Christian Suffering Part 3.

Opening:

It is a beautiful thing to open the Word of God on the Lord’s Day.

Introduction of the Passage:

This morning we are continuing on in our study of 1 Peter. This morning we are beginning chapter 4. We will be in 1 Peter 4:1-6. Peter is writing this letter to the first century church to encourage them in the midst of suffering an persecution. And this is a very timely message for us. If we look at the state of our culture, we see it is increasingly hostile towards Christianity. We are not yet anywhere near what the first century church faced, but we are beginning to face cultural oppression for our faith in Christ. So we need this reminder every bit as much as the first century Christians.

With this in mind, I would ask you to stand with me for the reading of God’s Word.

Reading of the Passage:

1 Peter 4:1–6“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, 2 so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God. 3 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. 4 With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you; 5 but they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. 6 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 God does.”

Behold the Word of God. Let’s pray.

Prayer:

Our gracious Heavenly Father, we thank you for your word. Please open our hearts and minds to the truths of your word. Through the Spirit, may we grow and be conformed into the image of your son. We commit this time in the Word to you this morning. We ask this in Jesus name, Amen.

Introduction/ Opening Illustration:

What is the purpose of life? What is the chief meaning in our lives?

How many people have spent their lives in search of purpose? They wander from meaning to meaning. They seek meaning in their work. They wander from job to job. They end up finding career to be empty and ultimately unfulfilling.

How many people have sought meaning in relationships? They bounce from one boyfriend or girlfriend to another. They seek meaning in person to person. But eventually they always find that whatever person they are with is unable to fulfill them. They blame it on that person not being their “soul mate.”

And we see this plague in marriages as well. People seek meaning in life in their spouse. But once again they find that their spouse is unable to ultimately fulfil them. The divorce comes and the excuse given is “we just drifted apart,” or “we fell out of love.”

Others attempt to find meaning in their kids. They seek to live out their dreams vicariously through their kids. But they forget one thing. Kids are only ours for a short time. We have them for eighteen years if we are lucky. Then they are sent out as arrows from a bow. These people then find themselves lonely and lacking purpose.

Now all of these things have a sense of purpose. It is a good thing to have meaningful work to do. It is good to seek for a spouse. It is good to be married. And it is miraculous to have children. There is purpose in marriage. There is purpose in being a parent. And these are glorious things. But the issue comes when we attempt to find ultimate meaning in these things. God has given us these things as a gift. They give us earthly purpose. Get married, have lots of kids, raise them in the Lord, see them carry on a legacy that will pass beyond your death. Yes and amen.

But is that where ultimate meaning is found? No. I often tell people you cannot build your life on the foundation of anything that can be taken away. This life is fleeting. We cannot place the ultimate meaning of life on our work. Jobs end. We cannot place the ultimate meaning of life on our spouses who are mortal and will eventually pass away from us. We cannot place our ultimate meaning on our children. They will leave, and they are supposed to.

So where is the ultimate meaning of life? Where is ultimate purpose found? Well, to answer this, we turn to our wise fathers.

The Westminster Shorter catechism begins like this:

Q. What is the chief end of man?

This really is THE question, isn’t it? What is our end? What is our meaning? What are we here for? Why do I exist? And the answer is one of the most beautiful truths in all of Christianity.

Q. What is the chief end of man?

A. The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.

We could meditate on this for a month and not exhaust this truth. Why are we? Why do we exist? Where is ultimate meaning found? It is found in this: glorify God and enjoy Him forever. Here there is peace and joy. Here there is meaning that cannot be taken.

Saint Augustine opens his magnum opus “Confessions” this way. “You stir man to take pleasure in praising you because you have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.”

Think of that. Is your heart restless? Come to Christ. In His arms there is rest. Our hearts are restless until they rest in Christ, for we were made to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. Or to put it as Peter says it, “Live the rest of time no longer for human passion but for the will of God.”

Living for the will of God is where there is peace and joy. Living for the will of God above all else is the only path to meaning, to peace, to joy, to passion, to love, to eternal life. Here there is rest for your troubled hearts.

Need:

This life is filled with trials. We will face troubles. Our work, our families, our health, everything can be taken from us. How do we endure? How do we suffer well?

Text Idea:

We look to Christ. We find our purpose in Him. Because Christ suffered, we ought to arm ourselves with the same way of thinking; ceasing from living in sin, and living wholly unto God trusting Him to set all right when we are persecuted.

Sermon Idea:

My prayer is that by the end of this time in the word, you will see the purpose we have in Christ, and the hope in living wholly unto Him and His will.

