Four Motivations to Fight Temptation 08/01/2021

First Baptist Church Leominster

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Your kindness and mercy to us. Thank you now, our God, for your word that we open before us.

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Bless Pastor Jason. We pray you'd fill him with the Holy Spirit and fill us with the

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Holy Spirit, our God. So not only does he speak your truth, but that we'd hear your truth.

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Apply it to our lives, our God. Help us, our Lord, to take this matter seriously, that to the degree, to the measure that he proclaims your word faithfully, we are hearing from you directly.

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And so grant us grace. Help us, our God, to be more like Christ. We pray in his name, amen.

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Amen. In a sermon entitled

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Slain Sin, Charles Spurgeon wrote the following words. Sin has brought more plagues upon this earth than all the earth's tyrants.

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It has brought more pangs and more miseries upon men's bodies and souls than the craftiest inventions of the most cold -blooded tormentors.

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Sin is such a tyrant that none but those whom God delivers have been able to escape from it.

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Nay, such a tyrant that even they have been scarcely saved. And they, when saved, have had to look back and remember the dreadful slavery in which they once existed.

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Sin is the great enemy of the believer. Arguably, sin is our greatest enemy.

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Yes, we struggle against the rulers, the authorities, the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places, but these demonic adversaries, which are constantly battling against us, will often use the inside man, indwelling sin, to get the job done.

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And to do the most damage to our lives. There is nothing quite as devious and detrimental to the soul as an allowed sin in our lives, even if it is a seemingly insignificant one.

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You see, little sins ease the transition to bigger sins. Little sins unlock the doors to bigger sins.

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Little sins pave the way for bigger sins to follow. Sin is our greatest enemy.

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And if we do not strike at the first rising of sin in our hearts, then sin will most assuredly grow.

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Sin will increase, it will spread, and it will consume us like fire. Beloved, you must fight against sin.

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You must fight against the spread of sin in your life. You must mortify the deeds of the flesh.

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You must put to death the deeds of the flesh. You must eradicate sin from your life by killing it off, by crucifying the flesh with its passions and desires.

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You must, Ephesians 4 .22, put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life, and is corrupt through deceitful desires.

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You must, Colossians 3 .5, put to death what is earthly in you, sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, covetousness, anger, wrath, malice, slander, obscene talk, and deception.

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You must, Romans 6 .11, consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

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Beloved, you have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer you who live, but Christ lives in you.

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You are in Christ, and Christ is in you. Your identity is found in Christ Jesus, and thus, you must consider yourselves to be dead to sin.

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Well, this is easier said than done. It is hard and difficult work to fight against sin.

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It is draining and exhausting. The fight against sin is a lifelong and treacherous endeavor.

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The world is at work against us. The things in the world are at work against us.

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The world, the allurements and the attractions of this world are constantly picking away at our defenses.

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The desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life are constantly waging war against us.

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These are constantly on the lookout for our weakness, and through cunning and guile, they seek to befriend us, but actually, they lead us far away from the

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Lord God. For as long as we live, sin will rage against us.

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Sin will not sleep, it will not slumber, it will not rest, it will not relent.

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Sin will stalk us to our very last breath. So how are we to fight against sin?

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How do we prepare ourselves for this battle and stay alert in times of weakness and temptation?

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How do we persevere and keep ourselves motivated to fight this ongoing battle?

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Well, please turn with me to the book of 1 Peter. Our text this morning is 1 Peter 4, verses one to six.

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Building off the previous passage, Peter provides for us four motivations that will help encourage us to persevere and to continue in our fight against sin.

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Let's look at the text together. 1 Peter 4, verses one to six. Since therefore

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Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin.

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So as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh, no longer for human passions, but for the will of God.

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For the time that has passed suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry.

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With respect to this, they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery and they malign you.

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But they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. For this is why the gospel is preached even to those who are dead, that though judged in the flesh the way people are, they might live in the spirit the way

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God does. In our ongoing fight against sin, we must always remember the attitude of Christ, verse one.

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The will of God, verse two. We must remember the past, verses three and four, specifically our break from the past.

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And verses five and six, we must remember the future, the hope of our future glory.

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Well, let's look at each one of these motivations in detail. In our fight against sin, we must always remember the attitude of Jesus Christ.

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First Peter 4 .1, since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin.

