INTRODUCTION

We invite you now to take your Bibles and turn to the book of 1 Peter. We will be looking this morning in 1 Pet 4:1-11. This morning’s sermon will be a concluding sermon to a small series that we have been doing over the past three weeks that dealt with having spiritual vice, and earthly or physical pursuits within our lives. Two weeks ago we looked at 1 Tim 6 and we saw that godliness with contentment is great gain and we said that the man of God; therefore, must come to Christ that we might have contentment within our lives, for apart from contentment we will not be given over to those things that are of a spiritual nature and are of great value for ourselves as well as for the church. We said in that light that not only should the man of God come to Christ, but that he must flee from all that is ungodly and unprofitable in his life. He must follow Christ in the pursuits, the spiritual pursuits of his life, and that he must also be willing to fight the good fight of the faith… and practically speaking, in the end, we are not simply to sit in the pews, we are not simply to sit and absorb and soak up more and more teaching without any thought to how we should respond in faith, but we are literally to engage in the fight that God has called us to, to walk in the walk that he leads us in. Last week we looked at Mathew 6 and we saw that you and I cannot serve both God and mammon. Mammon, referring to anything that points to great possession or gain and so forth, not simply to money but anything that would be a treasure. We said that; therefore, you and I are to store up treasures in heaven rather than on earth, for we saw that where your treasure is and my treasure is there our heart will be also. Those things that form the greatest treasures of our lives will ultimately conform and control and shape the way we think, the way we feel and the way we act. Therefore, the man of God, particularly those that seek to be leaders, the next generation of leaders within God’s church …needs to especially consider what their pursuits here in this life really are. This morning we come to 1 Peter 4. It is a passage of scripture written to people like you and me. It is written as you see in 1 Pet 1 to a group of people who were of the elect; they were God’s chosen; they were worshippers of the true and living God; and yet like our lives, all things at this particular time in their lives weren’t perfect, but there were some areas and places in their lives where they could grow. They were subject to temptation like you and me; there were particular areas where they didn’t necessarily want to suffer or do certain things that they were called to, etc. Yet God’s word meets them in their point and their time of need and I trust that He will do that with us as well. Let me read for you 1 Pet 4, beginning in verse 1.

SCRIPTURE READING

“Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin. As a result, he does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do, living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry. They think it strange that you do not plunge with them into the same flood of dissipation, and they heap abuse on you. But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. For this is the reason the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they might be judged according to men in regard to the body, but live according to God in regard to the spirit. The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray. Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.”

May God himself expose both his son as well as his ways to us through our reading, through the preaching and our living of his word. Would you bow with me in prayer.

PRAYER

Our Father as we come before you this morning we recognize that our lives are comparatively easy and simple, considering the lives of those to whom Peter wrote. The elect, who were not only scattered because of their faith, but often were persecuted as well. At the same time, in one sense the day and the time and the location in which we live can be just as difficult to live in and keep the faith, because of the relative peace we enjoy, because of the prosperity that you have blessed us with and because of the multiple temptations and pleasures that confront us each day. Father, may you draw us to yourself this morning. May you teach us that which lies deeply in your heart for all of us. May you equip us and arm us for doing your will. May you glorify yourself that the word of Christ, which is spoken today, might have its effect upon our lives. These things we pray in his name and for his glory forever. Amen.

SERMON

This morning what I would like to do is begin by showing you why this passage is so important. Showing you the reason that this passage is so important and then taking you to the instructions that we find in this passage, as well as the reasons that are given for them.

