Turn with me to 1 Peter 4. 1
Peter 4. 1 Peter 4, and today we're going
to look at verses 12 through 19. 1 Peter 4, verse 12. Beloved, think it not strange
concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some
strange thing happening to you, but rejoice, inasmuch as ye are
partakers of Christ's sufferings, that when his glory shall be
revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. If ye be
reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye, for the Spirit
of glory and of God resteth upon you. On their part he is evil
spoken of, but on your part he is glorified. But let none of
you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer,
or as a busybody in other men's matters. Yet if any man suffer
as a Christian, let him not be ashamed and let him glorify God
on this behalf. For the time has come that judgment
must begin at the house of God. And if it first begin at us,
what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?
And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly
and the sinner appear? Wherefore, let them that suffer
according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls
to him in well-doing as unto a faithful creator. We first have here a fiery trial
spoken of. The word fiery means ignition,
like you're lighting something on fire. This fiery trial is to try you,
or that is, it's a putting to proof is what it means. We've
heard this before. I know this world when they talk
about giving their heart to Jesus or that they gave their heart
to Jesus, they speak of all the great things they do for God.
They always seem to be on a high note. as if giving your heart
to Jesus produces some kind of euphoria or something. First
of all, God, Jesus, does not want our heart. He must
give us a new heart. Because as we have said here
many times, the heart that we have in this flesh is deceitful
and desperately wicked, and we cannot even know the evil that
it has in it. God hates this heart, and we
best not come to him with it. We must lament it. We must do
as David did and pray, create in me a clean heart, oh God. But those who have been given
this new heart, a heart that is with God because he created
it. It's that house Joe's talking
about. But those who have been given this new heart do not find
themselves in euphoria in this world. They find themselves in
fiery trials that put them to proof. We are not to think of
them as strange, it tells us. What are we to do? Rejoice. Amen. We heard this word before
as well, a calm delight. It's like Walter usually does,
it's kind of like this. We are not going to be laughing
and giddy when we go through these fiery trials. But we are
to have a calm delight and for this reason, Ye are partakers
of Christ's sufferings. What does Christ tell us in Luke
6, 22 and 23? Blessed are ye when men shall
hate you and when they shall separate you from their company
and shall reproach you and cast out your name as evil for the
son of man's sake. Rejoice ye in that day and leap
for joy for behold your reward is great in heaven for in The
like manner did their fathers unto the prophets. The word therefore rejoice in
that passage is the same word, a calm delight. I know when I speak of the God
of scripture that this world is not going to believe him.
They are not going to rejoice in him. They will hate me and
you and they will want nothing to do with you and I. they will
begin to speak evil of us. What are we to do? Rejoice. They do this because they hate
Jesus Christ and reject the record God gave of his son. But it says
we are partakers of Christ's sufferings. Did they not do this
to Jesus Christ? I know a lot of people say, let
people see Jesus in you. But this world did not see Jesus
in Jesus, so how will they ever see Jesus in me? But no, we know that we walk
not by sight, so it's not about what we see anyway. We walk by
faith. Faith is a gift of God, so knowing
Jesus Christ is a revealing of himself to those who are his,
and he does this by giving men and women faith. Without this,
you will never see Jesus Christ for who he is and what he's done.
But this world hated Jesus Christ from the time he was brought
forth until they nailed him to a tree. This he done for his
people. I know this because we also read
in scripture that he shall, we've read in scripture before that
he shall save his people from their sins. And he did. But we are not to think of these
fiery trials as some strange thing it says, and that means
foreign, some foreign thing. They are not foreign, they are
also sent by God as a putting to proof. They are a putting
to proof of God's work, not our ability. But listen, it will
not always be this way because it goes on to say, ye may be
glad with exceeding joy. You know what that means? That
means to jump for joy. There will come a time when we
will no longer just have a calm delight. We will jump for joy. When will this be? What Joe was
talking about, when his glory shall be revealed. When will
this happen? Soon is all I can tell you. He
will return one day or he will take us out of this world. Both
or either will happen soon. I cannot give a date because
God does not give a date and that's not for us to know. We
are not to know the when, just that it will happen. But when
it does and we see our Redeemer, we will jump for joy because
we will see Him as He is. I cannot tell you what that glory
is or what it looks like exactly because I've not been revealed
that yet. It says when His glory shall be revealed. But thinking
on what He's already done, I get some kind of idea of what it
does consist of. It will consist of a lamb slain
from before the foundation of the world. But listen to what
the Apostle Peter says next. He says, if you are reproached,
he says that you are reproached for the name of Christ. That
means defamed. That means men and women will
lie on us. That's what it means. They will
say, we do not care about anyone else because we say things like
this. This is what they say about us,
that we don't care about anyone because we say things like this.
