Book: 1 Peter

The Christian’s Obligation for Resistance, Part 1

In this sermon on 1 Peter 5:9, Pastor Babij teaches on the Christian’s obligation to resist Satan’s attacks. Christians need to know that the mind is Satan’s target and that his weapons are lies disguised as truth.

Full Transcript:

As we continue to look through this great book, let’s turn to 1 Peter 5-9:

You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE. ⁶Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, ⁷casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. ⁸Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. ⁹But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.

Let’s pray:

As we look at Your word, and as we think about it, I pray, Lord, that we would be thankful, and that our ears can hear it because this is the word of the King. When the King speaks, the people should be ready to listen. I pray, Lord, as we do look at the word of God, we realize that suffering is a difficult part of life. It’s something that we cannot escape from, and in one way or another, we will enter it. I pray, Lord, that when we do, we would be ready because we know, Lord, that part of suffering is an attack of the enemy against us. We know, Lord, You are sovereign over all things, and that You even ordained it for us in this world of sin. Lord, it’s all around us, so I pray as it comes into our life for our testing, let us be ready. Let us be able to stand and resist in the proper attitude and in a proper way in which we maintain our integrity, holiness, and advance in our godliness. I ask You this in Christ’s name, Amen.

In this last area of 1 Peter 5, we have been considering three exhortations. The first exhortation is that of humility. The second exhortation is that of vigilance. The third exhortation, which we will be looking at, is the Christian’s obligation for resistance. The first one was given in light of God’s constant care. The second one was given in light of Satan’s dubious character. As the Scripture tells us he’s walking about, he is like a roaring lion, and he is seeking to devour, so we need to be ready for all of them, especially since he is relentless, he’s restless, and he wants to come against those who are specifically Christians.

He already has the world, who he has blinded, and they are on his side. For those who’ve been rescued from his dark kingdom into the kingdom of light, he is against us, and the Bible warns us about that. The Scripture doesn’t want us to be ignorant of his motive to keep unbelievers blind so that they do not understand or receive the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Then, to keep believers ignorant, sleepy, and scared, so that they fall away from being soldiers and witnesses of Jesus Christ.

In this third exhortation, if it is understood and practiced, it enables us to carry out the first two exhortations, which enables us to carry out this third exhortation. This third one is one is the exhortation for resistance. If you grasp the logic of the first and second exhortations, which is that of humility and vigilance, then stability and victory over Satan strategies, his tactics, himself, and his minions are achievable. Scripture is telling us that we can resist what he’s throwing at us, and we have to be ready for that.

Last time, I started giving you three examples and situations where Satan will take advantage of anyone, and we’re going to look at each one where the Bible specifically says Satan’s involved with that. He’s ready to manipulate, he’s ready to exploit the situation, and our job is to not let him do that. We have the power because of the spirit of God, in the word of God, and us being in Christ. He cannot have our soul anymore. In our life, we are to be aware of his devices, and don’t let him take the advantage. In other words, we’re in the battle.

It was a hot summer day in Iraq. Staff Sergeant Tichenor was on a routine mission standing by his Humvee. He had his helmet on, flak jacket on, and all his gear on to go into a mission. On a mission that day, he was standing there by his Humvee, not knowing that he was in the crosshairs of a sniper. Just in a second, he felt this incredible force on his chest while the sniper shot his round right into the center mass of his body. He went down to the ground because of the force of the round. Because it was so hot, he was always sweating, so he thought it wasn’t sweat. It was blood, so he crawled around to the other side of his Humvee, opened up his black jacket, and saw that the round was lodged in a metal plate on his jacket. On that day, he understood more than ever that the enemy has his crosshairs on him. Thank the Lord he did not die that day because of his armor.

Remember, the Christian has both offensive and defensive equipment to resist the enemy. You have to use both the black jacket with the metal plate to stop that bullet. On that day, he was able to walk away, but I’m sure after that day, he was way more aware of what was going on of what he could not see, and he made himself ready for it. That is very much like what a Christian should do.

Every day when Christian’s wake up, they need to be ready and understand that they are in a spiritual battle. It is a battle that we cannot get out of, but it is a battle that’s already won in Christ Jesus. However, it still needs to be fought because we need to learn some things in that battle. As we look at the Scripture, let us consider arming ourselves with the word of God, so that we are not ignorant of the devices of the enemy, especially since he does have his crosshairs on you.

Last time, the first one we looked at was that we are to be ready because the enemy will exploit. In 2 Corinthians 2:11, we’re not to be ignorant of his schemes because the enemy is on the attack against the church community and its unity:

so that no advantage would be taken of us by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his schemes.

If Satan can suggest ideas to the Christian’s mind and inflame the believer’s affections with desires that stand in opposition to godliness, holiness, and to spiritual growth, then the Christian, while taking the devil seriously, must understand what parts of their own lives they need to spend special attention on such their weaknesses and their vulnerabilities. Though Christian’s do not know when the devil will strike, they can be ready for his attacks.

In 2 Corinthians 2:11, the device Satan was planting was the thought that Christian’s don’t really need to forgive each other. It’s the enemy’s desire to introduce hatred and animosity to the church, which in turn would destroy relationships and further damage the church’s organic unity. The term take advantage or don’t be ignorant suggests that the devil’s target is the believer’s mind, and his weapons are lies disguised as the truth.

It goes way back to the Garden when Satan said to Eve, “Did God say that?” Just a little twist of the truth, and it becomes a lie. Thus, Satan’s work on believers is to get the better of them. The devil wants to destroy the power and testimony of the church by planting stumbling blocks in the believer’s way that keeps them ignorant of God’s word and stifled in their spiritual growth. If the church is to accomplish its mission, Christian’s must resist.

For the second example, let’s look at Ephesians 4:25-27. In this passage, we are not to be ignorant of his schemes. The enemy’s scheme or attack is on our obedience and relationships:

Therefore, laying aside falsehood, SPEAK TRUTH EACH ONE of you WITH HIS NEIGHBOR, for we are members of one another. ²⁶BE ANGRY, AND yet DO NOT SIN; do not let the sun go down on your anger, ²⁷and do not give the devil an opportunity.

In this passage of Scripture, obedience is for us to speak the truth, which is what God commands us to do. When conversing with one another, tell the truth on things, and don’t be hedging against the truth. There’s no such thing as little lies or pink lies. No matter what you call it, a lie is a lie. God wants us to speak the truth.

Then, you and I need to be angry about our own sins and get rid of them, put them off, and put them away from us. We are to have a moral indignation against sin. Yes, we are to be angry, but we are not to sin. The Bible doesn’t say to not be angry. Rather, it says be angry and sin not, so it is a righteous kind of anger.

Of course, that anger can quickly slip into an unrighteous, unlawful anger that is very detrimental to relationships, which goes against our obedience to tell the truth. Thus, anger is a very dangerous state of mind, especially for weak, infallible, and imperfect people like us. In most cases, it becomes an occasion for sin.

For the Christian, the Scripture emphasizes that whenever the feelings of resentment and anger rises up in us, we are not the sin. Under the old self and the old ways, this was often misunderstood and abused. In the new self and in Christ, we are to be controlled. We are to be able to harness that anger in the right way and use it righteously. God’s given us the strength and the power to do that in the word of God. In this passage, Paul’s council is simply to practice being controlled. We are able to have a handle on that anger, so that we’re not allowing it to go where it would normally go.

A second thing he gives in the council is to keep it current where he says, “do not let the sun go down on your anger.” The picture of the sun going down is allowing your anger to go past that day into the next day. Then, the sun rises and sets the next day and it goes into the next day. When those things take place and we don’t do anything about it, then there’s a fine line between righteous anger and sinful anger. When you cross the line, we are to deal with anger within current time, so the Christian should never allow the sun to go down upon their anger.

Anger cannot be nursed. Righteous anger is to be controlled. It is not to be prolonged beyond sunset. Anger is not to be harbored beyond the day in which it began. When you’re able to harness that, you are going to do something else. You’re going to be able to stand up against the enemy so that he doesn’t take advantage of you, and you don’t deny the doctrine and cause the gospel to look ugly. Anger definitely looks ugly, and evil conduct is a denial of the very foundation of the Gospel. One man says:

It may not always be possible to straighten out the problem with the other person before nightfall. At the very least, one can settle the matter in his own heart and attitude before retiring and before putting your head on the pillow. Of course, in a short time, resolve the matter.

Instead, we are not to sin, but take measures to prepare to seek reconciliation. We are to bear the likeness of God’s image by doing to others what God has done to us. In Ephesians 4:32, it simply says:

Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.

In other words, be like God. We must forgive one another in spite of his or her being against me because of how God has forgiven all of my sins, transgressions, and iniquities. We are to hate sin in ourselves and in others, but we are not to hate them. Instead, we are to forgive the sinner, love the sinner, and then we are to help the sinner forsake their sin each day.

We must never put our heads on our pillow to rest and sleep for that night while the spirit of bitterness, hatred, or lack of forgiveness lurks in our heart and mind. You are not to rest until you settle the matter. Don’t rest until you forgive like the Father forgave you in Christ Jesus.

Immediately, Scripture adds that if anger is permitted to continue in your heart, then you give the adversary opportunity to act against you. So, why would we want to give him that opportunity? We don’t want to give him that opportunity, so that’s a way in which Christians resist the enemy. They know the Scripture and they understand the Scripture. When a situation comes into their life, they practice the Scripture, they put it into play, and then they find out that the Scripture is definitely reliable in dealing with problems.

We are to practice being cunning. Do not give the devil an opportunity. According to the Webster’s New Dictionary, cunning means to know, to show skill, and to be clever. It is something done with ingenuity, so I’m using it in the original sense of the word. You have a knowledge and skill to be able to deny the devil the opportunity to get you, keep you in anger, and you do so by keeping the door closed to his diabolical influence. You don’t give the devil an opportunity of leading you into his opened irrational influence that he places over people.

The devil needs only the slightest place to begin operations, which leads us to outbursts of passion. Angry feelings so easily result in simple words and in actions of hatred and malice. Thus, we are to use our skill and understanding of the truth so that the devil cannot do as he would like to do. The devil would like to keep your anger going. He likes the fuel it, and sometimes it’s very easy for some people to have their anger get fueled. All you have to do is wake up on the wrong side of the bed, or if it’s not a sunny day, the coffee isn’t the way you like, or someone gives you a hard time, then you are ready to jump down their throat. See, he wants to lead us to nurse grievances. He wants to lead us to desire revenge against someone. He wants to lead us to slander with our tongue, and if we can’t do it face-to-face, then we will do it on Facebook.

A lot of people take Facebook as a place to vent. Christian, you better watch what you write on Facebook. It tells a lot about what’s going on in your heart. Be very careful that you don’t use these cowardly avenues to get out of your heart all the garbage. We ought to be doing that kind of stuff before God in confession of our sin.

The evil one will help you feed your anger with sinful thoughts and ideas until the sun goes down and rises the next morning. Then, the devil will help your anger simmer day after day until you have no self-control, until you grieve the Holy Spirit, until you set aside the power that God has given to you to put and resist the enemy, and until you cannot put off the sin, renew your mind, and put on righteousness. You’ll be out of control, unforgiving, unholy, unmoved, and diminishing any Christ-likeness that could have appeared in your life at that point. At the same time, you deceive yourself in your self-righteousness and that somehow your anger is justified.

When any counsellor deals with somebody who has anger issues or a couple who has anger issues, it is always the case. Somehow, they want to justify why they have the right to dig in against this person, not realizing they have been trapped by Satan, especially if they’re believers.

You can’t let him trap you, which is the point the Scriptures. Don’t let him lead you down this path in which you are doing the opposite of what the word of God says. When you lay aside the word of God, you’re up to your own thoughts and whatever the world impresses upon you as to what you ought to be doing. Notice, in the passage, how clear the Bible is about not giving the devil an opportunity, and this third example is about the enemies attack on our devotion to God and marriage. In 1 Corinthians 7:4-5, it says:

The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does; and likewise also the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. ⁵Stop depriving one another, except by agreement for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer, and come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.

In the context of this passage of Scripture, Paul is dealing with the responsibilities of marriage. Specifically, the conjugal rights of each partner. Each render to the other what is due once a person does get married. It is the marital obligation of mutual self-giving of each other to the other. The conjugal rights are to be practice throughout the continuation of a marriage relationship.

This particular thought is coming from the Old Testament in Exodus where the law of Moses was given concerning slaves. Remember, masters used to have slaves, and if the slaves got married or were married when they became slaves, they were to stay that way, and the master of that couple was to make sure they did stay that way. It says in Exodus 21:10-11:

“If he takes to himself another woman, he may not reduce her food, her clothing, or her conjugal rights. ¹¹“If he will not do these three things for her, then she shall go out for nothing, without payment of money.

In fact, if you don’t do this for your female slave, who’s now married, then let her go free. Thus, the Biblical principle is clearly stated in 1 Corinthians 7:4:

The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does; and likewise also the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does.

Here, he is saying that the wife has surrendered the right to rule over her own body and given that right to her husband. Likewise, the husband has surrendered his right over his own body and has given that to his wife. Thus, the husband and the wife equally transfer their rights over their bodies to the other in marriage.

Separate ownership of the body ceases, and that’s why you become one flesh. This becomes very important, especially in the marriage bond. However, some were neglecting their conjugal responsibilities under a false notion. They were thinking, in the context of the Scripture, if remaining unmarried, one is able to give oneself more completely to the service of God without distraction.

Remember, Paul was talking about being single here. He was single, so he was saying to be as He was, and he was giving the responsibilities between those who were single or married. So, the person started thinking that if a single person has more time and opportunity to be able to give God devotion, then practicing abstinence while being married will free one up and provide less distraction in the service of God.

Although this thinking was fostered with a good desire to give more time to the service of God, this thinking was completely wrong and unbiblical. How much worse is it when married partners use the marriage bed as an instrument of punishment in which the dog house is a real place?

Don’t misunderstand, marital intimacy is often complicated by the bad treatment of husbands toward wives and wives towards husbands. Whatever the reason marital couples decide to deprive each other of their conjugal rights, they should reexamine what they’re doing by Scripture. They should have their thinking readjusted by the word of God. A believer should be ready to be able to change their mind on something if they have been wrong. In thinking about that, what is Paul’s advice in this passage of Scripture? It says very clearly in 1 Corinthians. 7:5:

Stop depriving one another

Sometimes, “stop it” is good counsel, but he undergirds that counsel with something else. The word deprive means to refuse or defraud what the other has the right to. In this case, they have the right to the sexual relationship between a husband and wife, which God has given them. They have no right to manipulate that because there’s a problem if they do. The Apostle Paul is saying to stop depriving one another in an unlawful manner. Then, he goes on to lay down a kind of test, and here are four things to evaluate lawful abstinence in marriage. Number one, it must be mutual consent. Paul says:

stop depriving one another except by agreement.

Meaning, the husband and the wife have to agree. It’s not a one-sided abstinence. For one partner to insist on abstinence without agreement of the other is to rob the other of his or her right. He is saying that you cannot do that, and that it must be mutual between the husband and the wife. It must be by agreement. Secondly, it must be for a short time:

stop depriving one another except by agreements for a time

Thus, it will be for a short season. It’s by duration because they may feel such abstinence will add intensity to their supplication, or even their fasting if that is included. However, it is to be agreed upon between husband and wife and it must be for a short time, which should be agreed upon too. Thirdly, Paul says that it must be for a spiritual purpose:

stop depriving one another except by agreement for time so that you may devote yourself to prayer.

It cannot be for any purpose such as using the marriage bed as a tool against your spouse. According to Paul, it would be completely wrong and something against what God is communicating to us in the word of God. Then, he says that it must be with spiritual discernment:

stop depriving one another except for agreement for time so that you may devote yourself to prayer and come together again that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control

To give themselves to prayer in relation to some weighty or pressing matter is definitely important, but we are to do it with spiritual discernment. Meaning, in the passage of Scripture, they understand the sinful human nature, they understand that there’s a weakness in the flesh when it comes to sexual things, they understand the power of temptation and the power of sexual temptation, and they also understand that Satan will take advantage if they leave his foot in the door on this matter. He will want to destroy that marriage relationship, that family and weaken the church.

This is a very serious matter, so Scripture gives a word of warning where the couple must come together again, or Satan will take advantage of any lack of self-control in either party. If any action taken, even for a spiritual purpose, continues beyond the limits of natural endurance, it could lead to a breakdown in self-control leading to other sinful practices and even adultery, which concludes in ultimate spiritual shipwreck.

Satan’s goal is to wreck and destroy your life, and if you give him that advantage, he will do it. Here, we are talking about believers. We’re talking about people in the church. We’re talking about those who believe the word of God is the final ruler of authority for life and godliness. Thus, Satan and his minions would be quick to take advantage of such weakness in Christians.

Christians must not give the enemy an advantage. Christians, you cannot let the enemy put his foot in the door, and you don’t have to do that because God has given us everything. If it were not for the believer’s union with the Lord, Jesus Christ, the indwelling Holy Spirit, and the word of God, then there would be no standing firm against such a dominant enemy, who is a two-faced dubious character.

One must not forget that Satan has had thousands of years of hands-on experience dealing with falling humanity. He has seen what works, so he has many cleverly conceived strategies and deceptions to use against us. Just as a fisherman knows the seasons and times fish are most likely to bite after the bait, Satan knows that some people are readier for temptation when they are distressed and downcast while others are more vulnerable when they are happy and full of joy. He will always tempt a person with what is agreeable in his or her nature, so that sooner or later he may draw that person into his debilitating net.

Steven Lawson, concerned about the Christian faith under Satan’s relentless fire, rightly cautions believers by saying this:

Mark it down: every Christian has a real enemy. Satan hates you and has a terrible plan for your life. He is constantly attacking and accusing you with the intent of destroying your life. Spiritual warfare is a fact of life as long as the enemy is alive and well on planet earth.

Christian, how would we know that if it wasn’t for the Bible? We would not know one thing about the enemy if it wasn’t for the Bible. Remember, his tactics are that he is not there. He’s just a fairy tale character. He is not alive and well. However, we know, from Scripture, that he has a mission.

His goals in that mission is to destroy us because we bear God’s image, overthrow the kingdom of God to retain control of what he still possesses, and to regain his lost territory. His strategies are to entice to sin, to hinder our spiritual disciplines, to misrepresent God and Truth, and to oppose our sanctification. He uses the same strategy but different devices and methods for each person.

The Bible says that we are not ignorant of his schemes such as his thoughts and actions involved in deceiving someone. He is attacking the Believers mind and he wants to inject into their mind something other than what God says, and even make what He says sound truer than truth itself. Thus, the church has to know it’s enemy, and not be ignorant of the unseen spiritual realm that we have entered into as believers.

Remember, Satan is not all-knowing, and he cannot be present everywhere. Satan is stronger than we are and is a formidable enemy, but he is not God or even equivalent to God. He is nowhere near who God even though he wants to present himself as that. He’s a created being in which God has full authority over. He has been cast out of the presence of God. He is under God’s judgment, and he’s awaiting his final judgment where he will be cast into the lake of fire with all those who do not believe, the Antichrist, and the false prophet. The Bible tells us in 1 John 4:4:

because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.

Don’t forget, Satan is looking upon his various plans to carry out his dominion in the world. He has his sights on anything and anyone who will give him an advantage. Anyone who honors God most and is serious about serving God, Satan will struggle with them most unsympathetically. In other words, Satan views God’s people as a hindrance to his reign, so he will try his methods by which he may remove them out of his way, get them to work on his behalf, or some other thing. He and his whole host of inferior spirits, who are under his control, are trying to get the faithful ones to fail. Therefore, all the servants of God will more or less come under the direct or indirect assault of the enemy at some time in their Christian walk.

Remember, the devil is a slanderer, who deliberately advances false charges against God and his people. So, what are Christians to do with such a formidable enemy? In looking back at 1 Peter 5:9, are we to cast him out? Are we to rebuke him? Are we to exercise him? Are we to bind him?

In our text, the believers are not exhorted to do any of these things in this passage. However, they are exhorted, in Scripture, to do one thing, which is to resist him and be firm in your faith. James 4:7 says:

Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

He’ll be back, but he will flee. He’ll be back when you’re at your strongest, at your weakest or anywhere in between. Meaning, we always need to be ready. As Christians, we are exhorted to resist him, and how are we to resist him? In our passage, we are to resist him in our faith. 1 Peter 5:9 says:

But resist him, firm in your faith

If you noticed, your is italicized, which means that in the original, the your is not there. Actually, it reads:

resist him firm in faith.

Some have added the article the meaning to resist him in the faith, which I believe is the better translation. In other words, God has given believers a detection system making it possible for them to be aware of Satan’s evil methods, and that alarm system is called the faith, which is the Christians personal confidence in God and the system of teaching given to them by God in the Scriptures. Many Scriptures support the idea of using the faith to resist the enemy. In other words, the body of truth delivered to the church, which is the Bible. When we talk about the faith, were talking about everything contained in Scripture. This is how we resist them.

When Jesus was tempted in the beginning of His ministry, He did not perform miracles even though He was tempted but quoted back to Satan the word of God. As he resisted Satan with the truth, Satan left him. Thus, we are do the same thing. Our example is to use the word of God to come against him. Jude 1:3, it says:

Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints.

There’s the idea of this body of truth given to the church through the word of God. From Genesis to Revelation, that is what are weapon is and that is how we are to resist. Then, Philippians 1:27 says:

Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel.

In all these passages of Scripture, there’s a struggle going on and some kind of resistance going on. Then, Colossians 1:23 says:

if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister.

Then, 1 Timothy 4:7 says:

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith;

The faith applies to one’s convictions, which must be well grounded in the Scriptures and able to make one strong and solid like an impenetrable wall. Truly, as Christians learn Scriptural truth, they become strong in the faith and in the conviction that God will never leave or forsake them. God’s truth, which is light, will expose Satan’s dark mixture of lies and half-truths. Because Satan is the master Scripture twister, the Christian must fill his mind with the word of God, so that it bends his thinking away from the world’s thinking, away from the thinking of their old fleshly days, and toward God’s thinking and God’s will. Paul told the Romans in Romans 12:2:

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

By developing convictions based on the correct study of the word of God, the believer is able to cling to the faith. In the face of spiritual attack, they’re able to stand firm. Because they had their armor on, they are able to get up like Staff Sergeant Tichenor and live another day until God takes them. I want to end with a quote from Johnny Mac:

The devil’s alternative credo, a doctrinal statement, often has a few carefully chosen elements of truth in the mix, but always diluted and thoroughly blended with falsehoods, contradictions, misrepresentations, distortions, and every other imaginable perversion of reality. Add it all up and the bottom line is it’s a big lie.

If he can get you to the place where you’re ignorant of the truth, then a lie may very much sound like the truth. If you are in Scripture, you are going to detect his twist of the truth, you are going to detect when things come into your life that you know God would not be pleased since that goes against this passage, principle, and doctrine. You won’t go there, and you will resist them by doing what God wants to do according to the word of God. Then, you will be able to stand and resist him in this battle. Let’s pray:

Lord, as we look at the word of God, we see, Lord, the examples of the truth. We see how in the word of God, You have given us very clear examples on how Satan works and what we’re to do. Lord, I pray that we would be skilled and growing in our skill of Scripture to the point that we would be able to everyday become a keener soldier in the battle. That our minds would be transformed by Your word, that we would understand what the world is saying, what we used to do in the past in our old sinful life, and what You want us to do in this new life. Lord, when he comes against us, his lies will become evident, and situations that he manipulates will become clear on what we’re to do. However, it won’t become clear if we’re ignorant of the Word. It will only be clear if we’re not ignorant of the word of God. Lord, every time the doors of the church are open for the study of Scripture, I pray that we would be here simply for the reason of not being ignorant and to hear another lesson. Lord, You can build this body of truth in our mind, so we know how to hold to it and use it against him as our weapon. For we know, Lord, it is a sharp weapon, it is a very Pointed weapon, it’s a two-edged sword that pierces on both sides, and it cuts very deeply even our own Hearts. At the same time, Lord, it will expose the enemy’s attacks against us. Lord, I pray that You would make us Christians that understand the battle knowing that the battle has been won. However, we have a responsibility to put our armor on and stand against the enemy. I pray You would enable us to do that today. In Christ’s name, Amen.

September 9, 2018
The Christian’s Obligation for Vigilance

In this sermon, Pastor Babij preaches on the Christian’s obligation to be vigilant for spiritual warfare through the following three postures:

1) Prepare for war
2) Be spiritually and mentally controlled in a godly fashion
3) Be spiritually and mentally alert and watchful

Full Transcript:

Let’s take our Bibles and turn to the epistle of 1 Peter, and let’s pray:

Lord, I thank You for this opportunity to just have the privilege to open up Your word to see what it says, to learn something that we didn’t know before, or to add upon what we already do know. I pray, Lord, that our hunger for the word of God would never cease. I pray, Lord, that we never get tired of hearing the Gospel message or preaching from the word of God. Lord, that it would always thrill our soul, and always get ahold of us in our inner man. We desire to be fed by it, so that the inner man is strengthened, and the old man could die off. I pray, Lord, as we go through our life that we would be sinning less and less and looking forward to seeing You come again. I pray, Lord that we would prepare for that coming even if there comes a time in our life that we have to go through deep times of suffering and persecution because we’re Believers. I pray, Lord, that You would allow us to be strengthened now before that time. I pray this in Christ name, Amen.

In 1 Peter 5, we’re going to be looking at just one verse. 1 Peter 5:6-9 says:

Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, ⁷casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. ⁸Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. ⁹But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.

Specifically, I’m going to focus in on 1 Peter 5:8. In this final section of 1 Peter, the Apostle Peter exhorts his recipients in three areas: the area of humility, balanced vigilance, and resistance. All three areas really have an important place within the life of every believer. No one is exempt from these things. When a believer would experience some storms of trial, some suffering they’re going through in their life, something that God wants to teach them, or a trial in their faith, it is a strengthening of your faith as you mature during those times, which are also the times we mature the most

The exhortation of humility was given in light of God’s constant care. Christian’s are to cast all that creates anxiety on God and practice that every day whether it is anything that distracts us or prompts us to fear. Worry is to be handed over to our caring God such as memories of the past, pressures of the present, or fears concerning the future.

However, such abandonment to God’s care does not exempt the Christian from the duty of vigilance. The Christian has no warrant for slackness or laziness. Thus, the first exhortation is important because it enables us to carry out the second and third exhortation. The second exhortation is of balanced vigilance? If you grasp the logic of this exhortation and practice it, then stability and victory over satan is achievable over his tactics.

I remember when I was a soldier, and any soldier that goes to battle goes to bootcamp to learn how to fire a weapon. You don’t put somebody in a battle, and while they are in battle, they’re given the weapon. Rather, that is given to them in peacetime, and before the battle, they learn how to do all those things and how to practice those things. They learn how to fire a weapon and the nomenclature of that weapon. When they get into battle, they’re not looking at the weapon and saying, ‘oh, how do you fire this thing?’ All those things they know beforehand.

In the Christian life, when things are kind of on a low and there’s not a whole lot of things happening, then that is the time to learn what it means to be ready for battle, especially since the unbeliever is to be ready for battle. I don’t think that’s a message that’s often heard today, but it is a message of the Bible for all believers.

Just as a soldier needs to be vigilant in what he knows in battle tactics and weaponry, a Christian ought to be vigilant in what they know about Christian battle tactics, the weapon to use against the enemy, and how to use the weapon.

As we consider the exhortation of balanced vigilance, we are to have spiritual and mental control. 1 Peter 5:8 says:

Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

Again, such relinquishment to God’s care, in 1 Peter 7, does not permit any laziness on the part of the Christian. The command is not a new one in 1 Peter, and it was said in 1 Peter 1:13:

Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Then, in 1 Peter 4:7, it says:

The end of all things is near; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer.

Again, he is admonishing three times, by command, to believers that this is really important. In your Christian walk, this is vital for when the battle comes, so that you’re not caught off-guard or deluded. Rather, you’re going to be ready. Actually, you’re going to be expecting it as said in 1 Peter 4:12:

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you.

Don’t think it’s strange when trouble comes into your Christian life but be ready for those times. So, the imagery is that of drunkenness or a drunken person. In other words, it says keep sober in spirit, so it’s the image of a drunk in person. Remember, a drunken person is not a person who is in control of themselves, their bodies, or their minds. Instead, they are given over to an outside intoxicating influence that controls them by clouding and distracting their mind, so that they are unable to maintain clear thinking. When a person is under the influence of an intoxicating substance, their manner will be unnatural and erratic, especially since they have allowed themselves to be controlled by something other than a sober and a sound mind.

By being under the influence, a person has removed his words and actions from his own power. These admonitions are also given in other books of the Bible. For example, in 1 Thessalonians 5:6, there are two verbs that occur in this passage:

so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober.

The posture of alertness is part of the Christian teaching regarding the end of the world. The ends of things are rapidly moving forward. We’re not going backwards, but forward to a place. Remember, Christian history is not something circular. Rather, it is linear, and it’s heading somewhere. It’s got an end result, which is the coming of Jesus Christ. Before His coming, there’s going to be difficult times that will come and there’s going to be even more difficult where men are going to be lovers of self and money, not lovers of God. They are going to be disobedient and rebellious.

In peaceful times, the church is to make sure that they don’t forget that He’s coming, and they need to be of sober mind, watchful, and be ready for whatever happens. A man once said about the Thessalonian passage:

The notions of wakefulness and sobriety imply the need to avoid the opposite states of sleep and drunkenness. It does include literal drunkenness, but also anything that can dull the senses. Drunkenness expresses the clouding of the senses, and so a lack of apprehending spiritual realities. Believers are to be alert, be on the watch like King Sentinel, and aware that the foe may attack at any time from any quarter.

The only thing that’s going to give you a clear mind is the word of God. The word of God is going to push out all the other stuff and give you God’s thoughts on what God is doing in the world.