We live in the day of the “Time Test.” I don’t know how many of you have ever heard of a Time test. I imagine those who are teachers or those who are parents or even students today have heard the phrase Time Test. When I was growing up we had tests that happened to be “timed.” But things in the educational world have progressed so far that now there is literally an educational exercise, … an educational tool … that is called a “Time Test.” You and I knew that time was affecting so much in our lives. It is even gone to the point of affecting our children’s daily homework. But a time test is used as most of you know, not only to show the aptitude of a student, to measure how far along they are, or what skills that they have, but also to help them in the discipline of learning the skills. My daughter Morgan who is in the third grade comes home about every day and has to do a three-minute time test in learning the skills of mathematics (her addition, subtraction and multiplication tables, etc.) I begin with this illustration because I see in Morgan the feelings that I felt when I used to have to take the tests that were timed as well. Because unlike the other parts of her homework where Morgan sits down and she knows everything else that is going on in the house and everything else that is taking place with everybody else in the house; ...when it comes to her time test, she puts that paper in front of her, she studies that first line of problems so that she is ready to go. She has that pencil set there and she is waiting for the word “go.” She is focused. She is disciplined. She gets serious about what she is doing and she concentrates only upon that which is most important. I would say that she does that all the more as she begins to work down that page and gets to those few bottom lines… Knowing that the end of that test is near! There is something about our knowing that there is a deadline at the end, …particularly in light of the fact that we understand that our lives and our performance is going to be graded or judged, if you will, that helps motivate a person to get serious about those things that are most important!.

Now, I begin there because in v. 7 of this passage what you read is the end, the end of all things is “near.” It refers not only to our own lives. It refers to this world in which we know it. It refers to the creation. There will be a new heaven and a new earth. It is speaking of the earth in which you and I know it. It refers to this spiritual age in which we live. It says the end of all things is near. Now, I am sure like many of us there are some here today that are saying that is nothing new. We all know that the time is coming & the Lord is going to come back. Sooner or later that is actually going to take place. That is the way that most of us live our lives that we know it is true and at some point down the road it is going to happen, it is going to occur. We don’t know the date or the time, but at some point it is going to occur. But you see, that is NOT Peter’s emphasis. Note, he doesn’t say the end of all things is somewhere down the road coming. Peter says the end of all things is NEAR. That ought to shape and affect how you and I view the remainder of our lives. Look with me at this text if you would. I don’t know whether it is the combination of the pastoral duties that I have been carrying out over the past several years or whether it is the decline in my own health as I see myself reaching the age of 40 and there are those above me that warn me it is going to get worse...or even if it is the decline I see both in the age as well as the lives of those in the generations that go before me. It seems the older I grow and the more experience that I have and the more I see in this life. I am beginning to see and understand, really for one of the first times in my life, that life is pretty short. I deal from womb to tomb. I see generations of families and I see one end to the other and I see really how short life really is. The older I get it seems to go quicker and quicker and quicker. There are those who object and say, “yes, Peter is here saying that the end of all things is near, but it has been two thousand years since he wrote this. “ But that is NOT the thinking or the time frame that Peter was referring to. You see, Peter was saying that we live in the “last days.” Even though one could object and say there has been two thousand years since Peter wrote this, if you consider the time of eternity, this time of this two thousand years and the time that we have remaining before Christ comes again, he says is nothing. I would say considering the time of eternity it is nothing and at the same time your and my departure from this life, the life that we currently enjoy can come at a moments notice! None of us is guaranteed another five minutes. Even if you and I were to live our three score and ten or even live to one hundred or one hundred and twenty years, the length of years may seem long, but I guarantee you with the experience that I have had the length of those days would come rather quickly. Therefore, I would submit to you this morning, in light of the judgment that we find here in v. 5, the judgment to come of both the living and the dead, …the near-ness of your and my coming to meet our creator and the redeemer of this world … that in light of that judgment, it behooves us, it is wise for us, to consider and focus upon those things that are of most importance for the remainder of our lives. That is what I want you to do with me this morning.

What is it that is most important? You and I are living a time test if you will. What is it that you and I need to concentrate and focus upon? Like my daughter, the first thing she needs to focus upon is her attitude, in coming to that test. She needs to get serious. That is the same thing that Peter says in this passage. He says that in light of the judgment to come, he says in light of what Christ has done for us, the first thing you and I need to be concerned about is our attitude. Look with me at v. 1. He says: “Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin.” What he is saying is some of us may need an attitude adjustment, or better put, all of us may need an attitude adjustment. Have you ever heard that phrase used, an attitude adjustment? We know what it means, it means that something is not right and we need to pay attention to it and we need to get not only our feelings but also our mind right concerning that which is taking place. For example: If a drill instructor says that a recruit needs to get his attitude right, he needs an attitude adjustment, it says he better quit thinking like a civilian and he better start thinking like the drill instructor, or things are not going to be good. When an employer says an employee needs an attitude adjustment, it says they had better wake up and smell the roses or things are not going to be looking too good for them down the road. When a football coach says that a player needs an attitude adjustment, it says either they had better come around to the way things really are or they are going to miss out on some opportunities come Friday night. When a parent looks to a child and says the child needs an attitude adjustment, it means they need to quit thinking like themselves and feeling the way they feel about the way they think and the way things are going, they need to start thinking like the parents and getting themselves in line with both the attitude and the spirit of what the parents are saying. What Peter says here is believers, we need to check our attitudes. This isn’t written to unbelievers, it is written to the elect. It is written to those who had come to faith in Christ. He says there needs to be an attitude check.

