◄ 1 Peter 4:18 ►
And, "If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?"
Study Bible
And if it is hard
The phrase "And if it is hard" suggests a condition of difficulty or challenge. The Greek word used here is "μόλις" (molis), which conveys the idea of something being achieved with great effort or scarcely. This reflects the Christian understanding that salvation, while a gift of grace, involves a life of perseverance, discipline, and sometimes suffering. The early Christians faced persecution and trials, which tested their faith and commitment. This phrase serves as a reminder that the path of righteousness is not without its challenges, requiring steadfast faith and reliance on God's strength.

for the righteous
The term "righteous" refers to those who are in right standing with God, often through faith in Jesus Christ. In the Greek, "δίκαιος" (dikaios) is used, which denotes someone who is just or virtuous. Historically, the righteous were those who adhered to God's laws and commandments, but in the New Testament context, it extends to those who have accepted Christ's righteousness. This highlights the transformative power of faith and the call to live a life that reflects God's holiness and justice.

to be saved
The concept of being "saved" is central to Christian theology, referring to deliverance from sin and its consequences. The Greek word "σῴζω" (sōzō) means to save, rescue, or deliver. Salvation is both a present reality and a future hope, encompassing justification, sanctification, and glorification. It underscores the belief that salvation is a divine act of grace, yet it requires human response and cooperation with God's will. This phrase emphasizes the preciousness and seriousness of salvation, urging believers to remain vigilant and faithful.

what will become
This phrase introduces a rhetorical question that invites reflection on the fate of those outside the faith. It implies a sense of uncertainty and concern for the future of the ungodly. The Greek "τί" (ti) suggests an inquiry into the outcome or destiny, prompting believers to consider the eternal implications of one's spiritual state. It serves as a call to evangelism and compassion, motivating Christians to share the gospel with those who do not yet know Christ.

of the ungodly
The "ungodly" are those who live without regard for God or His commandments. The Greek word "ἀσεβής" (asebēs) describes someone who is irreverent or impious. In the biblical context, the ungodly are often contrasted with the righteous, highlighting the moral and spiritual divide between those who follow God and those who reject Him. This term serves as a warning of the consequences of living apart from God's will and a reminder of the need for repentance and faith.

and the sinner?
The term "sinner" refers to those who habitually practice sin, missing the mark of God's standard. The Greek "ἁμαρτωλός" (hamartōlos) denotes someone who is devoted to sin. In Scripture, all humans are recognized as sinners in need of redemption, but this term often emphasizes those who persist in sin without seeking forgiveness. This phrase underscores the urgency of the gospel message, as it points to the dire need for salvation and the hope offered through Christ. It challenges believers to reflect on their own lives and to reach out to others with the love and truth of the gospel.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Peter
The apostle Peter, one of Jesus' closest disciples, is the author of this epistle. He writes to encourage and instruct believers facing persecution.

2. Righteous
Refers to those who are in right standing with God through faith in Jesus Christ. They strive to live according to God's will.

3. Ungodly
Those who live without regard for God, often characterized by a lifestyle contrary to His commands.

4. Sinner
A term used to describe those who live in habitual sin, not having accepted the salvation offered through Christ.

5. Early Christian Church
The recipients of Peter's letter, who were experiencing trials and persecution for their faith.
Teaching Points
The Challenge of Righteousness
Living a righteous life is not easy; it requires perseverance and faith amidst trials and temptations.

The Fate of the Ungodly
The verse serves as a sobering reminder of the eternal consequences for those who reject God.

God's Justice and Mercy
God's justice is perfect, and His mercy is available to all who repent and believe in Jesus Christ.

Encouragement in Trials
Believers should find encouragement in knowing that their trials are not in vain and that God is with them.

Call to Evangelism
Understanding the fate of the ungodly should motivate Christians to share the Gospel with urgency and compassion.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does understanding the difficulty of the righteous being saved impact your view of salvation and grace?

