Sermon Date: April 10, 2011
Sermon Title: No Matter What
Sermon Text: 1 Peter 4:12-19 & Luke 14:27
Small Group Text: 1 Peter 4:12-19
Christian Jews already had a deeply ingrained experiential understanding of suffering and persecution. Conquered and exiled by the Assyrians and Babylonians, ruled by the Persians and Greeks and crushed by the Romans, Jewish tradition was steeped in the idea that the righteous experienced suffering in this age while the wicked would experience judgment and suffering at the hands of God in the age to come (Daniel 12:1-2). But Peter was writing Gentile Christians, new to the faith and for whom religious persecution was perplexing. Little did Peter know that the Church would suffer at the hands of Roman Emperors for two more centuries. Since then, Christians have suffered persecution in various forms at different times and places throughout history making Peter’s first epistle timeless in its relevance. The Church should always be prepared to endure hardship. As Christians present a counterculture to the prevailing norms of their morally corrupt surroundings, they can expect to be persecuted. This is why it would be important for Christ-followers to understand and remember Peter’s counsel on how to persevere through suffering and persecution for the sake of Christ. Don’t be surprised when it happens to you (vv. 12-13) How strange that the genuine believer would engender hatred and persecution from unbelievers. And yet, a God-honoring life can prove difficult. Christ’s demand for selfdenial, for purity and righteousness become a kind of moral conscience (moral compass) to the neighbors next door, the colleagues in the office, classmates at school, maybe even government officials. The Church’s claim that “Jesus Christ is Lord of all” can be inconvenient and even repugnant to those who love their sin. Because of Christ, we give off a sweet scent rising to God, which is recognized by those on the way of salvation—an aroma redolent with life. But those on the way to destruction treat us more like the stench from a rotting corpse. This is a terrific responsibility. Is anyone competent to take it on? 2 Cor. 2:15 (Msg)
Mistreatment at the hands of a pagan world can take many forms. Christians have been shunned, ridiculed, isolated, ignored, neglected, by-passed, slandered, interrogated, imprisoned, and martyred. But none of this, wrote Peter, should catch the Christian off-guard (literally, the Christian should not be amazed), as though something strange were happening (1 Peter 4:12). Persecution, in one form or another, is inevitable. Suffering for one’s faith is not accidental. It is purposeful. •
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Persecution is a test. One’s devotion to a conviction or belief becomes immediately apparent when he/she has to suffer for it. And most likely, only the most committed Christian would have to suffer since the less dedicated ones would probably fold and compromise with the world rather than enduring the “painful trials.” Persecution also has a purifying effect (see 1 Peter 1:7). Peter used the expression, “painful trials” (Greek “purosis,” literally a smelting process). The idea being that, through the heat of persecution, the dross of one’s life surfaces to be skimmed off by God who is purifying a people for His own possession (1 Peter 2:9-10).
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