Secondly, we are to be spiritually and mentally conscious. In 1 Peter 5:8, it says to be sober, but also to be on the alert. The second imperative command means to not dull, sleepy, or lazy. Rather, be conscious of two kingdoms: the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan, who is working against the kingdom of God.

Even though the Christian may cast the whole of his anxiety and burden on God, they are not exempt for the duty of vigilance. To be on the alert is to be constantly ready. Of course, this one gives the image of that of the mind. 1 Peter 1:13 says:

Therefore, prepare your minds for action’

In Bible times, people wore flowing garments down to the ankle. They would bind up or gather up their flowing robes in their girdle. They did this, so they would not be hindered or slowed down by tripping over their extra flowy material, especially if they had to move quickly. In Exodus 12:11, the people were getting ready to leave Egypt and hurry out of Egypt, the land of bondage:

Now you shall eat it in this manner: with your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in haste’it is the LORD’S Passover.

Meaning, in the mind, you don’t move through life with loose thoughts that are lazily moved by old impulses and passions of your remaining corruption. Instead, a girded mind means a mind that is made up. Not a stubborn mind, but a mind that is made up, and a mind that purposely has decisive thoughts, makes decisive decisions, and knows the direction of their life.

To have your mind made up is to have your mind made up concerning scripture. The authority and sufficiency of God’s word is given to us for all of life and godliness. We don’t need anything else to prepare us in the Christian walk than the word of God, who is sufficiently giving us everything we need to prepare us.

Thus, we have a balance in our disposition, in our thoughts, and our actions. Meaning, we’re never flighty spiritually or carried away by notions of our own thoughts that cannot be substantiated or evaluated from anything. The word of God is the only thing that can examine things. In Matthew 16:21-23, Peter questions the Lord’s wise method of Salvation, and Jesus was quick to remind Peter his thinking was out of balance, was not sober, and how he was used by the enemy by the way he was thinking:

From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day. ²²Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, ‘God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You.’ ²³But He turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.’

The Lord quickly rebuked him for the wrong thinking. If it wasn’t for Christ going to the Cross, Peter could not be saved and be made right with God. Nobody could unless Jesus went to the Cross. However, in 1 Peter and 2 Peter that he has fully grasped it. Now, he’s turning around and warning the people of some of the things he got wrong, so we wouldn’t get it wrong.

Peter is saying that warfare demands vigilance. The man’s sobriety is a man’s watchfulness. Casting one’s cares upon God not only shows a desire to be humble before God but puts us in the realm in which Christians live with a freedom from all anxious care enabling them to be sober-minded and have a mind guarded by the word of God.

A sober mind is really a calm mind, a steady mind, a sensible mind, and a balanced mind that weighs and estimates all things by the word of God. In turn, it enables the believer to make wise decisions, to avoid different paths and trends in the world and in life that will be damaging to their Christian life and growth. A spiritually balanced Christian can maintain self-control and spiritual sanity. So, what does the spiritual sane person look like or what would be going on in their life? Will they see things in their proper order in position or portion?

They see what things are important and what are not important, and they are not swept away by sudden and passing enthusiasm. They are not prone to unbalanced fanaticism. They know in what and in whom they believe. They see the affairs of this life in the light of eternity. They have their eyes fixed on the goal. They give the Lord, Jesus Christ, proper place in all things. Their heart is fixed on God in prayer by casting all their worries on Him while they live each day.

So, they have minds unintoxicated with the forms and structures of this world. They knew who they are in Christ. They know where they are heading. They know what to do while on Earth on their way to heaven. They know they’re not home yet.

A Christian is well aware, in regard to the word of God that we are the true aliens and strangers that are not home yet. While we’re not home yet, we must understand that we are living in enemy territory. Wherever we go in this world, we are in enemy territory. We are Christians and if they hated Christ, they will hate us right. They don’t have to have a reason to hate us. Simply, they hate us because behind people hating Christians is Satan, who is manipulating and pulling the strings on things.

Now, as we think about that, spiritual sobriety will be important for three specific purposes. The first is found in 1 Peter 4:7:

The end of all things is near; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer.

In other words, seeking and knowing you’re caring God, and casting all your anxiety on Him. The second purpose is found in 1 Peter 5:8, which is that of discernment:

Be of sober spirit, be on the alert’

Then, there is the purpose of resistance, which we will look at next time. In continuation, 1 Peter 5:8 says:

Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

Again, Christians are not only aliens on this Earth, but they are occupying enemy territory. Therefore, we must be sober for the purpose of resisting the enemy, which is where he is heading with this.

Before we go there, the real reason for all of these imperatives is that warfare demands vigilance, which is what Peter is stressing.

To be effective in spiritual battle, one must study the demons. They must study the demon themselves with caution. When C.S. Lewis wrote about demons, he said:

There are two equal and opposite errors in which our race can fall about devils. One is to disbelieve their existence, which they want to happen. The other is to believe and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors and hail a materialist or a magician with the same Delight.

Christians ought to know what to do in a spiritual battle, which means they cannot be ignorant about the devil and demons and about their character. The only place you and I can find out about the character of the enemy is right in the word of God. Unless you read the word of God, there’s no other place on this planet that you can find out about what they’re doing, what is their character, and what their mission is unless you read the word of God, which gives a clear understanding.

Remember, satan was a high-ranking angel who ministered around the Throne of God. He was finally thrown out of heaven. God knows well because angels are created beings. They are powerful, but they are not any match for God. Also, when we are God’s children, then we are the possession of God, so satan cannot do just anything. He must have the permission of God to do anything in our lives.

In 1 Peter 5:8, he gives us information about the enemy. It says that he is an adversary, which means he is an antagonist, a plaintiff, or an opponent against you. Really, satan is a diabolical one, especially since he is an accuser who accuses us. In fact, in 1 Peter 5:8, it says that he is your enemy. Meaning, the personal pronoun indicates that the devil is your personal enemy, who personally works against and accuses believers. Part of his mission is to go against you, but he cannot get you since you are now in Christ. However, he can come against you and accuse you of thing, which is what he is good at.

We are we know the word of God and are not ignorant of the word of God. We are going to be duped by him, but Peter is saying to not be. There’s nothing I know of that will make one so sober and serious-minded than spiritual warfare, which includes trials and sufferings. Christians are to be sober and perpetually girded for action because satan is battling for your mind. That’s what he wants to get. He cannot get your soul, but he can get your mind.

As we look at this passage of Scripture, we see that there are several characteristics of the evil one. In 1 Peter 5:8, he is walking about. Simply, he’s continually and actively against you. He prowls around, which means to move about. Satan is not stationary or a passive opponent. He’s always roaming around and walking up and down the Earth spying out the weaknesses of God’s servants, which are those who are careless, who are world-influenced, and who are spiritually sleepy, not sober and not alert.

Those were not alert, sober-minded, or self-controlled will be his Target. So, here’s the warning to all of us: he has restless energy, which is endless. Peter’s description of satan’s roaming around maybe reminiscent to what Job said in Job 1:7:

Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. The LORD said to Satan, ‘From where do you come?’ Then Satan answered the LORD and said, ‘From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it.’

Job is an early book of the Bible, and since the cross, satan’s activity and power has been seriously curtailed. He’s waiting judgment, so most of the stuff he’s doing now is out of anger and for a short time before Christ comes.

The Christian must be sober and wait because his enemy is always active, but what does the enemy want us to know about him? He wants us to know nothing, that he’s not there, and that he’s a little guy in a red suit with a pitchfork and horns. He’s not that, nor is he like a lot of stuff that movies portray him as. Rather, he’s in religion. He wants to twist your mind away from what the truth and what God says in His word.

Not only is he walking about, but also he’s roaring like a roaring lion. When a lion is looking for its prey, it usually stocks it and then roars. However, the devil is eager to do evil inspired by his pride and hatred for God, so he is not a silent hunter. Satan lets his fearsome roar sound fourth.

In other words, he wants to render his victims not only helpless, but also helpless through fear. He wants to make people afraid. That’s what he does, and Hebrews tells us that through death, he might render powerless who had the power of death, which is the devil, and might deliver those, who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.

In Hebrews, the roar of satan has persecution in mind and his original audience lives during the time of Nero’s savage persecution of believer. Of course, there is a fear tactic when it comes to suffering and dubious times in which you are the target. However, from Hebrews, Christ frees believers from the slavery of the fear of death. Through the cross, Christ had victory over death, which is seen in his resurrection. All those who believe in him will also be raised with a new body and will live with Christ forever. So, he is a roaring lion with many tactics seeking to make people afraid.
Then, he is seeking to devour. In 1 Peter 5:8, Satan is pictured as being very ambitious on totally capturing his prey. To devour means to swallow up, to drink down, or to eat up. Daniel Aritzia said on this passage of Scripture:

The activity of the devil in trying to destroy his believers, particularly in their faith, is to lead them into apostasy. That is, to deny their faith in Jesus Christ

Implied in all of these is the thought that sufferings experienced by Christians are not simply the work of people, but
what are instigated by the devil himself. Behind all trouble, suffering, and persecution, there are the fingerprints of satan all over it. In other words, he’s trying to drive us away from what is true. He’s trying to cloud our mind to make us afraid, but you know why he cannot do that? If you know the word of God, you stand strong in the word of God, so Satan does not have ammo. He has motive operation to keep unbelievers blind so that they do not understand or receive the Gospel of Jesus Christ; then, to keep Believers ignorant sleepy and scared. Through restless assaults, scare tactics, and persecutions, the evil one hopes to cause believers to fall away from being soldiers and witnesses of Jesus Christ.

In all of this, the devils target is the mind, and his weapons are lies disguised as truth. The devil targets the mind, and his weapons are lies disguised as truth, so he attacked the thought life. By the power of suggestion and of course by the subconscious mind, man’s fallen nature is the remaining corruption in Believers. He uses all those things to get to someone, and above all, satan wants to make people ignorant of God’s word, the body of faith delivered once for all. It’s just as Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4:4:

In whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

Satan, who is identified as the god of the world, supplies ample disillusionment for people to keep on believing lie. They say God is Sovereign over all that because if he can get away with it, nobody would be saved. However, for hose that know Christ, you are saved. Obviously, God overruled him, so he couldn’t blind us. God overruled him and brought the gospel to shine in your heart, so you repented of your sin, you saw your need of Jesus Christ, and you called on him to be your Lord and Savior.

God says that anyone who comes to Him, He will not cast out. Now, you became a follower of Jesus Christ, so Satan was not happy about that day. He was not happy that you believed, so he’s even angrier. The more people believe, the more rambunctious and active he gets in what he is doing. I think we see a lot of that activity in the world today where he is flaming people in all places of the world.

As I mentioned already, the devil’s Target is the mind and his weapons are lies disguised as truth, so satan guides the various thought patterns of the world in an effort to keep people in the dark about Christ, about His gospel, and, of course, the sanctifying process the Holy Spirit is doing on believers. Now, why does the adversary pick up such an aggressive posture against believers?

Well, satan enacts his deceptions for the sake of his own selfish pride. He wants to continue his dark dominion in the world. He is fighting against the kingdom of God. He has already lost, but he still fighting.
Satan attacks all who threaten that rule. God’s people are hindrances to satan’s reign, so satan contrives methods by which he may remove them, neutralize them, and cause them to work on his behalf. Thus, satan and his whole host of inferior spirits work to cause God’s faithful ones to fall. Meaning, all servants of God will come under the direct or indirect assaults of this formidable enemy. Satan’s goal is to curtail the believer’s usefulness and to ruin the believer’s testimonies. Satan tempts believers to sin and then to justify their sinful action.

To be clear, satan does not make people sin, but he does tempt people by drawing upon the various lusts present within them. Satan wants to ensnare people in their own lusts, passions, and desires, and persuade them to greater wickedness while making himself and his allurements appear to be right, helpful, and desirable. 2 Corinthians 11:12 says:

No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.

In that context it is talking about false apostles and false teachers, so through many of the false teachers and false apostles in the world today, Satan is disguised behind them where they are seemingly being preachers a light, but they are actually his emissaries doing his work in the world. Nothing is as it seems to be with satan’s world system and temptations.

Here are a few passages of Scripture, as examples, in which satan will take advantage of someone. In each one of these passages, there is a direct reference to the enemy. First, we are to think of why we’re not to be ignorant to schemes. The enemy will attack the church community and its unity. In 2 Corinthians 2:10-11, it says:

But one whom you forgive anything, I forgive also; for indeed what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, I did it for your sakes in the presence of Christ, ¹¹so that no advantage would be taken of us by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his schemes.

This was the one man, in the congregation, who committed the sin. Paul told the people to put them out. They weren’t putting him out or disciplining him. Then, they did do that, but the congregation was called upon to forgive the man. Thus, Paul is saying to them:

Listen, if you forgave him, I will forgive him also.

Also, why was he so intent on getting the congregation to be forgiving? If Satan can suggest ideas to the Christian’s mind and inflame the believer’s affections with desires that stand in opposition to godliness, holiness, and spiritual growth, then Christian’s, while taking the devil seriously, must understand what parts of their lives deserves special attentive caution. In this case, it was that of learning how to forgive. If you don’t forgive, no matter what situation you may be in, you give advantage to the enemy. In other words, there are no grounds on this earth in which you can justify yourself in not forgiving someone. In 2 Corinthians 11, it says why we forgive:

so that no advantage would be taken of us by satan for we are not ignorant of his games.

What is this game? Simply, it’s believing that you don’t have to forgive since you’re justified in what you believe. It doesn’t matter because you’re right, and that person’s wrong. Know that if you do that, then you give him an advantage. Why would I want to do that if I’m aware of God’s word anyway? Remember, I am to forgive because God forgave me of all my garbage and sin. If God has forgiven me, how could I withhold forgiveness from somebody else?

Though Christians do not know when the devil will strike, they can be ready for his attacks, especially because we’re not ignorant of his schemes. We know the Bible, we know theology, and we are growing in theology right in this term. So, the device satan was planting was the thought that Christians did not need to forgive each other. That’s the plan, and it’s simple, isn’t it? His appeal to our base nature.

Really, the enemy desires to introduce hatred and animosity into the church and into someone’s actions and their life. In turn, it would destroy the relationships in that church, damage the church’s organic unity, and any further mission to bring the gospel to the world, in a congregation, is shot. Now, you have in fighting, and in fighting, you have been trapped by the enemy. He targeted the mind of someone and he took advantage of him or her because they gave him advantage by becoming ignorant of what satan was doing. These mind attacks of the devil come very forcibly.
Dr. Steven Lawson, in his chapter A Time to Stand, gives examples of the devil’s devious suggestions. He says:

We kick around the devil’s deception in our mind, convincing ourselves to bite the hook.

He pictures it as a fish looking at a hook with a nice, juicy worm and it’s dangling before us. Satan says things like these:

God wouldn’t want me to be unhappy, would He? Why fight the feeling if everybody’s doing it? This won’t lead to anything else’I always wondered what it would be like’Just this once’I’m never going to do it again’No big deal’No one will ever know’I can get away with it this time’This won’t affect anyone but me’I can just confess it and it will be like I never did it’

That’s presumptuous sin. That was the sin where David says in Psalm 19:13:

Also keep back Your servant from presumptuous sins’

This is presuming that God would respond in a way when you do something opposite of what pleases him. It’s the presumption that God will stop me if it doesn’t if he doesn’t want me to go any further. The list can go on and on and on. The more we roll it over in our mind, the more deceived we become, and then eventually, we go for it. We take the bait, we get hooked, and satan reels you in. I’m not talking to unbelievers here. I’m talking to Believers. This is about believers.

Satan works on believers to get the better of them. The devil wants to destroy the power and the testimony of the church by putting stumbling blocks in believer’s ways, keeping them ignorant of God’s word, and stifling their spiritual growth. So, what do Christians do when they’re in a situation like that? Well, they are to do one thing, which is to resist him. 1 Peter 5:8-9 says:

Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. ⁹But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.

Let’s Pray:

Lord. Thank You. Lord, the word of God is so revealing. It exposes us, Lord, in areas in which we really need to grow in. If we look at our own life Lord, there are a lot of things going on in our life where we have given advantage to the enemy. I pray, Lord, that we would stop doing that, and I pray, Lord, that we would stop doing it because we have the Holy Spirit in us, we have the word of God, and we can stand firm against him when we detect his lies, his traps, and his manipulations. They are simple because they’re going against something God said to do or not to do, or something that we ought to be and not be. I pray, Lord, that You would make us wise and grounded in the word of God, so that the word of God transforms our mind. As the book of Romans says, that we would we would be growing in our knowledge and wisdom of Jesus Christ, and that we would grow to know the good, the acceptable, and the perfect will of God. I pray that for us, and that we never let up because truly, Lord, as we mature in Christ, we realize that we are in warfare. God, once we have a certain responsibility and vigilance in warfare, I pray that we would not step down, but that we would step up and be what God wants us to be. I pray that You would enable us to do these things as we walk in the spirit and not fulfill the lust of the flesh. I pray this in Christ name, Amen.

September 2, 2018
The Christian’s Obligation of Humility

In this sermon, Pastor Babij teaches on the Christian’s obligation of humility before God and man, giving three promptings and postures Christians must take:

1) Clothe yourself with lowly mindedness so you can serve others
2) Posture yourself under the mighty hand of God
3) Perform humility by throwing your worries, fears, and anxieties upon God

Full Transcript:

In 1 Peter 5:5-7, we are looking at the obligation of Christian humility:

You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE. ⁶Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, ⁷casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.

Let’s pray:

Father, as we look at this passage of Scripture, give us a better understanding of what humility looks like in our lives, so that we may follow this imperative. I pray as we do, Lord, we can reap the benefits and promises of putting these commands into practice. Lord, make us like You. I pray this in Christ’s name. Amen.

We have been seeing that Peter’s original audiences are believers who are coming under persecution for their faith. Their present sufferings were the result of outburst of fanatical, pagan hatred against Christians, which is on a rise today all over the world. 1 Peter 4:12-13 says:

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; ¹³but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation.

The Apostle thought it was very important for the recipients of this letter, and to those who would read it afterwards, to understand three major areas: salvation, submission, and suffering. In this last area, Peter thinks it is very important for us to receive three exhortations: an exhortation for humility, which leads into an exhortation for vigilance in our Christian walk. Then, an exhortation to resist, so humility with balanced vigilance leads into resisting the adversary.

All three areas have an important place within the life of every believer, especially if or when that believer experiences the storms of trial. In a sense, all of those things are ordained by God for our own Christian growth and edification. When Christians embrace the exhortation for humility and meet the conditions in 1 Peter 5:5-6, then they can rest on a wonderful promise in 1 Peter 5:7, which is God caring for you. When we go through difficult times, do we really sense that God cares for us?

If we have been practicing these exhortations, then we will find out that God always cares for us, and we will know that, especially during the hard times. So, let’s look at the first exhortation, which will help us keep our obligation to live for Christ in this world as real aliens heading home, and while we are heading home, let’s do these things. The first exhortation is that of humility. 1 Peter 5:5 says:

You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another…

According to the college dictionary, an exhortation is an utterance conveying urgent advice and recommendation. In other words, it would be very wise for you to practice this command. As a believer, it will have benefits that you will reap.

D.L. Moody, a very influential evangelist, once met a man named Dr. Bonaire. He said that Bonaire used to teach that he can tell when a Christian was growing in the Lord. He would say that he knew when they were growing in the Lord when they grew in His grace. They begin, in their conversation and manner of life, to elevate the Master, talk less of what they were doing themselves, and to become smaller and smaller in their own estimation. You go into the background and Christ becomes preeminent in your life. That is how you know you are growing in the Lord, especially in this area of humility.

Humility is a hard thing to define or wrap your mind around. However, in our Scripture, we see that Peter started a general exhortation for us, and he brings us to the place where he prompts us to assume the posture of humility. Peter has been exhorting church leaders in time of suffering by saying that they must continue to feed and shepherd the flock during hard times. Thus, the leaders need to learn by example as they look to their great over shepherd, Jesus Christ. In 1 Peter 5:4, it says:

And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.

Elders will receive a high honor and distinction as they do what God asks them to do in Scripture, and not deviate or add to the revelation given through the word of God. Rather, to keep going through the word of God. Elders are not to lord over the congregation or the people. Instead, they are to be examples of humility.

In 1 Peter 5:5, the young men are not to despise the elders that are among them. They are not to think that they know better than the long-serving, battle-weathered, and faithful elder. If they take that posture or try to take things into their own hands, which young men tend to do, then it would reveal something else, which is the other side of humility. The other side of humility is pride. Pride is saying:

I can do it. I have the ability to do it. I have the knowledge to do it.

Also, in 1 Timothy 3:6, these are the characteristics of those who are going to be chosen to be future elders:

and not a new convert, so that he will not become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil.

Young men tend to go ahead of themselves. Yet, the Bible says that if you do that, then you are doing something you ought not to be doing and acting like the devil. The devil’s greatest sin is pride. He wasn’t satisfied with who God was and wanted to be like him, so he was cast out of heaven because of pride. Pride is a very destructive sin.

Are we all in danger of being prideful? Yes, we are. So, elders have been given a standing and authority by God because of their office. Not necessarily because of who they are or where they came from, but because of the office that they hold, which God has given them.

Just as their Lord and Shepherd was an example of humility, the elders were to be examples of submission, especially during times of suffering. Furthermore, young men were to show their submission to the Lord by manifesting their proper and willing submission to their God appointed elders. The example of the young men is to be contagious. Then, that contagion is to go through the whole congregation. 1 Peter 5:5 says:

… and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility…

The young men and the elders become examples of this posture of humility. In fact, it is the only attitude that pleases the great over shepherd, the Lord, Jesus Christ. Young men are to have lowly mindedness. In 1 Peter 5:5, he says:

…clothe yourselves with humility…

Meaning, to put an apron on. You are to apron yourself with a lowly mindedness. Yourself is a reflexive word, which means that you are to take the responsibility and obligation to do this yourself. This a command that means a willful and voluntary submission.

Continuing from 1 Peter 5:5, the context of humility is expanded from the young men submitting to the elders to all people, which encompasses the elders, young men, and all the saints of the congregation. A Greek professor, William Mounts, who writes a good volume on the Greek language, said:

True humility is recognizing the intrinsic worth of others. It is the candid appraisal of others as subjects of divine love. Therefore, worthy of ones sacrifice and service. It is the decision to serve others on the basis of having been served by Christ himself.

Notice, in 1 Peter 5:5, it says:

clothe yourselves with humility toward one another

This is not something done in a vacuum, or alone in your closet. Rather, this is done in the community of believers. Thus, 1 Peter 5:5 is an imperative saying that we are to put on humility, and as we put on humility, we take off pride. It conveys the picture of an apron of a slave fastened to his undergarments. The word suggests that Christians should serve one another in the same way that slaves serve their masters.

It is possible that this metaphor is suggested by the account of Jesus taking the towel and washing His disciples’ feet. In John 13:4-16, Jesus is teaching this posture of humility that is pleasing to the Lord, and when you are in that position, that is the best position to be in before God:

got up from supper and laid aside His garments; and taking a towel, He girded Himself. ⁵Then He poured water into the basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded. ⁶So He came to Simon Peter. He said to Him, “Lord, do You wash my feet?” ⁷Jesus answered and said to him, “What I do you do not realize now, but you will understand hereafter.” ⁸Peter said to Him, “Never shall You wash my feet!” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.”… ¹²So when He had washed their feet, and taken His garments and reclined at the table again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? ¹³“You call Me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am. ¹⁴“If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. ¹⁵“For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you. ¹⁶“Truly, truly, I say to you, a slave is not greater than his master, nor is one who is sent greater than the one who sent him.

This passage of Scripture is giving us an example. When I first became a Christian, I went to a church that did feet washing. Coming from my background, I was shocked to see someone wash someone else’s feet, which is very humbling. Feet are not known to be the prize possession of your body, especially if they have been tucked in your shoes for eight hours or more a day.

The main point of this is example is of humbling yourself, and willingly putting yourself under someone else. It’s not by pulling rank on them, and not thinking that you are better than them no matter what God has given you or how He has gifted you to serve somebody, who, in the worlds eyes, are not worthy to be served. In fact, they are not recognized at all. Yet, as believers, God calls us to serve everyone else regardless of who they are or where they came from.

A suggested, expanded translation of this passage is to wrap yourself with humility to be servants of one another. Furthermore, recognize how God has given some the office of elder to whom He sovereignly wills. Such humility toward elders and fellow Christians is the outward expression of humility towards God. We humble ourselves before God by humbling ourselves before people, and to do that, you must swallow a whole lot of pride. In 1 Peter 5:6, he brings up the second thing:

Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God…

That is where we are to posture ourselves. The posture of humility is under the authority of another. We are to give our consent for this to be done to us, so the suggested understanding of the passion is to allow yourselves to be humbled under the mighty hand of God. In a context of affliction, accept the difficulties that have been brought your way by God himself. The things that bring you low enter your life with the sovereign approval of God.

You are under the mighty hand of God, which is another Hebrew phrase to express what God is in a particular character. For example, the body part of the hand exhibits some characteristic of God. Usually, it conveys God’s power, might, authority, and sovereignty. It is exhibited in action in the experiences of men whether it is for deliverance, punishment, or chastisement. It is this picture of the mighty hand of God that we are to put ourselves under, which is frequent in the Old Testament. Exodus 3:20 says:

So I will stretch out My hand and strike Egypt with all My miracles which I shall do in the midst of it; and after that he will let you go.

This refers to the mighty act of God. Ultimately, under the mighty hand of God is the humble servant to deliver a whole nation, and to bring that nation under bondage into the wilderness in which they will learn daily about the caring hand of God. With the clothes on their back, the sandals on their feet, and with the little provisions they can take with them, until they can find themselves under the care of God in a place that is a desert. You must depend on God there.

Meaning, all Christians are to allow themselves to be humble under the mighty hand of God. This strong exhortation is given in the backdrop of God’s constant care for His children. In the Christian’s present circumstances when trialed by fire, such humility towards God must be shown by patient and trustful acceptance of whatever circumstances God has given to you at that time, and knowing that He is giving it to you with a loving purpose in mind, to make you like Him, and to bring you to understand that you are under a mighty God, who cares for you.

In doing that, His children must not resent whatever strange thing you may be going through. You will not think about it as strange. Rather, you will think about it as something God has ordained for you. While you are going through that, you should not be riddled with anxiety and worry.

If you do not allow yourself to be humble, then you show yourself to be proud. The proud person has God as their adversary. Believe me, brethren, that is an unwise posture. In the last part of 1 Peter 5:5, it says:

…for GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.

Do you want God against you where you will not win, or do you want God’s favor for you? There is no in-between here. It is something we ought to be considering very carefully as a believer. If you allow yourself to remain in the state of pride, not only do you have God as your opposer, but an enemy who is ready to step in and manipulate your situation even more. 1 Peter 5:8 says:

Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

In this passage, he will devour the proud person who has not learned humility. The Christian who thinks they can do it on their own without the church and believers they do not have the attitude that pleases God when trouble comes, but they have the opposite. As soon as we think that we can take matters into our own hands, especially in times of trouble, then we are already prideful. James 4:6-7 says:

But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.” ⁷Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

The word of God is saying that the one who is able to tempt you worse into a deeper bondage of your situation is the enemy himself. Thus, the sovereign hand of God not only delivers, but controls the process of spiritual education. If God allows us to enter into a difficult place in our life, then we ought to remain with meekness to learn what it is that we need to learn.

To the suffering Christian, this also suggests that to be under the mighty hand of God is not a burdensome place. The people of Israel had to learn in the desert. Being in the desert was not a burdensome place even though they often thought of it that way. Actually, it was a place of blessing. It was a place where God was going to have His presence in the tabernacle. It was a place that God was going to feed them from heaven.

Yet, they kicked and rebelled against God, and a lot didn’t make it to the promise land. They opposed God because of pride. They wanted to go back to Egypt for protection because they did not think they were being cared for in the desert, but they were.

Thus, it is not a burdensome place. Actually, it is a place of protection. When you are in a difficult situation, it is a place of strength and of help. Now, you will really experience God’s help. If you can spin all of the plates, then you don’t need God, but when the plates start tottering, then you realize you need God and His divine help.

We are to recognize God’s hand not only in the joys that come to us, but also in the sorrows and afflictions that humble us. Many times, those times of difficulties are for that very purpose – to drive out the remaining pride in our heart and to humble ourselves before God. That is when God shows you His grace, that He cares for you, and that He provides for you. During those times, you get a sense that the Lord is in your presence.

Human sin is an ingredient in most of our trials, but God can make the wrath of men to praise Him. He can’t turn what men mean for evil to our advantage. A good example is found in Joseph. In Genesis, when Joseph was sold into slavery by his wicked brothers, they were shocked when they stood before Joseph in Egypt where they heard for the first time that their evil plan God turned for good and for blessing. Genesis 45:8 says:

Now, therefore, it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh and lord of all his household and ruler over all the land of Egypt.

Joseph is saying to his brothers that they did not send him into slavery, but that God did that. It takes a very humble person to recognize and admit that. Furthermore, in Genesis 50:20:

As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive.

During that time, there was a great famine, so God used Joseph to rise to this position to provide food for a large amount of people including his family. See, I am stressing very strongly how important humility is in our life. In 1563, the Heidelberg Catechism, a document that explains doctrine, was explaining humility:

In Him (that is God, the Father) I trust and doubt not. He will care for me and even all the troubles, which He sends to me in the veil of tears, He will turn to my good. This, as Almighty God, He can do. As my faithful Father will do, health, sickness, riches, and poverty are not works of chance, but these all come to us from the Father’s hand.

That is recognizing that we live under the mighty hand of God. Another way of saying that is this: we live under the eyes of God. Every day and everywhere we go, God is watching us. If you are kicking, complaining, and murmuring under affliction, then you have forgotten that God is there and that you are under the hand of God.

Recognize the permitting hand of God, who loves His own children, is ever present with us. Our humiliation will not last forever, and it says that in the word of God. For those whom God now allows to share His humiliation on this earth will, presently and in the future, will be a cause to share in the Son’s glory. There is always something future for us to look forward to, and the future is very encouraging for us believers.

