1 Peter 4:15-19, Suffer for Righteousness, Not Wrongdoing

The Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary helpfully explains,

In the world of which the New Testament is a part, honor and shame were the chief motivating values. Honor is a publicly acknowledged claim to value or worth; shame is the diminishing of such public worth. A person would be born into a family with a given level of honor according to the social status of the family and the behavior of the individuals in the family…. In 1 Peter the readers are being shamed by their neighbors (words like “abuse,” “insult,” and “slander” are used), but it is these neighbors who will receive shame at the final judgment (1 Peter 3:16). The readers’ faith, however, will bring them honor when Christ returns (1:7), not shame (2:6). It is they who have the honorable titles given them by God (2:9).

¹⁵ For don’t let any of you suffer because you are murderers or thieves or evildoers or as meddlers. ¹⁶ But if one suffers as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but glorify God in this name. ¹⁷ For it is the time for judgment beginning from the house of God. And if it begins from us, what is the end for those who disobey the gospel of God? ¹⁸ And “if the righteous are scarcely saved, how will it fare for the ungodly and the sinners?” ¹⁹ So then also let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing good.

If my experience of suffering due to my bad behavior, I would have reason to be ashamed. But if I am suffering for being a Christian, there is no shame. In fact, I am giving honor to God for the name of ‘Christian’. Followers of Jesus were not called “Christians” until being called so in Antioch, where Paul and Barnabas ministered. It meant, basically, “Christs,” or those who worshiped the Christ, the Messiah. It became a badge of honor for believers.

Not being ashamed of being persecuted is congruent with not being ashamed of Christ and the gospel, and is a crucial requirement for believers. Paul quotes a trustworthy saying: “If we died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself” (2 Timothy 2:11-13).

Peter is continuing to frame persecution correctly for his readers. And now he explains that this persecution is an evidence that “the time for judgment” is beginning in the house of God. God’s judgment always begins with His people first:

I have begun to punish Jerusalem, the city that bears my name. Now should I let you go unpunished? No, you will not escape disaster. I will call for war against all the nations of the earth. I, Yahweh of Heaven’s Armies, have spoken! (Jeremiah 25:29)

God’s judgment of His people is always for purifying them. And though Peter quotes the Septuagint version of Proverbs 11:31 about the righteous scarcely being saved, he does not consider that the righteous will not be saved. They will, but it is because of God’s extraordinary work on their behalf. Unbelievers will not fare well in the judgment.

Believers can take courage in this beginning of the judgment, which they experience as purifying persecution, but their persecutors and all unbelievers will get their just due in the final day. Peter’s readers and we ourselves can entrust our souls to our faithful Creator and continue doing good.