What does it mean to share the sufferings of Jesus?

At the church where I serve, we have been looking at a section of a letter that is recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible called the book of 1 Peter. And as we have looked at this letter, we have been asking the questions “How should followers of Jesus live out our identity as followers of Jesus who are part of God’s kingdom community in the midst of a rapidly changing culture? How should followers of Jesus live out our identity as followers of Jesus who are part of God’s kingdom community when our faith is minimized and marginalized? How should followers of Jesus live out our identity as followers of Jesus who are part of God’s kingdom community when our faith is ridiculed, criticized, and slandered?”

This week, I would like for us to spend our time together picking up where we left off last week. And as we jump into the next section of this letter, we will discover another timeless truth about how we are to live as part of God’s kingdom community in the midst of a rapidly changing culture as followers of Jesus. So let’s discover that timeless truth together, beginning in 1 Peter 4:12-13:

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; ¹³ but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation.

Peter begins this section of his letter by commanding the readers of his letter to not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing. With this command, Peter is basically saying “in light of what I have just written to you; in light of the reality that living as part of God’s kingdom community should lead to a lifestyle that sees suffering through an eternal perspective, then do not be surprised when you experience the pain that comes from the fire of suffering in your life.”

When Peter uses the phrase fiery ordeal, he is reminding the readers of his letter of a word picture that he used earlier in this letter. In that word picture, which was of the refining of gold by a smelter, a smelter would use an extremely hot fire in order to refine metal. As the metal was heated, the dross and impurities rise to the top and are removed, thus leaving pure gold.

After bringing this word picture back to the forefront of the readers minds, Peter reinforces that word picture with the phrase which comes upon you for your testing. When Peter uses the word testing here, this word refers to an attempt to learn the nature and character of something. Peter here is referring to something that comes upon us that reveals that nature and character of what is within us. You see, character is like toothpaste; you never really know what is inside until it is squeezed.

Peter here is reminding the readers of his letter that they were not to be surprised by their circumstances of sadness and suffering that they may experience as a result of their identity as followers of Jesus who are part of God’s kingdom community, because it was the fires of the trials and circumstances that they were facing, and their response to the fires of the trials and circumstances that they were facing, that would reveal the genuineness of their faith that was being proved through the fires of the trials and circumstances that they were experiencing.

Instead of being surprised at the fires of the trials and circumstances that they were experiencing, Peter called the readers of his letter to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing. In other words, to the extent that their sadness and suffering matched the sadness and suffering that Jesus endured during His rejection, arrest, trial, and crucifixion, they were to rejoice to that same extent.

You see, so often when we see the phrase sufferings of Christ, we immediately think of the suffering He experienced during His beating and crucifixion. However, for Peter and other early followers of Jesus, this phrase involved much more than the physical suffering that He endured. For Peter and other early followers of Jesus, to share in the sufferings of Jesus involved a sharing in the rejection that Jesus experienced by others.

For example, Jesus was mocked and ridiculed by others, including His own family for the claims that He made about Himself. Jesus was slandered by others who claimed that He was a bastard child who did not know who His Father was. On several occasions, people picked up stones and tried to kill Him. On one occasion, the people who He grew up with tried to throw Him off a cliff. Upon His arrest, all of His closest followers bailed on Him. Jesus experienced the fires of the trial of suffering of being mocked, ridiculed, criticized, and slandered before His arrest. Jesus was then abandoned at His arrest and endured His trial, beating, and crucifixion without the support of His closest followers.

Jesus was squeezed by the fires of the trials of sadness and suffering in a way that revealed His true character as God in a bod by His response to the fires of the trials of sadness and suffering He experienced.  And for the readers of this letter, they were being squeezed as a result of the fires of the trials of sadness and suffering that they were experiencing as a result of being strangers in a strange land as a result being scattered from their homeland.

These early followers of Jesus were being squeezed as a result of the fires of the trials of sadness and suffering that they were experiencing from being marginalized and minimized by those around them. These early followers of Jesus were being squeezed as a result of the fires of the trials of sadness and suffering that they were experiencing as they found themselves the object of mocking, ridicule and slander for clinging to a religious belief system that was viewed as being both strange and outrageous as compared with the religious systems that were prevalent in the culture around them.

