The promise at the end of suffering

1 Peter 4:12–19 ¹²Dear friends, do not be surprised by the fiery trial that is happening among you to test you, as if something strange were happening to you. ¹³Instead rejoice whenever you are sharing in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.

¹⁴If you are insulted in connection with the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. ¹⁵Make sure that none of you suffers as a murderer, a thief, a criminal, or as a meddler. ¹⁶But if you suffer for being a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God in connection with this name. ¹⁷For the time has come for judgment to begin with the household of God. Now if it begins with us, what will be the end for those who disobey the gospel of God? ¹⁸And if it is hard for the righteous to be saved, where will the ungodly sinner end up? ¹⁹So let those who suffer according to the will of God entrust their souls to their faithful Creator while doing what is good.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort” (2 Corinthians 1:3, EHV)

I want a show of hands. How many of you watched all of the Packers/Bears game on Sunday night? You’re good fans. You witnessed a thrilling 24-23 come-from-behind victory as the Packers scored on three straight fourth quarter possessions.

I want another show of hands. How many of you turned off the game at halftime? Only me? I’m OK admitting that I’m a fair-weather fan. The franchise quarterback looked like he was out for the season and the backup quarterback allowed a fumble sack and a pick six. It was ugly. I had better things to do than watch what I thought would be a 54-0 debacle.

When I woke up Monday morning, I checked the score on my phone. I couldn’t believe it! I had to turn on SportsCenter to watch the highlights of the fourth quarter.

How was I supposed to know that Aaron Rodgers was telling the Bears, “I’ll sit out the first half and spot you 20 points and then come back to win”? If I had known the Packers were going to win in the end, then I would have watched the whole game. But, isn’t that true for all of us? If we had known the Packers were going to win, then we wouldn’t have been stressed with the first half fumbles and interceptions; we wouldn’t have been depressed that Khalil Mack had signed with the Bears instead of with the Packers; we wouldn’t have been traumatized when Aaron Rodgers was carted into the tunnel.

Knowing there is a promise at the end of suffering makes all the difference. Our present can be calm because our future is set.

First, Peter discusses the difference between suffering for the name of Christ and the suffering we bring on ourselves because of our sin: “If you are insulted in connection with the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. Make sure that none of you suffers as a murderer, a thief, a criminal, or as a meddler.”

A good deal, though not all, of the suffering we endure comes to us because of our own sin. Perhaps we are ineligible for sports because we don’t get our homework done correctly or on time. Perhaps we are in an accident because we are speeding in dangerous driving conditions. Perhaps we suffer lung or liver damage because of excessive smoking or drinking. Perhaps we have strained family relationships because of our bitterness, impatience, gossip, or lack of love.

When suffering is a result of our own sin, God sends the suffering to us to warn us against continuing in that sin. To continue in deliberate sin is to bring eternal ruin to our own souls and often great harm to others as well.

There is perhaps no better example of the kind of suffering that is the result of one’s own sin than the suffering David experience as a result of his affair with Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11, 12). The child who came out of that adultery died; though the child was rescued by that death and taken into the arms of his heavenly Father, David and Bathsheba certainly never forgot the loss.

God, also, did not allow David to forget the seriousness of his sin. The loss of the child was followed by a succession of tragedies in David’s family. But that suffering was necessary. It was even an evidence of God’s loving promise of forgiveness through the suffering and salvation at the end of the suffering. It was necessary as a reminder to David – and all of us – that God takes sin seriously. It was necessary as a reminder that forgiveness is not a license to sin. The suffering was necessary, most importantly, as a demonstration of how great God’s grace is: The temporal suffering was a constant reminder that the eternal suffering was gone because the sin was forgiven through the promise of the coming Christ – great David’s greater Son.

Doesn’t that sound strange to us? Present suffering is a reminder of present forgiveness. Present suffering reminds us to thank God for our release from eternal suffering. Present suffering is a warning against the danger of future sin.

Suffering is a sledgehammer. The devil uses suffering to pound away at your foundation, to create cracks of doubt and crevices of disbelief. God uses suffering to build up the foundation of your faith, to repair and retain what is built upon Jesus Christ, the Rock of our salvation.

Suffering is God’s skilled tools at work repairing what sin has broken; creating obstacles so that we do not return to that sinful lifestyle; building a hedge so that we stay clear of the greater and eternal suffering on the other side; creating pain so that we get down on our knees in repentance, begging for forgiveness, and asking for strength.

The promise at the end of suffering is just as much God’s grace as the promise of obvious blessings. Let us raise our voices in thanksgiving to the God who loves us enough to call us back to Himself through suffering.

