THE DISCIPLINE OF SUFFERING. 1st Peter 4:17 God begins the process of judgment in the church during this age. “Judgment” carries the sense of evaluation – whether good or bad. If God judges His own with severity, as in Ez. 9:1-6, how terrible will His judgment be on those who die in their sins? Even the righteous will have difficulty. Suffering saints entrust themselves to God's care. This places suffering in the right perspective – in God’s will, for God’s glory, and for God’s purpose.
"Judgment in the house of God" is not to condemn the Lord's people but to instruct, purify, and correct us through some form of discipline. Through the testing of divine discipline, we learn that our potential to sin has not been eradicated. We are not sinless people. When corrective measures are taken, we learn to depend on the Lord and to resist sin and its temptations. We are helped by "judgment," even though the future may be even more difficult than the present. But because of the "judgment," we are better prepared to face the future, be faithful to the Lord, and trust Him when we accept the discipline He sends with grace and faith.
Our salvation is only because of God's mercy. How serious it is when a person rejects that mercy and rejects Christ! There will be justice and judgment when the "ungodly and sinner" come before the great white throne and are then cast into the lake of fire. It is there that the ungodly and the sinner will appear. The quotation from Proverbs would have clarified for those early Christians, as for us today, that God is in control and that righteous justice will prevail for saints and sinners.
It has to happen in these testing times; we may not always know the reason. God knows why, so it’s enough to know He has allowed these difficult seasons. Trying to avoid the inevitable may lead us to seriously miss the point of persecution being allowed, which will strengthen every joint, used by me to walk in the light of testimony with the Lord, so that the lasting things might be revealed and the stubble, hay, and wood removed.
The people of God are purified when there is judgment in the house of God. Many things that have claimed my time are dealt with in the light of God’s Word. The serious allure of the world and the flesh must be faced and purged, and the wiles of the devil lose their grip when persecution’s purpose is served. The true believer will stand by the power of God and become a stronger man, knowing that God will not allow more than is needed for me to take a stand.
But there are others who seem real until persecution comes to them. Under pressure, what is missing is revealed: no life, only a sham. It is hard to imagine the tragedy of pretending to live while being dead. They live only for now, wanting what is convenient, not bothering to look ahead. For life is so short and eternity is so long; they were hoping they’d cease to exist. But the judgment that purifies those who are real will not cease or desist for the unreal.
I need to be careful not to complain when I know God is working on me. There will come a time when I’ll be able to see the reasons for all. But when I think of the lost who won’t count the cost of living and dying in sin, I consider how important it is that I never neglect my faithfulness to them – that they turn from the ties, falsehood, and lies that bind them and deceive their souls. Perhaps what they see when persecution comes to me will lead them into God’s fold.
There are spiritual reasons God uses persecution and suffering. One is to purify and refine us by revealing our potential to sin and to encourage us to turn away from anything that will defile us, so that we will depend on His power and grace. He also allows sin and failure to be a means of learning to discipline ourselves. Throughout life, we will face difficulties that may intensify as we get older.
We must learn to face temptations and remain faithful to the Lord with full, unreserved trust in Him. Judgment does not always mean condemnation; generally, in relation to Christians, it indicates an evaluation of what we do. “The time has come for judgment to begin in the house of God” refers to approval or discipline. There is an appropriate time for God to begin the process of judgment in the church in this present age.
God begins His corrective judgment in the church. When the church is complete and taken to heaven at the rapture, judgment will begin to fall on those who refuse to obey the Gospel of God. This passage makes the point that if God is severe in His holy evaluation of the redeemed who are His children by faith in Jesus Christ, how much more severe will it be for those who die in their sins as Christ rejectors?
The second question in verse 18 echoes the words of Proverbs 11:31. A saved person has eternal life and can never lose it, even after a hard life and God's discipline. If it is that way for the righteous, how hard will it be for those who are ungodly? Believers experience suffering on earth as Jesus did. Believers are saved with difficulty because of the cost of suffering for righteousness’ sake. It is because of God’s grace that we are not consumed but are preserved to be in heaven.
Those who would not repent and believe the Gospel, perhaps having seen the opposition against Christians and having avoided it, have lived for the pleasures of sin, will enter an eternity of suffering the consequences of their rejection of God’s mercy and grace. They will enter hell when they die, stand before the Great White Throne to be sentenced, be cast into the lake of fire, and suffer eternally for their choice to reject the Savior.
The day is coming when all will be revealed; all the questions left unanswered will be known. There is much that remains concealed, but enough is written down to show us that we who are saved look behind and see how close to hell we had come. God, by His grace, brought salvation to me, and now I can claim heaven as home. The end for me is secure; I am saved by grace and God’s divine power. The results of salvation and of living by faith assure me that I am His and He is mine. I truly look forward with anticipation and joy; the danger that stalked me has passed. Now there is peace; Satan can no longer toy with my mind, for God gave me life that will last.
But the enemy of souls is working his dangerous ways with those who have turned from God’s grace. His claim on their souls and the lies he tells will take them to such an awful place that words can’t describe the horrors of hell. Separation from God is eternal. All hope is gone – no Gospel will tell of a way to escape that infernal place. Where will I be and the saved of the Lord; in His presence and forever we’ll rejoice! Where will we serve Him, the Almighty God? That service will be one
He chooses! Where will the lost go who die in their sins? Hell is ahead of them without any question! After the judgment, when they stand before Him, they will be in eternal perdition!