An Encouragement and a Warning about Suffering -- 1 Peter 4:12-19
- mww
- Apr 23
- 19 min read
The world opposes Christ; does the world oppose you?
Bible Study Ideas and Commentary for 1 Peter 4:12-19
Peter draws an unpleasantly obvious conclusion: if we are fully living for God and sharing the full counsel of God, we will be opposed by the world. And we should rejoice when we suffer in the name of Christ. But that doesn't apply to suffering we bring upon ourselves through sin or lawbreaking. Instead, we should humbly submit ourselves to God's justice.
For the time has come for judgment to begin with God’s household (4:17)
When We Studied This Passage in 2016
Once again, Lifeway has copied the outline of a previous lesson on this passage, and I have my own notes on it:
I leaned heavily into the internet ridicule of Christianity, something that has softened today (see below -- don't hear me suggesting that it's gone away!)
Internet ridicule
the power of resistance
history of the word "Christian"
"salvation" in 1/2 Peter
I don't go into detail on those below because I did in 2016.
Today's Sins
When I moved to Thomson, a book had just come out called Our Favorite Sins. It was connected with a survey Barna did in 2012, the basic results of which you can read online:
This handy chart summarizes the highlights.
There's a big difference between temptation and sin (you can be tempted and not sin; Jesus was tempted in every way, and yet He never sinned (Heb 4:15-16)); the best I can tell from the book is that these people had given in to these temptations.
Anyway, I was wondering how that list might have changed in the last decade plus. What do you think are the most common sins Americans commit today?
Here's the thing: I can't find a reputable updated survey to give you for context! So, your group will have to work this out on your own. One of the disturbing things I noticed a few times in my searching is that many people in America, including those who call themselves Christian, really don't think they sin that much.
Uh oh.
1 John 1:8 If we say, “We have no sin,” we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
A couple of weeks ago, we covered this wonderful verse:
1 Peter 4:3 For there has already been enough time spent in doing what the Gentiles choose to do: carrying on in unrestrained behavior, evil desires, drunkenness, orgies, carousing, and lawless idolatry.
Perhaps you're doing pretty well there! But how are you doing with the following verses?
1 Peter 4:7 The end of all things is near; therefore, be alert and sober-minded for prayer. 8 Above all, maintain constant love for one another, since love covers a multitude of sins. 9 Be hospitable to one another without complaining. 10 Just as each one has received a gift, use it to serve others, as good stewards of the varied grace of God.
Sin is missing the mark of God's law. This equally means two things:
Doing what God told you not to do.
Not doing what God told you to do.
Make sense? Will that help you guide your group through this discussion?
In this week's passage, Peter mentions two kinds of suffering:
Suffering at the hands of God (or of the world) for doing what is wrong.
Suffering at the hands of the world for doing what is right.
In both cases, God has allowed the suffering, but Peter is very clear that one kind of suffering is "okay", and one is not. We are going to be challenged to review our lives for the presence of sin and the consequences we suffer for it.
Ancient Tax Evasion and Getting Caught
Last week was tax week, and it only makes sense that a tax evasion scheme should come to light. But this one was interesting -- it takes place in Judea in 130 AD. A Jew faked the sale of slaves in order not to pay taxes on them (yes, Rome had personal property taxes, and slaves were considered personal property).
Anyway, Rome got on to the scheme, and there was a big trial (the outcome was not recorded in the surviving records). The article mentions three possibilities:
Those Jews hated Rome and were rebelling
Those Jews were money-hungry
Those Jews were human traffickers
Obviously, there's a big difference between those motives! But Peter would say that the end result is the same: if you broke the law, accept your punishment and don't blame God.
Per the previous topic, we have all done wrong. What's a time you were caught and punished for something you did that was wrong, and what happened? This topic can obviously get very personal, so if your group isn't ready for that, you can direct this discussion toward
things you did as a child/teen, or
the lesson you learned at the end of it all.
I can't say this enough -- even if you suffered at the hands of, say, the government for doing wrong, God still allowed that suffering. Nothing happens that God does not allow. That means God can (and does) bring good out of even that kind of suffering; so, what lesson did you learn from your experience of getting caught doing the wrong thing?
Your Preferred Method of Discipline: Stick or Carrot?
It's easy to summarize discipline into one of two categories: being rewarded for right behavior (carrot) and being punished for wrong behavior (stick). (Yes, I know it's more complicated than that.)
