Devotionals

Contrasted Suffering

by Dale Buchanan 
01/31/25
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Devotional #46 in 1 Peter

 "For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?" (1 Peter 4:17-18)

 Peter presents a startling contrast between sufferings most of us don't think about. It contrasts the present sufferings of faithful Christians and the future suffering of those who are lost.

 God allows fiery trials for believers and, indeed, forewarns us that these sufferings will come. The fiery trial of persecution judgment for believers purifies us and draws us ever closer to Him. We begin to discern what is essential and what is a trivial pursuit. Peter reminds us that we are scarcely saved. It is humbling when we start to perceive the depths of our "lostness" before salvation and the magnitude of God's grace in saving us. All of us are sinners and are unworthy. Yet Christ, in his great love, redeemed us and promised us a secure future in His presence. Salvation is truly "all of grace." 

 But what is the end or the future for the ungodly who obey not the gospel of God? When they die, their suffering has only begun. When a believer suffers, he experiences the glory of God and anticipates a future greater glory. The sinner who inflicts the persecution is filling up the measure of God's wrath (Matthew 23:29-33) and will experience the outpouring of God's wrath through eternity.

 It is urgent that we pray for and witness to the persecutors that they will experience God's love and salvation and escape God's wrath.