Transition:

So let’s dive into this text. Peter opens with a command.

Arm Yourselves With the Mind of Christ.

1 Peter 4:1 “1 Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking...”

Explanation:

He is tying this back into his argument from 3:18. We are to remember Christ’s suffering in our place for our forgiveness. And then Peter gives a military command. Arm yourselves. This is a spiritual command to take up godly arms. And this type of command is very common in Scripture.

We think of Paul’s discourse on the armor of God in Ephesians 6:13“13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.” We must remember that we are in a war. We are in a spiritual battle. And Christ has won the war. Peter has reminded us of this. 1 Peter 3:22“22 (Christ) who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.”

Christ has won the war. The head of the dragon has been crushed. Christ has put the spiritual forces of darkness to open shame. But we know that we still have a fight to wage. Satan is defeated but still dangerous. And in this war, Peter is telling us to be ready for battle. And how are we to be ready for battle?

Peter tells us to arm our selves with the mind of Christ. We are to think like Christ. We are to remember Christ’s suffering and arm ourselves with the mind of Christ.

Argumentation:

And how does one arm himself with the mind of Christ? How are we to be armed for this fight? I love how one commentator put it. He says, “I know no other way to gain the mind of Christ than to immerse ourselves in His Word. Studying the Scriptures is the way by which we learn the mind of Christ, because the Scriptures reveal Christ.” R.C. Sproul.

How are we armed with the mind of Christ? We are to be immersed in the Scriptures. We are to be immersed in the Scriptures. We are to soak in the Word of God.

And this is so essential. We live in a time where in large, the Christian church has abandoned thinking. But here, Peter commands us to think. We are to have the mind of Christ. Our church age is one marked by a foolish idea. We have pitted passion and thinking against one another. We see this in how our worship is ordered. The cultural fad is to shut the brain off in order to worship. We seek an emotional experience disconnected from the mind. But nowhere in Scripture are we commanded to shut off our brain in order to draw closer to God.

Christians are commanded to be deep thinkers. We are to guard our minds. We are to seek out the mysteries of the gospel. We have mistakenly thought that all this theology and doctrine is at odds with a passionate relationship with God. But nothing could be further from the truth. Theology means the study of God. The late R.C. Sproul had a famous line where he said, “everyone is a theologian.” What he means by this is that everyone has an idea of who God is. We all have beliefs regarding God. The question is not do you have a theology. The question is, are you a good theologian. Does what you think about God line up with the truth of God’s Word?

And this is important to recognize because we live in a war for the mind. If I were to categorize the embattled culture we live in, it would this: we live in an age where there is a war for the mind. Our culture is seeking to influence how you think. And not just how you think. They are coming for your children. The war we are in is one over our thoughts and the thoughts of our children. So we must be on guard. We must guard our minds. This is where the war is fought.

And the answer to this is not to shut off our brains. We are to think deeply. We are to have minds that are shaped by the Word of God. We are commanded to arm our minds with the mind of Christ. And the only way to do this is to be enveloped in the Word. So I ask you, are you armed? Are your children armed? Men, are you arming your wife? Are you washing her with the water of the Word as Paul commands? Are you spending consistent time in the Word? Are you training your children in the Word?

The average student will spend over 15,000 hours being trained by a humanistic school. They are trained, in large by pagans for over 15,000 hours. And that is not including college. Then how long do they watch TV? Another hour a day? Maybe four hours a week if you regulate it. That’s another almost 4,000 hours over their time living at home. That means your children are being trained and influenced by the world for nearly 20,000 hours in their eighteen years at home.

Now, how many hours do you spend training them in the Word? Discipleship and training of the mind for Christ happens primarily in the home.

Transition:

But we must move on. Peter commands us to arm ourselves with the mind of Christ, but he continues. And this is a somewhat confusing phrase, so let me rephrase it slightly. Peter says we are ceased from sin and living to the will of God.

Ceased From Sin, Living to the Will of God.

1 Peter 4:1–2“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, 2 so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God.”

Explanation:

What does Peter mean that whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin? Remember that Peter is in a section dealing with suffering for righteousness. Now, Peter is not here saying that those who suffer for Christ, never sin again. No, what he is saying is that those who suffer for righteousness have broken ties with their sin.

They have been placed in a situation where they were faced with sin or suffering. And they chose suffering. They chose to suffer rather than to sin. There are times when a Christian is faced with the choice to obtain physical blessing by dishonoring Christ or obtain physical suffering and honor Christ. They are put to a choice. Deny Christ or suffer. And these Christians Peter is writing to chose suffering. They looked the pain in the eyes and said “do your worst, for Christ is Lord.”