You know Jesus lived his life, in light of time. We are talking here about the end is near and that you and I need to be concerned about the time in which we live. Think about the ministry of Jesus. In addition to obedience to the Father, it was his understanding “of time” that motivated him in the things that he did, that directed his attention to where it ought to be, that led him to places at times that he ought to be. It affected his ministry, his teachings, it affected everything about his life! Think about it …when his brothers said: Jesus if you are who you say you are, you are this great religious figure, go down to Jerusalem and prove yourself. That is what you ought to do if you are the one. How did Jesus respond? He said no, anytime is good for you. He says the “time” for me has not come. He made his decisions in life based upon the timeframe. In Matthew 26, he is preparing the Lord’s Supper, he says go into the city to a certain man and tell him, the teacher says the appointed time is near. His approach into the city of Jerusalem, as well as the carrying out of the Lord’s Supper was built upon a reference of time. In the Garden of Gethsemane what does he say to those who should have been praying? He goes to them, returning from the third time and they had fallen asleep and he says to them are you still sleeping and resting. He says enough, the time has come. You see Jesus, although time did not control his life, he was continuously conscience of the time in which he lived and the time of redemption. The point is, though it is not for you and me to know the exact times, the truth of the matter is: the fact that the end is near should motivate you and me to be sober minded and to get control of our lives. That is what we read about in v. 7. It says: “The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded,” be sober about life and also be self-controlled.

Now, the question is what should we be concerned about? First of all - our attitude, but our attitude about what? Peter says you and I need to be concerned about our attitude concerning sin. You see that in v. 1, for we read: “Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin.” Is done with sin. What he was saying is you and I need to be concerned about our attitude. We need to have a right attitude concerning sin in our life.

What does it say about our attitude, concerning or our attitude toward sin? Well v. 1 says we are to arm ourselves with the same attitude Christ had toward sin. The word “armed” is a military term that means to equip or to supply oneself with or to put on the same attitude that Christ had toward sin. Verses 1 and 2 have some terminology and phraseology that is somewhat difficult. It deals with Christology, it deals with Christ and his person at work, it deals with anthropology, it deals with how Christ is applied to us, etc.. I am not going to go into all of the details. There are three different uses of the word flesh and a couple of other phrases that are used differently. I am going to provide you with the truth that is taught here. I want you to understand that. What vv. 1 and 2 mean here is simply this: It means that Christ, Jesus Christ, was both a type and a pattern, in his flesh, referring to the incarnation. He was both a type and a pattern of what you and I are to be in our flesh, when it comes to dealing with sin. Let me help you with that if I can and even make it more simple. Christ had two thoughts, he had two concerns, two main concerns or pursuits in this life when he lived in the flesh. Number 1. He lived in the flesh with the main concern, all his days to bring an end to sin. He came in the flesh in order that sin might be done away with. That was goal number one in his life. Goal number 2 in his life was that he might live for the will of the Father, that he might carry out everything, down to the last detail, that God wanted him to do in his life. That is what Christ did when he was in the flesh. Now, there is a transferable principle that comes to us. If we are in union with Christ and if we died in his flesh with him, then it says at the same time our two main focuses for the remainder of our life aught to be this. Bringing and end to sin and living for the will of God the Father. Think about it with me. Look at Christ. His whole life, his whole life was that sin might be brought to an end, which he did at the cross of Calvary. Including sending back his Spirit to minister the application of that work and sacrifice in our lives. His entire life, everything moved toward bringing sin to an end. Secondly, his desire was to carry out the will of the Father. John 6:38 says: “ For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.” In John Chapter 4 verse 34 we read Jesus’ words: “My food, is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.” Down to the last detail, he was concerned about God’s will for his life. The point being, these ought to be the main two concerns of our lives as well, as we live in the flesh. To bring or to put an end to sin in the flesh and to do the will of God, in the flesh as well. You see there is the point. We are not saying by this that you and I will live a sinless, perfect life, here upon this earth. We are trusting in the righteousness and the perfection of Christ being attributed or imputed to us. The point of the matter is because so many of us are not conscious of time and of the time we live in and of the fact that the judgment is near that these two goals tend to take a back seat to so many other less worthy pursuits in our lives. Don’t they?