In the mind of a Christian, a humble person knows that God is in control of all that happens. Now, we say it, but do we actually live this way. A humble person voluntarily accepts the circumstances in their life as the permissive will of God. The humble person knows God is for them, not against them. He is a God who is good and of all grace. The humble person wants others to trust the Lord, and to submit humbly to His control.

In their trial, they want to present the Gospel not only with their mouth, but with their life. The humble looks forward to the fulfillment of God’s promise. In 1 Peter 5:6, there are benefits to humility:

… that He may exalt you at the proper time

The word that introduces the purpose of humility. God’s goal for all of us is for the promise of God to be fulfilled in you, and it is God himself who does the exalting. Luke 14:11 says:

“For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Then, Luke 14:14 says:

…for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.

In the Scripture, this exalting of God will happen in due time. In other words, the readers humbling will be enabled by God to fulfill His promise in future exaltation where the point of time will be the second coming of Christ. We may not receive that now, but we will definitely, without a shadow of doubt, receive it at the coming of Christ.

Christ will exalt His children that have humbled themselves on the earth to do His work and give Him glory. In His good and perfect time and when He sees fit, He alone will lift you up. That is a promise and guarantee by God.

Baring suffering with humility is the condition of being exalted to a full and final favor. It could be in the present at any time, but it will definitely be in the future. In saying all of that, how can we practice humility under a mighty hand of God? 1 Peter 5:7 tells us the performing of humility:

casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.

As Christians, we know something about God’s character from the word of God. In turn, we do something, which is to throw something on God. The word casting doesn’t mean to drop it out of your pocket. Rather, it means to fling this burden in your life on God. It is the thing we all have a problem with – worry.

Worry is anxiety, especially since worry causes a huge amount of anxiety. We are to take what we know we are anxious about and throw it upon someone else. This is how we perform humility before God, the Father. Actually, this shows that the true Christian’s attitude is not negative, but it is self-humbling, which is positive by trusting yourself and your troubles to the God who cares for you.

Johnathan Edwards, a great thinker, theologian, and pastor, used to put things so simply. In trying to wrap his mind around humility, he said how humility is defined:

A truly humble man is sensible of the small extent of his knowledge, the great extent of his ignorance, and the small extent of his understanding as compared with the understanding of God. He is sensible of his weaknesses, how little his strength is, and how little he is able to do. He is sensible of his natural distance from God, of his dependence upon Him, of his insufficiency, and of his own power and wisdom. It is by God’s power that he is upheld and provided for, and that he needs God’s wisdom to lead and guide him. His might us enabled him to do what He ought to do for him.

He was trying to understand and put into words what it means to be humble. We are weak, and we need the help of God. To be overwhelmed with anxiety is to be concerned with yourself rather than the concerns that God has. We are to cast each and every kind of thing on Him as an alarm for the persecuted Christian, who tends to believe the lie that God is not strong enough or concerned about your situation.

In fact, this is the very opposite of what is true, which is how God deeply cares and how He doesn’t want the down trotted Christian to carry the load alone. Instead, throw the whole burden on your caring God who knows all of it in detail. In fact, what you are going through, He ordered for you. Psalm 55:22 says:

Cast your burden upon the LORD and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken.

Now, what if you don’t cast your burden on the Lord? As a result, you will not be sustained. In other words, we must cast our care on Him to reap the benefits of what God has for us. If we don’t, then we don’t learn our lessons that God is trying to teach us in that circumstance to be truly humble. Matthew 6:25-34:

“For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? ²⁶“Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? ²⁷“And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? ²⁸“And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, ²⁹yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. ³⁰“But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! ³¹“Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ ³²“For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. ³³“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. ³⁴“So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

So, don’t worry about tomorrow. Don’t be burdened down by the past but live in the present. One of things the worry robs us of is living in the present. We are not working at the percentage that God wants us to work when we are worried. Specifically, what are we to cast on Him?

Well, our daily cares, daily concerns, daily anxieties, and our daily worries. Throw every kind and all your worry upon your caring God. The Christian is invited to let God to carry the burden of their anxiety. One commentary expressed it like this:

Worry or anxiety is when one does not know whether to do this or that.

In other words, worry is a huge distraction to doing what you know you ought to be doing. It almost cripples you. Christians are to cast all that creates anxiety on God whether it is small or large. Cast anything that distracts or prompts us to fear and worry. These are to be handed over to a caring God.

In other words, practicing humility is casting your care on God. Memories of the past, bad experiences, broken relationships, broken hearts, sinful behavior, or bad choices you have made, cast on God. Sometimes you think about those so much and you drag them into your Christian life. Then, you worry about something you can’t do anything about, so they burden you down.

Then, there are the pressures of the present such as career, work, school, housing, financial concerns, raising your kids, and spiritual and physical health. Upon that, the insults you may receive during times of trouble, shame, or lose because you are a believer. Then, of course, there are fears of the future such as living to a certain age and having money to live at that age. There is such a pile of stuff that can cause us to worry, which causes anxiety.

See, God wants us to presently get up every day, and when you pray anything that is burdening your heart, weighing on your mind, or anything you have to do that brings some kin d of anxiousness to you, take it and throw it on God. He wants us to be freed up from that burden, so that we can actually think and know what do.

When we cast our cares onto the Lord, we often find that they were concerns of our own selfishness and pride, not the cares of His kingdom. If we are sufficiently humbled to be willing to do it, then we may cast our worry upon Him. Whether we do it or not, it is a test of the sincerity and reality of our own growth and humility.

Don’t let go of this important and fundamental truth. Know this well because this is where satan will attack us with the fierceness and deadliness of blows to tempt you to doubt the word of God and the character of God. He will come to you and say:

Are you sure your God is strong enough? Are you sure that He is really able to rescue you? Are you sure that He really cares for you? Given your circumstances, it surely doesn’t look like it.

He will lie to you and get you to the place where you are so weakened, burdened, and worry. At that point, your health goes, your relationships get frazzled, and even your desire to want to do the things for the Lord get diminished all because of worry.

Then, worry must be a sin because we are not trusting in God, but in what we can do, what we think is right, what we deserve, and our rights. As a believer, you have no rights. You have one right, which is the right to serve God. Until you became a believer, it was a right you never had, and it is a good right.

If your enemy can get you to think that He is not involved and unconcerned about your dilemma, then he got you, and where does that happen? That happens in your thinking. That happens in your behavior.

Remember, our God is our unseen guest every second of our every day. In fact, this could be the very thing that everyone of us needs to learn. In our saved position in Christ Jesus, yet awaiting full redemption, dropping off these bodies, getting out of this life, and going to heaven, which is God’s timing and will, we need to learn that we live in the presence of God by faith. We need to learn to trust God no matter what we are going through because He cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7 says:

casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.

Please, highlight that in your Bible. Memorize that passage of Scripture. Live that passage of Scripture. If you do, then you will get up in the morning, think through all of your worries and concerns, and you will cast it on God. You ought to trust God because He cares for you.

Once again, the cares, the worries, and the anxieties of God’s sheep are of great concern to Him. Yes, at times, we find ourselves in dire straits to believe God cares. The one solid argument is the Cross of Christ and His resurrection.

Golgotha is both the demonstration and the measure of not only God’s humility where Christ humbled himself to the point of death, but also God’s care for you. He cared that you would be with Him in eternity by sending His son to die in your place, so that you can be saved by the righteousness of Jesus Christ, not your own. That shows the greatest care of God.

Whatever the imposed humiliation the Christian might find themselves in from time to time in their life, they must accept it by putting themselves under the powerful and caring hand of God. By casting ones worries and cares on the God of all grace, it gives the Christian freedom from anxious care enabling them to think soberly and clearly, so that they may be ever vigilant to fight for faith. Next time, we will look at 1 Peter 5:8, which says:

Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

In closing, humility has to be pictured in someone’s life. An example of humility before God came in the life of a man named Sir James Simpson, a doctor in Edinburgh. In 1847, he discovered that chloroform could be used as an anesthetic to render people insensible to pain during surgery. Dr. Simpson made it possible for people to go through the most dangerous operations without fear of pain and suffering. I thank the Lord that they have anesthetic today, don’t you?

Some people have claimed that what he discovered was one of the most significant discoveries of modern medicine. Some years later while lecturing at the University of Edinburgh, Dr. Simpson was asked by one of his students:

What do you consider to be the most valuable discovery of your life time?

To the surprise of his students, who expected him to refer to chloroform, Dr. Simpson replied:

My most valuable discovery was when I discovered myself a sinner and that Christ was my savior.

That is a picture of humility. He could have claimed, rightfully so, his greatest accomplishment, which benefits all humanity, but he did not. Rather, he claimed the accomplishment of Christ, which benefits all of the world because of what He has done. That is a small picture of humility.

I pray that for myself and for you that is how to get things done, which is to be humble under the mighty hand of God. We have an obligation to willfully humble ourselves before an Almighty God and become an instrument in God’s hand for the Gospel and for accomplishing His will. Let’s pray:

Lord, thank You for the word of God. Truly, it is a scalpel, a very sharp one, that cuts to the deepest intents of our heart. It exposes us, Lord, for who we are, it shows us who You are, and it also shows us what to do and how it looks. I pray, Lord, that You would make every one of us a person who has taken on the obligation of humility the way the Bible describes it. I pray that when we get there, Lord, let us every day practice living under Your mighty hand and eye. Then, casting our care upon You and thanking You, Lord, for taking our burden. Lord, allow us to be sober, so that we may fight the good fight of faith, give You honor and glory, and be ready to give the Gospel to those who need it. I pray this in Christ’s name. Amen.

August 26, 2018
Responsible Shepherding

In this sermon, Pastor Babij teaches from 1 Peter 5:1-5 on the responsibility of elders. He explains three principles elders must practice while shepherding God’s flock:

1) To feed, guide, guard and care for the flock
2) To freely give of themselves without desire for financial gain as an example of how to follow Christ
3) To look towards their future crown and reward for faithfully shepherding the flock

Full Transcript:

1 Peter 5:1-5 says:

Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed, ²shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness; ³nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock. ⁴And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. ⁵You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.

Let’s pray:

Lord, as we come to Your word, we thank You, Lord, that You have given us the word of God, so that we can be thoroughly instructed. Lord, even in areas that we don’t normally think about, or maybe we don’t even think is important. However, Lord, it is in Your Word, and everything in Your word that comes from You is important for us to know. Part of that is how You set up the truth and how You give structure to the church, so, Lord, we know how to organize it and what to look for. Lord, as we come to this passage, give us instruction for what responsible shepherding is. That we would be aware of it, and know what to do if there is a problem. I pray that You would teach us and instruct us in this way. In Christ’s name, Amen.

You may not know this, but when I came to Calvary Baptist Church on August 25, 1985, which is now Calvary Community Church, the very small group of about sixteen people had the one-pastor mindset. That all the attention, demands of ministry, and authority was given to that one pastor, and that also the few deacons had most of the say in the church.

On July 1987, after being here for two years, I began to preach on the Biblical form of church government – Biblical eldership. I endeavored to move away from an unbiblical form of a single elder having sole responsibility for everything, and move to a Biblical form of plural eldership, deaconship, and shared eldership.

From time to time, it is good to bring to the attention of the congregation what the Bible says what type of church government is designed and given in the word of God. A lot of people have all kinds of views on that, so this passage is focused on church order and government as well as submission and devotion. A special exhortation is given to the elders in 1 Peter 5:1:

Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed

At this point in the book, one reason for the Apostle Peter’s attention of elders is because in times of trouble, trial, and persecution, God’s flock must have faithful, Biblically sound, and spiritual leadership. If all Christians are to be prepared to partake in Christ’s sufferings and glory, then how much more must the shepherds of God’s flock understand suffering, especially since they are also in the crosshairs of satan, who wants to bring down the leaders, disrupt the church, and scatter the sheep.

In times of persecution, faithful, pastoral oversight is vital to congregational unity, doctrinal clarity, and to sticking power, not only with the elders, but with the sheep. Thus, Scripture gives elders instruction and encouragement to continue to do their work faithfully and responsibly.

If you read through the Bible, you will find several words that the Bible uses when it comes to elders. There are different Greek words, which sound familiar to us. The first word is elder itself, and it comes from the Greek word presbuteros, which is where we get the word Presbyterian from. The word emphasizes who the man is in the character of his heart and life. From the Old Testament, Elder includes someone who is older, has spiritual maturity, and is full of the word and spirit of God.

Then, there is the word overseer, which is the word episkopos, and that is where we get the word Episcopalian from. Epi means over, and okopos means guardian. In other words, one who guards over people. The emphasis with that word is the function of the elder.

Also, there is the word pastor, or shepherd. The Greek word poimen means that it has to do with his attitude such as how he feels toward his sheep who has been entrusted to him. A shepherd is one who takes care of the community of believers including guiding, caring, and looking after with an emphasis on the governing or administrative aspects of their rule.

In bringing that all together, we see that the overseer is a translation of the Greek word for bishop or episkopos, which is used interchangeably with elder, or presbuteros. Then, the office of overseer is the same thing as the office of elder. Therefore, bishop and elder are not separate rungs on a hierarchy of church government. Rather, they are the same office and person, and their function is to shepherd. In Acts, it includes all three words: Acts 20:17-18 says:

From Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called to him the elders of the church. ¹⁸And when they had come to him, he said to them

Then, in Acts 20:28 says:

Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.

All three words come together, but they are actually speaking of the same person, which is the elder of a flock of believers. Thus, Peter exhorts fellow elders by his apostolic authority to take up the role of shepherding people seriously where he says in 1 Peter 5:1:

Therefore, I exhort the elders among you…

The elders that are appointed among any congregation or group of believers are to rule over them, shepherd them, and provide their needs. So, Peter is saying to them as a fellow elder:

Listen, I have provided oversight for the whole church as an Apostle. All elders are an extension of my ministry, and you are now charged to provide oversight to whatever flock of believers you are among no matter the size.

He concludes that an elder has oversight and gives oversight to Christ’s flock. Also, in our passage, the elder testifies to the sufferings of Christ, which includes His message and mission. Now, that will always include Jesus’ holy life, His crucifixion, His death, His burial, His resurrection, His ascension into heaven, His intercession right now for the saints and church, and then, of course, His second coming. This is why Peter says at the end of 1 Peter 5:1:

… and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed

He is saying that elders participate in the Glory of Christ that will be future. There are three bits of instruction for the church on responsible shepherding. The first is in 1 Peter 5:2:

shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight…

In pastoral leading, the shepherd is to do four primary responsibilities, and the first is to graze the sheep. Meaning, the elder has a feeding function. Elders feed the flock with the word of God. Matthew 4:4 says:

But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.’”

Ezekiel 34:2 says:

…Woe, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flock?

Back then, the rebuke was that the shepherds stopped teaching the law. When the people are not getting a regular feeding from the word of God, they tend to go astray and not do what God wants them to do. Thus, as and elder and teacher in the assembly, instructing the flock is something that is vital. In 1 Timothy 3:2 says:

An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach

This is the difference between a deacon and elder. A deacon doesn’t have to be apt to teach even though they may teach. However, an elder must have the qualification where they are responsible for teaching the word of God. All elders are to have an aptitude to teach the word of God. Some are given this responsibility full time, and some are not, but all elders should be able to teach. He needs to continue to grow in his God-given ability to teach the group of believers that is among him.

There are three minimum requirements when it comes to that. One, he must have a grasp on the basic content and doctrine of the Bible. Not in its entirety, but he must know the Bible so that he can hold fast to the truth and give the truth out to the people. To know the difference between what is true and false is to know the Bible. We can detect when somebody is not teaching what is true. Titus 1:9 says:

holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict.

A second requirement is that he must have a proven ability to clearly communicate the word of God. It says in 2 Timothy 2:2:

The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.

Then, he goes on to say in 2 Timothy 2:15:

Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.

Today, the problem is that there are lot of people preaching or teaching that are not accurately handling the word of God. The reason why we go through books of the Bible, from verse one of a chapter to the last chapter, is because there are many things in Scripture that we all need to know as God’s children. The only way to do that is to go verse by verse and book by book, so that we may get a good grasp of the content of Scripture.

Then, a third minimum requirement is that they must have a love for the truth. They must love the truth and the people in whom they communicate the truth. Thus, an elder must be able to graze the sheep and teach them the word of God.

The second responsibility is to guide the sheep, which is the leading function of elders. Elders lead the flock to rest. The great passage of Scripture that teaches us of the great shepherd is in Psalm 23:1-3:

The LORD is my shepherd,
I shall not want.

²He makes me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside quiet waters.

³He restores my soul;
He guides me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.

Any shepherd, whether in the Old Testament or New Testament, has the same responsibility. Not only to teach, but also to lead the sheep besides quiet waters. To learn to bring the sheep to the place where they are learning the truth, and the truth is calming them down by giving them discernment to live in this confusing world.

When it comes to information, everybody is getting knocked from pillar to post, but how do you know that information is accurate? For a believer, they ought to know the word of God to know what they ought to be and do. Thus, the elders have that function, and as they teach the word of God, they continue in that process of guiding and leading the sheep.

Sheep are prone to wonder, do their own thing, and get into trouble. In fact, they are so prone to do their own thing that they don’t even recognize that they are walking at the edge of a cliff. If the shepherd doesn’t pull them back by the neck with his shepherd’s staff, which has a crook on it, then they will fall over.

The only thing that will make us strong is the word of God. The word of God is going to make us discerning and strong to live the way God wants us to live. Thus, the third responsibility of an elder is to guard the sheep. Acts 20:28-31 says:

Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. ²⁹“I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; ³⁰and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. ³¹“Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for a period of three years I did not cease to admonish each one with tears.

It is the job of the elders to teach the word of God, so that people can be guarded from false teaching and on the alert. When they turn the radio on, read a blog, or go on the internet, they know if the person is handling the word of God accurately, and they are able to know the Bible well enough or pick up a Christian book and ask what the person believes doctrinally.

As you are reading through a book, you can determine what a person is believing. Because of the way they write, they will be giving you indicators on what they hold to. Thus, the elders are to guard the flock and put them on a path where they are alert.

Then, elders have a caring responsibility, which is to provide healing and restoration. We get into trouble, and we need some guidance from the word of God to be able to help our home, help our relationship with our spouses, and our neighbors. Ezekiel 34:12 says:

As a shepherd cares for his herd in the day when he is among his scattered sheep, so I will care for My sheep and will deliver them from all the places to which they were scattered on a cloudy and gloomy day.

In 1 Peter 5, it talks about the character and conduct of the shepherds of God’s flock. Really, God gives us all the information that we need in the Word to see what kind of men we should be looking for to become the future elders of the church. Those men should be aspiring, while they are young in the Lord, to be desiring the office of an elder or deacon, or to just be a faithful, strong man of God in the church. So, the character and conduct of the shepherds of God’s flock is really important to the Lord. 1 Peter 5:2 says:

shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God…

First, this is telling us the manner of the shepherd. He is not to be forced to give oversight, or under restraint because no one else will do it. It is not simply a duty to the elder, but something that God has called him to. Instead, he freely gives himself over to the task because it is God’s will, and he has a sense that God has called him, qualified him, and given him the desire to give oversight to the flock under his care.

Second, he is to do it not for sorted gain, but with eagerness. Eagerness is not necessarily the opposite of sorted gain, but the shepherd’s motive is not greed or financial gain. Today, we know that there are a lot of people in the ministry for financial gain. For people on television, who are promoted to places with mansions, it is all about money, prestige, and power, not about serving God regardless of the financial situation.

The Lord and Apostles are not against anyone being paid for ministry, especially if they are full time. However, it is not a greedy thing, and you will not be rich in most ministry. It is what God has called us to; therefore, we are not shepherding to get something out of it like prestige or position, or to use people to get money or wealth from them. That is not at all what a shepherd should be.

What drives an elder is his eagerness to faithfully serve as an under-shepherd, and to use his God-given gifts, abilities, and opportunities to mature the flock with the intended purpose to multiply the joy and health of the local church. The Bible is giving us the whole-man under the transformation of the Holy Spirit.

Next, there is the attitude and behavior of the shepherd. 1 Peter 5:3 says:

nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge but proving to be examples to the flock.

The attitude of the elder is that he is not the lord of the congregation telling you what to do and ordering you around. Rather, he wants to provide an example to the flock. The word example is the Greek word topos, which means to make an impression. If you took a hammer and hit it against a piece of wood, then the head of that hammer would make an impression on that wood. Peter uses this word because he is saying:

You, shepherds, ought to be a model or pattern that people can follow.

Even the Apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 11:1:

Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.

In other words, the congregation must be informed enough to know if the elders are following Christ. Now, that doesn’t mean they are perfect – we are not perfect, but we are following Christ with the gifts, abilities, and opportunities God has given us. When you know that, there is a certain comfort and rest that come to the sheep when the elders model the Christian life in their home and interactions, which is something you can pattern in your life.

There are two full responsibilities of the elder found in Scripture. Number one, the elder is someone who has a ministry to the word of God. Quite literally, the elders are servants of the Word. This is the essential responsibility of the elder, and it is absolutely essential to the life and growth of the church. Elders are to lead God’s people by teaching the word of God, and this teaching must be the public handling of God’s word, the private counsel of Biblical principles, and the exemplary lifestyle that other’s may imitate.

Number two, elders are to devote themselves to prayer both for themselves and on behalf of the whole congregation. Prayer not only counts as elder work, but it is essential to elder work. We need the power of God in the things that we do. In wrapping that up, in the ministry of the Word and prayer, elders graze the flock on the Word, guard the flock from false teaching, and guide the flock on their homeward journey.

Now, does that mean being an elder is an easy thing? I have people say to me:

If I can’t do this job, I will just go into the ministry, or I will go to Bible college and become a minister.

I tell them not to do that. If you can do anything else besides this, do it. This is not an easy place to be. There are many responsibilities that you do have, and it is ongoing. There are always things to do. There are always people’s needs to meet. There are always issues.

Recently, I spoke to someone who used to come to our church. I hoped that he would become an elder here. However, he moved to Florida and became an elder in the church he is in now, and he said to me:

You know what…when I became an elder, I found out all the problems.

When you are sitting in the pews, you don’t necessarily see the problems or know the problems. Unless you have been a Christian for a long time, then you get a sense that things are difficult. People are difficult. Unraveling sin in someone’s life doesn’t happen in two counselling sessions. If you have been sinning for a long time or have been in a bad habit, then you are not going to unravel that. That is an ongoing practice of the word of God, listening to the Word, putting the principles into habitual practice, and overcoming those things by a faithful walk.

The old-time question comes up, and all elders must answer this question: is it worth it to serve Jesus? Is there anything in it for us? Following Jesus Christ will always be accompanied by some level of personal sacrifice. While Peter is writing this epistle, Peter said in Matthew 19:27:

Then Peter said to Him, “Behold, we have left everything and followed You; what then will there be for us?”

You may say that is a very bad question, but it’s a good question. It is a very human question. If I’m going to give up things to serve the Lord, if I’m going to put away sin that was pleasurable to me to serve the Lord, if I’m going to lose some family and friends to serve the Lord, if I will never get promoted in my job because everybody knows I am a believer to serve the Lord, then the question will come up: is it worth it and is there anything in it for me? In Matthew 19:29-30, Jesus answers Peter with an affirmative answer:

“And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms for My name’s sake, will receive many times as much, and will inherit eternal life. ³⁰“But many who are first will be last; and the last, first.

There will be many surprises in heaven. The people that seem to have everything going for them on earth such as every material need and barely any problems will be surprised. The people that are first now will be last. The people that are last now are going to be first. Jesus is answering all those who serve Christ, especially to those who become an elder like Peter. In Mark 10:29-30, it says:

Jesus said, “Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms, for My sake and for the gospel’s sake, ³⁰but that he will receive a hundred times as much now in the present age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions; and in the age to come, eternal life.

In other words, Jesus is saying that you may lose some things, but you will gain way more. Christianity brings with it a far greater and wider family in which we all have Christ in common. We, as members of the family of God, have far more spiritual family relationships than we ever had with our own earthly family. Thus, Jesus is saying that you will have a greater community of family than you will lose.

Then, in Mark 10:30, we will have this along with persecutions. Here is the paradox, reality, and honesty of the call to a real disciple of Jesus Christ. Right up front, Jesus never offered an easy road. He never says to us that it will be fine, well, and dandy. He tells us that we will have persecutions, and the whole 1 Peter is about suffering.

He puts before those, who will repent of their sin and believe in Jesus Christ, that there will be a cost, some loss, some suffering, some uncomfortable easiness, some humbling of self, and some killing of our passions, desires, and personal goals. For the sake of Jesus Christ and the Gospel, we give things up. However, in Mark 10:30, Jesus says that there will be future reward in this age, and the age to come will be eternal life.

In the Jewish mindset, the way they viewed time was this age and the age to come. In a sense, we are still in this age, but from the Cross onwards, the age to come is in play. So, it is a vast, unending sense of existence. Eternal life is not a reward for forsaking our relations, inward affections, or enduring other difficulties for Christ’s sake. Eternal life is always and only out of the mercy and pure grace of God. The reward is certain during our earthly lives, and it will be fully paid out in the life to come.

Again, if I were to say to you: is it worth it to serve Christ? The answer must be, for those who love Christ, yes. No matter what you have to lose, sufferings you might go through, promotions that will not be passed over, and no matter what your situation is in life, it is worth it to serve Christ. Christ does say to us that there is something in the future that is there and that He promises we will have. In 1 Peter 5:4, it says:

And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.

This is what He promises to all faithful elders of the church. Of course, there are several other crowns that are given in Scripture, but this one is direct, so He is saying to the elders that it is worth it to be an elder and serve faithfully. Jesus will recognize them when He appears as the Chief Shepherd. He will say to the world that these are His faithful under shepherds, and He will give them an unfading crown of glory, which is something that cannot wither away.

Brethren, if you will faithfully follow after Christ and serve Him anywhere and everywhere, and continue to the end, then the Father will delight to honor you. The Father will say:

Make room for him you cherubim and seraphim. Back up all you host of heaven. Here comes the person. He was poor and afflicted while serving my Son. He ran the race diligently while following my Son. He was with my Son. He was ridiculed with and for my Son. He endured persecution with and for my Son. He loved and served Him until the end. He was with my Son, and he became like my Son.

That is not only for shepherds, but for all faithful believers. The Father will say:

Come, come here, man! Take your crown and sit with my Son in His glory. For you were with my son in His shame. Now you will be with Him in His honor and His exaltation.

In John 12:26 says:

If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.

I will not get into it this time, but notice what it says in 1 Peter 5:5:

You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.

During times of suffering and persecutions, young men want to fight their way out of it, not submit. However, Peter is telling them to learn how to submit to your fellow elders, the word of God, and your Lord, and let God take care of things you cannot.

According to Scripture, it is the congregation’s job to submit and work with the Lord, His elders, and His shepherds to build the church. It is well for us to recognize that the Bible presents authority and leadership in the church as good and necessary things. Hebrews 13:17:

Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you.

Let’s pray:

Lord, as I think about Your word and this passage, it is not a passage that we would read over and keep going, but it is something that You want us to know. I pray, Lord, that You would make our congregation instructed in the whole counsel of God, especially of church eldership and leadership. I pray, Lord, that You would raise up young men that would be the future deacons and elders of this church. Lord, You have been doing that since 1855. There has always been a Gospel witness in this church. I pray that You would continue that until the day You come. Lord, we want to submit to Your authority over us as the Chief Shepherd. We thank You, Lord, for Your patience with us as the Shepherd. Thank You, Lord, for leading us and giving us the word of God. Thank You, Lord, for rescuing us and guarding us by the truth and Your spirit. I pray, Lord, that You would continually bring to our mind the things that please You even in things on how to order the church and how the church should function. I pray that we would be aware of it and discerning in that. I pray, Lord, that the congregation would submit to those who are in authority, and those who are in authority would follow this example in Scripture on how they should be. I pray that You would bring it all together, so that all the glory and honor would be brought to Your name, and someday, in the future, when You come again, we will be honored by the Father as people of God and the under shepherds. Thank You, Lord, for that great promise. I pray, in Christ’s name, Amen.

August 19, 2018
Special Reasons for End Time Suffering

In this sermon, Pastor Babij teaches from 1 Peter 4:17-19 three special reasons why Christians suffer:
1) To refine and cleanse the Church
2) To forewarn the world of impending judgement
3) To cause Christians to trust in God completely

Note: Video sound quality improves at 18:05. Please use the audio file to hear the first part of the sermon.

Full Transcript:

Let’s focus our attention on 1 Peter 4:12-19, and it says:

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; ¹³but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation. ¹⁴If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. ¹⁵Make sure that none of you suffers as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler; ¹⁶but if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name. ¹⁷For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? ¹⁸AND IF IT IS WITH DIFFICULTY THAT THE RIGHTEOUS IS SAVED, WHAT WILL BECOME OF THE GODLESS MAN AND THE SINNER? ¹⁹Therefore, those also who suffer according to the will of God shall entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right.

Let’s pray:

Lord, as we look at Your word, we want to be ready to receive it, Lord, and we want to pay attention. We want the word of God to challenge our hearts, expose us if need be, and to put us in a place where we know where we stand before You. If suffering comes our way, we know what we ought to do. I pray, Lord Jesus, that You would enable and strengthen us to follow the command in the last verse, which is to entrust ourselves to a God who is faithful, always will be faithful, and can only be faithful. Thank You, Lord, for that. Encourage, challenge, and teach us from Your word. I pray, in Christ’s name, Amen.

As we continue in this passage, keep in mind that for the believer, suffering is part of the Christian’s life. In fact, we are going to look at special reasons for end time suffering. Christians are strangers and sojourners in an alien world where satan is the god and prince. Anything a Christian does to glorify God will be at some time met by an attack of the enemy.

