Hilary Johnson Chukwuma Chukwurah
“…For it
is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us,
what will the outcome be for those who disobey the Gospel of God? And, “If it
is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the
sinner?” – I Peter 4:17-18 (Berean Study Bible)
CONTEXTUALIZING I PETER 4:17-18
Two schools of
thought differ on the historical background of the Book of I Peter: one says
that I Peter was written during the reign of Emperor Nero whose obsession to
rebuild the City of Rome led him to burn the City. When the city of Rome was burnt,
Roman citizens believed that it was Nero who masterminded the conflagration. Citizens
were totally devastated and angry because every relic of their culture had been
destroyed: - great temples, shrines, and even their household idols were burnt up.
There was mass resentment and a possible outbreak of mass protests. In his
quest to redirect hostilities against him, Emperor Nero accused Christians of culpability.
The emperor’s decision
to scapegoat Christians was a perfect plot. Hitherto, Christians were
associated with Jews who were hated by Romans because of their aversion to the
Roman culture. In view of this, Emperor Nero quickly spread the word that
Christians had set the city on fire. As a result, a vicious persecution against
Christians began, and soon spread throughout the Roman Empire, touching places
North of the Taurus mountains such as Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and
Bithynia (I Peter 1:1). Christians were scattered across and persecuted by the
people. It became a taboo to become a Christian. Times were tough for these
believers and many were at the verge of losing their faith and salvation. These
believers needed spiritual strengthening because of their sufferings. Thus, Apostle
Peter, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit wrote the Epistles of First and
Second Peter to strengthen them. He told them that it was better to suffer as a
Christian than to suffer as “…a murderer, or as a thief, or as an
evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters. Yet if any man suffer as a
Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf” (I Peter 4:15-16).
Another school
of thought believes that the Book of I Peter was written between 64 and 68 AD to a group of
Christians who were facing intense persecutions under Emperor Domitian, a
diabolical political leader. Domitian had laid claim to divinity. In his days, when
a person was confronted by State officials, he/she would be commandeered to
make an expression to determine allegiance. Each person was required to recite,
“Dominus et Deus,” meaning, “Domitian is lord.” Christians whose
allegiance were to our Lord Jesus Christ would refuse to recite “Dominus et Deus,” but would say, “Christus et Deus,” meaning “Jesus Christ is Lord.” This pitched
Christians against the State, translating to mass persecution of Christians. Again,
in those days, it was literally an
abomination to become a Christian because to become a Christian was to
place a death warrant on oneself.
Rather than urge Christians to take
up arms in resistance to government, he urged them to accept these persecutions
as part of the refining process that would prepare them for eternal life in
God’s Eternal Kingdom. Apostle Peter encouraged Christians that it would have
been a minus if anyone would,
“...suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as
an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters. Yet if any man suffer as
a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf. For the time is come that judgment must
begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be
of them that obey not the gospel of God? And if the righteous scarcely be
saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? Wherefore let them
that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to
him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.
Peter encouraged Christians
to consider what they were passing through as a form of “judgment” and argued that if “judgment” would begin with the
church, what then would be the fate of those who do not obey the Gospel? The
phrase, “And
if the righteous scarcely be saved,…” (I
Peter 4:18) bespeaks of the intense pressures these persecutions were bearing
on the faith of Christians. James
Burton Coffman explains:
The righteous (the Christians) were indeed
"scarcely saved"; if Satan had had a better administrator than Nero, if
circumstances had been only slightly different from what they were,
Christianity might indeed have been exterminated from the earth; but, of
course, the providence of God did not allow that to occur. But, if only the
most signal providence of God could have spared the Christians from
annihilation, what could be expected where, in the case of the disobedient,
that providence would not be exercised? The fate of Jerusalem exhibited the
tragic answer.
APPLICATIONS
There is nothing as scary as Judgment. More scary is God’s Judgment
upon mankind and on the Last Day. Whenever the issue of Judgment is broached,
people become frightened. This was the experience of Governor Felix. Acts 24:25
tells us:
“And as he reasoned of righteousness,
temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled, and answered, Go thy way for
this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee.”
The reason this is so is
because of the presence of guilt. There are two persons one cannot lie to – oneself and God. Our consciences either bear witness against us when we do not
do well or justify us when we do well (Romans 2:15). Because our consciences
constantly remind us of our guiltiness each time we blow the fuse, we dread
God’s Verdict because God is greater than our consciences (I John 3:20).
