Christian Suffering

12 Dear friends, don’t be surprised when the fiery ordeal w comes among you to test you as if something unusual were happening to you. x 13 Instead, rejoice as you share in the sufferings of the * Messiah, y so that you may also rejoice with great joy at the revelation z of His glory. 14 If you are ridiculed for the name of Christ, a you are blessed, because the Spirit b of glory and of God rests on you. c 15 None of you, however, should suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or a meddler. d 16 But if anyone suffers as a “Christian,” he should not be ashamed but should glorify God in having that name. 17 For the time has come for judgment e to begin with God’s household, f 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? g h

19 So those who suffer according to God’s will should, while doing what is good, entrust themselves i to a faithful Creator.