BLESSED INSULTS – 1 Peter 4:12-19

Preached October 23, 2011
from
1 Peter 4:12-19

Theme: In Peter’s words to persecuted Christians, we’re taught how to respond to insults to our faith in a way that gains the greatest blessing from them.

(Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are taken from The Holy Bible, New King James Version; copyright 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc.)

I invite you to turn this morning to one of my favorite books of the Bible—and one that I happen to believe is among the most practical as well. Particularly, I ask you to turn to the fourth chapter of the book of 1 Peter.

This little New Testament book is a letter that the apostle Peter wrote to some of his suffering brothers and sisters in Christ. They were Jewish Christians who were undergoing intense persecution for their faith in Jesus Christ. It’s a book that’s little in size, but very big in instruction and encouragement. And what the apostle Peter wrote to them in the dark and difficult days in which they were living is also very applicable to us living in our own time. He told them,

Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people’s matters. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter. For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? Now

“If the righteous one is scarcely saved,
Where will the ungodly and the sinner appear?”

Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator (1 Peter 4:12-19).

* * * * * * * * * *

These are remarkable days in which we’re living. As secularized as our culture is thought to have become, it’s hard to think of a time when the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ was more relevant. In just about every area of public debate and discussion that you can name today, the fundamental affirmations of a distinctively Christian world-view—the conviction that there is but one true God; that He exists eternally as three Persons (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit); that He created all that exists; that all human beings are made in His image exactly as described in the first chapters of the Bible, and are inherently valuable; that this Creator God has revealed His will to mankind in the written form of Scripture, and that, as His creatures, we’re all obligated to live as He has commanded; that we are fallen because of the sin of our first parents and are desperately in need of salvation; that God has lovingly and willingly sent His only Son Jesus to be our Savior; that there is no other way of salvation but through faith in Him; that the present heavens and earth are only temporary and are destined to be destroyed, that a judgment is to come, and that the present heavens and earth will be replaced by a new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells; and that through a relationship with Jesus Christ by faith, we can look ahead to an eternal life of fellowship with the God who made us for Himself—all stand in stark contrast to the fundamental beliefs and policies of the culture in which we live. And if you don’t really believe that the Christian faith is considered relevant by the secular culture, then just declare that you believe those things in any of the typical arenas of public discourse; and you’ll find out very quickly just how relevant the people of this world actually think it is!

God has called for the spread of His kingdom through the faithful proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ by those of us who have believed it and have been transformed by it. But because that gospel is in such sharp contrast to the values and priorities of this world, the people of this world will seek to insult and oppose and silence those who proclaim it and live by it. The Bible tells us that this will be so. As the apostle Paul said, in 2 Timothy 3:12, “Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.” We always need to keep in mind what Jesus once told His disciples—just before He Himself was crucified;

“If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated your. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said 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 keep yours also. But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. He who hates Me hates My Father also. If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would have no sin; but now they have seen and also hated both Me and My Father. But this happened that the word might be fulfilled which is written in their law, ‘They hated Me without a cause’” (John 15:18-25).

And let’s also always remember, dear brothers and sisters in Christ, that there is an unseen and diabolical hand behind the insults and opposition we experience from this world for our identification with Jesus Christ. The enemy of our souls seeks to use our natural aversion to insults, and opposition, and hostility, in order to keep us silent in this world about the saving news of what Jesus has done for fallen mankind.

And that’s why this morning’s passage is so important—and so wonderfully encouraging. In it, the apostle Peter teaches us how to look beyond the insults and opposition of this world to the things that God is sovereignly doing through them. In Peter’s words to persecuted Christians, we’re taught how to respond to insults to our faith in a way that gains the greatest blessing from them.

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Note, first of all, how—when it comes to the reproaches that an ungodly world throws against us because of our faith in Jesus—we’re to . . .

1. EXPECT THEM (v. 12).

“Beloved,” Peter says, “do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you . . .”

Some scholars have thought that Peter may be speaking of a specific period of persecution. Certainly, the believers to whom he was writing were in one. He told them about the glories that awaited them in heaven through their faith in Jesus Christ, and said, “In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ . . .” (1 Peter 1:6-7). But perhaps the Holy Spirit led him to speak in such a way that his words could apply to suffering Christians throughout the centuries—and even in our own time.

