1 Peter 4:12-14 Surprising Suffering. ASCC 14 January West Campus. Intro: Text: Main Points: 1 Peter 4:12-14 is where we will be.

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1 1 Peter 4:12-14 Surprising Suffering ASCC 14 January 2018 West Campus Intro: 1 Peter 4:12-14 is where we will be. Today, we are going to be jumping back into 1 st Peter. This incredible letter that we have been studying together for a year. We are actually nearly done, and where we jump back in, Peter is making another transition. He has just declared a powerful doxology, wrapping up his previous thought and now he is on to a new one. It is related to what he has already been saying, but it is distinct. Let s have a look. Text: 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. 13 But rejoice insofar as you share Christ s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. 14 If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. 1 Main Points: I am not a big surprise guy. I am a predictability guy. It makes me boring, but reliable, like a Swedish sedan. I like to know what is coming ahead in my schedule on a daily, weekly, monthly and even yearly overview perspective. 1 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), 1 Pe 4:

2 The only real time that Sue and I get tense with each other is when I am driving and she is navigating. I want details for a few turns ahead. She is interested in scenery and landscape and other cars and trees and birds and stores we pass and well you get the drift. I find it stressful when something sneaks up on me like that, and life is full of things that we don t see coming. Peter s main instruction to the church in this text is do not be surprised. He is warning that there is something that is certain and therefore fairly predictable and to be expected in the life of a follower of Christ. That certain thing is 1. Following Jesus Faithfully Will Invite Persecution and Suffering 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. It may be soon, or it may take long. It may take on one form or another, but don t be surprised. Don t get discourage or alarmed. It s normal. Fiery trial is normal. Now, Peter has spoken extensively about suffering in this letter, but let s not dial out thinking that he is just a pessimistic guy. I do think that if Peter and Paul wrote their letters to churches today, they would get an invitation to one of our counseling centers. Here, he is speaking here about a different and distinct sort of suffering. He says in verse 14 that it is for the name of Christ. This was not just running into a tough economy, or getting a diagnosis that they didn t want to get. Those things were real and prevalent too and we have spoken about them at length in this teaching series. This was persecution because they followed Christ and the surrounding world didn t. 2

3 Before we think that this is not applicable to us, because we live in a country where we are unlikely to be physically persecuted for our faith, it helps to know that the great physical persecution against the church was yet to occur. There were the first signs of it to be sure but what the churches were experiencing and what Peter was writing to them about was the fact that they were becoming increasingly insulted, mocked, rejected from personal relationships, and excluded from the public square because they were followers of Jesus. That didn t undermine the significance or weight of the suffering they were experiencing. Peter calls them fiery trials. This is more than just your neighbor saying Happy Holidays to you at Christmas time. This was real, life-altering rejection, scorn and mockery. In 1857, and ancient piece of graffiti was found in Rome. It is believed to be from the end of the second century, and it is one of the most ancient pieces we have evidencing Christians worship and the cultural response. It is called Alexamenos Graffito, and it features a terrible drawing of a young man called Alex, and the inscription is Alexamenos worships his God. Here is what the ancient world thought of Christians. 3

4 For many of us, this is actually the most unbearable sort of suffering imaginable. It can be for me. I can literally in my own sinfulness more easily see myself enduring real physical danger in an unreached nation, than I can see myself faithfully enduring mockery in a western nation, or rejection from people I love when my worldview crashes into theirs. If I get my head cut off, I will still look like a hero, and will be loved and celebrated by people whose opinions of me matter to me. But to be mocked? To be rejected? To be seen as unenlightened, intolerant or unintelligent because of my views? I hate that thought. But it will happen, and it won t necessarily be a sign that we are doing it wrong, but that we are doing it right. Jesus warns us of this right? 4

5 Matthew 5:11, Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. There is this prevalent thinking today that if you follow Jesus right, then no one will ever be offended by it. Have you read the gospels? Gosh, I love our Lord. He is so gentle, and so patient, and so merciful, and so wise, and so inclusive to outsiders - AND he offends someone on pretty much every page, and consistently says that his followers will do the same thing. He told them in Matthew 10 and you will be hated by all for my name s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. Now, this is not permission to just be a jerk. And it is also not saying that every time anyone disagrees with your theology or worldview that you are suffering for the name of Christ. There were some very particular behaviors and beliefs that the early church was persecuted for and we will cover that later today. But it is a moment to reflect. Do we ever experience anything like this? The instruction to be clear is not to go seek it out, but to not be surprised, suggesting it should be a normative outworking of our faith, and yet for many of us, it isn t. Why? Could it be that many of us have so buffered our lives with comfort and acceptance as ultimate values, that we have actually eliminated our chances of experiencing this? Could it be that many of us have retreated so far into exclusively Christian enclaves that we literally have no opportunity of experiencing difference in belief? This is seriously easy to do in Suburban America. 5

