1 Peter 4:7-11, Life Together in Light of the End

Introduction

As we turn our attention to worship together through the reading and preaching of God’s Word I invite you to open your Bible with me to 1 Peter 4. We’re continuing our verse by verse study of this wonderful letter written by the apostle Peter under inspiration of the Holy Spirit. This morning we will be focusing our attention on 1 Peter 4:7-11. As always I will first read the passage for us. So, please follow along in your Bible as I read God’s Word for us. Then we will go to the God who inspired these Words in prayer.

READ 1 PETER 4:7-11

[Matthew 4:4 Responsive Reading - “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”]

PRAY

When I was in high school I was a competitive runner. I was always involved in some form of running––whether track or cross country; indoor or outdoor. I loved running races. I loved the camaraderie that came with it. I loved the intense competition with rival schools and runners week after week. I was a distance runner and had a pretty strong finishing kick as the race drew closer to the end. There was something about the finish line getting closer and closer that energized me, especially if there was someone in front of me to catch.

The thing about running is the further into the distance you go the more tired you get. It takes effort to remember the fundamentals of running. To keep your form intact. To keep your breathing steady. To focus your attention on the race set before you. But, there’s also something about the end drawing near that helps the really good runners dial in on all of those things. There is a heightened awareness that sort of comes over you as you fix your eyes on the end that is drawing near. So it is in the Christian life as we live in light of the end that is near.

Last week we were exhorted to arm ourselves with the mindset of Christ. We considered to an extent what that means and looks like practically in light of the coming judgment as we endure suffering for righteousness sake. In a sense, Peter is continuing to work out that idea all the more. Last week he focused somewhat on the things we are not to do. The things we are to leave behind that characterized our former manner of living before Christ. The things that mark the unbelieving world that mocks us for following Christ.

This week he more positively exhorts us to what our lives ought to look like in light of the end that is drawing near. That we would devote ourselves to life and ministry together for His glory.

MAIN POINT––As the end draws near, devote yourselves to life and ministry together for the glory of God.

The End Is Near

Look at verse 7 again with me. Peter begins this section in an interesting way. He says, “The end of all things is at hand.” What does Peter mean by that? Like other New Testament authors, Peter is referring to the end of days. The coming of the LORD. The day when Jesus will return to judge the living and the dead. The day of great hope and expectation for all who are in Christ. This reality is what governs the entire section we are looking at this morning. In other words, the nearness of the end of days serves to stir us to intentional godly living for the glory of God.

This kind of statement is not unique to Peter. Nor is it unique that Peter would use this reality to motivate godly living and perseverance among believers. The apostle Paul did the same thing in numerous places. James, the brother of Jesus, spoke of the coming of the Lord being near and thus exhorted his readers to live godly lives together. The author of Hebrews uses a reminder of the end drawing near to exhort believers not to forsake the gathering. The apostle John reminded his readers that it was the last hour.

Maybe you’re thinking, “that was a couple thousand years ago that they said all that. That doesn’t seem soon or near to me. Were they wrong?” Of course not. We must remember, as Peter says in 2 Peter 3:8 “that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” To an eternal God who governs all time and human history down to the last detail, the span of human history is a blip on the radar of eternity. Like the apostles and all who have lived between us and them, we too are living in the last days and the end is at hand.

That’s ultimately what Peter and the rest of the NT writers mean. They are highlighting the reality that we are in the last days. No matter what your view of the end times is. Whether you are premillennial, amillennial, or postmillennial. None of that changes the reality that Jesus is coming back again visibly in full power and glory to judge the living and the dead and consummate His kingdom in the new heavens and new earth. Thus, we are living in the last days, what the NT writers refer to as the entire time between Christ’s first and second coming.

He could come back tomorrow. It may be another thousand years. Only the Father knows. However long that will be from our human perspective, we do well to remember that from His good and wise perspective, His coming is near. In fact, it is only drawing nearer and nearer with each passing day. That reality should have an effect on how we live our lives now as the people of God as we eagerly await that day.

When asked what he would do if the end would come today Martin Luther replied that he would plant a tree and pay his taxes. In other words, he would continue on doing what the LORD had set before him to do for the day. The end drawing near doesn’t lead us to twiddle our thumbs or gaze endlessly into the sky. It summons us to make our lives count here and now for the glory of God and the joy of His people in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Life Together

What does that look like for us as the people of God? What sort of things ought to characterize our conduct––our life and ministry together––in light of the end that is near? Peter gives us four things.