In any case, he tells his readers not to be surprised by it when it comes. No follower of Jesus ought ever be astonished at the fact that he or she is suffering because of their relationship with Jesus. No one should ever expect that, once they’ve began to follow Jesus, all their troubles would be over. As Peter writes in 2:21, “For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps.” When you consider that the people of this world crucified the Son of God when He walked on this earth, it should come as no surprise that they would also hate us for for walking in His steps.

So; here’s one way that we properly prepare our hearts for the insults and attacks of this world because of our faith—by expecting them and by not being surprised when they come, as though some strange thing were happening. They are the normal course of things when we faithfully follow in obedience after our crucified Savior. In fact, they’re a sure indication that we’re on the right path.

* * * * * * * * * *

And did you notice what Peter called them? In the translation I’m using, he spoke of “the fiery trial which is to try you”. Literally, he calls them “a burning”. And that certainly depicts how painful those times of opposition and ridicule of our faith can be—especially when they come from people we love or respect.

But another thing we need to remember about a “fiery trial” is what it does to precious metals. It tests them, and refines them, and purifies them. And isn’t that what Peter was saying earlier to his readers about being “grieved by various trials”? It was “that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ”. And this leads us to another thing we’re to do when it comes to the insults and reproaches of this world: we’re to . . .

2. REJOICE IN BEING THE RECIPIENT OF THEM (v. 13).

We’re not to think it strange that such things happen to us in Christ. Far from it! Instead, as Peter went on to say, we’re to “rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.”

I have always been amazed by a verse that we find in Acts 5. In that passage, it tells us that Peter—along with some of the other apostles—were brought before the leaders of the Jewish people and warned to stop preaching in the name of Jesus. They respectfully but faithfully refused; saying, “We ought to obey God rather than men.” The leaders didn’t know what to do with that; so they beat them, commanded that they should no longer speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. And in Acts 5:41, we’re told, “So they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name.” Now; what good is it to beat someone who turns around afterward and rejoices in being counted worthy of it?

Jesus taught us that it’s a great cause of rejoicing whenever we suffer for His name’s sake. He told us, in the Sermon on The Mount, “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matthew 5:11-12). As Peter tells us; when Jesus is gloriously revealed on the day of His return to this earth, we—who partook of His sufferings because we were associated with Him and suffered shame in this world for His name’s sake—will have reason to “be glad with exceeding joy”.

As the apostle Paul wrote, we are “heirs of God and joint hears with Christ, if indeed we suffer with him, that we may also be glorified together” (Romans 8:17). So, we have every reason to rejoice whenever we suffer for the name of Jesus! We have the promise of great reward ahead! (I wonder—what might it do to someone who insults us for our faith, if they see us smile joyfully and say, “Thank you! It’s a great honor to suffer shame for the name of Jesus!”)

* * * * * * * * * * *

Another thing Peter urges us to do when we receive insults for our faith in Jesus is to . . .

3. UNDERSTAND THE BENEFITS OF THEM (v. 14).

Did you know that there is a great spiritual benefit and blessing that come with being insulted for the name of Jesus?—not just in the ‘sweet by-and-by’, but in the ‘nasty here-and-now’? As Peter says, “If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.”

When you and I place our faith in Jesus Christ, we receive the Holy Spirit. We don’t receive just a part of Him, but all of Him. He takes up full residence in the man or woman who is genuinely saved. But when we suffer reproach because we faithfully trust in Jesus and follow Him, the Holy Spirit rests upon us in a unique and powerful way. As Peter says it, “the Spirit of glory” rests upon us. To a Jewish person reading this letter, that would have reminded him or her of the “Shekinah” glory—the very visible and powerful glory of God that, in Old Testament times, came down upon Mount Sinai, or that covered the tabernacle that was built in the times of Moses, or that filled the temple of King Solomon so much that the priests could not enter it. Peter also calls Him the Spirit “of God”—the sovereign Creator and Sustainer of the universe! That Old Testament “Shekinah” glory marked God’s presence in a powerful way; and—though we may not see Him with our eyes—the Holy Spirit of glory and of God rests upon us, in a particular and powerful way, when we willingly take a stand for Jesus and suffer for His name.