Then, St. Peter discusses how Christians and the Christian Church suffer persecution in the name of Christ: “Dear friends, do not be surprised by the fiery trial that is happening among you to test you, as if something strange were happening to you. Instead rejoice whenever you are sharing in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. … But if you suffer for being a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God in connection with this name. let those who suffer according to the will of God entrust their souls to their faithful Creator while doing what is good.”

The Christian Church seems one day to be strong and secure and the next, about to perish. In fact, in every age of her history, the Church has seemed to be on the brink of complete destruction. Persecution from the outside has threatened the Church’s ruin when violent governments raised the sword against her. At other times, the godless philosophy of the world wedded to nothing greater than personal fulfillment and the pleasure of the moment has threatened to seduce entire generations away from her doors. At still other times, the moral or doctrinal corruption within her own walls has become so pervasive that any thought of her survival has seemed naïve at best.

The world was filled with wickedness and unbelief, so God preserved the Church with a worldwide flood while keeping Noah and his family safe on the ark. The Pharaoh was trying to slowly kill the Israelites by drowning their baby boys and working the parents to death. God drowned Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea and preserved Israel in the Promised Land. The early Christian Church was prosecuted and persecuted by Roman emperors, yet God allowed the persecution to strengthen and spread His Church throughout the world. Russia, China, India, and Africa had once driven Christianity to near extinction in their countries, but now Christianity is growing and expanding in those places at miraculous rates.

It is at such times, times of suffering – whether for the individual Christian or the Church as a whole – that the promise of God is most comforting and reassuring. Christ promises that the gates of hell cannot overpower His Christian Church (Matthew 16:18). Christ’s apostle promises for the Christian: “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor rulers, neither things present nor things to come, nor powerful forces, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38,39).

We can suffer through a bad sporting event, if we know the result will be a victory in the end. We can suffer through chemotherapy and radiation, if we know we will be cancer free. We can suffer through painful therapy, if we know that we’ll be able to walk again. We can suffer through scrimping and saving now, if we know we’ll have money for retirement. We can suffer through most things, if we know there is a promise of victory in the end.

God gives us that promise in the midst of suffering. That promise is forgiveness, life, and salvation through Jesus Christ.

Too often we pray the Lord’s Prayer without really considering the depth of the words of that prayer. There is a promise attached to every petition.

We pray for God’s name to be hallowed – be kept holy – because on every side, in the world and in the Church, in our life and in our flesh, God’s name is always under attack. Judged by outward appearance, it always seems like God’s name, His revelation of Himself in His Word, is being thrown aside and under the bus in favor of unbelief, doubt, and indifference. Yet, God’s name continues to be hallowed in our worship, in our WLS and SLHS classrooms, and in our lives. Christ is sitting on His Father’s throne and He makes sure that kingdoms fall and governments crumble, before God’s name ever stops being hallowed.

We pray for God’s Kingdom to come. It appears that God’s Kingdom – is rule in our hearts and lives by His Word – is always on the brink of being overtaken by the devil, the world, and our sinful flesh. But Jesus Christ could not be overtaken by the ruler of hell or defeated by the Caesar of His government or stopped by the sinful flesh of His enemies. Jesus appeared defeated, crushed, and a man of sorrows while dying on the cross. But, it is through that suffering and death, that Jesus crushed Satan’s head, defeated death, and forgave sinful flesh. He rose from the grave and is seated at His Father’s right hand to move governments according to His will and topple kingdoms when they get in His way.

We pray for God’s will to be done. It appears as though the will of evil men and of the evil that lurks within the shrine of our own hearts will win the victory. But even when we, others, and nations live and act opposed to God’s will, He still turns that opposition into accomplishing His will. That’s what St. Paul means when He writes: “All things work for the good of those who love Him” (Romans 8:28).

That’s why day and night we pray, “Hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done!”

There are promises in those petitions. Promises of victory. Promises of forgiveness. Promises of faith. Promises that even when we bring suffering upon ourselves because of our sinfulness or we suffer evil at the hands of others in the name of Christ, we can endure. We can survive. We can thrive. Victory, forgiveness, faith, and salvation are ours in Christ.

Knowing there is a promise at the end of suffering makes all the difference. Our present can be calm because our future is set.

It may seem as if God is spotting the devil and the world a big lead, but there is a promise at the end. It is the promise of Christ at the end of our suffering. Amen.

For the LORD is good. His mercy endures forever. His faithfulness continues through all generations. (Ps 100:5, EHV)