God does not love everyone. What they do not understand is
the truth of God. We say things like this. It is not up to our choice, but
up to God's choice. They will hate us for this and
lie on us when they hear us say these things. What they do not
understand is the truth of God. They cannot understand it, just
as I could not understand it until God gave me a new heart
and the faith with which to believe it. We care about men and women
more than they will ever know. As I said last week, we beseech
men and women to come to Christ to believe Jesus Christ. But
they instead, unless God intervenes, they just do as those did to
Paul at Mars Hill. We will hear you another day
on this matter. Don't want to listen to you.
You can show men and women exactly what the scripture says and they
will tell you straight out, straight out, I don't believe that. Like I said last week, they're
more concerned with their truth, which is abominable to God, instead
of being concerned with God's truth. We can say what God's
truth is in one sentence, and that sentence is a mouthful.
Jesus Christ said he is the truth, the way, the life. He's the only
way you will get to God. All you have to do is believe
him, bow down to him. but they will not do it because
they want to make their choice. The problem is they will not
and cannot choose Jesus Christ. Many of them will say they choose
Jesus Christ, but it is another Jesus that they are choosing.
They hate the Christ of Scripture, but let's go on. Excuse me. It says, Happy are
ye. When you are defamed by this
world, happy are you is what it says. That means supremely
blessed. That's exactly what that word
means. It means you're supremely blessed. That means you're blessed
of God if this happens to you. You speak of the God of this
book, you will be defamed. You can count on it. If you speak
of another Jesus, you will be loved and taken in by thousands
of people. You cannot put a number on it,
but there will be few that will rejoice with you if you speak
of this Jesus Christ of Scripture. Noah did this for 120 years,
and eight people rejoiced with him, while the rest reproached
him. They were all destroyed. The
eight were saved. If you are reproached for the
name of Christ, it is a proof that the spirit of glory and
of God resteth upon you, is what it says. They speak evil of Christ,
but on our part, God is glorified. Because he sends these fiery
trials and his people give glory to God for all he has done. Listen to verse 16 again. Yet
if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let
him glorify God on this behalf. Glorify God because this is that
fiery trial that will prove his work. But listen, it is specific
to the name of Christ. If you are holding forth the
Christ of Scripture, that's when men and women will do this. We can suffer for other things
and deservedly so, listen to verse 15, but let none of you
suffer as a murderer or as a thief or as an evildoer or as a busybody
in other men's matters. Do you see the things that are
listed here in this verse? A murderer, a thief, an evildoer
that is a criminal of any kind. But what else does it say? A
busybody in other men's matters. That's just as bad as being a
murderer. It's one word in the Greek and
it means a meddler. Trying to get into someone else's
business and control it. We are not to suffer for these
things. Those things are not giving glory
to God. They are this flesh having its way. If anyone hearing this
message thinks they do not do any of these things, remember
what our Lord said about a couple of these things mentioned here.
He said in Matthew 5, 27 and 28, he says, you've heard that
it was said by them of old time, thou shalt not commit adultery.
But I say unto you that whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after
her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. And another one, Matthew 5, 21
and 22. You have heard that it was said of them of old time,
thou shalt not kill. And whosoever shall kill shall
be in danger of a judgment. But I say unto you that whosoever
is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of
a judgment. And whosoever shall say to his
brother, Raka, shall be in danger of a counsel. But whosoever shall
say, thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. If you are angry
without a cause with your brother, it says, you are a murderer. This is the problem with this
world. They think it is a hands thing, and they think it's a
feet thing. They say that God has no hands
but your hands, and God has no feet but your feet. This is a
complete lie. Can you see his hands and his
feet? I can by faith. I can see where
those nails went into them and hanged him on that tree. I can
see those wonderful hands and feet that redeemed my soul to
God. My hands and feet can do nothing
to affect my salvation one way or the other. They cannot save
me and they cannot condemn me. It's all about his work that
he did with his hands and his feet. My problem is not my hands
and my feet. It's my old, dadamic, wicked
heart. And I pray God I never try to
give him that heart. He must give you a new heart
and fill that heart with the measure of faith he's been pleased
to give. Then you will be able to see
those glorious hands and feet of our Savior. Then next we have this, for the
time has come that judgment must begin at the house of God. For if it first began at us,
what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel? This
is talking about believing the gospel. To believe the gospel,
you must be preaching the gospel. No man will hear the gospel if
God does not send someone to preach his gospel, and no man
will believe God if he does not hear that gospel. You all know
the passage, Romans 10, 13 through 15. For whosoever shall call
upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they
call on him in whom they have not believed? How shall they
believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they
hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach except
they be sent? As it is written, how beautiful
are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace and bring
glad tidings of good things. If the gospel you are hearing
is not the gospel of peace, that is that Jesus Christ has made
peace between God and sinful, fallen man through the body of
his death, if you're not hearing that, you're not hearing the
gospel. The one doing a preaching of
any other gospel is not preaching the gospel at all. If you're
hearing a gospel that says God has done all he can do and now
it's up to you, you are not hearing the gospel. And that man preaching
is not sent of God. God must send someone to preach
the gospel of peace. You must hear the gospel and
if by his grace in hearing that gospel you believe it, you will
be saved. There's no doubt about that.