And because of that reality, Peter commanded the readers of his letter to not be surprised as though it would be unheard of that a person who lived as part of God’s kingdom community would experience the fires of the trials of sadness and suffering. After all, as the leader of God’s kingdom community, Jesus experienced the fires of the trials of sadness and suffering. Instead, Peter commanded the readers of his letter to respond to the fires of the trials of sadness and suffering that they were experiencing by rejoicing in the opportunity that they had to share in the fires of the trials of sadness and suffering that Jesus experienced.

To which we go “huh”? I mean why would we rejoice? Why should we rejoice? Peter provides the answer to that question in the second half of verse 13 when he states “so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation.” When Peter refers to the revelation of His glory, he is referring to the end of God’s story here on earth, where Jesus will return to earth to defeat selfishness, sin, and death and to usher in the kingdom of Heaven in its fullest sense. And upon Jesus return, all the creation will see the unfiltered splendor and radiance of Jesus.

Peter’s point here is that to the extent that their sadness and suffering matched the sadness and suffering that Jesus endured here on earth, the readers of his letter were to rejoice to that same extent, because when Jesus returned to earth to demonstrate the fullness of His splendor and glory after overcoming the fires of the trials of sadness and suffering He experienced, they would be exceedingly joyful as a result of Jesus return that would reveal their true character upon His return.

Tomorrow we will see Peter reinforce this reality and discover another timeless truth when it comes to how we are to live as part of God’s kingdom community in the midst of a rapidly changing culture as followers of Jesus…

Reflecting an Eternal Perspective by Serving Others through the Use of our Spiritual Gifts...

This week we have been looking at a section of a letter that has been preserved and recorded for us in the Bible called the book of 1 Peter. In 1 Peter 4:7-11, we discovered that living as part of God’s kingdom community should lead to a lifestyle that has an eternal perspective. In 1 Peter 4:7-11, we are going to see Peter provide four commands to followers of Jesus throughout history that, when followed, will lead to a lifestyle that reflects an eternal perspective.

First, in verse 7, we saw Peter reveal for us the reality that a lifestyle that has an eternal perspective will reflect that perspective by rightly thinking about the future. Then, in verse 8, we saw Peter reveal for us the reality that a lifestyle that has an eternal perspective will reflect that perspective by loving others in a way that removes selfishness from sight. Third, in verse 9, we saw Peter reveal for us the reality that a lifestyle that has an eternal perspective will reflect that perspective by inviting others into open-handed community.

Today, we will see Peter conclude this section of his letter by providing a fourth command to followers of Jesus throughout history that, when followed, will lead to a lifestyle that reflects an eternal perspective, in 1 Peter 4:10-11:

 As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. ¹¹ Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Now to fully understand what Peter is commanding followers of Jesus throughout history to do here, we first need to understand a few things. The first thing that we need to understand is what Peter is referring to when he uses the phrase “As each one has received a special gift”. With this phrase, Peter is referring to spiritual gifts.

A spiritual gift is a God-given inner motivation that enables us to meet the needs of others in a way that builds up others spiritually. Spiritual gifts are not talents; they are not natural abilities; they are not ministries or positions. Spiritual gifts work through natural talents and positions to work in ministries with the result of spiritual growth in the lives of others.

Now a question that almost immediately arises when the subject of spiritual gifts is brought up in church is “Well what about tongues? What about gifts of healing?” While the Bible lists for us 18 different spiritual gifts, several of these gifts are not currently active, however, as they were in the church of the first century. To understand why they are not currently active, we first need to understand the purpose of these gifts.

During the days of the early church, followers of Jesus did not have a New Testament to read. So during a church service, after a time of singing and prayer, people in the church would stand up and speak, sharing either their testimonies or messages that they heard from other Christians. And some early followers of Jesus received from God what are called foundation or sign gifts, which are spiritual gifts that were used to deliver or confirm the new verbal revelation that was what we now have as the New Testament. Since we are no longer receiving new verbal revelation from God in the form of new books in our Bibles these spiritual gifts no longer are active as they were in the first century.

