Preached Sunday, July 28, 2013 from 1 Peter 3:15 and various passages
Theme: This passage teaches us how to equip ourselves for endurance when living for Jesus in a hostile world.
(Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are taken from The Holy Bible, New King James Version; copyright 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc.)
As I read this morning’s passage to you from 1 Peter 4:1-5, I ask that you pay special attention to the very first verse. The first verse—1 Peter 4:1-5—is very important. In fact, some Bible commentators have said that much of the message of what we’ve been studying together from this amazing New Testament letter is summed up in the first half of this one verse. It’s ‘1 Peter’ in just a few short words. It says; “Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind . . .”
This letter, you’ll remember, was written to Christians who were suffering persecution for their faith. And constantly in this letter, Peter points to Jesus. The Lord Jesus suffered for us in order to bring us to God; and as we live for Him in this dark fallen world—traveling together in our journey to our glorious heavenly inheritance—we are to imitate Him in this temporary time of suffering for Him.
This is a significant theme in Peter’s letter. In Chapter 1, he talked about the salvation that Christ brought about for us on the cross—a salvation that the prophets of old spoke of and marveled over. And then, he tells his readers;
Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct (1 Peter 1:13-15).
Or take what he says in Chapter 2. After urging his readers to respond patiently when treated wrongly, he told them;
For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps:
“Who committed no sin,
Nor was deceit found in His mouth”;
who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously; who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed (1 Peter 2:21-24).
Or take the passage just prior to the one we’re studying this morning. Peter urged his readers that “it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing god than for doing evil . . .” (1 Peter 3:17). And he then tells them;
For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit . . . (1 Peter 3:18).
That’s why 1 Peter 4:1 is so important. It’s the theme of Peter’s letter in just a few words: “Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind . . .” Peter is urging his suffering brothers and sisters in Christ to look deeply upon Jesus Himself—their blessed Savior and Lord—and find their example in Him.
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Now; the reason I’m taking so much time to stress this is because that’s what you and I are to do. We too have been called upon to live for Jesus in hostile times. And I’ve tried to make the case that the times may grow harder in the months and years to come for those of us who love Jesus and seek to follow Him. But I’ve also tried to stress that we shouldn’t be discouraged by that. In fact, we should be excited about the times we live in. These are days in which we could see some of the greatest advances in the spread of the gospel of Jesus Christ to the people around us—if we respond to the pressures as we should.
And that’s also why I think that the whole of this morning’s passage is important. It reminds us that God is calling us to live—in these difficult but exciting times—with endurance in the faith. We’re to walk faithfully with the Lord Jesus for the rest of our lives—all the way to the end of our life-journey and into our eternal inheritance in Christ. We’re not to give up. We’re not to get discouraged. We’re to press forward with endurance to the glorious end!
But, we cannot do this without being properly equipped to do so. One reason many people start out so strong in the faith, but later fall by the wayside, is because they failed to properly equip themselves for endurance in Christ during a hostile time. And in this morning’s passage, the apostle Peter tells us what we need to do to be properly equipped to live for Jesus with endurance during the times in which God has placed us.
I’ve already read from the first verse; now let me read from all of 1 Peter 4:1-5:
Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God. For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles—when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries. In regard to these, they think it strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of dissipation, speaking evil of you. They will give an account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead (1 Peter 4:1-5).
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So then; how should we equip ourselves to walk for Jesus with endurance in these difficult times? I would suggest that we find four exhortations from this passage. And the first is . . .
1. ARM YOURSELF WITH CHRIST’S MIND WHEN SUFFERING IN THE FLESH (v. 1).
Peter wrote, “Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin . . .” (v. 1).
Do you see the word “therefore”? Here’s a good ‘Bible study’ tip: Whenever you see the word “therefore”, look backwards to find out why it’s there. The word “therefore” indicates that something that is about to be said is based on something that had been said already. And if you look backwards, you’ll find these words in verse 17; “For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.”
In this dark and fallen world, dear brothers and sisters, you and I will have to suffer. We don’t have any choice in the matter. But we can choose what it is that we will suffer for. We can choose, for example, to sin; and thus suffer for disobeying God, and refusing to walk in His good ways, and rebelling against Him, and experiencing the sad consequences. That’s a course that many take in this world. Or, we can choose to trust in Jesus Christ and His sacrifice for us, turn from sin, and walk in obedience to Him; and if we do, we will suffer persecution from those who will not do so. You remember, don’t you, that 2 Timothy 3;12 says, “Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution”? (By the way; you just might as well memorize that verse!)
Well; as we walk in this dark world, and we’re faced with the choice—”Shall I suffer for doing good or for doing evil?”—we’re to remember that it’s always better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. And how can we know that this is so? How can we be confident in that? It’s by looking at Jesus. We’re told in 1 Peter 3:18, ” For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit . . .” His sacrifice for us in the flesh—dying for us on the cross—results in our salvation. He died for sin—the just One for His unjust people; the sinless One for sinners. And now that we belong to Him, we’re to follow His example. “Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind . . .” Equip yourself with the same attitude about the matter as Jesus Himself had.