Let me ask you this morning, what is your attitude toward sin? Is it the same as that of Christ? Do you possess the same mind and attitude toward sin that Christ displayed in his life? You see he didn’t just think about sin here and maybe three Sundays later and then two months later or maybe a Bible study here and there, his whole life was directed with a ultimate mind set of bringing sin and putting sin to death. At the same time he was always concerned about discerning and doing the will of his Father. You know I have noticed that when a person here in this life seeks to get their life spiritually right, one of the phrases that they use most often is “the will of God.” When I was on the seminary campus there were so many people, when sharing their testimony, referred to the fact that it was the will of God that they felt brought or led them there. It was the will of God, they were discerning what they ought to be doing even during those years and it was the will of God that they sought to follow, because of the significance of what was lying ahead for them in their lives. It is that same phraseology that I hear so often mentioned by members of this church who are experiencing tremendous spiritual growth. I hear them talking to me about …I am praying about, I don’t know what God’s will for me is in my life at this point, but I am praying that he will show me and lead me and guide me. Yet so often there are so many of us who fail to concern ourselves with the Lord’s will on a continuous basis.

How do you start your day? By reading and praying that you might know God’s will for your life. V.7 says:^“The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray.” The more and more I read of scripture and live my life before God, the more and more I see the importance of prayer. There is a dependence upon God that we have. It is through prayer that God answers these requests that we might know his will, that we might understand his word and walk in his ways. The point being, the more you and I realize how close we really are to the coming of the Lord , then the more you and I will be concerned about knowing and doing the will of the Father.

This passage is broken down in two different ways. First of all in vv. 2-6, we find a discussion of what it means to do away with sin in our lives. Secondly in vv. 7-11, there is doing the will of God. Let us look at those real quickly.

First of all doing away with sin. I want this to be something that is permanently imprinted upon your minds. As you wake up this week there ought to be the thought: “how do I battle, how do I mortify, and put sin to death in my life and how do I do the will of God?” I want you to pray, “God how do I do away with sin, lead me not into temptation, deliver me from the sin that has a hold on me, at this point. Lord help me understand sin, help me to hate sin, help me do away with sin” and pray “God show me your will, enable me to serve you and live according to the plans that you have and the purpose for my life.” Then live your life doing away with sin and carrying out that which, by your conscience and by God’s word you know to be his will.

What does it look like? First of all, doing away with sin. Two points. You and I need to consider ourselves “done” with sin. Think about that. That is radical from the way most believers today live. Most of us know that we are not going to be perfect in this life, and yes we are working with it and we will eventually get there and so forth. That is not what Peter says. Peter says in v. 1: “Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin.” Meaning you and I, in light of the judgment to come, should not be playing around with sin saying “yes we will deal with it one day.” We kind of get accustomed and used to it. It says if you are in union with Christ and you died in his flesh, in the same way that his sacrifice dealt with sin once and for all, and did away with it, it says in the same way you and I aught to be done with sin. You and I are done if we are in union with Christ. It means we shouldn’t play with it. I love the way the Greek puts this. It says for sufficient for us, v. 3, the past time of life, the will of the nations to have worked out. It says that all the time that you and I have spent in sin ought to suffice, ought to be enough, we ought to be done with it and move on. It lists all the different sins from lascivious living, just living with no restraint and just going for pleasure wherever we can find it, to drinking and to the excesses of the appetite, and of the pleasure to that which is participating in inordinate feasting and reveling and worshiping the false gods of our lives. It says all of this, we are done with and we need to move on carrying out the will of the Father in heaven. Let me ask you is that your attitude toward sin? Has that been your attitude toward sin? What we find here is, if not, Peter is saying then arm yourself, equip yourself with this attitude for the remainder of your lives, that you might be prepared for meeting the Lord who is near to come. Verse 3 lists the six things, the six different categories, not that anyone of us has carried out the ultimate exercise of any of these sins, though some of us have in particular areas of this. But it says that the root of all these lies within our sin nature and the fruit of this root has displayed itself in the past in our lives in many and various forms. It says you and I are no longer serve sin, we are to be done with it. You and I are to no longer to walk in its path, think according to its thoughts. You and I are no longer to talk in the manner of sin. It says you and I need to be done with it.