I suspect that, when Peter wrote those words, he was thinking of what the Lord Jesus told Him and the other apostles during their earthly ministry:

You will be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you (Matthew 10:18-20).

What a blessing that is! When someone insults our faith, and we suffer joyfully for Jesus’ sake, it becomes an opportunity for the Holy Spirit to powerfully rest upon us and glorify Jesus before the watching world through us! As some translations go on to say in the rest of verse 14, “On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified.”

* * * * * * * * * *

Now; it’s important to point out that this is not something that we should claim for ourselves every time we suffer—no matter what the reason. As Peter said in verse 13, we have cause to rejoice only “to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings . . .” Sometimes, we suffer because we were foolish or disobedient—and when that happens, we brought the suffering on ourselves.

If you look back to 2:20, you find that Peter says, “For what credit is it if, when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God.” And I suggest that this shows us another thing we ought to do when we suffer insults for the name of Jesus . . .

4. EXAMINE OURSELVES IN THEM (vv. 15-16).

In verse 15 of our passage, Peter warns, “But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people’s matters.” Sometimes we mistakenly believe that we’re suffering for the cause of our Lord; when, in reality, we’re suffering because we’ve chosen to disobey our Lord . . . and had it coming! And so I believe that, in those times when we suffer shame for the name of Jesus, the apostle Peter is calling us to step back and make sure it’s really because of Jesus.

We need to make sure that we aren’t bringing shame to the name of Jesus by being “murderers”—that is, the kind of people who gossip about others and take life away from them by our slander. We need to make sure we aren’t thieves—that is, the kind of people who take advantage of others and treat them unjustly. We need to make sure we’re not “evildoers”—that is, the kind of people who do those things that even the people of this world know are wrong; but who then justify it by saying, “Christians aren’t perfect—just forgiven!” We need to make sure we’re not “busybodies”—that is, the kind of people who can’t mind their own business. These kinds of things bring genuine shame to our testimony. And if we suffer for them, we shouldn’t say its because we’re “Christians”. We should say it’s because we were foolish and disobedient to our Christian faith.

“Yet,” as Peter goes on to say, “if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter.” We’re used to the name “Christian”. We consider it a name of honor. But in Peter’s day, it was used as a way of insulting those who followed Jesus. It amounted to calling them “little Christ-ones”. When I was young in the Christian faith, it was “Jesus-Freak”. It might be something else today. But Peter says that if you suffer “as a Christian”—that is, as a despised “little Christ-one”, or any of the other forms of insult—don’t be ashamed of this. Rather, glorify God in the honor of bearing Christ’s name in the eyes of this world.

It’s a great honor to suffer “as a Christian”. But when we suffer, let’s carefully examine ourselves; and make sure that we truly are suffering as “Christians”. If that happens when we are insulted for Jesus’ sake—and find that there are some things in our lives that do not rightly represent our Savior; and that, as a result, we repent of our sins and walk more obediently with Jesus—then the one who insulted us has actually done us a great favor!

* * * * * * * * * *

So then; if we receive insults and reproaches for the cause of Christ, and have examined ourselves sincerely before God as a result, then Peter goes on to urge us to . . .

5. BE REFINED BY THEM (vv. 17-18).

Peter goes on to stress why such suffering must occur; “For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?” He even goes on to quote from Proverbs 11:31; “Now ‘If the righteous one is scarcely saved, where will the ungodly and the sinner appear?’”

If we discover along the way that we are suffering because we have sinned, then we have the privilege of becoming evidence to the world that God judges sin! As someone has once wisely said, God often spanks His own children so that the rest of the world can know that God truly spanks! We should therefore never hesitate to repent of our sins—even before the watching world. We should admit the truth and turn from our sins very visibly; because it becomes an example to the rest of the world of the genuine evil of sin, the reality of a coming judgment, the absolute need to repent, and the wonderful sufficiency of the Savior to save all sinners who humbly turn to Him for forgiveness.