Steadiness of Heart and Mind

The first effect this reality should have on us is it will produce a steadiness of heart and mind. Look at the latter half of verse 7––“Therefore, be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers.” Notice what Peter does here. He tells us what to do (or be) and gives us the reason why. We are to be self-controlled and sober-minded. Why? For the sake of our prayers. Let’s unpack all of that.

First, what does it mean to be self-controlled and sober-minded? The two words used here are virtually synonymous. They are intended to be taken and understood together. It is to be clear minded, or clear headed. We’ve considered this before. When someone is self-controlled and sober-minded they have a stability of heart, mind, and soul that is able to stand in all circumstances. Though the storm of life might rage around you, you’re not prone to fret or worry. You’re able to think, speak, and act with clarity and focus. You’re unphased and even keel.

When you have this steadiness of heart and mind your able to see things more clearly for what they are. Thus, you’re able to turn your attention to the God who rules over all. That’s what this has to do with our prayers. The anxious worrying heart and mind is not able to turn its attention to the God who sovereignly rules over all things for His glory and the good of His people. Our eyes are too fixated on the storm going on all around us when we are in that state of mind. But for the one who keeps his heart and mind stayed on the LORD, there is a devotion to prayer.

That’s what Peter wants us to do. He wants us to be the kind of people who soberly and clearly understand that God is still ruling and reigning. That He is providentially bringing all of history to its climactic end. An end in which He is and will be victorious. None of our anxious fretting or worrying or irrational fears will serve to help anything or anyone. Instead, we are to come to the LORD in prayer, expressing our utter dependence upon Him to act and fulfill His promises in accordance with His good, wise, and sovereign character.

When life is hard for any reason. Maybe you get a bad diagnosis. Maybe your neighbors or your community are speaking ill of you for what you believe. Maybe what used to be some of your closest relationships with family or friends have been strained. Maybe you’re overwhelmed with all of life’s demands. Whatever the trial or difficulty might be, you have to remember that the end is near and thus be clear minded and self-controlled and be devoted to prayer. “Lord, I don’t know what today or tomorrow holds, but you do. Your kingdom come. Your will be done.”

What’s the first thing you do when you get out of bed each morning? Scroll through your phone looking at email, messages, or social media? Turn on the news and see what's been going on in the world since you were last awake? Then we wonder why we begin so many of our days already anxious and troubled and overwhelmed. What if instead, we gave our first waking moments to the LORD? Reading His Word and going to Him in prayer? I think that would do wonders for our ability to navigate the daily grind that is life this side of eternity.

Lest we think this is just merely an individual exercise, we would do well to consider its implication for our corporate prayer life. We saw through our study in Acts that the church was devoted to the prayers. They did that together regularly. Do you want to see our church grow in love and unity in our purpose of proclaiming Christ as King? Do you want us to be more focused on our common purpose and less affected by outside noise that seeks to distract us from that purpose? Start by coming to our monthly prayer gatherings as we seek the LORD together.

Earnest Love for One Another

Second, we are to continue earnestly loving one another. We see that in verse 8–– “Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.” This is the second time Peter gives us this exhortation to love one another earnestly. We saw it first back in 1 Peter 1:22. First note the emphasis Peter puts on this here though. He says, “above all.” This is all over the New Testament, the importance of our love for one another. Love is a hallmark characteristic of true believers. Love is central to the Christian life.

The centrality of love to the Christian life is evident all over the New Testament. Jesus told His disciples that their love for one another is how the world would know that they are His disciples. Paul teaches us that it doesn’t matter how gifted you are or what you do if you do not have love for one another. John doesn’t mince words on this at all, saying that if we hate our brother we are still walking in darkness and do not know the LORD. In light of the end, we are to above all love one another earnestly. What does that mean? What does that look like?

There’s a couple of things entailed with this word, earnestly. For one thing it is to be a constant love. A persevering and unwavering commitment to love one another. Think of the vows many of us made on our wedding day. We promise to love one another in sickness and in health; in good times and bad times; as long as we both live. No matter what we promise our spouse that we will love one another. Our love, so we promise, will be constant.