For some Christians, suffering will be to a lesser degree, and for others, it will be to a greater degree. As the Gospel of John 16:33 reminds us:

“These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”

Then, in 1 Peter 4:12, it says:

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you

These fiery trials come because we are faithful to God, and we want to do what is right by living a life that is pleasing to Him. Now, the reasons Christians can be of good cheer and rejoice in suffering are twofold. Suffering means fellowship with Christ. When the hatred that came against Christ comes against us, then we are fellowshipping with Christ. When the rejection that came against Christ comes against us, then we are also entering, as a human being, what Christ went through when He was rejected.

Remember, if we suffer for Christ, it is not a penalty or that God is against us. Rather, it is a privilege. Then, the proper attitude to suffering will resort in greater rejoicing. 1 Peter 4:13 says:

but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation.

In other words, present joy comes from following Christ, and future joy comes at the great day when it really counts. We know from Scripture that the end of the world is coming. The purpose of rejoicing in the midst of trials is because the Lord is coming again. The glory of Christ will be shared with believer’s when Christ’s full glory is unveiled.

We have not seen Christ in His full glory yet, but we will. When all the glory of the deity of Christ shall shine forth in His human nature before the whole universe of angels and peoples, we will be there with Him, and that glory is going to be reflected off of us, which will be a time of rejoicing and exultation.

Think for a moment: if suffering and persecution has come upon the believer to test the genuineness and maturity of their faith, then it also points to something more significant, so what is it? Well, we have reached a critical point in time in which the judgement of God has begun. A judgement once started that cannot be stopped. A judgment that has a beginning and an end, which is the end time judgement of God – eschatological judgment of God. The Apostle Peter has been pointing this out throughout his whole message. 1 Peter 4:7 says:

The end of all things is near; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer.

In thinking of that, we are in a time in which God’s judgement from the Cross, until now, and until the end will be experience by not only the church, but also the ungodly – those who reject the Gospel. So, the design of the end time suffering has a couple of special reasons connected to it.

The first reason for this suffering is that it is designed to cleanse the church. In 1 Peter 4:17, judgement first has a refining purpose to it:

For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?

Judgement begins with the household of God, and it moves outward and forward. The purpose for this judgement is to cleanse and refine the church, but why? Well, because apostasy, complacency, and hypocrisy along with distortions of Scripture and false gospels find their way into the church. In some cases, they have made their home in the church. So, there is need for the church to be cleansed and cleaned out of these things in preparation for the coming of the Lord.

Believers are called to examine and judge themselves. In fact, at every Lord’s table, we are called to judge ourselves, look at how we are doing spiritually, confess our sin, and to see how our relationships are growing in maturity to Christ. Once we do that, we are to adjust. If we don’t make those adjustments, then the church body ought to make those adjustments. If not, God would use persecution as a means to winnow out the chaff – the bad stuff must be cleaned out.

The judgement experienced by Christians is not punishment for sin. Even though there may be sins that need to get cleaned out, it is necessary purifying and cleansing of the household of God – God’s real people. In 1 Peter 4:17, the question is: who are the household of God? 1 Timothy 3:15 tells us what the household of God is:

but in case I am delayed, I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth.

The household of God is the church, the gathered believers. The second thing is that the household of God are those who obey the Gospel of God. Notice the language in 1 Peter 4:17:

…if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?

First, let me deal with those who do obey the Gospel of God, and exactly what is the Gospel of God, which has to be made clear to us. The term Gospel of God is specifically defined in the four Gospels. Mark 1:14-15, it says:

Now after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, ¹⁵and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

It is telling us what one is to do once confronted with the Gospel of God. Remember, the Gospel of God is going to be different than anyone would ever expect. We are not talking about religion or religious systems, but what the Bible says about the Gospel of God.

In 1 Peter 4:17, our text is telling us that the Gospel is something that is to be obeyed or not obeyed. It is a command for all people who are creations of God – human beings. Once the Gospel goes out and is preached, then to imperatives comes through the Gospel.

Found in our passage, the first imperative is to repent. It is to turn from one’s unbelief, sinful behavior, and patterns related to idolatry. It is to turn from the way you are going and what you trust in for eternal salvation to someone else, and in this case, we know that it is someone else. Really, the sin is unbelief. No matter how it manifests itself, it is unbelief.

The second imperative is that of belief – to believe the Gospel. Again, in Mark, it says that we are to repent and believe the Gospel that comes from God. A person is turning from their unbelief, sinful behavior, and patterns of idolatry. In other words, the God they made up in their own mind. Sometimes, they call that god Jesus and the Father, but is not the God of the Bible.

The Gospel of God is when you hear the message of Jesus Christ, His death on behalf of sinners, and His resurrection to give life, and you turn from whatever you are trusting and believing. Then, the object of your faith is Christ himself. To believe in something is to accept the true value of the proposition, and to modify one’s thinking and behavior accordingly.

Thus, repentance includes a redirection of one’s thinking about God. All your thinking about God has been wrong. All of our thinking has been about ourselves, our desires, our passions, our pleasures, our pursuits, and our idolatrous beliefs. Really, we didn’t spend time thinking about God as revealed in Scripture. What does His self-revelation in Scripture tell me I ought to do.

In Greek, the term repent, or metanoia, means an afterthought. Literally, it means to change one’s mind. In other words, a second thought shows the first thought was wrong. For example, once we heard the Gospel, our understanding of God was wrong. No matter how much we thought we were right, the Scripture says we are wrong. Thus, repentance is that change of mind, which shows us how much we have neglected God.

The God, who has made us, has given us breath, life, and supplied all of your needs. Until now, we have robbed Him of what is rightfully His, and we have misrepresented God by complaining that your life is unjust and cruel. Also, you think that God is the cause of your misery, but you have actually brought it upon yourself. Then, you look at God as unjust. Also, how much you have offended God because you have done the things He said you ought not to do, and you have left undone the things He commanded you to do such as repent and believe the Gospel of God.

In other words, we have all fallen short of the standard that God has placed before us, which makes us right with Him. A truly repented heart judges itself by God’s standard of perfect holiness, which is by judging ourselves by our fellow Man. We don’t look so bad if someone is worse than us, but if you judge yourself by the perfect holiness and the character of God, we all fall short. The only way that a Holy God could let a sinner into heaven is for the sin to be taken care of, and you nor religious systems can take care of it.

Thus, we come to the place where we see how much we have despised God, and we have been miserable because we have fallen short of the standard of God. We really don’t know what the Truth and Way is. Really, there is no repentance until our judgment of self is formed by a comparison with the Divine Character. Once we see God, we say:

Lord, woe is me! I am in trouble. I can’t save myself.

Then, God, the Father, says:

You’re right. You can’t. No matter what you do, no goodness or good works can save you. However, there is somebody who can save you, which is Jesus Christ.

That repentance includes also a redirection of one’s heart toward Jesus. By the preaching of the word of God, the Scriptures reveal the status, dignity, and the significance of Jesus Christ. It is clear that Jesus is the central person, and the focus of God’s plan for the salvation of men and women. Believing the Gospel means to obey the message concerning our Lord, Jesus Christ.

He is the son of God. He is God’s own way of salvation. God sent Jesus to the Cross, put all of our sins on Him, and punished them in Him. Once a person hears the Gospel of God, then the question would be: do you believe that, and are you willingly to turn from your good works and religious systems? Believing the Gospel means that you stopped all your self-justification and reliance upon your good deeds and your own efforts. In Luke 5:32, Jesus says:

“I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”

When being confronted with the Gospel of God, you come to the place where you say, “Lord, I am a sinner and I can’t save myself.” Either you are depending on your own righteousness, or you are depending on God’s righteousness. It is God’s righteousness that must save us, which is what Scripture means by obeying the Gospel of God.

The suffering of Christians is a forerunner of the coming judgment of the world. Judgement that starts at the household of God goes beyond to include the lost. In 1 Peter 4:18, the household of God are saved with much difficulty:

AND IF IT IS WITH DIFFICULTY THAT THE RIGHTEOUS IS SAVED…

The righteous are the household of God, who obey the Gospel. God has made them righteous by believing the Gospel, trusting in Jesus Christ, and repenting of their sin. So, what is the character of a righteous person? Well, they have obeyed the Gospel of God, repented, believed, and received the righteousness of Christ.

Also, they have identified themselves after they believed in Christ Baptism where they come into union with Christ. Then, they are sober minded by confusing sound doctrine in obedience. They are also not ashamed of being called a Christian as the Bible defines that. They are serious about community with the church, family, and living in accord with Scripture.

Husbands are serious about loving their wives. Wives are serious about submitting to the authority that God has given to their husbands. Parents are serious about instructing their children in the love and fear of God. Also, the righteous are hard workers on the job. As 1 Peter defines them, they are reliable and dependable workers. They are not working for a boss or someone else, but they are working before God’s eyes. They are living their life as if God sees every moment of it.

They strive to be good citizens in the community and they are ready to share the Gospel and give someone an answer of the hope that lies within them. In fact, every day they ask God to give them somebody to talk to about the Lord.

Not condemnation, but the purging, cleansing, and purifying of the church by the loving hand of God is far better and more important to the kingdom work to endure suffering as the Lord purges and strengthens the church than to endure eternal suffering of the unbelievers in the lake of fire. If God so strongly and painfully judges His church, who He loves, then what will be His fury on the ungodly?

In looking at this passage of Scripture, another thing that comes to mind is that part of the difficulty of someone being saved and being made righteous is that salvation of a sinner is a costly thing. In 1 Peter 1:18, the salvation of sinners is a costly thing:

knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers,

Here, God ransomed us from the slave market of sin where sin was our master, and it was at a great cost. The way of life was dictated to us by evil desires, selfishness, and ignorance of God and His will. See, what could our parents hand down to us than what they knew? If they did not know Christ as their savior and master and didn’t respond to the Gospel as the Bible teaches, then they could only pass down to us their version of how to live life and what religious system to follow.

Where you were born doesn’t mean you are a believer and you understand the Gospel of God. You must respond to it when you understand it. We were all born into a lifestyle that was pointless and senseless because it had no lasting value to it, and it was completely void of hope. Christ purchased His children and freed them from this futile way of life by giving us the truth. Now, the truth made clear to us what we ought to do. In 1 Peter 1:19, Christ ransomed His children by the highest cost possible:

but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.

This is the great cost of purchasing our souls for eternity. Christ’s blood is of inestimable, greater value than any earthly, temporary commodity like silver or gold, which we place so much emphasis on. Christ purchased us with His own blood, life, and death, not with any temporal human payment. Without the shedding of blood and Christ’s death in the place of sinners, no sin could be washed away. So, Christ ransomed His children by His extraordinary death. In 1 Peter 1:20-21, He did it for our sake:

For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you ²¹who through Him are believers in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

He has done that so that our faith and hope would be in the right person, not some religious systems of do’s and don’ts. God knew, long before creation, what would happen before He created mankind. Mankind would fall into sin. He chose the only way that sin laid in mankind could be brought back to Him. He foreknew His people and He foreknew Christ’s perfect sacrifice for us. God’s preparation and action were done for our sake, for the sake of His chosen, for the sake of those who are the household of God, and for the sake of those who believed in the Gospel of God.

When I study and look at these passages of Scripture, I ask: is salvation an easy thing? Of course, that is a yes or no answer. Some say that salvation is a simple thing – just follow certain steps of logic. One’s mind goes through a little system of logic and intellectually ascents to certain facts even certain facts of the Gospel such as:

Do you believe Jesus? Yes.
Do you believe He came? Yes.
Do you believe that He died? Yes.
Do you believe that He rose again? Yes.

This doesn’t mean that a person is a believer. Those are just the facts. Thus, they conclude:

This one is a Christian. They are well, and they are saved because they have ascended to certain facts.

Others say that anyone, if they choose, can be a Christian. It is as simple and easy as signing a card, raising your hand, walking down an aisle, and ascending to certain simple facts. Then, people say they believe those things, but there is no change in their life, affection for God, or repentance of sin. There is no connecting to the household of God, being faithful to the word of God, and to living like Peter described in this epistle.

If you believe those things and it has not changed you, transformed your mind, or made you into the image of Jesus Christ, then there’s a big question mark on whether a person really understands and has believed the Gospel of Christ. However, there are others who say and teach that believing the Gospel is not an easy thing. Just like it says in the Gospel of Luke 13:23-24:

And someone said to Him, “Lord, are there just a few who are being saved?” And He said to them, ²⁴“Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.

Specifically, He was talking about the religious leadership of Israel, who set up so many parameters around the truth that people never really got to the church. For instance, if you were a Jew, you were right with God because you were part of the inheritance, so the Lord is rebuking them by saying that a few will find it, not many will be saved. Matthew 7:13-14:

“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. ¹⁴“For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.

The broad road is more enticing because it is lined with attractive glitter and everything that attempts our passions and desires, which makes us feel good. Also, it has many different viewpoints, which leads to life. The reality is that many viewpoints are wrong, and it leads to destruction.

At the narrow gate, one can’t bring in the baggage of their own spun philosophy and religion. The narrow gate is narrow, and the only thing you can get through the gate is you, which God brings you through. You cannot bring all of your baggage with you. Yet, what kind of day do we live in?

We live in a day where there is relativism and no absolutes. It’s about believing what you want. We live in a day of pluralism where everyone’s opinion is equal. Nobody tests whether a person’s opinion is truth or not – your truth is your own truth. We live in a day of secularism, which is human ability without God. Narcissism are the answers within me, and all this new age religion that is in our system is all about what is inside. However, it is not about what is inside, but about God, who is outside.

Then, there is pragmatism where we can’t know reality, and we have to settle on what works for the individual. A nice USA spun philosophy is: what works for you is great, but what works for you doesn’t work for me, and what works for me doesn’t work for you. In fact, we run a lot of things off of that. We don’t ever ask what truth is, but what works. See, truth has a way of making things very narrow.

Also, there is deconstructivism, especially literary deconstructivism where the reader is the interpreter. When it comes to the Bible, some will say that what it means is what they think it means. You cannot come to the Bible like that. It doesn’t matter what you think it means, but what does it mean? We must find out what it means.

The Biblical message is that one must come to Christ alone to be saved. God accepts us only on His own provision, which is Jesus Christ. Because of the corruption and the deadness of the human heart, it is extremely difficult to believe in Jesus Christ without divine intervention. Human beings need divine help, or they cannot be saved.

Once we are given that divine help by hearing the Gospel, with the Spirit of God convicting us of sin, righteousness, and judgement, then our job, as believers, is to wake people up and to get them to think on what road they are on – are you on the broad road that leads to destruction or are you on the narrow road that leads to life?

For a believer, continuing in the faith is extremely difficult. We are in enemy territory. All of our striving is not over once we enter the narrow gate. There is still the narrow way. A plethora of things can distract us. Riches can distract us. Problems in our life can distract us. Pleasures lure us off the straight, narrow way.

The enemy’s strategies are to bewitch our minds, steal our will, and divert our attention off the will of God, and he is good at it. It is a profoundly real thing that with difficulty the righteous is saved. The salvation of sinners is a costly thing, not a cheap thing. Religion is easy, but salvation in Christ is not easy.

A second end time reason for suffering is that suffering is designed to forewarn the world. In other words, judgement for a rejection of the source of the Gospel. The Gospel originates from God himself. If that message is rejected or substituted for something else, then it is an outright rejection of God himself, which means that God will reject them. Again, 1 Peter 4:17 says:

For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?

If God judges His own church, who are part of the household of God whom He loves, then what will happen to the unbelievers, which are those who do not obey the Gospel of God. They could be very nice people, they could be good people, they could be generous people, they could be honorable people, but they have rejected the Gospel of God. Those other things are great in our society, but they don’t save you.

For those who do not obey the Gospel of God, judgement will fall with terrifying vengeance on those who refuse to believe in Christ and will become more severe as it spreads. If that is true, which it is, then look at what 1 Peter 1:18 says:

AND IF IT IS WITH DIFFICULTY THAT THE RIGHTEOUS IS SAVED, WHAT WILL BECOME OF THE GODLESS MAN AND THE SINNER?

What will become of the unbeliever, the murderer, the drugged, the drunkard, the liar, the thief, the adulterer, the idolater, or the practicing sexually immoral person? What will become of the morally-good unbeliever or the religious person, who has been faithful to the belief and practice of their religion? Well, Scripture talks about the house that is built on the rock and almost swept away when the storms come. Thus, the house built on the sand will be washed away.

Some people are building their lives on sand. When the storms come, which is the judgement of God, and the person has been trusting in their own belief system where they thought they lived a good, moral life, then the only thing God can do to them is to send them away from Him into a place that is called hell.

If God does judge His own church, which are His own people, then God will not hesitate to judge the ungodly and the sinner. It may appear that the wicked escape, but rest assure that their judgement is only postponed to a later time.

After the great flood of Noah, Noah had a vessel, and with the other seven righteous people, they were saved. However, the multitude that had no vessel was swept away in the flood. For one hundred and twenty years, Noah preached the Gospel, but nobody believed except seven people. Again, we see that not many will be saved. Don’t think that you or anyone else can live in ungodliness, unrighteousness, and unbelief and make it into God’s eternal kingdom. Because of who God is and His character, He cannot let that happen.

The terrible outcome that awaits those who stumble over Christ because of their rejection of Him was addressed in 1 Peter 2:6-8:

For this is contained in Scripture: “BEHOLD, I LAY IN ZION A CHOICE STONE, A PRECIOUS CORNER stone, AND HE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.” ⁷This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve, “THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS BECAME THE VERY CORNER stone,” ⁸and, “A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE”; for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they were also appointed.

In other words, Christ is either an honored cornerstone, from believer’s perspective, or He is an obstacle to stumble over. For those who believe, the Bible says that they will not be disappointed. They will have no adverse influence towards them because of what Christ has done. There will be no shame, disgrace, embarrassment, rejection from God, or dishonor. God’s way and design of salvation brings joy to some, who believe, and judgement to those who do not believe.

If this cornerstone, Jesus Christ, is rejected, then there is nothing, but ruin left. If there is no cornerstone, then the whole building’s structure crumbles. Thus, the rejected stone, Christ, has become the head stone of the corner. This passage expresses, in the very strongest way, the seriousness of ignoring and rejecting Christ.

In the end, God abandons such people to the error of their own way and the emptiness of their own systems of belief. In 1 Peter 2:8, their chief reason for unbelief and stumbling is that they are disobedient. The devastating part is that the Gospel has come, and they did not obey. The most devastating sin in the universe is the sin of unbelief. That is the sin that will condemn all those who do not trust Christ.

Stumbling at the Word is the penalty for not believing. The inevitable consequences of rejecting Christ are believing a lie such as: There are many ways to God besides Christ. There are many good religious systems out there that are moral and ethical. There is no hell because God is a God of love, and He would never send people to hell. Also, I have been a good person, so I think I am OK. In fact, nobody knows what is right. Somebody might say:

I will take my chances with the man upstairs.

Spiritually dead people are characterized by unbelief and rebellion. They are set in their way, they don’t want to hear it, they are going to die what they were born in, and they will face the consequences.

In our passage, Peter is also speaking about the verdict on the enemies of God’s house. Ungodly men and sinners like Nero in Rome and all other persecutors throughout history are calling out the divine verdict on themselves by persecuting Christianity, which is on the rise in the world.

All over the world Christianity is under attack. It hasn’t really reached America yet, but it is coming. In these last days, we will see much more of this. Are we ready for that? If it is with difficulty that the righteous is saved, then what will become of the godless man and the sinner? John MacArthur said:

If a justified sinner is saved only with great difficulty, suffering, pain, and loss, what will be the end of the ungodly?

In other words, no one can get away. There is no escape, so where do you stand with God? Have you come to a place that you know for sure that you heard the Gospel of God, have repented of your unbelief, and trusted Christ alone for your salvation? From that point on, followed Him throughout your life, and baring fruits of the Spirit of God. Are you sure you have done that?

Don’t believe the old lie of satan where he says to the young people:

Ah, don’t worry about it! You are young, and you have plenty of time.

To the old people, he says:

Ah, you old, crusty, set in your ways. You don’t need any of that. You already know what you believe.

Really, it’s what lie are you believing or what truth are you shunning? The truth of the Gospel is clear, and we cannot get away from what it says. There is no wiggle room for anyone. Either you know Christ, or you don’t.

God wants us to call upon Him to be saved. If we believe in our heart that God has raised Him from the dead, the Bible says you will be saved. If anybody is a Christian, that is how we got saved. Then, God cleared our whole mind out of the garbage and junk that confused us on how to be made right with God. We see it clearly, believe in Him, God gives us His spirit, and everything is changed. Our life is different because of Christ. Anyone who is a true believer knows that, and someone who’s not a believer, does not know that.

In closing, the passage says in 1 Peter 4:19:

Therefore, those also who suffer according to the will of God shall entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right.

Firstly, Christian suffering is linked with the will of God. Secondly, Christian’s are to entrust their souls to a faithful Creator. In other words, Christians must trust their lives to God, who will never fail them. As Creator, He has both the power and compassion to care and protect His people, so we can trust Him in the present no matter what is going on, we can trust Him in the future, and we can trust Him for our eternity. He is a faithful creator. Faithfulness is His character. He cannot be anything other than who He is.

Lastly, Christians are to continue to do what is right by living a life of holiness, goodness, and good works according to what is pleasing to God, which is after salvation. Christians are not to take matters into their own hands. If suffering comes, we are not to retaliate or hold revenge. That is God’s department. Even though every single movie is about revenge, we must fight against that mindset by committing our situations and cause to God, the Father, who judges righteously, so we follow in His steps.

In closing, have you obeyed the Gospel? If you have, then it is a source of rejoicing, but if you haven’t, repent of your sin of unbelief, sinful behavior, and believe in Christ alone, which is God’s only provision for sinners.

Yes, salvation is difficult, but when we understand the truth of the Gospel, what we need, and what God gives us to come to Christ, it is simple. It is narrowed down to these simple principles: to repent, believe, and then to follow. I pray that you know where you are at today.

If you were to die tonight, and if I get a phone call that you know where you are going, that gives me great confidence, as a pastor, to know that this person was a believer. That is joy, and if they weren’t, that is grief because I know the outcome. Let’s pray:

Lord, I thank You for the hard passages of Scripture that get a hold of our heart and squeezes it. I ask You, Lord, that You would take Your word and use it however You see fit in the lives of those who are here. I pray that You would bring those who don’t know You to Christ. I pray that as they repent of their unbelief, sinful behavior, and idolatry, that they would turn to Jesus Christ, who died in their place as a sinner, who has turned away the wrath of the Father, who has completely fulfilled the justices of our condemnation, and who has granted us, by His work, eternal life. Thank You for them. I pray this in Your name. Amen.

August 12, 2018
Instruction for a Biblical Outlook on Suffering

In this sermon, Pastor Babij instructs believers from 1 Peter 4:12-19 on developing a biblical outlook on suffering. From the text, Pastor details five methods Satan uses to weaken Christians in the midst of suffering and five biblical outlooks Christians must practice to prevail through suffering.

Full Transcript:

As we’re continuing to move through this great epistle, let’s turn our Bibles to 1 Peter 4. In this last section of the book, we have been looking at and considering the discipline of a Christian concerning suffering. For the believer, suffering is part of the Christians life. For some Christians, suffering will be to a lesser degree, and for others, to a greater degree.

In this epistle, the Apostle Peter is writing to the scattered church shortly before or after the burning of Rome. Historians surmise that Nero, who was in charge at that time, had Rome burned, and of course, blamed it on the Christians. In any case, the church entered into a two-hundred-year period of Christian persecution. If you look at your Bibles, you will see that in 1 Peter 5:8, it is dealing with the dubious character of the enemy, which is displayed against believers, and that character says this:

Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

Because we are Christians, the enemy has its claws in suffering. The attacks are designed to drive the Christian off course. As he wrestles with the Christians, satan’s attacks in suffering are designed to deceive and distort the church. Really, it brings us to a place where we have to ask ourselves: do we really understand the truth in the word of God concerning suffering?

As believers, we are all going to enter into some type of suffering in our Christian walk, and we are going to do it for this reason: because you are a Christian. Because you are in Christ, you are a target of the enemy. In this section of Scripture, Peter writes a sobering part of the word of God that helps us to discern when that suffering comes, not if it comes, but when it comes. It will come, and it will come in all kinds of forms, ways, and times. So, we are to look at it from a biblical perspective so that we can hold our ground and stand firm in what we believe, but we must know what we believe.

The enemy has a strategy. As a believer, we can’t defeat the enemy himself, but we can defeat his strategy. God’s strategy is definitely in the word of God, so we should use it. These attacks can be identified in five different ways. In each instance, there is a corresponding anecdote coupled with the correct Biblical understanding of suffering and persecution. Let’s identify the enemy’s strategy; then, examine the instruction to have a proper outlook on Biblical suffering.

First, when we are believers and enter into a time of despair, suffering, or persecution, it is going to be somewhat of a surprise. Remember, this is satan’s way of attacking us. In any warfare, a significant tactic is the enemy’s element of surprise. He does this in order to catch his opponent off guard. If the enemy can catch a believer off guard, then he can exploit their vulnerabilities, their weaknesses, and their sin.

Second, it is that of depression or gloom. If the enemy, in other words, can get you to respond to the fiery ordeal as if you are on your own with only darkness, hopelessness, and despair before you, then he can get you or keep you in a mindset of depression or gloom. If only the Christian can be sunk down in gloom, then they may throw in the towel, quit, and leave.

Third, it is that of deception. In other words, if the enemy can get you to inaccurately assess the reason for your suffering, that is, you can’t discern whether your suffering is your own sinful behavior or not, then he can severely cripple a believer and keep them in their guilt.

A fourth attack is that of shame. If a Christian can be made to be ashamed, even when they have committed no sin, then the enemy can cripple a believer by causing them to doubt their salvation and twist their understanding as to the character of God to think that God is against them. Instead, the correct Biblical understanding is that God is for the believer. As Roman tells us, they are super conquerors in Christ Jesus, and nothing can be against them or condemn them in God’s court.

Then, a fifth attack is that of unbelief – the deadliest of all of them. If the enemy can get a believer to doubt God at all levels, then he can get a believer to think wrongly. To think:

I can’t believe this is happening to me. It must be happening to me because God is against me – I am out of His will.

They become doubtful and afraid and will not know what to believe or who to trust. In other words, these attacks and his strategies will come against us at some time, not all at one time, but maybe one of them. Maybe one here and one there. Maybe one sooner and one later. He knows how to attack a believer.

However, believers are to be maturing and growing in the truth, so that they know what to do. We must be reminded as Christians that it is never easy to be a Christian. It was William Barclay who once said:

The Christian life brings its own loneliness, its own unpopularity, its own problems, its own sacrifices, and its own persecutions because we are now connected to Christ.

Remember how they dealt with Christ. Well, they are going to deal with us in quite the same manner, especially if we are living the Christian life and we are vocal about it – we are not ashamed, living it out there, and putting the principles into practice every day.

In our passage, we are to learn some great principles that we should keep in mind, so that we can hold to suffering with the right Biblical perspective. Together, let’s learn from our passage at least five Biblical outlooks necessary for the Christian to prevail in any kind of suffering or persecution. Let’s pray:

Lord, as we look at the word of God, help us in our heart to engage and understand the truth. We know, Lord, if we know the truth and Biblical principles in the word of God, then we will be able to stand firm against any of these attacks. Help us, Lord, to understand suffering in a Biblical way, and to respond to it as it comes our way. I pray this in Christ’s name, Amen.

Satan tempts one to believe in the opposite direction of what the Scriptures teach. In other words, he knows the Bible well enough to be able to twist it to deceive a believer, so a believer must know what it says. The first outlook necessary for the Christian to prevail in persecution is in 1 Peter 4:12:

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you

The first outlook is that a believer is to anticipate its inevitability. Scripture affirms the inevitability of persecution against the true Christian church, which are comprised of the disciples of Jesus Christ. Christians bring an exclusive message of the Gospel that bares an ever-growing characteristic of a transformed life. The spirit of God is making them holy. So, the Christian brings to the world the standard and message of Jesus Christ, which is a narrow message. There is only one person who can save us from eternal destruction and condemnation of sin, which is Jesus Christ alone.

The Christian brings to the world this message that is different than what the world is doing, so a Christian is a kind of conscience to any society in which it exists. The world and its system do not like when it is told the truth because their conscience is pricked by the truth and their world view. Then, they respond in a way that is usually negative. In 1 Peter 4:4, it mentions the lifestyle of someone who comes to Christ:

In all this, they are surprised that you do not run with them into the same excesses of dissipation, and they malign you

There motive operation is that they want to come against you because you are not running with them anymore, partying with them anymore, or going along with the way they think anymore. God transformed your heart and mind, so you are going in a direction opposite of what you used to do.

People start noticing that. When you become convicted about it and serious about the Christian walk, then people do take notice – family members take notice. Then, they begin to say that you are brainwashed, no longer fun to hang around, it is a religious face, and to stop being holy and come back to party.

Mark it down, the Christian’s very goodness of what God is teaching them in their life can be an offense to the world. It is regarded by the world as a weakness that can be attacked and manipulated. However, a combat soldier is not surprised when the bullets start flying. They don’t think that it is a strange thing to find themselves in the middle of a combat situation. They expect it. In fact, they have been training for that very day.

If you have been following along in 1 Peter, it did not start with 1 Peter 4. He started with 1 Peter 1, which was on dealing with our salvation and understanding it. It is important for all Christians to have a good understanding and grasp of their own salvation in Christ Jesus, so that they know they are saved, what it means to be saved, and what God is going to do while you are saved – leaving you in this world as an alien and sojourner heading home.

The second section was focused on submission and the different ways Christians are to submit coupled with the characteristics and attitudes appropriate for proper submission that is pleasing to the Lord. Today, submission is a bad word and not understood very well.

Then, it brings us to this third major section of suffering. Being ever prepared for any kind of trial or suffering that may come our way as believers. Last time, in our passage, we examined three marks of a responsibly strong Christian community in view of the end. Actually, we are in the end times now, and we are moving towards Christ coming back again.