Now that leads us to the second thing that we need to understand, which is what Peter means when he uses the phrase “employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” If Peter was communicating this phrase in the language that we use in our culture today, this phrase would sound something like this: Each of you have been given at least one spiritual gift. Make sure that you are using that spiritual gift to serve others in a way that promotes the spiritual good and growth of others so as to demonstrate that you are an excellent manager of the multifaceted generosity of God who gave you this spiritual gift. 

Now there are a couple of things to take note of here. First, did you notice that Peter expected every follower of Jesus to know what their spiritual gift was? Peter gives a command based on the assumption that everyone knows that they have a spiritual gift and what that spiritual gift is? Now an immediate thought that might go through your mind at this point is “I don’t know what my spiritual gift is? I wasn’t even thinking in those terms? So how do I find out what the spiritual gifts are and which one or ones that I have?

As Peter points out in verse 11, there are two types, or classifications, of spiritual gifts. The first type, or classification, of spiritual gifts are referred to as speaking gifts. The speaking gifts that are active today as they were in the first century are the spiritual gifts of Teaching, Shepherding (Pastor), Evangelism, and Exhortation (Encouragement). The second, type, or classification, of spiritual gifts are referred to as serving gifts. The serving gifts are giving, Administration, Mercy, faith, helps (serving).

Peter’s point here is that if you are a follower of Jesus you have at least one of those nine different gifts. And if you are a follower of Jesus, you have been commanded to leverage those spiritual gifts in selfless way that helps people to grow spiritually. As Peter points out in verse 11, we are to leverage to spiritual gifts that we have been given by God, in the power and strength that comes from the Holy Spirit, so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever.

You see, spiritual gifts are not to be used to bring us glory. Spiritual gifts are not to be used to enhance our reputation in the eyes of others. Instead, spiritual gifts are to be used to bring glory, to enhance that reputation of God in the eyes of others. And it is here that we see Peter reveal for us the reality that a lifestyle that has an eternal perspective will reflect that perspective by serving others through the use of our spiritual gifts.

As followers of Jesus, we have an eternal perspective when we serve others through the use of our spiritual gifts in a way that recognizes that we have received a spiritual gift. As followers of Jesus, we have an eternal perspective when we serve others through the use of our spiritual gifts in a way that is at a high level. And as followers of Jesus, we have an eternal perspective when we serve others through the use of our spiritual gifts in a way that makes much of Jesus.

You see, Jesus deserves to receive honor as a result of His status and activity in our lives and in the world around us. And Jesus deserves to receive rule and authority as a result of His status and activity in our lives and in the world around us. And we enhance the reputation of Jesus in the eyes of the world around us when we leverage the spiritual gifts that we have been given by Jesus in a selfless way that results in the spiritual good and growth of others.

Because, as we have discovered this week, living as part of God’s kingdom community should lead to a lifestyle that has an eternal perspective. A lifestyle that has an eternal perspective will reflect that perspective by rightly thinking about the future. A lifestyle that has an eternal perspective will reflect that perspective by loving others in a way that removes selfishness from sight. A lifestyle that has an eternal perspective will reflect that perspective by inviting others into open-handed community. And a lifestyle that has an eternal perspective will reflect that perspective by serving others through the use of our spiritual gifts.

So with that in mind, here is a question for us to consider: What does how you live your day to day life reveal about where your perspective is? What does how you think about the future reveal about where your perspective is? What does how you respond when wronged by others reveal about where your perspective is? What does how you serve others through the use of your spiritual gifts reveal about where your perspective is?

Because, living as part of God’s kingdom community should lead to a life that has an eternal perspective….

Reflecting an Eternal Perspective...

This week we are looking at a section of a letter that has been preserved and recorded for us in the Bible called the book of 1 Peter. Yesterday, we began to look at 1 Peter 4:7-11, where we discovered the timeless truth that living as part of God’s kingdom community should lead to a lifestyle that has an eternal perspective. In 1 Peter 4:7-11, we are going to see Peter provide four commands to followers of Jesus throughout history that, when followed, will lead to a lifestyle that reflects an eternal perspective.

