You can turn in your Bibles back again to 1 Peter 2. 1 Peter 2. We'll read the portion that we also focused on this morning, that's verses 21 to 25. You'll remember this morning we looked at those three who's of Christ. We remarked and we gloried in, hopefully, Christ's sinlessness there found in verse 22, who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in his mouth.
We noted Christ's non-retaliatory resolve there displayed in verse 23, who, when he was reviled, did not revile in return. When he suffered, he did not threaten, but committed himself to him who judges righteously. And then we noted, of course, his blessed substitutionary curse bearing that the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ finds at its heart the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ really and truly did die for us. That is, he died in our stead.
He died instead of his people, those whom he was redeeming. Tonight, we'll look at that same portion of scripture, verses 21 to 25, Tonight we're going to have a look at the reason for the exhortation that's given. We're going to look at the exhortation itself. And then finally, the foundation for our obedience to that exhortation and the ground of our ability to heed it.
But we'll repeat those points as we look at this text, but let's now read it again. 1 Peter 2, 21 to 25. For to this you were called. because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that you should follow his steps, who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in his mouth, who when he was reviled, did not revile in return. When he suffered, he did not threaten, but committed himself to him who judges righteously, who himself bore our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness by whose stripes you were healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the shepherd and overseer of your souls.
Amen. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you again that we can now read from your scriptures and that we can now engage in, participate in this act of worship, the preaching of your word. We call again for your help, for divine aid, for the preacher and for the hearer.
We pray that you would give the preacher what he requires in order to expound and to open up this passage to instruct well concerning Christ Jesus. We pray, Lord God, for the hearers, that you would edify and instruct saints. And Lord God, that you would save sinners unto the praise of your glorious grace. We pray now that this exercise might redound to your glory.
Lord God, that you would help us to engage honorably and biblically as we continue the worship of our triune God. And it's in Christ's name that we pray. Amen.
Introduction
What we noted this morning, we didn't necessarily focus specifically on the exhortation, but the ground forward, if you will, the person and the work of our Lord Jesus Christ. We will tonight then focus on the exhortation that is given. And I'm not sure if this is the right language, but the exhortation is kind of veiled in the portion that we read. That is, it doesn't say, therefore, do thus and thus necessarily, but rather it opens up with a call for them or a reminder that what he had previously written in 18 to 20, they were to do.
He says, for to this you were called. And specifically what they are called to is to patiently endure suffering. That's the specific exhortation that Peter gives to his primarily Jewish Christian audience. He calls them to patiently endure suffering.
We can see that if we read again verses 18 to 21. 18 to 20, servants be submissive to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the harsh. For this is commendable if because of conscience toward God, one endures grief, suffering wrongfully. For what credit is it if, when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? Now here it is, but when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God.
So you see when he says, for to this you were called, what is that that he's speaking about? Well, he's not speaking about to slavery, in the decree of God and in his unfolding providence, they were called to be slaves, to be servants. He's not necessarily, though this is closer to what he's getting at, he's not referring to the, that you should follow his steps, though they are called to follow in the steps of Jesus Christ. What specifically he's referring to is the end of verse 20, but when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, This is commendable before God.
So that is what's in view when Peter then says, or writes, for to this you were called, to patient endurance, which is commendable before God. That is patient endurance of suffering. But
Reason for the Exhortation
we want to look first off now at the reason for this exhortation, the reason for this call to patient endurance of suffering. And we find this, First in chapter 1, then in chapter 4. And let's look at those texts for a moment. What is the reason for the exhortation?
We find it first in chapter 1, verses 6 to 9. Notice what Peter writes there. 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, whom having not seen you love, though now you do not see him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith, the salvation of your souls." So you see there, specifically in verse 6, is the reason for the exhortation. You have been grieved by various trials.
Those trials we'll elaborate on in a moment, but turn with me to chapter four, because we didn't read all of this this morning in our introduction to the context. But we'll read it now, because in here we find, again, the reason for the exhortation. In verse 12, beginning at verse 12 of chapter four, 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. In fact, this that portion of scripture could have been the text with these with these same things, with these same points in mind.