But notice that, as Peter said, the time has come for judgment to “begin” at the house of God. God allows His children to experience “judgment” first—in the form of the insults and opposition and attacks of this world—to testify to the end that will come upon those who do not obey His gospel. Paul wrote about this in Philippians 1:27-28; when he told his fellow believers,

Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel, and not in any way terrified by your adversaries, which is to them a proof of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that from God (Philippians 1:27-28).

He says this in even stronger terms in 2 Thessalonians 1:4-8; when he tells the Thessalonian believers that

. . . we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that you endure, which is manifest evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you also suffer; since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you, and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Thessalonians 1:4b-8).

When we patiently endure the attacks of this world for our faith, and trust God faithfully throughout those attacks, we are allowing ourselves to be refined by them for future glory. And that bears a powerful testimony to this world of the reality of our Savior—and of our confidence in the day of His coming! We—like Paul—suffer these things without being ashamed, for we know whom we have believed, and are persuaded that He is able to keep what we have committed to Him until that Day (2 Timothy 1:12).

* * * * * * * * * *

And that leaves us with one more thing that Peter says to do when we are insulted for our faith in Jesus; and that is to . . .

6. COMMIT OURSELVES TO GOD IN THEM (v. 19).

As he writes, “Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator.” He truly is a faithful Creator. He made us for Himself, and loves us deeply. He will not forsake those who trust in Him.

And so, even if we are insulted and reproached and scandalized for being followers of Jesus—even if we are insulted and attacked for trusting in the truth of His word and believing that He will make good on all His promises; even if we are insulted for urging others to turn from their sins and place their trust in the Savior—we can commit ourselves to Him confidently by keeping on with our work of following Him, and believing on Him, and obeying Him, and proclaiming Him.

Let’s not let the devil silence us from proclaiming the name of the Son of God out of fear of the insults and reproaches of men. Instead, let’s see them for what they are—blessings in disguise.

It shall be satiated and made drunk with their blood;

For the Lord GOD of hosts has a sacrifice

In the north country by the River Euphrates (v. 10).

Necho thought he was going up north in order to defeat Babylon and take dominance over the world. He didn’t know it at the time; but he was actually going up to attend a sacrifice unto God—with himself as the sacrifice! As verses 25-26 tell us; “The LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘Behold, I will bring punishment on Amon of No, and Pharaoh and Egypt, with their gods and their kings—Pharaoh and those who trust in him. And I will deliver them into the hand of those who seek their lives, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and the hand of his servants. Afterward it shall be inhabited as in the days of old,’ says the LORD” (vv. 25-26).

What a staggering revelation this is of how God rules over the affairs of mighty world empires and their kings! We so often fret and worry about what nations and world rulers will do. But God here lets us know that—no matter how mighty the great rulers of the world think they are—they are nothing more than mere puppets. Their strings are being pulled by the God of heaven so that they fulfill His sovereign purposes for them. As Proverbs 21:1 has it, “The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes.”

* * * * * * * * * *

Now, back to our passage. All of this is vital to understanding what happens next. The Bible tells us, “After all this, when Josiah had prepared the temple, Necho king of Egypt came up to fight against Carchemish by the Euphrates; and Josiah went out against him” (2 Chronicles 35:20).

Please understand; Necho was not a worshiper of the one true God. He was a pagan. He was king of a pagan land; and he worshiped the pagan gods of his nation. And yet—amazingly! shockingly!—when Josiah saw him and rode out to stop him, we’re told, “But he sent messengers to him, saying, ‘What have I to do with you, king of Judah? I have not come against you this day, but against the house with which I have war; for God commanded me to make haste. Refrain from meddling with God, who is with me, lest He destroy you’ (v. 21). And we know for certain that this was truly a word from God to Josiah; because, as verse 22 tells us, these were “the words of Necho from the mouth of God”!

We might wonder how a thing like this could be—that a pagan king could speak forth such a clear word from God. But I remind you that God once even spoke to a rebellious prophet named Balaam, way back in Numbers 22, through the donkey that he was riding on! And if “a dumb donkey speaking with a man’s voice restrained the madness of the prophet” (2 Peter 2:16), then we shouldn’t have any problem believing that God can also speak from the mouth of a pagan king in order to rebuke a godly king that was misguidedly zealous for His cause. (And by the way; the fact that God could speak through Necho’s mouth doesn’t mean that he was a God-fearing pagan any more than the donkey would have been a particularly God-fearing donkey!)