As we consider the end, those three marks were the duties of prayer. Prayer is our line of defense against the enemy. A second mark is to practice the principles of love fervently in the believing community, so that the believing community can be strong. The third mark is the duties to use their spiritual gifts to serve the body as a paramount necessity. These are the duties all believers must practice so that Christians will be ready when suffering does come. The Christian will prevail in persecution when they soberly anticipate its inevitability. I am not surprised when it comes because the Bible told me.

The second outlook necessary for the Christian to prevail in persecution is to consider its purpose. Notice in 1 Peter 4:12, it says:

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you…

The fiery ordeal is not a light persecution, but a heavy one. Then, it says:

…which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you

The purpose of the suffering or persecution that may come against us, which is the anecdote against the attack of surprise, is a test for our faith. In other words, we are not surprised because it is happening to test me. Persecution is the test of the reality of the persons faith. Faith is seen as a refining process in order to test its genuineness. It is for our benefit to show how genuine you are as a believer and how much you have been putting into practice Biblical principles.

We must ask some questions: how mature are you in the faith since you first called on Christ to save you? Has it been a year, two years, ten years, or twenty years? Well, what has happened in that time? Have you been growing, maturing, and becoming stronger and stronger in the faith? Has the world been dimmer than it used to be? Do the lures of the world still pull you? Has sin been overcome in your life and has no longer authority over you because it is no longer your master? All those things are what a believer is asking themselves.

When things are going fine, well, and dandy in your life, you don’t learn a thing. You don’t test your faith. You think everything is going fine. However, when the pressure is put on, when some kind of situation comes into your life where you are agitated in your soul, and when you have to deal with something that maybe dealt with before, which can come from family, husband and wife life relationship, your job, or anywhere, then don’t think it is strange. It is coming to test you, and to see how you have matured in Christ since you have believed in Christ.

Have you considered the purpose of your suffering, which you are going through now or have gone through? Have you considered that it is for your testing? The testing may be to reveal sin that you have not been putting off. It may reveal your selfishness, pride, anger, idolatry, lack of forgiveness, and your worldliness. It may reveal all those kind of things as a believer. Of course, our response is to deal with them.

If we do not consider Biblically the purpose of our suffering, then we are probably not responding to a particular, unique brand of suffering in the right way. We are probably responding in the wrong way. For the Christian to prevail in persecution, they must consider the purpose through the lens of Scripture.

The Christian faith is the only place you can get an “F” as a good grade. “F” is for faithful. Really, God wants us to be faithful. That is it. He doesn’t want you to be successful like the world says to be. He just wants you to be faithful to do what you know you ought to be doing as a believer. This doesn’t happen necessarily when you are serving a particular way. That happens twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.

You know when you lose it during the day. You may even lose it with nobody around. You just get angry about something and start yelling at the wall. You must ask yourself: why am I angry about this thing? Why am I yelling at the wall thinking that wall is a person, who has a name, but isn’t there? See, it is a revealing in our heart where we are at and what we need to deal with.

Take those things seriously and put them aside because they are all for testing us as to where we are at as a believer. We all need to know that. That is why we go through the grades. In every grade, you get tested. Can you graduate from high school? Well, did you make the grade? Can you go into college? Well, did you make the grade? Can you go into graduate school? Well, did you make the grade? It is all about the GPA, right? It is all about what your grade is.

As a believer, we ought to know the grade of how we are doing and if we have passed the test, which leads to the third outlook. A third outlook for a Christian to prevail in persecution is to respond correctly, which means with a proper attitude and proper conduct. It says in 1 Peter 4:13:

but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation.

Our response to all suffering and persecution is to rejoice. Now, you say, “well, that is hard to do.” No, that is impossible to do. In fact, you cannot do it on your own with your own ability, power, and will. You must do it with the power of God upon you. Also, this is a way that you know that you are passing the test.

When these troubles come into your life, can you genuinely say you are rejoicing because you know God is good and sending these things into your life for your benefit, and He is for you, not against you? Now, we rejoice because of our connection with Jesus Christ:

but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing…

The anecdote against depression and gloom that can come about if we don’t look at it correctly is found in the believer’s understanding of their vital union with Jesus Christ. When they suffer, it is because they are living the Christian life before the world in a manner that please the Lord, and the enemy takes notice of that. He doesn’t want you to display the glory of God in the world. He doesn’t want people coming up to you and saying:

Why are you different? Who do you worship? Why do you go to church every Sunday? Why do you always talk about the Bible?

Following in the footsteps of Jesus means that Christian’s under duress are to respond to this suffering with proper conduct coupled with an attitude of rejoicing. Really, persecution is sharing in the sufferings of Christ. When a person has to suffer for his or her Christianity, that person is walking in the way of the Master and sharing the cross of his or her Master that He carried.

Remember, these Christians, in this context, were insulted maliciously, verbally abused, threatened, and publicly humiliated for the name of Christ. Some even died. Not all were martyred, but some died. The attacks were not just somebody taking you to jail or somebody beating on you. The attacks are verbal and behind the scenes. They are manipulative attacks against believers. This principle of church occurs more than once in the New Testament. In preparing young Timothy to take on the church of Ephesus, Apostle Paul says in 2 Timothy 1:12:

For this reason I also suffer these things

He suffered imprisonment for preaching and teaching the word of God. He also suffered from those who would turn away and drop off once they started following the truth. He was suffering from people departing from the faith. When you see somebody walk in the faith for some time, and all of a sudden, they are not there anymore, it is heartbreaking. Then, you wonder if you did something or didn’t do something you should have been doing. We ask all these questions, but sometimes they walk away because they are not believers. Acts 5:41 says:

So they went on their way from the presence of the Council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name.

Brethren, that is not worldly thinking. That is not even regular, every day thinking. This is out of the box type of thinking. This is where the Spirit of God brings us on how to have a world view that is honoring to the Lord – to be willing to suffer, maligned, and criticized for Christ’s sake.

Also, to be passed over on a promotion for Christ’s sake because they didn’t like something about your Christianity, your behavior, your goodness, and unwillingness to look the other way when things are going wrong or being done improperly. See, the world takes notice of that, and they will get back at you for that. If we suffer for Christ, it is not a penalty, but a privilege. Then, the proper attitude to suffering will result in greater rejoicing. If you look at 1 Peter 4:13 again, it says:

…so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation.

That is double rejoicing that we have as believers. In other words, there is a present joy that we have in this world, but there is going to be a great joy, a future joy, on that great day when Christ comes for His church as the judge. The purpose of rejoicing in the midst of trials is because at the coming of Christ. The glory of Christ will be shared with believers when Christ’s full glory is unveiled before the whole world. On that day, we will be part of that glory and the reflection of the glory of God.

Believe me, that is a day that every believer will rejoice with exultation. That is like an exclamatory there. There is no better word to use to say that it will be a great rejoicing. While we live in this world, that is the promises we have now, and it is not easy living in this world. Then, in 1 Peter 4:14, it says:

If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.

Secondly, we are to rejoice because of your connection to the Holy Spirit. If you have good Biblical theology, then you will find out that when you become a believer, one thing that happens when you confess Christ as your Lord and Savior is that the spirit of God comes to permanently indwell you. Permanently, He takes on residence in you and in His church, so the believer is to hedge against depression and gloom by Holy Spirit rejoicing.

Whether you involved in a lesser or greater degree of suffering, be rejoicing, and the result of suffering is that God is near you for present blessing. If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed. When the Bible says that you are blessed, it means that God is near you for good, not against you. In other words, God is with us. In this passage, he is saying:

Listen, when you go through these times, this is great encouragement for you in suffering and persecution. You are not alone. You are not walking in hopeless darkness and despair. God is with you. God is with you with his help, comfort, support, presence, and with His church.

In the middle of life’s problems and trials, God is right there with us. To me, that is great encouragement. Now, can you see how the Lord adjusts our understanding of any kind of thing that will come into our life to deal with it in the right way, so that we may actually rejoice. Then, to know that God is not against me, and He is blessing me.

When everything is falling apart in your life, don’t look there, but look to the Lord and the word of God. A lot of the times things look messy when they are not. Sometimes, messiness leads to organization, and the Lord has to point those things out in our life. So, this verse brings to our mind the Old Testament passage that refers to the character of the King at the end-time, peaceful kingdom. It says in Isaiah 11:2:

The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him,
The spirit of wisdom and understanding,
The spirit of counsel and strength,
The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.

While we are passing through enemy territory heading home, the Holy Spirit is enabling a Christian to maintain a consistent posture of rejoicing while enduring persecution with the right attitude and behavior of that of rejoicing. The worst persecution can be bore with joy when the eye is fixed on the Revelation of Christ’s glory and the unbound joy that awaits the faithful in the end. Also, Christ’s spirit ensures that the glory of God is seen in believers, and that people take notice of it.

So, what is the reason why believers are blessed when reviled for the name of Christ? In 1 Peter 4:14, the spirit of glory and of God rests on them, and that is why we can rejoice. When the Old Testament used the term, “the glory of the Lord,” it referred to the Shekinah Glory, which was the luminous glow of the very presence of God. It meant that God showed up, God was present, and it became evident in the tabernacle and temple of God. It says in Exodus 40:34-35:

Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. ³⁵Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.

This is when God showed up, and the promise of God’s presence in suffering and persecution. God will be with you and make you ready for His eternal glory. That is His goal, and God accomplishes His goal. If you look at 1 Peter 5:10, it teaches:

After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.

He will Himself do it. In other words, God is not far away. He is immanent and near us. He is in our every day. He is working with His children every day close to them, and He knows everything that is going on in your life. As one person said, the person who suffers faithfully for Christ has the glow of God’s glory that rests upon them. A good example of that is Stephen, in the book of Acts, being stoned to death. It says in Acts 6:5:

And fixing their gaze on him, all who were sitting in the Council saw his face like the face of an angel.

In other words, there was his face of an angel that God was definitely there in their midst for protection, showing His power, and showing the presence of God. If a Christian is to prevail in persecution, they must learn to respond to the suffering with a proper attitude and conduct, which is that of rejoicing.

Next, the necessary outlook for the Christian to prevail in persecution is to examine the cause. The anecdote against the attack of deception and confusion is found in the believer’s ability to discern what is really going on in their own personal situation and circumstances. Two questions come up: are you suffering for the wrong reasons by your own evil doing and sinful heart? In 1 Peter 4:15-16, he says:

Make sure that none of you suffers as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler; ¹⁶but if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name.

There could be a time where somebody is suffering for their own sin, and they don’t realize it. The reason why we have trouble is because of our own sin. Don’t we have to consider that, and if it is, then you need to repent of that sin and get it out of your life so that you may continue to worship and grow in the knowledge and wisdom of Jesus Christ.

In the last one there, a troublesome meddler is another way of saying a mischief maker. This is an activity subtler than the other ones but may be more diabolic. This is somebody who is trying to spin the web behind the scene to manipulate people. Of course, we know people like that. This could be done in the area of someone wanting to covet what another person has, a political agitator, or can be somebody accusing Christians of sins that they are not committing such as murder, being a thief, an evildoer, and mischief maker. They can accuse a Christian of all those things.

Of course, suffering for any of these sins without repentance and faith in Jesus Christ could also reveal that one has never become a believer. They are not saved and need to become a believer. So, suffering for evildoing always results in shame. For it says in 1 Peter 4:16:

but if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name.

A second question to ask: are we suffering for the right reasons? Is the cause of your suffering for that which is good? Suffering for doing good results in no shame. In our passage, it results in glorifying God in the name of Jesus Christ.

If a Christian is to suffer for Christ, then their suffering bares glory to the name that person bares, which is Jesus Christ. The Christian’s lifestyle and conduct should show that they do not deserve the suffering for any wrong doing on their part, except for being a Christian. We suffer for being a Christian by name and by attitude. As we looked in 1 Peter 2:12, it said:

Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation.

The anecdote against the attack of shame is found in the believer’s understanding in their secure position before God because of the name Jesus Christ in which there is no shame in suffering righteously. So, the Christian badge of honor is to suffer, so don’t be ashamed of the name of Jesus Christ. Instead, glorify God in this name.

You have the privilege to speak the truth, to show the attributes of God in your life, and to be accused of being on God’s side, which is the right side. They may persecute you, but you will never lose fellowship with God or anything that comes into your life. So, what does it mean to glorify God in the name of Jesus Christ? Peter has brought that out in 1 Peter 3:15, which is acknowledging your faith in the middle of destress:

but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence

In other words, you have an apologetic and a defense of the hope that is in you, and you have a reason for your faith in Christ, following Him as your Lord and Savior, and your attitude towards the questioner would be that of gentleness and reverence. Both things are going on there. Truth: proclaim it publicly, and attitude: being glad to tell about what the Lord has done in your life.

Another way is maintaining a non-retaliatory response. If slander and insults come, and whether verbal or physical abuse comes, then you are going to walk in the footsteps of Jesus. Remember, Jesus was nonviolent. They said He was possessed by a demon, they said that He was a glutton and a wine-bibber.

However, Jesus never strayed from word or deed, never got upset unjustly, and never used anyone for a laugh. Jesus suffered verbally, physically, and spiritually. He never threatened retaliation on His tormenters but endured for us. By the power of the Spirit of God, we can do the same in our life when those times come.

Also, we can glorify Christ by keeping a lifestyle consistent with the name of Christ. If you think back to 1 Peter 1, you will realize that we are citizens of another kingdom. On this earth as aliens and strangers, our mandate is to live according to the standard of Christ.

Keeping in mind our alien nationality and our temporary residency on the earth. Keeping in mind what God has done for us in salvation. Keeping in mind who we are in Christ. Keeping in mind that we are in a spiritual warfare, so we are to avoid or keep ourselves from the old impulses that belong to our flesh, and the wars between our renewed spirit and fallen nature.

Also, keeping in mind that we have a new master – Christ, and a new relationship to sin – we are dead to sin and alive in righteousness. Keeping in mind that the Holy Spirit, who indwells us, is making a change in us through the truth of the word of God in our minds, so that we may develop deep, Biblical convictions. In turn, to desire to do what is right and live in a pleasing manner before the Lord, Jesus Christ, in all of our behavior.

Then, keeping in mind that our inner commitment to live before God in all holy behavior is accompanied by a Christian duty to live responsibly before unbelievers. Keeping in mind that we are to smit to a particular course of conduct. That we, as followers of Christ, can demonstrate, before the world, an alien lifestyle with the goal to proclaim the Gospel and win others to Christ, so that they may also become citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven.

On the day of judgement, they may give glory to God for you adorning the Gospel with your lifestyle and verbal proclamation. Leading to my last point, and our last outlook necessary to prevail in persecution is to entrust everything to God. Next time, I will deal with 1 Peter 4:17-18, so 1 Peter 4:19 says:

Therefore, those also who suffer according to the will of God shall entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right.

That word entrust means the household of God must obey and live the Gospel of Jesus Christ. At conversion, a person, in a sense, deposits their soul with God, whom they can trust and rely on about everything. We can deposit our souls with God and rely that He is going to do everything He said He is going to do in our life.

This word entrust means to place besides, place before, to give over to, or to commend to someone else. Actually, it is a technical term used for depositing money with a trusted friend. In ancient days, there were no banks and few safe places in which to deposit money, not like today. Before a person would go on a journey, they would often leave their money in a safekeeping of a neighbor or friend. Such a trust was regarded as one of the most sacred things in life. A friend was absolutely bound by all honor and all religion to return all the money intact and given to his safe keeping.

Therefore, the best place to deposit your soul for safekeeping is in the hands of the Creator. It is in the hands of Jesus Christ, who bought and secured our salvation, which is where he is leading in this passage of Scripture. Again, it’s like what Paul says in the Epistle of 2 Timothy 1:12:

For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day.

In other words, God has it all covered. When persecution comes, don’t think it is strange. That somehow God is against you, or that God has left you. If your outlook is Biblical concerning suffering and persecution, then you will prevail as you practice the necessary principles.

You will anticipate its inevitability. You consider its purpose, which is testing. You respond correctly, which is rejoicing. You examine the cause whether it is because of your own sin or living the Christian life. Then, you entrust everything to God by depositing everything with Him. No matter what happens in your life, you can rest your head on your pillow at night and thank God that He has taken care of everything in our life. We are to expect these very things, so that we are never taken by surprise.

It brings us to the place where we become soldiers, we become strong, and we learn how to put our armor on to stand up against the wilds of the enemy. Let’s pray:

Lord, Thank You again for Scripture. We Thank You Lord for the things contained in this passage. Lord, this is one area that seems to be very confusing, and sometimes we don’t know what to do with things and how we are to put things when they come into our life that our confusing. But, Lord, we see, from this passage of Scripture, that we can handle these things in a way that is Biblical, that You will enter into it, and that we can entrust everything to You. Knowing, Lord, what we deposit with You is safe and secure for all eternity. Nothing can rob us of the salvation You have given us. Nothing can separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus. For this, Lord, we are more than conquerors in this world. Let us live this way, and, Lord, if these times come, enable us to respond in a way that brings honor to Your name. I pray this in Jesus Christ. Amen.

August 5, 2018
Three Marks of a Responsible Strong Christian Community in View of the End

In today’s sermon, Pastor Babij examines First Peter 4:7-11 and explains the three markers of a strong Christian community living responsibly in view of eternity:

1) They take the duties of prayer seriously
2) They practice the principles of love fervently
3) They see using God-given gifts to serve the body as a paramount necessity

Note: For the video recording, audio quality improves at 22:22.

Full Transcript:

We will look at 1 Peter 4:7-11. First, let’s pray:

Lord, Thank You for Your tremendous kindness to us. Here, in the United States, we still have a large abundance of freedom to live out our faith, worship publicly, and carry our Bibles. Lord, I pray that we would never take that for granted. We can wake up tomorrow, and that can be all changed. I pray, Lord, that while we have peace, we would not be doing our own thing for ourselves but growing in Godliness and Holiness by preparing for the day that suffering may be at a higher level than we have ever experienced before. Lord, we know this is what the epistle of 1 Peter is, which is a book to get us ready for times that will be difficult. I pray, Lord, that our faith would not be shaken, but that we would be strong servants of the Lord during those times. I pray, Lord, that You would bless our time in the word of God. I pray this in Christ’s name. Amen.

Remember, this is the last of 1 Peter. We went through the section of salvation and the importance of all Christians having a good understanding and grasp of their salvation in Jesus Christ. Secondly, it focused on submission and the different ways Christians are to submit coupled with the characteristics and attitudes appropriate for proper submission that is pleasing to the Lord. Our great example of that is our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Now, this third section, which we have been in, is on suffering. It is being ever prepared for any kind of trial or suffering that may come our way as believers. On this Lord’s day, we will see the purpose of suffering as a saint. Once we are equipped with the mind of Christ, in our struggle and battle for the cause of righteousness, there are certain duties all believers must practice.

Then, the purpose of suffering as a saint is ultimately to bring glory to God in all our duties concerning our personal life and the community of believers. The first part of 1 Peter 4:7 says:

The end of all things is near…

The term near is used here in a perfect tense. When using the perfect tense, the writer is focusing on the completion of the action and views the results as certain and positive. Meaning, it refers to something that was once distant, but now is near. What is closer than ever before? Well, the second coming of Christ.

Remember, Christ already came as a man with a message, preaching the Gospel of the kingdom, and doing mighty works authenticating that He was from God and was God. Of course, Jesus came in human appearance as the Messiah. However, the first time as the suffering servant. The second time, He will come as the exalted King, but He is also coming prepared to pass judgement.

Thus, this statement, in the first part of 1 Peter 4:7, is a reminder that time is not circular, but linear. We are heading somewhere, and this present age is moving to an end. It is the hope of every Christian that Christ is coming again. It has been a fact of Scripture that the return of our Lord, Jesus Christ, remains a supreme motivator for consistent Christian living.

If you haven’t noticed, the theme of eschatological end has been a prominent subject in the Apostle Peters writing in both 1 Peter and 2 Peter. In 1 Peter 1:4, he talks about our inheritance:

to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you

To get that you must be in heaven, so that is reserved. Secondly, in 1 Peter 1:5, there’s salvation itself:

who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

Meaning, our salvation, in its full completeness, is not yet revealed. However, we will have our full redemption, and we are sealed until the day of redemption. Then, in 1 Peter 1:7, it talks about the revelation of Jesus Christ:

so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ

Again, we are looking forward to that time. In continuation, 1 Peter 1:9:

obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls.

The full salvation, which we will receive with resurrected bodies that is connected to our redeemed souls, will be something that we are looking forward to. 1 Peter 1:17 says:

If you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth

Last week, in 1 Peter 4:5, we saw Christ as the judge:

but they will give account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.

He is seated at the right hand of the Father, making intercession for the saints, but the next thing on His agenda would be to come and judge, which we are looking forward to. Then, in 1 Peter 5:10:

After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.

We are called to that already, but the full sense of it is in the future. From these passages, you see that imminence is stressed. Even though it has been two thousand years since the Apostle Peter penned these words, Jesus is coming soon. Even though God delays, He delays for one specific reason, which is recorded in 2 Peter 3:8-9:

But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. ⁹The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.

The very reason the Lord is delaying His coming is for people to be saved and hear the Gospel. Everyone who needs to be saved, is not yet saved, so God is delaying His program for those people. He will bring those, who the Father offered to the Son, to saving faith in Jesus Christ.

Until then, we must be ready. We must press-on to live for the Lord. Matthew 24:44:

For this reason you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.

Living each day, in light of the Lord’s return, should most certainly impact our present Christian life. In Scripture, we will learn that we, as Christians, have urgent duties in view of the end of all things. We are not to sit back and wait. We are not to sit back at all. Actually, we are to stand up, get in the game, and do what you are supposed to be doing. In this passage, our duties are split up into two places: personal and community duties.

Today, let’s glean from our passage the three marks of a responsibly strong Christian community or church in view of the end, which is the purpose of suffering as a saint. First, this community of believers, or our church, should take the duties of prayer seriously. In 1 Peter 4:7, it says:

The end of all things is near; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer.

Before we look at what that mark is, there are two things that are prerequisites before we get to the actual intending purpose. The first prerequisite is to keep a cool head. Another way of saying be of sound judgement is to be clear minded, which points us to someone who keeps his head, despite dangers, fears, or worries, especially during times of trial and suffering.

Thinking clearly leads to good judgments. During times of pressure, thinking clearly also leads to good judgements. When people lose their head, the Bible is calling us to keep your head so that you do not get swayed in the wrong direction. As believers, living on this sin cursed planet, we should have a better understanding of life than a non-believer. We know what the plan of God is and what God is doing right now in the world, and we know where it is all heading. While we’re here, we are to keep a clear head.

Secondly, in 1 Peter 4:7, we are to have a sober spirit. Meaning, a balanced mind or someone who is self-controlled. This is the opposite of drunkenness or being controlled by outside substances or influences. Here, discipline in self-control is in view in order to exercise moderation. So, what is it that constitutes a spiritually sane, disciplined person?

Well, they see things in their proper order and proportions. They see what is and is not important. They are not swept away by sudden and passing enthusiasm, or any wind of doctrine that is sweeping through. They are not prone to unbalanced fanaticism. Also, they see the affairs of this life in light of eternity. Bottom line, in all they do, they give God his proper place. God is always first in someone who has a sound mind. According to 1 Peter 1:13, it says:

Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Spiritual sobriety will be important for two specific purposes: one, in 1 Peter 5:8, is for the purpose of resisting the enemy, which we did not get to yet. However, the one in 1 Peter 4:7, is for the purpose of prayer. We are to have a sound mind.

The intended purpose is for us to be growing in our knowledge and wisdom of Jesus Christ and the word of God, so that we are always aware of what God is doing and what God requires of us. We are not influenced, in our mind, by anything we put into our body or outside our body but are stable in our thinking by thinking Biblically, which is for the purpose of prayer. When we come to prayer, how are we praying?

When the church first began, there were several means of grace that were laid down for a body of believers to grow strong, stable, and mature. They included learning the Apostles doctrine, fellowship, breaking of bread, and corporate prayers. Not just private prayers, but the gathering together of people to prayer. Bottom line, the purpose is that we come together with a clear mind of what God is doing and we pray specifically about the things before us.

Christians, having believed in Jesus Christ for salvation, have a new standing before God because of Jesus Christ and His sacrificial death. It is the standing, which we never had before, to be able to approach God at any time, any place, and anywhere. Once we repeated and believed, then we were granted the forgiveness of our sins. Then, what the Lord did for us on the Cross, came to be part of our inheritance.

Now, we are able to approach God in prayer, so prayer flows from the certainty that our creaturely helplessness and logical conviction of God alone can enable us and help us to do things. Psalms 73:25 says:

Whom have I in heaven but You?
And besides You, I desire nothing on earth.

It’s a desire where we know that God is a God who hears our prayers and answers us. So, what kind of prayers are we to pray? In our passage, it suggests that our prayers are to be in the church meeting and particular in our minds. When we gather, it’s the prayers that contribute to the building up of the personal relationship that we have in Jesus Christ, and the spiritual maturity we obtain by the spirit of God. We are to be praying for our sanctification.

In the book of Acts, the practice of corporate prayer became a significant part of worship, in which these new believers were eagerly desiring to participate in prayer together. In Acts 2:42, it says:

They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

Meaning, the public meeting together with prayer, so Friday nights are times where we can publicly meet together and pray for all kinds of things. If a church body lags in the common purpose of prayer, where the spiritual life line of communication with God is broken, then the forces of opposition weaken and eventually destroy a body.

Prayer is where we get our power and stability from, which is from the Lord. We lift our prayers up to Him, and we expect our Lord to answer our prayers. Of course, according to His will. We know that when we offer our prayer, God may say no, which is an answer. Sometimes He says, “go.” Sometimes He says, “wait.” Sometimes He says, “not now.” As we lift things up to the Lord in prayer, we discern those things.

Regular, continual prayer shows where one’s priorities and where one congregation’s priorities, concerns, and passions truly are. If nobody wants to pray, then we’re doing it for the flesh or whatever reasons, but not doing it for the end result, which is to bring glory to God. Now, what is prayer?

Simply, prayer is talking with God. It is the interaction of the soul with God, not in contemplation or meditation, but in direct address to Him. We are talking to the Lord. Also, prayer may be oral, mental, occasional, constant, a sudden crying, or formal and planned prayer.

When you read through Scripture, you’ll find that people beseech the Lord. They poured out their soul before the Lord. They prayed and cried to heaven before the Lord. They sought God and made supplications day and night before the Lord. They drew near to God before the Lord. They bowed their knees before the Lord. See, prayer was something that was very important in the life of believers all the way from the beginning.

Also, prayer presupposes a belief in the personality of God. It’s His ability and willingness to hold communication with us, who are His children. When He does that, we know that God hears us and will answer us. We pray that He answers us according to His will. For our prayers to be acceptable to God, they must be sincere and offered in faith. Bottom line, we are to have a continuous, inner channel of communication with God. Prayer is worship to the Lord, in which He deserves our adoration coupled with a thankful heart.

Not many would deny that prayer is important, but practically, many are atheists when it comes to prayer. When prayer times come around, they are not there. When they live their daily life, they don’t pray very much, or pray only when they feel like they are in trouble. Those are not the times that believers should be praying. They may be one of the times, but we should be praying about everything all the time.

Every day, we should be praying. On normal days, we should seek God about everything. If you are a part of God’s family, I urge you to become men, women, boys, and girls in prayer. Learn to walk in the spirit, and to lift up your hearts continually to Him in prayer. Practicing the presence of God in your daily life is what we are called to do, especially in light of times that are coming that may be hard. No matter what happens, we must be depending on God and trust Him in all things.

Leading to a second mark, which is to practice the principles of love fervently. If you notice in 1 Peter 4:8, there are two things that accompany community relations. One, as a congregation, we must show accepting love. 1 Peter 4:8 says:

Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.

This is the third time that Peter brings up this crowning virtue of all other virtues, which is love. 1 Peter 1:22, he said:

Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart

If we are able to love people in this way, then we would have no need to be exhorted to love in a fervent way. For the most part, the love that we did have, or that we thought was love, was driven by selfishness, superstition, social disorders, personal excesses, and sensuality.

Since, we have come into the family of God, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, so we have a new capacity to love people like God loves us. We learn our love from God. In 1 Peter 4:8, “above all” means that it is a very important thing. In the community of believers, it is to be a love that is fervent. It should be like a horse at a full gallop, where the muscles are taught, strenuous, and staining every ounce of energy to get where it is going.

Meaning, our love must be energetic by exhorting ourselves to the fullest extent. From this passage, it doesn’t look like Christian love is too sentimental. Here, it is a deliberate effort that demands a persons mental and spiritual energy. Now, why are we to love with such urgency?

Well, in 1 Peter 4:8, love covers a multitude of sins. It is not that love is blind, condones, or hushes up sin before God and men. Love does confront sin in order to protect character and help someone walk in holiness. Here, the reference is not to sins in their Godward relation, but to sins and failure in our human relations. This section of Scripture speaks of relationships between believers and believers.

When we truly love one another, we forgive people’s offenses and sins against us, which is how you cover it. It is by truly forgiving people. We can say we forgive, but in our heart, we have not forgiven. In other words, we may have forgiven, but not in our heart. However, the Bible is saying that this fervent love is love that forgives from the heart.

When we truly love people, in Christ, then we will forgive or cover people’s offense and sins against us. All you have to do is read the great love chapter, in 1 Corinthians 13, and find out that love is really important. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 says:

Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, ⁵does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, ⁶does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; ⁷bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

All those things listed tell us very clearly how important it is to love properly within the congregation. Love keeps everything together and is void of bitterness, anger, indifference, and refusal in the heart to forgive. Love refuses to deliberately expose sins it encounters to the eye of all. It prefers to refrain, and it discourages all need to talk about those sins with other people.

Yes, we are to use Matthew 18, but notice the loving steps in Matthew 18:15-17:

If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. ¹⁶“But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that BY THE MOUTH OF TWO OR THREE WITNESSES EVERY FACT MAY BE CONFIRMED. ¹⁷“If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.