The reason for the exhortation is, first off, as we saw in verse six, the sufferings in the trials that they were already enduring for a little while, that they will endure for a little while. So persecutions that had already taken place, that were taking place, and now is the promise of fiery trials upcoming. The promise that there will be a judgment coming that will begin at the house of God. I believe, as others believe, what he's speaking there concerning, he's speaking to Jewish Christians with regards to the upcoming judgment of God by the Roman armies upon Jerusalem and the temple.
There is a divine judgment coming that is a covenantal judgment upon apostate Jerusalem, but that will have ramifications for the Christian communities as well. And so he's saying that great persecution will be coming upon you, even though it has been coming upon you, there is more coming. But he says, therefore, let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good as to a faithful creator. So there is this persecution coming that you will endure.
It is coming and you must endure it. Endure it knowing this, that you commit your souls to a faithful creator, that is a faithful possessor, one who owns you as your sovereign protector, one who is your caregiver. not a feeble and a fallible caregiver that can be intimidated and overthrown, but a sovereign caregiver with unrivaled power who will most certainly protect his people. So again, the reason for the exhortation is this suffering. And we want to note, as we continue with this point, that there is a promise of this suffering.
We see it here, but in the scriptures, in the New Testament, as a whole, we see a promise of suffering. And when I talk about suffering in this case, I'm talking peculiarly about the first century persecution that came upon the apostles. You see, Jesus gives that promise, remember, in John 16. It's a promise in the context of giving another promise about the coming Holy Spirit.
He says, I'm sending you another helper, another comforter, one who will guide you into all truth, one who will give you the strength to endure. I'm paraphrasing, but one who I will not abandon you, but rather I will send you the Holy Spirit, who will help you in this lower world. And he gives that wonderful statement, which is sort of a, it's a double-edged sword. He says, in this world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world.
Now, that has a logical or a covering extension to us as 21st century Christians, but there was a peculiar and a specific and a direct application to that particular audience because unlike us here in North America, they really did go through hot and heavy and angry persecution. And so there was that promise of suffering or that promise of persecution, there's that Definitive statement that Jesus gives in this world. You will have tribulation
Prophetic Promise of Persecution
There is also a prophetic promise prophetic promises of this coming Persecution that this audience of Peter would have to endure just to see this in your own Bibles turn with me to Matthew 23 Matthew 23 if we ask the question, where does Jesus promise? prophetically that his saints will endure a Well, one of the places that we see this is in Matthew 23. And in this discourse, or in this portion of narrative that continues into 24 and into 25, first off, this prophetic promise is given. Yes to his disciples, but more specifically to the unbelieving religious leaders Jesus is pronouncing these seven woes these these words of imprecation divine wrath that will be rendered or that will be poured out upon the scribes and the Pharisees and in the last one We find this at verse 31. Therefore, you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets.
Fill up then the measure of your father's guilt, serpents, brood of vipers. How can you escape the condemnation of hell? Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes. Some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city, that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth.
You see here what Jesus is promising prophetically is actually more to the scribes and the Pharisees that they will be the recipients of divine wrath because they have filled up the measure of their guilt by murdering the prophets, by being the sons of those who murdered the prophets, and like their fathers, they will kill the prophets that Christ sends to them. But there is that promise of persecution that the scribes and the Pharisees, these vipers, these serpents, they will kill the prophets. They will kill and crucify and scourge and persecute from city to city. Now, if you turn to Matthew 24, now we have Jesus speaking directly to his disciples.
So it's no longer he's left the multitude. He's pronounced the woes upon the scribes and the Pharisees. And he continues, among many other prophetic signs, among many other prophetic promises, he includes the promise of persecution. Notice at Matthew 24 at verse 9, right off the bat, then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake.
You see, they asked the question to paraphrase, when will the temple in the city be destroyed? When will the temple be destroyed? And Jesus answers them by giving many signs through to the end of Matthew 24, when the temple will be destroyed. And one of those signs is that the scribes and the Pharisees, or the enemies of the gospel generally, will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for my namesake.
Now, we're going to get there in a moment, but just humanly speaking, isn't that a wonderful promise from your master who will soon depart you? If we were to make our own religion, if we were to start our own religion like many do, We wouldn't really include anything like that. Or if we were in some sort of a religion, we would, humanly speaking, want the religious leaders to say, all will be well with you. In fact, that was one of the pronouncements of the prophets against the false prophets in the old covenant, that they would be prophesying peace, peace, and wellness in the covenant nation when they were apostate wretches.
