Peter Comforts Persecuted Christians

I Peter 3:13-17; 4:12-16; 5:6-10

GOLDEN TEXT: “For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing.”—I Peter 3:17

PETER’S comfort to persecuted Christians consists largely of his explanation of why they suffer. For one to know why he suffers goes a long way toward helping him bear the suffering, especially if good is to result there from. Great good is to result from Christian suffering. This suffering started with Jesus and is participated in by all His faithful followers. It results in the future blessing of the world of mankind by means of the Messianic Kingdom in which Jesus and His church will reign in glory.

“If ye suffer for righteousness’ sake, happy are ye,” says Peter. This is contrary to human wisdom. From the natural standpoint it is a calamity to suffer for doing good. One who has done wrong and suffers for it may concede that he is getting his just deserts, but to be happy in the thought of suffering for doing good is not compatible with human philosophy.

The time is coming when there will be no suffering of any kind, for suffering is directly or indirectly the result of sin. Since sin entered into the world through Adam, suffering has been the common lot of all mankind. This suffering has been a part of the experience of sin and death, and has been because of evil doing. Jesus suffered, too, but not because He was a sinner, although it was on account of sin, or “for” sin, as Peter puts it.—I Peter 3:18

The astounding part of Peter’s lesson is that Christians suffer for the same reason that Jesus suffered, namely, for sin, and not because they are sinners. Study carefully chapter 3, verses 16-18. Here Peter explains that a true Christian who has a good conscience is falsely accused when evil is charged against him. If he suffers on account of this, then it is the will of God that he suffer for well doing. This is the best way to suffer, explains the apostle, “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the Just for the unjust.”

There is no escaping the meaning of these words, namely, that the Christian who suffers for doing good, is, like Christ, suffering the just for the unjust, and this, Peter explains, is suffering for sins; that is, the sins of others, not our own. Hence it is, that if we suffer for wrong doing it is a punishment, but if we suffer for doing good, it is a sacrifice, an offering—a part of the sin-offering by which sin and its effects upon mankind will be destroyed.

But some may ask, How can pan unjust person suffer the just for the unjust? It is because as Christians we are justified by the blood of Christ, and thus, by faith, made just. God does not look upon the Christian as a sinner, but as one who has been made perfect through the blood. He may not always do perfectly, but that is his aim in life. He is willing to lay down life itself in order that others might be blessed. It is this spirit that prompts him to do good unto all men as he has opportunity, and especially unto the household of faith.—Galatians 6:10

It was this spirit that prompted Jesus to lay down His life for the world. Jesus was actually perfect, “holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners.” His sacrificed humanity was a substitute for the forfeited life of Adam. There is no way in which the church can share in that. Indeed, nothing more is necessary. But there is much to be done in the recovery of the redeemed race. The church is to share in this during the thousand years of the coming Kingdom and is now being prepared therefore.

Each follower of the Master, in order to qualify for that future service with Him, must demonstrate that he is governed by the same spirit that prompted Him to lay down His life. They must show that they are willing to lay down their lives just as He laid down His life, and that because of a genuine love for their fellowmen, even those who are their enemies. Thus they suffer and die for the same reason that Christ suffered and died; that is, because they love mankind, and for that love the world returns hatred and persecution, because the darkness hateth the light.—John 3:19

Because they are moved by the same spirit that filled Jesus, and endure similar trials to those which came to Him, Christians are authorized by God to “reckon” themselves as dying for sin, even as Jesus did. (Rom. 6:10,11) It is not for sin in the sense that it helps to cancel the debt of sin, but rather that it is part of the divine program for destroying sin. The basis of that program is the ransom, the culmination of it will be the actual destruction of sin during the thousand years of the Kingdom reign. The attack of a sinful world against a true follower of Christ, and the latter’s humble yielding to the assault, as Jesus did, contributes to the final result. For this reason the church’s suffering is properly said by the apostle to be for sin.

For this reason we should not think it strange when fiery trials come upon us because of doing good, but rejoice inasmuch as we are thereby partaking of the sufferings of Christ. Instead of rebelling, we should humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God, knowing that this is His will for us; and that if faithful He will exalt us in due time. This is the promise as recorded by the prophets, when they testified concerning the sufferings of Christ, and “the glory that should follow.”—I Peter 1:11

QUESTIONS:

Why are Christians called upon to suffer for doing good?

What relationship does Christian suffering bear toward the world’s sin?

How is it possible for a Christian, being by nature a sinner, to offer an acceptable sacrifice to God?

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