Why was it that Josiah went out against Necho? We can’t be sure of this; but given the zeal that Josiah had demonstrated throughout his life for the cause of God, I speculate that he was concerned that Necho’s actions would increase his own power and would make him a genuine threat to the people of Judah. After all, Necho was going up north to come to the aid of the Assyrians; and the Assyrians had long been a troubler of the people of Judah. I even speculate that, in doing this, Josiah was hoping to stave off the set purpose of God to bring judgment upon His own people.

Whatever Josiah’s motivation, the fact that Necho—a pagan king—spoke a message from God to him should have been enough of a ‘shocker’ to cause him to stop in his tracks. God was sending Necho up north to go to his own destruction. And God had already determined to bring punishment upon the people of Judah for their idolatry. Josiah was told to stand down! He may have been innocent in going out to Necho at first; but to continue to stand against him was to oppose the revealed will of God. And yet, as we’re told, “Nevertheless Josiah would not turn his face from him, but disguised himself so that he might fight with him, and did not heed the words of Necho from the mouth of God” (v. 22).

When we’re zealous for what we perceive to be God’s cause, and yet God tells us to step out of the way and let Him fulfill His divine purposes without our meddling—and we refuse to do so out of a misplaced sense of zeal—we’ve actually made the transition from “God’s will” to “self-will”. In our own misplaced zeal for God’s cause, we actually set up our own purposes in opposition to the purposes of God! And every time we go forward in such rebellious self-will, we end up suffering loss. Do you remember how God told the people of Israel to go up and conquer the promised land? They refused to do what God said; and wandered forty years in the wilderness as a result. And then, when they repented and decided that they would go up and conquer the promised land any way—even though God had told them not to because He would not go with them—they presumed to go up to battle for God’s promised land against God’s will; and they suffered a horrible defeat as a result. Or do you remember how—in the events that follow this morning’s passage—God told the people of Judah that the Babylonians would come and take them captive? God told them to submit to the Babylonians and they would live. Out of a misplaced zeal for God’s promised land, they refused to submit to the Babylonians; and the city of Jerusalem was brought to ruins as a result.

Every time we set our will up over God’s—even if it’s out of a misplaced zeal for His cause—we suffer loss. And that’s what happened to Josiah. I even suspect that he knew clearly that he was out of God’s will in trying to fight Necho; because he chose to disguise himself “so that he might fight with him, and did not heed the words of Necho from the mouth of God. So he came to fight in the Valley of Megiddo. And the archers shot King Josiah; and the king said to his servants, ‘Take me away, for I am severely wounded.’ His servants therefore took him out of that chariot [which was perhaps a part of the disguise] and put him in the second chariot that he had, and they brought him to Jerusalem. So he died, and was buried in one of the tombs of his fathers” (vv. 22-24).

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What a tragic loss this was! Godly King Josiah—the last of the great kings of Judah—had been slain because he would not heed God when God told him to stop. And as the scriptures go on to tell us, the mourning of the people of Judah over him was truly legendary.

And I suggest, dear brothers and sisters in Christ, that there are two great lessons for us to learn from this perplexing end to Josiah’s story. First, we need to understand and appreciate that our God is the sovereign God who causes all things to work together for the good pleasure of His will. He is able to make world events serve the fulfillment of His purpose. He is able to steer the hearts of even ungodly and pagan kings so that they accomplish His will. In all of this, God sets His sovereign purpose; and brings that purpose about with perfection! Sometimes, He lets us know what that purpose is in His word. At other times, the unfolding of the specifics of His purposes are kept a mystery to us. But we never need to fear; because we fit perfectly in that purpose when we “trust and obey”.

But we also need to understand that those two things must go together. We not only need to “trust”, but also “obey”. In our zeal for God’s cause, we must never seek to act in a way that’s in opposition to His revealed will. When He says for us to act, we must act. But when He says to stand by and wait for Him to fulfill His purposes without us, we must wait and not meddle!

May God help us avoid Josiah’s stumble!