The other component of this is the reality that this takes effort. The wording could be used for someone exerting themselves in a race or athletic endeavor. A kind of straining and exertion in focused effort. That’s how we are to love one another. That’s what it means to love one another earnestly. It requires us to go beyond our comfort zone. It requires us to let go of our pride and to think of others as more important than ourselves. Certainly this is the kind of love that makes any of our marriages last a lifetime, right? It takes effort. It takes hard work.

But Peter is not relegating this kind of love to the marriage relationship. That’s not even what he has in mind. I only bring it up as an illustration. Peter is emphasizing our love for one another. Our church family. Our brothers and sisters in Christ. Considering the marriage illustration and the committed love we are to have there, it’s interesting to me how many Christians lament the decline of marriage commitment and increased divorce rates, but at the same time they’ll be the first one to up and leave their church and call it quits the moment things get hard.

Whatever the reason might be. Perhaps we disagree on some matter of church policy or minor doctrinal matters. Perhaps we speak too quickly and rashly in a moment of disagreement. We offend and are offended by one another. The church no longer does things the way I like things to be done. The way things used to be done. Whatever the case may be. Do we then just take our time and effort and talents and go somewhere else that appeals to our liking the most? I pray not. Loved ones, that is a horrible and unstable way to do life and ministry.

Peter says we are to love one another earnestly. We are to labor hard at it. Make every strained effort to love one another. Which entails a whole bunch of other New Testament commands––

forgiving one another; bearing one another’s burdens; confessing our sins to one another; bearing with one another; teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom. It requires more than a feeling and doesn’t mean we’ll always agree on or about everything. It requires constant action and effort to demonstrate and share this kind of love with one another.

Notice once again that Peter gives us a reason or motivation for this kind of love. He says, “love covers a multitude of sins.” Peter is not saying that our love for one another somehow atones for sin. That would contradict the clear teachings of his letter and the rest of the New Testament. Only Jesus can atone for our sins through His substitutionary life, death, and resurrection in our place. No, what Peter means by this is when we lavish one another with this kind of committed and constant love we are more able to overlook the sins and offenses of others.

This is the same idea given to us in Proverbs 10:12 where it is written, “Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers over all wrongs.” Love covers over the wrongs of others, while those who are full of enmity and hatred for one another will use such sins and offenses to go on the attack and bite and devour one another. The former, earnest love for one another, demonstrates the truth and power of the gospel we believe and proclaim. The latter, hatred and division, gives the watching world reason to doubt what we believe and proclaim.

I was reminding one of my children this week of this truth that should help us to be humble and patient when it comes to loving others in our church family when we feel slighted by them. It’s easy to give ourselves to grumbling and gossip. That’s human nature as a result of the Fall. But when you can slow down and remember that you might actually be that person––the offender–– to someone else, it becomes a little easier to treat those who offend us the way we want to be treated when we ourselves are the offender.

This sort of love takes effort, but it is an effort that is rooted and grounded in the gospel of grace and empowered by the Holy Spirit who indwells us. We can love one another. We can overlook slight offenses. Even when there’s big offense, we can warn and admonish one another. We can seek forgiveness and be reconciled. We can seek to understand when and where there is disagreement and misunderstanding. That is the kind of love Peter and the rest of the New Testament calls us to. That is the kind of love that proclaims the gospel in a loveless culture.

Glad Hospitality

Third, we are to exercise glad hospitality. We see that in verse 9 where Peter says, “Show hospitality to one another without grumbling.” Hospitality was another hallmark characteristic of the early church. In a day that traveling was often dangerous and sometimes deadly, Christians provided safe shelter for one another as the gospel went out into all the world. Additionally, it was exercised as they often gathered for worship in one another’s homes, not having any other meeting places.

We also see hospitality on display in the earliest days of the church recorded in Acts 2. They were in one another’s homes, sharing meals together with glad and generous hearts. They were a people who delighted to be together and whose lives were open and shared with one another. This is a tangible way that we can make an effort to love one another. By showing hospitality to one another.

But lest we be tempted to do this and merely check the block, Peter adds a qualifier. We are to do this without grumbling. We ought not do this begrudgingly. It is not only to be our duty, it is also to be our delight. This doesn’t have to be complicated either. It’s actually really simple. It’s as simple as putting a pot of coffee on and sitting in each other’s living room to simply visit or even to work through a disagreement we might be having.

