by Edwin Crozier<\/p>\n
Text:<\/strong> I Peter 4<\/p>\n Jesus told the apostles: “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours<\/em>” (John 15:18-20 ESV).<\/p>\n Building on this same principle, Peter says to us: “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed<\/em>” (I Peter 4: 12-13 ESV).<\/p>\n Our King suffered. His citizens will also suffer. The same kinds of people who rejected Jesus and killed Him will reject and persecute us. The same kinds of people who listened to and supported Jesus will listen to and support us.<\/p>\n Regrettably, some people give their allegiance to Jesus lightly. They give allegiance to Jesus expecting Him to pave an easy path through this life for them. But that was never the plan. These are the seed sown on rocky ground in Jesus’s Parable of the Sower (see Matthew 13:5, 20-21). They do not develop roots. They make a big show at the beginning, seeming to get mature quickly. But maturity is not tested in ease and pleasantries. It is tested in persecution and adversity.<\/p>\n Let us remove the rocks and weeds from the soil of our heart so the roots of our conviction in Jesus as King and His Word can grow deep. Then when the scorching sun withers us, we continue to live because more of us lives in the depths of conviction than can be seen on the surface.<\/p>\n Let us not be surprised when we suffer. Further, let us not be ashamed as if we are doing something wrong (unless we are, in fact, doing something wrong-see I Peter 4:15). Instead, let us glorify God. When we suffer as Christians, we are blessed (see Matthew 5:10-12) and the Spirit of glory and God rests upon us.<\/p>\n Praise the Lord!<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Edwin Crozier Text: I Peter 4 Jesus told the apostles: “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[182,188],"class_list":["post-93390","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-suffering","tag-trials"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":70166,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/christian-victim-card\/","url_meta":{"origin":93390,"position":0},"title":"Christian Victim Card","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 4, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Chadwick Brewer \"Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you\" (I John 3:13). Christians are disdained and hated for their strong convictions of faith, radical morality, and different ways of life. In a world of political correctness, it is still socially acceptable to mock and denigrate Christians.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6762,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/where-does-it-say-that-those-preaching-gods-word-would-be-hated\/","url_meta":{"origin":93390,"position":1},"title":"Where does it say that those preaching God’s word would be hated?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 1, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I'm looking for a passage: You will be not liked very much if you preach the Christian word. Please give some direction as to where I might find this. Answer: Several passages could fit roughly with what you are looking for: \"Blessed are you when they revile and persecute\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":23767,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-does-the-esv-remove-that-god-hates-divorce-in-malachi-216\/","url_meta":{"origin":93390,"position":2},"title":"Why does the ESV remove that God hates divorce in Malachi 2:16?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 8, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Do you know why in Malachi 2:16 the ESV removes the saying that God hates divorce? Answer: \"For the man who does not love his wife but divorces her,\u00a0says the\u00a0Lord, the God of Israel, covers\u00a0his garment with violence, says the\u00a0Lord of hosts. So guard yourselves in your spirit, and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":91635,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-to-suffer-as-a-christian\/","url_meta":{"origin":93390,"position":3},"title":"How to Suffer as a Christian","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 29, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by David Gibson Since Christ calls us to suffer for Him (John 15:18-20; Acts 14:21-22; II Timothy 3:12), we do well to prepare ourselves spiritually and emotionally for this. One of the best sources for equipping Christians for suffering is First Peter. Peter writes from personal experience, having already been\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":95126,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/do-all-without-grumbling\/","url_meta":{"origin":93390,"position":4},"title":"Do All Without Grumbling","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 16, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Edwin Crozier Paul has told them to do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but always view others as more significant. Then he told them to always obey, following in Jesus' footsteps. In Philippians 2:14, he wraps up this section with a surprising teaching. \"Do all things without grumbling\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":40524,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-does-till-my-raptured-soul-shall-find-mean\/","url_meta":{"origin":93390,"position":5},"title":"What does “Till my raptured soul shall find” mean?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 3, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: In the song, \"Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross\", what does \"Till my raptured soul shall find\" mean? Answer: \"In the cross, in the cross, Be my glory ever; Till my raptured soul shall find Rest beyond the river.\" \"Rapture\" is an older English word for \"a feeling of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93390","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=93390"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93390\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=93390"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=93390"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=93390"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}