You see, we would want in our religion, if we were unredeemed sinners, we would want We would want blessings, we would want a hedonistic world of happiness. But you see, Christ pronounces or promises to them that they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for my namesake. But as we continue, you'll see that that would be a blessed badge of any saint in God's created universe. So it's promise.
There is the promise of this suffering or persecution.
Reality of Persecution
There is the reality of this persecution. You see, we noted this morning that every prophetic promise in the scriptures is fulfilled in time and in history. And we see that within the pages of the scriptures with these particular promises. I mean, you only have to turn to the book of Acts and see the record of these things coming true that Jesus promised in Matthew 23 and in Matthew 24.
But turn with me to the book of Hebrews for a moment as we see the reality now of the persecution. So it is promised, and it does come to fruition in the life and in the history of the first century Christians, Hebrews chapter 10. Hebrews chapter 10, and this is where we see that it is a joyful thing for the Christian to endure suffering for the sake of their Savior, his or her savior. But recall, this is verse 32 of Hebrews 10.
But recall the former days in which after you were illuminated, you endured a great struggle with sufferings, partly while you were made a spectacle both by reproaches and tribulations, and partly while you became companions of those who were so treated. For you had compassion on me in my chains, and now notice, and joyfully accepted the plundering of your goods. As a general rule, we don't joyfully receive, we don't joyfully accept the plundering of our goods. But notice what the reason for, notice why they joyfully accepted the plundering of their goods in this context, knowing that you have a better and an enduring possession for yourselves in heaven.
So you see, the saints could, the disciples could, with full Christian minds in Matthew 24, though they were Christians, but they could appreciate that promise that they will kill you and they will persecute you from city to city. Why? Because they knew that they had a better and enduring possession for themselves in heaven. So we have the promise of persecution, we have the reality of persecution.
And just to understand this a little bit more, or to see this also, turn to 1 Thessalonians for a moment. 1 Thessalonians. Remember, as it's been often said from this pulpit, the two primary enemies, the church of our Lord Jesus Christ. As you follow the book of Acts, you see this. As we read the epistles to churches, maybe more so in Gentile or Asia Minor nations and in cities, we see the Greeks.
So we have the Jews and the Greeks, or we could say the Jews and the Roman Empire persecuting the Christians. But in 1 Thessalonians 2, we have a record here of the enduring persecution that the Christians engaged in. Verse 14, for you, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God which are in Judea in Christ Jesus. For you also suffered the same things from your own countrymen, just as they did from the Judeans who killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets and have persecuted us.
And they do not please God and are contrary to all men, forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they may be saved. So as always to fill up the measure of their sins, but wrath has come upon them to the uttermost. So we have that reality of persecution and This persecution that we're discussing would have been very grievous to them and something that we probably don't know anything about. If you think about the fact that Peter is talking to Jewish Christians whose persecution is coming from their own countrymen, but most likely also for many of them from their own families.
Their own families are excluding them, pouring out upon them socioeconomic exclusion from society, religious exclusion from society. They're not allowed to gather in the temple. And not only that, but as we read the Book of Acts, beatings and stonings unto death. This is by their own countrymen, according to the flesh, formerly under the antiquities of the old covenant, their own religious kinfolk.
And they're bringing persecution and they're bringing beatings and scourgings and exclusions upon their own family members. And so this persecution would have cut straight to the heart of these Christians that Peter is writing to. And so he no doubt says, be comforted well by the God of our Lord Jesus Christ and by the promises of the gospel. So we have persecution promised, we have persecution realized, or the reality of persecution.
And then just briefly before we move on, the reason for the persecution.
Reason for Persecution
What is the reason for the persecution? If we ask another question, why were these Christians persecuted? I think we find a good foundational answer in the book of 1 Corinthians. The book of 1 Corinthians.
If you turn there to chapter 1, we see a good foundational answer as to why Christians are persecuted. And we'll start reading at verse 21. 1 Corinthians 121, for since in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God. It pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For Jews request a sign. and Greeks seek after wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified.
To the Jews, a stumbling block, and to the Greeks, foolishness. But to those who are called both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God, and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. You see, what branches out from this, what flows from this necessarily, is a hatred for the religion of Christianity.
