It is always fitting to cast a critical eye over oneself before casting that eye over another. As the Lord God weighs the deeds of his own people, he knows that the necessary verdict must be damnation, and that is precisely what he already executed on his own Son as substitute for those chosen to life (1 Peter 1:18–19). If the beginning of judgment looks like Jesus’ tribulations on Calvary, what is to become of its continuation? See Luke 23:31. Bear in mind that the “fiery trial” Peter’s readers were experiencing was due to their association with Jesus so that they “shared Christ’s sufferings” (1 Peter 4:13).
17 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?