But it is no shame to suffer for being a Christian. Praise God for the privilege of being called by his name!
Parallel translations
- WEB But if one of you suffers for being a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God in this matter.
- KJV Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.
- BSB But if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but glorify God that you bear that name.
- NKJV Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter.
- NASB but if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
If anyone suffers as a Christian, he should not be ashamed but glorify God in that name. It calls believers to wear the name of Christ with honor even under persecution.
Overview
Here is one of the few New Testament uses of the word 'Christian,' likely a term first used by outsiders. Peter tells believers to feel no shame in suffering for it but instead to glorify God. Bearing reproach for Christ's name becomes an opportunity to honor Him.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- 1 Pet 3:17–18For it is better, if it is God’s will, that you suffer for doing well than for doing evil.
- Phil 1:29Because it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in him, but also to suffer on his behalf,
- 1 Pet 4:19Therefore let them also who suffer according to the will of God in doing good entrust their souls to him, as to a faithful Creator.
- Jas 1:2–4Count it all joy, my brothers, when you fall into various temptations,
- Acts 5:41They therefore departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for Jesus’ name.
- 2 Tim 1:12For this cause I also suffer these things. Yet I am not ashamed, for I know him whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that he is able to guard that which I have committed to him against that day.
- Eph 3:13–15Therefore I ask that you may not lose heart at my troubles for you, which are your glory.
- Phil 1:20according to my earnest expectation and hope, that I will in no way be disappointed, but with all boldness, as always, now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life, or by death.
- Rom 5:2–5through whom we also have our access by faith into this grace in which we stand. We rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
- Isa 50:7For the Lord Yahweh will help me. Therefore I have not been confounded. Therefore I have set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be disappointed.
- Isa 54:4“Don’t be afraid; for you will not be ashamed. Don’t be confounded; for you will not be disappointed. For you will forget the shame of your youth; and the reproach of your widowhood you shall remember no more.
- Heb 12:2–3looking to Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising its shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
- Acts 26:28Agrippa said to Paul, “With a little persuasion are you trying to make me a Christian?”
- Isa 24:15Therefore glorify Yahweh in the east, even the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel, in the islands of the sea!
- Acts 11:26When he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they were gathered together with the assembly, and taught many people. The disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
The lamb without blemish foreknown before the world, who bore our sins in his body on the tree, by whose wounds we are healed — the Shepherd and Overseer of our souls.
How 1 Peter 4:16 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.