Transcript
So we're working our way through what does it look like to live in light of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ right here, right now, between the "already" of your conversion and the "not yet" of your home-going. And we're looking at 1 Peter 5.
Reviewing the First Two Directives
First directive was know your place. There's a King and He is not you. Second directive, rest in God's care. The question is not does God care, the question is will we recognize His care when it comes. The third directive is take life seriously. We really believe in a roaring lion enemy who still prowls around seeking to do us harm. We believe in the presence of real, personal evil.
Fourth directive, resist no matter what. Now at this point, Peter says something. It's kind of curious. He says this. 9Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.
Now, why would he say that? Why would he say, "Oh, by the way, you're not the only one that's suffering. There are other people suffering, too." Is this sort of just "misery loves company"? Sort of, "No matter how miserable you are, I can out-misery you"?
Well, no, it's actually Peter being a wise pastor. In these words, he's identifying one of the nasty lies of the enemy. He's saying, "Don't you understand, you're not the only one that's suffering." In fact, suffering is the universal experience of people between the "already" and the "not yet" in this sin-shattered world.
The Lie That You Have Been Singled Out
Now, why does he say that? Because one of the cruel lies of the enemy is to whisper in your ear, "You've been singled out for particular suffering. Where's your God now? Where's His promises now? I thought God loved you. Why is this happening now?"
And so, what Peter is doing is he's normalizing suffering because if you think that you've been singled out, if you think that God has forgotten you, then you quit resisting, you give up your good Christian habits, you let go of your commitment to your faith because what difference does it make if God's not being faithful?
So Peter says, no matter what you're facing, don't let down your guard. Don't fail to resist. You haven't been singled out. You're just dealing with a normal range of suffering that everybody will experience between the "already" and the "not yet". Here's what this means, that suffering is not in the way of God's plan, that suffering is part of God's plan. He's chosen for us to live in this broken place, again, for His glory and our good. Continue to resist.