First, in verse 7, we see Peter reveal for us the reality that a lifestyle that has an eternal perspective will reflect that perspective by rightly thinking about the future. Rightly think about the future will result in us developing and demonstrating sensible wisdom for the present that will help us keep our heads together regardless of what circumstances we find ourselves in. And rightly thinking about the future will result in us having a self restraint that helps us when we pray.

Today, we jump back into this section of this letter and see Peter provide a second command to followers of Jesus throughout history that, when followed, will lead to a lifestyle that reflects an eternal perspective, in 1 Peter 4:8:

 Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.

Here we see Peter command followers of Jesus throughout history to above all, keep fervent in your love for one another. Now if Peter was communicating this command in the language that we use in our culture today, this command would have sounded something like this: Above everything else, what is most important is that you constantly and consistently demonstrate a warm regard for and interest in another that is selfless and persevering in nature.

Peter then explains the reason behind his command for followers of Jesus to constantly and consistently demonstrate a warm regard for and interest in another that is selfless and persevering in nature is because love covers a multitude of sins. But what does that mean? I mean is Peter saying that love covers all of my sins? Is Peter saying that I can earn my salvation and rescue from my selfishness and rebellion by loving others? I mean that seems like what Peter is saying here? It seems like Peter is saying that love covers, or takes care of my sins against others. So, is that what Peter is saying here?

To fully understand what Peter is communicating here, we first need to remember the context in which this letter was written and define a term. Remember, Peter is writing this letter to early followers of Jesus who were being squeezed as a result of living in a rapidly changing culture that viewed their faith as being strange and outrageous as compared to the other religious systems of the day. Peter is writing to early followers of Jesus who were experiencing sadness and suffering as a result of their faith being mocked, ridiculed, criticized, and slandered.

Peter was writing this letter to encourage the readers of his letter to live out their day to day lives in a way that was 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 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.

Now that leads us to the term we need to define, which is the term cover. You see, the word cover here, in the language that this letter was originally written in, literally means to cause something to not be made known. This word conveys the sense of removing something from sight. Peter here is not focusing on the concept of love covering acts of selfishness and rebellion that hurt God and others that we commit against God and others.

Instead, Peter is focusing on the concept of love covering the acts of selfishness and rebellion that are committed against us. The reality is that there is no perfect church. If you are looking for a perfect church and you find a perfect church then you better leave before you ruin it. As followers of Jesus, we are imperfect people striving to follow the message and teachings of our perfect savior by the power of the Holy Spirit. However, the reality is that there are times when we selfishly do or say things that hurt others or are hurt by the selfish and rebellious things that are done to us by others. 

And it is at that point that, as followers of Jesus, we are faced with a decision. And that decision involves how we are going to respond when we are the victim of selfishness and rebellion. Are we going to respond by proclaiming how we have been wronged by another follower of Jesus to others and through social media for everyone around us to see? Or are we going to follow the message and teachings of Jesus as described in Matthew 18 in a way that demonstrates love and that seeks a recognition of their wrong against us and restoration of relationship in a private and progressive manner?

Peter’s point here is that when followers of Jesus respond to being wronged by other followers of Jesus by following the message and teachings of Jesus in a way that is driven by love, the wrongdoing done to us is covered up from being exposed to the unbelieving world around us. Instead, what the unbelieving world around us sees is a reflection of Jesus love in how we respond to being wronged. And that love serves as an apologetic for the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel.

When we respond to being wronged by another follower of Jesus by proclaiming how we have been wronged through our conversations with others and through social media for everyone around us to see, we fail to reveal and reflect Jesus and we fail to be an apologetic for Jesus. And it is here that we see Peter reveal for us the reality that a lifestyle that has an eternal perspective will reflect that perspective by loving others in a way that removes selfishness from sight.

As followers of Jesus we have an eternal perspective when we constantly love one another in a way the removes selfishness from sight. And as followers of Jesus, we have an eternal perspective when we love one another in a way that removes the selfishness of others from the eyes of others. Peter then provides a third command to followers of Jesus throughout history that, when followed, will lead to a lifestyle that reflects an eternal perspective, in verse 9:

Be hospitable to one another without complaint.

