📖Scripture:
“For if anyone endures the pain of unjust suffering because they are conscious of God, this is to be commended.”
- 1 Peter 2:19
🔎Examination:
The world applauds comfort, self-protection, and retaliation. Heaven commends something very different: conscious, God-centered, honorable, and intrinsically good perseverance amid unjust suffering. The Apostle Peter is not talking about enduring the consequences of sin. “How is it to your credit if you are beaten for doing wrong and you endure it?” There is no heavenly reward in suffering for unrighteousness. But when saints endure injustice because they are conscious of God, not because they are numb or naïve, God calls that commendable.
A proper understanding of “conscious of God” is crucial. This is no generic theism, vague spirituality, or mere affirmation of the existence of some ambiguous “higher power.” The sermon rightly warned: acknowledging a supreme intelligence behind the universe is neither commendable, “for God has made it plain to them,” nor is it the same as bowing to Christ Jesus as Lord and confessing Him as LORD. It’s not the same as being BORN AGAIN by the power of the GOSPEL through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. “For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast.”
Many brilliant minds look at the unfathomable fine-tuning of the cosmos and acknowledge the evidence overwhelmingly suggests a uncaused, omnipotent, omniscient, immaterial Designer, but then refuse to submit and live accordingly. That is not faith; that evasive admiration without repentance is rebellion in wanton sin. As Peter noted previously, Christ Jesus is for them “the stone the builders rejected” (1:7), “a stumbling block and a rock of offense” (1:8). Peter then goes on to say, “They stumble because they refuse to be persuaded by the word—and to this they were appointed.”
In reference to being “conscious of God,” Peter reveals something infinitely more profound… He’s unveiling a supernatural awareness regarding the reality of Christ Jesus, which governs every aspect of our lives. This includes our response when unjustly wronged. When insulted, the ELECT remember that God hears every word. When mistreated, we remember that God sees and judges with perfect justice and righteousness. When slandered, we remember that our vindication is not ultimately temporal in the court of public opinion but eternal before the everlasting throne of the King of kings.
At the CROSS is where every counterfeit gospel crumbles. Prosperity teaching promises that enough faith will protect and deliver from TEMPORAL suffering. The TRUE GOSPEL teaches “In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in various trials so that the proven character of your faith… may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” Decisionistic pseudo-Christianity heralds the lie that a magical “prayer” (asking Jesus into your heart or “accepting Christ”) guarantees a painless path to heaven. Progressive and deconstructionist religion insists that faith must constantly adapt to culture to ensure “relevance” and avoid “offense.” Peter cuts through all these lies by reminding the ELECT about the assurance of suffering unjustly for our FAITH: “For to this you were called.” Unjust suffering for doing God-ordained good is no glitch; it’s a promised and essential component of our call as empowered, elect exiles.
Endurance is not some stoic grit. It is the tangible evidence of supernatural resurrection union in action. Consciousness of God is not a lofty idea; it is relational baptism/identity, i.e., a living testimony of our being in Christ, and Christ is in us. His Spirit comforts, convicts, counsels, and strengthens. His Word interprets our trials, which reveals that our “momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison.” God’s promises don’t just anchor us; He is our ANCHOR! (Heb 6:19). Nothing done in faith, no tear shed in righteousness, no insult borne for His name will be wasted. God’s WORD promises, “The one who has faith in Him will never be put to shame.”
When saints endure unjust suffering, they expose the emptiness and futility of the world’s lies. Satan’s “churches” are everywhere and obvious to the ELECT. Just like the Pharisees of King Jesus’ day, they betray, renounce, reject, and crucify Christ for selfish agendas and cultural approval. The world willfully and willingly chooses resentment, revenge, and despair over deliverance because they loved the darkness rather than the LIGHT of Christ. But those who are truly “conscious of God” endure by the Holy Spirit’s providence and power… and keep doing objective, intrinsic, Christ-honoring “good.” Our response is our apologetic: “My life is not anchored in fairness, but in a faithfulness to Christ Jesus.”
To be “commended before God” isn’t just “better” than being applauded by people; it’s what Peter referred to in 1:8 as “aneklalētō,” or “beyond expression.” On the day King Jesus visits us, no unjust boss, hostile government, wicked tyrant, mocking neighbor, atheistic genius, or slandering relative will have the last word. The One whose wounds purchased our redemption will publicly vindicate all who suffered unjustly in patiently bearing our crosses in union with Him.
Consider the words of the Apostle Paul: “I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, and I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches.” After all that, Paul wrote, “I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to Him in His death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.” That’s not super-Christianity, it’s the only kind.
🤺Action:
Examine your suffering (Lam 3:40): Is your present pain the fruit of your own sin, or is it unjust opposition in your serving as an ambassador of the GOSPEL? Be honest before God.
Test your motives (Ps 139:23–24): Are you enduring to look strong before people, or because you are conscious of Christ’s presence, mission, ministry, and power?
Weigh your responses (Heb 4:12–13): How do you speak, post, and act when treated unfairly? Do your reactions reveal faith in God or faith in self? Do you trust in God for vindication and vengeance?
Judge yourself (1 Cor 11:28–31): Are you using “persecution” language to describe what is actually conviction of sin and God’s discipline?
🧠Reflection:
Unjust suffering is not random. In the hands of our sovereign God, it is a chisel shaping us into the likeness of His Son, the refiner's fire producing useful material, and a megaphone declaring the reality of His kingdom. When we choose to endure rather than retaliate, to bless rather than curse, to keep doing divine good rather than withdraw into cynicism, we are not being weak; we are walking in the power of Christ’s resurrection life.
Let this truth quiet culture’s demand to always be understood, vindicated, and treated fairly. The King sees and remembers. Christ Jesus will commend what the world despised. Ask the Holy Spirit to deepen your resolve through faith, which transcends a mere consciousness of God. Faithful living heralds His holiness, His justice, His nearness, His promises — so that when sufferings come, our first instinct is not self-defense, but endurance by faith. Following in Christ’s footsteps isn’t just one option… It’s THE WAY for everyone truly alive in Christ.
Blessings & love,
Kevin M. Kelley
Pastor
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