Trusting In Your Faithful Creator

I Peter 4:12-19

Transcript

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trials when it comes upon you to test
you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as
you share Christ's suffering, that you may also rejoice and be glad when His
glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed
because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. But let none of you
suffer as murderer or thief or an evildoer or a meddler. Yet if anyone suffers
as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name.
For it is a time for judgment to begin at the household of God, and if it begins
with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?
And if the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the
sinner? Therefore let those who suffer according to God's will entrust their
souls to a faithful Creator while doing good. Would you pray with me this
morning? Father, we thank you for the hope that we find in your word, the
encouragement to persevere and press on even in the midst of trial and
suffering, knowing that you are with us, you are for us, and that you are doing
ultimate good through these trials. Encourage your people this morning, I pray.
And Lord, for those who have not obeyed the gospel, I pray that you'd open their
eyes, that the reality of judgment would draw them to the Savior who endured
your wrath so that we might have life. Encourage us, strengthen us, I pray that
our love for you would be stirred as a result of our time in your word this
morning. We pray this in Christ's name. Amen. He's helping, but he's not very
helpful. This is probably one of my all-time favorite phrases. I learned this
phrase when I was in Africa, and it really describes so much human activity.
They're helping, but they're not very helpful. And oftentimes, I see this
reality when people are either going through suffering or they're giving counsel
to those who might be suffering. They're trying to come alongside and help, but
I'm not sure that the help is actually helpful. For example, someone's going
through suffering and you hear the advice, well, everything happens for a
reason. Or you know, this too shall pass. Hey, things could be a lot worse.
Don't worry. It's gonna be okay. Things are gonna get better. They're gonna turn
out in the end. You'll see. Now for Christians, we might kind of sort of
Christianize that a little bit. We say, hey, brother, sister, God's got your
back. God only gives us what we can handle. Or maybe the all-time favorite,
Romans 8 28. Don't worry. All things work together for good. We're helping, but
that might not be super helpful. Because when we go through fiery trials, we
need a lot more than just pithy statements or Christian cliches if we're gonna
persevere in faith, in obedience, and joy. We're gonna need in those times a
living hope that gives eternal perspective about our present suffering. We're
gonna need to know and be fully convinced of who God is and what He is doing in
the midst of our suffering. We're going to need to know that our God is not only
with us, but in Christ, He is for us. But He is our faithful creator who keeps
His promises. In other words, we're going to need to know the message of 1
Peter. Peter writes this epistle to saints just like you and me who suffer. And
as we've seen through the first four chapters, these scriptures offer us not
only encouragement that is rooted in the timeless truths of the gospel, but also
exhortations that propel us to holy living. And so we come to chapter 4, 12
through 19, and this is really kind of Peter's final exhortation specifically
about suffering. And as he wraps up his instruction, here's the challenge that
he gives to us. As we suffer in the path of obedience, keep trusting our
faithful creator. Keep trusting in your faithful creator when you suffer in the
path of obedience. And we see this challenge being developed first through
Peter's commands in verses 12 through 13, then in his clarifying comments in 14
through 18, and then kind of his final climactical charge in verse 19. So let's
dive in verses 12 through 13, and let's see the command that Peter gives to
God's people as we suffer. Verse 12 through 13, the scripture reads, 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. In this section, we see both a negative and a positive command.
Negatively, he says, don't be surprised when trials come as if something strange
were taking place. Now, earlier in the chapter, you might remember that Peter
states that oftentimes our unbelieving family members and friends are often
surprised when we don't do what they do, when we don't embrace society's values
or walk in society's ways. And so when unbelievers oftentimes look at the lives
of Christians, they're surprised. It doesn't make sense. They're bewildered.
They're confused. And sometimes they're even offended. Now Peter kind of turns
the table. He says, when Christians live holy lives, unbelievers will be
surprised. But also now Christians, as you suffer, even as you are living a holy
life, you should not be surprised. Now think about our typical response when we
go through suffering. Typically, as we're trying to live faithful, obedient
lives, when we suffer, especially in the path of obedience, aren't we oftentimes
kind of thrown off by that? We feel blindsided, sometimes even shaken. We can't
believe that this would be happening to us. I mean, after all, we're trying to
obey Christ and we're suffering. We're going through trials. Think about how
often in your life you've asked the question, why me? Lord, why are you allowing
this to happen? Lord, what are you doing? Trials often surprise us. But Peter
says this ought not be the case. Trials are not something that should be
considered strange. In fact, as we'll see later on, trials are essential in the
Christian life. But if that's true, then why are we surprised? Why are we
shaken? Why is this our typical response? I think there's many different reasons
why that might be the case. Oftentimes we have unrealistic views about life. We
have a faulty understanding of who God is and how he works in our lives. Just
read the book of Job and you can see that in action. But from our text, can I
suggest two reasons why oftentimes we are surprised by trials? Number one, we
don't really understand the different categories or types of suffering. And
secondly, we oftentimes forget God's purpose in our suffering. So we're
surprised because we don't understand types of suffering and God's purpose for
suffering. Now, when we look at the 1 Peter, there's basically three categories
of suffering and there's two specifically in our text. Now, of course, there's
what we might call common suffering. We live in a sin-cursed world and we
suffer. It's part of life. It's not part of God's original intent or design in
creation, but it's something that has come into the world because humanity has
rebelled against God. And so the rain falls, as Proverbs says, on the just and
the unjust. We all experience hardships in life. Things break down. We get old.
