Judgment

1 peter 4:17-5:5

“For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God and if it begins with us what will be the outcome for those who disobey the gospel of God?” What is the Gospel of God and how does it differ from the Gospel I wonder? What is the household of God? Peter is definitely speaking of Christians as the household of God here, since the verse that comes beforehand says, “yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God” which suggests there is a connection between judgment and suffering and Judgment begins with Christians, not Jews. The Christians are the first to obey the gospel and the first to be Judged. Then Peter quotes an Old Testament scripture, “if it is with difficulty that the righteous are saved…” This suggests that the Christians are indeed considered the righteous and they are saved with difficulty. But why? was it because of all Christ endured and the long wait for his arrival?  and who are the last to be judged, all who are not of God’s household and family, those outside of the kingdom, the unrighteous. what is there left , what hope is left for those who do not believe, the sinner and the UN-godly? Think of all that had to happen for Jesus to come to earth and go back up to heaven. There is no other way to be saved from the judgement. How do the ungodly get from unbelief to belief except through more difficulty and more hardships and more suffering for them to see that they truly are a sinner. How much more difficult for them to be saved, Peter confesses he doesn’t even know the outcome for the unrighteous.

 “There are some who suffer according to God’s will, their job is to entrust their souls to the faithful creator and continue doing good.” this is a difficult thing to read and digest. Some believe that becoming a christian or religious we bypass the suffering. My natural instinct is to ask God to take away suffering, ease it, remove it. After all, why would God want to see his children suffer? Why would he not deliver us at all costs? But here peter suggests we are expected to live with it and keep doing good despite it. For some, that is the exact road God has planned and purposed for them. That seems so hard and counterproductive, why move towards hardship? Because in them, we grow. There are some of us who suffer because it is God’s perfect will, their job is to trust or learn to trust themselves to God and continue in good works regardless of their suffering and sorrow.

The absolute best opportunity we have to be like Christ is in the face of persecution and suffering, not blessing and honor. What good and reasonable person would choose the path of death except for a christian. Many people i this word have blessing honor riches happiness and no faith. Which means that a good life is in now way synonymous with a godly one. If someone asked a rich man how is it that you are so wealthy, he would most likely reply, “i have worked hard” if a success person was asked, what is your secret, they would like respond work hard. and likewise a terrible miserable existed is not synonymous with a Christ like life, for their are plenty of people on death row today who are atheists. So what is the true mark of a godly man or woman? God’s people suffer with grace and they receive blessing with humility. and they always give glory to God for both the rain and the sun, the plenty and the poverty. They find reasons to bless, while others weather rich or poor find reasons to curse God. IF only we could be like Job, who at the lowest point in his life, rather than cursing God, worshiped by saying, “naked i have come into the world and naked I will go out.” God neither keeps us from blessing or sorrow, but he uses both to teach us, grow us and reveal himself to us.

We have a great opportunity when grieved at the hands of the ungodly. What a testimony we have when we can love and forgive those who harm us or hate us, a testimony to them.  No one had more reason to hate the nazi’s then Corrie Ten Boom, and yet she chose to forgive, what an immense opportunity she took to show the untainted love of Christ to the worst of enemies. Which is why it makes sense that suffering is the will of God for some so they can show Christ’s example instead of doing what is natural, typical and ordinary. They do what is questionable, extraordinary and mind boggling. WE do what Christ did when we live as Christ lived and die as Christ died. We must entrust our souls to God in order to keep doing good.