The sermon opens the first Sunday of 2024 by returning to the exposition of 1 Peter after a short break, arguing that this text is especially fitting for entering a new year. Jesus calls his disciples to deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow him, and this call inevitably brings suffering. The word "for" that opens verse 18 ties back to verse 17: it is better to suffer for doing good, if that is God's will, than to suffer for doing evil. Suffering can come through persecution for the faith, through the ordinary hardships of a fallen world, or through simply trying to live faithfully, share the gospel, and love difficult people. Peter writes to strengthen believers who suffer in these ways, and the sermon situates this need in a wider context: hundreds of millions of Christians around the world, and specifically Sundanese believers in West Java who lose family and status when they convert, endure real persecution, while believers in comfortable cities like Melbourne can forget how much suffering the wider church experiences. The sermon frames 1 Peter 3:18-22 as offering five ways Peter equips Christians to face suffering, though only the first three are treated this week.

The first source of strength is remembering that Christ himself suffered and died. Just as the world hated Jesus before it hated his followers, and just as he sends his disciples out like sheep among wolves, suffering is the expected condition of those who follow him. Enduring suffering for doing right therefore associates believers with Christ and even with the prophets who suffered before them; it becomes a confirmation, not a contradiction, of belonging to him.

The second and central strength is that Christ's suffering was substitutionary and accomplished something decisive: he brought believers to God. He died once for all, a death that is final, permanent, and binding, in the same way a legal ruling remains valid even if the judge who issued it is later found compromised. This once-for-all death demonstrates God's justice, addressing the problem raised in Romans 3 — how a just God could rightly forgive the persistent sins of Israel across the Old Testament, from the exodus generation's grumbling to David's adultery and murder. God cannot simply overlook sin without compromising his justice, so Christ, the righteous one, dies in the place of the unrighteous, satisfying that justice so that those united to him are no longer condemned. The sermon presses this pastorally: the deepest human need is not a long, comfortable life but the forgiveness of sin and peace with God forever, a good beyond comparison with any earthly comfort. When suffering tempts believers to doubt God's love, the sermon insists Christ's death for our sins is the settled proof that God does care, since he was willing to bring us to himself at the cost of his own Son.

The third source of comfort comes from Christ's resurrection and exaltation: risen and seated at God's right hand, with angels, authorities, and powers subjected to him, he now reigns over every force that might threaten believers. This truth is drawn together with Peter's later warning that the devil prowls like a roaring lion seeking to devour, illustrated by the image from Pilgrim's Progress of lions guarding the gate that appear terrifying but are actually chained and limited. Because Christ is sovereign, the devil and every hardship can act only within what God permits, as with Job, who lost everything yet clung to trust in God despite his wife's urging to curse God and die. Suffering permitted by a sovereign, loving Christ is therefore never random but purposeful, worked for the believer's good and God's glory. The sermon closes by urging the congregation into the new year with this settled faith: obedience to God will bring real difficulty, but it should not be treated as strange, since Scripture itself says as much, and God supplies grace, comfort, and a good purpose in the midst of it.

Bible Verses Used

• 1 Peter 3:17-18: Sets up the sermon's premise that suffering for doing good is better than suffering for evil, and introduces Christ's own suffering and death as the basis for enduring it.

• 1 Peter 4:1: Cited as the call to arm oneself with the same mindset as the suffering Christ, framing the whole passage as preparation for hardship.

• Romans 3: Explained as showing how Christ's death demonstrates God's justice in forgiving sinners, resolving the tension of a holy God pardoning Israel's repeated sin.

• 1 Peter 3:21-22: Expounded as the basis for comfort in Christ's resurrection and enthronement at God's right hand over all angels, authorities, and powers.

• 1 Peter 5:8-9: Used alongside the Pilgrim's Progress illustration to show the devil's threats are real but limited under Christ's sovereign authority.

• 1 Peter 4:12: Cited to remind believers not to be surprised by suffering, but to expect it as normal for those who follow Christ.