Sunday Sermon: Our Response to Suffering, Part 1

I promise this time to preach the sequel sermon. Today is the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. So I spoke about persecution and our response to it.

Since we were in Indy for part of the week, I didn't have time to study and write a fully original sermon (no, I don't plan to make this a habit). So credit goes to John MacArthur for the majority of this one. Thanks John.

Introduction: Passage Background

Open your Bibles to 1 Peter 4:12-19. As you’re doing that, I want to give you a bit of background on the passage. As you know, today is the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. And the book of First Peter was written to a group of Christians living in Rome who were just that: persecuted. On July 19, 64 A.D., Rome burned while Nero goofed off. That's sort of a famous point in history. Everybody remembers that Rome burned and Nero goofed off. Rome was a city of very narrow streets. It was a city of high wooden buildings. They built what would today be known as apartment houses out of wood and they were very close together. The fire spread fast and although it began on that day it lasted three days and nights and it broke out again and again even though they tried to stop it.

The Romans actually believed that the Emperor Nero was responsible for burning their great city and their homes. Why? Because Nero had this strange fixation with building and he wanted to build a new city and so they believed that he burned down the old one. He stood in his tower and watched happily as the city burned to the ground. People who put the fire out or tried to put it out were hindered by his soldiers and new fires were started. The people were absolutely devastated. They lost everything.

All the temples and shrines to their gods, their homes, all their household gods, everything was gone and they were homeless. The resentment obviously was great. The bitterness was deep and somewhat deadly. And so Nero needed to divert the attention away from himself. He needed a scapegoat. So he selected a scapegoat, the Christians. Publicly he blamed the Christians for burning Rome.

It was an ingenious choice on his part because the Christians were already the victims of hatred and already the victims of slander. They were connected with Jews in the minds of most people who were not Christians. And since there was a rather growing anti-Semitism, it was easy to have an anti‑Christian attitude as well. The Lord's Supper which Christians held was closed to pagans and so they sort of developed all kinds of strange imaginations about what happened. They heard about these Christians who were eating flesh and drinking blood and accused them of cannibalism. In fact, they began to say that they ate babies and Gentiles at the Lord's Supper. They also said that the Christian kiss of love at their love feast was about lust and orgy that took place called the Lord's Supper. Christians were also very unpopular because they split families. When a man became a Christian and his wife did not, it was an obvious fracture. Christians also used to talk about a time when the world would be engulfed in flames and so it would be easy to blame them for this fire, thinking they had tried to develop a fulfillment for their own prophecy.

This really began what later developed into a full‑blown persecution. If you go later than Nero to other Roman emperors, you find that what began here as an initial hatred of Christians became a fixed policy. And the question whether a man was a Christian became the most essential part of any charge against him. As a result of this accusation, persecution began. Tacitus, the Roman historian, reported that Nero rolled Christians in pitch or oil and then set fire to them while they were still alive and used them as living torches to light his garden parties. He served them up in the skins of wild animals to his hunting dogs to tear them to shreds. They were nailed to crosses.

Even lynching became very common. Within a few years Christians were imprisoned, racked, seared, broiled, burned, scourged, stoned and hanged. Some were lacerated with hot knives and others thrown on the horns of wild bulls. Dr. H.B. Workman in his book called Persecution in the Early Church wrote this: "For two hundred years from Nero on, the leaders among the Christians were branded as anarchists and atheists and hated accordingly. For two hundred years to become a Christian meant the great renunciation, the joining of a despised and persecuted sect, the swimming against the tide of popular prejudice, the coming under the ban of the Empire, the possibility at any moment of imprisonment and death under its most fearful forms. For two hundred years, he that would follow Christ must count the cost and be prepared to pay the same with his liberty and life. For two hundred years the mere profession of Christianity was itself a crime. ‘I am a Christian’ was almost the one plea for which there was no forgiveness, in itself all that was necessary on the back of the condemned as a title. For the name itself in periods of stress, meant the rack, the blazing shirt of pitch, the lion, the panther, or in the case of maidens, an infamy worse than death."

