15 If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. 16 However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name. ~ 1 Peter 4:15-16
Today, we return to 1 Peter 4 where the Apostle Peter is pulling back the curtain so that we can see the precedents to the believer's intimacy with God. In today's two verses, the Apostle Peter gives us two dangers when we are suffering for Christ.
In v.15 of today's passage we read, "If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler."
Peter reminds us our suffering should not be the result of irresponsible living, such as murder, thievery, criminality or meddling. In 1 Peter 2:20 we read, "For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience?" Again, in 1 Peter 3:17, we read, "For it is better, if God should will it so, that you suffer for doing what is right, rather than for doing what is wrong."
The phrase "any other kind of criminal" employed in today's verse is used to cover all the crimes not mentioned in the first two words. Then, Peter adds one other very interesting word, he says, "or even as a meddler." This is the only time in the New Testament that this word is used. This word "meddler" describes a revolutionary who disrupts society.
In v.16 of today's passage we read, "However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name."
The second danger Peter mentions in today's passage is to be ashamed of the name of Jesus Christ. This is the third and last time that the title "Christian" is used in the New Testament. The other two occurrences are in Acts 11:26 and Acts 26:28. The word "Christian" simply identifies one as a follower of Christ.
In the courtyard of the High Priest, Ciaphas, it was Peter who was ashamed of the Lord. Peter's shame showed up when he denied knowing the Lord Jesus on the night Jesus was betrayed. Perhaps, as Peter wrote these words, he thought back to that early morning some 30 years earlier when he denied knowing the Lord those three times. After the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, Peter demonstrated a different approach to life. This was largely due to the indwelling Holy Spirit. In fact, this is why you and I desire to bring honor to our Savior. Of course, He rescued us by dying on the cross for the penalty of our sin. And just like Peter, He has given us the Holy Spirit who has given us a new heart with new desires.
The shame that Peter felt that early morning some thirty years earlier was a product of his guilt. Peter didn't know what to do with his guilt. It was only until after he was born again that he began to understand guilt. Guilt is the nerve ending of the soul. Guilt can be good and it can be bad; it can drive us to the Lord or it can drive us away from the Lord. It is kind of like fear; it is a product of sin. And, guilt gives birth to shame if we allow guilt to drive us away from the Lord. It is in being driven to the Lord that our guilt and our shame serves us. And, when we begin to understand that on the cross the Lord Jesus took our guilt and shame along with all of our sin from us so that we would not be defined by it.
I am finding that the greatest thing in life is to bring honor to Him, no matter what is required and no matter the cost. Bringing honor to the One who rescued me from certain damnation for eternity is simply not enough to express the gratitude that I have for what He has done for me. This gratitude grows as my understanding of my guilt and my shame grows. And the more I understand that, the more I understand the enormity of the payment He made on that cross for me.
Faith in the God of the Bible is the belief that He will do what is right. Many believe faith is that God will do what we want Him to do. Faith in the God of the Bible is that He will do what is right and true. This is the best for all of us because only that which is right and true will endure into eternity.
Peter ends today's verse with this phrase, "praise God that you bear that name."
Peter ends today's verse with this phrase, "praise God that you bear that name."
The name Jesus, announced to Joseph and Mary through the angels means "Yahweh saves." Transliterated from Hebrew and Aramaic, the name is Yeshua. This name is a combination of Ya, an abbreviation for Yahweh, and the verb Yasha, meaning "rescue," "deliver," or "save." The Lord Jesus came to this earth because Yahweh saves.
For years I kept the Lord Jesus at arms length. It wasn't until the greatest heartbreak came to me that I turned to Him and I began to get to know Him in a personal way. As a result, over time I was willing to let Him into my life. And now, the greatest privilege in life for this bedraggled ragamuffin is to say to Him, "Yes, Lord." After entering into a personal relationship with the Lord, I am discovering that the more I let God take over my life, the more I am becoming the person He made me to be. Many have drawn the wrong conclusion of Him because they have not honestly considered His person, His life and His claims. This same Lord Jesus who created all, who defined everything in the beginning, loved us enough to yield Himself to the cruelty of the Roman cross so that we could be truly defined by God.
When the Lord Jesus hung on the cross, He experienced a distance from God the Father that you and I deserve but we should never experience. Had He not gone through with the redemptive plan of God, we would be without hope of any kind. Since He took our sin upon Himself and God judged it in His body on that tree, the penalty for our sin has been paid and now we are in His family for eternity.
