The Christian's Strange Fire
Introduction: The Normal Christian Life
We live in a soft age. Modern American Christianity has, for the most part, made its peace with the world, and the terms of that peace are simple: you leave us alone in our sanctuaries, and we will leave you alone in your sins. We have come to believe that the normal Christian life is one of comfort, ease, and cultural approval. We think that if we are nice enough, winsome enough, and quiet enough, the world will pat us on the head and let us go about our business. But the Apostle Peter, writing to scattered and persecuted believers, would not recognize this arrangement. For him, the normal Christian life is not one of placid acceptance but of fiery trials.
Peter is writing to Christians who are getting hammered. They are aliens and exiles. They are being slandered, mocked, and persecuted for the name of Christ. And into this pressure cooker, Peter does not write a letter of sentimental sympathy. He does not say, "There, there, it will all be over soon." He writes a theological battle manual. He tells them not to be surprised, as though something strange were happening. What is strange, in the biblical economy, is a Christian who is not suffering for his faith in some way. A faith that costs nothing is worth nothing. A gospel that never offends anybody is not the gospel of Jesus Christ.
This passage is a bucket of ice water in the face of a sleepy, compromised church. It recalibrates our expectations. It tells us what to expect (fire), how to react (rejoicing), what to avoid (suffering for our own foolishness), and where our ultimate confidence lies (in a faithful Creator). We must understand this, because the lukewarm peace treaty with the world is rapidly expiring. The days of easy, respectable Christianity are drawing to a close. The fiery trial is not a strange thing that might happen to us; it is the appointed curriculum for the school of Christ. And we must learn to not only endure it but to rejoice in it.
The Text
Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you. But to the degree you are sharing the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation. If you are insulted for 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, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler; but if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be put to shame, but is to glorify God in this name. For it is time for judgment to begin with the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? AND IF IT IS WITH DIFFICULTY THAT THE RIGHTEOUS IS SAVED, WHAT WILL BECOME OF THE GODLESS MAN AND THE SINNER? Therefore, those also who suffer according to the will of God must entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing good.
(1 Peter 4:12-19 LSB)
No Surprises Here (v. 12)
Peter begins by adjusting our expectations.
"Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you." (1 Peter 4:12)
The first thing to note is the address: "Beloved." This is not a cold, stoic command. This is pastoral care from a man who knows what it is to be tested. He is reminding them of their identity in Christ before he reminds them of their duty. You are beloved of God, and it is precisely because you are beloved that you will be tested.
He tells them not to be surprised at the "fiery trial." The image is one of a crucible, a furnace used to refine precious metals. The fire is not meant to destroy you; it is meant to purify you. God is burning the dross out of your faith. He is testing its genuineness. A faith that cannot be tested cannot be trusted. So when the heat gets turned up, when you are slandered at work for your faith, when your family mocks you for your convictions, do not react as though the universe has made some kind of clerical error. This is not a strange thing. This is part of the syllabus. Jesus was clear: "If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you" (John 15:20). The world does not hate you for your hypocrisy; it hates you for your righteousness. It hates you because your life is a silent rebuke to its rebellion. To be surprised by this is to be biblically illiterate.
The Logic of Rejoicing (v. 13-14)
Peter then moves from expectation to our response, and it is a radically counter-intuitive one.
"But to the degree you are sharing the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you." (1 Peter 4:13-14 LSB)
We are not merely to endure suffering; we are to rejoice in it. This is not some kind of pious masochism. The logic is explicitly theological. We rejoice because our suffering for the faith is a participation in the sufferings of Christ. It is a mark of our union with Him. When the world persecutes you for being a Christian, it is confessing, against its will, that you belong to Jesus. You are on the right team. You are sharing in the family business of suffering now, glory later. This is a profound privilege.
Notice the connection: rejoicing now is the prerequisite for exultation then. The joy you cultivate in the midst of the fire is the down payment on the exultation you will experience when Christ is revealed in His glory. The two are linked. If you want the loud, unrestrained joy of heaven, you must learn the quiet, determined joy of the crucible.
Verse 14 gives the reason for this blessing. When you are insulted "for the name of Christ," you are blessed because the "Spirit of glory and of God rests on you." This is a tangible, experiential reality. In the moment of faithful suffering, there is a special nearness of the Holy Spirit. He rests upon you. The world throws its mud, and in that moment, the glory of God settles upon you. The world sees shame; God bestows honor. The world intends to curse; God turns it into a blessing. This is the divine reversal, the logic of the cross, played out in the lives of His people.