Now, what is interesting about that in relation to 1 Peter is that most scholars say this letter was probably written just after that all began, some time toward the end of that same year, 64 A.D. So it would be written then at a time when Christians were undergoing the beginnings of the horrors of a two‑hundred year persecution. So, Peter is writing to Christians in fear for their lives. The theme of suffering and our response to it is big in the book, and we want to focus on eight verses that speak of our response.

1 Peter 4:12-19 says, “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name. For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And, ‘If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?’ So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.”

Peter gives his readers four key features of a proper response. And if we can get a grip on these it will go a long way to helping us deal with suffering for righteousness’ sake in our own lives. It will also help us as we learn how to pray for those who are persecuted even today. We ought to respond in four ways. Number one, expect it. Number two, rejoice in it. Number three, evaluate its cause. And number four, commit yourself to God. Expect it, rejoice in it, evaluate its cause and entrust yourself to God.

Expect Suffering

In verse 12 it says, “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you." The point here is to expect suffering. Throughout the Bible, we see that persecution is inevitable. In fact, the surprise would be if it didn't come. Matthew 5:10 says we will endure persecution for righteousness. Matthew 5:11-12 says we will be insulted and slandered. Matthew 10 says we will endure false accusations. Matthew 10:14, rejection by men. Matthew 10:17, scourging for Christ. Matthew 10:21 says that brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. In John 15:18 Jesus says that they hated Him, so they're going to hate you. Acts 5:41, we will endure shame for Christ's sake. Acts 7:58 says some of us will be martyred. Acts 12 reminds us that many Christians will endure imprisonment. According to Acts 14:19, some might be stoned. Paul tells disciples in Acts 14:22: “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.” First Corinthians 4 says we will be misunderstood, we will be defamed and we will be despised. First Corinthians 4:9 says we will be made a spectacle to men. Second Corinthians 6:4-10 says we will endure bad reports, beatings, sorrow, loneliness, poverty, and riots. Paul writes to Timothy and says all that live godly in this present age will suffer persecution (2 Timothy 3:12). And in 1 John 3:13 it says, “Do not be surprised, my brothers, if the world hates you.”

And so Peter is really echoing the instruction of the others who have written in the New Testament that we're not to be surprised when suffering comes. It's as if he is saying, “Suffering is the price of discipleship.” When you become a Christian, you take up a cross and the cross speaks of pain and suffering and even death. There is definitely a price to pay because if you name the name of Christ you will become a conscience—a sense of right and wrong—to an evil world which does not welcome such a conscience.

What is interesting about this passage is what it does not say. Peter never has to apologize to these believers for mistakenly telling them that God really wants to make them happy. He doesn’t have to say, “Oops. I guess I was wrong about that prosperity gospel.” How often do we hear that message preached? Just accept Jesus as your Savior and he’ll make life great. God wants you to be happy. God wants you to have that brand new car and house. He wants to bless you. God would rather see us holy than happy, and that’s why we must go through and accept suffering. And it’s not like God doesn’t love you. He does.

Just look at how Peter addresses his listeners. Dear friends—literally beloved ones—is a way of reminding these Christians God does love them. It’s a word of tenderness, a word of compassion, a word of affection, a word of care. Back in 1:22 Peter tells them to love one another deeply from the heart. Then in 4:8 he talks about the fact that we are to keep a fervent love for one another because love covers a multitude of sins. Not only are they to love each other, but they are loved by Peter. And not only that, but they are loved by God, the One our love flows from. What a comfort in a time of persecution and fear for your life. It would be very easy during suffering to question the love of God, to think, do You really love me? Do You really care? That’s why Peter stresses his love for them, which comes from God’s love for him.