In
his epistle, Apostle Peter reminds us that God’s
Judgment will begin in His Church and that it is going to be a sweeping
event in which many people will be lost. He alludes that “Righteous people will scarcely be saved.” Question therefore, is: “If it is difficult for the righteous to be
saved, what will be the fate of the unrighteous?” If it is difficult for a
live tree to stand, what will be the fate of the dried one?
Why would God’s
Judgment commence with the Church? Simply – because charity or cleansing
begins at home! God has no moral authority to judge outsiders if He has not
first subjected those of His Household to judgment. Law of Supernatural Justice
is predicated on the fact that cleansing
should begin with those who are inside before it is extended to those who are
outside.
Why then should God judge the
Church?
1.
Because
the Church that will be finally saved is the Church devoid of any wrinkle or
spot (Ephesians 5:27).
2.
Because
a fisherman after he had done fishing would set aside time to select fishes for
his keeps while “rubbish” will be thrown away (Matthew 13:47-48).
3.
Because
His people have been infiltrated by a Mixed
Multitude (Exodus
12: 38).
4.
The
Cleansing of the Temple by Jesus Christ in John Chapter 2 is a sure sign that
God will judge His people.
Men and
Brethren, God is going to judge His Church because the Church as we see her
today is stinking. Abominations that cause desolation have taken center-stages
of the doctrinal, moral, spiritual and relational fibres of the Church. The
Church is no longer what God designed her to be. There are high profile
immoralities going on between ministers and members and between members and
members. There is intense politicking amongst brethren in various congregations
across the land. Doctrinal integrity has been sacrificed on the altar of convenience
and desire to be like the Jones and the Joneses. Greed and social vices have
defined the character of today’s Church. What unbelievers consider immoral
are now practiced as new morality by
the Church (cf. I Corinthians 5:1f).
Going by
conventional mass and social media reports, the “wider church” has become a
by-word. Men and women are living as if there is no God. Liars and charlatans have
infiltrated the rank and file of the Church. Magicians are now parading
themselves as “Miracle workers.” Comedians and entertainers are now preachers
and ministers. Focus has moved away from Heaven and Salvation to earth and
earthly matters. Material prosperity, instead of faithfulness to the Lord and
to His Word has become the new yardstick for measuring God’s blessings and
approval. Orators and oratory, instead of “faithful preaching” of the Word – “Thus Said the Lord” have become the
yardstick for determining who a “powerful minister of God” is.
Men and
Brethren, the Church of Jesus Christ has been hijacked and turned on her head!
I am sure that as our Lord looks down from Heaven to see what goes on in His
Church, He is utterly disappointed. Places of holiness and righteousness have
been turned to arenas of unrighteousness and sins of all sorts. In fact all the
vices that God says should never characterize His people found in Galatians
5:19-21 and Revelation 21:8 are grand redefinitions of most people in our
congregations.
Granted:
there remnants of Righteous and Godly servants and maidservants of God - of
Christians in every congregation of the Lord’s Church, however, God who sees
and knows everyone knows that many are not what they should be. For these few,
their salvation is eternally guaranteed if they continue in their
steadfastness.
Whatever
happens, it should be said and stressed to its very limit that - if God does
not judge and punish the sins of His Church, He would need to apologise to
Sodom and Gomorrah.
WHAT IS GOD SAYING TO US?
At I Peter 4:17-18, God is calling our
attention to the fact that even though salvation is free, it is costly to
maintain; that to attain eternal salvation a lot of work is required on the
part of believers. It is easier to say, “I
am” than to prove that I am. If I say I believe like I should, do I live
like I shouldn’t?
In Kingdom dynamics and economics, profession does not
translate to possession and activity does not translate to productivity. Either
you have it or you do not have it. Either you keep it or you lose it.
Salvation is not a child’s play. That which cost God His
Only Begotten Son is not a matter to be trifled with. Salvation is a do or die matter. Throughout Scripture, the picture we have of salvation
is that it is not an-all-comers’ affair - that even though salvation is free at
entrance, it is not altogether an easy exercise. It requires that sacrifices
should be made. The door to Heaven is open, but the path to it is tough and
rough (Acts 14:22). It takes those with brave hearts and determined
determination to make it.
