A lifestyle that resolves to be through with sin is a lifestyle that is long past being driven by the desires that are pursued by those who worship something other than Jesus...

This week we have been looking at a section of a letter that has been preserved and recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible called the book of 1 Peter, where we have discovered a timeless truth when it comes to about how we are to live as a part of God’s kingdom community in that living as part of God’s kingdom community should lead to a lifestyle that resolves to be through with sin.

In 1 Peter 4:1-6, we are going to see Peter reveal for us four different things that drive a follower of Jesus who is a part of God’s kingdom community to resolve to be through with sin. Yesterday, we saw Peter reveal for us the reality that a lifestyle that resolves to be through with sin is driven by the example of Jesus.

As followers of Jesus, we have the example that Jesus gave us when it comes to responding to the sadness and  suffering that He experienced as a result of doing what was right. And as followers of Jesus, we are to equip ourselves with the same resolve that Jesus had when he faced sadness and suffering as a result of doing what was right so that we would reveal and reflect Jesus in how we respond when suffering for doing what is right as a result of resolving to be through with sin.

In addition, we saw Peter reveal for us the reality that a lifestyle that resolves to be through with sin is driven by the right desires. A lifestyle that is through with sin is a lifestyle that is no longer driven by the selfish desires that go against God’s desires for the world that once dominated their lives before Jesus. Instead, a lifestyle that is through with sin is a lifestyle that is driven by a desire to a part of what God is doing around them in the world.

Today, as Peter continues this section of his letter, we see Peter continue to address the issue of the desires and the impact that our resolve can have on those desires in 1 Peter 4:3:

 For the time already past is sufficient for you to have carried out the desire of the Gentiles, having pursued a course of sensuality, lusts, drunkenness, carousing, drinking parties and abominable idolatries.

Now to fully understand what Peter is communicating here, we first need to understand a few things. First, when Peter uses the phrase for the time has already past, this phrase literally means to be no longer available. In addition, when Peter refers to Gentiles here, he is referring specifically to the people of the world who worship something other than God as God.

In the Greco-Roman culture of the first century in which the readers of this letter lived, the culture around them was a polytheistic culture. In the culture of the day, as we have talked about previously, it was not unusual for people to worship a multitude of gods and to engage in a multitude of practices of worship that influenced the lifestyle that they lived.

So Peter’s statement in the first part of verse 3, if communicated in the language we use in our culture today, would have sounded something like this: the time is long past for you to be living a lifestyle that is driven by the desires that are pursued by those who do not know Jesus and who worship something other than Jesus. Peter then unpacks the desires that drove the lifestyle that was pursued by those who did not know Jesus and who worshipped something other than Jesus.

When Peter uses the word sensuality, this word refers to a lack of self constraint which involves one in conduct that violates all bounds of what is acceptable. As we talked about earlier, lusts refer to a desire for something that is forbidden. The word drunkenness refers to excessive consumption of alcohol, while carousing refers to excessive feasting on food.

In addition, when Peter refers to drinking parties, this phrase conveys the sense of gathering for the purpose of getting hammered. This would be like going to an event that had rotating stations of beer pong, quarter bounce, and upside down kamikaze’s. When Peter refers to abominable idolatries, this phrase refers to committing unlawful deeds that were connected with the polytheistic worship that was a common occurrence in the culture of the day.

You see, the Greco-Roman culture of the first century promoted the bloody violence of the gladiator games and chariot races. In addition, much of the worship practices of the culture of the day involved sexual activity with temple prostitutes, or extra sexual activity with multiple partners in community with others. In addition, much of these behaviors would have been a part of the Greco-Roman culture as evidenced in gatherings such as family worship celebrations, trade guilds, and civic holidays.

Once again, as we have seen throughout this letter, Peter is addressing the temptation to embrace the parts of the culture that were in opposition to the message and teachings of Jesus in order to be accepted by the community and culture. Peter’s concern was that the behavior of a follower of Jesus would be an apologetic for the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel.

And just like we talked about throughout this series, part of that apologetic for the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel would be living their day to day lives in the social order of the community in a way that affirmed part of that social order that lined up with the message and teachings of Jesus while rejecting those parts of the social order that were not compatible with the message and teachings of Jesus. And it is here that we see Peter reveal for us the reality that a lifestyle that resolves to be through with sin is a lifestyle that is long past being driven by the desires that are pursued by those who worship something other than Jesus.

As followers of Jesus we are to be long past pursuing a lifestyle that is driven by a lack of self restraint.  As followers of Jesus we are to be long past pursuing a lifestyle that is driven by a desire for what is forbidden. As followers of Jesus we are to be long past pursuing a lifestyle that is driven by the desire for drunkenness. As followers of Jesus we are to be long past pursuing a lifestyle that is driven by the desire for gluttony. As followers of Jesus we are to be long past pursuing a lifestyle that is driven by the desire for excessive partying. As followers of Jesus we are to be long past pursuing a lifestyle that is driven by the desire to worship something other than God as God.

Instead, as followers of Jesus, a lifestyle that is through with sin is driven by a desire that is an apologetic for the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel would be living their day to day lives in the social order of the community in a way that affirms the parts culture that line up with the message and teachings of Jesus while rejecting those parts of the culture that are not compatible with the message and teachings of Jesus.

Friday, we will see Peter conclude this section of his letter by revealing a fourth thing that should drive a follower of Jesus who is a part of God’s kingdom community to resolve to be through with sin...