Just think for a moment. Is there anyone in this church family who you’ve never invited over to share a meal with you or have coffee? Is there anyone you’re tempted to exclude from this kind of hospitality? That might be the best place for you to start. Just think what it might do for our love and unity if we were quicker to have one another over throughout the week. To do so joyfully with glad hearts and without grumbling. What a powerful witness that would be even in our small town rural context in which we live.

Eagerness to Serve

Fourthly, we are to have an eagerness to serve. Look at verse 10–– “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.” Notice what he says here. He says “each has received a gift.” He is referring to spiritual gifts given to all believers for the common good. For building up the body to greater maturity in Christ. This is important to remember. Every believer has a gift given to them by God to use for His glory. God is a good Father who gives good gifts to His children.

It is common, sometimes in the name of humility, to downplay any gifts we might have. I often hear people speak as if they have nothing to offer by way of gifts or talents. Or when someone comes along to encourage you in something you did we might shrug it off–– “no big deal” or “that was nothing.” And I feel it necessary to push back on that a little bit here. We actually dishonor God when we deny the good gifts He has given us and fail to use them

Think of it this way, loved ones. Many of us here are parents. Like good parents, we delight in giving good gifts to our children. We want them to use what we give them and enjoy doing so. Would it honor you if someone noticed the gift you gave them and they downplayed it and said it wasn’t really all that great? Of course not! We would feel slighted and dishonored. Likewise, we actually dishonor our Father in heaven when we downplay and fail to steward the good gifts He has given us to be used for His glory and the good of His household––the Church.

Notice it is a stewardship of God’s varied grace. In other words, you using your gifts to serve your church family is a stewardship of something that God has given you to use for His glory and the good of His people. Ultimately, it’s not about you. It’s about Him getting glory through you as you use what He has given you for the good of His household. If you’re not sure what that may be for you, a good place to start is your church family. What does your church family tell you about the gifts you have? What needs does your church family have that you can fill?

Peter gives a couple of examples that are not meant to be exhaustive. It seems to me that it is in some way all encompassing of any and every kind of gift that God would give to His people. Look at the first half of verse 11–– “whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies.” Peter addresses the use of gifts of speaking and gifts of service in a seemingly all encompassing way.

Gifts of speaking––whether preaching or teaching or timely words of encouragement and counsel––are to be used in such a way that we are speaking the very words of God. When we speak to build up the body it is never to be our own words or ideas that we insist on. We are to be a people who are devoted to the Word of God. Knowing it. Loving it. Obeying it. Proclaiming it in all of its parts.

Gifts of service encompasses many things––both formal and informal. Anything from cleaning or maintaining our facilities here; working the sound booth; working in the kitchen; using administrative skills; to having one another over in our homes and exercising hospitality; going to visit any of our shut-ins in the nursing home; helping an overwhelmed young mom with their little ones during the week. The list could go on and on, the point is that none of that is done in your own strength, but in the strength that God supplies.

Maybe you’re tempted to say “I’m just too tired” or “I’ve done my time and it's time for others to step in.” Loved ones, no matter your stage of life, as long as you have life and breath in you this side of eternity you have been given a gift by God that is to be used for His glory and building up the body of Christ to greater maturity in Christ. None of us ever graduates beyond this calling to serve the body of Christ. Even if all you have to give is your constant and fervent prayers because your body is failing. All of it done in the strength that God supplies.

For the Glory of God

For what ultimate purpose does God intend us to eagerly serve one another in these ways? Peter tells us there at the end of verse 11––“in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.” This is what we’ve been saying all along, especially as we consider the call to serve one another. We are a family of Christ followers that exists to glorify God. That is to be the aim of everything we do as we await the coming day that is drawing near. That God would be glorified. That He would be magnified and made much of through Jesus Christ.

Thus, it’s fitting how Peter concludes this section. He does so with appropriate doxology––praise––to God. He says, “To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.” This is the kind of praise that ought to be on our minds constantly in all that we say, think, and do. This is to be the longing of our hearts. To see God magnified through Christ. To see Him glorified. To see Him receive more and more glory as He rules and reigns forever. Let it be so.

Conclusion

By God’s grace, I pray we continually grow up together in this way. That as we look to the day that is drawing near we will devote ourselves to this kind of life and ministry together more and more for the glory of God. Beloved, As the end draws near, devote yourselves to life and ministry together for the glory of God.