1 Peter 4:1-11

This is really the second part of a series of three sermons within 1 Peter itself on the subject of what it is to live a good Christian life. Last time we saw Peter gave us ten characteristics of the Christian life and as we move into chapter four I want us to see a further five characteristics that we need to be aware of. The next time as we finish off the chapter we will see a third section which relates to how we live as good Christian witnesses.

So these three messages are linked together in terms of the bible’s expectations of us as followers of Jesus Christ today. Just in case you missed the last sermon or indeed were here and have forgotten the ten marks Peter gives us they were -  living in harmony with each other, showing sympathy, brotherly love, compassion, humility, having a passion for goodness, not being fearful of others, having Jesus as Lord of our lives, being ready to defend the faith and  having a pure conscience.

As I said last time this is a good list to pray through in our morning devotions before we go out and meet the world. If our minds are set on these qualities hopefully they will become part and parcel of our lives to the glory of God.  But Peter is not finished and in these first eleven verses of ch.4 he expands on the theme of living a good life even when the pressure is on and the possibility of suffering for being a Christian is greater. Indeed in these verses, if not the whole letter, he is saying that especially when the pressure is on this is an opportunity to show your mettle, to show that you are a genuine follower of Jesus. There used to be a song many years ago called When the going gets tough the tough get going. This is exactly the tenor of what Peter is saying here. Jesus suffered in our world and if we follow him we should not be surprised if we experience some hardship indeed we should use it as a spur to live more for him. In v.1 he says “since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves with the same attitude, because he who has suffered has done with sin.” In other words there are two thoughts here a). Jesus suffered as he lived a good life and he needed to suffer to have victory over sin. In our lives if we seek to live a good life we will encounter some degree of suffering but it will be worth it.         b) More than that, the fact that we are willing to suffer shows that following Jesus is important to us, it shows where our priorities lie. It shows that we are willing to lose things for him and it shows that we are serious about living a new kind of life and of saying no to the old sinful ways of living. We have made a decisive break with sin. Wayne Grudem puts it this way “Obeying God and not avoiding hardship is the most important motivation for our actions. Following through with a decision to obey God even when it will mean physical suffering has a morally strengthening effect on our lives: it commits us more firmly than ever before to a pattern of action where obedience is even more important than our desire to avoid pain.”    John Piper puts it this way – “ I believe what this means is that if you trust God enough to suffer for doing what is right, then you have made a decisive break with sin.

In other words, choose suffering because if you don't, you will choose sin. But if you do, you will prove that your bondage to sin has been broken. Get the thought and the purpose in your head that Christ is worth suffering for; live out that conviction when the choice comes between suffering and sin; and in suffering sin will be defeated and you will be triumphant.”

I said on Wednesday evening that communion is a distinguishing and separating ordinance – it shows, or it ought to show, who is serious about Jesus, who is willing to make sacrifices and put up with pain in following Jesus. This is the point here. Peter says the suffering separates out the true from the false, the true will tough it out, they will stick with it – “ those who persevere to the end will be saved” says Jesus.

He then explains some more marks of the Christian life. This is what it means to be serious about our profession as Christians and he gives five marks which are both negative and positive.

1.The first mark can be summed up in this way  - turn away from sinful and worldly lifestyle (v.2-6). When we make the decision to follow Jesus then according to v.2 we also make the decision “not to live the rest of our earthly lives for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God.” So in being a christian we make this decisive change – we will no longer live as Peter says in v.3 “as the pagans choose to do.”  

In the iconnect series we wanted to establish two things – to say that this is the world we live in today and we must understand it and understand its particular temptations; but we do not seek to understand it so as to submit to it, or be swallowed up by it, but we seek to understand it to engage it and to confront it and speak to it with a counter culture, a better way of living. The worldly way of thinking   is based on putting self above God and exalting flesh over spirit and indulging good appetites to the extent that we worship those appetites – this is wrong and must be challenged. It is idolatry. Peter lists some of the marks of pagan worldly living in v.3 – “debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry”.

These things are simply wrong as far as Christians are concerned and we should not indulge in them.