Because you see, to the Jews, this religion, first off, this Christ is a stumbling block, and this religion is madness and folly. Remember that Spurgeon quote, the Jews could not endure a crucified Messiah. Were all of their washings, and were all of their ceremonies, and all of their multitudinous Old Testament religious articles to be cast off, and nothing to remain but a bloody savior. And Spurgeon answers, yes, of course.
That's what Paul is getting at in the scriptures. So to propagate a religion that puts an end to everything that we were about, to the Jews, that was blasphemy of blasphemies. They did not yet understand the scriptures that the Christ must come and inaugurate the new covenant reality. But they saw Christianity, of course, as an affront to their system and as a blasphemous new religion that sought to put an end to their religious comforts and their traditions.
And so, no doubt, the fact that it was an offense to the Jews served as a means for them to persecute these Christians, this sect of the Nazarenes. And then, of course, to the Greeks, to the Greeks, it's foolishness. And while we may have the simple and somewhat harmless arguments and debates that no doubt took place in places like the School of Tyrannus and elsewhere in the Greek world. We have the fact that propagating a Jesus who is the only answer to man's problem and doing away with the pagan deities of Asia Minor, for example, that was a great offense and that was a cause to stir up the crowds and to wanting to put to death the apostles who preach this Jesus.
Remember Acts 19, the people are in a fury over a three-breasted female deity that fell from the heavens. Because preaching this Jesus is going to put an end to our Diana worship. It's going to put an end to our economy, because we can no longer manufacture idols from stone and wood. And so Christianity comes, and it is an enemy to the Jews.
It is an enemy to the Greeks. But it isn't an enemy in the sense that it is the only righteous answer to man's wicked problem. The Jews rejected and persecuted a religion that was their hope and their consolation and their answer. And the Greeks rejected and persecuted a religion that was their only hope of salvation from the madness of their paganism.
The Exhortation Itself
Now moving on then to the exhortation itself. So the reason for the exhortation, as we move back to 1 Peter, The reason for the exhortation is the persecution that Jews and Greeks were bringing upon these Jewish Christians. These Christians now to the exhortation itself. Notice again what it is.
Peter writes at the end of verse 20, but when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God for to this you were called. So they were to, uh, they were to, endure patiently the persecutions that came upon them. And in fact, we can use that language of Peter at the end of chapter four as the exhortation, because that ends the section. Therefore, let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to him in doing good.
But the exhortation itself is to patiently endure suffering. And in the text, that's seen in two things.
Negatively: Do Not Revile
First, negatively, when they are reviled, they are not to revile in return. So how does this patient enduring of suffering look? What does it look like? Well, it first looks like negatively to not revile when you're reviled and to not threaten when you're suffered.
Again, look at the text. Speaking of Jesus, who when he was reviled, did not revile in return. When he suffered, he did not threaten. So you see, negatively, when we are the recipients of insulting and abusive speech, When we are the recipients of any sort of persecution that comes in the physical realm, spittings and beatings and those sorts of things, we are not to be the ungodly wretches who fly off the handle and retaliate like for like, turn for turn.
But rather, like the Lord Jesus Christ, we are to commit ourselves to him who judges righteously. But again, negatively, when we are reviled, we are not to revile in return. And like so many places in the scriptures, Peter writes that because he knows the human heart. And you see, Peter can speak from experience.
We noted his denial of the Savior this morning. But on this point, at the point of when he was reviled, he did not revile in return, thinking of the fact that Jesus was reviled by Peter. And Jesus did not, in return, revile Peter, but rather welcomed him to broiled fish and honeycomb and gave him that wonderful, loving threefold restoration. On Peter's point, Peter was reviled by someone near the crucifixion, wasn't he?
Do you remember what he did? He lopped off the ear of Malchus, that servant man. He was reviled in the sense that these were coming to attack the Savior and take him away to trial and to crucifixion. And what's Peter's response?
He comes and he unsheathes his sword and lops off in here. And he was rebuked by the Savior for that. The Savior heals Malchus and all is well. But you see, Peter could speak because he knew the angry heart of sinful man.
What he was supposed to do was he was supposed to, like his Savior, take what was the scriptures being fulfilled. Remember, Christ had said to him on an earlier occasion, I must go to Jerusalem, be delivered by wicked hands, and be crucified. And Peter says, Lord, let it never be. And Jesus responds and says, get thee behind me, Satan.
