Book of 1 Peter, Ch. 4, Vs. 1-12 - 01/02/2022

Well, good morning, all. This morning, we're going to go through the first 12 verses of 1

Peter chapter four. I'm gonna read it and then we'll begin. For so much sin, as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind, for he that has suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin.

That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lust of men, but to the will of God.

For the time past of our lives may suffice us to have brought the will of the

Gentiles, whom we walked in lasciviousness, lust, excess of wine, reveling, banqueting, and abominable idolatries.

For in they think it strange that you run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you, who shall give account to him that he is ready to judge the quick and the dead.

For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.

But the end of all things is at hand. Be ye therefore sober and watch unto prayer.

And above all things, have fervent charity among yourselves, for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.

Use hospitality one to another without grudging. As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God. If any man minister, let him do so as of the ability which

God giveth, that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ to whom praise and dominion forever and ever, amen.

And now let us pray. Most gracious heavenly father, we thank you for allowing us to come once together again to meet with one another over the internet.

We thank you for giving us the technology that we can do this, that we can meet together even though we're miles and sometimes some places, hundreds of miles apart.

Even though we're miles and miles apart in space, we are together in the spirit, together with God, together with Jesus.

And we thank you for that. Furthermore, we thank you for giving us your holy scripture that we may use it to worship you, to study it, to praise you, to glorify you.

Bless us in all the things that we endeavor to do this morning. Go through us with all the services today.

And once again, thank you for giving us the technology to reach out and touch one another. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.

So we'll begin. And my computer keeps telling me occasionally that I have an unstable connection.

So let me know if we lose track of one another.

So far I think everything is okay, but it is a little distracting to have that pop up.

In any case, verse one. For as much then as Christ has suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind for he that has suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin.

Now there's a couple of important ideas in this verse. Well, several.

Peter has a way of packing more punch into one or two verses than I think any of the apostles, even

Paul. It seems like I read it and I read it and I think

I understand it and I read it again. And I said, I didn't think of any of this. So when

I say two or three things punched into this verse, there's probably a lot more than that. The first thing

I would like to look at is in light of Jesus' triumphant suffering and his death that we saw last week in 1

Peter 3, verses 18 and 22. I'm gonna read those two verses just to remind you of what it was.

This is 1 Peter 3, 18. For Christ also hath once suffered for sin, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the

Spirit. And we spent all last, most of last week looking at this once for sin.

Jesus had to die only one time. He had to offer his sacrifice only one time.

It was a perfect sacrifice. That was in contradistinction to the priest that had to offer sacrifices daily.

And once that sacrifice was done, it was time for another one. But Christ's offering was once.

And we spent time talking about that. But then he talks about the rest of chapter three 19 through 21 of other things.

Then he comes back to verse 22 that I like to look at, verse 22. 1

Peter 3, verse 22. This is still speaking of Christ, Jesus, who has gone into heaven and is on the right hand of God, angels and authority and powers being made subject unto him.

So now Peter tells his readers that they should also be willing to suffer in the flesh, knowing that suffering in the flesh has the potentiality of producing the greatest triumph of all.

So I'm gonna go back and read the first part of this verse again. For as much then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourself likewise in the same mind, for he that hath suffered in flesh hath ceased from sin.

So Peter again tells us, the readers, that we should be willing to suffer in the flesh, knowing that like Jesus, we have the potentiality of having our greatest triumphs.

In our suffering. The Christian should be armed with the same thought that was manifested in the suffering of Christ.

Namely, that one can be triumphant in suffering, even in suffering unto death.

In other words, the Christian should voluntarily accept the potential of death as part of the

Christian life. And that's very, very difficult to do. Paul helps us out a little bit in 2

Corinthians 4, verse eight. 2 Corinthians 4, verse eight.

We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed. We are perplexed, but not in despair.

Persecuted, but not forsaken. Cast down, but not destroyed.

Always bearing about in the body of the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also

Jesus might be made manifest in our bodies. For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake.

That the life also Jesus might be manifest in our mortal flesh.

So what Paul is telling us is, the worst thing that can happen to a believer is suffering unjustly.

I'm sorry. The worst thing that can happen to a believer suffering unjustly is death.

But in another sense, it's also the best thing that can happen to the believer.

Because death means the complete and final end of all sin.

