1 Peter 4:12-16 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you:… I. THE APOSTLE DISTINGUISHES BETWEEN DESERVED AND UNDESERVED SUFFERING. Many of the early martyrs brought on their own deaths through incautious and foolish utterances, or want of that meekness which ought to characterise a professor of the gospel. II. THE APOSTLE URGES THE HIGHER RESPONSIBILITIES OF PROFESSORS OF THE GOSPEL. They possess a higher standard of moral conduct than the worldling. III. THE APOSTLE REMINDS US OF THE TERRIBLE END OF THE FINALLY IMPENITENT. The shipwrecked mariner who has lashed himself to a spar, and is striving frantically to reach the shore, is far more likely to be saved than the sailor who stays on the burning vessel. (J. J. S. Bird, B. A.) Parallel Verses KJV: Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: |
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