"Glorify God In This Name"

Text: 1 Peter 4:14-16 "If ye are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are ye; because the Spirit of glory and the Spirit of God resteth upon you. 15 For let none of you suffer as a murderer, or a thief, or an evil-doer, or as a meddler in other men's matters: 16 but if a man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God in this name."

INTRODUCTION--
  1. These verses say that when we are reproached for the name of Christ, we ought to be happy, because "the Spirit of glory" rests on us, as well as "the Spirit of God."
  2. They also say that wearing the name Christian can "glorify God." (The Greek word translated "glorify" means, "to hold in honor," or "to cause the dignity and worth of some person or thing to be proclaimed.")
    1. Applying this to God, we see how others glorified Him.
      1. The prophet Moses saw God's glory, and wrote in Numbers 14:21, "...all the earth shall be filled with the glory of Jehovah."
      2. The prophet David also showed the extent of God's glory in 1 Chronicles 29:11. "Thine, O Jehovah, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O Jehovah, and thou art exalted as head above all."
    2. If God can have no more than full glory, the purpose of glorifying God is to proclaim his "dignity and worth" to those who do not glorify Him, or do not glorify Him as they should. Compare 1 Peter 2:11-12. "Beloved, I beseech you as sojourners and pilgrims, to abstain from fleshly lust, which war against the soul; 12 having your behavior seemly among the Gentiles; that, wherein they speak against you as evil-doers, they may by your good works, which they behold, glorify God in the day of visitation."

LESSON-- In what way do we glorify God in the name Christian?
  1. The name "Christian" appears only two other places in the New Testament.
    1. Acts 11:26 "....the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch."
    2. Acts 26:27-29 (Paul said) "King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest. 28 And Agrippa said unto Paul, With but little persuasion thou wouldest fain make me a Christian. 29 And Paul said, I would to God, that whether with little or with much, not thou only, but also all that hear me this day, might become such as I am, except these bonds."
      1. Did Agrippa use the name "Christian" in a way to ridicule it, as some say the Pagans did during that time?
      2. Paul is not insulted by the term, but would persuade all to be as he is!
      3. Peter would not have told us to glorify God in that name, if it was bad.
  2. Our text uses the phrase "suffer as a Christian," so what may we suffer?
    1. In 1 Peter 4:14, "reproach" is mentioned.
      1. Christ was severely reproached. Matthew 27:41-44 "...the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said, 42 He saved others; himself he cannot save. He is the King of Israel; let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe on him. 43 He trusteth on God; let him deliver him now, if he desireth him: for he said, I am the Son of God. 44 And the robbers also that were crucified with him cast upon him the same reproach."
      2. Christ also bore the reproaches made by men against God. Romans 15:3 "For Christ also pleased not himself; but, as it is written, The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell upon me."
      3. Christ said we might be reproached as He was (and as the prophets were). Luke 6:22 "Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake. 23 Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy: for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for in the same manner did their fathers unto the prophets."
  3. Suffering as a Christian is not to be compared with that of other vocations.
    1. Not as a "murderer."
      1. Murderers deserve the most severe punishment. Revelation 21:8 "But for the fearful, and unbelieving, and abominable, and murderers, and fornicators, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, their part shall be in the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone; which is the second death."
      2. Christians are not to be guilty even of the things that may lead to murder. 1 John 3:15 "Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him."
    2. Not as a "thief."
      1. This crime is bad enough for God to include it in the Ten Commandments, along with murder and adultery. Exodus 20:15
      2. Jesus said that "The thief cometh not, but that he may steal, and kill, and destroy:" (John 10:10)
      3. The Christian must not steal. Ephesians 4:28 "Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labor, working with his hands the thing that is good, that he may have whereof to give to him that hath need."
    3. Not as an "evil-doer."
      1. Jesus shows the character of the evil-doer. John 3:20 "For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, and cometh not to the light, lest his works should be reproved."
      2. The Christian must not follow this course. 3 John 11 "Beloved, imitate not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that doeth good is of God: he that doeth evil hath not seen God."
    4. Not as a "meddler in other men's matters."
      1. The meddlers may have other reasons for poking their noses into other people's affairs, but Paul says one reason is idleness. 2 Thessalonians 3:11 12 "For we hear of some that walk among you disorderly, that work not at all, but are busybodies. 12 Now them that are such we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread." (Compare 1 Thessalonians 4:11. "....study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your hands, even as we charged you.")
      2. Christians must especially avoid involvement in sinful matters, as Paul advised Timothy. 1 Timothy 5:22 "Lay hands hastily on no man, neither be partaker of other men's sins: keep thyself pure."

APPLICATION-- In contrast to these evil vocations, there is nothing in the Christian character to be ashamed of, but rather an opportunity to "glorify God in this name." Matthew 5:16 "Even so let your light shine before men; that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven."

(Other lessons on glorifying God to follow.)