Now when Peter uses the word hospitable here, this word refers to inviting others with an open-handed generosity into community. This word conveys the sense of inviting others in and warmly doing life together. In the Greco-Roman culture in which this letter was written, the church would gather and scatter. The church would gather in spaces that they could find that could accommodate a large gathering to worship together on Sunday and the church would scatter into smaller groups that would meet in homes throughout the week.

In a context in which followers of Jesus were being squeezed and were experiencing sadness and suffering, hospitality would be both important and dangerous.  After all, opening one’s home for followers of Jesus to gather in could expose the owner of the home as being a Christian and to subsequent ridicule, criticism, slander, and even persecution.

As a result, there were followers of Jesus who were reluctant to take such risk. And there were followers of Jesus who would take such a risk while grumbling and complaining to others behind the scenes about taking such risk. So, Peter here is commanding the readers of this letter, and followers of Jesus throughout history, to be open-handed in their generous opening of their home to community without complaining about it.

And it is here that we see Peter reveal for us the reality that a lifestyle that has an eternal perspective will reflect that perspective by inviting others into open-handed community. As followers of Jesus, we are to make sure that we are inviting others into open-handed community with the right actions and the right attitude in mind. As followers of Jesus, we are to invite others with an open-handed generosity to experience genuine and authentic community, whether that is during our times of corporate worship on Sunday, during community groups during the week, or on an individual basis during the week.

As followers of Jesus, we have an eternal perspective when we invite people who we will be in community for all eternity into open-handed community with us while we live out our day to day lives here on earth. And as followers of Jesus, we have an eternal perspective when we invite people who are searching and seeking answers when it comes to Jesus and the Bible into open-handed community with us so that they could come to the place where they experience an eternity in community with us.

Friday, we will see Peter provide a fourth command to followers of Jesus throughout history that, when followed, will lead to a lifestyle that reflects an eternal perspective…

Living as part of God’s kingdom community should lead to a lifestyle that has an eternal perspective...

At the church where I serve, we are in the middle of a sermon series entitled living as part of God’s kingdom community. During this series, we are addressing the reality that as followers of Jesus, the hope we have in Jesus should lead to us embracing our identity as part of God's kingdom community. However, to truly embrace our identity as part of God’s kingdom community requires that we live out our identity as part of God’s kingdom community.

But how do we do that? In other words, what does embracing our identity as part of God’s kingdom community look like? How should followers of Jesus live out our identity as followers of Jesus who are part of God’s kingdom community in the midst of a rapidly changing culture? How should followers of Jesus live out our identity as followers of Jesus who are part of God’s kingdom community when our faith is minimized and marginalized? How should followers of Jesus live out our identity as followers of Jesus who are part of God’s kingdom community when our faith is ridiculed, criticized, and slandered?

So during tis series, we have been answering those questions by looking at a letter that has been preserved and recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible called the book of 1 Peter. This week, I would like for us to pick up where we left off last week. And as we jump into the next section of this letter, we will discover another timeless truth about how we are to live as part of God’s kingdom community in the midst of a rapidly changing culture as followers of Jesus. So let’s discover that timeless truth together, beginning in 1 Peter 4:7:

The end of all things is near; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer.

Peter begins this section of his letter to these early followers of Jesus who were experiencing sadness and suffering as a result of their circumstances with the phrase “the end of all things is near”. Now a natural reaction to Peter’s statement here would be “Well Dave, how can Peter say that the end of all things is near? I mean, this was written over two thousand years ago. So, obviously the end of all things was not near; obviously Peter did not know what he was talking about, so how can we trust what Peter is about to say now? Doesn’t this demonstrate that the Bible is not trustworthy?”

If I have just described the reaction and questions that are running through your mind at this point, I just want to let you know that those are fair questions to ask. And my response to those reactions and questions is this: When Peter uses this phrase “the end of all things is near”, this phrase refers to the last chapters of God’s story here on earth. If human history were a book, we are living in the final chapters of the book. Notice that I did not say the final chapter.

