Preparing for Persecution #2 – 1 Peter 2:18-21

TRANSCRIPT

Date: August 18, 2024 Author: Wayne J. Edwards

Contrary to the contemporary preachers today , those whom God calls to be saved, He also calls to serve, and He also calls to suffer, not only the everyday problems of living in this sinful world but the persecution of living for Christ in an Antichristian world. While thousands of Christians suffered severe persecution and martyrdom over the years, according to the Voice of Martyrs, more Christians have been martyred for their expressed faith in Jesus Christ in the last century than in all the centuries before combined, and such persecution is rising in the West. This week, as we continue our sermons from 1 Peter, entitled “How Should We Then Live,” our focus will be on preparing for persecution, i.e., as Christ suffered for us, we are now being called to suffer for Him.

Contrary to the contemporary preachers today , those whom God calls to be saved, He also calls to serve, and He also calls to suffer, not only the everyday problems of living in this sinful world but the persecution of living for Christ in an Antichristian world.

While thousands of Christians suffered severe persecution and martyrdom over the years, according to the Voice of Martyrs, more Christians have been martyred for their expressed faith in Jesus Christ in the last century than in all the centuries before combined, and such persecution is rising in the West.

This week, as we continue our sermons from 1 Peter, entitled “How Should We Then Live,” our focus will be on preparing for persecution, i.e., as Christ suffered for us, we are now being called to suffer for Him.

Download the following translated Sermon guides:

Old Testament: Isaiah 53:1-12 New Testament: 1 Peter 2:11-25

The Apostle Peter wrote this epistle in AD 64-65, just after the city of Rome burned.

Peter said the believer’s spiritual maturity is measured by the way they handle spiritual conflict, and Jesus Christ is the model that spiritual maturity.

In 1st Peter 2:11-25, the Apostle Peter said, as Christians, we are to live above the fray of the wicked world:

In the day this epistle was written, there were more than 60 million slaves in the Roman Empire.

Becoming a Christian does not alter the employer-employee relationship, other than opening up an opportunity for the believer to bear witness to the transforming power of Christ.

Why would God require His children to submit to unworthy authorities?

If a believer endures unjust suffering, i.e., they accept it with humility and patience, trusting in God alone, God takes that trust to mean the believer is aware of His presence in their lives.

Peter identified three purposes behind the Lord’s suffering:

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