 --> 00:27:06.564 If you are left without discipline in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not his sons. 00:27:07.234 --> 00:27:11.747 Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. 00:27:11.747 --> 00:27:19.154 Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live For? 00:27:19.154 --> 00:27:23.681 They disciplined us for a short time, as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us now. 00:27:23.681 --> 00:27:28.924 Listen to this for our good, that we may share in his powerful word. 00:27:28.924 --> 00:27:36.586 Folks, holiness, the only way I know to become more holy is to become more like Jesus Christ. 00:27:36.586 --> 00:27:45.866 For the moment, all discipline me seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. 00:27:45.866 --> 00:27:58.785 The judgment of God on the household of faith is his loving discipline, that that, combined with the trials we endure and our struggle against flesh yields this peaceful fruit of righteousness. 00:28:01.016 --> 00:28:04.066 Now, I'm not going to put a show of hands up here. 00:28:04.066 --> 00:28:12.808 How many of you, though, have been disciplined by your parents in probably the wrong way? 00:28:12.808 --> 00:28:18.402 Yeah, we've all been through that, right, because we have imperfect parents. 00:28:18.402 --> 00:28:31.045 Right, I remember when I was like five, I was disciplined by my dad, and it was bad, and it wasn't even something I knew I did. 00:28:31.045 --> 00:28:34.942 I was five and I still remember it today. 00:28:34.942 --> 00:28:45.522 Right, but I have, and you have, a perfect God, and if he didn't love me, he wouldn't discipline me. 00:28:45.522 --> 00:28:48.914 I want the discipline of God. 00:28:48.914 --> 00:29:03.355 I'm not saying I enjoy it when I'm getting it, but if I have my eternal purpose in mind and what God's eternal purposes is in my life, then I will rejoice in it, because that's what we were told to do. 00:29:03.355 --> 00:29:04.509 We're to rejoice in it. 00:29:08.246 --> 00:29:12.196 The late Jerry Bridges from the Navigators said this about God's discipline of his children. 00:29:12.196 --> 00:29:15.776 He said discipline may be either corrective or remedial. 00:29:15.776 --> 00:29:23.164 It may be sent for the purpose of correcting some sinful attitude or action or to remedy some lack in our character. 00:29:23.164 --> 00:29:30.214 In either case, it is administered by our Heavenly Father in love, not in wrath. 00:29:30.214 --> 00:29:41.828 Jesus has already borne the wrath of God in our place, so we're not under the wrath of God. 00:29:41.828 --> 00:29:43.955 So if your mind, if you hear the word discipline and you think anger and wrath, you got to break that off. 00:29:43.955 --> 00:29:48.509 When you're looking at Jesus and looking at God, you need to break that off because that doesn't apply to you. 00:29:48.509 --> 00:29:54.660 When he disciplines you, he disciplines you with love that you can't even comprehend, that I can't even comprehend. 00:29:54.660 --> 00:29:58.946 He goes on. 00:29:58.946 --> 00:30:01.292 Jesus has already borne the wrath of God in our place. 00:30:01.292 --> 00:30:10.538 So all adversities that come to us come to us because he loves us and designs to conform us to the likeness of his son. 00:30:12.465 --> 00:30:14.953 Brethren, have you ever been under the discipline of God? 00:30:14.953 --> 00:30:20.553 Maybe you didn't know you were, but you were. 00:30:20.553 --> 00:30:23.752 I remember this a long time ago. 00:30:23.752 --> 00:30:35.095 So I'm a man of words, I'm a talker and I had an uncanny ability to spin truth. 00:30:35.095 --> 00:30:57.733 I could spin truth and I would spin truth in the way that was going to make sure, because, even if it was bad news, I was going to spin it in such a way it was going to ease the person I was telling it was going to make them think better of me and they wouldn't be as mad at me. 00:30:57.733 --> 00:30:59.617 Does that make sense. 00:30:59.617 --> 00:31:00.769 I could spin it. 00:31:00.769 --> 00:31:11.250 You know, I used to work at a performing arts auditorium when I was in college and the guy who was head of our ushers, he said tact and diplomacy. 00:31:11.250 --> 00:31:15.817 He said you need to be able to tell somebody to go to hell and make them look forward to getting there. 00:31:15.817 --> 00:31:18.045 I remember that. 00:31:18.045 --> 00:31:21.229 But I learned to spin truth. 00:31:23.711 --> 00:31:55.512 And when you're spinning truth and I had a situation where I had spun that truth to somebody and the Holy Spirit got on top of me and brethren, I was miserable, I mean sick to my stomach, and I had to call this person two or three times because I would give them more truth than say no more truth. 