“Learning To Suffer Well” • 7.22.18 • Calvary Christian Fellowship, Sunday Morning Service
Intro.
- Peter has been writing about the
necessity of enduring suffering for the sake of the Lord. It is better, he
writes, "to suffer for doing good than for doing evil." (I Peter 3:17)
- He continues that theme here
beginning in verse 1.
Text
• I Peter 4:1,2 : "Therefore, since Christ suffered for
us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has
suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, that he no longer should live the
rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God." : The Lord suffered in our place, the
just for the unjust. He did not earn His suffering but endured it as a part of
the Lord's will and plan to save us.
- He is
our example and our Lord. Therefore, on that account, it's only right for us to
adopt the same attitude. We may also be called upon to suffer in the flesh.
- The
people that Peter is writing to were in danger of laying down their lives. The
Apostle doesn't tell them to run or to hide themselves. He commands them to
"arm" themselves.
- The
picture is of a soldier taking on the necessary equipment for the battle that
he would be forced to face. In this case, we are in need of being armed with an
appropriate mentality.
- There
is only one way to travel in the walk of faith and that is forward. Forward
through the pleasant, as well as through the painful. In Christ, there is no
turning back!
- We
cannot expect to be soldiers in the Lord's army and not be treated in the same
manner as He was! To be so armed is to be prepared for this possibility! Why
does God allow this?
-
Because the person that suffers physically is preoccupied spiritually! Peter is
not preaching sinless perfection, though he notes that those who suffer have a
way of keeping their minds focused.
- For
example, when I am seriously ill, I rarely find time to do anything but pray to
the Lord for strength and relef. Imagine then, if you were threatened with a
violent death?
- Suffering
naturally focuses our attention. This bears out historically, as the greatest
chapters in church history were preceded by periods of great persecution.
- When
we suffer, we are done with sin and done with where our sin once thrived,
namely in the kind of life that we once lived and the goals that we once
sought.
- The
only logical response to His sacrifice for us is to live this life for Him, not
for the desires of mankind! Peter isn't saying that we shouldn't have desires.
- Rather,
he is saying that we should run our desires through the filter of what He
desires for us! Then, our desires will bring joy to us and glory to Him! Verse 3.
• I Peter 4:3-5 : "For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will
of the Gentiles—when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries,
drinking parties, and abominable idolatries. In regard to these, they think it
strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of dissipation, speaking
evil of you. They
will give an account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead." : We are prepared and preoccupied in
the present and have gained a whole new perspective upon our past!
- Our
past life, our life without Christ, was filled with an obedience to the
dictates of the world's desires. For the Christian that has or is suffering, we
know there isn't any comfort back there.
- No
matter how much time you spent in the world, you certainly know now, in the
light of Christ, that it was a waste! These believers had a whole laundry list
that they wished to forget.
- They
had spent their lives in lewdness or shameful unbridled lust. The picture is of
a person who is unashamed of their twisted desires. They have gone public and
are proud!
- Couple
that with an insatiable craving that they once had for that which was forbidden
or taboo! That is what the word "lust" refers to. It was a consuming need
that drove them!
- This
is what they lived for and this is where they found their joy. Drunkeness,
revelries and drinking parties were common events in the Roman Empire.
- At
least one of these words has a special celebration of drunkeness in view in
which the Roman god "Bacchus," the god of wine," was celebrated.
- "Bacchanalia"
was essentially a drunken public orgy, which also had some relation to sexually
explicit initiation cult rites, in which new initiates were violated and
victimized.
- Peter
has in view here both the debaucherous public drunkeness, as well as the polite
cocktail party or banquet. He sees it in the streets and privately in the home.
- He
concludes this list by noting illegal idolatrous practices, which refers to the
commitment of crime! Some of these "great nights" ended in prison!
Fascinating how the one leads right to the other.
- It's hard
to find any redeeming value in the use of alcohol, but not rare to pare it with
criminality! Amazing how thin the line gets when alcohol and pleasure worship
come together!