When someone deliberately exposes sin to humiliate or injure someone, that is hate. Only when Christians become mean and ugly do they favor the devil by dragging each other’s failings out into the public arena. We must remember that we are all weak and failing. We have all done things and have sinned in certain ways that we’re not proud of.

We don’t want to be caught in any habitual sin practice. However, Christians are sensitive to their sins and to the sins of other people. Sometimes, they realize what sin does to people, and we want to rescue them from that effect. One way to do it is by a love that covers a multitude of sins.

This is all through your life. We cannot have this little list of offenses in our heart. That little black book needs to go into the garbage or into the fire. We cannot keep anything, in our heart, against people. Otherwise, we will never do anything God wants us to do. We cannot go forward because we have this stuff going on inside of us.

We must remember that we are all weak and failing, and if we love a person, it is easy to forgive. Love makes patience easy. When we love this way, we can accept others faults and foolishness, and even endure their unkindness. How precious and broad is God’s fervent love toward us?

God forgives, and He doesn’t bring it up against us again, which is the kind of forgiveness He has. When you look back at Abraham, the founder of Israel, he was tagged the friend of God, yet at one time, he was the worshiper of idols. Moses was a murderer, but later became one of God’s chosen and delivered Israel from the slavery of Egypt. Rahab was a harlot, who believed God by hiding the spies. Later, she is rescued and found among the members of the hall of fame in Hebrews 11.

Even Peter, who writes this epistle, openly denied the Lord, Jesus Christ, and cursed Him. Only to return and become God’s choicest spokesmen for the infant church. Only forgiveness can produce people like that, so we must all be careful that we do not put perfectionistic expectations on each other. The direction of the Christian life is not perfection, but a life of growing in Holiness and Godliness. Proverbs 10:12 says:

Hatred stirs up strife,
But love covers all transgressions.

Notice how hatred and love have a result. Hatred stirs the pot, makes things more confusing, and less to have any kind of reconciliation. However, when love covers or forgives, it forgives all transgressions. There is nothing that Christian love cannot forgive. Therefore, when we take on this attitude, we are honoring the Lord in that way, and we are not holding offenses against anyone.

Thus, this is not just formal forgiveness, but accepting people. This is not holding other people’s offenses against them despite their weakness, spiritual immaturity, and shortcomings. Mark this down: fervent love is the most important key that knocks down all kinds of walls between Christians. Then, it allows us to minister to each other and with each other, in the body of Christ, to get God’s work done unhindered.

Leading to another thing, which is that we must shoulder hospitality. 1 Peter 4:9 says:

Be hospitable to one another without complaint.

Back then, there were no hotels. All Christians had to make sure that their homes were open and ready for hospitality. The church body must be ready to provide a meal, lodging, and the necessary items to traveling Christian preachers, teachers, and missionaries along with traveling family and friends. In other words, a network of housing for suitably, sponsored travelers.

This is not just for everybody, but for a specific group depending on what you can do. Hospitality could become a very exasperating chore. There is an attitude that must accompany all of our hospitality, which should be without complaint. Meaning, without outward complaint or under the breath mummering and grumbling.

Why? There is always the chance that guests might overstay their welcome and abuse their welcome. Thus, hospitality must be shouldered cheerfully. When we do that, we are shouldering the burdens that may come with being hospitable, but also displaying the character of Christ.

Thirdly, it is a mark of a responsibly strong church in view of the end to use their spiritual gifts to serve the body as a paramount necessity. In other words, we must share our god given gifts with the church, not just for us. The use of spiritual gifts is to serve one another. It is faithfulness in the stewardship of God given gifts, not just elders and deacons, but church ministries depend on God’s distribution of spiritual gifts rather than natural abilities.

God bestows these gifts in the measure and manner in which they are to be used, and they are to be used to serve others and to build up the body of Christ. In 1 Peter 4:10, it says:

As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

In that passage, it says very clearly that each one of us has been given, at a conversion, a spiritual gift. Therefore, we need to know what that gift is; then, we need to use it in the body. We have no privilege to sit down on our own.

In the text, the theological concept of spiritual gifts comes from several Greek words, but primarily from charisma, which means in endowment of God’s grace and something given out of grace, not a debt. It is a spiritual working of gifts, or a gift of God. God gives these gifts to the church, which are to be used by the church.

There are several Scriptural observations that come concerning spiritual gifts. First, each believer has a spiritual gift and possibly more than one. Also, spiritual gifts are received at the moment of conversion. Although all gifts are needed in the church, some are more important than others. However, gifts do not confer status, but confer responsibility.

Then, some gifts are permanently given whereas others are temporary. Also, the believer controls the use of his or her gifts. Therefore, they are the one responsible for the use or nonuse of that gift. Furthermore, we see that these spiritual gifts are like natural abilities. They can be developed and matured like natural abilities. In addition, spiritual gifts are not abilities to work with some particular age group or place of service.

In our Scripture, there are two categories of gifts. There are the speaking gifts as it says in the first part of 1 Peter 4:11:

Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God…

Some of these speaking gifts are prophecy – or preaching, proclaiming scripture, teaching, exhortation, knowledge, and wisdom. Then, there are also serving gifts in 1 Peter 4:11:

…whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies…

Service is giving, leading, mercy, faith, and helps. We must depend on God for the use of these gifts. In 1 Peter 4:11, anyone who has the gift of speaking must speak the utterances of God. Meaning, the speaker must speak as one who utters God’s word.

Now, this can be taken as a warning for the speaker not to give their own ideas or opinions as opposed to the divine word. In fact, the speaker’s words must be the Scripture. One must depend on the revelation of God to speak. The speaker must speak the divine word, and he must do it with weight, dignity, and respect, which should accompany speaking on behalf of God.

We can come up here and there could be a lot of things we can say that are good. However, they are not profitable like the word of God, so it is better not to waste your time. Let’s get right into the text, see what it says, so that we can be living it out.

Here, the word of God is also translated as oracles, sayings, or messages, which originate from God himself. They are God breathed, and used of laws, promises, inspired utterances, and salvation history. In other words, if we are going to speak, on behalf of God, make sure it is God’s word.

Just because you have the gift of gab, it doesn’t mean that you speak God’s word. A lot of people talk a lot, or too much, but they say nothing. You must get your information from the word of God and give it out. I always tell people that the Bible is a pretty big book, and it is going to take our whole life to learn a part of this book even if we are diligent.

We must learn the Bible, and as we learn the Bible, we can give it out to people and know what it says. We can also know when someone is saying something that is completely wrong, and we have that discernment that comes from Scripture. Thus, if we have a speaking gift, we must depend on the revelation of God’s word to speak correctly.

Next, in the service gifts, whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength in which God supplies. In other words, God may be giving a different measure of strength to one person, or a greater or lesser measure to someone else. We cannot make that comparison since only God does that.

However, if you have a spiritual gift, God will give you the strength to use that gift. That strength comes with it, and it is up to Him to what extent. Believe me, I am tired all the time, but when God gives you the strength and you know what you are supposed to do, you get up and do it, and He energizes you to do the work He is calling you to do. Then, when you hit the pillow, you sleep at night.

Some of you may remember the little ditty I used when preaching on Spiritual gifts written by Mel Johnson called Getting it Together. If your spiritual gift is shelved, not being regularly used, or not used at all, then that puts the local church at a disadvantage. Let’s make sure that doesn’t happen to us. Let’s make sure we know what it is, and that we start serving and using the gift to build up the body of Christ, especially since that is what it’s for. If you are not using it, then that could be a problem, and I pray that it wouldn’t remain a problem. The ditty went something like this:

Fred Somebody, Thomas Everybody, Peter Anybody, and Joe Nobody were neighbors, but they were not like you, I’m sure. They were odd people and most difficult to understand. The way they lived was a shame.
All four belong to the same church, but you would not have enjoyed worshiping with them. Everybody went fishing on Sunday or stayed home to visit with friends. Anybody wanted to worship but was afraid Somebody wouldn’t speak to him. So guess who went to church? Yep – Nobody.
Nobody was the only decent one of the four. Nobody did the visitations. Nobody worked on the church building. Once, they needed a Sunday school teacher. Everybody thought Anybody would do it, while Anybody thought Somebody would do it. You know who did it? That’s exactly right – Nobody.
It happened that a fifth neighbor, and unbeliever moved into the area. Everybody thought Somebody should try to win him for Christ. Anybody could have made the effort, but you probably know who finally won him – Nobody.

The moral of the story is: each of us is personably responsible for doing God’s work. We all do this by using our spiritual gifts regularly in our own local church body, so let’s not assume somebody, everybody, or anybody is doing it. Then, what will happen is that it will end up being done by nobody.

So, we are responsible. To every Christian, God has assigned a function in the body of Christ. There are no exceptions. Every member has a function within the body that God has assigned for him or her to fulfill, which is the desire of God for a congregation that is growing to be strong, in light of the Lord’s coming.

The end purpose of why Christians are to fervently pray, practice unfailing and accepting love, and be sure to keep in use their spiritual gift is to give glory to God. 1 Peter 4:11:

…so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

This would be the end of all things, and the purpose of our living is that we would definitely give glory to God. In spiritual gifts, what are the purposes of these things? It’s threefold: to give God glory, common good of the body, and for the edification of the church.

No gifts are for personal use, and it is for the body. If you don’t use it, then I need your gift and for you to function in your gift. You need my gift. All of our gifts are different, but God has given you at least one of them, so use them. Now, why is it so important to bring glory to God?

As we use our gifts, God should be seen at work through His church. He needs to be seen through us, so that, in Christ, God gets all the glory. It is not the praise of the speakers and servers. No matter how much influence or exposure they are given by God, there are no persons that should be idolized. There are no personality cults in Gods church. All the glory must go to God.

Yes, we are to show affections and real gratitude to those who are faithfully serving, but all the credit, all the recognition, all the glory, and all the honor must go to God. At the end, we must praise God. When God gets the glory, honored, and lifted up, that is when the Gospel is ready to go out to people, and people are going to hear. Then, some seed will fall on good ground, some will fall on fertile ground, and some will get saved and bear fruit.

These are the three marks of a responsibly strong church in view of the end. They take the duties of prayer seriously, they practice the principles of love fervently, they use their spiritual gifts to serve the body, and to bring glory to God as a paramount necessity. Let’s pray:

Lord, Thank You for listening to us and hearing us. I praise You, Lord, for the guidance You give us in the word of God. I pray, Lord, in each one of these things, we can think about ourselves, and examine ourselves to see if we are doing them. Lord, we want to be strong in the Lord. We want You to be glorified. We want Your work to go forward. Lord, these are the ways it does go forward, so I pray, Lord, that You would give us the giftedness that we need to carry on all the work You have given us here. I pray, Lord, that we would use our gifts to edify and build up the church. That we would be serious about coming before You and seeking Your face in prayer. I pray, Lord, that we would also be fervently loving one another, so that there is nothing going on in our heart that will prevent us from serving with someone else as a believer. I pray, Lord, that You would take all these things, work them into our lives and congregation, and do it for the glory and honor of Your great name. I pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

June 24, 2018
The Purpose of Suffering as Citizen (Part 1)

In this sermon, Pastor Babij examines First Peter 4:1-6 and explains the way to suffer as a Christian citizen:
1) Imitate Christ
2) Break with your sin
3) Understand the backlash
4) Realize two opposing evaluations

Full Transcript:

Let’s pray:

Father, as we look at the prescribed word of God, that we can see, read, hear, and think about it. I pray, Lord, that we would take this passage of Scripture and begin to flesh out the things, in which Peter is talking about, for our daily lives. We know, Lord, it gives us the purpose of suffering as a Christian citizen still in this world, but part of another Kingdom. I pray, Lord, that You enable us to understand these truths, so that we may capture our heart and mind, and do them. In Christ’s name, Amen.

We have come to this last section of 1 Peter. Remember, the first section was on salvation, the second section was on submission, and this final section, all the way to the end of the book, is on suffering. Part of the Christian life is going to have an element of suffering in it, so we will see the purpose of suffering as a citizen.

The first part of it is to be equipped with the mind of Christ, so that we, as believers, will realize that our struggle and battle will be for the cause of righteousness. Peter’s main purpose was encouragement and exhortation for Christians under fiery trials. In 1 Peter 4:12, it says:

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you

Sometimes trials are going to come into our life that do seem strange, but they are there for a specific reason. Part of it will be for our testing, but also to see if we put into practice the principles we have been learning along the way in the word of God.

Peter wants to exhort and encourage Christians under trials and prod them to continue to have courage in the faith, remain pure towards the world, and trust the Lord, Jesus Christ, who has also suffered, so that we may have eternal salvation. Thus, Peter’s soul rested on a firm foundation, and he wanted his fellow believers to have the same firm faith.

However, he knew that it would be accompanied by times of testing and suffering. His mighty testimony fortified and informed his fellow Christians against the pressure and storms of life. His main exhortation was to endure considering the transitory nature of suffering in contrast with the eternal nature of salvation.

God called you to belong to Jesus Christ and share His eternal glory. Eternal marked the contrast between present suffering, which is only temporary, and life is only temporary on this earth, against God’s vindication, which will last for all eternity. Ultimately, the hope of all Christians stands in His strength and His faithfulness, not necessarily our hold on Him, but His hold on us.

Christians are now called, with the remainder of their life, to live for the Lord. From this day forward, the admonition is to live for the Lord. Whatever the past was, leave the past behind. Thus, the purpose of suffering as a Christian is to live for the Lord with the same mind and character that the Lord lived. To do that, Scripture will point to four things that we do and know.

First, we know that the purpose of suffering as citizens is that we are to imitate the purpose of Christ in suffering. 1 Peter 4:1 says:

Therefore, since Christ has suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same purpose, because he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin

Here, we are looking at facing suffering with armor on. In 1 Peter 4:1, “arm yourselves” recalls the image of a military context. The word arm is used in other passages, and in each one, we get the sense that the believer is to be equipping themselves for a struggle or a battle. It is a term appropriate for those living in a hostile society or under suffering, persecution, or ridicule.

If we are going to go into battle, don’t go without your armor on. It will give you a greater foundation to survive the trial or battle because you can deflect things with your armor. A similar passage of Scripture is Romans 13:12:

The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.

These are things that the spirit of God doesn’t do for us. Once we learn the principles that we have learned in 1 Peter 1-3, we are to put on the armor and be ready for any conflict that may come our way. In Ephesians 6:11, it says:

Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.

Behind some of our suffering, the devil wants to discourage you in the faith, and wants you to quit and take your armor off. Sometimes, things in your old life may look better than what you are going through now suffering as a believer. Nonetheless, in Ephesians 6:13 it says:

Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.

As a result, a person putting on their armor will stand firm in anything they are going through. Behind all of that, God is giving you the ability to stand firm. 2 Corinthians 10:4 says:

for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.

In other words, the battle is going to be much going on in your mind. When you become a believer, Satan wants to win over your mind, and deceive you as to what is true. God wants you to put the armor of God on, so that you are firm in what you believe in your mind so that he cannot deceive you and you stand strong.

In our text, the weapon that we are to arm ourselves with is a way of thinking, a principle of thought, and an attitude. In 1 Peter 4:1, purpose in the Greek is from a noun that means mind. The mental conception that follows a consideration and deliberation on something. In other words, a way of thinking. Think the way Christ thought. Here, it is a concern for the cognitive dimension that leads to behavior. We think of something, which leads to behavior.

In this case, it is putting on our armor, and our armor is a way of thinking that gives us victory over any deception that may come our way, especially during times of trouble. We are considering the work of Christ and suffering once for our sin. As a result, sin was done away with by Christ and it was finished. In other words, Jesus Christ was finished with it as we saw in 1 Peter 2:23-24:

and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously; ²⁴and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.

We don’t just die to sin, put our sins down, and do the next thing. No, we put our sin down and pick up the righteousness and learn how to live righteously. The only way this will happen is if we are armed in our mind. No one can convince you that this is not the right thing to do found in the word of God.

Although Jesus did no sin, He bore our sins in His own body on the tree, and the burden of our sin was on Him, He carried it up to Calvary, but it ended there. His death finished His involvement with our sin. In the passage of Scripture that we read in 1 Peter 4:1, the next thing Peter brings up is that we are to face suffering victoriously.

In 1 Peter 4:1, the point is that union with Christ means death to sin. The Apostle Peter applies this principle to us. If we are in Christ and Christ’s spirit is in us, then what goes with that is something very real, which is that we die to our sin. Like what Paul said in Romans 6:11-14:

Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. ¹²Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, ¹³and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. ¹⁴For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

The Apostle Peter is telling us to arm yourself with the same principle of thought where union with Christ, in His suffering, means for us death to our sin. Several commentaries pointed out:

Resolve is not to suffer, but rather to have the same attitude and response to suffering that Christ did. Also, to have the same attitude Christ had as to what His suffering accomplished for His children. The relationship we once had with our sin has completely changed.

Once somebody becomes a believer, they cannot go on in the old sinful patterns in their life. If they are truly a believer, that must end. If it doesn’t end and they just live with no issues or problems, then they are probably not a believer. The result of Christ’s death produced in us a desire not to want to continue in sin.

We have this change in our mind as to how we look at and deal with our own sin. Accordingly, Christians do not regard sin as a matter of indifference, which is to think that falling into sin is no serious matter. Well, it is a big deal. In fact, it is a bigger deal as a believer to fall into sin and live with a certain pattern of sin than it is an unbeliever.

If you are going to be encouraged in your faith as to whether you are a believer or growing in Christ, then where will you see it the most? You will see that the old sins are no longer there anymore. Not only are you fighting with them to put them to death, but the desire to do them is waning. Eventually, it just goes. It doesn’t mean that you will never be tempted with that sin again. Satan is slick, and he knows how to tempt you.

There is no such thing as a pink sin, a green sin, a white sin, or a little sin. Some sins are more serious than others, but sin is rebellion in your heart against God. Whether we consider it a more serious one or not, all sin, to a believer, is a serious matter. They know that they are not sinless. We still have remaining corruption. We know that we are not in fact free from the temptation to sin and sin itself. We know the great price our Lord, Jesus Christ, suffered in our place, so that we may be forgiven and made righteous before the Father.

Those are the things that are armed in our mind and in our thinking, so the Christian should live in a way where they manifest a growing opposition to their own sin. We need to put our sin down, and we have all the power, by the Spirit of God, to do that. Thus, a Christian is growing in their opposition to sin, and our attitudes become our weapon. How we view sin is the way God views it. How we view sin is knowing that our sin nailed Jesus to the Cross too. Meaning, sin to God becomes a very serious matter.

In fact, if someone is not forgiven of their sin, they are heading for a lost eternity, which is a very sad thing to think about. Even though a Christian commits a sin, they do not want sin to reign over them anymore, so they turn from it, in repentance and strength God gives, to put off the dirty garments and put on the garments of righteousness, which is the practice of a believer.

However, the Apostle Peter seems to focus his attention, in our text, not on necessarily the principle of sin, but the concrete acts of sin. In other words, a believer should know what a sin is. It should not be something, for a Christian, that you cannot define. We should know, before anybody else, what is sin, and the very sins we commit in our own minds, which is where sin needs to be put to death.

When we understand this, then for the remainder of our earthly life, we are going to want to break with our sin, which is part of the battle and putting on the armor. Breaking with your sins is essential for a believer. It is not a give or take thing, what you decide, but what happens when you become a believer, which includes living by a new standard of conduct as a believer. 1 Peter 4:2 says:

so as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.

There is a certain liberty that God gives us in our salvation that ushers in a new time of life for us, in which we have a choice to make a new investment. In making that choice, there is always two things going on, or two ways to live life. The first way to live life is that your life is determined by the will of human desire.

Being dead to sin does not mean that we are perfect, without sin, or that we will never sin again. What it means is that we no longer belong to the realm of sin, in which we are dominated by sin, under its power, and governed in its various ways of different lusts and desires that sin conjures up. Living in the lusts of men means that we live in a power domain where everyone was holy within its grip. Meaning, in the sinful sphere, we were in the grip of sin, subject to that sin, and we were helpless to gain any kind of escape from that sin.

So, our Great God has moved His children from the spiritual graveyard where Satan rules, fleshly desires and cravings dominate and enslave, and where the world system constantly changes with confusing messages. He has moved us from there to a heavenly realm where our good, merciful, and loving God rules with all power and authority now and forever.

Being a Christian is not having a nice, comfortable feeling inside, but to enter the kingdom of God and Christ, which is to enter the realm where God rules. Before, God did not rule in our life no matter how religious we tried to be, but sin ruled in our life. Sin was our master.

To be a Christian means to be taken out of the horrible darkness, out of the life of sin, shame, and evil, and to begin to live a new life, with a new heart, and with a new way of thinking. The spirit of God is transforming our minds, so that we know what the will of God is.

When it comes to our own sin, we can no longer claim ignorance. We are no longer children of the ignorant. We are no longer to be led around by the changing wind of human cunning, crafty, and deceitful schemes. Rather, we are to live the rest of our time, on earth, according to a specific standard of conduct the Christian conforms to, which leads to the second way to live.

Now, a Christian can live by both ways. They can decide to go along with their own desires and passions. However, when we start learning the word of God, the word of God begins to transform our mind, so we start to arm ourselves. We begin to determine purpose by living by the will of God. This desire overtakes our desire for sin. It helps us to recognize where we do sin, so that we don’t displease our Lord. We want to please our Lord. Thus, the divine will must control the believer’s life rather than mere human impulse.

For the Christian, the rest of his or her life is to no longer be shaped by the desires of sin, but by the will of God. Each one of us lived a lifestyle that swept us along with the crowd. The Lord has freed us from the old, wretched life to a new life.

From now on, we are living life for what God desires, not for the old, sinful, selfish, and self-centered desires that we were so common to. In fact, we didn’t even know we were being led that way, and you don’t really know this until you become a believer. When you start understanding the Scriptures, you see that’s what you really were.

When you come to Jesus Christ, there is a transformation that starts and continues to take place until the day we drop off these filthy coats of remaining humanness. Meaning, the unsaved person has only one capacity and one course of action, which is to serve sin and self while leaving God out of their life.

On the other hand, the believer, or saved person, has an option, which are these two. However, when we start taking the first option too much, you, as a believer, will be heavily convicted by the spirit of God, which is what ought to happen until the spirit of God doesn’t allow you to go one more step until you take care of that sin. Your life is on hold until that sin is dealt with. Then, the spirit of God begins to magnify in your life and heart that this must be put off before you can put on righteousness and move forward again.

The second way is the way that begins to dominate as we grow in Christ, in our knowledge, and wisdom of the word of God. We want to serve God as long as we are in these human bodies. However, we will do it in the struggle of the flesh, which desires to leave God out. Of course, the flesh always wants us to leave God out and live according to the former lusts and passions.

Again, in our mind, we must decide. We must consider ourselves delivered from this present evil world. Galatians 1:4 says:

who gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father

Secondly, you must consider, as a believer, that you are now an overcomer in this present world. 1 John 5:4-5:

For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. ⁵Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

Then, as Peter has been telling us, we are not home, we’re heading to home, passing through on our way home, were travelers, and citizens of another kingdom. We must consider, too, that we live in a transitory mode heading to an eternal place. While we head to that place, we are to deal with our sin, and make sure we are putting our sin to death.

Next, we are to consider ourselves to be no longer a friend of the world. In James 4:4, it says:

You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

We don’t want to be a friend of the world anymore. The world is not the one dictating what I do in my life anymore, how I think, and what I purpose to do. As a believer, we consider in our mind that we are different now. Another thing we consider is that we no longer want to love the world. 1 John 2:15:

Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

There are a lot of things the world says to love, to be like, to dress a certain way, talk a certain way, act a certain way, listen to certain music, and go to certain places. The world is telling you all kinds of things, but you must determine since now you can think as a believer, which is in a different way. Your mind is being transformed to say:

No, I don’t have to do those things anymore. I don’t need those things to live my life anymore. I am not loving the world. I am not a friend of the world. I am an overcomer in this present world. I have been delivered from this present, evil world. Now, I’m in the Kingdom of Light, so I am different.

According to these passages, we must consider these things in our mind: who we are and how different we are. According to the next thing in 1 John, we have spent far too much time on our old pagan desires and passions. 1 Peter 4:3 says:

For the time already past is sufficient for you to have carried out the desire of the Gentiles, having pursued a course of sensuality, lusts, drunkenness, carousing, drinking parties and abominable idolatries.

Breaking with your sin is essential; secondly, living the past life is over. There must be a decision that a believer makes, based on the word of God, that it is time to make a break with sin. In our text, he gives a list of sins. There is sensuality, which can also mean sexual immorality. There are lusts, which includes passions and desires of all kind of evil appetites.

Then, notice drunkenness, which is alcoholic beverages consumed frequently until the substance controls a person. This is a general way of saying anything that controls you. Concerning alcohol and people who are controlled by it, Proverbs 23:29-35 says:

Who has woe? Who has sorrow?
Who has contentions? Who has complaining?
Who has wounds without cause?
Who has redness of eyes?

³⁰Those who linger long over wine,
Those who go to taste mixed wine.

³¹Do not look on the wine when it is red,
When it sparkles in the cup,
When it goes down smoothly;

³²At the last it bites like a serpent
And stings like a viper.

³³Your eyes will see strange things
And your mind will utter perverse things.

³⁴And you will be like one who lies down in the middle of the sea,
Or like one who lies down on the top of a mast.

³⁵“They struck me, but I did not become ill;
They beat me, but I did not know it.
When shall I awake?
I will seek another drink.”

That is a person who is controlled by a substance, and we know people in our own families that is that person. Maybe even you were that person. It is not just alcohol, but also marijuana, cocaine, heroin, prescription drugs, and opioids. In fact, our great state of New Jersey is going to legalize marijuana and gambling. That’s what we really need, right? It’s going to produce money to pay the bills, but what about the end result when peoples life and families are destroyed? It doesn’t help us as a state or a country.

See, they don’t think like that, which is utter foolishness. However, a believer doesn’t live there. A believer knows what is right and what is wrong, and they say no to participating, endorsing, or voting for these things. These are concrete sins that are destructive and cause death.

Then, in our text, there is carousing, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries. With this last one, some people will say this:

Today, we don’t really get involved with idolatries.

They think they could never be prone to be tempted to some kind of idolatry. However, they don’t understand what idolatry is, which is worshipping anything other than the Lord himself. If you are living by your passions and desires, then who is your idol? You are, so we are really good at making idols in our hearts.

In fact, the day and age in which we live, there is a spiritual vacuum where people are prepared to fill by looking kindly on syncretism, witchcraft, and experiments with a cult. Of course, they don’t say those things, but package them very nicely.

Therefore, the Biblical warning against idolatry needs to be taken to heart, especially since the evil loves a world filled with religions. He is the driving force behind a world that has always been filled with all kinds of multicolored religions. Satan used this old age formula of syncretism to deceive every generation, and he is still up to his old tricks.

For the sake of clarity, syncretism means when one aspect of religions is assimilated into one another and fundamentally changed by each other, so he morphs and produces religious systems that people adhere to and there are thousands of them. Today, people don’t realize that yoga is not innocent. Behind it, if you look at people who are in charge of Hinduism, this is an entrance to the way they are thinking and it’s their evangelism program. They don’t realize that the positions practiced in yoga, for what they call relaxation and meditation, are positions to the gods.

They don’t tell you that, but they tell you that it is innocent, that it is just exercise, and to empty your mind. The Bible says that meditation is not emptying your mind but filling your mind with truth so that you know what is right. In our church, there will never be anything connected to yoga, and you should not be either. It is not innocent because Satan is behind it, and he makes everything look innocent.

There are plenty of ways to exercise, so you don’t need to be doing yoga, which is another system of the world. We shouldn’t be part of things like that, especially since we need to know who is behind it all. With the merging of eastern and western ideas, which is often called The New Age Movement, there has been mounting pressure for the unification of religions, which the church should not be part of or endorse.

Any function where lustful passions are aroused, unclean behaviors and conversations are being lived out, or some kind of innocent, religious practice is taking place, then we must examine all of it, especially since there is a danger to become part of them. When we think of these past sins and things that pull us in, we weren’t necessarily agreeing with them in action, but agreeing with them in reality. 1 Corinthians 6:9-12:

Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, ¹⁰nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. ¹¹Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God. ¹²All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything.

Simply, Paul is saying that it is not just sin that he doesn’t want to master him, but anything that prevents him from becoming Christlike. Meaning, it doesn’t have to be sinful, but something that takes you away from the very means that God has given us to make us Christlike. Ephesians 5:7-12 says:

Therefore do not be partakers with them; ⁸for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light ⁹(for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), ¹⁰trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. ¹¹Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them; ¹²for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret.

Here is a believer, who is completely opposite of what you used to know. You are different, you are light, and you are God’s children, so we need to remember that what we were before we met Christ. From time to time, we must review our past for the sake of remembering where the Lord brought you from and the things He has been doing in your life all along the way.

When you read through the Old Testament, the Scriptures say to Israel in Deuteronomy 15:15:

You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you; therefore I command you this today.

Remember that since it will aid you throughout your journey. Then, in Isaiah 51:1 it says:

Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness,
Who seek the LORD:
Look to the rock from which you were hewn
And to the quarry from which you were dug.

In other words, when you became a believer, God pulled you out of a pit. When you remember those things, invest the rest of your time, on this earth, for the Lord. We will find out, in Scripture, that fervent love of the brothers and sisters in Christ replaces lust, awareness of the times replaces being controlled by mind controlling substances, and joyful adoration, in the risen Lord, replaces the folly of idolatry.

We serve one God, who is the true and living God, manifested in the Father, Son, and the Spirit. There are no other Gods. There is not one who can compete with Him or come close to Him. They are just dumb idols. They cannot speak, hear, walk on their own, or do anything. However people want to form an idol in their heart and mind, they cannot compete with who God is.

Now, we live by a better way, which is the will of God. Here is our option: we can live by the old way of the flesh or we can live by the way of God. However, living by the will of God is the place you want to be in.

