1. Петрова 4:18 Коментар

The work of a Christian is twofold - doing the will of God and suffering his pleasure. This chapter directs us in both. The duties we are here exhorted to employ ourselves in are the mortification of sin, living to God, sobriety, prayer, charity, hospitality, and the best improvement of our talents, which the apostle presses upon Christians from the consideration of the time they have lost in their sins, and the approaching end of all things (Pe1 4:1-11). The directions for sufferings are that we should not be surprised at them, but rejoice in them, only take care not to suffer as evil-doers. He intimates that their trials were near at hand, that their souls were in danger as well as their bodies, and that the best way to preserve their souls is to commit them to God in well-doing.

INTRODUCTION TO 1 PETER 4 In this chapter the apostle goes on to exhort to an holy life and conversation, and to the several duties of religion, and to suffer cheerfully for the sake of Christ. From the consideration of Christ's sufferings, he exhorts the saints to arm themselves with the same mind, and cease from sin, and live no longer to the lusts of men, but to the will of God, Pe1 4:1 the reason, or argument engaging to it, is taken from the past time of life, in which they walked in all manner of sin, and which ought to suffice, though they should be spoken evil of by wicked men, for not continuing therein, Pe1 4:3 and to fortify their minds against such abuses, the apostle takes notice of the general judgment, when such persons must give an account for their evil speaking to the Judge of quick and dead; and that though those to whom the Gospel is preached, and embrace it, suffer death for it, being judged of men in their bodies, yet they live to God in their souls, Pe1 4:5 and seeing the end of all things is near, he exhorts to various things, as to sobriety, watchfulness unto prayer, and especially to fervent charity, since that covers a multitude of sins, Pe1 4:7 and to hospitality, without grudging, and to a communication of all good things, as faithful stewards of them, Pe1 4:9 and particularly to the dispensation of the Gospel, according to the word of God; and to a ministration to the poor, according to a man's ability, with a view to the glory of God, by Christ, Pe1 4:11 and next, the apostle proceeds to comfort the saints under reproaches and persecutions, and to instruct them how to behave under such circumstances; as that they should not think such things strange, though grievous, since they were for the trial of their graces, Pe1 4:12 but should rather rejoice, since they were partakers of the sufferings of Christ now, and should share in his glory when revealed, which would make them exceeding glad, Pe1 4:13 yea, inasmuch as it was for the name of Christ they suffered reproach, they ought to reckon themselves happy persons; since the glorious Spirit of God rested on them, and since the issue of it was, the glorifying of God by them, though he was evil spoken of by those that reproached them, Pe1 4:14 indeed, they ought not to suffer as persons guilty of capital crimes; should they, they would have reason to be ashamed, but not since they suffered as Christians; but, on the contrary, should give glory to God for it, who had done them so much honour as to call them to it, Pe1 4:15, and to reconcile their minds to sufferings, he observes, that the time was come, that afflictions should begin with the people of God, on account of which, the righteous are scarcely saved, though certainly; and that, therefore, sad must be the state of the disobedient and ungodly, even of their wicked persecutors, Pe1 4:17 wherefore, upon the whole, seeing it was the will of God they should suffer, they ought to suffer patiently, and, in well doing, commit the care of their souls to their faithful Creator, Pe1 4:19.