- How
many have found alcohol at the base of criminal behavior, sexual misconduct and
violent outbreaks? Ask your local police and fire departments!
- Peter calls
the Christians to recognize that our time with regard to that life is over. You
are a new creature in Christ and by definition, you must live a different kind
of life.
- When
you recognize that, don't think that the world will applaud your abstinence!
Don't expect the world to understand. You'd think they would! After all you are
flying straight and clean.
- You
stopped attending parties that you would soon forget and started living right.
- For
all of their activities, for all of their destructive behavior, when we don't
participate with them in the same ways that we once did, they will look at us
as if we are the strange ones!
- The language
indicates that they are always astounded at our behavior. They can hardly
believe that you don't find the same satisfaction that they do in these
outings!
- They
can't understand how it is that you don't see it as they do! They say,
"Let's party!" You hear, "Flood of dissipation!" I love the
NLT on this verse.
• I Peter 4:4 (NLT) : "Of
course, your former friends are surprised when you no longer plunge into the
flood of wild and destructive things they do." : This is why they slander and abuse your reputation with their
language!
-
Ultimately, you are a living witness that there is another kind of life that
doesn't require artificial stimulants. They slander and oppose what it is that
they do not understand.
- It's
not as if it's so unusual. It's that it's supernatural! It's beyond their ability
to truly comprehend. That ignorance doesn't absolve them from their
responsibility.
- Those
that look at your life and still choose a life of debauchery are not off of the
hook with God. They will still have to give an account of their lives and their
choices to Him!
- Our
lives, our experience, leads us to a single conclusion that before Christ, we
seek to suppress under the weight of our sin. There is a God, He is morally
supreme and we will face Him!
- Why do
you think people comfort themselves when a wicked man dies by saying, "Oh,
now he'll get what's coming to him!" If there isn't a God of Justice,
where would we get that idea?
- Our
lives are on loan from God and every human being will have to give an account
of how they lived to The Judge, who will preside over living and dead, over all
who have ever lived. Verse 6.
• I Peter 4:6 : "For this reason the gospel was preached also to those who are
dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live
according to God in the spirit." : For what reason? Because God is the Judge of all men and they
will give an account to Him! This is why we preach the gospel of Jesus Christ!
- Last
week, we noted that Jesus "preached" to the disobedient spirits in
prison. That word was better thought of as an "announcement" or
"decree." This word is "euangelizo."
- Our
word "evangelism" comes from this word, which also carries the idea
of proclamation, but it is the conveying of good news! Implicit in the word is
the celebration of participation!
- Peter
says that the gospel offer has been preached to "dead men." This
cannot mean that dead men have the chance of getting saved post mortem.
-
Neither referring to the disobedient spirits in prison, who have no hope of a
changing status.
- There
are two prevailing views here, the first of which is that the "dead"
refer to unsaved people. He has been talking about men that were living for the
world and it's wickedness.
- In
spite of seeing the witness of their Christian counterparts, they slandered
God's people and spoke evil of them, utterly rejecting the claim of God upon
their lives.
- Paul
tells us in Ephesians 2:1, that we were "dead in trespasses and
sins" before the Lord "quickened" or "made us alive."
If that is the case, what does the next phrase mean?
- It
would take quite an exegetical stretch to make it make sense. This leads to the
second prevailing consideration, and that being related to Christian martyrs.
- They
had been judged according to the flesh, by the standards of men. They had
physically died for their faith, but that wasn't the end of the story.
- Peter
reminds his audience that having received the gospel, they now live according
to God in the Spirit! Why do they live now according to God? Because they
received the gospel!
- They
held on and gave their lives for their faith. While it was no easy sacrifice,
Peter is telling those that were living in the gospel now, that it was also no
big sacrifice! Verse 7.
• I Peter 4:7-9 : "But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and
watchful in your prayers. And above all things have fervent love for one another, for 'love will cover a multitude of
sins.' Be
hospitable to one another without grumbling." : "How long will we have to hold
on Peter?" The world was coming to an end and soon! No matter how you look
at it, Peter was right!
