The importance of mutual love in end times living - 1 Peter 4:7-11

Remain focussed on the essential elements of the Christian life and you will be ready for the end when it comes.

Scene 1/ Many Christians fall into the trap of focussing on distractions.

Satan is overjoyed when this happens because the person takes their eyes of what is really important.

It might be that they get all caught up in end time’s speculation.

Spending enormous amounts of time listening to the latest self proclaimed expert who claims to have found hidden meanings in Bible passages which tie in with past & current world events so that they can determine who the antichrist is.

Depending on which one of these authors you read just about every leader of Russia, Germany, the USA or any other number of world leaders is, has been or will be the antichrist.

1 John 2 tells us that there will be many antichrists.

If you lived under Hitler, or Stalin or Pol Pot or Chairman Mau or more recently Assad in Syria, or Islamic State then you have lived under an antichrist and the end certainly felt like it had come.

Jesus himself said in Mark 13:1-8 that many will claim to be the Messiah and will lead people astray.

People get so focussed on trying to figure out world events or leaders that they miss an essential point.

Peter along with all the Apostles & even Christ himself didn’t think in terms of human history, they weren’t focussed on earthly kings and kingdoms; they thought in terms of “redemptive history”.

All the previous events in redemption history had been completed —creation, fall, the calling of Abraham, the exodus from Egypt, the kingdom of Israel, the exile in Babylon and the return.

The events of Christ’s life, death and resurrection, his ascension into heaven and the pouring out of the Holy Spirit to establish the church had ushered in the ‘last act’, the church age.

This is why Peter wrote in 1 Peter 4:7 the end of all things is at hand.

Everything “before” had already happened.

The goal that redemption history had been working towards is here.[1]

Others don’t even understand the concept of redemption because they are so focused on issues of self righteousness & moral purity;

This is the nightmare of every youth pastor who has to deal with parents who think the youth group is a babysitting service for pure teenagers who shouldn’t be contaminated by the unclean youth outside the church or even worse still those in the church who don’t fit the mould.

Others get distracted about which Bible translation is the only correct one.

There are people running around who have swallowed some clever advertising by a publisher over 400 years ago that the manuscripts they had were divinely protected and the only ones that were correct.

They would have us believe that the last 400 plus years of Biblical scholarship is a giant conspiracy to deceive the church.

We have discovered thousands of manuscripts and learnt a lot since 1611

A word of warning here, don’t ever tell me that the King James Version of 1611 was what Jesus and the Apostles used.

Now that you have heard some of the things that have cost me huge amounts of valuable time and caused me great angst having to be patient and gentle with people who just won’t listen.

My point is that people get distracted chasing after these sorts of things instead of focusing on the essentials of living day to day for Christ.

When Satan can distract people from the essentials he celebrates because he is not only wasting valuable time he is also bringing division and conflict.

Scene 2/ When we focus on the essential elements of the Christian life we will be ready for the end when it comes. 1 Peter 4:7

The essential elements of the Christian life begin with prayer.

Thoughtful mindful prayer, intentional seeking and listening to the Lord’s leading is the first point that Peter makes in 1 Peter 4:7.

Peter saw that the end of all things is at hand.

Therefore, he says, be self controlled and clear or sober minded.

This isn’t a reaction to the coming end; it isn’t about trying to cope with the coming end.

It is setting a course towards the end.

Therefore be self-controlled and clear minded is what is called an aorist imperative verb.

It is a program, a direction, setting a course of doing all that follows.

Because that is the path towards the end which is near.

It is embracing Christ return, not by seeking to escape life, not by running around in a blind panic but by living life intentionally.

And for a Christian this is living life according to the essential elements of Christian living.

Prayer, Love, Hospitality, Ministry in the Power of the Holy Spirit and Glorifying God.

It starts with mindful intentional prayer.

Seeking the Lord with a clear mind, not one that is distracted by the events of this world, but with a mind that is focussed on knowing God.

A mind that is mindful of current world events and asks God to act in and through those events.

A mind that looks for the opportunities that God will put before you to minister the message of the Gospel to those who do not know him.

A mind that hears his voice of love and concern for a broken world instead of a mind that is seeking to escape it.

The end began when Christ ascended and the Holy Spirit was given at on the day of Pentecost.

Our response must not be distraction, to seek some secret knowledge or escape but a clear headed prayer of, “Lord show me your opportunity in these circumstances, that I might serve your people and glorify your name.”

Scene 3/ Flowing directly from and after prayer is love. 1 Peter 4:8-9

“Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins.” (1 Peter 4:8, NLT)

Love is the pinnacle of Christian living.

The Christian love of community overcomes the tendency to find fault; instead it builds up and isn’t resentful at the cost of loving and showing hospitality.

Jesus made love the highest commandment in Matthew 22:34.

Love God, love your neighbour as yourself.

