CHRISTIAN SUFFERING

12 Dear friends, don’t be surprised when the fiery ordeal comes among you to test you, as if something unusual were happening to you.a 13 Instead, rejoice as you share in the sufferings of Christ,b so that you may also rejoice with great joy when his glory is revealed.c 14 If you are ridiculed for the name of Christ,d you are blessed, because the Spirite of glory and of GodA rests on you. 15 Let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or a meddler.B 16 But if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed but let him glorify God in having that name.C 17 For the time has come for judgmentf to begin with God’s household,g and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who disobey the gospel of God?

18 And if a righteous person is saved with difficulty,

what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?D,h

19 So then, let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust themselvesi to a faithful Creator while doing what is good.