If the Christian is armed with the goal of being delivered from sin, and that goal is achieved through his death, then the threat and the experience of death is precious.

It's not something to be avoided. It is something to anticipate.

And in some sense, we all do anticipate our death. We just don't want it to be right now.

Say, okay, Lord, give us a little more time on this earth because it is so good that we will postpone our even better life for a little bit more.

It tends to be the way people look at it. But if the Christian is armed with the goal of being delivered from sin, and if that goal is achieved through his death, then the threat and the experience of death is something precious and something to be desired.

Moreover, the greatest weapon that the enemy has against the

Christian, which is the threat of death, the worst thing that the enemy of the

Lord can do to a Christian is to kill him. That's the best he can do. That's the most he can do.

That's the greatest weapon he has. And if the threat of death is no longer a deterrent to the

Christian, it's no longer effective. So the enemy's greatest weapon is neutralized.

Now, there was another phrase in that verse.

I'm gonna go back and read the verse again so you can pick it up more clearly. Okay, for as much then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind, for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin.

And the phrase I'm looking at is ceased from sin. Now, we're not in a format where I can just look down in the ground and say, what do you think that means?

What do you think it means to be ceased from sin?

Well, it doesn't mean that the believer no longer sins. What it does mean, what it does mean is that God has released the believer from the power of sin.

The ruling power of sin has been broken. While it is true that the believer will still be unable to live a perfect life, a perfect life can be lived and has only been lived by one human.

And that one human is Jesus. He had to come and live the perfect life because none of us could.

And we're still unable to live the perfect life. However, the believer's life is no longer dominated by sin.

So when it says ceased from sin, it doesn't mean that you never again sin. What it means is the power of sin no longer has any control over you.

That being the case, we can go on to verse two. That he should no longer, that he no longer should live the rest of his life in the flesh to the lust of men, but to the will of God.

Okay, if the goal of the Christian life is freedom from sin, which comes at death, how should he live the rest of his life?

He should live the rest of his life on earth pursuing the holy will of God, rather than pursuing the ungodly lust of the flesh.

Verse three, for the time passed of our lives may suffice us to have wrought the will of the

Gentiles when we walked in lasciviousness, lust, excess of wine, reveling, banqueting, and abominable idolatries.

Well, that verse paints a word picture. The word picture painted here is, or suggest at least, a band of drunken people, swaggering and staggering through the public streets, wreaking havoc.

Does that sound familiar? Thus the pleasures of the ungodly are described from the perspective of God as acts of wickedness.

Though Paul's readers had indulged, I'm gonna read that again. Though Peter's readers had indulged in such sins before salvation, that's no longer the case.

And now sin is no longer a pleasure. Sin is now a burden that afflicts rather than a pleasure that delights.

An unbeliever can have pleasure in his sins. A believer, though he will still occasionally sin, will have no pleasure in it for long.

It will be a burden that afflicts him rather than a pleasure that delights him.

It will be a burden that drives him back to the Lord to seek the alleviation of the burden, to seek

Jesus to cast that burden on.

Verse four, wherein they think it strange that you should run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you.

The former friends, you know, when you were a lost sheep running with the goats, you were friends of other lost sheep, and you were friends of goats, and it was hard to tell the difference.

You engaged in, indulged in the same excess of evil excesses of riot that they did.

And now your former friends are surprised and offended and resentful because the

Christian no longer has any interest in those ungodly pleasures, or at least not very much interest and not very often.

The same ungodly pleasure that they once pursued with vigor, they now avoid.

And so your former friends, the lost sheep and the goats that you were running with are surprised, offended, and resentful because you don't chase after the same things to the same extent that they did.

And then we come to verse five. Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead?

Now I got a question. Who will give an account? Well, we all will give an account.

But Peter is talking here about the people who have walked in sidiousness, which was mentioned in verse three, and those who speak evil of you, which is mentioned in verse four, the two verses we just covered.

Those people have amassed a debt to God that they will spend all eternity paying back, not you.

Jesus paid back your account.

Jesus paid back your debt. He paid back your debt when he died on the cross, bearing all of your sins.

But those who have, those in verse three and verse four, who think it's strange that you run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you, those former friends, those goats are the ones that will give an account of a debt that they're unable to pay.