All of creation groans. There's common suffering. But in our text, we find two
key types of suffering. Not just the common, but what we might call
consequential suffering. In other words, suffering as a consequence of our sin
or folly. If you look at verse 15, Peter says, do not or let none of you suffer
as a murder or thief or evildoer or meddler. Earlier on in 1 Peter, he gives the
basic same exhortation. Don't suffer because of the consequences of your own
sin. Woven into the fabric of God's creation design is this principle of sowing
and reaping. And even Christians who are forgiven, we're not immune to that
reality. We reap what we sow. There are consequences for sin. There's
consequences for folly. Now, for many Christians, sincere Christians, it almost
seems as if this is the only category in their mind for suffering. So for
example, they suffer and immediately, they assume they are suffering because of
something they have done. And so they try to find a correlation between their
suffering and maybe something that has happened. Some sin that they've
committed, and they're just kind of racking their minds, trying to figure out
what has led to this trial. Now, on the other hand, there are some Christians
who almost never see the correlation between sin and suffering. And so they're
almost surprised when they actually reap what they've sown. The reality is
suffering is oftentimes a consequence of sin. It's not the only type of
suffering, but it is a kind of suffering. And when this suffering happens, it's
an opportunity for us to repent, to submit to God's purifying judgment, and
ultimately to cast ourselves afresh on the mercy of God. So we have common
suffering, consequential suffering, but what's really dominant here in this
passage is what we might call Christian suffering. This is suffering that takes
place in the pathway of obedience. And in 1 Peter, we see it's sort of a broad
category. Oftentimes we think of Christian suffering in terms of persecution, or
maybe even things like martyrdom. But as we've seen through 1 Peter, Peter also
talks about Christian suffering in terms of mocking or shame or loss that is
associated with being a Christian, social ostracism, even just trials that God
sends in accordance with his will to test us and purify us. So there's common
suffering, consequential suffering. There's also Christian suffering. And when
we suffer in the pathway of obedience, here's the command, don't be surprised,
but rather, verse 13, rejoice. Rejoice in so far as you share Christ's
sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. So
negatively, don't be surprised, don't be shocked, don't be taken back, don't be
offended, rather rejoice. Be glad. He's referencing, of course, Jesus' command
in the Sermon on the Mount. He's not saying, well, just kind of grin and bear
with it, or just have that kind of is what it is mentality, but rather rejoice.
When you are suffering in the path of obedience, you can rejoice. Now you ask
the question, well, why? How in the world can I rejoice if I'm suffering? Well,
we don't rejoice because our circumstances are bad, but rather because of what
God is doing in and through those sufferings. He's saying here, rejoice, why?
Because you share Christ's sufferings so that you can ultimately share in his
glory. Think about this. He's shifting our focus away from our present suffering
and the circumstances around that suffering to God's big plan, to God's eternal
redemptive purposes for your life and for my life. Rejoice because as you share
in the sufferings that Christ suffered, you're also gonna share in the glory
that is to come. That's our hope. That's our joy. It's not what we're going
through right now. It's what we are going to experience for all eternity. That
my friends is good news. This exhortation reminds us earlier of what Peter said
in chapter one, when he says, listen, you rejoice though now for a little while,
if necessary, you've been grieved by various trials so that the tested
genuineness of your faith more precious than gold that perishes, though it be
tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and honor and glory at the
revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though
you do not now see him, you believe in him. You're trusting in him. And you
rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the
outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. Friends, you need to
understand this. I need to understand this when we suffer. Trials are not
pointless. There is no pointless suffering in the Christian life. You might feel
that way, but you can be assured that God sends trials. God uses suffering, this
fiery trial, if you will, to refine us, to purify us, to mold us, and transform
us into the image of Christ as he prepares us that we might share with Christ in
future glory. Now, we need to understand this. It's not in spite of our
suffering, but it's actually through trials in suffering that God does his work
in the lives of his people. It's through trials he's making us more like Christ.
It's through trials. We experience more of Christ. Haven't you seen that to be
true in your own life? As you suffer, you draw near to Christ and you experience
his grace, his help. God's purifying you. He's molding you. He's changing you.