You see, Peter was instructed at that point that this must take place. I must fulfill all righteousness. I must fulfill as it is written in the scriptures concerning me, that I must go to Jerusalem and die for guilty sinners. But Peter, after that event, nevertheless, reviled when he was reviled.
So Peter had learned his lesson. He had engaged in that angry heart. So he knew the human heart and we should know our own hearts. What is the first thing that we want to do?
And very often, what is the first thing that we do when we're reviled? We revile in return. Whoever it is, whether it's a child, whether it's a spouse, whether it's a driver on the highway, Whoever it is, when we are the recipients, when someone crosses our path or steps on our toes in a wrong way, our first response usually is not enduring it patiently and committing ourselves to God. But it's to fly off the lip, or it's to engage in some measure of vengeance.
And we're not just talking about unredeemed individuals, non-Christians, those pagans out there. You see, when they're reviled, they revile in return. Their universe is all about reviling and reviling and reviling. No, in the redeemed community, in the churches, in Christian families, when we're reviled, we revile in return.
And it's a horrible, horrible thing. And you see, what Peter is trying to do here, Peter, well, what he is doing, and what he's spending time just displaying Jesus for is to show us that if Jesus If you know the if God the Son who was the recipient of the praises of angels before his incarnation if this Jesus who was a the one who fixed galaxies in their place and who currently upholds their orbits by his mighty power. If this Jesus, who has unrivaled mastery over the universe, can condescend from his place of glory to this lower ignominy, dwell among wicked men, be rejected by his people, be spit upon, beaten, lashed, scourged, be nailed with Roman nails to a to a horrific implement of execution and be rejected at the cross by his own people. If Jesus can do that for us and never at any point revile in return and never at any point threaten, then we can be nice to our wives.
We can be nice to our children. We cannot fly off the lip when the smallest thing happens to us. We can be nice. Can't we?
Jesus suffered for us, leaving us an example that you should follow his steps. Now, for the recipients of this particular letter, it was a little worse than, so and so called me a name and you should have seen what I did to him. It's a little worse than people calling us names and people stepping on our toes in what goes on here in North America. They had to endure. the rejection and the mockery and even the physical trials of their enemies who were once their friends, of their enemies who were once their loving family members.
And Peter is saying, you in light of this or in light of Christ who came into this world and when he was reviled, did not revile in return. And let's remember this, that Jesus was sinless. I think that's why he brings up this point here, Verse 22 who committed no sin nor was deceit found in his mouth you see Not only not only do we have I mean we who are we to say that we have a right to revile? When we are guilty wretched and vile When when we are sinners saved by grace when we have still have remaining corruption who are we that? to say that we somehow have a right to revisit wickedness with our own vindication, our own vengeance.
When Jesus Christ, the maker of worlds, the upholder of heaven and earth, the one who is perfect in deity, perfect in humanity, who never committed sin, who never had guile of tongue, who could have called upon 12 legions of angels to escape him from the trial that he was about to go through. did not revile when he was reviled, did not threaten when he suffered. We have absolutely no right. If this sinless Jesus can go through what he went through, then we can, in the very least, seek to follow his steps. So negatively, we are not to revile when we are reviled, and we are not to threaten when we suffer.
Now, a qualification is always good. A qualification is always good in this case. This, of course, doesn't mean if we're, if some sort of perpetrator seeks to enter our house and do physical violence against us, we have every right to put them down. If someone breaks into your house and, you know, wants to do physical violence to you and or your family, this isn't a text that, you know, we can go, oh, sorry, yeah, I'm not allowed to, you know, Return like for like and turn for turn by all means if somebody enters your house and seeks to physically threaten you Do what you can to put them down even unto death We are sanctioned by the Bible to engage in legitimate self-defense For the protection of our lives and our families lives those who have been created in the image of God positively though So negatively, we are not to revile when we're reviled.
We are not to threaten when we suffer. Positively, we are to commit ourselves to God. That's what the text says, who when he was reviled, did not revile in return. When he suffered, he did not threaten, but committed himself to him who judges righteously.
So positively, we are to commit ourselves to God. Maybe more specifically, we are to leave wrath to him. That's what Paul writes elsewhere in the book of Romans. We are not to exercise our own personal vengeance, but rather we are to leave wrath to God.