And in John 13 Jesus again emphasises the importance of love as a sign of commitment to him.

The Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 13 reinforces this truth.

And in every case they are talking about love in the context of community.

This isn’t romantic love; in fact most of the teaching of the New Testament isn’t about romantic love.

It is teaching about the love that Christians should have for one another in the community of the church.

Now if I were to say to you that it is easy to “fall in love” with someone.

But it is much harder to determine, to choose to keep on loving them.

You might agree with me.

But this isn’t even getting close to the love that Christians are to have for one another.

Instead take romance totally out of the picture and focus on the love of a family for each other.

Then take family out of the picture and focus on choosing to love someone who is unrelated to you, who you have no connection with and no benefit in except that you are commanded to love them because they too are a Christian.

Now we are getting towards what it means to continue to show deep love for one another in the Christian community.

We in the church are called to be different.

Love for one another is an essential element of living as a Christian.

And this love has a transformative effect.

It makes the Church a place where lives are transformed by Christ as they experience the love of Christ through his disciples.

It also transforms the church into a place where sin dissolves away.

How does sin dissolve?

You can read 1 Peter 4:8 with a cynical mind and think that we cover up wrong doing, sweep it under the carpet so to speak.

1 Peter 4:8 (NLT)

8 Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins.

That is wrong because Jesus & many of the Apostles clearly and firmly address the issue of sin in the church.

You could also read 1 Peter 4:8 and think that somehow if you show love to others your sins are forgiven, which is an incorrect understanding of this verse & Matthew 6:14.

But when you understand the transformative effect of the love of Christian community.

When believers pour out love towards each other it becomes easy to overlook the offenses that so often cause upset as people relate to each other.

The offense someone causes you is overlooked in love.

The offense that you cause another is overlooked in love.

And because you overlook those things which could cause you offense and because you desire to not harm or cause offense to your brother & sister in Christ it can be said that sin literally dissolves away.

Sin dissolves away because you are so concerned to genuinely love each other no bitterness that arises.

And if you live in community without bitterness and with genuine love for each other then you can live in a place where there is transformation as the focus is on Christ working in us through us and amongst us.

We can see this verse this way because it fits the context of mutual concern for each other.

It lines up with Proverbs 10:12 which says, “Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers over all wrongs.”

It fits the idea of James 5:20 where a believer has wandered away and in bringing them back their sins are covered or forgiven.

And the idea that love overlooks the sins of others is clearly taught in Matthew 18 & 1 Corinthians 13.[2]

And when we have this approach verse 1 Peter 4:9 becomes easier to understand.

1 Peter 4:9 (NLT)

9 Cheerfully share your home with those who need a meal or a place to stay.

Now the New Living Translation expresses this in a positive manner where most translations actually use the negative expression of the same concept.

“Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.” (NIV84)

The early church was reliant on hospitality.

They had no churches, public halls were rarely available.

The church met in private homes. (cf. Rom 16:3–5, 23; 1 Cor 16:19; Col 4:15; Phlm 2).[3]

The travelling teachers could not afford to stay in commercial lodgings and in many places such things did not even exist.

Hospitality was in most parts of the ancient world a social expectation.

It was especially important for the church and we know from early church history was sometimes abused.

Now some of you may absolutely thrive on having visitors staying with you, or having a huge crowd in your home every Sunday.

Most of us don’t!

But it is so much easier and can be a great joy when we live in light of the knowledge that the end is near.

And not just of the visitors!

The love of Christ, lived in community makes the church a different place.

Or at least it should.

Scene 4/So then as 1 Peter 4:10-11 goes on to tell us when you have prayer and love the spiritual gifts God has given will be used in service of the Christian community. 1 Peter 4:10-11a

We know from both Ephesians 4 and 1 Corinthians 12 that the spiritual gifts are given to build up each other, to build up the church.

And we know from this passage and from Paul’s letters that each and every believer has at least one spiritual gift.

And we know from this passage that the use of spiritual gifts is an essential element of the Christian life.

A normal element of a life lived in light of the fact that Christ will return.

And Peter seems to put the spiritual gifts into two broad categories.

Speaking gifts in verse 11a.

And serving gifts in verse 11b.

This is an enormous topic which we will deal with in more depth later.

But the key is that wether you have a “speaking gift” or a “serving gift”

God is working in and through you.

The important thing is to not be focussed on the gift but on the loving use of the gift as an essential element of the Christian life.

Then you will be ready for the end when it comes.

The result is that God is glorified as you remain focussed on the essential elements of the Christian life and everything else takes its proper place. 1 Peter 4:11b

[1] Grudem, W. A. (1988). 1 Peter: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 17, p. 180). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press. [2] Schreiner, T. R. (2003). 1, 2 Peter, Jude (Vol. 37, pp. 212–213). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers. [3] Schreiner, T. R. (2003). 1, 2 Peter, Jude (Vol. 37, p. 213). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.