“We know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.” Romans 8:28 (NLT)
Life often brings you matters that are difficult to swallow, like a sickness, a job loss, or the death of a friend or family member. Those pills are bitter going down, and we often choke on them.
But you can rest assured that God is up to something good in your life, even if you can’t see it. God is actively working to bring good out of whatever happens in or around you. To hold on to hope in the midst of tough times, you’ll need to grab hold of this truth.
The Bible says it this way: “We know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them” (Romans 8:28 NLT).
The Bible isn’t saying that every event in your life will be good. You and I both know that’s just not true. But it does say that when you put your whole life together, every piece of it works together for good. It’s like making a cake. You may not like the taste of each ingredient, but when it’s all put together, you can’t resist it. God wants to bake an amazingly tasty cake with your life, and he wants to use even the distasteful and bitter elements to do it.
God doesn’t promise that everything will work together like you want it to or that every story will have a happy ending. The reality is that not every business decision will make you a million dollars. Not every couple that gets married will live happily ever after. Not every child will become captain of the football team.
Instead, the verse reminds us that we can have absolute confidence that the Master Designer of the universe “causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God.” (Notice that this promise is for “those who love God,” not for people who don’t know God yet.)
Hope isn’t the same as optimism. It isn’t the belief that something bad will turn out well. It’s the absolute confidence that every part of your life ultimately will make sense, regardless of how it turns out this side of eternity.
From our vantage point, life looks like a mess at times. But God’s view from heaven isn’t the same as ours.
You can’t even imagine the good that God has in store for your future. God promises, “I have good plans for you, not plans to hurt you. I will give you hope and a good future” (Jeremiah 29:11 NCV).
Your future is in God’s hands—and there’s no better place for it to be.
We’ve been talking about Christians suffering for doing good by pointing to Jesus as our example. The section presents three different ministries. If we understand these ministries, we will be better able to suffer in the will of God and glorify Christ.
1. THE MINISTRY OF CHRIST (3:18–22)
Peter presented Jesus Christ as the perfect example of one who suffered unjustly, and yet obeyed God.
[18] Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God. He suffered physical death, but he was raised to life in the Spirit.
He gave the example of Jesus Christ who was treated unjustly. Why? That He might die for the unjust ones and bring them to God! He died as a substitute.
Because of the work of Christ on the cross, we now have an open access to God. We may come boldly to His throne ! We also have access to His marvelous grace to meet our daily needs.
Romans 5:1-2 NIV [1] Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, [2] through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God.
In other words, Jesus suffered for well-doing; He did not die because of His own sins, for He had none.
1 Peter 2:22-24 NIV “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.” [23] When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. [24] “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.”
2. THE MINISTRY OF NOAH
The patriarch Noah was held in very high regard among Jewish people in Peter’s day, and also among Christians. There are many references to the flood in both the Psalms and the Prophets.
The early Christians knew that Jesus had promised that, before His return, the world would become like the “days of Noah” and they were expecting Him soon.
2 Peter 3:1-3 NLT [1] This is my second letter to you, dear friends, and in both of them I have tried to stimulate your wholesome thinking and refresh your memory. [2] I want you to remember what the holy prophets said long ago and what our Lord and Savior commanded through your apostles. [3] Most importantly, I want to remind you that in the last days scoffers will come, mocking the truth and following their own desires.
As they saw society decay around them, and persecution begin, they would think of our Lord’s words.
Noah was a man of faith who kept doing the will of God even when he seemed to be a failure.
But there is another connection: Peter saw in the flood a picture (type) of a Christian’s experience of baptism.
Baptism meant a clean break with the past, and this could include separation from a convert’s family, friends, and job. Candidates for baptism were interrogated carefully, for their submission in baptism was a step of consecration, and not just an “initiation rite” to “join the church.”
No matter what mode of baptism you may accept, it is certain that the early church practiced immersion. It is a picture of our Lord’s death, burial, and resurrection.
