Dying and Living
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Welcome
Good Morning, New Hope. I hope you all are well. If you have your Bible, this morning we are going to be reading out of 1 Peter 4:1-11.
Since the advent of Christianity, there has been this temptation, and it’s actually quite common. The temptation goes something like this: “Since Jesus has paid the penalty for my sins, I’m free to live however I want.” If I want to get drunk, if I want to have sex outside of marriage, if I want to cheat on my taxes, or talk badly about someone behind their back, I can do that. Why? Because Jesus’ death on the cross has paid the penalty for my sins - all of them, past, present, and future. This is the temptation of cheap grace.
In his landmark book The Cost of Discipleship, German pastor and theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer describes cheap grace like this:
“Cheap grace means grace sold on the market like cheapjacks’ wares. The sacraments, the forgiveness of sin, and the consolations of religion are thrown away at cut prices. Grace is represented as the Church’s inexhaustible treasury, from which she showers blessings with generous hands, without asking questions or fixing limits. Grace without price; grace without cost! The essence of grace, we suppose, is that the account has been paid in advance; and, because it has been paid, everything can be had for nothing.”
Yet, this is not the kind of grace that we see throughout the Scriptures, especially in our text this morning. Throughout this epistle, Peter offers us a different picture of grace. He writes about the grace that brings about our conversion, according to the foreknowledge and election of God. He writes about the grace that will be revealed when Christ returns in glory. He reminds us that the grace we have was paid for by the shedding of blood, saying, 1 Peter 1:18-19
knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.
Peter offers us a different picture of grace. As we come to our text this morning, Peter is addressing the temptation of cheap grace. If you remember, Peter is writing to a group of Christians, who were being persecuted and maligned for their faith in Christ. They lived among a godless people, who did not believe, who did not understand, and who did not want to understand the followers of Jesus. Consequently, these Christians were treated like outcasts, foreigners within their own country. And so, Peter encourages them to live as exiles, not just exiles, but also to live as God’s elect exiles. He reminds them not only that they have been saved, but also that they have been saved for a purpose.
In this morning’s text, Peter reminds us that we are not just recipients of God’s grace, but are also stewards of God’s grace. He shows us how our identification with Christ, in both his death and his resurrection, has set us free from the dominion of sin and allows us to live, truly live, as God intended us to. Our text this morning is aimed at one glorious truth: Grace puts to death our old way of life, so that we can enjoy newness of life in Christ.
Reading
Our text this morning is 1 Peter 4:1-11. Please join us for the reading of God’s Word.
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, so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God. 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. 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. 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. The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Prayer
Exposition
Our text this morning teaches us that Grace puts to death our former way of life, so that we can enjoy newness of life in Christ. To see this, we need to recognize that our text is divided into two sections. In verses 1-6, we will discuss how the grace we receive is aimed at putting to death our former way of life. In verses 7-11, we will discuss how the grace we receive empowers us to enjoy the newness of life that exists only in Christ.
Beginning in verse 1, we read, “Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking.” This therefore goes back to 1 Peter 3:18-22, where Peter reminds his readers of the victory they have in Christ. Jesus suffered in the flesh, once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God. We can have confidence in Christ’s atoning death, knowing that he has been raised from the dead. Our life is hidden in Christ, so that when he died, we died to sin and when he was raised, we were raised to newness of life.
Peter says, “Since therefore Christ has suffered in the flesh,” not just suffering, but suffering to the point of death, “arm yourselves with the same way of thinking.” “Arm yourselves,” as a military term was intended to convey a sense of urgency and alarm. Peter wasn’t just saying take up this mindset or adopt this perspective. No, he was telling us to prepare our minds for battle. Just as Christ died for sin, we are to die to sin. This is what it means to be baptized into his death.
Follow along with Paul’s thinking in Romans 6:1-3,
What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?
In chapter 3, Peter tells us that baptism is more than just a physical act, that it is our identification with Christ in his death and resurrection. Now, he’s telling us that because Jesus died for sins, we are to die to sin.