But our verse says judgment must begin at the house of God. Certainly we must hold forth
the gospel in our assembly. And we must believe the gospel
in our assembly. So it's not excluding that. But I believe this judgment in
the house of God is talking about right here, right here. First Corinthians 3.16 says,
know ye not that ye are the temple of God and that the spirit of
God dwelleth in you? Judgment, that is, judging that
God is right in every man and liar, believing his gospel begins
with us. And that's what it says in this
verse. And if it first began at us, that could mean us as
an assembly too, and I certainly think it includes that. But this
is talking about us as individuals. We must believe God. We cannot
believe for someone else. I get this from the last statement
in that verse. What shall the end of them that
obey not the, what shall the end of them be that obey not
the gospel of God? The answer to that is eternal
darkness. We must, and we know this all
comes by the grace of God, and if God has mercy on you to where
you can judge that God is right and every man is a liar, and
that clues this one right here. But it is God who is right in
all that he says and he does, and man is seen against this
holy God. That's judging rightly. Judging
that it is God that is just and the justifier of all those given
to Christ who have sinned against him. All have sinned and come
short of the glory of God, but not all have been redeemed. Being
redeemed to God by the death of his son is peace with God. If you believe that gospel, you
are one of his. But again, Peter is one who would
not have us presume on God, because he goes on to say in verse 18,
and if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly
and the sinner appear? Folks, I am a sinner, but I am
a redeemed sinner, a righteous one. But there are not many of
those, not righteous in and of myself, righteous in Jesus Christ,
for he was made sin. me. There is but a remnant of
this world that will be taken out of this world and by that
I mean they will be translated into the kingdom of his dear
son. In time they will hear his gospel
and believe him. Those who were at one time the
children of wrath, even as others, at His appointed time, not ours,
but His appointed time, but those who are the children of wrath,
even as others, are brought in by God into His kingdom. These are no longer of this world,
but of Jesus Christ our Lord. Then the last verse, we do these
things for one reason, because he deserves it. He is the creator
of all things. We suffer because he has purpose
for us to suffer for the name of Christ. It says those that
suffer according to the will of God. For if we suffer for
the name of Christ, it is the will of God that we do. But it
says in this verse, he is the creator. But it doesn't just
say that, it says he is the faithful creator. God does not change. If he has begun a new work in
you, he will continue it until the return of Jesus Christ. But
it says here we commit the keeping of our souls to him. How do we
do this? As it says in the verse here,
it says in well doing. The well-doing in the context
is holding forth the gospel of Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
That is the sufferings of Christ. Turn over with me to 2 Timothy
1 for a minute. 2 Timothy 1. I don't know if I can find it. I know
it's somewhere in the New Testament. 2 Timothy 1. Some of these books are so short,
you can go past them quickly. Oh, here we go. There's the book
right before it. 2 Timothy 1, and I want to read
verses 8 through 12. Be not thou therefore ashamed
of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but be
thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the
power of God, who hath saved us and called us with an holy
calling, not according to our works, but according to his own
purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before
the world began. but is now made manifest by the
appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ who hath abolished death
and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.
whereto I am appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher
of the Gentiles. For the which cause I also suffer
these things. Nevertheless, I am not ashamed,
for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that he is able
to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day. We commit the safe keeping to
him who is faithful to keep our souls because he has promised
to do so and he cannot lie. My life is in his hands and I
am glad for that. Because if it were my hands for
the keeping of it, I would perish. So in conclusion, Don't think
it strange when these fiery trials come. It is the will of God that
we suffer for the name of Christ. He is in absolute sovereign control
and he is pleased for it to be this way. Knowing this, we have
a calm delight. Knowing it is for his glory,
we also know that one day we will jump for joy when we actually
see his glory. He is a faithful creator and
has made promises to His Son and in turn to His people. He
has promised it and He will perform it. He cannot change. But it is His will that we be
partakers of Christ's sufferings. We are not ashamed of the gospel
of Christ, for therein is the glory of God revealed, that is,
Jesus Christ our Lord. We are supremely blessed to be
able to be partakers of his sufferings. We ought to thank God. He is
the one who will keep us even through these fiery trials. Amen. Dear little God, thank
you for. Once again, allowing us to be
here, dear Lord. We're thankful that when most
of us can all be here, and we look forward to when our brother
Walter will be back here to keep him safe as he travels back,
dear Lord. Bless us with a sense of your
presence, dear Lord, and all these things we ask in Christ's
name, amen.