And there is something amazing that happens when a Christian commits wholeheartedly to Christ in this matter. They sever the ties of sin. It is sanctification on steroids. Peter is not saying they will never sin again, but that they have chosen suffering for Christ over their sin.

And he then presses them to continue on in this. In Christ, we are dead to sin. So live for the rest of time here on earth for the will of God. Lay aside sin. Live for God and His glory!

Transition:

And this is what Peter is saying, do not live like the pagans.

Do Not Live Like the Pagans.

1 Peter 4:3 “3 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.”

Explanation:

I love the phrasing of this. The past suffices for living like the lost. That word suffices is the idea of it being full. You have lived long enough like the world. Now live for Christ and His Kingdom. Have you not lived in sin long enough? You have spent enough time living for yourself. Spend the rest of your life living for Christ!

Cease from living like the world. Live for Christ. You belong to Him. And Peter then lists specific sins. Sensuality, passions, drunkeness, orgies, drinking parties, and idolatry. These boil down to really three things. Sexual immorality, drunkeness, and idolatry. Peter is giving these for a reason. You see in the Greek and Roman world there was a practice known as “bacchanalias.” This was a massive party that they thought would bring them into fellowship with the false god Bacchas.

It was a religious practice where the people would engage in as much debauchery as they could in order to commune with this god. They would attempt to get as drunk as they could in order to free themselves from their inhibitions so that they could more freely engage in sexual immorality and idolatry.

Argumentation:

They would seek to numb their minds so that they could sin without conscience. And don’t we see the exact same thing in our age? We are constantly confronted with products and practices that seek to dull our minds. Just get high and free yourself from that pesky conscience. It’s just a one night stand. It will free you. Seek liberation from morality. Our culture is exactly the same.

But a Christian is to have no part of this. We are to arm our mind and reject these even works. Do not dull your mind. Do not commit adultery. Do not participate in any worship that is not rightly worshipping the One True God. Do not be drunk. Drinking is not a sin. Christ invites us to the wine of the Lord’s Table freely for our joy and fullness. But drunkeness is sin. Do not participate in sexual immorality. Sex is reserved for marriage. Enjoy it there. Do not seek it anywhere else. Worship belongs only to God. Refuse to worship anything or anyone other than the One True God. And worship Him at all times, and especially on the Lord’s Day. You have lived long enough in the dark. See, the light has dawned.

Transition:

Cut ties with the evil practices of the pagans. But Peter warns us. They will slander you for not joining in.

They Will Slander You For Not Joining In.

1 Peter 4:4 “4 With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you;”

Explanation:

Peter is again warning that the lost will mock us, hate us, and at times even persecute us. And in this, we see it clearly. The pagans are offended when we do not participate in their sin.

Have you ever wondered why people call Christians “judgmental?” Why is that so common the complaint people have about the church. I have heard that word thrown out there of churches and Christians who are the kindest and most loving people on the planet. So why? It really is a simple explanation. When we refuse to join them in their sin, we are saying in no unclear terms that what they are doing is wrong.

Argumentation:

They will slander us because by not participating, we are condemning what they are doing as wrong. By not participating in getting drunk, we are saying that getting drunk is wrong. By refusing to participate in sexual immorality, we are condemning it as wrong.

And maybe this verse will be a help to you. Why is our culture so obsessed with “affirmation.” We are berated nonstop with the demand to affirm all sorts of wickedness. We must use affirming language. We must be “gender affirming” in our use of preferred pronouns. They even label genital mutilation of children as “gender AFFIRMING care.” Why? Why this obsession with affirmation?

Because we are in a war for the mind. And in this war, the battle lines are drawn over words. We must verbally affirm the sin they are part of or face the consequences. If we don’t, they will slander us, seek to cancel us, try to get us fired, and in Canada they will jail you. Speak the creed of sin or suffer.

Refusing to participate in the works of darkness comes with consequences in our culture. But we must have the mind of Christ. Arm yourself. Be ready. Chose suffering for Christ over participation with sin. Arm yourselves. Do not participate in their sin. Do not affirm it. Be ready.

Transition:

But there is another reason the pagans demand participation in sin. Deep down, they know something. They know judgement day is coming.

Judgement Day is Coming.

1 Peter 4:5 “5 but they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.”

Explanation:

There is a warning here, and a great hope. Let us start with the warning.

The warning: Christ will judge all.