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The words since therefore draws a conclusion from the previous passage.

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In this verse, we are being directed back to the preceding passage, 1 Peter 3, verses 18 through 22.

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At the cross, the Lord Jesus Christ suffered, once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous.

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At the cross, the Lord Jesus Christ endured the most ferocious hatred and hostility, and he was violently put to death in the flesh.

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And yet, at the cross, amidst this great suffering, he also accomplished his greatest triumph.

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The Lord Jesus Christ died, he was buried, he was resurrected, and he ascended into heaven.

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Jesus was exalted to the right hand of God the Father, with all angels, all authorities, and all powers having been subjected to him.

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King Jesus is all, and King Jesus rules over all.

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His name is above every name. King Jesus is the highest, he is the greatest.

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King Jesus belongs all glory, loud honor, to those who belong to him.

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Jesus Christ is Lord, and it was in his greatest suffering that the Lord Jesus Christ achieved his greatest triumph and his greatest victory.

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Therefore, since Christ suffered in the flesh, and since Christ was victorious, we must arm ourselves with this same thinking.

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Well, what does this mean? The phrase arm yourselves is actually a military term, and it means to provide or to furnish someone with arms or weapons.

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The term could be used to describe the putting on of armor, or putting a weapon in your hand.

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The implication is that by arming yourselves, you are prepared and you are equipped for battle.

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It means that you're ready, it means that you're on high alert, it means that you've taken the necessary steps to physically and mentally prepare yourselves for action, whatever that action may be.

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Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, we are to arm ourselves with the same way of thinking as the

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Lord Jesus Christ. Peter is calling his readers to be armed with the same way of thinking as him who suffered in the flesh.

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In other words, Peter is calling believers to put on, as if putting on a coat of armor, or putting a weapon in your hand, the same attitude that the

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Lord Jesus Christ manifest in his life and his death. Christians are to put on the same attitude that the

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Lord Jesus Christ manifest in his suffering and his persecution. The same attitude that was manifest in his death on the cross.

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Peter is calling believers to put on the same attitude as Matthew 26, 39. And going a little further, he fell on his face and prayed, saying, my father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me.

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Nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will. In the shadow of the cross, in the shadow of intense pain, suffering, and separation, the

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Lord Jesus Christ resigned his will to the will of the Father. Not my will, but your will be done.

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This is the attitude that we must arm ourselves with, submission. Peter is calling believers to put on the same attitude as Philippians 2, verses six through eight.

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Who though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men, and being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

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Existing in the form of God, being God, Jesus abandoned his sovereign position.

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He made himself of no reputation. He took the form of the servant. He entered into his own creation.

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He entered into history. He was born in the likeness of men. And then he further humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

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This is the attitude that we must arm ourselves with, humility. Peter is calling believers to put on the same attitude as 1

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Peter 2, 22 and 23. He committed no sin. Neither was any deceit found in his mouth.

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When he was reviled, he did not revile in return. When he suffered, he did not threaten, but he continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.

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In the midst of severe hostility and persecution, the Lord Jesus Christ entrusted himself to him who judges justly.

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He did not sin. He did not speak deceitfully. He did not revile. He did not threaten, but rather he entrusted himself into the faithful hands of God the

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Father, knowing that his suffering would ultimately result in triumph.

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This is the attitude we must arm ourselves with, obedience and trust.

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Beloved, you and I are to arm ourselves with this same thinking, with these same attitudes.

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In suffering and in death, like the Lord Jesus Christ, we must submit to the

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Lord God in all humility. We must walk in faithful obedience and trust in him, trust in our

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Heavenly Father, for we also ultimately will triumph in Christ Jesus.

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Peter is telling his readers to be ready and to be willing to suffer for the Lord Jesus Christ, be ready and willing to die for the

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Lord Jesus Christ, for in death is our victory because of Christ's victory.

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Now, this really isn't a new concept. All throughout the gospels, the Lord Jesus Christ repeatedly called his disciples to deny themselves, to take up the cross and to follow him.

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Matthew 10, 38, whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.

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Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

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To those who profess to know the Lord Jesus Christ, the calling is clear. You must lose your life in order to find it.

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You must take up your cross and follow him. You must live under the Lordship of Christ.

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You must live in self -denial. You must live as a living sacrifice, including if necessary, sacrifice to the point of death.