And if the righteous scarcely be saved,.... Reference is had to Pro 11:31 where in the Septuagint version are the same words as here: the "righteous" are such, not who are so in their own opinion, or merely in the esteem of others, nor on account of their vility, morality, and external righteousness before men, or by the deeds of the law; but who are made righteous by the righteousness of Christ imputed to them: and such are "scarcely saved"; not as if they were but in part saved, for they are completely saved; Christ has wrought out and finished a complete salvation for them; and they are saved from all enemies, and everything that might hurt them; from sin, Satan, the law, the world, hell, and death; and they are completely justified, and have all their sins pardoned, and shall be perfectly saved: nor as if their salvation was doubtful; for though they are scarcely, yet certainly saved; for they are chosen to salvation, and Christ has obtained it for them, and they have the application of it already made to them by the blessed Spirit; and being justified, or made righteous persons, nothing is more certain than that they shall be glorified: but they are said to be "scarcely" saved, because of the difficulty of it, both with respect to Christ, who met with difficulties in working out their salvation; by reason of the strictness of divine justice, and the demands of the righteous law, which would make no abatement; the sins of his people he had to bear, and make atonement for; the many enemies he had to grapple with, and the accursed death of the cross, he had to undergo; though they were such he was able to surmount, and did: and especially with respect to the saints themselves; for though their salvation is certain and complete, being finished by Christ, yet their enjoyment of it is attended with many difficulties; by reason of the corruptions of nature, a law in their members warring against the law of their minds; the frequent temptations of Satan, who seeks to devour them, and their wrestlings with principalities and powers, which are above their match; and also by reason of various afflictions and persecutions, and many tribulations, which make their way to eternal life a strait way, and through which they must enter into the kingdom of heaven: and if this be their case, as it is, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? the profane sinner, the Christless, impenitent, unbelieving, and unregenerate man; otherwise all men are sinners, in themselves; but here it means such as are destitute of the sanctifying grace of the Spirit, and the justifying righteousness of Christ, and that live and die in their sins: where shall such appear? not in the congregation of the righteous; nor at the right hand of Christ; nor in heaven, into which no defiled sinner shall enter; nor even on earth, among and under the rocks and mountains, which will not be able to hide them from the face of the Judge, and his wrath, when he shall come; but at Christ's left hand, and in hell, and among the devils and damned there.

When I see Moses asking for forgiveness and not obtaining it, when I see him considered unworthy of pardon because of his few words, spoken against the rock in anger, in spite of his many good deeds, I truly realize what the severity of God is like and am persuaded that these words of the apostle are true.

It is the righteous man who is scarcely saved on the day of judgment. If he had no fault, he would easily be saved. As it is, he is righteous because he flourishes with many virtues, but he is scarcely saved because he stands in need of the mercy of God in some things.

Then, as if to console them, He adds: And, If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly. And this is confirmed by the Scripture which says: "If the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?" (Prov. 11:31) However, this is what Scripture intends to signify: If the righteous attain salvation through labor and affliction (for the kingdom of heaven is taken by violence (Matt. 9:12), and through many afflictions one attains it Acts 14:21), what will those who lead a depraved and indulgent life attain? It must be understood in the future age regarding what concerns the wicked.

And if the righteous man is scarcely saved, etc. The Pelagians do not want to believe that in one man the entire mass of the human race is corrupted and utterly damned. From this vice and condemnation of one man alone, the grace of Christ heals and liberates. For why should the righteous man be scarcely saved? Is it a labor for God to free the righteous man? By no means. But in order to show that it was deservedly condemned by nature, the Almighty Himself does not wish to easily liberate from such a great evil. Because of this, both sins are easily fallen into and justice is laborious, except for those who love. But the charity that makes those who love comes from God. It is to be noted, however, that Blessed Peter took this sentence from the Proverbs of Solomon according to the ancient Editio, for which in our version that descends from the Hebrew truth, it is written: If the righteous man receives on earth, how much more the impious and the sinner (Proverbs XI)? Which is to say openly: If the fragility of mortal life is so great that not even the righteous who are to be crowned in Heaven pass through it without tribulation because of the innumerable errors of corrupted nature, how much more those who are deprived of heavenly grace expect the certain outcome of their perpetual damnation?

By the words "the will of God," the apostle shows either that our sufferings do not occur without the providence of God, but are sent by Him as a trial, or that, suffering for His will, we must entrust to Him also the ending of our sufferings. For He is faithful and true in His promises, and "will not allow us to be tempted beyond our strength" (1 Cor. 10:13). How then must one commit oneself to God? "By doing good," he says. What does this mean? It means to rely on God with humility, not to ascribe great value to one's own sufferings, but the more one suffers, the more one should consider oneself unworthy, saying to the Lord: "You are righteous in all that You have done to us" (Dan. 3:27). "Ungodly" and "sinner" differ from each other in that the ungodly person does not acknowledge God at all, while the sinner, having faith in God, disregards His law. However, one and the same person can be both ungodly and a sinner. For in committing lawlessness, he undoubtedly acts impiously, not thinking, during the time of sin, about the existence of God (Ps. 9:25).