Legitimate vs. Illegitimate Suffering (v. 15-16)
Peter is a good pastor, so he immediately inserts a crucial qualifier. Not all suffering is blessed.
"Make sure that none of you suffers as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler; but if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be put to shame, but is to glorify God in this name." (1 Peter 4:15-16 LSB)
There is a world of difference between being persecuted and being prosecuted. Peter provides a short, representative list. Don't suffer because you are a criminal. Don't suffer because you are a jerk. The last category, "troublesome meddler," is particularly insightful. This is the person who is obnoxious, who brings trouble on himself not because of his faithful witness but because of his abrasive, foolish, or self-righteous personality. There is no glory in suffering for being insufferable.
But, if you suffer "as a Christian," that is another matter entirely. This is the first time the word "Christian" is used in this letter, and it was likely a term of derision used by outsiders. It meant "little Christ." Peter says, "Take their insult and wear it as a badge of honor." Do not be ashamed. Shame is the world's weapon to enforce conformity. But you are not to be shamed into silence. Instead, you are to "glorify God in this name." How? By your faithful endurance. By your rejoicing. By refusing to be ashamed of the One who was not ashamed to bear your sin on the cross. You glorify God by showing the world that your God is more valuable to you than their approval.
The Great Purification (v. 17-18)
Now Peter gives the cosmic reason for these fiery trials. It is a sobering and profound truth.
"For it is time for judgment to begin with the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? AND IF IT IS WITH DIFFICULTY THAT THE RIGHTEOUS IS SAVED, WHAT WILL BECOME OF THE GODLESS MAN AND THE SINNER?" (1 Peter 4:17-18 LSB)
The fiery trial is not random. It is the beginning of God's judgment. But we must be very clear. For the believer, this is a purifying judgment, not a punitive one. It is the chastening of a loving Father (Hebrews 12:6), the refining fire of the goldsmith. God judges His own house first. He is cleaning up His church. He uses the pressure of persecution to expose sin, to burn away compromise, and to purify our faith.
But this reality contains a terrifying a fortiori argument. If God's own children must pass through this fire of purification, what unimaginable fire awaits those who are His enemies? If this is what He does to the green wood, what will He do to the dry? If judgment begins with us, what will the end be for those who reject the gospel? The suffering of the church is a preview, a warning shot, of the wrath to come upon the ungodly world. Our temporary, purifying trials are a dreadful sign of the eternal, punitive judgment that awaits those who do not know Christ.
Peter quotes Proverbs 11:31 from the Septuagint: "If it is with difficulty that the righteous is saved..." This does not mean our salvation is uncertain. It means the path of salvation is through many tribulations (Acts 14:22). It is a hard road. It is a fight. We are saved, but we are saved through fire. And if our path to glory is so difficult, what hope is there for the godless and the sinner who stand with no advocate, no savior, and no righteousness but their own filthy rags?
The Only Safe Place (v. 19)
The passage concludes with the great anchor for the soul in the midst of the storm.
"Therefore, those also who suffer according to the will of God must entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing good." (1 Peter 4:19 LSB)
This is the conclusion of the whole matter. Your suffering is not an accident. It is "according to the will of God." This does not mean God delights in your pain, but it does mean that it is filtered through His sovereign fingers for your ultimate good and His glory. Nothing can touch you that He has not ordained.
And because your suffering is under His sovereign control, your response is not to despair but to entrust. The word means to deposit for safekeeping. You are to entrust your soul, your very life, to Him. And who are you entrusting it to? Not a distant deity, but a "faithful Creator." He made you. He knows your frame. He is faithful to His promises and to His people. He who created the universe out of nothing can certainly keep your soul in the midst of a fiery trial.
But this trust is not passive. We entrust our souls "in doing good." We don't retreat into a holy huddle. We don't stop living out our faith. We keep doing good. We keep loving our neighbors. We keep speaking the truth. We keep living lives of joyful obedience, right in the teeth of the opposition. This is the ultimate act of defiance against the world, the flesh, and the devil. We trust our Creator, and we get on with the business of glorifying Him, come what may.