If in the days of Noah, only eight souls were saved (I
Peter 3:20); if in the days of Lot, only three souls were saved (Genesis 19),
then in the days of Christ, only few will be saved. Salvation is for everybody,
but Heaven is for the few who walk on the straight and narrow gate (Matthew
7:14).
WHO ARE THE RIGHTEOUS?
To get an idea of
the righteous who will be scarcely saved,
we only need to look at Ezekiel 14:14: “’Even if these three men, Noah,
Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness,’ says the
Lord God.”
Noah demonstrated
extreme righteousness in his days so much so that he found favour of salvation
before God (Genesis 6). In an era of commercialized lawlessness, Noah was one
man who stood by God and lived by His principles. He was not carried away by
the lives of others. He refused to follow the crowd. He and his family were
one-man squad of righteous people. To live the way they did showed courage to
stand for what is right and to live in consonance with God’s Will oblivious of
what others think or do.
Daniel became a giant of
righteousness when he stood for God in a foreign land and made a decision that
turned the idolatrous world of Babylon on her head. While others followed the
bandwagon, he and his friends refused to be cowed by popular demand and chose
not to defile themselves by the “…kings
wine and meat” (Daniel 1:8f). They passed through series of tests in which they
emerged as champions of their faith. Daniel, particularly, went through the
mill to prove that he was a candidate for salvation and eternal life when he
was severally subjected to severe trials.
Job was one man whom
God testified of as one who lived above the levels of spiritual and moral mediocrity.
At Job 1, God proudly announced, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on
earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil” (Job 1:8).
Issues of
righteousness have never been a tea-party affair. Righteousness is what
differentiates between Heavenly and Hellish candidates. It is one issue that
God places high premium on. This is the character of God’s Kingdom citizens
(Romans 14:17-19).
WHAT
IS RIGHTEOUSNESS?
Simply
stated, Righteousness is right
standing (I John 3:7). Righteousness is cultivating Divine cultures. Righteous
is living like God: love what God loves and hate what God hates (Psalm 97:10;
Hebrews 1:9).
Righteousness
describes the nature and attributes of God. It is the sum totality of who God
is and what makes Him Who He is. In Him there is no sin of any sort. Sin is
opposite His nature and being. Moral and spiritual perfections are what define
God’s nature. Therefore, to be pleasing to Him, one must be perfect as He is perfect (Matthew 5:48) and
holy and He is Holy (I Peter 1:15-16).
WHY
WILL THE RIGHTEOUS BE SCARCELY SAVED?
Because God expects
absolute and water-tight obedience from His servants. In God’s dealings with
man, there is no provision for half-measures (James 2:10). You are either for
God or you are not for God.
Moses
was one righteous man who was scarcely
saved. One act of disobedience was what nearly cost Moses his portion in
God’s eternal home. If Moses was nearly
lost, why would think that God would be more lenient with the people of
today? Hebrews 10:26-29 assures that God requires more obedience and conformity
now than He had ever done.
Does
Scripture say that the righteous will not be saved? No, it
says that the righteous will be scarcely saved. The word translated, “Scarcely” is the Greek word, Motis, which can be translated, “with difficulty.” In other words, it will be intense difficulty that
the righteous will be saved. Making it to Heaven is not going to be a
walk-over. It requires discipline or what Apostle Paul would describe as, “…cleansing ourselves from all filthiness of
the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (II
Corinthians 7:1). If the righteous will have a hard time getting to Heaven,
then the unrighteous will have an easy time going to Hell. A more modern
translation of I Peter 4:18 would read:
“If the righteous are saved with difficulty, where
shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? If the righteous, the house of God,
must experience the disciplining hand of God, what shall be the end of them who
obey not the Gospel?”
HAD GOD EVER
JUDGED HIS PEOPLE IN THE PAST?
1. Ezekiel 9:6 – “Slaughter the old
men, the young men and women, the mothers and children, but do not touch anyone
who has the mark. Begin at my
sanctuary." So they began with the old men who were in front of the
temple.”
2.
Jeremiah 25:29 –
“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….”
Revelation
chapters two and three show that God had judged His people in the past and will
do it again. In Revelation chapters 2 and 3, God had dissected every
congregation, revealing their strengths and weaknesses. To the Church in
Ephesus, He threatened that if she did not repent, He would remove His
Candlestick from her (Revelation 2:5). The candlestick of a church is the evidence
of her being a true New Testament church. If it was removed, the administrative
work of the Holy Spirit would be gone, and though they still look like a church
and be very active in doing what seemed to be the Lord’s work, they were not
his any longer.
