1 Peter 4
I once had a man come into my office who
was upset about some things that were going on in the church. He looked me in
the eye and said, “We’re going to have a conversation. I’m going to talk, and
you are going to listen.” I can’t say it
was a pleasant experience, but it was beneficial, because this man came to me
out of love and a desire for me and the congregation I was serving to do better
for the sake of Christ.
I imagine Peter in a similar way as he
wrote this chapter. This is not happy, everything-is-going-to-be-fine message. His
message is that the world is broken, but you’ve been healed, so you cannot life
in the same relationship with it any longer. But his warning comes from love.
Our pasts are full of sin. Peter is
explicit as he talks about how sinful people seek to satisfy sensual desires:
drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry. This world still
urges us to inebriation and all kinds of sexual depravity, and, just as Peter
said, people are surprised when we don’t join in any more. They malign us for
not approving of their behavior. But we don’t belong to that way of life any
longer. Christ suffered for us, and we live in the grace that was revealed in
His cross.
Peter says, “arm yourselves with the
same way of thinking, 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.” This
is our struggle to live for the will of God. His will is that we be saved by
Christ’s suffering. His will is that the gospel be proclaimed. His will is that
we live in Him instead of offering our bodies to serve the world’s agenda. His
will is that when we suffer for believing in Jesus, standing for the truth of
God’s Word, proclaiming God’s condemnation of sin and His love for sinners, confessing
that Jesus is the only way to salvation, and for doing good, that we do so with
hope and courage because He supplies our strength.
Peter says that it is time for judgment
to begin at the household of God. The suffering and troubles we face are
intended to expose where our trust truly lies; whether or not it is in Jesus
and His Word. “Therefore, let those who suffer according the God’s will entrust
their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.”
God, I don’t want to suffer persecution, but
for Your name’s sake, give me courage to do so to testify to my salvation in
Jesus’ death. Amen.
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