1 Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin,
2 so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God.
3 For the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry.
4 With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you;
5 but they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.
6 For this is why the gospel was preached even to those who are dead, that though judged in the flesh the way people are, they might live in the spirit the way God does.
The life of David was one filled with hardship. His later years were littered with pains caused by his own sins and failures, but his younger years were hard because he was righteous.
God had secretly chosen him to replace Saul, the reigning king, because God was looking for a God-fearer to sit on Israel's throne. And David was such a God-hearted man. He believed God, and because he did, he was thrust into battle against Goliath. After his miraculous victory, the nation knew his name, but his newfound fame enraged Saul.
For years, Saul persecuted young David. First in the palace, then in the Israelite wilderness, David had to remain constantly alert and vigilant in order to preserve his life. Still, he held to his integrity, writing psalms and praying prayers to God. Disillusioned and disaffected men came out to him, and he became their leader, but he would not lift a finger against Saul.
Eventually, however, David cracked. He suffered for righteousness' sake and it broke him down. One day, David told himself he'd be safer living with the Philistines of the surrounding territory. Rather than live among God's people, the people he was called to lead and serve, David thought it would be better to assimilate into a society far from God. He thought it would be better to live like the world. He said, "I shall escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will leave me alone. I will no longer suffer for righteousness' sake" (1 Samuel 27:1 paraphrase).
But this decision led David into one of the darkest times of his life. Because he lost his distinction, because compromise had come into his life, he ended up suffering great loss. Fortunately, after a period of tragedy, David "strengthened himself in the LORD his God" (1 Samuel 30:26). He began living like a man of God once again.
In recent weeks, we have been thinking about what it means to be like Jesus. He suffered for righteousness' sake, and so will we (1 Peter 3:14, 18). But this can be tiring, and sometimes we will be tempted to ditch our distinctions and melt into the society around us. To say it plainly: sometimes it's hard to suffer for righteousness.
God knows this, so he gave us 1 Peter and this section in 1 Peter. In it, we will be encouraged to embrace a mentality that leads to a specific lifestyle. This lifestyle requires a specific mindset, one I will express with three confessions today.
Confession #1: I Will Suffer For Jesus (4:1)
The first confession we must make is this: I will suffer for Jesus. Peter said:
1 Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking...
Jesus' Way Of Thinking
Remember our last study in 1 Peter? Peter pointed us to Jesus' story (narrative arc) along with Noah's story and our story. Jesus suffered and died (3:18, 21). But then he rose and ascended to the Father's right hand (3:22). Now, all things are forever in subjection to him (3:22). This same trajectory of suffering followed by deliverance and ultimate glory also belongs to Noah, and it will be our story as well. So Peter has been trying to help us understand that suffering for and in Jesus is not defeat.
And now, as Peter said, we must have the same way of thinking (1). We must embrace a similar mentality to Christ, who suffered in the flesh (1).
Arm Yourselves
And Peter said the way we embrace this mentality is to arm ourselves with the same way of thinking (1). To arm oneself is wartime language. It causes us to think of a soldier putting on his armor. Carefully, with attention to detail, and will sobriety at the prospect of war, a good soldier prepares by properly suiting up for battle.
God wants us to prepare to be attacked by embracing Christ's mentality. He suffered. So will we. So we must think like Jesus. This next statement is counterintuitive -- but a willingness to suffer for Christ is one of our greatest weapons.
With this weapon, we can accomplish much, but without it, we will constantly make the error of fighting in fleshly anger, fleeing in unwise self-preservation, or conforming in cowardly fear. But confessing I will suffer for Jesus helps us stand. It keeps our focus on the right things. No one can maintain a focus on going into the world to make disciples unless they confess I will suffer for Jesus (Matthew 28:18-20). To put it another way, once suffering for Jesus becomes abhorrent to a Christian community, they will respond to hostility in aberrant ways.
One of my favorite figures in church history is a man named William Tyndale. An Englishman who lived during the tumultuous times of the reformation, he had a strong conviction to get the Bible distributed in English. First, he became a master of languages (Latin, Greek, and Hebrew). Then he painstakingly created his own English translations of the Old and New Testaments. Then he found underground printing presses that would be willing to make copies. And since his activity was illegal at that time, he pressed on in secret. He was arrested and tortured for the work. There were even times a decade of work would be destroyed by the authorities. But, every time, Tyndale got back to work. I don't think he'd have ever done this if he'd not been able to confess, I will suffer for Jesus. He'd armed himself with this mentality and got much done as a result.
For Righteousness' Sake
Let me remind you, however, that Peter has qualified our suffering in his letter. He is the one who said:
1 Peter 3:14 (ESV) -- 14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed.
So Peter isn't addressing suffering in general. He certainly isn't addressing suffering for foolishness' sake, but for righteousness. He isn't addressing being inconvenienced, but true suffering. And he isn't addressing suffering for personal convictions' sake, but for the sake of biblical doctrine or the lifestyle that flows from it.
But the first confession Peter wants us to make is that we must confess that we will suffer for Jesus!
Confession #2: I Am Moving On From Sin (4:1-3)
The second confession Peter wants us to make is this: I am moving on from sin. Let's read:
1b ...for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, 2 so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God. 3 For the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry.