2. In what ways can the reality of the fate of the ungodly and sinners motivate you to share your faith with others?

3. How do the trials you face as a believer refine your faith and draw you closer to God?

4. What practical steps can you take to live a more righteous life in light of 1 Peter 4:18?

5. How can you support fellow believers who are struggling with the challenges of living a righteous life?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Proverbs 11:31
This verse is echoed in 1 Peter 4:18, emphasizing the difficulty of the righteous being saved and the fate of the wicked.

Matthew 7:13-14
Jesus speaks of the narrow path that leads to life, highlighting the challenges faced by the righteous.

Romans 5:8-9
Paul discusses the justification of the righteous through Christ, contrasting it with the fate of the ungodly.

Hebrews 12:6-7
The discipline of the Lord is a theme that resonates with the trials faced by the righteous, as mentioned in 1 Peter.
Sermons
Fiery Trial Among the ChristiansR. Finlayson 1 Peter 4:12-19
The Joyous Aspect of Suffering for Christ a Help to Persecuted ChristiansC. New 1 Peter 4:12-19
Suffering, Shameful and GloriousU.R. Thomas 1 Peter 4:15-19
The Character and Privileges of a ChristianJ. Parsons.1 Peter 4:16-19
The Christian DescribedW. Jay.1 Peter 4:16-19
The Pious Sufferer Exhorted to Glorify GodSketches of Four Hundred Sermons1 Peter 4:16-19
The Two-Fold SorrowE. J. Hardy, M. A.1 Peter 4:16-19
A Faithful CreatorW. Braden.1 Peter 4:17-19
A Solemn AppealThe Christian Magazine1 Peter 4:17-19
Afflictions Amongst the People of GodJohn Rogers.1 Peter 4:17-19
Difficulties in the PursuitR. Hall, M. A.1 Peter 4:17-19
God's FaithfulnessNewman Smyth.1 Peter 4:17-19
God's Judgment of the WorldHomilist1 Peter 4:17-19
If So -- What ThenC. H. Spurgeon.1 Peter 4:17-19
Judgment Beginning At the House of GodJ. Trapp.1 Peter 4:17-19
Judgments of GraceJ. P. Lange.1 Peter 4:17-19
Salvation Difficult to the ChristianC. G. Finney.1 Peter 4:17-19
Saved with DifficultyD. A. Clark.1 Peter 4:17-19
Scarcely SavedW. L. Watkinson.1 Peter 4:17-19
The Christian's Duty Under TrialsThe Lay Preacher1 Peter 4:17-19
The Church's VisitationR. Sibbes.1 Peter 4:17-19
The Church's VisitationR. Sibbes.1 Peter 4:17-19
The Criminality and the Consequences of UnbeliefJ. Alexander.1 Peter 4:17-19
The Difficulties of SalvationAbp. Leighton.1 Peter 4:17-19
The Difficulties that are to be Encountered in the Way of SalvationBp. Stillingfleet.1 Peter 4:17-19
The Difficulty of SalvationC. H. Coleman.1 Peter 4:17-19
The Difficulty of SalvationR. Sibbes.1 Peter 4:17-19
The End of the DisobedientHomilist1 Peter 4:17-19
The End of the UngodlyPryce Thomas.1 Peter 4:17-19
The Faithful CreatorJ. C. Finlayson.1 Peter 4:17-19
The Keeping of the SoulThe Evangelist1 Peter 4:17-19
The Righteous Scarcely SavedT. De Witt Talmage.1 Peter 4:17-19
The Righteous Scarcely Saved, and the Misery of the WickedJ. Sedgfield.1 Peter 4:17-19
The Saint's Hiding Place in the Evil DayR. Sibbes.1 Peter 4:17-19
The Salvation of the Righteous DifficultT. Hannam.1 Peter 4:17-19
The Salvation of the Sinner ImpossibleC. H. Coleman.1 Peter 4:17-19
The Sin and Danger of not Obeying the GospelPulpit Studies1 Peter 4:17-19
The Soul's RefugeT. Adams.1 Peter 4:17-19
The Support of Good Men Under Their Sufferings for ReligionAbp. Tillotson.1 Peter 4:17-19
The Ultimate Destiny of the WickedHomilist1 Peter 4:17-19
The Ungodly's MiseryR. Sibbes.1 Peter 4:17-19
Tranquillity in SufferingAbp. Leighton.1 Peter 4:17-19
What is the Doom of Those Who Die ImpenitentA. G. Brown.1 Peter 4:17-19
Why God Will have the Righteous with Such Difficulty SavedR. Sibbes.1 Peter 4:17-19
People
Peter
Places
Asia, Bithynia, Cappadocia, Galatia, Pontus
Topics
Appear, Chance, Difficult, Difficultly, Difficulty, Godless, Impious, Irreligious, Religion, Righteous, Salvation, Saved, Scarcely, Sinner, Sinners, Ungodly
Dictionary of Bible Themes
1 Peter 4:18