Which works better for you? I have friends in both camps. (And it's a very different question as to which method you use on your children!)
For me personally, I very much prefer rewards, but the threat of consequence helps my sense of urgency. As a Christian, I very much want to say that "obeying God is its own reward" (which it is), but I am also very much aware that need the proverbial kick in the pants as well.
If you use this topic, tell everyone to remember how the discussion goes because I would encourage you to circle back around to it at the end of your group time. What can your group specifically do to help individual group members "respond to the carrot or the stick" in obeying all of the things we have talked about in 1 Peter?
This Week's Big idea: Christianity in America, 2025 Edition
America is in the middle of yet another cultural shift, and it affects the way I want to discuss this week's passage. Most of us probably still think of our country in terms of this chart:
That was released just a week or so before Covid -- a significant drop-off in church attendance from 2010 to 2020.
People were saying that it was "the end of Christianity"; we all observed some real and public anger about Christianity and conservative Christian beliefs. Anti-Christians took advantage of the "cultural headwinds" to make some substantive changes in arenas like education, politics, and media. We all felt it. Christians were being attacked, and biblical advice in this week's passage seemed very, very necessary.
You'll notice that my 2016 post on this passage leaved heavily into the awful online discourse about Christianity.
And then Covid hit, and Americans began to see how horrible a country without churches (and the teachings of those churches) really was. Americans didn't like an America without religion, and even the most secular publications are acknowledging it.
That article was released Easter weekend, and I find it compelling. The author gives a lot of links to studies and surveys (if you want to dig deeper). Note that the author isn't a Christian (or even a former Christian, although she was clearly taught that her Mormonism was under the Christian umbrella -- an extremely important topic for another time), and she is focused on the broader concept of "religion". But for my purposes in this week's Bible study, the point is that we live among people who are extremely open to talking about religion.
People are no longer leaving Christianity; other major religions are growing. Almost all Americans — 92 percent of adults, both inside and outside of religion — say they hold some form of spiritual belief, in a god, human souls or spirits, an afterlife or something “beyond the natural world.”
One of the repeated themes in the article is a now-accepted sociological truth: "religion" and "church involvement" give people important things that the secular world cannot: belief, belonging, and behavior.
Religiously affiliated Americans are more likely to feel gratitude (by 23 percentage points), spiritual peace (by 27 points) and “a deep sense of connection with humanity” (by 15 points) regularly than people without a religious affiliation, researchers found this year. The latter is particularly important: Positive relationships are the single most important predictor of well-being, according to the longest-running study on human happiness in the world.
We all know that "being religious" can't save anybody; only a confession of faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior can do that. But this author has simply observed what Peter has repeatedly told us in his letter: people need the church, and so the church had better be a people of love, grace, and sacrificial service.
I miss what I had. In leaving the church, I lost access to a community that cut across age and class. I lost opportunities to support that community in ways that are inconvenient and extraordinary — when the baby arrives, the moving truck comes or grief overwhelms.
I feel bad for the author. And no, simply becoming a part of a church again does not solve the most important problem in every person's life -- separation from God in sin -- but getting somebody connected with a good church family, a people of grace and truth (like Peter has described), is one of the very best ways to help someone come to salvation.
Jesus created His church (and by this I mean true Christian churches, of course) for two important reasons:
To help believers become more Christlike, and
To share the gospel with nonbelievers.
If the author of this NY Times article visited our church, would she find our love for one another and the truth of the gospel we share so compelling that she would take steps toward Jesus? My guess is that she will not visit our church, but other non-Christians will, and they are all equally important in God's eyes.
For the sake of this week's passage, I want to close with one last quote:
I want a god. I live an ocean away from that small Arkansas chapel, but I still remember the bliss of finding the sublime in the mundane. I still want it all to be true: miracles, souls, some sort of cosmic alchemy that makes sense of the chaos. For years, I haven’t been able to say that publicly. But it feels like something is changing. That maybe the culture is shifting. That maybe we’re starting to recognize that it’s possible to be both believing and discerning after all.
I added the bold. Her fear of speaking publicly about her once-faith (in Mormonism) was part of the "persecution culture" that had been growing in America.
But now she isn't afraid to talk about those feelings publicly. (And for that matter, I've seen a number of news headlines with titles including things like "Record Easter Attendance Yesterday".) Things have changed, at least a little bit, and at least for a little while.