Matthew says in Matthew 12, 36, but I say unto you that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.

And Paul tells us in Romans 14, 11, for it is written, as I live, saith the

Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.

So then every one of us should give an account of himself to God, who, all the unsaved, currently alive or dead, will be brought before the judge, the

Lord Jesus Christ, at the great white throne judgment. Now, what about those that are the believers?

They won't be at that white throne judgment. Jesus has already paid their accounts, and he is the only one that ever could.

So turn to Revelation chapter 20, verse 11, and we'll look at the great white throne judgment for just a second.

Revelation 20, verse 11. And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled, and there was no place found for them.

And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God, and the books were opened, and another book was opened, which is the book of life.

And the dead were judged out of those things which are written in the book, according to their works.

And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them.

And they were judged, every man, according to his works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire, this is the second death.

And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

So that settles it all. The believers, those whose names were found written in the book of life, were not cast into the lake of fire.

They were sent to paradise. They were sent to be with Jesus.

He paid their price, he redeemed them, they are with him. But every other man, every one of the unbelievers were judged according to his works.

And as we all know, no one lives a life perfect enough that they can pay off their own debt.

Verse six, 1 Peter chapter four, verse six.

For this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.

Now, John MacArthur offers this about that passage. The preaching of the gospel not only offers a rich life, we saw that in chapter three, verse 10, a ceasing from sin here in chapter four, verse one, a good conscious, as we saw in 1

Peter 3, 21, but also an escape from final judgment.

And that's what I was getting to, an escape from final judgment. Peter is talking about,

Peter has in mind I'm reading MacArthur, so better not change the words too much.

Although it is MacArthur, it's not the scripture. Peter had in mind the believers who had heard and accepted the gospel of Christ when they were still alive, but who had died by the time

Peter wrote this letter. Some of them perhaps had even been martyred for their faith.

Though these were physically dead, they were triumphantly alive in their spirits.

All of the judgment had been fully accomplished while they were alive in this world, in the flesh.

So they will live forever in God's presence. Back to Peter, 1

Peter chapter four, verse seven. But the end of all things is at hand.

Be ye therefore sober and watch unto prayer. The end of all things, what he's talking about is the end of time, the second coming.

The second coming of the Lord is at hand. And Peter thought it was right away at his time.

And we think it's like the day after tomorrow in our time. And we're closer to being correct on that instance than Peter was.

But Peter did anticipate that the end of time was the second coming is going to be very soon.

But as we know, time is different for the Lord than it is for us. In any case, it says, be ye therefore sober.

To be sober implies not to be swept away by emotions or passions.

Thus maintaining a proper eternal perspective on life. The fact that Christ's return is soon should not turn the

Christian into a zealous fanatic who does nothing but wait for it to occur.

After all, if all the Christians at Peter's time had simply said, okay, Peter, you're right.

The second coming is at hand. We're not gonna do anything except sit back and wait. They would have still been waiting.

And they would have waited, do nothing until they died. So the fact that his return is soon should not turn the

Christian into a zealous fanatic who does nothing but wait for it to occur. Instead, it should lead the believer into a watchful pursuit of holiness.

Moreover, a watchful attitude creates a pilgrim mentality.

We saw that back in 1 Peter 2, verse 11.

1 Peter 2, verse 11. Dearly beloved,

I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims abstain from fleshly lust, which war against the soul.

It reminds the Christian that he is a citizen of heaven. He's only visiting on the earth.

He's only passing through. It should also remind him that he will face the record of his service to God.

And if you're sitting around waiting for something to happen, doing nothing, then you won't have done much and your reward will be slight.

It should also remind him that he will face the record of his service to God and be rewarded for what stands the test at the judgment seat of Christ when

Christ returns. So now we go on to verse eight. And above all things, have fervent charity among yourselves, for charity shall cover a multitude of sins.

While we're not to be indifferent to sins, we're to help those who are overtaken with a fault.

So we can recognize sin in others. And our duty is not to criticize them for their sins, but to help those that are overtaken with a sin.

Paul tells us in Galatians chapter six, verse one, Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, you which are spiritual, restore such a one in the spirit of meekness, considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.

Don't get too heady. Don't think too much of yourself. Don't say, I am perfect, live like me.

Say, Jesus is perfect, live like him. Do what you can do to help restore a person that is overcome in a fault.