Now; we need to understand this carefully. Peter goes on to say, “for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin . . .” But we shouldn’t take this to mean that we can do for ourselves what only Jesus can do for us. We shouldn’t take this to mean that if we “suffer” somehow, we will have atoned for our own sin. Sadly, many people have thought this way; and they have brought needless suffering upon themselves in the hopes that they might atone for their own sins. Jesus alone can atone for our sins—the just for the unjust. He did this for us on the cross; and the work is completed. Nothing more is needed to make us righteous before God than to believe on what Jesus has already done.
So then, what does it mean that “he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin”? Well; I believe the next verse helps us understand it; “that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.” Jesus died on the cross for us and has broken the power that sin once had over us. We died with Him when we died; so that the principle of sin is no longer our Master. And we rose to new life with Jesus when He rose from the dead; so that we can now live for the One who saved us. We are now free to live for the will of God. And we “suffer in the flesh” by making the choice to say no to our old master “sin”, and refusing to gratify its desires.
I think a great passage to help explain this is Romans 6. In it, the apostle Paul wrote;
What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God (Romans 6:1-13).
If I may share something personal, I find that I am growing to experience this reality more and more every day. I find that I experience it in what we might call small, everyday ‘life-choices’. Someone might point to something that’s not right for me as a follower of Jesus; and say, “You ought to try this!”; or, “You ought to go see that!”; or, “You ought to experience this! Why deny yourself? You’re missing out if you don’t!” And I might be true that I am missing out on something. But I have come to believe that whatever it is that I might gain from gratifying my sinful desires is nothing compared to what I would lose. And so, I say no. Instead of gratifying that fleshly desire, I suffer in the flesh, deny my flesh something that it wants, and put that desire to death.
It’s interesting to me that, in the original language, Peter uses a perfect tense for “cease”. That means, I cease once and for all. But he doesn’t really say that if I suffer in the flesh I cease from “sin”. Rather, he says that I cease, once and for all, from “sins”—in the plural, as it is in the original text. That’s how I put individual sinful habits to death in my life. And that means, by the way, that if you are caught up in a sinful habit or practice that seems to have you prisoner, you don’t have to be its prisoner any more. He suffered for sin once for all on the cross and set you free; so that, if you now arm yourself with the same attitude as His and suffer in the flesh by denying a sinful habit, you can “cease” from that sin!
This is one of the ways that we are to equip ourselves as we walk in this fallen world. We are to arm ourselves with Christ’s mind when suffering in the flesh.
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Second, Peter tells us . . .
2. SET YOUR FOCUS ON LIVING LIFE FROM NOW ON FOR THE WILL OF GOD (v. 2).
Peter tells us that he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin; “that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.”
You see; before we trusted Jesus, the guiding motive in our lives was to gratify our human lusts and passions. “If it feels good, do it!” “If I want to do it, it must be right; and I therefore have a right to do it!” We didn’t care what God said to do in His commandments. They weren’t our guiding principle. That’s how many people live the whole of their lives on earth. All their time in the flesh is spent in obeying and fulfilling the inclinations of their fleshly desires. But now that we have come to Christ—now that He, by His death, has broken the power of sin over us—we are to be guided by a new motivation. We are to live for the will of God.
I think a great passage to help explain this is Ephesians 4. In it, the apostle Paul wrote;
This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. But you have not so learned Christ, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness (Ephesians 4:17-24).
And isn’t it interesting, by the way, that Peter said that we are to live this way “the rest of the time in the flesh”. One commentator said that this means that “suffering in the flesh” doesn’t always involve martyrdom. Sometimes we think it’s really noble and sacrificial to say, “Oh, Lord Jesus; I love You so much that I would die for You!”; when what He really wants is for us to die to self and live the rest of our days on earth for Him!
So; one of the ways that we are to equip ourselves for endurance for Christ in these dark and difficult days is by setting our focus on a forward look; seeing the rest of our days on earth—from now on and until the day our bodies die and our spirits depart—as devoted to serving the will of God.
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A third way we are to equip ourselves—very much related to the previous one—is to . . .
3. WASTE NO MORE TIME ON THE SINFUL PRACTICES OF UNBELIEF (v. 3).
Peter writes; “For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles—when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries.”
When he speaks of “Gentiles”, Peter is using the word as a figure of speech for unbelieving people—people who are outside of a covenant relationship with God, and who live as if He doesn’t exist. And there’s a bit of irony in those words. We’ve wasted “enough time” doing the will of unbelieving people—even though, in reality, one minute of doing so was one minute too much all along! But now that we have been united to the suffering, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, and now that we have set our sights to live no longer for the lust of men but for the will of God, we’re not to waste another minute more on doing the will of the unbelieving world or engaging in its sinful habits and practices.