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The Lord God accepts nothing less. Well, how does arming ourselves with this thinking motivate us to put sin to death?

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How do you connect these dots? Well, take a look at the last section of 1 Peter 4, verse one.

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Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin.

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Now this phrase, whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, presents us with a few interpretive difficulties.

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The question becomes, to whom does the whoever refer? Does it refer to Christ?

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Does it refer to Christians? Does it refer to something else entirely? Well, there are four possible interpretations to this portion of Scripture, but for the sake of time,

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I'm gonna give you my take on the meaning of this phrase. But you may wanna make a note and go back and study this for yourself.

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The phrase whoever has suffered is referring not to Christ, but to believers.

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And it relates directly back to the command to be ready and prepared to suffer. Christians who suffer in the flesh have ceased from sin.

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Not in the sense that they have obtained some sort of sinless perfection and no longer sin, but rather the decision to suffer indicates that they have sought to put sin to death in their lives, and thus sin no longer has control or dominion over them.

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In other words, Christians who suffer, those who willingly endure ill -treatment and hostility for the sake of Christ give evidence that they have made a clean break with sin.

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They give evidence that they are no longer enslaved to sin. They give evidence that they no longer belong to the kingdom of darkness, but they belong to the kingdom of God's beloved

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Son, Jesus. You see, your commitment to suffer for the sake of Christ reveals the authenticity of your love for the

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Lord Jesus Christ. Your commitment to suffer reveals your hatred of sin. You would rather face severe persecution.

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You would rather be socially ostracized. You would rather die as a martyr than to continue in sin.

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For whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin.

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Peter further elaborates and unpacks the meaning of verse one in verse two.

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Since therefore Christ has suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking.

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For whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin. So as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh, no longer for human passions, but for the will of God.

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To cease from sin, verse one, is to live for the rest of our time in the flesh, no longer for human passions, but to live for the will of God.

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In other words, for the rest of my life, I will no longer live for sin, but I will live for my

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Savior. I will live for the will of God. The Greek word translated passions is epithymia, meaning to desire, to crave, or to long for something intensely.

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And in this context, it refers to lust for that which is forbidden. It refers to the many cravings of our fallen human nature, the sinful cravings that we pursue in the interest of pleasing ourselves, in pleasing our own will.

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These human passions come from within our own flesh. These passions come from within our own fallen and sinful nature.

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James 1, 13, let no one say when he is tempted, I'm being tempted by God, for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.

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But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.

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Then desire, when it is conceived, gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is fully grown, brings forth death.

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Temptation comes from within. Our own sinful desires entice us and lure us away from the

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Lord Jesus Christ. They lure us away from following his will so that we follow our own will.

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Human passions seek self -gratification no matter the cost. Human passions seek self -satisfaction no matter the consequence.

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Human passions, the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life are enslaved to their own insatiable appetites that can never and will never be filled.

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The heart of man perverts and distorts all good and normal desires.

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The heart of man twists our desires into that which is evil, into a relentless and slavish pursuit of evil that exceeds all that is good, reasonable, and righteous.

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The heart of man indeed is exceedingly evil and opposes everything that is good.

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In this passage, Peter is setting human passions directly against the will of God.

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Grammatically, the contrast between human passions and the will of God is striking.

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It is an either -or proposition, meaning you can either live for human passions or you can live for the will of God, but you cannot do both.

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There is no common ground between the two. It is one or it is the other.

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What partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? What fellowship has light with darkness?

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What accord has Christ with false gods? What agreement has the temple of God with idols?

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What's the answer? There is no agreement. There is no accord. There is no fellowship.

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There is no partnership. No one, Matthew 6, 24, can serve two masters.

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For either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other.

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You cannot serve God and money. You cannot serve God and self.

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You cannot serve God in sin. You cannot serve God and human passions.

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The point that Peter is trying to drive home is that all sin is a violation of the will of God.

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All sin is disobedience to the will of God. It is a personal act of rebellion against the

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Lord God and against his holy will. So when we live in sin, when we choose to sin, when we follow the passions of our flesh, we are directly violating the will of God.

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So don't do it. Do not live for human passions, but live for the will of God.

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As hard as it may be, we must arm ourselves with a commitment to abandon our former sins, to abandon our fleshly desires and to do the will of God.