Continuing in verse 1, Peter writes, “for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin.”
Peter urges his readers to not only remember, but also to arm themselves with the same mindset as Christ, who died for our sins. Why should we take on this mindset? Peter tells us, “whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin.”
Now what does he mean by this? What does it mean to suffer in the flesh and what does it mean to cease from sin?
Is Peter just referring to the kind of suffering that Christ experienced at the hands of unbelievers? I don’t think so. It definitely includes that kind of suffering, but I don’t think it’s limited to only that kind of suffering. Instead, I think what Peter is saying here is that suffering in the flesh involves a kind of self-restraint motivated by faithful obedience to the will of God.
Where do I get that from? Verse 2 reads, “so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God.” In other words, Peter is saying that suffering in the flesh is me denying what I want in favor of what God wants.
Now, this can mean many different things to many different people. God’s specific will for me is different than God’s specific will for you, and God’s specific will for us is different than God’s specific will for Jesus.
Figuring out God’s will for your life takes time and a boatload of prayer. If you don’t know what God’s specific will is for your life, I’d encourage you to intentionally seek God and allow his Holy Spirit to guide you. Just know that part of what it means to follow Jesus is to deny yourself.
So, if suffering in the flesh means that I am to deny what I want in favor of what God wants, what does Peter mean when he says that if I do this, I have ceased from sin?
Does this mean that I’m never going to sin again? No. Does this mean that sin has no influence over me? No. Instead, it means that as I deny what I want in favor of what God wants, I’m showing that the power of sin has been broken in my life. Even as I battle with sinful desires, I am not fighting for victory. I’m fighting from victory.
Peter continues to write about this attitude of self-restraint in verses 3-4, writing, “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. With respect to this, they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you.”
Self-restraint isn’t exactly a prized virtue. The world doesn’t understand why we would deny what we want in favor of what God wants. According to the world’s standards, if it feels good, do it. Yet, Peter here is saying, that the time has passed.
Based on Peter’s words, we would expect there to be a significant difference between how Christians live and how non-Christians live. And yet, within our culture, the lines are blurred. Many who profess Christ want to enjoy the newness of life, so long as they can keep clinging onto the things that will destroy their souls. That is cheap grace.
Peter’s not advocating cheap grace here. Instead, he tells us that grace has set us free from the power of sin by killing sin in us. He tells us that we are to leave behind the passions and desires of our former way of life behind, as we faithfully obey the will of God. Not only will non-Christians not understand this, they may actually malign you because of it.
Peter closes this section with an encouraging word. Verses 5-6 read, “But they will given an account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. 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.”
Non-Christians might curse you. They might treat you badly. They might talk about you behind your back. But Peter reminds us that they too will have to given an account to God for all that they’ve done.
Now, this doesn’t give us license to view non-christians vindictively, particularly toward those who treat us harshly. Peter’s not encouraging us to stand in the face of persecution, saying, “Oh, you’re gonna get yours!”
Instead, I think he’s trying to encourage us to remain steadfast. Although non-Christians may treat us badly as we live in faithful obedience, it’s not going to benefit us to avoid persecution by living like they do. Why? Because they too are going to face judgement. Remember Peter’s words in 1 Peter 1:17,
And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile,
Now, non-Christians may not understand why we deny what we want in favor of what God wants, and they might even persecute you because of your faith. In their minds, there’s no benefit to living in faithful obedience to God, because eventually you will die, just like everybody else. What they don’t understand is that while we might die in the flesh, we have life in the spirit.
In 1 Peter 4:1-6, Peter reminds us that grace is costly. The grace and forgiveness offered to us through Jesus’ death on the cross is given freely, but it does not come cheaply. Peter reminds us that by this grace we not only identify with Christ, but we also identify with Christ in his death. Another way to say it is this: Grace puts to death our former way of life.