The flood pictures death, burial, and resurrection. The waters buried the earth in judgment, but they also lifted Noah and his family up to safety. The early church saw in the ark a picture of salvation. Noah and his family were saved by faith because they believed God and entered into the ark of safety. So sinners are saved by faith when they trust Christ and become one with Him.
When Peter wrote that Noah and his family were “saved by water,” he was careful to explain that this illustration does not imply salvation by baptism.
Baptism is a “figure” of that which does save us, namely, “the resurrection of Jesus Christ”
1 Peter 3:21 NLT[21] And that water is a picture of baptism, which now saves you, not by removing dirt from your body, but as a response to God from a clean conscience. It is effective because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Water on the body, or the body placed in water, cannot remove the stains of sin. Only the blood of Jesus Christ can do that.
However, baptism does save us from one thing: a bad conscience. Peter had already told his readers that a good conscience was important to a successful witness.
1 Peter 3:15-17 NLT [15] Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it. [16] But do this in a gentle and respectful way. Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ. [17] Remember, it is better to suffer for doing good, if that is what God wants, than to suffer for doing wrong!
Part of that “good conscience” is being faithful to our commitment to Christ as expressed in baptism.
Which brings us to the last of the three ministries which if we understand will help us be able to suffer in the will of God and glorify Christ. Three ministries are
The Ministry of Christ
The ministry of Noah
The ministry of Christians today
There are some main lessons Peter was sharing with his readers, lessons that we need today.
First of all, Christians must expect opposition. As the coming of Christ draws near, our well-doing will incite the anger and attacks of godless people. Jesus lived a perfect life on earth, and yet He was crucified like a common criminal. If the just One who did no sin was treated cruelly, what right do we who are imperfect have to escape suffering? We must be careful, however, that we suffer because of well-doing, for righteousness’ sake, and not because we have disobeyed.
A second lesson is that Christians must serve God by faith and not trust in results.Jesus appeared a total failure when He died on the cross, yet His death was a supreme victory. His cause today may seem to fail, but He will accomplish His purposes in this world. The harvest is not the end of a meeting; it is the end of the age. Jesus appeared a total failure when He died on the cross, yet His death was a supreme victory. His cause today may seem to fail, but He will accomplish His purposes in this world. The harvest is not the end of a meeting; it is the end of the age.
Third, we can be encouraged because we are identified with Christ’s victory. This is pictured in baptism, and the doctrine is explained in Romans 6. It is the baptism of the Spirit that identifies a believer with Christ (1 Cor. 12:12–13), and this is pictured in water baptism. It is through the Spirit’s power that we live for Christ and witness for Him (Acts 1:8). The opposition of men is energized by Satan, and Christ has already defeated these principalities and powers. He has “all authority in heaven and on earth” (Matt. 28:18 NIV), and therefore we can go forth with confidence and victory.
Finally, Jesus Christ is the only Savior, and the lost world needs to hear His gospel.
Hebrews 9:27 makes it clear that death ends the opportunity for salvation. This is why the church needs to get concerned about evangelism and missions, because people are dying.
The Rest of Your Time 1 Peter 4:1–11)
1 Peter 4:1-11 NIV [1] Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because whoever suffers in the body is done with sin. [2] As a result, they do not live the rest of their earthly lives for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. [3] For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry. [4] They are surprised that you do not join them in their reckless, wild living, and they heap abuse on you. [5] But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. [6] For this is the reason the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they might be judged according to human standards in regard to the body, but live according to God in regard to the spirit. [7] The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. [8] Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. [9] Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. [10] Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. [11] If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.
If a person really believes in eternity, then he will make the best use of time. If we are convinced that Jesus is coming, then we will want to live prepared lives. Whether Jesus comes first or death comes first, we want to make “the rest of the time” count for eternity.
Peter described four attitudes that a Christian can cultivate in his lifetime (“the rest of his time”) if he desires to make his life all that God wants it to be.
Here are the four attitudes that Peter describes
A Militant attitude toward sin
A patient attitude toward the lost
An expectant attitude toward Christ
A fervent attitude toward the saints
A militant attitude towards sin would mean that we hate and oppose sin. It is easy for Christians to get accustomed to sin. We gradually get used to sin, sometimes without even realizing it.