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Paul speaks of this same principle all throughout his writings, but especially in the book of Romans.

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Romans six, verses seven to 14. For one who has died has been set free from sin.

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Now, if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ being raised from the dead will never die again.

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Death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died, he died to sin once for all, but the life he lives, he lives to God.

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So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

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Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body to make you obey its passions.

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Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.

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For sin will have no dominion over you since you are not under law, but under grace.

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Beloved, make the will of God the primary and supreme desire of your heart.

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Seek to conform your will to his will. Strive to make this your chief end.

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Strive to make this your purpose, your goal, no matter the cost. Live for the rest of the time in the flesh, no longer for human passions, but for the will of God.

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Well, what is the reason that Peter gives us to live in this manner?

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Do you know why we are to live for the will of God? First Peter 4 .3,

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for the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry.

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Beloved, the reason we must live for the will of God is because the time that is past suffices for doing what the

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Gentiles want to do, which is to live according to their own human passions. The time that is past suffices.

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In the days prior to your salvation, you spent enough time walking as an enemy of the

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Lord God. You've spent enough time walking in darkness. You've spent enough time walking in ignorance and in the futility of your mind.

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You've spent enough time being alienated from the life of God, serving sin, serving self, and serving your fleshly passions.

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The Greek word translated suffices can also be translated as sufficient. And in this context, it means more than simply being adequate.

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It conveys the idea of being more than adequate. The time that you spent as an evildoer is more than enough.

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It is more than sufficient. In other words, enough is enough.

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You have had your fill. The time that is past suffices.

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Well, Peter describes the sinful behavior of their former lives with six different terms. Prior to their salvation, they were living in sensuality.

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Now, this word carries with it the idea of living without restraint or possessing an attitude of unbridled lawlessness.

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To live in sensuality is to live in a state of constant and excessive indulgence.

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It is to live without any regard for moral restraint. It is to live in a state of unchecked debauchery.

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The second word he uses is passions, which is very closely associated with sensuality.

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Passions refer to lusts and to desires. It refers to evil desires.

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It is to be driven by our fleshly instincts. It is to be driven by our fleshly lusts.

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Like sensuality, it is a state of mindless indulgence in the pleasures that your sinful passions pursue.

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The third term is drunkenness, and this word literally means wine bubbling up, and it speaks of intoxication, habitual intoxication.

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It is the excessive and satiable desire for drink, and this term could apply to narcotics as well as alcohol.

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The fourth term is orgies, and it refers to reveling and excessive merrymaking.

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Now, originally, this term referred to a band of friends who accompanied a victor in a military engagement or an athletic contest on his way home, singing with rejoicing and praises to the victor, but this term degenerated to refer to banquets and feasts given over to wild immorality and wickedness.

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Thayer's Dictionary describes orgy as being a noisy, nocturnal, and riotous procession of half -drunken revelers who parade through the streets at night with torches and music in honor of Bacchus, the

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Roman god of wine or some other deity. The fifth term he uses is drinking parties, and this term is very similar to the previous two, but it differs in that it specifies a party where people go to engage in drinking just for the sake of becoming inebriated.

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The purpose of attending a drinking party is to get drunk. And lastly, the sixth term used to describe the behavior of the

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Gentiles prior to salvation is lawless idolatry, the worship of false gods.

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Now, what I find interesting about these descriptions is that all of these behaviors were acceptable and even encouraged in the idol worship that took place during this time.

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In the worship of Dionysus or Bacchus, you would be expected to live out and to openly practice these fleshly passions.

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In fact, you would be looked on with suspicion if you didn't. Lawless idolatry was woven into the fabric of every dimension of life.

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It was inescapable. And it is to men and women in this context that Peter cries out, enough is enough.

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The time that has passed suffices for behaving in this manner. Now, you must live for the rest of your lives, not for sinful pleasure, not for selfish interest or for human passions.

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You must live for the will of God. Matthew Henry summarizes this thought.

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He says, it is but just, equal and reasonable that as you have hitherto all the former part of your life serve sin and Satan, so you should now serve the living

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God. And apparently, this is precisely what happened.

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Peter's readers had turned away from their human passions and served the living God. In fact, their transformation was so radical and so unmistakable that it shocked the unbelieving community around them.

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First Peter 4 .4, with respect to this, they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you.