00:31:55.512 --> 00:32:02.930 And I was literally sick to my stomach until I finally confessed everything to this person about what I had done. 00:32:02.930 --> 00:32:04.193 That involved them. 00:32:04.193 --> 00:32:07.512 It was the discipline of the Lord. 00:32:07.512 --> 00:32:10.710 And you know what? 00:32:10.710 --> 00:32:13.048 I don't spin truth anymore. 00:32:13.048 --> 00:32:23.652 I'm tempted, but I go back to that moment and I remember how miserable I was and I was convicted You're lying, Scott. 00:32:23.652 --> 00:32:28.915 You gave a little bit of the truth but you need to give it all. 00:32:28.915 --> 00:32:33.434 He was disciplining me and I'm so grateful he did. 00:32:33.434 --> 00:32:36.809 Was I happy during this time? 00:32:36.809 --> 00:32:45.375 I've never been so miserable in my life, but the freedom I felt afterwards was absolutely amazing to me. 00:32:45.375 --> 00:32:49.769 I just I will never forget the change. 00:32:50.652 --> 00:32:55.615 I want to be clear about something Not all trials are God's discipline on us, okay. 00:32:55.615 --> 00:33:00.367 At the same time, though, not all trials are the attacks of the enemy For every Christian. 00:33:00.367 --> 00:33:09.207 For a Christian, every trial we go through has a purpose, and we should get in the habit of asking God what is he trying to teach us that? 00:33:09.207 --> 00:33:10.833 Why, word, just throw it away. 00:33:10.833 --> 00:33:13.770 You're not going to understand why. 00:33:13.770 --> 00:33:17.515 Maybe you will, maybe you won't, but what is he teaching you? 00:33:17.515 --> 00:33:23.616 And it could be that you're going through just a persecution or a trial. 00:33:23.616 --> 00:33:27.996 It might not be God's discipline, but you need to talk to God about that. 00:33:27.996 --> 00:33:35.372 You need the Holy Spirit to reveal that to you, because, really, in the end, the purpose is the same, and the purpose is to become more like Christ. 00:33:35.372 --> 00:33:47.535 Right, whether it's God's discipline, whether it's just a persecution you're going through, whether it's just a trial that God's not disciplining you, regardless of all that, he's still teaching you something through it. 00:33:49.826 --> 00:33:54.386 I'm going to go back to 1 Peter 4, in the last part of verse 17. 00:33:54.386 --> 00:33:59.885 But if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? 00:33:59.885 --> 00:34:05.557 And if the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner? 00:34:05.557 --> 00:34:09.534 And it's a terrible thing to fall under the wrath of God. 00:34:09.534 --> 00:34:13.742 And it's a terrible thing to fall under the wrath of God. 00:34:13.742 --> 00:34:17.490 You know this phrase that he quotes here and it's in quotes. 00:34:17.490 --> 00:34:18.275 It's from Proverbs 11, 31. 00:34:18.295 --> 00:34:20.025 If the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner? 00:34:20.606 --> 00:34:21.791 I just want to make it clear something. 00:34:21.791 --> 00:34:22.824 You know. 00:34:22.824 --> 00:34:34.675 If your kid comes home from school and says I took that test and I barely passed, okay, so you're thinking, okay, you got a whatever passing grade was a 70. 00:34:34.675 --> 00:34:35.478 You got a 70. 00:34:35.478 --> 00:34:38.530 We think of this in gradients. 00:34:38.530 --> 00:34:44.255 But that's not what he's talking about here, because you're saved and you're saved. 00:34:44.786 --> 00:34:52.097 But he's talking about, when it comes to being scarcely saved, I believe, is this reality of the fact that you were dead in your sins. 00:34:52.097 --> 00:34:57.452 You were dead in your sins, I was dead in my sins. 00:34:57.452 --> 00:35:08.137 Being scarcely saved means that God, in his love, reached down and he woke me up. 00:35:08.137 --> 00:35:11.152 He didn't wake me up, he resurrected me from the dead. 00:35:11.152 --> 00:35:17.434 So don't think this is some kind of grade that you have to get. 00:35:17.434 --> 00:35:22.311 No, god's the one that brings us back. 00:35:22.311 --> 00:35:34.507 He's the one that resurrects us so we can have truth and we can have that salvation that is so freely offered to us, to all those that are, you know, born again believers. 00:35:34.507 --> 00:35:42.036 We just have to realize that our salvation was not on us, it was on Him, and praise God it was. 00:35:42.036 --> 00:35:46.014 I have, no, we have nothing to boast about. 00:35:46.014 --> 00:35:48.911 Paul talks about that in Ephesians 2. 00:35:48.911 --> 00:35:52.811