- We are
headed toward the day when Christ returns and while we may not see it in our
lifetimes, it is nevertheless closer than when we first believed! For Peter,
this was especially true.
- His
life was coming to a close. A few years from this time, tradition tells us that
Peter will be crucifed upside down by the Roman government alongside of his
wife, who was also crucified.
- For
him, time has become a useless construct, but it is that way for all of us! Our
lives are truly just a vapor in the grand scheme of things. We are here for a
moment and then we are gone!
- It's
on that account that Peter commands them to be sober! It might even sound
abrupt from the way the sentence is constructed. "Sober up!" Be in
your right mind. Control your faculties.
- Understand
the moment that you are living in! This isn't the time to lose control or to
waste time. Be sound in your judgment and be watchful or as the NLT says,
"disciplined."
- "Watchful"
has the connotation of being collected in your spirit. "Don't be rattled
by what you see going on!" Pray on and keep your prayer watch consistent
regardless of what you see!
- More
than anything, commit yourself to a fervent love for one another. We've noted
the word "fervent" before. It refers to a person that has stretched
themselves out toward a goal.
- It's
written in the present tense, so we'd hear it like this: "always stretch
yourself out to one another!" The word is full with intent.
- You
and I must make the decision to love and it will cause you to have to stretch
beyond your comfort and willingness! Why? Because only love can cover a
multitude of sins!
- Peter
is quoting from Proverbs 10:12. When an offense is committed, the only thing
that will counteract it's impact is this kind of intentional, stretchy love! What
does that look like?
- The
first manifestation that Peter mentions relates is hospitality, the brotherly
love and concern for strangers. Think beyond the normal usage.
- Yes,
if you have room, open your home to people that you do not know in Christ. But
let's widen it: Open your heart to those that aren't like you and, dare I say,
not necessarily likable!
- This
word is used three times in the New Testament, all of which are contained in
later books of the Bible. There were many Christians that were out on the run
during these years.
- There
weren't any hotel chains, so the only option was the charity of fellow
Christians opening their homes to them.
- "Ok,
I'll be hospitable." Ah, don't miss that last part: "Without
grumbling!" Literally, don't be hospitable while muttering or carrying on
a debate within yourself!
- Open your
lives to people around you. Look at it as an opportunity to express the love
that the Lord wants to see! He continues to show how love is expressed in verse
10.
• I Peter 4:10,11 : "As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as
good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If anyone speaks, let him speak as
the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability
which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus
Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen." : Look closely. "Each one has
received a gift." Whoever has a gift has received it!
- Nothing
has been requested. God's gifts can only be received! The "charisma,"
the gift, is a divine grace extended through you for the sake of the building
up of the body of Christ.
- That
gift itself is an expression of God's love to the church! That's why you are to
minister, to serve it, toward one another! This is a wonderful illustration
that Peter gives.
-
Imagine that each of us are in God's house together and each has been given a
position as "stewards," managers or overseers of a particular
function within the house.
- The
gift we have received is not for us. We hold it up and pass it around. Each
part, when viewed from the ceiling displays a wonderful rainbow of colors, the
manifold grace of God!
- What
is on that plate? Let's begin with speaking? What a wonderful gift!
- Certainly,
there is a particular use of speaking in the gift of prophecy or preaching. I'm
not sure that there isn't a wider meaning.
- In fact,
you may have a better chance to speak to a person about a singular issue that
is troubling them right after church, which I will not have the opportunity to
touch!
- If you
have that gift, use it as if God Himself was speaking through you! Understand the
urgency to relay something that God Himself wants them to know!
- That
can only take place as we apply His Word to our situations! The second gift is
that of ministry. We get our word "deacon" from this passage.
- It's
quite literally the role of a servant who simply waits upon others. If that's
your gift, use it not to the extent of your strength, but to His.
• I Peter 4:11b (NLT) : "Do
you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy
that God supplies." : That is
the kind of service God is looking for!
