Bible Study

Bible study is the 2nd and 3rd Sundays of each month instead of a regular service.

This is when we delve deeper in the scriptures, like the Bereans, to better understand what we are reading. Some people think we should not question God, but there are times when those hard questions nag at you like “why did God let the satan attack Job” or when a hard saying of Jesus like “if you call someone a fool you are liable to the fire of gehenna” just gets in the way of your faith. All over the Bible the Psalmists and prophets were constantly asking God some tough questions when they don’t understand what’s happening to them. And so, we, like them should not shy away from asking too. We might not get all the answers we are looking for, but we come away with a better understanding of the passages we are studying and knowing that our God is a big and does not feel threatened by our questioning.

Week 15 – Fiery Trials for Believers?

December 27, 2015

Study
Questions

Study

The First Letter of Peter: Holy Living in the Midst of Fiery Trials.

Trials in the life of a Believer might come as a surprise, and to some, can be devastating. When we are taught that tithing, giving of our time and money to the poor and going to church every Sunday and Wednesday that God will make us rich and happy in not Biblical. Peter reminds us in these verses that “fiery trials” will come. Every trial that comes in our life is a test of our faith. When we are insulted, shamed, or scorned, lose a job or house just because we show allegiance to Christ, we are to remember that we will be blessed by God. We don’t rejoice because we are suffering, but we rejoice because we know that the suffering came about because of our relationship with Christ, and God will bring about His glory in our lives. When we think about the sufferings of the Believers in Peter’s day, we should not be caught off guard when trials come, but to expect them because these trials come about for the purpose of testing the genuineness of our faith and to purify and strengthen us. Peter also reminds us that when we suffer for committing a murder, making trouble or being a busybody then the punishment that comes is well deserved and there is no glory in that.

Questions

Why does Peter say we should not be surprised by “fiery trials?”
How does Peter encourage us to respond to trials?
What king of suffering does not bring us glory?
Where does the judgment of God begin?
Is there any time in your life you have had difficulty trusting God by doing what is right?

Answers

Trials come for the purpose of testing and make us partners with Christ in suffering
Rejoice and be glad because we will have the wonderful joy of seeing the glory of Jesus when He is revealed to the world.
Suffering as a murder, a thief or an evildoer.
The house of God - The Church.
This to be answered personally.

Selected Scripture Verses

I Peter 4:12-19

(12) Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. (13) But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. (14) If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. (15) If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. (16) However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name. (17) For it is time for judgment to begin with God’s household; 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?”
(19) So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.

Bible Study

Open Hands Church