     6040   sinners
     8846   ungodliness

1 Peter 4:12-19

     2425   gospel, requirements
     8215   confidence, results

1 Peter 4:18-19

     5115   Peter, preacher and teacher
     5562   suffering, innocent

Library
Christian Asceticism
'Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin. 2. That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God. 3. For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries: 4. Wherein they think it …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture Ephesians, Peter,John

June the Twenty-Sixth Crucifying the Flesh
"Arm yourselves likewise with the same mind." --1 PETER iv. 1-8. Let not the body be dominant, but the soul. Let me study the example and counsel of the Apostle Paul. "I keep my body under." Literally, I pummel it! If it is obtrusive and aggressive, its appetites clamouring for supremacy, I pummel it! Paul was not afraid of severe measures where carnality was concerned. He would fast a whole day in order to put the flesh in its place. And so should it be with all the Lord's children. We are …
John Henry Jowett—My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year

Personal Experience
In conclusion I desire to add my humble testimony of a personal experience of the glorious work of entire sanctification. At the age of seventeen years I was converted. All who were acquainted with me had no reason to doubt the genuine, inwrought grace of pardon and the new life which at once began to bring forth fruit unto God. But the one to whom this mighty change seemed the most marvelous was myself. My poor soul, which for several years had been held under the terrible bondage and darkness of …
J. W. Byers—Sanctification

The Old Man and the New.
"That we being dead unto sin should live unto righteousness."--1 Peter iv. 24. The Psalmist sings: "They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God." (Psalm lxxxiv. 7) We must maintain this glorious testimony, altho our own experience often seems to contradict it. Not experience, but the Scripture, teaches us divine truth; nor is it as tho the procedure of the divine operation in our own heart could differ from the testimony of the Sacred Scripture, but that our …
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit

Man's Chief End
Q-I: WHAT IS THE CHIEF END OF MAN? A: Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him for ever. Here are two ends of life specified. 1: The glorifying of God. 2: The enjoying of God. I. The glorifying of God, I Pet 4:4: That God in all things may be glorified.' The glory of God is a silver thread which must run through all our actions. I Cor 10:01. Whether therefore ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.' Everything works to some end in things natural and artificial; …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

A Battle with Smallpox
Soon after we began work in the city, my brother George went out to assist in a meeting at Edgewood, Iowa. A mother desired prayer for her little girl, so my brother and another minister laid hands on her and prayed for her healing. The mother said that some one thought her child was taking smallpox, but that she was sure it was a mistake. The ministers saw a few little pimples on the child's lip and asked her if the same breaking-out was on other parts of her body. The mother's answer was, "None …
Mary Cole—Trials and Triumphs of Faith

A Nickname Accepted
'The disciples were called Christians first in Antioch' --ACTS xi. 26. Nations and parties, both political and religious, very often call themselves by one name, and are known to the outside world by another. These outside names are generally given in contempt; and yet they sometimes manage to hit the very centre of the characteristics of the people on whom they are bestowed, and so by degrees get to be adopted by them, and worn as an honour. So it has been with the name 'Christian.' It was given …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: The Acts