You see, Jesus entry in humanity; Jesus life, death, resurrection, and ascension started a phase of history known as the church age. The birth of God’s kingdom community called the church marked the beginning of the final chapters of God’s story here on earth. The final chapter of God’s story here on earth will culminate with Jesus returning to earth to defeat selfishness, sin, and death and to usher in the kingdom of Heaven in its fullest sense.

Peter here is basically reminding the readers of his letter, and followers of Jesus throughout history, that we are living in the final chapters of God’s story here on earth and that Jesus return to earth that will culminate God’s story here on earth will be coming. Peter’s point here is that every follower of Jesus throughout history is to live out their day to day lives with a sense of expectation that Jesus will return some day in the future. And upon Jesus return, every follower of Jesus will answer to Jesus for how they lived their lives as a part of God’s kingdom community here on earth.

And it is here, in this section of this letter that we will see Peter reveal for us a timeless truth about how we are to live as followers of Jesus who are a part of God’s kingdom community in the midst of a rapidly changing culture. And that timeless truth is this: Living as part of God’s kingdom community should lead to a lifestyle that has an eternal perspective. As followers of Jesus who are a part of God’s kingdom community, we are to live our lives in light of the reality that while our lives here on earth are temporary, how we live our lives here on earth will influence and impact our lives in eternity. As the character Maximus stated in the movie Gladiator "what we do in life echoes in eternity". And because of that reality, as followers of Jesus, we are to live out our day to day lives in a way that has an eternal perspective.

In 1 Peter 4:7-11, we are going to see Peter provide four commands to followers of Jesus throughout history that, when followed, will lead to a lifestyle that reflects an eternal perspective. First, in verse 7, we see Peter command followers of Jesus throughout history to be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer. Now the phrase sound judgment, in the language that this letter was originally written in, conveys the sense of being prudent with a focus on self control. This phrase conveys the idea of being sensible and of keeping one’s head.

In addition, as we discovered earlier in the book of 1 Peter, the phrase “keep sober” here refers to being well-balanced. This phrase conveys the sense of being self controlled. So Peter here is commanding followers of Jesus throughout history to have an eternal perspective that demonstrates a sensible wisdom in the present when it comes to how they engage the Lord in prayer. Peter here is commanding followers of Jesus throughout history to have an eternal perspective that demonstrates a sense of self-restraint and self control when it comes to how they engage the Lord in prayer.

And it is here that we see Peter reveal for us the reality that a lifestyle that has an eternal perspective will reflect that perspective by rightly thinking about the future. Rightly think about the future will result in us developing and demonstrating sensible wisdom for the present that will help us keep our heads together regardless of what circumstances we find ourselves in. And rightly thinking about the future will result in us having a self restraint that helps us when we pray.

As followers of Jesus, we are not to allow our mental or emotional states to be filled with the confusion that comes as a result of not having the right perspective. Instead of becoming emotionally or mentally intoxicated by riding the emotional or mental roller coaster of “what if”, as followers of Jesus we are to have an eternal perspective that results in being able to have balance in our lives emotionally and mentally. As followers of Jesus, such a balance and self restraint will enable us to pray to the Lord in a way that rightly thinks about our circumstances as a result of having the right perspective, which is an eternal perspective.

Tomorrow, we will see Peter give two more commands, that when followed, should lead to a lifestyle that has an eternal perspective…

A lifestyle that resolves to be through with sin is driven by a recognition of the right judge...

This week, we have been looking at a section of a letter that has been preserved and recorded for us in the Bible called the book of 1 Peter, where we have discovered the timeless truth 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 have seen 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.

First, 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. Second, 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.

Wednesday, we saw 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. Today, 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. Let’s discover it together in 1 Peter 4:4-6:

 In all this, they are surprised that you do not run with them into the same excesses of dissipation, and they malign you; ⁵ but they will give account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. ⁶ For the gospel has for this purpose been preached even to those who are dead, that though they are judged in the flesh as men, they may live in the spirit according to the will of God.

Here we see Peter address how the culture around these early followers of Jesus would respond to them living a lifestyle that resolved to be through with sin and that served as an apologetic for the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel. When Peter uses the word surprised here, this word conveys that sense of something that causes a strong reaction of astonishment and surprise as a result of the introduction of something new.