In 1 Peter 4:7-11, Peter turns his attention to the new life that have in Christ. Here, he’s expounding on verse 2, where he talked about no longer living for human passions, but for the will of God, for “the rest of the time in the flesh.” Peter uses this emphasis on the end and the immanence of coming judgment to exhort his reader to live in such a way that glorifies Christ.
Peter begins verse 7 saying, “The end of all things is at hand.” Now, if I were to say that in a conversation or if I were to say that in a sermon, the next words you’d expect to hear would be monumentally important. And they are.
In verse 7, Peter tells us to be “self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers.” In light of the end of all things, Peter urges his readers to exercise a measure of restraint. He didn’t want them to get caught up in the moment, but rather encouraged them to maintain a proper perspective. Why was this so important for Peter? He didn’t want their prayers to be hindered. One scholar explains,
1, 2 Peter, Jude (4) Living in Light of the End (4:7–11)
Their sensible and alert thinking is to be used for prayer, for entreating God to act and move in the time that still remains. The realization that God is bringing history to a close should provoke believers to depend on him, and this dependence is manifested in prayer, for in prayer believers recognize that any good that occurs in the world is due to God’s grace.
In the remaining verses, Peter urges his readers toward love and edification. In three separate commands, he tells them to love one another, show hospitality toward one another, and serve one another with spiritual gifts.
It’s interesting that Peter encourages them to love one another and work for the edification of the church, here.
After saying that the end of all things was near, he could have told them a number of things. He could have told them to preach the gospel in the streets, to minister to unbelievers within their own circles, to seek influential people and try to win them to Christ. He could have said a number of different things. But, in this moment, in light of the coming judgment of God, he commands them to love one another, to show hospitality to one another, and to serve one another with spiritual gifts.
In verse 8, Peter tells them, “Keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.”
Our world is broken and, at times, that brokenness spills into our relationships. Here, Peter is telling us to love anyway. When you’re sinned against, when someone, particularly someone within the body of Christ, hurts you, love anyway. Now, this doesn’t mean that we overlook the sins of others within the church. We still have the responsibility to rebuke and correct and instruct. I think what Peter is trying to get at here, is that you don’t cut off a relationship because someone hurt your feelings. Instead, we’re told to love one another earnestly.
In verse 9, Peter writes, “Show hospitality to one another without grumbling.”
In the early church, hospitality was one of the marks of authentic Christian community. In order to spread the gospel and take part in the Mission of God, the early church often had to open its homes to other Christians. Gospel hospitality often involved providing shelter, food, and clothing, among other things, to Christians in need.
Now, I don’t know what comes to mind when you think of hospitality. “Count me in for the potluck, but anything more than that is a bit of an inconvenience.” Here’s what comes to mind when I think of hospitality. Hospitality is the willingness to be inconvenienced for the sake of the gospel.
In verses 10-11, Peter closes this section, urging us to serve one another. He writes, “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies - in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”
Peter closes with an admonition to serve one another, using the gifts that God has given you. It doesn’t matter what your gifting is. You are called to serve in the body of Christ.
Some of you may be reluctant to serve within the church because you don’t believe that you have that much to offer. Some of you may not even know what your spiritual gifts are. That’s ok. Commit yourselves to living in Christian community. Commit yourselves to investing in the lives of other believers. Everyone here this morning is apart of your spiritual family and they need you.
Peter closes this section with a doxology - words of corporate praise, given to God. Everything that he has written in this section is aimed at one thing: enjoying the newness of life that we have in Christ within the context of the local church. This is the kind of life that God desires for his people - that “as sojourners and exiles, we might abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against our souls, keeping our conduct among non-christians honorable, so that they can see your good deeds and glorify God, whether that be in this life or the next.
Application
How do we do this? By grace and fervent prayer. By understanding your identity in Christ, not just that you are in Christ, but that you identify with Christ in both his death and resurrection. And that you, together with other Christians, have been called together, to live out your lives according to God’s purpose.
Prayer