Over the years the church has tended to one of two extremes when it comes to the world – one extreme is the way of legalism and to denounce anyone who set foot in a cinema, theatre or pub. The other extreme which the modern church can fall into more easily is to embrace an entertainment and pub culture unthinkingly to such an extent that we can become swallowed up by it so that the christian’s life is not notably different in any way from the non Christian’s life.  Also for some modern Christians they may not be into pub culture or attend risqué parties but instead they quietly get drunk at home, or watch unhelpful TV programmes if not pornography on the internet. We may avoid certain places lest people would talk but the availability of these things today means that we invite the world and its standards into our homes and minds.  

As Christians we are to make a decisive break with the world and its ways and its values. We need to check our standards and ask questions like is this programme or film harming or helping my faith, is going to this party going to be a good opportunity to witness to my non-christian friends or will I be unable to resist certain temptations that will be there, as a young woman should I buy this particular item of clothing or although it is the fashion it is not modest and will be unhelpful for boys and men when they see it on me. The world is a minefield and we need to be on our guard – Peter says “arm yourselves with the attitude of Christ” for it is a battlefield out there. We have made a break with the world. The world will be judged (v.5),the wages of sin will be death but we will live with God (v.6).

2. Show self control, a clear mind and be prayerful. This follows on from what we have just said. If we are to have effective prayer lives then we must be self controlled, we must have a mind that is pure and which has not succumbed to lust and pride and greed. Many of us just find it difficult to pray because our minds as Paul would say are crammed full of earthly, fleshly things and we have no  real spiritual desire. There is no passion or feeling in our prayers, there is no desire to pray with others, we pray but a few seconds and we find our minds are wandering. We all feel this but we need to note it and say I need to work on this – my prayer life is important, the kingdom and its values are at stake here. This is the mark of a good, strong christian life. How is your prayer life? Have you a prayer life at all? This is a good mark of where we are with God – it is one of the best marks actually.

3. Forgiving love (v.8)  Someone once said to err is human, to forgive is divine. When we forgive others we are showing something of the divine in us. Forgiveness is again one of the hardest things for us to do as people. Many of us have been hurt by others but in showing forgiving love we show that we are following a higher way, a greater master. Love covers a multitude of sins says Peter. Wayne Grudem again says this “Where love abounds in a fellowship of christians many small offences, and even some large ones, are readily overlooked and forgotten. But where love is lacking, every word is viewed with suspicion, every action is liable to misunderstanding and conflicts abound-to satan’s perverse delight”.  Do we come looking to be offended, or do we come together looking to bless and love. This is our choice. The way of Christ is to look on people with loving eyes, not critical, judgemental eyes. Proverbs 10:12 says “hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers all wrongs”.

4. Offer hospitality. Some people have the gift of hospitality. They love having people over for dinner, they are the first to offer a bed to those who need accommodation, or a lift to hospital for someone. We have all I am sure been blessed by people with this gift. But as with all the gifts, although we may not have it as our number one gift  it is good to show it in some general way.

Sometimes our homes can be fortresses rather than places of hospitality and welcome. Let’s think about sharing more of what we have with others – it is a mark of Christ. In giving we shall receive. Jesus said in Mt.25:35 “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in.”

5. Finally, serve one another. In v.10 Peter says “each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.”    In a few weeks time Gareth will be giving us more detail on the importance of serving as part of our mission statement as a church but for now can I just say two things. a) The first is that Peter, like Paul, insists that each one of us has been given a particular gifting in at least one area. He says Each one – each of us has an area of ministry that will build up other christians in the church. We may also have an aspect of service which we can use in the community, but the point is that God has given us a ministry. So the question I must ask to you as communicant members today is what is your gift and what is your ministry? If you do not know then we have a problem and we are weaker as a church because we have people who are not involved in using their gift, the gift remains unopened.      b) The second thing is that as we serve in God’s strength God is praised and He gets the glory (v.11). The consequence then of not serving is that we lessen God’s praise and we lessen God’s glory, in other words we are in disobedience.  That may not be the way we wish to look at it but that is what is happening. So as we come to the Table let us ask ourselves are we lessening God’s glory in a number of ways? Are we lessening God’s glory in behaving in a worldly way, in lacking in prayerfulness, in lacking in forgiveness, in refusing hospitality, in not seeking out an area of ministry and service?

Here are some more marks then of living the cross centred life, the serious Christian life, the good life. Let’s decide to follow Jesus and where better than at His Table.

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