6 Beloved, don t be surprised. The sky isn t falling. There is nothing new under the sun. If we do this right, we will experience this. It s okay. In fact, it s not just okay according to Peter, it is reason for rejoicing. 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. 13 But rejoice insofar as you share Christ s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. 14 If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you Following Jesus Faithfully Means We Can Rejoice in the Face of Persecution and Suffering So now Peter takes it a step further, and says, don t just grin and bear it Rejoice! And then he gives us four very clear reasons for rejoicing Your faith is being tested and refined You are sharing Christ s sufferings Your rejoicing now pre-empts your eternal rejoicing later You are blessed with the Spirit of God First, rejoice because the effect of these trials is testing and refining you. Peter makes no mistake when he uses the language of fiery trials. o It reminds us of Proverbs 27:21, which speaks of the crucible and furnace and testing of man. o It reminds us of Zechariah 13:9 which speaks of God refining his people as we would silver or gold. It reminds us of Malachi 3:1-4 which speaks of God s servant coming as a refining fire to test and prove the purity of his people. 2 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), 1 Pe 4:

7 o It reminds us of Psalm 66:10 which says, For you, Oh God, have tested us; You have tried us as silver is tried. So, there is wonderful purifying effect to the church when these sorts of trials come. It removes a bunch of the rubbish that clings to us and leaves something better and purer in its place. Friends, this happens on a personal level but also on a communal level. Throughout history, the church has thrived on the fringes, as the rejects, the outcasts, the persecuted. It withers and gets diluted when it tries to be at the center, rejecting, casting out and persecuting others. Second, rejoice because you are sharing in Christ s sufferings. This is big. There is a way in which the sufferings of Christ are unique, in that they are atoning and justifying in their effect. But, there is also a way in which the sufferings of Christ are exemplary and are things that we are called to share with him, not because his sufferings lack, but because we lack and are therefore called into his finished work as followers. That s why he told us that we need to take up a cross and follow him in order to have any part in him. That is why Paul says in Philippians 3 that the greatest goal of his life is that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. 3 3 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Php 3:

8 Friends, we have a wonderful, sympathetic High Priest who knows our weakness, but there is a powerful knowing of him that only truly comes when we experience real weakness. o A communion with him that we only experience in rejection from men. o A wisdom from him that we only truly know when we are seen as foolish by the world. o A comfort from him that we only really experience when we have an anguish like he had. o A companionship with him that we can only know when no one else will give it to us. Rejoice. Your rejection is not only making you more like Christ, it is pressing you deeper into your union with him. Thirdly, we rejoice now, knowing that it means that we will rejoice on that last day when our suffering is over. Peter links the two. He doesn t say, just barely endure now because one day we will rejoice. He implores us to make the rejoicing on that last day a continuation of our rejoicing now. Christians ought to be the most joyful of people. We know how it ends. His glory will be revealed, so rejoice. o Eg. 99 Champions League Final vs Bayern Munich. o I don t think about heaven enough. I just don t. If I did, I would be a lot more joyful. Fourth, rejoice because the Spirit of God rests upon you when you are insulted for the name of Christ. What a promise! God s powerful Spirit rests in a seemingly unique way on those who need it the most those who are being insulted and reviled. I have often prayed to God and asked for more of His Spirit to manifest in my life. 8

9 I will continue to do that, because I just want more of Him and less of me. But perhaps, what I really need instead of just awesome experience of God s presence, is situations in which the Spirit of God is really needed by me because all else has been removed. Alight, don t be surprised, but rejoice. How do we actually live this out? Do we need to leave here and pick a fight? Start a protest? Tweet at some folks we know believe differently to us? That is not at all what was going on here, and so as we close today, we need to look back at what we know in church history to understand why these early Christians were being mocked, insulted and rejected. They were living lives that were worthy of persecution and mockery by the surrounding culture. 3. Following Jesus Faithfully Means Living a Life Worthy of Persecution and Mockery Justin Martyr was a second Century (so really early) Christian apologist. As persecution began to ramp up against Christianity, he wrote to Emperor Atoninus Pius with a defense of the practices of early Christianity. It is a helpful and insightful glimpse into the way they lived, and what they were known for. He said (roughly) "We formerly rejoiced in uncleanness of life, but now love only chastity; before we used the magic arts, but now dedicate ourselves to the true and unbegotten God; before we loved money and possessions more than anything, but now we share what we have and to everyone who is in need; before we hated one another and killed one another and would not eat with those of another race, but now since the manifestation of Christ, we have come to a common life and pray for our enemies and try to win over those who hate us without just cause." They sought holiness in a context of debauchery. They worshipped one God in a context of Idolatry. They were generous and charitable in an every man for himself context. 9

10 They were diverse in every way in their gatherings and community in a culture that valued dominance of race and class. They were gentle, merciful and forgiving evangelists in a hostile world. Conclusion: Beloved, what a time to be alive. If we do this right, we will get the privilege of suffering for the cause of Christ. Because of the gracious and effective suffering of our Lord Jesus, now we don t have to be surprised and anxious and fearful when we suffer for his sake. We are being refined, and united with him and empowered by him to live a kind of life that is worthy of his name. We are Christians. Let s rejoice. 10