We should suffer patiently, after the example of Christ, Pe1 4:1. And no longer live according to our former custom, but disregard the scoffs of those who are incensed against us because we have forsaken their evil ways, who are shortly to give account to God for their conduct, Pe1 4:2-5. How the Gospel was preached to Jews and Gentiles, Pe1 4:6. As the end of all things was at hand, they should be sober, watchful, charitable, benevolent, good stewards of the bounty of Providence; and, when called to instruct others, speak as the oracles of God, Pe1 4:7-11. Of the persecutions and trials which were coming upon them, and how they were to suffer so as not to disgrace their Christian character, Pe1 4:12-16. Judgment was about to begin at the house of God, and even the righteous would escape with difficulty from the calamities coming upon the Jews; but they must continue in well-doing, and thus commit the keeping of their souls to their faithful Creator, Pe1 4:17-19.

And if the righteous scarcely be saved - If it shall be with extreme difficulty that the Christians shall escape from Jerusalem, when the Roman armies shall come against it with the full commission to destroy it, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? Where shall the proud Pharisaic boaster in his own outside holiness, and the profligate transgressor of the laws of God, show themselves, as having escaped the Divine vengeance? The Christians, though with difficulty, did escape, every man; but not one of the Jews escaped, whether found in Jerusalem or elsewhere. It is rather strange, but it is a fact, that this verse is the Septuagint translation of Pro 11:31 : Behold, the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth; much more the wicked and the sinner. For this the Septuagint and St. Peter have, If the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? Such a latitude of construction can scarcely be accounted for. The original is this: הן צדיק בארץ ישלם אף כי רשע וחוטא hen tsaddik baarets yeshullam aph ki rasha vechote: "Behold, to the righteous it shall be returned on the earth; and also to the wicked and the transgressor." The Chaldee paraphrast has given this a different turn: Behold, the righteous shall be strengthened in the earth; but the ungodly and the sinners shall be consumed from the earth. The Syriac thus: If the righteous scarcely live, the ungodly and the sinner where shall he stand? The Arabic is nearly the same as the Septuagint and the apostle; the Vulgate follows the Hebrew. I have on several occasions shown that, when Cestius Gallus came against Jerusalem, many Christians were shut up in it; when he strangely raised the siege the Christians immediately departed to Pella in Coele-syria, into the dominions of King Agrippa, who was an ally of the Romans, and there they were in safety; and it appears, from the ecclesiastical historians, that they had but barely time to leave the city before the Romans returned under the command of Titus, and never left the place till they had destroyed the temple, razed the city to the ground, slain upwards of a million of those wretched people, and put an end to their civil polity and ecclesiastical state.

LIKE THE RISEN CHRIST, BELIEVERS HENCEFORTH OUGHT TO HAVE NO MORE TO DO WITH SIN. (1Pe. 4:1-19) for us--supported by some oldest manuscripts and versions, omitted by others. in the flesh--in His mortal body of humiliation. arm-- (Eph 6:11, Eph 6:13). the same mind--of suffering with patient willingness what God wills you to suffer. he that hath suffered--for instance, Christ first, and in His person the believer: a general proposition. hath ceased--literally, "has been made to cease," has obtained by the very fact of His having suffered once for all, a cessation from sin, which had heretofore lain on Him (Rom 6:6-11, especially, Pe1 4:7). The Christian is by faith one with Christ: as then Christ by death is judicially freed from sin; so the Christian who has in the person of Christ died, has no more to do with it judicially, and ought to have no more to do with it actually. "The flesh" is the sphere in which sin has place.

scarcely--Compare "so as by fire," Co1 3:15; having to pass through trying chastisements, as David did for his sin. "The righteous" man has always more or less of trial, but the issue is certain, and the entrance into the kingdom abundant at last. The "scarcely" marks the severity of the ordeal, and the unlikelihood (in a mere human point of view) of the righteous sustaining it; but the righteousness of Christ and God's everlasting covenant make it all sure. ungodly--having no regard for God; negative description. sinner--loving sin; positive; the same man is at once God-forgetting and sin-loving. appear--in judgment.