This is not to say that persecution has ended in our country! Oh, no! But it has shifted, and more on this below.
Where We Are in 1 Peter
In one of my study Bibles (the NIV Study Bible), this week's passage is its own bullet point:
Praise to God for a Living Hope (1:3-12)
Be Holy (1:13-2:3)
The Living Stone and a Chosen People (2:4-10)
Living Godly Lives in a Pagan Society (2:11-3:7)
Suffering for Doing Good (3:8-22)
Living for God (4:1-11)
Suffering for Being a Christian (4:12-19)
To the Leaders (5:1-11)
Peter's argument repeats a structure we have talked about already: if you live for God in this pagan world, you will suffer for it.
And that's nothing strange to say. As a follower of Jesus Christ, as someone who was there during Christ's sham trial, as someone who was there at Pentecost, Peter has seen this with his own eyes and experienced this with his own body.
Last week was Holy Week, and on Thursday, many of our churches remembered the events of the Last Supper and the betrayal in the garden. Peter was there. I can only assume that these words from Jesus that night still rang in his ears:
John 15:18 If the world hates you, understand that it hated me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own. However, because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of it, the world hates you. 20 Remember the word I spoke to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. 21 But they will do all these things to you on account of my name, because they don’t know the one who sent me.
It only makes sense to Peter that a follower of Jesus Christ will be persecuted.
But I believe that Peter sees two kinds of suffering:
suffering brought by the world for following Jesus Christ and living for God,
suffering brought by God for failing to follow Jesus Christ and live for God as you should.
Hear me out.
Think about what we talked about Peter last week. Who had all of the bravado before denying he even knew Jesus? Who didn't go to the tomb until after Mary Magdalene said he should (and still didn't really believe)? Peter failed Jesus, and he suffered for it internally (today, we would experience this as the conviction of the Holy Spirit) -- it took Jesus' direct intervention of grace to pull him out of his funk.
I wonder if all of this is on Peter's mind as he writes this week's passage.
Part 1: Be Ready to Suffer in Jesus' Name (1 Peter 4:12-14)
12 Dear friends, don’t be surprised when the fiery ordeal comes among you to test you, as if something unusual were happening to you. 13 Instead, rejoice as you share in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may also rejoice with great joy when his glory is revealed. 14 If you are ridiculed for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.
Peter quite clearly has this event on his mind:
Acts 5:27 After they [the Sanhedrin] brought them in, they had them stand before the Sanhedrin, and the high priest asked, 28 “Didn’t we strictly order you not to teach in this name? Look, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood.” 29 Peter and the apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than people. 30 The God of our ancestors raised up Jesus, whom you had murdered by hanging him on a tree." . . . 33 When they heard this, they were enraged and wanted to kill them. . . .
40 After they called in the apostles and had them flogged, they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus and released them. 41 Then they went out from the presence of the Sanhedrin, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to be treated shamefully on behalf of the Name. 42 Every day in the temple, and in various homes, they continued teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah.
We don't know if the people Peter is writing to have had a persecution this cut-and-dried, but they've apparently started facing something of consequence. The word "ridiculed" refers to verbal insults, but we all know that strong words can feel intensely threatening (and they are possible precursors to physical violence). Peter calls them "friends", which makes me think of when Jesus called Peter and the disciples "friends" in John 15. It's Peter's way of saying, "I'm with you in this; we're in this together."
Peter's use of "fiery ordeal" ("trial by fire") suggests that whatever is going on isn't something minor. It's serious enough that the Christians might be tempted to sin to get out of it. Peter remembers denying Christ when he was put in a fiery ordeal, and he doesn't want these Christians to fail in the same way.
He also doesn't want them to wonder if they have failed already, and that's why they are facing whatever trial. No, the fact that God has allowed them to face this trial suggests that God thinks they are ready for it, and they should thus rejoice.
Consider how James worded this:
James 1:2 Consider it a great joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you experience various trials, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 And let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing. . . .
12 Blessed is the one who endures trials, because when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. 13 No one undergoing a trial should say, “I am being tempted by God,” since God is not tempted by evil, and he himself doesn’t tempt anyone. 14 But each person is tempted when he is drawn away and enticed by his own evil desire.
Keep James's words about temptation in mind for the final section of this week's lesson.
Enduring persecution does not cause salvation, but it is strong proof of salvation.