He's making Christ all the more precious to you. This is why trials, this is why
tests, this is why suffering is not only necessary, but it's actually a reason
for joy. We can rejoice because of who God is and what he's doing through our
suffering to make Christ precious to us, to prepare us for future glory. And so
by faith, we embrace God's purpose. By faith, we keep trusting day by day,
moment by moment, our faithful creator as we suffer in the path of obedience. We
praise the Lord for many godly men and women through the ages who have modeled
this kind of joy-filled response to suffering. We could look at many different
examples, but when I think back to individuals that I have seen model this so
well, I praise the Lord for my dad. My dad was a real model of this. My dad went
through many sufferings. There were things that he desired to do that he was
simply unable to do. It seemed like with my dad, there were continual closed
doors as he sought to pursue certain things. My father went through a lot of
suffering, physical suffering, suffering in the path of obedience as he was
seeking to be a witness and a light in a dark work environment. And toward the
end of my dad's life, it was truths like Romans 8, 18, 2 Corinthians 4, 17 that
he continued to come back to, that the sufferings of this present life cannot
compare to the glory that awaits us. Though our outer self wastes away, our
inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is
preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison. As we look
not to the things that are seen, but to the things that are unseen. For the
things that are seen, for the things that are seen, for the things that are
seen, for the things that are seen, for the things that are seen, for the things
that are seen, for the things that are seen, for the things that are seen, For
the things that are seen we human beings withWhat evidence we are going to able
We shouldn't suffer because of that. But really what he's trying to emphasize is
this last point on the list, meddling. Because in a sense, we're easily
recognize some things and suffering the consequences, but we might miss out on
the significance of something like this. Meddling simply means inserting
ourselves into situations where we're not wanted. Now, when I think about this
command, I can't help but go back to Peter's instruction to the believing wife
who's married to the unbelieving husband. And what was the advice that Peter
gave to that wife? Silently keep doing good so that your life is a demonstration
of the beauty of the gospel. Don't nag, don't beat them up with your gospel, you
know, your gospel truth, but rather live in such a way where the gospel is put
on display so that by looking and seeing and observing your manner of life, your
husband would be drawn to the Savior. When Peter talks about this meddling, it's
a reminder that we need wisdom to know when and how to engage unbelievers with
the good news of the gospel. Because there are times in our eagerness, we jump
in and insert ourselves into situations where maybe we're not wanted, or it
would have been far better to patiently wait to pray, to live out the beauty of
the gospel, and ask the Lord for those opportunities to proclaim the good news
of the gospel so that folks might be drawn to the Savior. So he's saying, look,
if you're insulted because of your affiliation with Christ, you're blessed. If
you suffer because of your own sin or your folly, you should feel shame. Yet,
verse 16, it goes back again, yet if you do suffer as a Christian, do not feel
shame, do not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. You're suffering
as a Christian, walking in wisdom, doing what is right, following Christ. We
don't need to feel shame, but rather we glorify God for the honor and for the
privilege of suffering because of Jesus. Because we know that what is God doing?
He's using that suffering to make us more like Christ, to make us more dependent
upon Christ. I can't help but think of Peter's example of this in Acts chapter
five, as the gospel was going forward and the Jewish leaders were then seeking
to arrest and to reprove the disciples for proclaiming the name of Christ. What
was Peter's response? He didn't feel shame, but rather it says in Acts 5 41 that
when he left the presence of the council, they rejoiced, that they were counted
worthy to suffer dishonor for the name. And so if we're suffering as a
Christian, that's a blessing. It's an honor, it's a privilege that we should see
and embrace knowing that the Father is being glorified as we submit to him in
faith. And then finally in verses 17 through 18, he gives us a reason for a
right response that might surprise us. And that is judgment. For it is time for
judgment to begin at the household of God. And if it begins with us, what will
be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel? And if the righteous is
scarcely saved or saved with great difficulty, what will become of the ungodly
and the sinner? Now for the believer, we know that there is no condemnation.
Jesus bore the wrath of God against our sin, past, present and future. When the
Father sees us, he sees us as righteous in Christ and he relates to us not on
the basis of wrath, but upon the basis of his grace. And these are truths that
we see and celebrate throughout the scriptures. But that doesn't mean that God
does not bring judgment. Yes, judgment can be punitive, but in this context,
it's purifying and it begins in the household of God. God judges in order to
winnow out and purify his people. We see in the Old Testament that the prophets
frequently mention or show us this pattern, judgment first coming to the people
of God before it goes to the nations who do not know God. We see this in
Ezekiel, Zechariah, Malachi, really all throughout the Old Testament prophets.
