17. For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18. And, "If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?"

    There are different kinds of suffering as we have pointed out. There is suffering for the cause of Christ that is a meaningful and purposeful suffering. In such suffering, like the context of Peter’s letter, the believers were being judged by their persecutors for their faith. The worst they could possibly do was to harm their bodies or imprison them. The world judges Christians on their own standards. It is the judgment of men. That is the manner of martyrs throughout much of history.

 There it is also a time for judgment to begin with the family of God. It is one of the means by which God desires the church to get its act together. Would that we learn as a people to depend on Him rather than wait for the times of trouble before we depend on Him. Would that we confess sin rather than wait until sin has done its damage and many are hurt by it. Would that the church sought Jesus above all other desires than wait for discipline to take away our other loves. It is not that God doesn’t delight in providing for us in our temporary stay on earth, but the fact is too often we delight more in the gifts He provides than the giver. There comes a time judgment will fall on the faithful. There is a time for it to fall on our church before we come to search our own lives and practices.

Yet the passage also addresses the suffering of the unsaved.  Sin does not bother our society much anymore. Anything is right in anyone’s eyes now. Even the church promotes and highlights sin in the rise of active homosexuals leading congregations and denominations and people want it that way.

When godly morals are dismantled, our whole society suffers. We see AIDS spreading, pre marital pregnancies, abortions, broken homes and lonely children. We see sin rear its ugly head under the guise of fun. People gamble away their paychecks and have no money for rent or food, We take pleasure in adult entertainment and find children and women abused. We see pornography shops abound. We are paying a deep price in our culture.

God will judge sin. The self-righteous will be condemned. So many leaders, stars, and CEOS of our nation are a disgrace to our land when greed, popularity, and sex serve their selfish desires and honesty, integrity, and righteousness are no longer followed. All will stand before the Lord first and foremost to answer what they have done with Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. If we say we believe in Him do we follow Him? God knows our hearts and sees the empty words of worship. Too often people come to praise only return to desires of the heart. If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner? They will be lost forever. That is a prediction of suffering far worse than anything anyone goes through here.

To those outside of God's grace, now is the time to turn to Christ for salvation. To those who live in disobedience, now is the time to repent of sin and follow Him.