- Why?
Because this is the kind of service that belies an action taken by God! The
world will see you operating in your gift and because it's so effective, they will
recognize God's hand in it!
- He is
the One that will forever be deserving of all the praise heaped upon us. Verse 12.
• I Peter 4:12-14 : "Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial
which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you
partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also
be glad with exceeding joy. If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you,
for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is
blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified." : For all of the glory that belongs to
them in Christ, there is nothing glorious about their present condition.
- Peter
loves these brothers and sisters and doesn't want them to think that their
current experience is a foreign thing. What has come upon them should not be
thought of as strange.
- In
fact, what is happening is a fiery trial meant by God to expose the reality of
their faith to them! This should be a cause for rejoicing because they were
sharing in what Christ suffered.
- Nobody
likes to suffer, but when you account your sufferings against your reward, you
realize that you come out on top! If you are treated as Christ was, trust that
you will receive what He does!
- The
Christians that were listening to this might have been losing their lives, but
they were not going to lose their reward! Their mourning would be turned to joy
and that exceeding their pain!
- If the
world is insulting you because of the Name of Jesus now, you reward is great in
heaven, but there is also a blessing of assurance now!
- If you
are treated like Him, it is because you are rightly representing Him! The
Spirit of glory and God rests upon you! When they mock you, to them, they are
blaspheming Him.
- To
you, there is a recognition that God's reality is being seen in you! Verse 15.
• I Peter 4:15,16 : "But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer,
or as a busybody in other people’s matters. Yet if anyone suffers as a
Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter." : God keeps reiterating this point: No
Christian should suffer for doing what is wrong!
- The
law shouldn't find you guilty of taking another person's life or property!
Neither should you be found involving yourself in other people's business! Nothing
evil should come from you ever!
- You
may never murder or steal, but it's possible that you are a busy body, which
Peter mentions in the same breath! The Greek word is made up of two concepts.
- It
means to oversee another and by implication to ignore what is going on with
yourself! That brings no glory to God and will bring justified suffering to
you!
- While
you should be ashamed if you act this way, there is no shame in being
maltreated for being a Christian! That is the only sure way to bring Him glory!
Verse 17.
• I Peter 4:17,18 : "For the time has come for judgment
to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the
end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? Now 'If the righteous one is scarcely
saved, where will the
ungodly and the sinner appear?'" : We're to glorify God when we suffer for His Name because the
time, the season is here! Judgment must begin with God's church.
- When you read any word, remember that you
have to interpret that word in context. When judgment is applied to Christians,
there is a sense of chastening or purging that comes with it.
- Our judgment for sin took place on the cross.
There is nothing more that God will do to express wrath toward us. He will
however, allow suffering to occur to impress His character upon us!
- If what He allows His children to endure is
difficult, what must it be like for those that have not obeyed the gospel? God's
judgment begins with us, purifying us, but continues as it destroys them!
- Peter quotes from Proverbs 11:31,
noting that the righteous are saved, but it's literally with difficulty. It
took God His own Son's life to extend salvation to us! All of our sin was
placed upon Him!
- If that difficulty brought us salvation
because we responded to the gospel, please realize that to disobey the gospel
makes that salvation impossible! Verse 19.
• I Peter 4:19: "Therefore let those who suffer
according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a
faithful Creator." :
Peter sums it up.
- If you must suffer by God's will, then let us
commit our souls to Him! Before we suffer, let it be true that we
follow this instruction!
- Lord, my body might be burned by the
representatives of this world's system, but my soul belongs to you!
- "Commit" is a term that bankers
used to describe the safekeeping of an item. If you should have to suffer,
there are no better hands than the Lord's for that task of keeping your soul!
- Entrust Him with your soul and do good while
you can, as if you were doing it unto Him! He isn't merely your Creator. He is
your faithful Creator!
Conclusion
- In the end, while suffering might be necessary, Peter reminds us that our
reward will far outweigh the sacrifice! Let's pray.