And in the context, that has to do with leaving God to work by way of the civil magistrate to render punishment against evildoers. But you see what these Christians were supposed to do is they were to commit themselves like their savior to him who judges righteously. I think you know what's in view here. The words of our Savior from the cross, into thy hands I commit my spirit.
That's what's in view here by the Apostle Peter. Again, in view is the crucifixion. So when Christ suffered, he did not threaten, but from the cross, he says, well, he says first, do not count this sin against them. Isn't that an amazing thing?
He prays for forgiveness for his enemies. but then speaks those words into thy hands, I commit my spirit. Stephen follows just like his master at his stoning. He prays for his persecutors and then he commits his spirit unto the exalted Christ. So positively we are to commit ourselves to him who judges righteously.
You see, because God knows what to do. God knows better than we do. Well, we want to exercise our own personal vengeance. Not only is that act wrong, but how we would go about it would be most necessarily wrong as well.
God knows what to do, how to do it. And in his providential timing, he will deal with those who cross us. You see, Peter says that in chapter four. He says that this judgment will come, begin at the house of God.
If it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? You see, the answer is that it will be horrible for them. God does render justice. He renders justice in time and in history, or he renders justice at the eschaton, at the end of the ages, when he will cast his enemies into the lake of fire reserved for the devil and his angels.
You see, when it seems like people are getting away with things in this lower world, Be comforted and be assured that there will be a day. One man has said, justice delayed is not justice denied. What that means is justice may not be rendered upon an enemy of the Lord Jesus Christ. You see, we just read this morning about these Nigerian Muslims who boarded a bus and shot six people after asking them if they were Christians.
You see, God, we should pray that they would receive justice in this lower world because it might be right for God to do so. He may have something for them before Christ comes again in glory, whatever that may be. But rest assured, and those Christians in Nigeria can rest assured, and a Christian family can rest assured that there will be a day where justice will be rendered, where that divine gavel will hit. the figurative bench, and the declaration will be made, and they will get their comeuppance, and there will be no rest for them. So, we have negatively revile.
Do not revile when you're reviled. Do not suffer or threaten when you suffer. Positively, we are to commit ourselves to God, more specifically to leave wrath to Him, and we ought to make a note here as well that
Suffering Is Inevitable and Joyful
Persecution, that suffering, is inevitable for the Christian. We've already noted that there's that definitive statement in this world, you will have tribulation. We also need to note, though, that it isn't just the case that suffering and persecution is inevitable for the Christian. We've made this point before.
It isn't that the Christian's resignation to the fact that, okay, I'm a Christian, so it's inevitable that I'm going to suffer, woe is me. But rather we are to take it joyfully, that's what the Bible says. We are to suffer with great joy. And I find it hard and I find myself unworthy, speaking as a man, to say this to any Christian in Nigeria.
Persecution's inevitable, you need to receive it with joy. Living in North America, I'm just not equipped and I'm not worthy to go to Nigeria and preach that sermon. But you see, the Bible does most certainly disclose that engaging in hot persecution, the saints, or being the recipients of hot and angry persecution in that, saints are to rejoice. A text that shows us this is in Acts 5.
We're moving towards a close, but notice in Acts 5, we have this wonderful account of patient endurance of suffering. In fact, this demonstrates everything that we've talked about tonight. In Acts chapter 5, beginning at verse 40, what has happened is the apostles were imprisoned, the apostles are freed, they come before the Jewish religious leaders. And the Jewish religious leaders ask Gamaliel what should be done to them.
And then we see in verse 40, and they agreed with him, that is the Jewish leaders agreed with Gamaliel's advice. And when they had called for the apostles and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus and let them go. So they departed from the presence of the council rejoicing. that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name. And daily in the temple and in every house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.
You see, we don't know anything about that. We can pray that in the time we are ever to endure persecution like this, to be beaten for the Savior, that we would leave there rejoicing. And that we would still gather wherever opportunity has us, wherever providence finds us, to preach about the Lord Jesus Christ. But notice what's going on here.
We have the apostles not reviling in return. They suffered for doing good, which is commendable to God. They didn't answer turn for turn. They didn't grab the rod or whatever out of the hands of their religious leaders and start hammering back at them.