When
the Lord looked into the Church at Corinth, He found that many were sick and that some had already died spiritually (1 Corinthians 11:28-30).
If the Lord should look into your personal life and
the congregation where you worship, what is He likely to see – will He see a
congregation alive or a congregation that is sick or a congregation that is
dead?
In his article, “Judgment Will
Start in the House of God” Shane Idleman (2015) quotes Steve
Sutherland as saying:
I'm convinced that the majority of the churches … are
seeking to please the masses rather than convict. Repentance is rarely sought
and sin is often excused. We want to build a church rather than break a heart.
This leaves people confused and deceived because we teach and live a form of
Christianity void of repentance ... void of truth.
"If the church today had as many agonizers as she
has advisers, we would have a revival within a year. We need to cease listening
to men so we can hear the groan of the Spirit which we in our lush pews have
forgotten.
Today’s
Church has the religion of Jesus Christ, but not a relationship with Jesus
Christ. "There is a form of godliness without its power." Truth has
been raped and taken advantage of, and God continues to be blasphemed. We
should never confuse God’s patience with His approval.”
WHEN
GOD JUDGES THE CHURCH, WHO THEN WILL
BE SAVED? (MATTHEW 19:25).
1.
Few – very few (Matthew 22:14; I Peter3:20;
Revelation 3:4; Luke 13:24).
2.
Those who walked through the narrow way (Matthew 7:13-14;
cf. Exodus 23:2).
3.
Those who walked humbly with God (Micah 6:8;
Amos 3:3; Genesis 5:24; cf. Hebrews11:5; Genesis 17:1; cf. Ephesians 5:27).
4.
Those who disciplined themselves (I Corinthians 9:25-27;
I Timothy 4:8).
5.
Those who strive to enter (Hebrews 4:11;
Luke 13:24).
6.
Those who kept the word of God’s perseverance and
their crowns from being taken from them (Revelation 3:10-12).
7.
Those who lived with eternity in view (Hebrews11:23-27;
Hebrews 11:13-16).
CONCLUSION
I want to
conclude by quoting Ed Lewis:
"I
believe God is withdrawing His hand of protection from the church in judgment,
but the church hasn't realized it yet. The pleasures and values of most people
in the church are not much different from other people's, either. The
line that once distinguished Christians from non Christians has become severely
blurred. Why has God not judged . . . ?
The main problem is not so much secularism as it is the secularization
of the church. ‘The salt is losing its savor.’ The purity of the church
has been compromised, and we've lost sight of the value of a pure church.
Persecution always cleanses and purifies the church wherever it occurs, but we
don't have to wait for persecution. We can repent now for violating God's
Word, bringing the world's values into the church, and failing to obey God's
voice."\-
Writing to the Corinthian
Congregation, Apostle Paul urged them to individually judge themselves so that
they would not be condemned with the world. This same appeal goes to all of us.
If we do not judge ourselves, God will
judge us, but if we judge ourselves we will not be condemned with the world
(I Corinthians 11:31-32).
Come to think of it – why
are we Christians – is it to do as we please and go to Hell or do as God
pleases and make Heaven? If Heaven is our goal, then let us live like Heavenly
candidates. The worst form of deception is self-deception. If we say we believe like we should, we should stop behaving like we
shouldn’t!
_______________
Hilary
Johnson Chukwuma Chukwurah (Evangelist) is an itinerant minister of God’s Word whose
membership is with Church of Christ, 14, Agbugwu Lane, off, University Market
Road, Nsukka, Enugu State, Nigeria. A private businessman, Hilary Johnson is
the MD/CEO, Grand-Heritage Global Communications, a professional editing,
content development and publishing firm. He can be contacted via: Phone – 0803 959 6919 or E-mail – hilaryjohnsonc@gmail.com.
References
Coffman, James Burton. (1983). James Burton Coffman’s Commentary on James,
1 & 2 Peter; 1, 2 & 3 John, Jude, Vol. 11. Texas: Abilene Christian
University Press.
Ed Lewis, “The State of the Church.” Pulpit Helps. (Vol. 20, No 3), March,
1995.