Secondly it says you and I need not to give in to those who would tempt us back into sin. It has been removed, it is removed from our lives and we are not to engraft it back into us, even if others tempt us. Look with me at v. 4. It says there are those who are going to try to lead you away from the good and the holy and the righteous life. It says: “They think it strange that you do not plunge with them into the same flood of dissipation, and they heap abuse on you.” I like the way one author put it when he said “people think it strange when people don’t wreck their bodies, they don’t think it is strange when people destroy their homes or ruin their lives by running from one sin to another. But, let the drunkard become sober or let an immoral person become pure and the family begins to think he has lost his mind.” Think about those values. What does the apostle set before them in this situation. He sets before them the judgment of God. He says the judgment is near …don’t worry about those who would talk to you that way. He says the judgment is near and in v. 5 he says: “But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.” He says we need to pray for them, we need to be concerned about them and continue in the way of holiness ourselves. I would submit to you this morning that if you seek to do away with sin in your life and you continue in the effort of doing away with the sin in you life, you will face this as you continue to try to put sin away, you and I need to be ready for it and we to not let it lead us back to sin, nor get us down without hope. There is a judgment to come and God is the one that they will stand before.

Secondly, doing the will of God. Vv. 7-11. In summary it says this: In the same way Jesus came not to do his own will but that of his father in heaven, we to should concern ourselves with the doing of God’s will. I draw your attention to one or two verses here and then we will close. Look at v. 10 with me if you would. It says: “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.” Let me ask you, does this verse say that the ministry of God’s church is limited to the pastorate? Is it limited to the session? Is it limited to the Sunday school teachers or the women of the church? What do the first two words say? It says: “Each one” meaning that if you have professed your faith in Christ and if you are a true believer, it says that part of living the will of God is that God calls upon you to exercise the gifts that he gives to you, that you received freely, even in the service of others. Each one should use whatever gift, be it a skill that he has given us, be it spiritual gifts that he has given us, teaching, leading, administrating, serving, the gift of helps, the gift of song, whatever gift God has given us, we are to use. Why? For his own glory! For his own glory! Look with me if you would at the end of the passage. It says v. 11: “If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.” The point being this: The man of God who is concerned about the glory of God will use the gifts that God has given him in order to serve others. Let me ask you, are you a man, a woman, child of God, seeking to live for God’s glory and yet failing to serve him? This text says that what God requires of us, his will is that we would use whatever gift it is, our homes, our automobiles, our lives in whole or in part, that we would use them for his glory. How do you stand? For God’s word says the end of all things is near.

CLOSING PRAYER

Our gracious and glorious heavenly Father, we stand guilty before you, for apart from Christ, none of us has possessed a perfect attitude and mind toward sin or doing your will. Father each one of us very often sets other pursuits in this life over the pursuit of your will. Each one of us has at times not had the attitude of Christ toward sin that we ought to have. We ask forgiveness. We thank you Lord that our salvation and our right standing before you does not depend upon our past actions, but rather it depends upon Christ and his righteousness given on our behalf. Lord we rejoice in that. We rejoice as well in the fact that in Christ and through the power and the strength that he provides, that we all have something to to offer. We thank you Lord that your word tells us that we serve not according to our own strength, or our own gifts, or our own grace but according to yours. May you strengthen this, your family, that we might be the people you would have us to be, and that we might live to and declare the glory of your name. These things we pray in Jesus name. Amen.

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