1 Peter 4:17-19

¹⁷ 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?

¹⁸ Now “If the righteous one is scarcely saved, where will the ungodly and the sinner appear?”

¹⁹ Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator.

Williams looks at Peter’s words from the context of the first century fulfillment. Sadler looks at them from the context of their ultimate fulfillment. I think there is validity in both views.

Israel was the House of God. Judgment was about to fall upon it. The Romans were the instruments of that judgment. The Apostle, and those to whom he wrote, were members of that House. Hence the word “us” (v.17). That House, as a house, knew the Gospel but did not obey it; and, consequently, it was judged. The righteous members of the nation (v.18) would with difficulty be saved out of the judgment—and so it proved—but as for the rest, multitudes perished by the sword, by famine, by pestilence, by banishment into slavery, and the residue were driven forth into all lands and forbidden under a threat of death to set foot in Palestine. — Williams, page 1003.

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The judgment of Israel referred to here [v.17] by Peter as the “first” will ultimately occur at the dawn of the kingdom age. The “end” of the matter will be the Great White Throne Judgment at the consummation of all things. At that day those who rejected the good news of God, in whatever age they lived, will appear before the Judge of all the earth.

Some find it hard to believe that a loving God would judge the world. It is true that God is a God of love. In fact, He loved mankind so deeply that He sent His only begotten Son to die for their sins. You see, the judgment of God fell on Christ that mankind might be delivered from His wrath. However, if the sinner rejects the Sin-Bearer then he must suffer the consequences of his rejection. Any infraction against God’s infinite holiness demands an infinite penalty. While man has a propensity to overlook sin, God cannot! Beloved ones, we must never charge God with what man has brought upon himself. He is simply going to reap what he has sown.— Sadler, page 153.

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The word “scarcely” [v.18] is the translation of a Greek word that means literally “with difficulty.” The word is used in Acts 14:18 where Paul experienced difficulty in restraining the people at Lystra from sacrificing to him as a god. The context in First Peter speaks of the persecutions which were allowed to come by God as a disciplinary judgment, the purpose of which was to purify their lives. They were being saved with difficulty in the sense that if it was necessary for God to purify the lives of saints by these drastic means, namely, persecution and suffering, what can one say as to the position of the unsaved in relation to God? — Wuest, page 122.

Commit (v.19) = a banking term meaning “to give in charge as a deposit.”