They took the beating, left, and rejoice that they were counted worthy to suffer for his name. You see, it would have been a whole lot worse. Our carnal minds think, oh, I just want to get back at that religious leader. I want to grab that rod, and I just want to visit back upon him what he did for me.
How dare he? But you see, if they were to do that, then to use an overused statement, the terrorists win, don't they? The scribes and the Pharisees win because then they would imprison them for insurrectionism, and they wouldn't be used by God out in the world to go to many nations, to many cities, to preach the riches and the excellencies of Christ. Yes, God can do his work in prisons, but as far as their task and their apostleship, they had much more to do for kingdom and for the glory of the gospel, and so it served to actually listen to the words of Christ, or to actually follow in Christ's steps, to not revile, to not threaten, but rather to commit themselves to him who judges righteously.
Foundation for Obedience
And lastly and quickly, as we move through this, and as we move towards a close, the foundation for our obedience to the exhortation and the ground of our ability to heed it. What does that mean? If we ask the question, why are we to, patiently endure suffering. If we ask the question, why are we to be obedient to this exhortation to patiently endure suffering?
Or if we ask the question, how are we going to have the ability to do this? Well, we see this in our text. If we move back there in 1 Peter, we see first off that Christ's suffering for us is the foundation for our obedience and the ground of our ability to heed the exhortation.
Christ's Suffering as Foundation
Notice verse 21, for to this you were called because Christ also suffered for us. Because Christ suffered for us, therefore we are called to in like manner suffer for him. And when I say like manner, I don't mean that we are to be crucified and that we are to engage in everything that Christ did. That was a one time thing.
But we are to be the recipients of reviling and the recipients of suffering for the sake of the gospel, for the cause of God in truth, just as Christ was. For to this you are called, because Christ also suffered for us. And don't we feel, as Christians, we don't have an economy of salvation where we work for our salvation, or where we have some sort of we owe God, so we must pay in order to receive divine blessing. But with that said, don't we have a measure of whatever you want to call it where we feel that we are to do for Christ because he did so much for us?
We think about what we talked about this morning when we were talking about those seven revilings, the seventh of which was Christ was reviled by us. And we remarked that we can rehearse our sins The one that stands out, the one that really stands out is that Christ died for our reviling of him. Christ died for guilty wretches who said, let him be crucified. Christ died for guilty wretches who said, give us Barabbas and let Christ's blood be upon us and our children.
Christ died for such as who reviled in that manner. There's a, there's a, I think it's a, there's a modern hymn. I think it's a modern hymn, maybe Jonathan can tell me later. How Great the Father's Love for Us, I believe is the name of the hymn.
And there's a, there's a, one of the stanzas goes something like, Behold a man upon the cross, my sin upon his shoulders. And then it says, Ashamed I hear my mocking voice call out among the scoffers. You see, we, in our pride, and in our 2,000 years detached, can look back at those who reviled before the cross of Christ, those who said, let him be crucified, and say, oh, if I was there, I wouldn't do that. If I was an unbeliever, I just would have thought, this is horrible.
How can you do this to such a man? What horrible wretches they were back there who said, let him be crucified. I promise you that every single one of us outside of the Lord Jesus Christ, if we were there, we'd be raising our fist, mocking this Jesus, and saying, let his blood be upon us and our children. But you see, we come to the gospel.
We come to salvation. We come to the Bible's promises of salvation by Jesus Christ. And we can now as Christians find ourselves in this place. Christ also suffered for us.
So what are we going to do? Oh, well, when I'm reviled, I'm going to revile in return because don't they know who I am? They have to get theirs. When I, when I, when I suffer, I, I'm going to threaten and my threatening is not going to, it's, it's going to be just wait till you see.
I've heard people, I've heard people rejoice in, in their vengeance, man, you should have seen what I did. You see this person did this to me and oh boy, they didn't know what they had coming. What? That's horrible.
That's horrible. You think yourself better than Jesus or somehow more, worthy of your own personal vengeance than the Lord Jesus Christ, who, when he was reviled, did not revile in return. When he suffered, he did not threaten. Who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in his mouth.
Consider who Jesus is. Consider where he came from, to where he came, what he did. And if you ever revile in return, and if you ever threaten when suffered, shame on you. Shame on me.
