Suffering for Jesus Part 18
1 Peter 4:15-16 But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters.
Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf. KJV Note: AMP=Amplified Bible; NKJV=New King James Version
Just as the Apostle Peter exhorted and encouraged us to be exulted when we suffer for the cause of Christ Jesus our Lord, that is, for the witness of the Gospel of Grace and living a set apart holy life to Him, he now warns us against the sufferings we would endure for living a life that would bring reproach to the Name of Christ and regret to ourselves. Peter warns us with these words, "But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters." (1 Peter 4:15) (KJV). The fact and reality that 'born again' sons and daughters of our Beloved Lord Jesus can fall back 🔙 into our old man ♂️ or old woman ♀️ is something we are warned of by not only the Apostle Peter but all of the other writers of the New Testament. This is the ongoing war we have with our 'indwelling sin' (see LaCrae's old song 'Indwelling Sin') that must be mortified and put to death by our yielding our whole selves to the Spirit of God. Remember Matthew 5:29-30. When the old nature is fed more than the new nature then we can live in the same manner we did before we were 'born again' by the Power of the Holy Spirit. Here are just a few of the warnings/commands from the Apostle Paul; (1) "Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God." (Romans 6:12-13) (NKJV). (2) "For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live." (Romans 8:13) (NKJV). (3) "Therefore put to death your members on the earth 🌎: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry." (Colossians 3:5) (NKJV). The Apostle James even addresses these very sins to brothers and sisters 'in Christ' that Peter speaks of here in 1 Peter 4:15 with very direct, determined, and demanding speech 💬 as it is written declaring to us to destroy the filth that remains in us, that is our 'indwelling sin', so as to keep it from being expressed in our lives, "What leads to [the unending] quarrels and conflicts among you? Do they not come from your [hedonistic] desires that wage war in your [bodily] members [fighting for control over you]? You are jealous and covet [what others have] and your lust goes unfulfilled; so you murder. You are envious and cannot obtain [the object of your envy]; so you fight and battle. You do not have because you do not ask [it of God]. You ask [God for something] and do not receive it, because you ask with wrong motives [out of selfishness or with an unrighteous agenda], so that [when you get what you want] you may spend it on your [hedonistic] desires. You adulteresses [disloyal sinners - flirting with the world 🌍 and breaking your vow to God]! Do you not know that being the world's friend [that is, loving the things of the world 🌎] is being God's enemy? So whoever chooses to be a friend of the world 🌍 makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you think 💬 that the Scripture says to no purpose that the [human] spirit which He has made to dwell in us lusts with envy?" (James 4:1-5) (AMP). When we suffer for unrighteousness, we may not receive the grace we need from our Lord Jesus Christ to bring us through it triumphantly, for we have brought disgrace and a cause for those outside of Christ to slander His Holy Name. 😭😭😭😭 Here is what Matthew Henry said of 1 Peter 4:15, "That they should take care they did not suffer justly, as evildoers. One would think 💬 such a caution as this needless to such an excellent set of Christians as these were. But their enemies charged them with these and other foul crimes: therefore the Apostle, when he was settling the rules of the Christian religion, thought 🤔 these cautions necessary, forbidding every one of them to hurt the life or the estate and property of anyone, or to do any sort of evil, or, without cause and necessity, to play the bishop in another man's charge, or busy himself in other men's matters." Also let us remember the Christian brother in the Corinthian Church that was having sex with his earthly Father's wife (his step Mother) (1 Corinthians Chapter 5), but he repented and turned away from that sinful behavior and Paul's entire second letter ✉️ was written to that Church for that very purpose to have them restore him into their fellowship and to fully forgive him as Paul himself had done, even in his absence from their physical presence. Of course we know our Lord Jesus Christ had forgiven him and cleansed him from that unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). Amen!!!
The Apostle Peter once again declares to us that when/if we suffer for living the set apart holy life that honors our Lord Jesus Christ, then we are to not consider ourselves to be of misfortune, but instead fortunate to be counted worthy to suffer for Christ's sake, as Peter declares with these words, "Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf." (1 Peter 4:16) (KJV). Peter was no doubt recounting his own beginning sufferings for Christ when he and the other Apostles were beaten by the Jewish hierarchy as recorded for us with these words by Luke, "And they agreed 💯 with him, 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." (Acts 5:40-41) (NKJV). For us who have been resurrected from spiritual death there is no shame or disgrace in suffering for holiness and righteousness (that is, for Christ) on the contrary we are only full of shame and disgrace when we dishonor the Holy Name of our Lord Jesus Christ with any unclean living that springs forth from our lives. Here is what Adam Clarke said of 1 Peter 4:16, "If he be persecuted because he has embraced the Christian faith, let him not be ashamed, but let him rather glorify God on this very account. Christ suffered by the Jews because He was Holy; Christians suffer because they resemble Him." Here is something on our suffering from the Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary as we witnessed in the Book 📖 of Acts, "The Book 📚 of Acts is in a real sense a book 📖 of renewal, calling the Church 🔙 to its roots, setting a pattern for faithful discipleship, for witness in the footsteps of the Master, and a wholehearted commitment to sacrifice and suffering. It speaks to us even in times of deep discouragement, reminding us of the reality of the Sovereign Hand ✋ of God bringing His Will and purposes for our lives to pass, reassuring us of the reality of the presence of His Spirit in our lives. It challenges us to faithful witness, regardless of what may come our way."
If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray 🙏 this from your heart ❤️ to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart ❤️ and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen!
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