In saying all of that, our next point is understanding that breaking with your sin has a backlash to it. Do you think you are going to lay your sin down and have no trouble? Do you think you will deal with those things and have no opposition or conflict? 1 Peter 4:4 is the unbelievers surprised reaction:

In all this, they are surprised that you do not run with them into the same excesses of dissipation, and they malign you.

In other words, Apostle Peter mentions the difference in lifestyle after one comes to Christ. The unbeliever is saying:

What happened? We were having such a good time, living it up, we were free, doing what we wanted, and when we wanted. C’mon! Let’s plan to have more fun and party.

In other words, this is the result of the pagans or the unsaved astonishment that their Christian neighbors no longer want to recklessly live with them anymore in that way, so they malign you. In other words, they are saying:

What do you mean you don’t want to come with us anymore? Oh no, you didn’t become one of those Christians, did you? You did, didn’t you? What a boring life that is. Boy, have you gotten off the ship. I don’t want to hang around you anymore. You are brainwashed and no longer fun to hang out.

Then, they finally say in the end:

When you get over your religious phase and realize there is nothing there, then come back over here and we’ll talk.

The primary form of persecution, in the epistle of Peter, has been verbal abuse, accused of wrong doing, insulting them for who they are, speaking against them, slandering them, and mocking them. We must mark this truth down on our calendar: Christians, who follow Christ and want to do the will of God, will find out the very goodness of God in their life can be an offense to the world.

It can be regarded as a handicap if you are too truthful on your job. It can be regarded as a handicap if you are always wanting to do the right thing, what is good, and right towards people. You will never get into that gossip group or amongst the people because you always seem to be opposite of what the group wants to do. You are trying to interject some sanity of truthfulness to what a group might say or do. Then, you are maligned for your goodness, your truthfulness, and willingness not to lie or deceive.

Isn’t it funny that people, in general, do not think it is strange when people wreck their bodies or destroy their families and homes, but when a drunkard become sober, lives for the Lord, and lives a holy life, their family or friends will say that that have lost their mind and that it is time for therapy.

One time, I had a lady say to me that her husband got miraculously saved out of drunkenness and beating her. A year went by, he was so into the Lord, and she said, “I liked him better when he was drunk.” Are you kidding? However, this is exactly what happens. It’s frightening, but here’s the game changer: they know that the way they live counts.

Either you live life determined by the will of human desire, or a life lived determined by the will of God. However, there is something heavy that our text brings out in 1 Peter 4:5:

but they will give account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.

This is not what they are banking on, but this is what the believer knows. Unbelievers are accountable before God, and this is where believers come. Either we can criticize them, judge them for their lifestyle and behavior, or we do the right thing, which is to bring them the Gospel of Jesus Christ and live the Gospel before them. Behavior and message go together, so we do this because they are heading for an eternity of loss and under the judgement of God.

That should produce us to loosen our tongues, and to inflame our desires to want them, more than anything else, to know what we know, which is to believe in Jesus Christ. No matter what they are saying about us, what they are doing, or how they are living, we know what they need. They need Christ. In Hebrews 9:27, it says:

And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment

There is no purgatory here. In our text, it says that they will give an account to Him, who is ready to judge the living and the dead. In God’s program, He is ready, so the unsaved have an accountability before God, which is personal. Unbelievers must give an account of themselves, the way they live their life, how they treated people, and the way they responded and treated God, who is their creator.

There is a greater level than death, which is judgement. That is something that should weigh heavily on the hearts of believers, which is the motivation to get out of our comfort zone and tell somebody about Christ. If you don’t tell them, who will? Don’t assume somebody else is going to, so we have to tell them. Of course, it is uncomfortable and yes, you will be ridiculed, but so what? You know the truth, and they don’t.

Their ship is sinking, and they don’t know it. Their house is burning to the ground, and no one is telling them. That is what believers are to do. For those who have been bought by the blood of Christ, the throne of judgement has changed to the throne of mercy. However, for those who have not and do not come to Christ, after they die, they are ushered into the throne of judgement.

Most have not considered the fact that death is a spiritual matter, and that this question of Jesus Christ will be the most important issue there when someone dies. Here’s the real issue and failure: most do not think about death the right way. There is a failure to realize the spiritual part of death, and that the condition of a person’s soul is the most important matter at one’s death, not the way they die or when they died, but where is their eternal soul going to be? Is it going to be in the presence of God, or of God’s judgement?

Men don’t die again and again, but once. We are to help them know where they are going, and what the verdict is going to be when they die. They verdict for the believer is eternal life in heaven, but the verdict for the unsaved is commendation, hell, and then the lake of fire, which is separation from God forever.

Lastly, we will be evaluated. Evaluating an earthly, godly life will do two things. One, it will be negatively evaluated by the human standard of unbelievers. 1 Peter 4:6 says:

For the gospel has for this purpose been preached even to those who are dead, that though they are judged in the flesh as men, they may live in the spirit according to the will of God.

This is addressing those who heard the Gospel while alive and responded but have since died. Even though while alive, they were judged by a human standard. Be encouraged since victory and divine vindication await those, who suffer for doing what is right, living, and following the Lord for the rest of their life. Thus, we are going to be judged negatively by the unsaved. However, that is not what we are to worry about.

Two, we await divine vindication and complete victory. The end of 1 Peter 4:6, he is talking about being judged by a divine standard. In other words, the lives of Christians, who have cast from this world, have been evaluated, in one way, which is by pagan, unsaved neighbors, and in an entirely different manner, which is by the divine law court. We know that Christ takes our judgement.

Therefore, we will not be judged based on whether we are in or out, but we will be judged as believers about how we lived our life where we get rewards or rewards taken from us. Final judgement is with God, and though we will be falsely accused by men, we will live according to the spirit of God.

In other words, rejected by people, but in God’s sight, chosen and honored. As believers, we are to be encouraged by the negative things and judgements on this earth. However, don’t worry about those, but worry about how God sees you, which is the main concern.

We have learned that the purpose of suffering as a Christian citizen is fulfilled by imitating Christ, by breaking with your sin, by understanding the backlash when you live for Christ, and by being evaluated by the world in a much different way than by God’s divine standard. Again, it all has to do with our thinking, and our minds are armed with these truths. We know what God wants, what He has made us to do, what He wants us to be, and how we are to live for Him on this earth. We are armed with that, and no one is going to be able to move us from it. Every day, we must put our armor on, live these things, and God strengthens you and enables you to do so. Let’s pray:

Lord, I Thank You for the word of God. Again, it is a great encouragement to know these truths. Thank You, Lord, that they clarify many things in our life and in our position. I pray, Lord, that You may embed these things in our mind, so, Lord, that we armed with them every day. As we are armed with them, Lord, give us this resolve in our mind to think and respond to things like You did according to the will of God, not according to our old, sinful passions. As we do so, that everyday we would live to be able to be ready to give the Gospel to those who have not yet heard it, and that we would be able to stand strong when we are accused of things that are not true, or when we are maligned for being a believer or doing the right thing. I pray, Lord, that we would rest knowing that our vindication is before God, so we don’t have to worry about anything. Take care of us in that way, Lord, and let all the glory, praise, and honor go to Your great name. I pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

June 10, 2018
Becoming Like Jesus

Answers Bible Curriculum Year 3 Quarter 4 Lesson 10

This week in Sunday school, we’re taking a closer look at what the New Testament epistles have to say about the Christian’s growth in holiness. What is the difference between positional and progressive sanctification? How is your own effort key in the process of becoming holy? Why is the battle for holiness in the Christian life so important? Please join us as we consider these crucial questions and more.

Our main texts for this lesson are 1 Peter 1:13-16, Philippians 3:12-16, and Ephesians 6:10-20.

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idea of children of God being a child of God and then there’s also the term slaves one who has been bought by Christ wholly belonging to him fully serving him that’s another way to describe Christians but one of the most common terms if not the most common term is actually the term saint now biblically what is a saint if someone tell me it’s another term for believer but it’s the idea of holy one it means someone who is holy or set apart so a saint is a holy one and the term is used throughout the New Testament and even the Old Testament to describe believers and the meaning of this term has become mutilated a bit through the ages today in a Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox churches a saint is someone who’s been formally recognized and voted on canonized as a super holy person he does he’s done miracles he or she and he has earned great religious merit before God and so these churches the Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox churches they believe that Christians should venerate and pray to these superhero Christians these things supposedly because of their great standing with God they are able to intercede for regular believers lower believers with God and cause God to provide for the needs of those those Christians of course these beliefs are wrong at multiple levels but they have effective what our society thinks of when it comes to Saints to most people a saint is someone who is super holy who has arrived to a level of godliness that mere mortals dare not even dream and even if someone insists that he’s a good person he will say but I’m no saint no one would want to claim to be a saint and yet I think as you’re already familiar listen to how the Bible uses the term Saint a Roman 1615 Greek fella lukas and julia nereus and his sister and olympus and all the saints who are with them or Ephesians 1:1 Paul an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God to the Saints who are at Ephesus and who are faithful in Christ Jesus Ephesians 3:8 to me the very least of All Saints this grace was given to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ or Ephesians 4:11 to 12 and he gave some as apostles and some as prophets and some as evangelists and some as pastors and teachers for the equipping of the Saints for the work of service to the building up of the body of Christ or Hebrews 13 24 actions these first three commands and reactions have to do with holiness well notice the latter two commands these second are these fourth and fifth commands they’re introduced under the metaphor of the family Peter says as obedient children children to whom about children to God here again we see that theme we’ve talked about previously as Christians we have become children of God and therefore ought to be obedient to our Father what does this obedience look like the two commands that follow clarify that for us and they both have the idea of conformity on the one hand Peter says do not be conformed to the former lusts in your ignorance I’m not the passive verb here that Peter uses do not be conformed so the actor is not the Christian it’s someone else trying to conform the Christian the Peter’s indicating there are forces or people or entities trying to conform you to your old lusts that characterized you in your ignorance now when we’re Christians ignorant and conformed to their old lusts what what was this former state this characterized the person before he believed in Christ this is the person before salvation Peter says don’t sit by and let forces try to push you into that old mold of what you were before you were saved don’t be conformed back into the image of your previous life where you followed your lusts and ignorance instead gird up your mind be sober grasp your short hope don’t let yourself be pressed into the old image of sin and slavery to your fleshly desires and notice the term ignorance that Peter uses he’s making clear for us that this old way that we lived this is before we understood the truth before we understood a reality before we understood what life really is before we actually encountered God Peter says don’t go back that way don’t be conformed into the image or the mold of that old way now if he has to say this that implies that there’s a need for this command this says this is a problem for Christians we’re going to experience this these forces trying to do this to us we can’t just sit by it we can’t just be passive or else we’re going to be at the mercy of these forces we see then that and that’s the sanctification process that is really being discussed here there’s not one where the believer can afford to be passive he must actively resist conformity to his old life and this fits with that idea preparing your minds for action you’re gonna have to actively resist being pushed back into the old mold but it’s not just resistance because notice the second part says do not be conformed to your former way but be holy yourselves in all your behavior be holy be set apart be pure be righteous and what parts of Lux in all parts because he says in all your behavior this is to be comprehensive well why notice the answer that Peter gives we have a new pattern of conformity don’t be like your old evil ignorant self led away by unthinking desires but be like what be like the holy one who called you be conformed to the image of God this has always been the pattern of God’s people Peter ends this little section by saying by quoting you shall be holy for I am holy now where does that appear in the Bible that concept appears in many places but it goes all the way back to the Pentateuch most famously in Leviticus God gives these various commands about cleanness and uncleanness or now what is right and what is wrong for the people of visual to do and then he follows it up by saying be holy for I am holy I am the Lord your God I am holy therefore you are to be God’s designed for his people has always been an is always that they should be conformed to his image not to the image of the world not to their old image that they followed when they were ignorant in their lusts they are going to be conformed it’s the image of his holiness I would made these observations let’s now take some of these details we have observed and try and answer some questions of interpretation what is the revelation of Jesus Christ in verse 13 this is not referring to the Word of God in the sense of the Bible this is referring to the second coming of Christ when he is revealed because he appears on the earth Peter says set your hope on that that’s the grace at that time you’re going to be experiencing the grace the vindication the blessing the redemption the glorification because Christ himself will come he will be revealed to all the world that’s what Peter’s talking about there and you can see the connection to apocalypse is very apt actually in that sense second question why the emphasis on the inner man in these verses what does that have to do with the topic at hand says gird up the loins of your mind be sober and set your hope this is instructive because it shows us that sanctification even progressive sanctification is a process that must be led by changes in the inner man you have to orient your thinking in a certain way if you’re going to proceed forward on the path of holiness this corresponds well with what Paul writes in Romans 12:2 Romans 12:2 Paul says and do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind so that you may prove what the will of God is that which is good and acceptable and perfect we’re going to be holy it’s got to start in the inner man I’ve got to start in our minds hearts Souls those are all terms that describe the inner man the inner person so Peters exhortations to that end they’re very important for us now what is the true standard of holiness for mankind in this passage we can see that it is God Himself being holy or set apart does not mean really becoming good in the eyes of man or meeting some man-made standard what does it even mean fulfilling various Old Testament and New Testament commands you can fulfill certain commands in the Bible and still not be holy because to be holy really means to be like God God is the standard of what is holy and right and good joy if you want to know what God wills for you how he designed you to think believe feel say and do as one of his followers and you must ultimately look to God himself he is the pattern he is the standard this by the way is the reason why all of us are condemned outside of Christ none of us can reach the standard of God he’s perfectly good all of us have sinned and fall short of the glory of God as Romans says this is why we need a substitute to protect us from God’s wrath he’s too holy he’s too good to accept anything that fails to meet his own standard cannot be with unholiness because he is so holy if he did he would compromise himself but God is not only the standard of holiness the goal of our sanctification is to be transformed into the very image of God he’s not just the standard by which we assess ourselves he is the goal he is the endpoint of our transformation we we desire we are designed to resemble it to become like the very image of God this is very similar to what Paul writes in 2nd Corinthians 3:18 so Corinthians 3:18 speaking of Christ Paul says but we all with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory just as from the Lord the spirit what is the goal of our progressive sanctification it is to become like God it is to become like Jesus we are to resemble we are to reflect the image of God and wasn’t that our original design at creation we go back to Genesis 1 we hear that God made man in God’s image man is an image bearer of God he is to reflect the glory the nature of God he is a monument to display the Lord but that image bearing function was marred by the fall and by sin we couldn’t we couldn’t properly manifest the image of God because we had rebelled against God but through Christ as we are saved we are restored to that image bearing function we again can show God’s glory to the universe as we resemble God and as we seek progressive sanctification before God and as we’ve already seen that is our ultimate end what is the hope that John the Apostle directs us to in first John 3 he says when we look about what if when we look at consider our destiny in the future we don’t know what we will be but we do know that we will be like God why because we will see him as he is and that’s something to motivate believers one day we will be conformed fully to the image of God and His image is a beautiful image and we want to reflect it now bearing the image of God means that holiness should be an increasing reality in our lives but who’s responsible for this who’s responsible for our being conformed into the image of God from this passage what’s the answer we are we are responsible to be conformed into God’s image yes all the powers from God he’s the one who’s at work he’s the one ultimately he is conforming us into his image but our obedience our wills our striving is the means otherwise Peter wouldn’t be giving these commands he tells us you’ve got to buckle up your mind you’ve got to think soberly you’ve got to set your hope on Christ’s appearing so that you can pursue the hard work of progressive sanctification you have a responsibility in this if you sit back do nothing and wait for God to transform you you’re not going to be transformed into God’s image you’re going to be conformed back into the old image of your flesh because those forces are already at work against you if you do nothing to conform yourself into God’s image and the forces that are against you will conform you into your old image you see sanctification is not like recovering from an illness we’re resting and inaction is the key to getting well no sanctification as is made clear throughout non some of the metaphors the Apostles use sanctification is like athletic training strenuous activity is the way to your goal you must build up the muscles you must exercise you must strive if you’re going to be well so brothers and sisters at Calvary don’t let yourselves be conformed into your old image of sin but as God’s child be conformed into God’s image as you pursue holiness in your life this is something that you must do now if your own effort is key you might be asking can I strive enough to reach perfection or if not if I can’t become perfect no matter how much I try what point it’s the goal is to be like Christ if I can’t actually reach that goal then why even try well let’s now hear from Paul turn over to Philippians chapter 3 believers chapter 3 verses 12 to 16 we’ve been in Philippians lately so you might remember what this letter is all about it’s a letter of commendation and encouragement from Paul to the church at Philippi there’s a great relationship with this church Paul’s in prison but he’s commending them encouraging them also exhorting them to be unified and humble service and with the humble attitude of Christ there were some conflicts and divisions in the church that Paul wanted to address and in Chapter three of Philippians Paul warns the church against false teachers who want to add good works and ritual observance to the gospel of faith Paul counters in the beginning of the passage and right before our text true salvation only comes by faith in the righteousness of Christ on the believers behalf moreover Paul goes on to say that he himself has sought to get rid of anything and everything in his mind and in his life that prevents him from knowing Christ and being conformed into the image of Christ I’m laying everything aside so that I can be conformed into the image of Christ I want to know him and his power the power of his resurrection and the Fellowship of his sufferings and right after that is our text so look at verses 12 to 16 Philippians 3 verses 12 to 16 not that I have already obtained it where I’ve already become perfect but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus brethren I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet but one thing I do forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus let us therefore as many as are perfect have this attitude and if and anything you have a different attitude God will reveal that also to you however let us keep living by that same standard to which we have attained let’s observe a few things on about this passage as we noted Paul has just been speaking about his desire to know and be conformed to Christ but Paul immediately in the beginning of our text denies that even he a chosen apostle great worker for the cause of Christ he denies that he has fulfilled his desires to become perfect he does not know Christ perfectly he has not been conformed to Christ image person perfectly three times he expressly denies that we might say oh how depressing not even you Paul you’re not conformed to the image of Christ perfectly what hope is there for the rest of us but notice Paul’s reaction to this he does not say yeah it hasn’t happened so I’m just gonna give up no we don’t see that from Paul we don’t see him become jaded we don’t seem become depressed we don’t see him become frustrated instead notice is firm resolve and incessant action verse 12 I press on verse 13 forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead verse 14 I press on why Paul watch so much effort if you can’t reach full perfection well he gives us some reasons verse 12 so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold up by Christ Jesus but verse 13 for the prize of the upward call of God and Christ Jesus he’s got reasons to keep going and he will keep going he will press on that’s pretty intense but someone might say Paul maybe it’s just you maybe he says if you have a different attitude God’s gonna show you and let’s keep living by the standard we’ve already attained so we’ve observed these things from Paul let’s ask some interpretation questions now Paul says he presses on to lay hold for the very reason that Christ laid hold of Paul so we should ask why did Christ lay hold of Paul he didn’t have a plan for his life what is Jesus’s plan for Paul’s life that he would suffer and be a witness right in holiness Jesus’s plan his purpose his goal in laying hold of Paul was to make Paul an image bearer of Christ who was going to display God’s glory through Paul is going to display salvation through Paul and he was gonna kind of form Paul into Christ’s image and this goes right along with some of the teachings that we see from Paul and others in the New Testament we were saved unto good works we are saved or being glory – glory to God we are saved to be conformed into Christlikeness that was the reason that Christ laid hold of Paul Paul says for that same reason I want to press on Paul says Christ purposed in saving me was so that I could display him be conformed to him I want to fulfill that same purpose not contempt to stay as I am Christ wasn’t content for me to stay as I was he saved me he began this process of sanctification and I want to continue in that process I wanted to fill the purpose for which I was called and for which Christ laid hold of me plucked me out of darkness I press on for that same reason and he also says forgetting what lies behind what lies behind for Paul to answer this question we need to remember what came before in the context when Paul says I have laid aside everything I counted all loss the sake of Christ now what was included in that certainly his old sins his failures his inability to reach God’s standard in the past he lays that aside but also his seeming successes his external achievements his his Jewish pedigree he lays that aside to his whole old life is being laid aside so that he might reach forward to what goes ahead what lies ahead anything that gets in the way of pursuing Christ Paul lays aside there’s no point Paul Paul indicates there’s no point in dwelling incessantly on the past either in its victories or in its failures the mind must continue to look forward onward is the heart cry not I can’t believe I did that terrible thing or I missed the good old days that’s not Paul’s attitude I press on he says for what lies ahead part of what lies ahead is the goal for the prize of the upward call now what is this Paul says he he strains ahead for the goal for the prize of the upward call well Paul’s goal was already stated again in the previous context he wants to know Christ and be conformed to the image of Christ that’s his goal but this goal is itself a prize he strains towards this goal strains forward to this goal of Christ’s likeness he wants that he desires that he sees great joy in that but there’s more you see the concept of reward for faithfulness to Christ is all over Paul’s letters as it is indeed all over the New Testament for pursuing Christ’s likeness there will be a reward you may remember Jesus’s words in the Sermon on the Mount he’s talking about the difference between a religious hypocrite and a truly righteous person and he says your heavenly Father who sees what is done in secret he will do that and then he will reward you when you don’t look for the reward of men you will be rewarded by God Hebrews 11:6 goes so far to say and without faith it is impossible to please him that is God for he who comes to God must believe that he is that his God is and that he is a rewarder of those who seek Him he who comes to God must believe that God is and that God is where water of those who seeketh that’s basic to being a Christian and to following Christ you stream forward for the reward that is with God what is their reward New Testament describes it in various ways as does the Old Testament various aspects to this reward there’s Christ’s commendation well tell him good and faithful servant their crowns of victory white robes rule with Christ forever that’s all part of it and of course being made into the very image of Christ and seeing Christ as he is having a seat at the table with Christ all of that is part of the reward that’s what Paul’s striving for he not only presses on in gratefulness for Christ’s saving him and not only presses on in a desire to fulfill the original purpose of his being saved but he also presses on in the process of progressive sanctification that he might obtain the great heavenly reward as with Christ the maximum reward so as Paul runs ever forward in the Christian race the eyes of his mind are always looking upward toward Christ and toward Christ reward now what is Paul getting at in verses 15 is 16 these verses are a little puzzling there are a couple different ways we can interpret them my view in these verses that Paul is being a little sarcastic because you see we’re in the context of dealing with false teachers and false teachers often claim that they are able to attain perfection either through unlocking some secret knowledge or by strict adherence to some law or to various rituals we can become perfect if we just try hard enough or if we have this secret knowledge the Paul says look if you guys were really perfect if you guys were really mature if you were really at a high level of faith and righteousness you would understand that this is the attitude that you are to have this is the way you should think and behave you should be following my example don’t tell me you’ve reached some special enlightenment and that you no longer need to pursue holiness that’s not what God’s mature people do and don’t tell me you’ve already reached sinlessness if you think you’re all if you think you’re sinless just wait for God to show you that you’re not him that you really just need to you need to get back to basic adherence to God’s standard look back to what you’ve already attained and just try and do that you’ll see that you’re not perfect Paul goes on to urge in verse 17 we didn’t read it but it comes right afterwards he says join and following my example and the example of those who think and act like wise follow the pattern you see in me and in those who are like me so then when we think about our own progressive sanctification today we see here our attitude should be the same as Paul’s we should be saying just as he did I’m not perfect yet I’m not where I want to be or even need to be no one can ever be perfect or fully sanctified in this life but I can progress I can fulfill more my calling in Christ therefore I’m not just gonna sit around I’m pressing on I want to please Christ I want to receive the prize I have no time to be caught up in my past successes or failures if those things are going to trip me up get me distracted I can’t state it I have to press forward now press on reach forward to what lies ahead I want to become more like Jesus that is the attitude that we are to have now just to reiterate progressive sanctification is not instant yes salvation is instant we are once and for all regenerated we are once for all save we are once and for all made holy by Christ there’s even an aspect of once for all in our repentance we lay aside the old way our our own kingship of our life but sanctification is a process of putting sin to death casting off wedding tangles and putting on righteousness it’s something that takes time and it takes much effort we’re going to need time to uncover the idolatrous desire and thoughts that are in our heart things that we didn’t even know we had but as we see them we we recognize them for what they are and we cast them away it’s gonna take time it’s gonna take effort to actually learn what is the Lord’s will for us and we learn that in the scriptures it’s gonna take time and effort to unlearn habits of sin and evil patterns of thinking that have become so ingrained in our lives because that’s the way we formerly live or we never had confronted those things before so they’ve become the automatic ways that we react to certain situations we have to unlearn those things and conversely or complimentary to that we need to become trained in righteousness if you look up the term training in the New Testament it’s instructive because you see that that’s that describes the progressive sanctification process we must become trained as disciples of Jesus and when we are fully trained we will be like him Jesus says we have to establish new patterns new righteous habits new righteous patterns of thinking that’s gonna take time that’s gonna take learning and that’s gonna take effort we need help it’s gonna take time and effort to seek the help of those who have understanding and experience and godliness they give this counsel in our walk it’s gonna take time to learn to pray to learn to be dependent on the Lord to learn to trust God in faith and to act on that faith it’s gonna take time for us as we do each one of these things to see Christ and His glory more clearly now that’s not to discourage us from proceeding on the path of progressive sanctification but it is an important reminder that it’s not gonna happen all at once it’s gonna take effort it’s gonna it’s gonna take you doing just as Paul did press on they’re gonna have to keep pressing on but you have God’s full resources to do this God has given you his body the church God has given you his word God has given you his spirits do these things that otherwise be impossible but we have these sources from God so that we can actually press forward we can make progress but the question is do we take advantage of the resources God is the evidence I fear that all too often we are too busy with life and we are too caught up in our own indulgent pleasures to truly pursue sanctification too often we do not have Paul’s attitude of laying aside all those things that untangle and pressing forward we don’t have that attitude and therefore we become ensnared and soon we afflict ourselves with many sorrows we miss out on Christ’s blessings we miss out on eternal rewards and some even become shipwrecked in faith brothers and sisters we have to understand that progressive sanctification is not optional it is not something for just all right that’s the pastor’s thing or that’s what the merit you know certain special Christians do know this is for each one of us you must proceed in this sorrow and joy is for alone blessing but so many sorrows and afflictions that we will experience if we do not you see sanctification is serious business and to emphasize that point a little bit more let’s go to our last passage turn over to Ephesians fusions chapter 6 verses 10 to 20 this isn’t somewhat famous section of Scripture where we hear the armor of God described but these verses are very worth very much worth another look you can close your look now this pastors a little bit longer than some of the other ones I won’t be able to analyze it to the same depth but I do want to point out a few things to you after we read it remember the context of Ephesians Paul is exhorting the Gentile believers in and around Ephesus to live in a way worthy of their great salvation and to overcome the powers of darkness set against them in chapter 6 Paul is giving his final exhortation and applications to this letter and the very last section of application is the one that we’re going to read verses 10 to 20 let’s read it Paul says finally be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might put on the full armor of God so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil for our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against the rulers against the powers against the world Force’s of this darkness against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places therefore take up the full armor of God so that you will be able to resist in the evil day and having done everything to stand firm stand firm therefore having girded your loins with truth and having put on the breastplate of righteousness and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace in addition to all taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one and take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God with all prayer and petition pray at all times in the spirit and with this in view be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints and pray on my behalf that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth to make known the boldness and make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel for which I am an ambassador in Chains that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly as I ought to speak that’s nurse the two things about our passage here in Ephesians the main command over arching hovering over this whole passage is be strong in the Lord and in his strength you will not have sufficient spiritual strength on your own Paul says you need the Lord’s and gaining the Lord’s strength and involves putting on the full armor the full set of armor of God this is armor supplied by God it is armor that comes from God and it is for his people but why do we need this strength why do we need this armor Paul lays forth a very sobering situation in verses 11 to 13 we need this strength and armor because we need to be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil you mean the devil is scheming scheming against you and me scheming against various believers yes he is and I think we often forget this as conservative evangelicals we have a tendency to downplay the devil and the demons because on the one hand we live in a science obsessed society that sees anything involving the spirits or the supernatural to be naive superstition and to because we do know and we’ve heard of certain Christians who become so obsessed with the supernatural that and even the demonic that they cower in fear or they pursue outrageous acts that are never advocated in Scripture trying to exorcise demons are trying to bind Satan and do various things and we don’t want to be part of that and so we we downplay the demonic but brothers and sisters we’ve got to listen to the scripture it tells us here Paul tells us here the devil is scheming against us and notice he has schemes plural doesn’t have just one scheme or even two but many he has multiple angles of approach multiple angles of attempt he’s honed his craft over many centuries his different tried and true ways of getting at believers in fact Paul urges us to consider the real nature of our struggle in verse 12 he says it is not against flesh and blood a flesh and blood that’s just another another way to refer to people our struggle is not against people this is another thing we forget right our struggle is not against bad presidents evil dictators Muslims mass shooters abortionist fornicators political parties homosexuals or even religious skeptics yes they’re involved in our spiritual struggle but according to Paul those people are not our real enemies against whom is our struggle Paul says our struggle against the demonic rulers of this world the evil potentates the exalted spirits that are the ones moving the people of darkness in our world who are in control of this evil world system spirits so exalted in power and authority that they even dwell in heavenly places doesn’t necessarily mean in heaven itself but in though those exalted spheres in the heavenlies in the spiritual aspects in spheres of the universe these are very powerful and exalted beings and they are against us they are the enemies that are ready to assault us in the evil day they desire to ensnare us and they desire to rob us of all our salvation blessings they want to kill steal and destroy they want to deceive us I want to make us ineffective as Christ people and they are very active in their pursuit so what are we going to do we’re just gonna sit back twiddle our thumbs watch TV no we can’t afford that let’s get ready for battle we even must seek to become strong in the Lord we’ve got to put on his full armor you can see how this same truth is connecting to our other passages you cannot afford to be passive there are forces working against you so if you do nothing they will succeed we must become strong in the Lord so that when the evil days come well we do experience days of temptation intense assault we are pushed to doubt and to be discouraged and to be tempted away from the Lord we will not go that way but we will stand firm we will not yield the ground to the enemy we must become strong in the Lord and put on the armor of God now what does it mean to put on the armor of God we don’t have time to look at each piece specifically but I would say it’s a two-fold twofold truth the put on the armor of God means on the one hand to appropriate the gospel of Christ into your life you gird yourself with the Lord’s truth you gird yourself with the Lord’s peace Christ has made me a peace with him you gird yourself with the Lord’s righteousness I am fully righteous in the righteousness of Christ you gird yourself with the Lord’s body of faith you gird yourself for the Lord salvation he has saved me and you gird yourself with the Lord’s word so in one hand is appropriating the gospel of Christ to yourself but on the other hand it is the practical application of the Lord’s gospel in your life through sanctification it’s not only applying the indicative of Scripture to yourself but it is also applying the imperatives you gird yourself with truthfulness also because of the Lord’s truth you become truthful yourself you good yourself with a peacefulness you maintain peace in your relationships especially in the church you gird yourself with a life of righteousness you gird yourself with trust in God you gird yourself with faith you gird yourself with that confidence in the Lord salvation in every trial and temptation I know the Lord won’t tempt me beyond when I’m able to bear and he will provide the deliverance you gird yourself with the very wielding of God’s Word as a weapon against the lies of the devil you respond just as your Lord did when you see these here these think needs encounter these false statements made against God just as Jesus did in the wilderness you responded with Scripture and belief in that scripture you say no I’m not gonna rely on myself completely I know my own responsibility but the scriptures say I’m to live on the very words of God I’m to wait on the Lord’s provision I’m to be dependent on him so this both of these aspects that are involved in putting on our armor we trust Christ and we live out that trust in practical sanctification and in that way we were made able to stand against the devil’s schemes he’s not able to rob us of our blessings he’s not able to rob us of any of the joy that is following Christ the devil and his Co minions they will have to flee from us when we do this and we are able to stand firm even against their power because the power of God is with us now all of this must be coupled with and we see this in verses 18 to 20 and must be coupled with desperate constant and all-encompassing prayer and petition to God you know it’s really interesting and verses 18 to 20 there are no main verbs in the Greek they’re all participles they’re all ing verbs to use the English equivalent which means they’re only describing the way that we do the above actions that we become strong in the Lord and that we put on his armor this is not a separate act these things actually go together as you’re doing these things so that you can stand against the evil one you are to be praying and not just for yourselves you’re to pray for your brethren and to pray for your leaders notice Paul a specific prayer for himself it might be like what Paul come on your apostle you’ll need our prayers noises please pray for me pray that I’ll be bold mara Paul’s a prisoner at this time he knows that he has had many opportunities to speak forth boldly even before governors and he probably will be able to speak before Caesar says pray for me I need your help against the spiritual forces and this is true today too you know that your leaders your teachers they are a special targets or they are especially targeted by the enemy if you can take down the sergeant’s and the captain’s and all the other soldiers will be be discouraged and be hurt so Paul says pray for me we need to pray for our leaders and we need to pray for our brethren you know we sometimes forget when we use the battle analogy we think about the armor of God we think of it in a very individual fashion and it is individual to some extent we have a responsibility as individual soldiers each one of us must stand firm but you know what soldiers almost never fight by themselves they fight together with their comrades that’s what makes them secta fighting unit that’s certainly the way that the Roman soldiers worked it’s the same for us too we don’t fight alone we fight together with our brethren this is how we stand firm and so we’ve got to pray for one another if a brother falters we are going to be affected but for brother stands firm then we ourselves are going to be strengthened we’ve got to pray for one another continually and realized we don’t go into battle alone you can see why I say sanctification is serious business Paul tells us this is the reality our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against the spirits of wickedness we need the Lord strength we need the Lord’s armor we need to pursue sanctification so let’s sum up what we’ve seen today from 1st Peter 1 verses 13 to 16 we saw that we can call to conformity to the image of God and this conformity comes through a reorientation of mind leading to wholly action from Philippians 3 verses 12 to 16 we saw that we’re never to end our pursuit of holiness though we have not and will not ultimately reach perfection until we see Christ we are called for the sake of the prize of Christ the sake of the purpose by which we were saved in the first place to be conformed more and more to the image of Christ and from Ephesians 6:10 2:20 we see that sanctification is serious it’s an ongoing war against the devil and his hosts we desperately need the Lord’s strength the Lord’s armor and the Lord’s ear in prayer if we are to stand firm against every evil scheme and keep hold of every blessing that is ours in Christ through salvation so what should be your application based on these fruits let me give you a few thoughts the form of questions for you to be thinking about as we close number one do you recognize your calling to pursue ongoing sanctification in your life God’s will is for each one of you to be more and more conformed into the image of his son do you confess such to be true and then does your life reflect that is this the reality of your life proceeding onward become more like Christ number two do you recognize that your own agonizing effort is critical in fulfilling God’s will for you yes we all want to avoid doing things in our own strength but one avoid legalism we want to avoid self-righteousness that’s good but that doesn’t mean that we just lay aside all effort if we believe God then we will trust the Lord and then proceed forward in obedience we trust that God is I go out to the battle you will provide the strength and you will provide the victory this is the same way that God worked with Israel in the Old Testament he said I’m gonna fight for you I’m gonna be the one that delivers you from your enemies but you need to go out to the battle sometimes he did it but after you going up and most the time he had them go out sometimes they went out and did nothing because then God intervened sometimes they went out and they they were wielding their swords and spears that’s the way it is for us our effort is God’s means of making us more like himself that comes from God it’s Hugh is that work in US but we must recognize our need to strive number three if you’ve reached a roadblock or a dead-end in your sanctification what do you think the Lord wants you to do you say I just keep struggling with the sin I can’t find any victory against it I just try and try and try and nothing ever changes what do you think the Lord wants you to do use the resources that he’s given you not just his word not just a spirit but his church God gave you all these other fellow soldiers to help you in the fight will you not take advantage of that say oh I don’t want to look bad in front of them I don’t want to discourage them listen which is more important you maintaining a facade of your own perfect righteousness everything being perfect in your life are you actually being faithful to God your Lord you’re saving don’t let pride prevent you from progressing the sanctification reach out to your brothers and sisters in the church and say it look so what’s going on my life I need some counsel I need some help show me what are some things that I can do to be free of this struggle or to make progress in holiness God gave us the church we ought to take advantage of it and if we don’t we’re just gonna keep afflicting ourselves listen keep afflicting our families now God’s gonna let that happen sometimes it says until you learn I’m gonna let this happen we need to humble ourselves before the Lord so that he can lift us up and of course this is all worth it but do you see that each one of the passages we looked at today sets progressive sanctification in the context of our great salvation what is already taking place and what will take place that’s to motivate us and to say yes I want to proceed in this no matter how painful or difficult or how how much hurt I must experience in order to progress it’s worth it but do you see that will you pursue holiness in your life with all your mind well you pursue Christ in your life with all your mind that’s what God made you for that’s why you saved you that’s it for this week but I do urge you to keep meditating on this next week become the last subject of our of our curriculums teaching in the last part of our chronological study of the Bible and that is we begin to look at the return of Christ so I hope you’d be with me next week let’s praise me close Lord this is this is serious truth or you have called us to be Saints to be set apart one’s to be holy once this is not something we can accomplish by ourselves I need you to accomplish this work but God we know that we are to have the same attitude as Paul to get ready for action to press on to lay aside all that entangles so god I pray that you would do that among the people at Calvary and all those listening today in Jesus name Amen no I’m went a little bit over extra today so I think you for your patience but I wasn’t like see you next week