I think a great passage to explain this would be one that we find—once again—back in Romans 6. At the end of that chapter, Paul wrote;
I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:19-23).
Why would we want to give another minute’s time to those sinful habits and practices that are now a cause of shame to us? Why would we want to continue another step down a road that leads to death when we can make much more productive use of our time traveling on the road that leads to eternal life in Christ?
Peter mentions some of those old habits and practices by name. He doesn’t, of course, make a complete list; because we wouldn’t be able to lift our Bible’s if he did! But instead, he mentions three broad categories. First, he mentions sensual sins. ‘Lewdness’ describes behavior in which someone gives themselves over to uncontrolled and shocking sexual behavior—the kind of embarrassing things that sometimes makes the news! ‘Lust’ describes sinful passions of a more general nature. Then, he mentions sins of wild living. ‘Drunkenness’, of course, describes the practice of making one’s self intoxicated and out-of-control. ‘Revelries’ describes the idea of wild parties that are characterized by irresponsible group behavior. And ‘drinking parties’ combines the two—where, in ancient times, people would gather together drink themselves into a frenzy; and then go out and do together whatever reckless things their drunken impulses led them to do. Finally, he mentions a third category—’abominable idolatries’; which involved turning from the one true God, worshiping idols instead, and doing so in a way that was characterized by sin and rebellion against God’s standards of holiness and decency.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ; as God’s people, we’re to have nothing to do with such things. They may have characterized us in the past; but we’re not to waste another minute of our precious life on earth in such things. You might say that one of the ways we are to equip ourselves for endurance in our walk for Christ is to exercise sanctified ‘time management’—and we’re not to give any more of our time to such things.
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And finally—because we would be ceasing to run around with the old crowd that did such things—Peter tells us . . .
4. DON’T LISTEN TO THE INSULTS OF THOSE WHO SPEAK EVIL OF YOU FOR NO LONGER RUNNING WITH THEM IN THEIR SIN (vv. 4-5).
Peter describes something painful that many of us have personally experienced when he writes, “In regard to these [that is, these evil practices of the unbelieving world], they [that is, the people of this world] think it strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of dissipation . . .” I believe Peter is speaking here of the old crowd that we used to do such things with. They invite you to the old places and practices—to go to the old drinking parties, or engage in the old gratifications of lust with them; and you say no. The next thing you know, they’re “speaking evil of you.” Maybe you got some names thrown at you—”Jesus freak”, “hypocrite”. Maybe you got accused of thinking that you’re better than everyone else. Maybe you became the victim of some hostile actions.
That happened to me. I was sixteen years old when I became a believer; and the word got out. Next thing I knew, my old friends weren’t my friends anymore. There was one afternoon when a couple of my high school friends came by for a surprise visit. I guess it was pretty obvious were I was coming from at that point; because I was in my room, laying on my bed barefoot, reading my Bible. They grabbed me and carried me out of my room and into their car. My parents just laughed with it all—thinking that it was all just a friendly prank. My friends were ‘kidnapping’ me, they thought. But I knew it wasn’t friendly at all. They threw me in their car without saying a word, drove me about a half a mile away, shoved me out the car door, and drove away. I had to walk a half-mile or so on a gravel road in my bare feet; and the whole way home, I remember thinking, “Oh. So this was what Peter was taking about in that verse I read a while back!” Pretty soon, I found that I had begun to receive magazines in the mail—magazines of a kind, I hasten to tell you, that I would never have subscribed to as a Christian! They had sent in subscriptions in my name; and I had to go through the embarrassment of writing to the publisher and telling them to stop sending their magazine. After a while, I didn’t hear from those friends anymore. It was a very lonely time for me.
I don’t say all that to impress you with my own suffering. I simply say it to show that what this verse talks about has been a painful reality for many for many of us. The apostle John wrote about it in 1 John 3; when he said,
In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother. For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another, not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother’s righteous (1 John 3:10-13).
I came to understand that’s why those things were happening to me. I was choosing to follow a new path with the Lord Jesus—who loved me and died for me. I was saying goodbye to the old sinful ways of doing things, and was committing myself to living for the will of God. And my old friends resented me for it.
Now; I praise God that it wasn’t too long before He gave me a new set of friends—friends who loved Jesus and coached me along in walking with Him. But the point is that here’s another thing with which we must equip ourselves—and that is a refusal to let the insults and blasphemies of the old crowd stop us. We just let the names and insults and unjust treatment roll off us. In verse 5, Peter says, “They will give an account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.” They are not our judges. Jesus is—and He is their judge too! He’s the judge of both the dead and the living. We don’t have to worry about the matter. He’ll take care of it. The only thing we have to concern ourselves with is that we love them and pray for them—just as He commanded us to do.
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So, dear brothers and sisters; let’s endure for the Lord Jesus in these difficult times. But let’s make sure we do so in the way God’s word tells us to do so. Let’s make sure we equip ourselves properly for endurance.