And what is the purpose of this judgment? To prepare God's people for Christ's
coming as he ultimately brings final judgment upon his enemies and establishes
his kingdom. And so judgment begins with us. Now we're safe in Christ. We're
secure in Christ. That judgment brings purification, preparing us for the coming
kingdom. But what about the judgment that comes to those who do not obey the
gospel? It's a sobering, scary reality. Verse 18, if the righteous is scarcely
saved or saved through great difficulty, what will become of the ungodly and the
sinner? If God sends trials, in other words, to test and purify the righteous,
what happens then when he comes to judge those who are not his people, who are
not obedient to the gospel? Now, my friend, you might be here. You're affiliated
with Christians. You essentially agree with the message of the gospel. You say,
yeah, I know I'm not perfect, and I know that Jesus died and rose again, and,
you know, yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm a Christian. But you've never really repented.
You've never placed your entire faith in the Lord Jesus. You just kind of see
Jesus as like a little bit of an add-on. You've got your life, you've got your
things, and, you know, it's good to have a little religion in your life. It's
good to have a little Jesus in your life. You affirm the gospel, you just
haven't obeyed the gospel. Friend, do not delay. Do not put off the Lord Jesus
Christ. Do not rebel against his command today to repent. And believe. What an
awful thing it would be to be in a church like this, to hear the message of
Christ week in and week out, and yet refuse the Savior, refuse his grace, refuse
his mercy. Maybe it's because of self-sufficiency, maybe it's because of pride,
maybe it's because we want to simply live our life our way, but friend, do you
see what he's saying here? Do you see the word of God today? Don't disobey this
gospel. It's not just meant to be admired, it's meant to be obeyed. You must,
Jesus said, repent and believe. There is no option, and there is no second
chance. Judgment will come. For the Christian, we are safe. And that judgment
purifies. But for those who do not know Christ, who have not obeyed this gospel,
what will the outcome be? Don't delay further. And so Peter concludes his
exhortation in verse 19. Therefore, in his own words, verse 19, therefore, in
light of what I have said, Peter says, let those who suffer according to God's
will as a Christian in the path of obedience and trust their souls to a faithful
creator while doing good. Keep trusting in your faithful creator as you suffer
in the path of obedience, suffering according to God's will, essential to his
redemptive plan and purposes in your life to make you more like Christ. And as
you suffer, entrust yourself to the faithful creator. The word entrust means to
hand over, to set before someone. The idea here is with an open hand and an open
heart, we say, Lord, I'm yours. All I have, all that I am, it belongs to you. I
trust you. I submit to you. Your will be done. Grant me the grace to press on.
That's the idea. Entrust yourself. Place your life. Place your future. Place
your dreams and hopes and desires before the Father. Say, Lord, your will be
done. I trust you. Because he is the faithful creator. Now, it's interesting
because we don't find this idea of faithful creator as a common way of referring
to God in the New Testament. In fact, I think it's the only time we find it,
faithful creator, is here in 1 Peter. There's an importance to this. He's our
creator. He made you. He knows you. He's all powerful. And he's also all wise.
He knows the best ways to accomplish the best purposes in your life. And this
creator who made you, he also made promises to you. He is faithful and he will
keep his promises even as you suffer. And these are promises that we can stand
on. These are promises that we can take hope in. These are promises that anchor
the soul when everything else wants to push us away. So friends, in the midst of
suffering, we can embrace joy, not shame, not surprise. Because we know that
God's promises and God's purposes are faithful and good and true. Take heart,
friend, and be encouraged and rejoice because of who God is and what he's doing
in and through you. So friend, don't be shaken. Don't be surprised. Don't become
embittered or jaded or angry, but rather persevere, keep trusting, even as you
obey, submitting to the wisdom and goodness and love of your faithful creator.
So here's the challenge when we suffer. Keep trusting. Who? Your faithful
creator. As you do good, knowing that his good purposes and plans are being
accomplished in and through your life. So keep trusting your faithful creator as
you suffer. And you surely will in the path of obedience. Let's pray. Father,
our circumstances come and go and change, but you are the unchanging, faithful,
great I Am. You are the creator who made us and you've made promises to us in
Christ. And Lord, I pray that as we suffer in the path of obedience that we
would not stray, that we would not be shaken or surprised, that we would not be
offended or bitter, but rather that we would fuel our lives with gospel hope.
That we would remember who you are and what you are doing in the midst of our
suffering to prepare us for future glory. May we take heart in that, knowing
that our trials are not pointless, but are purifying and purpose-filled and are
good. Because you are good. Help us, we pray. Give us grace upon grace to
believe when we wrestle with unbelief. And Lord, for those who are not yet
obedient to the gospel, I pray that they would find no rest until they seek rest
in the Lord Jesus. Yielding to Him, giving their lives to Him, trusting in Him.
We ask this in Christ's name. Amen.