Christ suffered for us. That is the foundation for our obedience and the ground of our ability to heed it. Christ's example set.
Christ's Example as Foundation
Secondly, under this point number three, Christ's example set is the foundation for our obedience to the exhortation. Because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that you should follow his steps. And then
Status as Found Sheep
thirdly and finally, a foundation for and a ground of is our present and abiding status. That is our present and abiding status as found sheep safe in the fold. Look at what the text says. Look at what the text says at verse 25, for you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the shepherd and overseer of your souls.
So as found sheep safe in the fold, we are now to be obedient to the exhortation. And that serves as that reality. You see, what comes with Christ's suffering for us and what comes with us being now found sheep is a change. That change comes with the fact that we're regenerated.
We're born again. We're effectually called by the power of God from the darkness and the madness and the wickedness of our sin. to a place where we're now in Christ Jesus with renewed hearts, with new hearts that beat no longer for being slaves to that master, the devil, but rather to our God and to our Christ, serving him in righteousness and in holiness, being regenerated and being now sanctified. We are those found sheep safe in the fold. who seek to, like our Savior, exercise our conduct as such that is marked by not reviling, not threatening, but committing ourselves to him who judges righteously. So we are, brethren, though it may not be that first century apostolic persecution, we are to expect persecution and suffering in this lower world.
Expect it. When it comes, pray to have that apostolic rejoicing. and do not revile in return, and do not threaten in the face of suffering. We are to receive it with joy. We are to seek after non-retaliatory resolve.
When it wells up in you, when it wells up in you to respond to people who revile, and it might not be specifically insultive or abusive speech, whatever it is, somebody sins against you. You need to cut it off at the pass when it wells up in you to respond in a sinful manner, to respond in kind. There is no sanctified silent treatment. There is no Christian silent treatment.
Very often in homes, in churches, in workplaces, wherever you find yourselves, what's one of our responses? Well, I'm just not gonna talk to them. I'm just gonna give them the silent treatment. There's no Christian version of that.
When we're reviled, we do not revile in return. We commit ourselves to him who judges righteously. We are to leave things to the Lord. You see, there is peace in that.
There is peace in that. Very often, not only do we like to revile, not only is that the initial response, but you see, we want to deal with it. We want to deal with our problem. We don't want to leave it to the Lord.
We want to seek after, you know, a full-orb resolution of every single problem so that my mind is satisfied. Leave it to the Lord. Commit yourself to him who judges righteously. Jesus didn't render any sort of long-winded defense of his innocence.
Stephen, the same, following his master's steps. Jesus didn't come down from the cross. He didn't call down 12 legions of angels. He didn't call down the fires of hell to rain down upon his enemies, but rather committed himself to him who judges righteously.
And finally, meditate upon the foundation for all of this. You see, a good remedy for our wicked hearts, for that remaining corruption that resides in our regenerate, excuse me, hearts, as Christians, the best remedy is to meditate upon the foundation for all of this, that is Christ's suffering, Christ's example and our present and abiding status as sheep found and brought back to the fold. The best remedy is not to stew over, to well up with anger, to well up with insert bad word here, but rather it is to meditate upon Jesus Christ, salvation by our blessed Savior, all of the glorious things that come with salvation by our great God.
Closing Prayer
Let us pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for this passage of scripture which speaks to so much. We thank you for what it discloses concerning the Lord Jesus. We thank you for what it shows us, how we ought to conduct ourselves as Christians in an ungodly world and within the context of the church community.
And we just pray that you'd help us in this, that we would be prayerful in order to be able to do what Peter exhorts saints to do here. We pray that you would help us daily to meditate upon all those blessed things that we know concerning our God, our Christ, and salvation, and that we would see this as a foundation for our obedience and as the ground of our ability to engage in godliness. We just pray that you go with us now, help us, Lord God, in this upcoming week to do as we ought according to your word and for your glory. We pray that you would bring us that ministry of the Holy Spirit daily in order to do this, that we would be able by spirit and word to bring you glory and bring love to your people.
We pray in Christ's precious name. Amen. Why don't you stand with me? We're going to turn to hymn 87 and sing the first stanza as a doxology at the end of the service.
That's hymn 87, stanza one of holy, holy, holy. Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty, God in three Persons, blessed Trinity.