In addition, the word dissipation is a church mumbo jumbo talk word that simply means to live a life of reckless abandon. Finally, the word maligned means to speak in a disrespectful way that demeans and slanders another. So Peter’s statement in verse 4, if communicated in the language we use in our culture today, would have sounded something like this: The new life that you have as a follower of Jesus leads those who worship something other than Jesus to be shocked and astonished that you will no longer join them in their lifestyle of reckless abandon. And it is their shock and astonishment that leads them to speak about you in a way that demeans and disrespects you.”

However, as Peter reminds followers of Jesus throughout history in verse 5, but they will give account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. As we talked about in the power of hope series, at the end of God’s story here on earth, all humanity stand before the Lord to give an account for how they lived their lives. Whether they are alive at the time when Jesus returns, or whether they have died prior to Jesus return, all humanity will stand before the Lord.

And the Lord is an impartial judge; the Lord will judge our behavior without partiality; the standard is the same for all humanity. All humanity will have to answer for how they answered the question “Who is Jesus?” And for those who never heard of Jesus, all humanity will have to answer for how they responded to God’s activity in their lives through the creation and through their conscience. The standard is the same for all followers of Jesus; did you respond to my gracious activity in your life by leading a life that was dedicated to look like Jesus? If not, why not?

And because of that reality, Peter reminds followers of Jesus throughout history that the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel has been proclaimed even to those who heard the message and are now dead. Peter’s point here is that it is the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel that provides all humanity the opportunity to experience forgiveness and the relationship with God that they were created for as a result of believing, thrusting, and following Jesus as Lord and Leader.

And it is the follower of Jesus response of confident trust in the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel that results in a lifestyle that resolves to be through with sin. And while those who worship something other than Jesus may pass judgment on followers of Jesus in a way that results in them experiencing sadness and suffering here on earth, their trust in Jesus in the face of that sadness and suffering will result in them living the transcendent life that they were created for in relationship with Jesus for all eternity.

And it is here that we see Peter reveal for us the reality that a lifestyle that resolves to be through with sin is driven by a recognition of the right judge. As followers of Jesus, we are to recognize that we may be unjustly judged by those who are astonished that they will not join in their lifestyle of excess and reckless abandon. As followers of Jesus, we are to recognize that we may be unjustly demeaned and disrespected by those who are astonished that they will not join in their lifestyle of excess and reckless abandon. And as followers of Jesus, we are to recognize that those who judge and demean us will themselves by judged by the just judge.

All humanity throughout history will stand before God to give an account for their life. And the gospel was proclaimed to provide hope of a just judgment in the future for those who respond to the gospel by placing their confident trust in the gospel; a confident trust that is evidenced by their lifestyle. Because, as we have discovered, living as part of God’s kingdom community should lead to a lifestyle that resolves to be through with sin.

Living as part of God’s kingdom community should lead to a lifestyle that resolves to be through with sin in a way that is driven the example of Jesus. Living as part of God’s kingdom community should lead to a lifestyle that resolves to be through with sin in a way that is driven by the right desires. Living as part of God’s kingdom community should lead to a lifestyle that resolves to be through with sin in a way that is long past being driven by the desires that are pursued by those who worship something other than Jesus. And living as part of God’s kingdom community should lead to a lifestyle that resolves to be through with sin in a way that is driven by a recognition of the right judge.

So here is a question to consider: What does your lifestyle reveal about how you have resolved to live when it comes to sin? What drives the lifestyle that you live? Are you driven by the right examples? Are you driven by the right desires? Are you driven by a recognition of the right judge?

Because, living as part of God’s kingdom community should lead to a lifestyle that resolves to be through with sin...

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...

Living as part of God’s kingdom community should lead to a lifestyle that resolves to be through with sin...

At the church where I serve we have been looking at a letter that has been preserved and recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible called the book of 1 Peter. As we look at this letter, we are discovering the timeless answer to the questions "How should followers of Jesus live out our identity as followers of Jesus who are part of God’s kingdom community in the midst of a rapidly changing culture? How should followers of Jesus live out our identity as followers of Jesus who are part of God’s kingdom community when our faith is minimized and marginalized? How should followers of Jesus live out our identity as followers of Jesus who are part of God’s kingdom community when our faith is ridiculed, criticized, and slandered?"

