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the end, the God of grace will pre sent the believer perfect, stablished, strengthened, ,and settled, like Christ Himself, because it is God’s purpose to conform each Christian to the im age of His Son, Jesus Christ. With the future all assured, and with the present cared for by the One upon whom all burdens mity be cast, the Christian enjoys perfect confidence in Christ, though he may suffer injus tice, trial, and attack from evil men and from Satan himself. Points and Problems * 1. The idea of suffering, trial and persecution for Christ’s sake appears throughout the first Epistle of Peter. The word “suffering” or its equivalent may be considered the key word of the book. “The trial of your faith” (1:7) is one of seven particularly "precious” things of Peter’s two Epis tles. The children of God need to keep
in mind that the difficult experiences of life may be “ precious” experiences because they bring them nearer to Christ, and they may provide an ex cellent opportunity to show forth to the unbelieving world the nature of Christian faith. 2. "And who is he that will harm you, if you be followers of that which is good?" (1 Pet: 3:13). This verse re minds us of the question of Paul in Romans 8:31: “If God be for us, who can be against us?” Isaiah’s question was similar: “Behold, the Lord God will help me; who is he that shall c o n d e m n me?” (Isa. 50:9). The thought is inexpressibly comforting. The man or woman who is approved of God can come to no real harm. He may have to suffer persecution in this vale of tears. He may be grossly mis understood here below, but everything will come out all right in the end. The dying words of Zwingli, the great
BLACKBOARD LESSON
f 08 IT IS BETTER.IF THEU)ILL OF OOO BESO, THAT SUFFERfOR UJELLDO- iriO, THAI"! FOREUIL DOmû' i m.z:n
6/6/4-i e /j/s Swiss reformer, were, “They may kill the body, but they cannot kill the soul” (cf. Matt. 10:28). 3. "Be ready always to give an an swer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you" (v. 15). These words are prefaced by the words, “Sanctify the Lord God in your hearts.” Before a man can give a proper testimony for Christ he must give the Lord the rightful place in his heart. Then he is ready to give an answer to the earnest inquirer, that is, a reasonable, logical ,vindica tion or defense of his faith, as when Paul spoke on the castle stairs and before Agrippa’s throne. All races,' all classes, rich and poor, learned and ignorant are to be. included. Be ready to give an answer “to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you." To those who manifest some degree of interest in the things of the g o s p e l , there should be given a careful statement as to why the speaker came to em brace the saving gospel. Railers seem to be excluded. Let"^every believer in Christy be able to say with Paul, “I am ready” (Rom. 1:15). 4. "Suffer as a Christian" (1 Pet 4:16). Two kinds of suffering are re ferred to in verses .15 and 16. There is suffering as a result of one’s sin, and there is suffering “ as a Chris tian.” The first is to be condemned. The second is to be rewarded. To suf fer “ as a Christian” is to be a par taker of Christ’s ‘ sufferings (v. 13). What high *honor is thus put upon such suffering! E. J. Cooper, whose wife was a mar tyr of the Boxer persecution, wrote in a letter to his mother: “You will have learned by cable that dear Maggie has fallen asleep in Jesus. She died at Ying-Shan, after a month’s pain and suffering for Christ. Billow after billow has gone over me—home gone, I am penniless, with wife and child gone to Glory and Edith lying very ill, and I myself am weak and exhausted. I have been at the point of death more than once on the road. . . Now that you know the worst, Mother, I want to tell you that the cross of Christ, that exceeding glory of the Father’s Golden Text Illustration 1 P eter 3:17
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