Blessed Sufferers (6 of 9)
Series: Life in Exile
Josh Malone
1 Peter 3:8-22
Last Sunday 21 Christians in Egypt were beheaded for their faith in Christ. Persecution is very real in the 21st Century. We have lived largely insulated from persecution in our nation. We don't have to worry this morning as believers in some nations do, if a government agent is going to bust into the room and arrest us. However, suffering has always been a part of the Christian church. Wherever people live for Jesus and advance the gospel, various types of persecutions, discrimination, and verbal slanders tend to arise.
We don't like to suffer. We avoid it at all cost. We like safety. Many times we make life about minimizing risk. Insurance, banks, exercise, healthy eating, seat belts, education.. all in some ways are to minimize risks. But the gospel is risky. The gospel can be offensive. People can reject it, and those that believe it. If you are to follow Christ there will be no elimination of risk in this life. In fact following Christ means we incur some new risks.
READ TEXT 1 Peter 3:8-22
Some scholars believe when Peter wrote this the type of persecution they were seeing was more discriminatory in nature. They were being slandered for their faith for instance, but it had not yet reached the fever pitch that it would soon reach under Nero.
His message to these believers and us has been that we are exiles in this world, this is not our home, we are passing through. While we are here we are to live in a way that brings glory to God, holy lives, that ultimately point people to Christ. The previous section related that to authority and submission. Now Peter deals head on with suffering as they were being mistreated and slandered because of their faith in Christ.
In our context it is getting increasingly like theirs. It is getting more difficult to believe right things without looked at as wrong. Their has been a radical moral shift in our nation that has reached a h ...
Series: Life in Exile
Josh Malone
1 Peter 3:8-22
Last Sunday 21 Christians in Egypt were beheaded for their faith in Christ. Persecution is very real in the 21st Century. We have lived largely insulated from persecution in our nation. We don't have to worry this morning as believers in some nations do, if a government agent is going to bust into the room and arrest us. However, suffering has always been a part of the Christian church. Wherever people live for Jesus and advance the gospel, various types of persecutions, discrimination, and verbal slanders tend to arise.
We don't like to suffer. We avoid it at all cost. We like safety. Many times we make life about minimizing risk. Insurance, banks, exercise, healthy eating, seat belts, education.. all in some ways are to minimize risks. But the gospel is risky. The gospel can be offensive. People can reject it, and those that believe it. If you are to follow Christ there will be no elimination of risk in this life. In fact following Christ means we incur some new risks.
READ TEXT 1 Peter 3:8-22
Some scholars believe when Peter wrote this the type of persecution they were seeing was more discriminatory in nature. They were being slandered for their faith for instance, but it had not yet reached the fever pitch that it would soon reach under Nero.
His message to these believers and us has been that we are exiles in this world, this is not our home, we are passing through. While we are here we are to live in a way that brings glory to God, holy lives, that ultimately point people to Christ. The previous section related that to authority and submission. Now Peter deals head on with suffering as they were being mistreated and slandered because of their faith in Christ.
In our context it is getting increasingly like theirs. It is getting more difficult to believe right things without looked at as wrong. Their has been a radical moral shift in our nation that has reached a h ...
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