The one thing that will destroy “the rest of our time” is sin. Peter presented several arguments to convince us to oppose sin in our lives.
Think of what sin did to Jesus
1 Peter 4:1 NIV Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because whoever suffers in the body is done with sin.
He had to suffer because of sin
1 Peter 3:18 NIV For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit.
However He also had a militant attitude toward sin. Our Lord came to earth to deal with sin and to conquer it forever. He dealt with the ignorance of sin by teaching the truth and by living it before men’s eyes. He dealt with the consequences of sin by healing and forgiving, and, on the cross, He dealt the final deathblow to sin itself.
Our goal in life is to “cease from sin.” We will not reach this goal until we die or are called home when the Lord returns, but this should not keep us from striving
1 John 2:28-29 NIV [28] And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming. [29] If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him.
We are identified with Christ in His suffering and death, and therefore can have victory over sin. As we yield ourselves to God, and have the same attitude toward sin that Jesus had, we can overcome the old life and manifest the new life.
Romans 6:1-7 NIV [1] What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? [2] By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? [3] Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? [4] We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. [5] For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. [6] For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— [7] because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.
We should have a militant attitude toward sin because of what it did to Christ and with a militant attitude toward sin we can enjoy the will of God.
1 Peter 4:1-2 NIV [1] Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because whoever suffers in the body is done with sin. [2] As a result, they do not live the rest of their earthly lives for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God.
If we do the will of God, then we will invest “the rest of our time” in that which is lasting and satisfying, but if we give in to the world around us, we will waste “the rest of our time” and regret it when we stand before Jesus.
When we are in the will of God all our burdens become lighter, because the will of God comes from the heart of God and therefore is an expression of the love of God.
We may not always understand what He is doing, but we know that He is doing what is best for us. We do not live on explanations; we live on promises.
Psalms 33:11 NIV But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations.
2 Corinthians 1:18-22 NIV [18] But as surely as God is faithful, our message to you is not “Yes” and “No.” [19] For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us—by me and Silas and Timothy—was not “Yes” and “No,” but in him it has always been “Yes.” [20] For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God. [21] Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, [22] set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.
Remember what you were before you met Christ
1 Peter 4:3 NIV For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry.
There are times when looking back at your past life would be wrong, because Satan could use those memories to discourage you, but we sometimes forget the bondage of sin we need to remember that we were once slaves to sin but because of Christ we are now free.
We may not have been guilty of such gross sins in our preconversion days, but we were still sinners—and our sins helped to crucify Christ. How foolish to go back to that kind of life!
2. A PATIENT ATTITUDE TOWARD THE LOST (4:4–6)
1 Peter 4:4-6 NIV [4] They are surprised that you do not join them in their reckless, wild living, and they heap abuse on you. [5] But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. [6] For this is the reason the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they might be judged according to human standards in regard to the body, but live according to God in regard to the spirit.
Our contact with the lost is important to them since we are the bearers of the truth that they need. When unsaved friends attack us, this is our opportunity to witness to them.
The unsaved may judge us, but one day, God will judge them. 5] But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.
Instead of arguing with them, we should pray for them, knowing that the final judgment is with God.
2 Timothy 2:24-26 NIV [24] And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. [25] Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, [26] and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.
1 Peter 2:23 NIV When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.
Let’s take another look at
1 Peter 4:6 NIV For this is the reason the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they might be judged according to human standards in regard to the body, but live according to God in regard to the spirit.
We must not interpret 1 Peter 4:6 apart from the context of suffering; otherwise, we will get the idea that there is a second chance for salvation after death. Peter was reminding his readers of the Christians who had been martyred for their faith. They had been falsely judged by men, but now, in the presence of God, they received their true judgment. “Them that are dead” means “them that are now dead” at the time Peter was writing. The gospel is preached only to the living (1 Peter 1:25) because there is no opportunity for salvation after death (Heb. 9:27).