Those who live in sin will face the judgement of almighty God. They have chosen to love their sin, and they will pay the tab. God is slow to anger, but judgement comes. One day, all will stand before God and give an answer for everything they did, did not do, said, or thought. And as the Scriptures say, “it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

Those who have not repented of their sins will be cast into hell. They will face flame and torment for all eternity. But there is hope. If you will repent and turn to Christ, you can be forgiven. The weight of you sins can be taken off of you and you can be made clean. You no longer need to walk in sin. You can be free. If you will but believe in your heart that Christ is Lord, and confess with your mouth that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. That is all. Faith. Trust in Christ. Reject your sin and trust in Christ, and you will be saved.

But for the Christian, judgement day is not terrifying. It is filled with hope. So let us look at the hope.

The Hope: All will be made right.

Have you ever been broken hearted over the sin and suffering of this world? Have you ever been saddened by the injustice faced on earth? Do you feel the weight of our wicked culture and wonder how long can it go on?

Peter offers these words as hope. There is coming a day when all will be made right. Christ will crush the curse of sin and death finally and set all right. He will judge and His judgement will be righteous and good. Praise God! All will be made right!

And in times of persecution, this passage gives great hope. Imagine the first century church. They have been driven from homes and family. They have faced true hardships for their faith. Some have even died. They are wondering how long God will allow the wicked to persecute them. The answer is one of hope. God will not let the wicked trample the righteous forever. There is a day coming when every wrong will be made right. We suffer now, but someday glory will ultimately come. And that is a great hope!

Transition:

But as I said, some had even died for the faith. But, Peter ends with this. There is hope for the Christian, even in death.

There is Hope For the Christian, Even in Death.

1 Peter 4:6“6 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 God does.”

Explanation:

Now, many have tried to twist this verse to say that there is a second chance at redemption after death. But that is not true. Scripture makes that abundantly clear. No, what Peter is saying is that there is hope for Christians who have died. You see, the gospel was preached, and some died. Think of Stephen in Acts 7. There were Christians who had heard the gospel, been saved, and then been killed for their faith. They are now dead, judged in the flesh by men. But they are not truly dead.

Peter gives this hope. They may be dead in the flesh, but they are alive in the Spirit. They are in heaven with Christ. They have run the race. Their suffering is over, but now they are alive forevermore. They will be raised on the last day.

Argumentation:

This is the hope of the Christian. We may suffer in this life. But our hope is unshakable. If we live, we live to Christ. If we die, we are alive with Christ. We cannot lose. We need to have no fear.

Conclusion:

There is nothing that can shake the Christian. We are to live for the glory of God, and endure suffering knowing that our victory is sure. Christ is ruling and reigning now. He is King. And when He returns to judge, all will be made right. And even if we suffer and die, we are with our Lord.

Visualization:

In Christ, we have an unshakable purpose and hope. We are to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. And nothing, not even death can remove this.

Reiteration:

We can suffer well knowing that the victory belongs to Christ. He has won, He is winning, and He will win.

Application:

And in this we can fight well. There are three things I want you to remember in this. Three tactics for the fight we are in. First, arm your household.

Action 1: Arm Your Household.

As I said numerous times in this message, we are in a real war. We are in a war for you and your families minds. You must hear Peter’s call to arms. Arm yourselves with the mind of Christ. Immerse yourself in the word. Wash your family in the word. There are pagan influences everywhere.

The world will not teach you the truth. They will attempt to indoctrinate you and your family in lies. You will face lies everywhere you go. You must be armed. You will find the lie of follow your heart, seek pleasure in sin, worship yourself everywhere. It is in every single Disney song. You must be armed.

Spend time in the Word. Read the Word. Be filled with the word and with prayer at all times. You and your household. Be ready for the fight we are in. We are at war. Act like it.

Action 2: Lay Aside Sin.

Do not live like the lost. Avoid sexual immorality, drunkeness, and idolatry. Husbands, love your wives. Wives, love your husbands. Seek fulfilment there, not in adultery. Do not dull your mind. Avoid drunkeness. Do not seek to get drunk or high. Do not dull your mind or conscience. And commit to worship the one True God alone. He alone is worthy of worship.

Action 3: Remember the Hope Beyond the Grave.

Never forget that we win. Indeed, in Christ, we have won, are winning, and will win. But should we face pain and suffering, remember that our hope is not bound to this earth. Our hope is found in Christ. And upon our death, we will be reunited with Him whom we love. We cannot lose because Christ has won.

The worst thing the world can do is kill us. And even in that we find victory.

Appeal:

Christians can suffer well in this. Have the mind of Christ. Avoid sin. And embrace victory in Christ. Let’s pray.

Closing Prayer:

Offering:

Offertory Prayer:

Benediction:

1 Peter 5:10–11“10 And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. 11 To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.”