BBC Sermon Cast

In our modern-day society most people do everything they can to avoid suffering. Peter is pointing to the contrary. He urges believers to endure suffering for Christ as it reveals their identity. We will look at this text under the following headings:

1. The Pattern of Suffering

2. The People of Suffering

3. The Purpose of Suffering

4. The Perseverance in Suffering

It is not uncommon to experience emotional shifts under affliction: from calm to chaos; from trust to worry; from rest to despair. So in Job 28. Job is in a good place in this chapter—but he will soon again experience some meltdown. For now, Job makes some good observations about good wisdom. But observations are not enough. He will need to move from theory to reality; from the theoretical to the experiential. We all need to do so. We will consider this chapter under three broad headings:

1. The Clever Search for Wealth (vv. 1–11)

2. The Clueless Search for Wisdom (vv. 12–22)

3. The Crucial Source of Wisdom (vv. 23–28)

Shadow servers are rarely celebrated for their untiring, faithful service. But there are dozens of church members who serve faithfully in these shadow capacities week after week, who will rarely be acknowledged, but who are ministering “in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.”

A gospel community should live the life Jesus did. Jesus’s life should manifest itself in the way the gospel community live their lives. In the text before us, we learn that a Christ-following gospel community is:

I. a praying people (v. 7);

II. a loving people (vv. 8–9); and

III. a serving people (vv. 10–11).

It is an indication of the sinfulness of man that we can take wonderful theology and use it as a club. So Bildad does in his final and short speech. Job’s response, on the other hand, reveals a far deeper theology than Bildad’s. He was not unaware of God’s majesty. Indeed, he stood in true awe of God. But it was his awe that left him in the fog of mystery. We will consider Bildad’s final speech and Job’s response under the following headings:

I. Bildad’s Final Speech (25:1–6)

A. Bildad’s Theology: God the Majestic (vv. 1–3)

B. Bildad’s Anthropology: Man the Maggot (vv. 4–6)

II. Job’s Theology (26:1–14)

A. Job's Stinging Sarcasm (26:1–4)

B. God’s Awesome Affirmation (26:5–14)

III. Job’s Anthropology (27:1–23)

A. Job’s Innocence (27:1–6)

B. Job’s Imprecation (27:7–12)

C. Job’s Instruction (27:13–23)

Church buildings have no magical power to ward off the forces of Satan. Christians, empowered by the gospel of Jesus Christ, have the responsibility to do so. Some of the ways in which we do that are by guarding against anti-gospel worldviews, philosophies, and teachings; living lives of Christlike integrity; putting away the sins of bitterness and unforgiveness; and, in humility, counting others more significant than ourselves.

The book of 1 Peter is about hope-filled suffering. He wanted his readers to happily, holily, and hopefully do the will of God in the face of persecution. In the text before us, we see that Peter expected his believing readers to live as testimonies of the power and grace of God, who transforms spiritually dead and sinfully enslaved sinners into Christlike saints. That is, he expected his readers to live as those who love doing the will of God. In this study, we will look at what it means to live for the will of God, what this requires, and what is its result. We do so under three headings:

1. The Christian is Intentional about Doing the Will of God (vv. 1–2)

2. The Christian is Insulted for Doing the Will of God (vv. 3–4)

3. The Christian is Invigorated for Doing the Will of God (vv. 5–6)

Chapter 22 commences the final round of speeches between Job and his three friends. Eliphaz, probably the oldest of the three, speaks first but doesn’t add much, if anything, to previous arguments. He adds to the building condemnation but to his credit, Eliphaz concludes with a call to repentance and hope of restoration. Of course the problem is that Job had nothing to repent of! For his part, Job continues to love and trust God, even though he remains confused about what God is doing. Christians sometimes live there: in the dark as we face trials. These chapters, which we will consider under the following headings, might help us:

1. Eliphaz’ Brutal Vilification (22:1–11)

2. Eliphaz’ Bold Condemnation (22:12–20)

3. Eliphaz’ Beautiful Invitation (22:21–30)

4. Job’s Longing (23:1–7)

5. Job’s Lament (23:8–17)

6. Job’s Dark World (24:1–17)

7. Job’s Disordered World (24:18–25)

May the Lord increasingly help us to let go of our grievances, to taste the gospel afresh, enjoying and experiencing the freeing fruit of free grace in Christ!

Christians can endure suffering for righteousness’ sake, not because Christ left an example to follow, but because Christ gained victory over the forces of evil and promises victory to all who are in him. First Peter 3:18–23 highlights victory in Jesus by showing us that this victory:

(1) was purchased by Christ’s death and resurrection (v. 18);

(2) was proclaimed by Christ’s ascension (vv. 19–21); and

(3) is portrayed in Christian baptism (vv. 22–23).