Peter had an arresting thought he shared in his first epistle, “For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? Now, ‘If the righteous one is scarcely saved, where will the ungodly and the sinner appear?’ Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator” (4:17-19). Consider the ramifications of this text.
First, we know that any man who is saved is “scarcely saved.” It has nothing to do with how righteous a man may strive to be. The reason for this is sin. The universality of sin is declared by inspiration, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). As the cost of that sin is our separation from God, man himself is incapable of securing his standing with Him. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).
As we note that our salvation is a result of God’s undeserving gift of His Son. It is clear that our standing with God is not based upon our own merit, rather what God has done for us.
This leads to two possible ideas. 1) Man is incapable of contributing to his own salvation. If this is so, our obedience or lack thereof is irrelevant. This is a major view of “Christianity” today. I know I am imperfect, but as I trust in God’s love and mercy, I am convinced He is going to save me anyway! All I have to do is “trust in the finished work of Jesus”, and I will go to heaven!
2) The second idea is that because my hope of redemption is such a priceless gift, I am in debt to God. In coming to Him, I become a “bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ” (cf. James 1:1). “So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do’” (Luke 17:10).
It is obvious which of the two Peter accepted. Because we are “scarcely saved”, we are to suffer according to the will of God, and “commit their [our] souls to Him in doing good.” This is not a matter of merit, it is a matter of a bondservant doing what the Master requires. As such, since he is a “faithful Creator” we know we will receive the gift that the Master has promised to the righteous.
However, the ungodly and the sinner, the ones who do not strive to be faithful to the Lord, Peter shows clearly will miss out on this salvation!