I like Peter's reference to "the Spirit of glory and of God"; it's obviously a reference to the Holy Spirit (the third Person of the Trinity), but in Peter's personal perspective. Again, he was at Pentecost; he has his own understanding of the "person and work of" the Holy Spirit.
I suggest going directly into the next section for discussion and application.
Part 2: Suffer for the Right Things (1 Peter 4:15-16)
15 Let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or a meddler. 16 But if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed but let him glorify God in having that name.
It's artificial to divide vv. 12-19; v. 15 connects with v. 17. But his point is basically, "I'm not talking about all suffering." Sometimes people suffer because they broke a law, and it has nothing to do with being a Christian.
Murderer -- well, we should hope that no Christian is a murderer! But I have read testimony in which a professing Christian wasn't worried that people might have died when they blew up the abortion clinic.
Thief -- again, we should hope that no Christian is a thief. But we can see that the line for what constitutes stealing is a lot easier to cross than taking someone's life.
Evildoer ("criminal") -- someone who breaks the law. Peter himself knows that sometimes a Christian has to break man's law, but that's not in mind here. Peter has said that Christians are obligated to respect the law of the land, and if we break it, we should expect to be punished.
Meddler -- here Peter uses a very general term for "troublemaker" (someone who stirs up trouble). With each successive term, the net has gotten wider. It's relatively easy to stir up trouble, and you don't have to break a law to do it. But being a troublemaker often has consequences.
Peter doesn't want any Christian to be proud of that kind of suffering.
But he does want them to be "proud" of suffering as a Christian.
The word "Christian" only appears three times in the Bible -- when the first Christians are identified in Antioch (Acts 11:26), when Agrippa worries about becoming a Christian (Acts 26:28), and here.
The -ian ending is a diminutive, thus "Christian" means "little Christ". Obviously, the outside world meant it as an insult, but what a compliment! How glorious to be considered a little Christ!
And that's exactly what Peter wanted his readers to realize. Every time some outsider says the name "Christian", they are saying the name of Christ. So you, by being on their tongues, are putting Jesus in their minds.
So be associated with Jesus. When those outsiders think of you, may it be a proper reflection of Jesus, not a joke.
If you are a Christian, do you realize that name means "little Christ"? Do you look at yourself as a little Christ, as a representation of Jesus in your world?
Or is it a meaningless title? Something taken for granted, like cross jewelry, worn to be fashionable, not to remind the world of the terrible sacrifice of Jesus Christ?
But Peter takes this line of thought to one final level...
Part 3: Realize the Seriousness of Our Situation (1 Peter 4:17-19)
17 For the time has come for judgment to begin with God’s household, and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who disobey the gospel of God? 18 And if a righteous person is saved with difficulty, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner? 19 So then, let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust themselves to a faithful Creator while doing what is good.
This is a difficult passage, and I think it's a little darker than the Lifeway commentary lets on.
First of all, the "judgment" reference is simple: everyone will be judged. This most obviously refers to eternity --
Heb 9:27 And just as it is appointed for people to die once—and after this, judgment
But it also refers to this present life --
Mal 5:1 See, I am going to send my messenger, and he will clear the way before me. Then the Lord you seek will suddenly come to his temple, the Messenger of the covenant you delight in—see, he is coming. 2 But who can endure the day of his coming? And who will be able to stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire and like launderer’s bleach. . . . 5 I will come to you in judgment, and I will be ready to witness against sorcerers and adulterers; against those who swear falsely; against those who oppress the hired worker, the widow, and the fatherless; and against those who deny justice to the resident alien.
Malachi prophesied about Jesus, who would come and purify God's house (the Jews), and that purification did not stop with the creation of the church. No, Jesus is constantly purifying His church. He is judging the thoughts and attitudes of His people, and when He finds something that ought not be there, He burns it away -- perhaps through the chastisement of the Holy Spirit, or perhaps through trials brought on from the outside world.
Peter is not saying that Christians need to fear God's judgment. Our salvation is secure in Jesus; Jesus has taken our place in judgment, and He cannot be doubted.
But that does not mean that God will give us an easy life, or that He will leave us in our sin:
Heb 12:5 My son, do not take the Lord’s discipline lightly or lose heart when you are reproved by him, 6 for the Lord disciplines the one he loves and punishes every son he receives. 7 Endure suffering as discipline: God is dealing with you as sons. For what son is there that a father does not discipline?