This week, I would like for us to pick up where we left off last week. And as we jump into the next section of this letter, we will discover another timeless truth about how we are to live as part of God’s kingdom community in the midst of a rapidly changing culture as followers of Jesus. So let’s discover that timeless truth together, beginning in 1 Peter 4:1-2:

Therefore, since Christ has suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same purpose, because he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, ² so as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.

Peter begins this section of his letter with the word therefore. With this word, Peter is basically saying, “In light of what I just wrote about; in light of the reality that living as part of God’s kingdom community should lead to a life that responds to suffering the right way. In light of the reality that we respond to suffering the right way when suffer for the right reasons; In light of the reality that we experience God's favor when we suffer for living faithfully for Jesus; In light of the reality that we are not to be intimidated by those who seek to intimidate us for living faithfully for Jesus but are to revere Jesus and be ready to defend the reasons why we live faithfully for Jesus; In light of the reality that we respond to suffering the right way when we follow the right examples; In light of the reality that we have the example of Jesus response to suffering; In light of the reality that  Jesus suffered as one who was just for those who were unjust so that He could bring His followers into the presence of God; In light of the reality that Jesus suffered at the hands of others during His life here on earth, I am commanding you to arm yourselves with the same purpose."

What is so interesting here is that the phrase “arm yourselves”, in the language that this letter was originally written in, literally means to equip oneself. This phrase conveys the sense of get ready for something by equipping oneself for something. In addition, the phrase with the same purpose means to have the same way of thinking or insight that results in resolve.

So Peter here is commanding followers of Jesus throughout history to respond to 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 by equipping themselves with the same resolve that Jesus had when he faced sadness and suffering as a result of doing what was right. Peter then explained that the reason why they were to equip themselves with the same resolve that Jesus had when he faced sadness and suffering as a result of doing what was right was due to the fact that he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin. But what does that even mean?

The phrase has ceased to sin conveys the sense of being finished with something. This phrase conveys the sense of being through with something. In addition, when Peter uses the word sin here, this word refers to acts of omission and commission that are committed against God and others that flow from our selfishness and rebellion and that hurt God and others.

Peter’s point here is that the person who suffers for doing what is right in God’s sight is through with sin, as demonstrated by the fact that they will experience suffering for doing the right thing. Their willingness to suffer for doing the right thing reveals the reality that they have resolved to be finished with sin. Their willingness to suffer for doing the right thing reveals the reality that they have resolved to be through with sin.

Peter then further unpacks this reality in verse 2 by stating that the person who has equipped themselves to have the resolve to suffer for doing what was right is not only through with sin. In addition, the person who has equipped themselves to have the resolve to suffer for doing what was right is to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts of men, but for the will of God. When Peter uses the phrase the rest of the time in the flesh, he is referring to the rest on one’s life here on earth.

As we discovered earlier in this series, when Peter refers to the lust of men, he is referring to a desire for something that is forbidden that humanity often desires. These are desires for the world around them that go against God’s desires for the world around them. In addition, the phrase “will of God” simply refers to what God wishes or desires to bring about through the activity of others.

Peter’s point here is that the person who has equipped themselves to have the resolve to suffer for doing what was right will live out the rest of their day to day lives here on earth no longer seeking to satisfy the selfish desires that go against God’s desires for their lives that humanity often seeks to satisfy. Instead, the person who has equipped themselves to have the resolve to suffer for doing what was right will live out the rest of their day to day lives here on earth seeking to satisfy God’s desires for their lives.

And it is here, in this section of this letter, that we see Peter reveal 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.

First, we see Peter reveal for us the reality that a lifestyle that resolves to be through with sin is driven by the example of Jesus. You see, Jesus shows us what it means to be truly human. Jesus provides for us the example of how we are to live our lives here on earth when it comes to living in the relationship with God and others that we were created to live.

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.

Second, in verse 2, we see 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.

And 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 desire. Tomorrow we will discover a third thing the drives the lifestyle of a follower of Jesus who has resolved to be through with sin...