I Peter 4:12-17  Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name. 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? …

Suffering comes in different ways. You and I may not be suffering physical persecution for our belief in Christ like some of our brothers and sisters around the world. However, Christians today suffer abuse from a society that says we should be more tolerant, more accepting. Christians who remain faithful to the Bible are maligned for their narrow-mindedness. Because we still call sinful what God calls sinful, we face ridicule from those who see themselves as more enlightened. In our politically correct world, compromise is applauded and accommodation is seen as a virtue. Those who have absolute and exacting standards are looked down upon.

Being broadminded may be O.K. in some things, but when it comes to the truly important things, life and death matters, most people will change their tune. How many of you would feel comfortable to hear a cardiac surgeon come out after just having operated on your loved one and say, “Well, I didn’t do it exactly right, but it was close enough for government work.” Or consider pilots. If you are flying on an airliner overseas, the radio-compass has 360 potential headings, but only one will take you to your destination. Do you want a pilot who is open-minded or follows the compass? And when he nears the airport, you don’t want the pilot taking a broad-minded approach. You wouldn’t want him debating with the control tower over which runway he should land on. You want him to listen closely to the man in charge and obey his instructions implicitly.

In important matters, narrowness is a virtue. That is also true of the most important thing in the world: your relationship to God. The Bible is your compass and guide. You need to listen to the man upstairs.

I am a member of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, and we have a reputation for being narrow-minded, some would say closed-minded. No, really, it’s true. People think of us as a bunch of stubborn, hard-headed Germans. I thank God for those stubborn, hard-headed Germans who went before us. In matters of faith, the most important things, they stubbornly refused to give in. They held fast to the Word as their guide. They also had the attitude that you don’t change God’s Word just because you don’t agree with it. You don’t change God’s Word because it is God’s Word. This approach was not just because they saw the Bible as some kind of rule book, but because they knew that the Word brought them the life-saving message of Jesus Christ. If God loves us enough to sacrifice His Son in our place, we ought to love Him enough to respond with lives of obedience.

This stance of steadfastness to God’s Word has resulted in being insulted because of the name of Christ. That is hard to endure at times, but Peter reminds us that it is a blessing to suffer for this reason, not something to be ashamed of. After all, who are the ones who will ridicule us for remaining faithful? Those who are not faithful to God! And Peter asks in this text, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? They are the ones who are perishing! Taking a broad-minded approach will not be doing them any favors.