Of Avoiding of Curious Inquiry into the Life of Another
"My Son, be not curious, nor trouble thyself with vain cares. What is that to thee? Follow thou Me.(1) For what is it to thee whether a man be this or that, or say or do thus or thus? Thou hast no need to answer for others, but thou must give an answer for thyself. Why therefore dost thou entangle thyself? Behold, I know all men, and I behold all things which are done under the sun; and I know how it standeth with each one, what he thinketh, what he willeth, and to what end his thoughts reach. …
Thomas A Kempis—Imitation of Christ

Some Other Writers of the New Testament
[Illustration: (drop cap L) Ancient engraving of man reading scroll] Let us now look at the rest of the books which make up the New Testament. In the days when Paul preached at Athens, the old capital of Greece, much of the ancient splendour and power of the Greek people had passed away, for the Romans had conquered their country, and they were no longer a free nation. Yet, although the Greeks had been forced to yield to Rome, their conquerors knew that the Grecian scholars and artists were far …
Mildred Duff—The Bible in its Making

John Bunyan on the Terms of Communion and Fellowship of Christians at the Table of the Lord;
COMPRISING I. HIS CONFESSION OF FAITH, AND REASON OF HIS PRACTICE; II. DIFFERENCES ABOUT WATER BAPTISM NO BAR TO COMMUNION; AND III. PEACEABLE PRINCIPLES AND TRUE[1] ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. Reader, these are extraordinary productions that will well repay an attentive perusal. It is the confession of faith of a Christian who had suffered nearly twelve years' imprisonment, under persecution for conscience sake. Shut up with his Bible, you have here the result of a prayerful study of those holy …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

The Wilderness State
"Ye now have sorrow: But I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you." John 16:22. 1. After God had wrought a great deliverance for Israel, by bringing them out of the house of bondage, they did not immediately enter into the land which he had promised to their fathers; but "wandered out of the way in the wilderness," and were variously tempted and distressed. In like manner, after God has delivered them that fear him from the bondage of sin and Satan; …
John Wesley—Sermons on Several Occasions

Of the Power of the Church in Articles of Faith. The Unbridled Licence of the Papal Church in Destroying Purity of Doctrine.
1. The marks and government of the Church having been considered in the seven previous chapters, the power of the Church is now considered under three heads--viz. Doctrine, Legislation, Jurisdiction. 2. The authority and power given to Church-officers not given to themselves, but their office. This shown in the case of Moses and the Levitical priesthood. 3. The same thing shown in the case of the Prophets. 4. Same thing shown in the case of the Apostles, and of Christ himself. 5. The Church astricted …
John Calvin—The Institutes of the Christian Religion

The Disciple, -- what is the Meaning and Purpose of the Cross...
The Disciple,--What is the meaning and purpose of the cross, and why do pain and suffering exist in the world? The Master,--1. The cross is the key to heaven. At the moment when by My baptism I took the cross upon My shoulders for the sake of sinners, heaven was opened, and by means of My thirty-three years bearing of the cross and by death upon it, heaven, which by reason of sin was closed to believers, was for ever opened to them. Now as soon as believers take up their cross and follow Me they …
Sadhu Sundar Singh—At The Master's Feet

Seasonable Counsel: Or, Advice to Sufferers.
BY JOHN BUNYAN. London: Printed for Benjamin Alsop, at the Angel and Bible in the Poultry, 1684. ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. THIS valuable treatise was first published in a pocket volume in 1684, and has only been reprinted in Whitfield's edition of Bunyan's works, 2 vols. folio, 1767. No man could have been better qualified to give advice to sufferers for righteousness' sake, than John Bunyan: and this work is exclusively devoted to that object. Shut up in a noisome jail, under the iron hand of …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

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