But do it with a spirit of meekness, not with a spirit of I can help you, but a spirit of Jesus can help you.

James adds in James 5, 19, Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth and one convert him, let him know that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his ways shall save us all from death and shall hide a multitude of sins.

So what do we do? We're to cling to one another in love.

We're to support one another in love. We're to support one another when we see each other in error, which we always will do because every one of us will have a time when we will be in error.

We see one of our brethren in error, point him to Christ. Point him to Jesus and say, live like Jesus would live.

Looks like a fun thing you're putting together. Okay, verse nine, use hospitality one to another.

Without grudging. Hebrews says it a little bit differently.

Hebrews 13, verse one, let brotherly love continue.

Be not forgetful to entertain strangers for thereby some have entertained angels unaware.

Remember them that are in bonds as bound with them and them which suffer adversity as being yourself also in the body.

So hospitality is a Christian virtue. Don't forget to entertain, to be hospitable to strangers.

Verse 10, as every man has received the gift, so even so minister the same one to another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

Now the gift, every man has received the gift.

A gift has been given to every man of God. And what we're to do with that gift, we're to minister that gift one to another.

If I have a gift, my job is to share it with you. If you have a gift, your job is to share it with me.

As every man has received the gift, even so minister the same one to another as good stewards in the manifold grace of God.

Now a steward is responsible for someone else's resources.

A Christian does not own his gifts. You buy a piece of property on top of a tall mountain and you build a house and you're just excited about it and you look at it and you see your surroundings and you say, oh, what a mighty awesome gift the

Lord has given me. And you use that house as the center of your

Christian life and you do all good things that you have. And you say, thank you

Lord for this gift that you gave me and you allowed me to share it with others. And we always kind of come back to thank you

Lord for the gift that you gave me. He didn't give that to you.

He made you a steward over it. The Christian didn't give you,

God didn't give you the gift, I'm sorry. God put you in charge of the gift.

God has given you whatever your gift is. He has given you the gift to manage, to manage for his glory.

You see, the guy that built the house on top of the hill and praised the Lord often for the gift that the

Lord gave him and he used it wisely and he thanked the

Lord for the gift that the Lord gave him. These are all good things, but the one thing where he was wrong in,

God didn't give him the gift. And 20 years from now, the house on top of the mountain will no longer belong to him.

Well, maybe 20 years is too early of a time. Maybe we would say 70 years from now, he will no longer be the owner of that house.

Well, he was never the owner of that property. You only given your gifts to manage.

You're to manage the gifts. You're to be a steward. You've gone on, you manage.

And you need to manage with the glory of God as your goal.

Verse 11, if any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God.

If any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which

God giveth. Now, I underlined, highlighted two words in that passage, speak and minister.

Paul is implying that there's two categories of gifts, speaking gifts and serving gifts.

And let him do it as of the ability which God giveth.

That God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ to whom be praises and dominion forever and ever, amen.

Now, so what should be your goal? What should be the goal of everything that a believer does?

It should be to glorify God. That should be the goal of everything that the believer does.

And I tacked on one more verse. Romans 11, verse 33.

Romans 11, verse 33. Oh, the depths of the riches, both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God, how unsearchable are his judgments and his ways past finding out.

For who hath known the mind of God or have been his counselor? Or who hath first given to him that it should be recompensed unto him again?

For of him and through him and to him are all things to whom be the glory, to whom be glory forever, amen.

The riches, the depth of his riches in wisdom and knowledge, how unsearchable are his judgments, his ways past finding out.

With known the mind of God. Who hath been his counselor? Who hath first given to God that it might be recompensed to him again?

No, for of him and through him and to him are all things.

And therefore, to him should be glory forever.

And that is the end of my message this morning.

And we'll pick up next time, God willing, with verse 12, beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial, which is to try you as though some strange thing happened unto you.

That's just a little heads up on where we're going to go next time. Most gracious heavenly father, thank you for this day.

And thank you for giving us the ability to reach out and interact one with another and interact with God through this technology that you provided for us.

Bless us and keep us, go through us with the rest of the service today. Bless brother

David as he brings the message, I think from Florida, I think I read the internet right.

And he'll be joining with us in a few minutes. Bless us and keep us, in Jesus' name we pray, amen.