For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?  And “If the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?”  Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.

1 Peter 4:17-19

Judgment Day, the unknown day in which the final judgment of the entire world which will occur when Christ comes again, is not the “judgment” which Peter is discussing in this passage…although it would certainly be understandable if the reader assumed otherwise at first glance.  However, Christ said that not even He, the angels, nor anyone else except “the Father only” knew when “that day and hour” would occur (Matt. 24:35-36).  Peter announcing to his readers that “it is time for judgment to begin” would contradict that teaching.

“Time” (kairos) as used in verse 17 depicts what various Greek lexicons define as “a fixed and definite time” or a “set or proper time.”  “Judgment” (krima), basically the “condemnation of wrong” according to Thayer’s Greek Lexicon, is meant in this verse to convey “the execution of judgment as displayed in the infliction of punishment.”  Peter mentioned this “judgment,” this punishment from God for wrongdoing which He condemns, in the context of exhorting Christians on how to properly view, respond to, and bear up under the trials and persecution which they were experiencing (2:11-4:19; 5:6-11).  Thus, Peter’s point was that the time which God had set as proper for members of the church (“the household of God” – v. 17; cf. 1 Tim. 3:15) to undergo trials of suffering as punishment for their wrongdoing was upon his first century Christian readers.

You might be asking yourself why God would punish Christians by allowing bad things to happen to them.  That’s an understandable question, considering that it seems to go against the biblical concept of God’s love for His followers and the kindness He shows towards them.  However, remember that “the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives” (Heb. 12:6; cf. Prov. 3:12).  “Well,” you might be thinking, “that still doesn’t sound like something a God who loves me would do.”  Take note that the discipline God gives to us is comparable to the discipline parents give to their children (Heb. 12:7-10).  Just because a parent spanks their child, takes away their playtime with friends or TV time, or requires them to do extra work around the house as punishment for their wrongdoing does not mean that they do not love their children.  Indeed, one would be correct to deduce that it is because they love their children that they discipline them for their wrongdoing because such discipline trains and instructs them to know right from wrong and live their lives choosing to do right.  In like manner, “for the moment all discipline (from God) seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it” (Heb. 12:11; cf. James 1:2-4; Rom. 5:3-5).

Peter’s next question is sobering:  “…and if (God’s judgment) begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?” (v. 17b)  He emphasizes the question by then taking from Proverbs 11:31 when he asks, “If the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?” (v. 18)  “Scarcely” (molis) means “with difficulty” or “not easily.”  The apostle is essentially saying that if Christians will get through the trials and hardships that come as a result of our own sins only with difficulty and will not find it easy to do, how much harder will it be for the worldly and ungodly outside of Christ to get through the struggles and trials of life that come upon them as a result of their sins?  The Christian burdened in hardship can still find comfort in the grace and mercy of God that points him to the hope of heaven, but the same cannot be said for the lost.  This is why Peter tells the Christian who “suffer(s) according to God’s will” to “entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good” (v. 19).

— Jon