Why should we expect to suffer for Christ? Because it helps us when we’re in the middle of it. If it catches us off guard, how much easier would it be to get down in the dumps about it? If you can expect it, you can cushion its initial impact. It’s part of God's design. It's the way He proves the genuineness of your faith and it's the way He purges your life. It takes out all the pride and the illusion of self‑control. It strips you and makes you totally dependent on Him. So if we expect to grow in Christ, we also expect to suffer, as that is one way God grows us and tests us. John MacArthur tells a story of speaking with a Russian pastor. He said, “It must be difficult in Russia to pastor the church.” He replied, "Not so, it must be difficult in America; in Russia we know who the true Christians are.” So it comes for your testing. It's an essential feature of God's working in you to prove you, to purge you, to cleanse you.

So, he says expect it and don't treat it as though some strange thing were happening to you. That verb "were happening" is an interesting verb that means “to fall by chance.” Don't think that when you're persecuted it's something that happened by chance. No, God allowed it and designed it for your testing, your purging, your purification, your cleansing. First it proves whether you're real and then it purges the dross out of your life. Persecution, affliction, suffering are not accidental, nor do they interfere with God's plan. They are right in God's plan, should be common to all Christians, they are common to all faithful Christians. So let’s expect suffering.

Rejoice in It

The second thing that Peter wants to say to us is to rejoice in it. Notice verses 13 and 14. “But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.” The word “rejoice” is in a tense that emphasizes a continued action: keep on rejoicing. This is the right attitude in the midst of persecution.

And you say, “Well what's the motivation for that?” There's a future motivation and a present motivation. The future motivation is that you will share His glory at His revelation. If now, you share—a word taken from koinonia, the big fellowship word—in his sufferings, you will be overjoyed when Christ’s glory is revealed, when He returns to the world. Because what is the other option of rejoicing? It’s denouncing Christ. In the midst of seeing your children being used for Nero’s torches and your spouse torn to shreds by a lion, you can either denounce Christ, turn tail and run, or rejoice. Christ suffered so that we might die to sin and live for righteousness, and by His wounds we are healed. Sharing in his sufferings means that we have chosen to die to sin and to live for righteousness, to live for Him. Sharing in his sufferings means we get to be hated just like Him. What a wonderful privilege, to be treated like our Savior!

When you look at it like that, I’m not sure if there is much of a choice. I’d much rather be treated like Christ than have special privileges because I’m a Christian. And, I get to rejoice when Christ returns. The word translated “overjoyed” is one with more force and weight to it than the normal word for rejoice, which is used at the beginning of the verse. We rejoice now because when Christ comes back, we will rejoice even more. Our joy will increase when Christ’s glory is revealed. What is better? To suffer a little while on earth or to suffer eternally in hell? If we suffer now, we can rejoice, because our joy will increase throughout eternity.

So rejoice because of the future reality of eternal glory. But there's also a present reason for rejoicing. Look at verse 14; this is a present reason for rejoicing. “If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed.” The present benefit is being blessed, right here and now. I know I said Christ didn’t come to make us happy. That’s not what being blessed is all about. Being blessed is a result of having the Spirit of God on you. It is therefore not a subjective happiness, where one person is happy and the next happier. Suffering brings God’s presence in a much stronger sense than when life is great. And so our blessing is more a benefit than anything else. We don’t have to go it alone. God is right there with us.

The thing I notice about both of these reasons to rejoice—future and present—is that it’s because of God’s presence. We obviously won’t be excited about being beaten and insulted. I don’t know anyone who wakes up in the morning and desires to be yelled at in order to get them going for the day. But with God’s presence, we have reason to rejoice.

Conclusion: The Persecuted Church Today

Okay, we’ve covered points one and two: expect suffering and rejoice in it. We’ll plan to cover the next two next week. But today, there are questions we must ask ourselves:

1. Do we expect to suffer? Are we surprised when we are insulted because of the name of
Christ?
2. How do we respond to it? Do we have joy that comes from knowing we are loved
and that Christ is with us? Do we remember we will rejoice eternally?
3. Do we take time to remember those who suffer and die each day for Jesus?

Our Christian brothers and sisters are persecuted around the world, and it is easy for us to forget that persecution isn’t just a first-century thing. The Voice of the Martyrs tells the story of a man named Andrew in Bangladesh, a country near India.