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But they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. Beloved, in the world of sin, it is you who is the stranger.

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In a world of sin, it is you who is the outsider. You are the alien. You are the exile.

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You are the pilgrim. It is you who does not belong to this world.

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And in your life, when you cease to sin, when you cease to follow the passions that had previously ruled you, the world will take notice and the world will be surprised.

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The Greek word translated surprised means to be astonished. It means to be shocked. But with it also carries the idea of taking offense or being resentful.

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J .B. Nichols writes, the licentious, bound by habits they cannot break, inflamed by lusts they cannot extinguish, gravitated downward by a power they cannot themselves resist are astonished at the complete change in the lives of those believers whose whole aim in life is now the will of God.

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I'm sure many of you have experienced this sort of thing. As you continue to grow in your relationship with the

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Lord God, as your convictions change, as they are strengthened, the things that once did not bother you now prick your conscience.

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And as you seek to walk in obedience to the prompting of the Holy Spirit, your actions are met with opposition and you end up offending someone and you are maligned.

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And the cause of your great offense, you sought to walk in the obedience of the

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Lord God and to conform your will to his will. Wayne Gruden remarked, silent non -participation in sin often implies condemnation of that sin.

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And rather than change their ways, unbelievers will slander those who have pained their consciences or justify their own immorality by spreading rumors that the righteous

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Christians are immoral as well. By living in obedience to the

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Lord God, by living in accordance with his will, our lives will prove to be a testimony and a silent rebuke against the world and against those who join in the same flood of debauchery.

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And you will be maligned. For example, as the world observes our lives, rather than seeing falsehood, they should see truthful speech.

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Rather than seeing theft, they should see hard work and sharing with those who have need. Rather than seeing abusive speech, they should see encouraging and edifying speech.

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The world should observe the children of God imitating our father,

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God, rather than imitating the father of lies who the children of disobedience imitate.

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Our attitude and our actions should expose and rebuke the sinful attitudes and actions of the world.

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Ephesians five, verses eight through 14. For at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the

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Lord. Walk as children of light. For the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true.

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And try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.

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For it is shameful to speak of things that they do in secret. But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible.

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For anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, awake,

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O sleeper, and rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you. Beloved, take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.

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Well, how do we expose them? To expose simply means to bring to light.

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It means to reveal things that are hidden, to convince, to correct, or to reprove.

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Now the idea is to shame or disgrace, and thus to rebuke another in such a way that they are compelled to see and admit the error of their ways.

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To show someone that they have done something wrong and summon them to repent. And Paul's charge in Ephesians chapter five is that believers who are light in the

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Lord are to convict those who are in darkness by turning the light onto the darkness.

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By turning our light on the darkness. By turning our light on their darkness.

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By following the will of the Lord God without even a word, our lives will expose the world's unfruitful works of darkness.

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On this particular term, expose, Charles Hodges remarked, it does not simply mean to reprove in the sense of admonishing or rebuking.

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It means to convince by evidence. It expresses the effect of illumination by which the true nature of anything is revealed.

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When the spirit is said to reprove men of sin, it means that he sheds much light upon their sins as to reveal their true character and to produce the consequent consciousness of guilt and pollution.

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In your refusal to join in the same flood of debauchery, by the example of your life, by following the will of God, expect to be maligned.

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Expect to be slandered. Expect to be defamed. But do not take offense at this.

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Don't let it rattle you. Rather, entrust it all into the hands of your heavenly father, of him who judges justly.

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Look again at verses four and five. With respect to this, they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery and they malign you, but they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.

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Peter ensures his readers that those who malign and persecute them will give account. The phrase they shall give account is an accounting term.

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It means to pay back. The Lord God has it on the books, and those who persecute and malign the righteous will be required to pay.

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The Lord God will hold all men accountable. The Lord God will judge both the living and the dead.

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Here, the term living is referring to those who were alive when Peter wrote this letter. The term dead is referring to those who had already passed.

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And were now dead. Whether alive or dead, all men will most surely give an account.

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In our ongoing fight against sin, we must always remember to have the right attitude, which is the attitude of Christ.

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And we must arm ourselves with this attitude. In the midst of persecution, submit to the

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Lord God in humility. Walk in obedience to him and fully trust in him.

