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? (1 Peter 4:17)
This is
one of those scriptures that throws a divide on the implications on embracing
the grace message. For those who argue for a balance in preaching the grace
message based on the exclusion of a forth coming judgment this is one go-to-place
in the scriptures.
As always
context is key to understand Peter’s message. It will be improper to do a
positional doctrine without examining all the elements in the verse and the
surrounding verses.
Let’s put
some flesh to the passage now.
12 Beloved, do not think it
strange concerning THE FIERY TRIAL WHICH IS TO TRY YOU, as though some strange
thing happened to you; 13 but rejoice to the extent that YOU PARTAKE
OF CHRIST’S SUFFERINGS, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad
with exceeding joy. 14 If YOU ARE REPROACHED FOR THE NAME OF CHRIST,
blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On
their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified. 15 But
let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in
other people’s matters. 16 Yet IF ANYONE SUFFERS AS A
CHRISTIAN, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter.
17 FOR the time has come for
judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us
first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of
God? 18 Now
“If the righteous one is scarcely
saved,
Where will the ungodly and the sinner appear?”
19 Therefore let those who
suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in
doing good, as to a faithful Creator.
When
looked at context you will see Peter addressing the fact the believers of the
first century in his time were going through severe persecution. This is also
evidenced in other places in the New Testament. Paul’s letters seem to convey this
lot.
Peter
tells them that FIERY TRIALS is about to come against them. He asks them to
rejoice as they partake in a form of suffering for their stand on the gospel.
He tells them it is necessary because Jesus tells his disciples of it in the
Olivet discourse.
9 “Then you will be handed
over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all
nations because of me. (Matthew 24)
This
fiery trial is based on decisions taken against the church by their Jewish
brethren and leadership. Then in vs 17 he first says “for” which means “because”.
His precious statement links what he is about to say in vs 17.
This dilemma
is because “the time has come”. When Peter said "the time has
come" he uses the word "kairos". This word means more than just
time. It "frequently refers to time for decision in eschatological
references.
The
persecution of the church refers to an appointed time for fulfillment. Fulfilment
of what the Lord told them as signs on the end of the old covenant/creation in
Matthew 24.
Now not
only did Peter say the appointed time had come, he said the time had come for
"the judgment" [to krima] had come. The definite article is present in
the greek but strangely absent in many Bible translations.
What
judgment is he referring to?
In Matthew
16:27-28 Jesus said he was going to come in judgment to reward every man
before his generation passed away.
For the
Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he
shall reward every man according to his works. 28 Verily I say unto
you, THERE BE SOME STANDING HERE, WHICH SHALL NOT TASTE OF DEATH, till they see
the Son of man coming in his kingdom.
This scripture
puts it very clear that this was an event that was due upon that generation and
not in our time.
Paul also
echoed this too;
30 And
the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every
where to repent: 31 Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he
will judge the world (oikoumene, ) in righteousness by that man whom
he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men"
The root
word Oikoumene, used for "world" in this passage, actually means "inhabited
or civilized world," not world as in global planet earth. This is the same
Greek word used in Luke 2:1: "Now in
those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of
all the inhabited earth."
Surely
Ceasar Augustus did not carry out the census in every nook and cranny of the
planet earth. This world was their civilized world that was under the radar of
their control.
"Then they will deliver you
up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's
sake.” (Matthew
24:9)
Why would
the apostles be hated in all nations if they had not preached the gospel in all
nations? They were hated by all nations because they preached in all nations.
What they did they preach that would stir up that hatred? The gospel had at its
foundation the fact that the Mosaic laws were no longer a determining factor
for salvation and relationship with God. This did not go down well the Jews who
all their lives were born into it for centuries. The gospel at its best was blasphemy
at the worst for them hence the persecution.
The
gospel going round the Roman empire was to give the Jews everywhere the
opportunity to embrace the redemption in Jesus and escape the wrath that was to
be unleashed. That wrath was the day of judgment demonstrated in the removal of
that old covenant world.
It needs
to be noted that Peter said that the judgment would "begin at the house of
God"; and would include those "who do not obey the gospel." In
their reference as Hebrews, the house of God refers to the temple. Jesus told
them in Matthew 23 that the house would be left desolate.
Those who
do not obey the gospel are not believers who sin. They were Jews who refused to
accept the gospel of Jesus. Paul talks about them and still presents the theme
of judgment on them in 1 Thessalonians 3.
4 so that we ourselves boast
of you among the churches of God for your patience and faith in all YOUR
PERSECUTIONS AND TRIBULATIONS THAT YOU ENDURE, 5 which is manifest
evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be counted worthy of
the kingdom of God, for which you also suffer; 6 since it is a
righteous thing with God to REPAY WITH TRIBULATION THOSE WHO TROUBLE YOU, 7 and
to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is
revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, 8 IN FLAMING FIRE TAKING
VENGEANCE ON THOSE WHO DO NOT KNOW GOD, AND ON THOSE WHO DO NOT OBEY THE GOSPEL
OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. 9 These shall be punished with everlasting
destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, 10 when
He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among
all those who believe,[a] because our testimony among you was
believed.
If you
pay a close attention to the above statement by Paul you will see the harmony
with Peter’s:
The
church was being persecuted by the Jewish leadership and it was time for wrath
(expressions of the law) to fall on them. That was the judgment. This theme
runs throughout the scripture from Cain and Abel, Ismael and Isaac etc.
The
judgment occurred at the “house of God” and it was found wanting from the cross
when it’s veil was torn apart. The cross made it obsolete and it became known
in scriptures as the synagogue of Satan (Revelation 3:9).
Daniel
prophesied the same event in chapter 12 as occurring for times, time and half a
time (3 1/2 years which was the length of the siege of Jerusalem by the Romans)
and when the power of the holy people were shattered (the Law and city).
It is
also important to understand the word “judgment” is not always as we use it in
the English language. The word itself, krino, means to separate.
In those
events that occurred at the end of that age there was a separation going on
even in the midst of the persecution of the church.
Jesus
used the metaphors of the 10 virgins, the wheat and the tares, the
sheep and the goats and others to teach the separation to distinguish those who
were true Jews of faith (Galatians 3:7), and who were the Jews of the flesh, the
apostate murderers of Jesus and the saints.
Ad70
demonstrated who the true sons of God were. It brought about the kingdom which
demonstrated the full manifestation of sonship in the image of Christ. We are
not waiting for any judgment to happen in the church of Christ. We are rather
living in the endless kingdom age expecting the knowledge of the glory of the
Lord to cover the earth as the waters covers the sea.