Four drivers of four different buses were hired by a militant Muslim group to crash into Andrew’s SUV on the morning of April 24th. On his way to visit 17 Muslim convert families, Andrew was rammed by a bus while in the front passenger seat of his moving vehicle. His left elbow was broken from the impact, and his right forearm was embedded with glass and severely lacerated in five places. The Voice of the Martyrs is providing continuing medical treatment for Andrew, who was attacked for his Christian witness. Immediately after the collision, the bus driver ran from the scene and reported to the leader of the hiring Islamic group that he killed the targeted Christian preacher in the red SUV. Wasting no time, two men from the Islamic group went to the accident site to confirm the bus driver’s account, but they were too late. Andrew’s driver had already driven the smashed SUV away from the scene to the nearest city, where the unconscious Andrew was later admitted to a government hospital. Once at the hospital, doctors cleaned some of Andrew’s wounds and transported him to an operating room where they extracted shattered glass from five large gashes in his left arm. Andrew later regained consciousness, bleeding and in great pain. When Andrew’s brother (a medical doctor) arrived at the hospital, he saw that Andrew’s treatment had been stopped, even though he needed more care. He quickly checked Andrew out of the hospital and took him to another doctor. Together, the two physicians extracted the remainder of the glass from the wounds and dressed them before driving Andrew over 370 miles to a large city.

While traveling to the city, Andrew received four calls on his mobile phone. Even though he was not fully coherent because of the pain during the trip, Andrew remembers callers telling him, “Now you are going to heaven with your Isa (Christ).” Andrew believes that the perpetrating Islamic group kept the hospital staff from cleaning his wounds in the operating room. During the month of June, Andrew received more threatening phone calls from unidentified people within the attacking fundamentalist Muslim group. They confirmed the premeditation of their murder plot by divulging they knew from a source beforehand that he was going to travel in a red SUV to visit a group of Muslim converts on the morning of April 24th. Andrew believes the radical group gave instructions for the first bus driver who saw him on the road to smash into his vehicle. Andrew shared that his most recent phone calls from the militant group express they still plan to kill him. They meticulously described the make, model and color of the passenger vehicle in which he was to be transported and the date and location of his upcoming medical examination. For many years, Andrew has received phone calls threatening him and his family, and this is not the first attempt on his life. But despite all of this hostility and opposition, Andrew remains determined to continue his ministry to Muslim background believers.

This is a story from Indonesia, the country with the world’s greatest population of Muslims. On October 16, 2006, Pastor Irianto Kongkoli was shot and killed by two masked gunmen. He was 42 years old. The attack happened at 8:15 a.m. local time. That morning, Pastor Kongkoli was shopping for tile with his wife, Mrs. Rita Arianti Kopa, and five-year-old daughter, Galatea. The trio took the family van to a local hardware shop. Pastor Kongkoli was browsing the store’s yard when two masked men shot him in the head at a range of two meters. According to witnesses, one of the men was on a motorbike. Following the attack, the masked men fled. Pastor Kongkoli’s wife heard the shots from inside the van and rushed to help her husband. Rita, who is a member of the East Palu police force, immediately took her husband to a hospital for aid. He died that same day. Local police are following a lead on the two men suspected in Pastor Kongkoli’s murder. The suspects are also wanted for the murder of Pastor Susianti Tinulele, a pastor shot in the back of her head during a Sunday service, and the murder of an unidentified employee at a gold shop. Pastor Kongkoli actively worked to promote peace between Christians and Muslims. His body is to be buried in Palu, the capital of Central Sulawesi, instead of Tentena, the Christian district, to prevent retaliation against his death. Pastor Kongkoli is survived by his wife, Rita, and three children. Rita is not seeking retaliation against her husband’s murders, but plans to let local authorities handle the case. “It is God’s will,” she said. “He gives life and then He also takes life.”

Let's pray for the persecuted church now. If you're reading this on the blog, take time to pray now.