Peter's point is that these Christians should endure all suffering -- whether it is from God's enemies who oppose them as Christians, or if it is from the outside world acting as God's agents of judgment on some sin they need to leave behind.
Think of it like this: life is hard enough for us as Christians, and we have the blood of Jesus covering us and the promise of heaven encouraging us! What must it be like for those on the outside heading toward hell?
Peter's intended outcome? That we trust God judgment and process. Peter has experienced it firsthand. He committed one of the most awful sins ever in denying Jesus and doubting His resurrection. And I'm sure his anguish was great. But Jesus restored him. Peter had experienced the other side of God's discipline, and it was glorious.
Peter knew that we can all trust God's action in our lives.
When we do wrong, we can trust that God can bring good out of the consequential suffering we endure, to purify us of that sin.
When we do right, we can trust that God will use whatever persecution we endure to build our faith and validate our gospel message.
Neither of those sufferings is pleasant. All of it can be used for our good.
But if we choose, let's make sure we choose to suffer for following Jesus, not for sinning.
What are the trials you're facing right now? Are they trials brought about from following Jesus or from doing wrong? If the former, have you observed your faith growing? If the latter, have you identified and gotten rid of that sin?
Here's how we can summarize Peter's challenge -- a church that is not all-in on God's mission will not be an effective church. And what is a church but a community of believers. So, the more church members who aren't all-in on their relationship with Jesus, the less effective that church will be. How are you and your church doing?
Wrapping Up: Carrot or Stick
Whether you used this topic or not, end with your group talking about specific things they can do to help one another (1) get rid of a sin in their life they are suffering for, or (2) have faith in God's leading through a time of persecution. We're in this together.
Closing Thoughts: Persecution When Christianity Is Having a Moment in America
I think we need to bring it back to this -- if we're in a season when Christians aren't so much under persecution for their Christianity, then what do we do with this passage?
I go to something Paul said to Timothy on this very subject:
2 Tim 4:1 I solemnly charge you before God and Christ Jesus, who is going to judge the living and the dead, and because of his appearing and his kingdom: 2 Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and encourage with great patience and teaching. 3 For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, will multiply teachers for themselves because they have an itch to hear what they want to hear. 4 They will turn away from hearing the truth and will turn aside to myths. 5 But as for you, exercise self-control in everything, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
In other words, even if Christianity is "having a moment", there's a limit to what people are willing to hear. They still expect the Christian message to remain with their definition of tolerable (good moral teaching, uplifting message of hope, etc.).
I've noticed this even (especially?) within Christian churches -- once your message steps out of line with their expectations, they come after you.
In other words, if you live by and share the full counsel of God, you will eventually face opposition, even from people in your church.
Go back and read the first chapter of 1 Peter. Think about the diverse people he was writing to. Think about how strongly he was pushing a message of unity, mutual encouragement, and self-sacrifice. Peter knew that when the outside world stopped putting pressure of persecution on, factions within the church could start to do that to one another.
Let's not get too comfortable with the "calm spiritual season" in the country. Let's use any advantage we have to all the more boldly share the true, full gospel message. Let's be seen and known as little Christs.
[Bonus Closing Thought: Church Finances]
Next week, Peter addresses the leaders of the churches, and I'm going to talk about this subject next week.
However, you might have read some commentaries in which scholars wonder if part of the thieving Peter mentioned was within the church(!).
In a news blurb I read this week, a church finance law expert said, “The church is not a tool to enrich insiders. Private benefit and inurement are automatic revocation issues. You can’t ignore them.“ Inurement often refers to excessive compensation or improper use of assets. Examples include: treating a non-profit's vehicle as if it were your personal vehicle (and not reporting it), using a non-profit's assets as collateral for a personal loan, selling a non-profit's asset to a board member for grossly-below-market value. Usually, stories about inurement in churches involve a church leader/pastor, so that's why I'm holding on to this topic for next week. But they're not all about pastors.
So, when Peter warns pastors not to be greedy (in next week's passage), I want us to remember that every church member plays a role in making sure that the church's funds and assets are being used appropriately for the kingdom of God. I daresay that none of us wants to be a "thief in God's house", but all of us together can make sure that none of us ever crosses that line. Our church exists for the good of our members, and we want to serve one another selflessly in love. This finance law expert simply reminds us that there are laws about what is appropriate and what is excessive, and Peter has been clear that we need to follow those laws (1 Pet 2:13-17). Again, more on this next week.