June 3, 2018
The Pattern of Christ’s Suffering Leading to Victory

Pastor Babij, teaching from 1 Peter 3:18-22, shows how Christ’s suffering is the pathway to victorious living. Pastor explains the following points:

1. Jesus’ victory over sin is final and complete
2. Jesus, the Just, suffered for the unjust
3. Jesus died for a purpose

Pastor shows that Jesus’ victory over sin and death is the Christian’s victory as well. Believers therefore do not need to fear anything they might suffer in this world.

Full Transcript:

We will be looking at 1 Peter 3:18-22:

For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; ¹⁹in which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison, ²⁰who once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water. ²¹Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you—not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, ²²who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to Him.

Let’s pray:

Lord, as we approach this most difficult passage of Scripture, I pray, Lord, that You would give me liberty to explain the truths found here, so that we may get a sense of what it says. For the very practical reason, Lord, of it aiding us during times of trouble and suffering. That we would know the plan of God and pattern of Christ’s suffering and what it accomplished for us. I pray, Lord, as we do that, You may strengthen us in our heart and mind to become soldiers of Jesus Christ knowing we are on the winning, victorious side of the Cross of Calvary. Bless our time together now in Christ’s name. Amen.

Remember, the first section of 1 Peter is salvation. All Christians need to have a good understanding about what salvation is, and that they are truly and honestly saved. They know if they die today, they would go to be with the Lord. The second section was submission, which are the different ways a Christian is to submit coupled with the characteristics and attitudes for proper submission that is pleasing to the Lord.

The third major section is that of suffering. By way of wisdom, the Apostle Peter has laid the foundation for Christians to be prepared for any kind of trial or suffering that may come their way. That they would be able to stand firm in the truths that they know already and that have been accomplished for them by the Lord. Meaning, all Christians need to grow in these truths to understand the first two sections, so that this third section of suffering will not be debilitating or confusing when those times come.

Thus, this third major section of 1 Peter has to do with suffering for the cause of righteousness. In other words, suffering for doing what is right. On this Lord’s day, we will see how Christ suffered unjustly for the cause of righteousness, and Christ’s pattern of suffering was ultimately the pathway to victory, which is very key. What Christ did is the pathway to victory and glory.

Jesus’ victory is evident in the pattern of his suffering. Specifically, in three areas. First, it is that of being victory of Christ over sin. In 1 Peter 3:18, there are three things that come under this, which is that Christ suffered for sins once for all. Christ suffered for sins once. That is, His sacrifice was perfect and final. Therefore, it was to never be repeated in history or in symbol again.

Once for all offering of Christ stands in contrast to the annual sacrifice of the Jewish high priest on the day of atonement. The high priest job was never ever finished. They had to keep giving animals over to sacrifice for the sins of the people. It never finished. It was a very wearisome job. It was a repetitious work year after year.

Christ, at the fullness of time, in the consummation of the ages, came to earth to finish everything forever. Jesus came to put away sin by means of His sacrifice. Jesus’ sacrifice was and is an unrepeatable event according to Hebrews 9:25:

nor was it that He would offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the holy place year by year with blood that is not his own.

This is where Jesus was so completely different than the Jewish high priest. For it was not necessary for Christ to suffer again and again. He was able to get the real expiation of sin complete, so that nothing else needed to be done.

Jesus does not need to leave and reenter often. Jesus does not need to shed His blood often. Jesus does not need to die often. Jesus does not need to offer sacrifice of Himself often. Jesus does not need to come into the world as a man often. He suffered for sins once.

When the Reformers began to see this, they realized they could not participate in the Catholic Mass anymore since it was a repetition of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, which is unnecessary. Otherwise, the Scripture would not stress this so strongly, not just here, but all over the Bible. How absurd it would be to make Christ do what Scripture over and over said that He did once for all like in Hebrews 9:26:

Otherwise, He would have needed to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now once at the consummation of the ages He has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.

That is a definite and strong Scripture to be able to convince us that we don’t need to keep going back over to some things. It is done for us. In fact, in Hebrews 9:12, it says:

and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.

In other words, Jesus Christ obtained eternal redemption for us by His one-time sacrifice. Therefore, why don’t the Jews offer sacrifice anymore in the temple? It is because Jesus finished the sacrificial system. He completed and fulfilled it, so no one needs to do that anymore. Jesus Christ becomes the sin bearer. In fact, the three great truths accomplished by our Lord is found in Hebrews 10:2:

Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, because the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have had consciousness of sins?

Then, Jesus sanctified forever those who would believe. Hebrews 10:10 says:

By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Then, He perfected everything forever. Hebrews 10:14 says:

For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.

We get this finality about the Cross of Christ. What He completed on that Cross was definite for us, and never having to be repeated, which brings us to the second thing. Under the victory of Christ over sin, Christ suffered as a righteous man. Jesus suffered as the innocent one.

In 1 Peter 3:18, the unjust refers to us, the ungodly, unholy, and guilty sinner, who had no chance of getting to God apart from the finished work of Christ. The just refers to Christ. Acts 3:14 says:

But you disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked for a murderer to be granted to you

In other words, Christ’s perfect righteousness meant that He never deserved to die. He was not dying for Himself. He was the perfect Son of God and the perfect Man. Jesus endured the pains of death on behalf of those who deserved to die, which is us. I like the way one writer put it:

He, the good One, died for us, the bad ones.

The Lord died as a righteous man, which leads to a third thing. Under the victory of Christ over sin, Christ died for an actual purpose. In 1 Peter 3:18, He died to bring us to God. No one else could bring us to God. We couldn’t find our way to God and didn’t have directions to get there. This follows right on the heels of what was said already in 1 Peter 2:25:

For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.

Of course, this was coming from Isaiah 53:6:

All of us like sheep have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way;
But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all
To fall on Him.

This is a universal need among human beings. We have gone astray. We are wondering sheep with no direction, no one to look after us in this world, no one to protect us, and no one to show us the way to God. Then, the good shepherd comes on the scene, the Lord, Jesus Christ.

Here is the metaphor that points to the picture of wandering sheep and wandering sheep must be led since they are wandering in blindness, sinful passions and desires. They are caught in that vicious cycle of living according to their passions and desires. In 1 Peter 4:3, Peter brings to our attention:

For the time already past is sufficient for you to have carried out the desire of the Gentiles, having pursued a course of sensuality, lusts, drunkenness, carousing, drinking parties and abominable idolatries.

That is who we were before and what we did before. Of course, we did that in ignorance. Our lives have been muddied and stained by sin, yet dead, wandering sinners have no way to remove that stain. For the sinner is unclean and polluted by the filth of a transmitted sin nature and personal acts of sin. It is Jesus Christ that has the power to cleanse it. Through Jesus, we are washed from sin. In Acts 22:16, it says:

‘Now why do you delay? Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on His name.’

It is the only way we can have our sins washed away. Jesus Christ did that in His one-time, perfect sacrifice on the Cross, where He accomplished eternal redemption. In this phrase, “so that He might bring us to God,” is the purpose and why He came. No one was able to get to God apart from Jesus Christ.

There is an interesting connection to this phrase in the Greek culture. In the court of kings, there was an official in that court called a prosagoge, which is an introducer or giver of access. In other words, this was his job, and his function was to decide who should be admitted to the king’s presence and who should be kept out.

Once we, by repentance and faith, are cleansed by our sins by the sacrificial death of Jesus, that alone gives us access to God and brings us to God. Jesus Christ, through what He did, gives us access to God, and may I just say: period. Nothing else can give us access to God.

This is how we get saved, not by works or good deeds. That comes afterwards. We cannot add anything to the Cross, which has already been done. We must accept it as it is, and what Christ has done. Then, we have victory over sin. Because of what He has done, we can start putting our sin to death.

This leads me to a second point under the areas of victory, which is victory of Christ over death. At the end of 1 Peter 3:18, something happened when Jesus was put to death in the flesh. Simply, it means that He died in the sphere of weakness, which was His flesh.

Jesus took on a human body and came into the world as a real man, which is stressed all over Scripture. He had to become a real man, so that He could die on the cross. God cannot die on the Cross without taking on flesh. This points to the very fact that Jesus suffered a violent death as a human being. 1 Peter 2:24 says:

and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.

The Scripture repeats these things to give us some good theology about what God did. If it was not for Jesus coming to this earth and submit willingly to the Father’s will, then we would all be without hope because we are sinners with nothing to offer God. Yet, the Lord responded to sinful humanity with nothing to offer Him by offering Himself as an atoning sacrifice. Jesus came to earth as a man, in the weakness of human flesh, to redeem mankind from his fallen state, and to regain mankind’s destiny.

The Lord accomplished this by the design of Jesus’ suffering and death. Ultimately, the Lord had victory over death. Connected to the resurrection, 1 Corinthians 15:54-57 says:

But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, “DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP in victory. ⁵⁵“O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?” ⁵⁶The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; ⁵⁷but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ triumphs over our greatest enemy, which is death. We cannot win death. Do you know anyone who has ever won over death? The only one is that of who God granted in Scripture. God, Himself, overcomes death, so that gives us hope to know that we do not have to fear that death is the end and doesn’t lead us somewhere. Death leads us to the presence of God.

Next, under this point, Christ is made alive in the sphere of power. His body died, but His spirit lived. Yet, the body of Jesus Christ was not left among the dead to rot in the grave. Scripture tells us in Psalm 16:10:

For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol;
Nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay.

Jesus was entombed as one dead, but there was no decomposition, putrefaction, and no flesh rot touched His holy body, which laid in the grave. Jesus was made alive in the Spirit, which refers to the resurrection. It is the resurrection that divides Jesus from the rest of humanity. His eternal deity was strikingly and clearly manifested through His physical resurrection.

Essentially, the resurrection is what makes Jesus different from all earthly would-be prophets and messiahs. They did not raise from the dead, but all died in their decaying corruption. However, not with Christ for He is risen. Romans 1:4 says:

who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord

The resurrection enables us to see Jesus as He really is, which is God in the flesh. That is the good news, and without Jesus, there is no good news, no hope for everlasting life, no freedom from the slavery of sin, no being made right with God, no future ahead, and no hope that you will enter heaven and be with God forever.

Leading to the third point, which is the victory of Christ over evil. This is one of the most difficult passages of Scripture in all the Bible, and it would be an understatement to say that it is not difficult. In fact, when I was reading through all the material on this passage, I found maybe ten interpretations of this passage. It seems like the commentaries don’t even want to deal with it, and they just go to the next passage.

However, I cannot do that. I must look at the text and see what it says. Specifically, in 1 Peter 3:19-22, the first thing we see is that Christ’s victory extended into the spiritual realm seen in His saving power. In 1 Peter 3:19-20, the incarcerated spirits seem to be the same ones Peter mentions in 2 Peter 2:4-5:

For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment; ⁵and did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly

The question you want to ask: why is this event repeated in 1 Peter, and then in 2 Peter? Also, it is an event that comes up more than once in Scripture in a very powerful way. Something is going on preflood that is very devastating to the world. When they bring these events up, what exactly are they talking about? Peter is writing in a way where the people already had knowledge of this, so he doesn’t go on to explain it.

In Noah’s day, something happened that caused God to bring about this catastrophic, worldwide flood. Then, incarcerate a section of very powerful, fallen spirit beings or angels, so I want you to see some things in Genesis 6:1-5:

Now it came about, when men began to multiply on the face of the land, and daughters were born to them, ²that the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose. ³Then the LORD said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh; nevertheless his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.” ⁴The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown. ⁵Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

Another translation of Nephilim is giants, but some believe that it was also giants thrown out of heaven that became part of the population of Palestine. Even in Numbers 13:33, it says:

“There also we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak are part of the Nephilim); and we became like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.”

In other words, they look small in comparison to how gigantic they were. They were powerful human beings. According to this passage and Epistle of Jude, these Nephilim were fallen, angelic beings also called sons of God, and these fallen, angelic beings are said in Scripture to have left their proper abode after strange flesh, which is cohabited with human women to produce a superhuman race.

Now, that sounds unusual. In Scripture, it does tell us that the Lord did something. This is a catastrophic event. Jude 1:6-7 says:

And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day, ⁷just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.

Abode means the parameters of their created being. In summing all of that up, this seems to be a sinister plot of Satan to contaminate humanity by involving the birth process. Again, this is no mistake that often Satan wants to mimic what God would do. So, what did he want to mimic?

Remember, Mary becomes supernaturally pregnant when the Holy Spirit of God came upon her, which brought about the incarnation of the son of God. That was a miraculous thing that happened, so this diabolical plot was overturned when God sent a universal flood to wipe out this contaminated seed. The only ones who escaped this gross, abominable accused practice was Noah and his family.

Something has drastically gone wrong in humans where only eight people could be saved, so what was going on? IF we think of these things, then we see that this could be the reason from Scripture. Genesis 6:11-13 says:

Now the earth was corrupt in the sight of God, and the earth was filled with violence. ¹²God looked on the earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth. ¹³Then God said to Noah, “The end of all flesh has come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence because of them; and behold, I am about to destroy them with the earth.

In other words, sin had so much abounded with all the demonic activity that was going on that God could do nothing but send a worldwide flood and wipe everything out. Now, who is Noah? Noah, as it says in Scripture, found favor in the eyes of God. Noah was a righteous man and he walked with God.

The length of time Noah labored and preached was a long time. In fact, the bible says that he preached for one-hundred and twenty years. For the very purpose of giving the world time to repent and believe Noah’s message.

When we look at our passage in 1 Peter 3:20, Noah challenged that unrighteous generation of his days, which was filled with violence and corrupt with his message of salvation. He warned that if they continued in unbelief, then divine judgement would overtake them.

In 2 Peter 2:5, the reason why Noah’s faith condemned the world is because what he was told by God, yet unseen, came to be in every detail to this unbelieving, corrupt, and violent world. Here is a personal righteousness of Noah contrasted with the godlessness all around him. In Genesis 7:1, it says:

Then the LORD said to Noah, “Enter the ark, you and all your household, for you alone I have seen to be righteous before Me in this time.

His faith condemned the people around him, who disbelieved God and disregarded the warning. No person responded to his faithful example and his righteous preaching. After showing you all of this, back in 1 Peter 3, you can see more of what the Apostle Peter is communicating as far as Jesus’ proclamation to those fallen, angelic beings in Noah’s day.

In 1 Peter 3:19, it is translated as spirits since this word is not usually referred to human beings. Here, it is used to refer to angels, which are angels that are now in prison. Preflood, God had to do something about that event. Jesus made proclamation, so He went back either between His death and resurrection, or after. Whether or not it was in human spirit, I don’t know. However, He went back and made proclamation to those spirits that corrupted humanity.

Their diabolic plot and transgression not only put the whole created world in jeopardy, but also God’s purpose of salvation by grace, in Christ Jesus, to mankind. Thus, Jesus went to the place of imprisonment of these fallen angels, which is also called Tartarus. In 2 Peter, hell is the word Tartarus. Also, it is translated as Hades and Hell.

Now, we know that Tartarus, Hades, and Hell is a permanent place that departed souls go when they die. The permanent place it dumps out into is the lake of fire, which is found in Revelation 20:14:

Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.

It empties out to the final and second death, which is the eternal death where there is no chance to be saved. What Jesus does is make a proclamation to them, so what is his proclamation? Well, it doesn’t tell us what it is, but if I could put the story together it could be something like this where Jesus could have said:

In the beginning of time, when you evil spirits sought the utter corruption of humanity, you tried to usurp my plan of redemption, and you corrupted the people that were on the earth. They did not submit to Noah’s preaching, my authority as Lord, and your motive was to undermine my plan for humanity and take over. Then thousands of years later, I have patiently worked the plan of redemption, submitted to the Father’s will, humbled Myself by being obedient to the point of death, and even death on the Cross. Well, I am here to proclaim to you that I won. I came to proclaim to you that Christ’s proclamation, following His death and resurrection, was a victory proclamation.

When a king won a battle, he would take the other king, before he was put to death, and put his foot on his neck and say, “I won.” Usually, they would end up killing that king. Jesus, by His finished work, sealed the fate of these disobedient spirits. Thus, bringing them into final subjection. Jesus is now exalted to the place of sovereignty. As one of many passages of Scripture, Colossians 2:15 says:

When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.

By Jesus’ atoning death, he defeats Satan and death. In Hebrews 2:14, it says:

Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil

The power of Satan has been rendered, inoperative, by Christ. Satan’s power of death has been annulled for those who are united to Christ, His death, and His resurrection. Satan’s authority to condemn and punish forgiven sinners has been made void. For them, God has already judged, condemned, and punished all their sins in Christ Jesus. There are other New Testament passages that show that Satan was disarmed. John 12:3-32 says:

“Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. ³²“And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.”

Then, we come to this next passage of Scripture in 1 Peter, which is that Christ’s suffering was also a type. In 1 Peter 3:21, the phrase, “corresponding to that,” means the antitype, which is like the stamp and the dye – one is the shadow and the other is the actual event. In other words, this term connotes the exactness of correspondence between the stamp and the dye. As mentioned here, baptism is a symbolic picture of the resurrection of Christ.

With this verse, the problem is that some people stop at “baptism,” and they assume that baptism saves. However, that is not what it is saying. Don’t get stuck on the phrase, “baptism now saves you,” because neither water nor baptism can save. The act itself does not save. As the text says, it cannot remove the filth of sin or dirt from the flesh.

Baptism does not function as an automatic right of forgiveness and spiritual cleansing. It must be accomplished by some form of a response to God. Again, what saves, as said in our text, is an appeal to God with a good conscience, which is what? In Hebrews 10:22, it says:

let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

That is regeneration and being born-again. We have been cleansed and forgiven by being born-again. We are at peace with God only by the blood of Christ, and only then can we have a restored relationship with God. The risen and reigning Christ saves, and is the basis of our appeal to God.

If it is talking about water baptism, it represents all of this, and the representation of baptism is death, burial, and resurrection. That is why there is no such thing as an unbaptized believer. It goes together and is part of the package of salvation. You believe in Jesus Christ and come into union with Jesus Christ by submitting to that first step of obedience, which is to talk into waters of baptism and proclaim that Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior. Then, you live for Him the rest of your days. Ultimately, it is by the resurrection of Christ that one is saved.

The shadows of the Old Testament point to the very thing that seals, accomplishes, and finishes what Christ did on the Cross, which was raise from the dead. Just as God provided an ark to provide Salvation for Noah and his family as a type of Christ, and just as Noah was saved through water, the believer is saved through and by the virtue of Christ’s resurrection. God has provided salvation through Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection. The Living Bible translation has put 1 Peter 3:21 like this:

(That, by the way, is what baptism pictures for us: In baptism we show that we have been saved from death and doom by the resurrection of Christ; not because our bodies are washed clean by the water but because in being baptized we are turning to God and asking him to cleanse our hearts from sin.)

That is a good way to put it. Bottomline, for someone who is being insulted, persecuted, and suffering for righteousness in the context of 1 Peter, and because they are a Christian, they are to be well informed of something, which is to be cognizant that Christ has overcome death and Satan by His death. Christ reigns victorious over all evil forces that could hold power over His children like sin, evil, evil spirits, and death. Christ’s victory went to the ultimate place.

Lastly, Christ’s victory extended into the highest realm to show His sovereign power. In 1 Peter 3:22, it is telling us where Christ reigns right now, which is at the right hand of God in heaven. In fact, other passages say that Jesus is sitting, so why does it say that He is sitting?

Usually, a king does sit, but it also means that Jesus, as the high priest, will no longer go through all the standing. In the tabernacle, there was no chairs. The priests had no time to sit but keep working and working. Now, Jesus Christ sits down after the work is accomplished. Jesus assumes the position of authority, which is in the perfect tense, so it is still taking place.

Then, He is at the righthand, which signifies the might and majesty of deity sitting on the thrown at the right hand of the king. He, who sits there along with the king, Jesus is to bear the designation that is equivalent to saying that He is the ruler of the universe. There is nothing that is not under the rule of Christ.

A last thing we see here is that Jesus has all the authority over angels, authorities, and powers. They are under His subjection. Whether they like it or not, it is on what Christ has done and who He is. Philippians 2:9-11 says:

For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, ¹⁰so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Everyone will confess that someday. In staying within the context and flow of 1 Peter, the pattern of Christ’s suffering led to our victory. Our victory is over sin, evil, evil spirits, and death. Thus, Jesus suffered injustice for our salvation. Jesus satisfied the justice of the Father and was vindicating by His resurrection. In that, the Father accepted His offering for the sin of the unjust. Meaning, we are vindicated and on the victory side.

When a Christian is being persecuted for their faith, in Christ alone, for their obedience of doing what is right before God, and for their refusal to participate in the sins of society, we can find comfort and contentment in the middle of our trouble by reflecting thoughtful on the ultimate vindication and victory we have in the finished work of Jesus Christ.

Jesus’ sacrifice was so perfect, final, and sufficient that it gave, to all who believe, a permanent justification before God, and the continued position that cannot be altered before God, which will be enjoyed forever. That is what God gives us. Because He gives us that, all things that could happen to us on earth are paled to what God has already done and what we are to look forward to in glory, which is where we are heading. We’re heading to Glory and the presence of God.

I pray that as we consider that, we would be sober minded, and desire to walk holy and righteous in this world. If it need be that we suffer for what is right, then so be it. God knows you are going through it, and He will give you all you need to go through it, and He has already given you stuff now.

No demons, power, government, or person can take away what God has given you. They may take your life, but they cannot take your soul. Your soul is secure forever, and someday, you will get a new body anyway. These will go to the grave, die, and decay.

Someday, we will get a new body and be with Christ forever ruling and reigning with Him, which I believe to be on earth. Then, in the eternal state, we will be with God forever, and there will be no separation between us and God. The New Jerusalem will come down, and there’s nothing that separates anyone from God anymore. God will be our God, we will be His people, and that is the eternal state. All theologies end there. Let’s pray:

Lord, I pray that this passage of Scripture would resonate in our minds during the week, months, and years ahead. Lord, we want to rest in these things because You are so awesome and great. Lord Jesus, for what You accomplish is so final and complete that we could just rest on what You have done. You are the One who leads us to God. You are the One who keeps us here on earth. You are the One who is going to bring us and get us to take us to your side. Lord, we so much want to Thank You for these things. We are so privileged to know that this is in the word of God, and it has always been there. I pray, Lord, as You bring these things to our mind today, You would never allow us to forget them. Let us meditate on these points of theology until it becomes part of our thinking and decisions. That it would move our will to make the right decisions. Lord, if we must go through some punishment because we are doing what is right, then I pray, Lord, that at that moment, You would give us everything that we need apart from what You are already giving us. I pray all of this in the Great and Awesome name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

June 3, 2018