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In Christ Jesus, there is victory. So arm yourselves with this thinking.

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And be ready and willing to suffer for the Lord Jesus Christ. Be ready and willing to die for the Lord Jesus Christ, for in death is our ultimate victory.

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Number two, in our ongoing fight against sin, we must always remember the will of God. No longer live for human passions, but live for the will of God.

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All sin is contrary to the will of God. But he who has suffered has ceased from sin.

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So arm yourselves with the commitment to abandon your former manner of life and to do the will of God, no matter the cost.

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Number three, in our ongoing fight against sin, we must always remember the past. We must remember our break from sin.

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The time that has passed suffices. In the days prior to salvation, you've spent enough time dishonoring the

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Lord God. You've spent enough time living for the gratification of self. Beloved, enough is enough.

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Resolve today to live for the Lord God and to live for his will.

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Well, finally, Peter has one more great motivator that will help us put sin to death and will help us eradicate sin from our lives.

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In our ongoing fight against sin, we must always remember the future. We must remember what

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God has promised to us, the hope of glory. First Peter 4 .6,

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for this is why the gospel was preached, even to those who are dead, that though judged in the flesh the way people are, they might live in the spirit the way

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God does. Now, this is another one of those difficult passages to interpret, and there's numerous interpretations for this one verse.

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But I lean towards the simplest and most straightforward explanation. In verse six,

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Peter now directs his attention to those believers who had already died. Upon receiving this letter, many of Peter's readers may have wondered, how does all this apply to those who have heard the gospel message but had since died?

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And Peter reminds his readers that the gospel was preached even to those who are dead, to those who had heard the gospel but had died by the time this letter was written.

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The gospel had been preached to them, and they had become Christians. As a result of their salvation, they had been judged in the flesh.

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They had been persecuted and physically put to death by sinful men. Their earthly judgment was the direct result of their

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Christian testimony. They had been judged in the flesh, but were made alive in the spirit.

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And Peter's point is that believers, even under unjust treatment, including death, should be willing and unafraid to suffer, knowing that all death can do is to triumphantly bring our eternal spirits into everlasting life in heaven.

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So just as the Lord Jesus Christ suffered in the flesh, but was made alive in the spirit, believers will likewise suffer in the flesh, but their spirits will remain alive and enter into the promise of eternity.

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In our ongoing fight against sin, always remember the hope of glory. Always remember eternal life.

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Beloved, in your battle against sin, never lose sight of the eternal. 2

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Corinthians 4, 16. So we do not lose heart. Though our outer man is decaying, our inner man is being renewed day by day.

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For momentary light affliction is producing in us an eternal weight of glory, far beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen, but to the things that are unseen.

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For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

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In our ongoing fight against sin, remember these four motivators. The attitude of Christ, the will of God, the past and the future.

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Beloved, sin is our greatest enemy, and we must fight against sin.

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We must be relentless in our fight against sin. And if we are to persevere in this battle, we need to be motivated.

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And what helps motivate us is the attitude of Christ, the will of God, the past, specifically our break from the past, and the future, the hope of glory.

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So my prayer is that you will remember these things as you battle sin this week. Let's pray.

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Our Father, we thank you for this time together, and we thank you for the clarity of your word. And Lord, we confess that we often don't fight against sin as we should, but we develop a truce with sin, and we develop a peaceful coexistence with our sin, and sin no longer bothers us like it should.

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But Lord, we pray that sin would bother us. We pray that we would hate it. We pray that we would seek to kill it off, to mortify it.

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Help us, Lord, to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Lord, we pray that we would remember the attitude of Christ.

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It was not my will, but your will be done. Christ was humble.

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He submitted to the will of the Father. He was obedient to the point of death, and he trusted all things into your capable hands.

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Lord, help us have the attitude of Christ. Lord, we pray that we would remember the will of God.

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The will of God is our sanctification, that we put to death sin. Help us remember our past,

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Lord. We have lived long enough in sin. Help us to live for the will of God.

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Help us to look forward and anticipate the glorious inheritance that is waiting for us, an inheritance that will never fade away, that will not perish, but it is undefiled and unfading.

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Lord, we are pilgrims in this world. Help us remember that. Help us to walk, focusing on you and looking to you.

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And Lord, we thank you that you've given us the word of God, that you've given us your spirit that enables us to obey these commands.