Ceased From Sin?
OK, first things first. What does Peter mean when he says that whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin? I mean, we could feel all kinds of bad feelings about this, knowing that we still struggle with sin long after we've come to Christ. So how should we understand Peter's words?
Does he mean that suffering causes sinlessness? If someone goes through hardship, are they guaranteed to grow in character or personal righteousness? Not at all. One can easily grow more bitter or angry or a myriad of other sins because of suffering.
Does he mean that suffering evidences sinlessness? If someone suffers, is that evidence that they are doing something right? Not necessarily. Much suffering is caused by folly.
What Peter means is that when someone suffers for Jesus, it signifies that they have made a decision to break from a sinful lifestyle. They will still battle and give in to temptation, but suffering for Christ means they are committed. They believe it is better to do right and suffer for it than to continue in sin. The person who says "I will suffer for Jesus" has made a determination to make a break with sin. So they determine to spend the rest of their lives doing God's will instead of following human passions or the will of society (2-3).
That's what Peter highlights -- because of Jesus, Christians have been set free from sin. This means we have a new relationship with it. We don't have to give into human passions because we are new creations in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). We don't have to follow the way of society because Jesus has brought us into a new society (Ephesians 2:1-3).
Humility
These are declarations that are best made with humility, and Peter was sure to frame it this way. First, notice all the time markers he used. To say we have ceased from sin means that we used to go to sin (1). To say we should spend the rest of our time for the will of God means that we used to spend our time on human passions (2). He said we should no longer live that old way (2) and that the time that is past was enough for that old life (3). So the Christian who says I am moving on from sin understands he isn't above a soul. He spent much of his time and energy embroiled in sin.
The presence of these exhortations should also cultivate humility in a believer. Why did Peter have to urge them (and us) to resist sin, human passions, and doing what the Gentiles want to do? Because they still have a pull on our lives. If living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry didn't have some kind of appeal to us, we wouldn't need these exhortations.
If a research paper came out tomorrow that said kale is really terrible for us and that we shouldn't eat it, I would never eat kale ever again. I would never be tempted. But it is common knowledge that cheeseburgers and milkshakes aren't great for you, but I keep eating them. I am pulled in that direction. That's why I need exhortations to eat well. Peter gives us these exhortations because we need them.
The fact of these exhortations shows us we are susceptible -- we are tempted -- and this should drive us to humble dependence upon God, not Pharisaical pride that we are not like "sinners." Peter isn't saying we need to apply hand sanitizer because the people around us have germs. He's saying, "Take a shower to take care of your own B.O."
The Gentiles
Peter's word choice is also fascinating. He said the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do (3). But Peter was writing to Christians who were ethnically Gentile. By this time in his life, Peter had taken the Jew-Gentile paradigm he'd grown up seeing the world through and applied it to the church. The church was God's kingdom of priests, a holy nation, and chosen people. And the unbelieving world was Gentile -- including Jews who didn't yet believe in Jesus.
This language is useful because it makes the Old Testament come alive. There, Israel often struggled to want to be like the nations around them. But God said:
Deuteronomy 12:30 (ESV) — 30 take care that you be not ensnared to follow the nations...and that you do not inquire about their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods?—that I also may do the same.’
Now, today, the church is to have the same perspective. We are different. We are to be holy because God is holy. We are different. We must get used to it.
Mindset
Now, as much as each of these sins might tempt us all in various ways, they are terrible for us. Sensuality is living without personal self-restraint. Passions are desires and lusts and impulses that pull us toward immorality. Drunkenness is another sin that can feel exciting, empowering, or liberating in the moment, but has also led to many terrible consequences. Orgies and drinking parties are wild parties and debaucherous festivals filled with all kinds of exciting sins. And this all leads to lawless idolatry, taking someone into the worship of people or experiences or nature at the expense of God. All of these sins can feel great in the moment, but the price you pay later can be pretty high. The Bible calls them "the fleeting pleasures of sin" for a reason (Hebrews 11:25). They are pleasurable, but only for a moment. They all hurt the next day.
What is your mindset towards sin? Do you see it as something that is bad because it's forbidden? You shouldn't. Instead, you should see it as forbidden because it's bad. In other words, your loving Heavenly Father knows what will hurt you, so he forbids it -- this is how we should see sin. And we should confess, "I am moving on from sin."
Confession #3: I Might Be Vilified (4:4-6)
Finally, let's consider our third confession. We've said:
- I will suffer for Jesus.
- I am moving on from sin.
But we should also say, I might be vilified. Let's read:
4 With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you;
Maligned
So Peter expected that our refusal to live like the rest of society does will surprise people. And since we aren't carried along in the same flood of debauchery, Peter said they will malign us. The Christians Peter wrote to were thought of as strange because they didn't partake of many aspects of Roman society. They received what they could from the Roman world. They redeemed what they could from the Roman world. But some parts of Roman society had to be rejected outright, and this surprised many nonbelievers, so they maligned the church for being different.
When the church first began, it was embedded in a Jewish context. Since many morals of the church overlapped with Judaism, Jewish society did not hassle the church much for its morals. It did, however, lash out against the church because of its beliefs. There, they were maligned for their doctrines.
As the church spread into the Gentile world, it was their morals (or lifestyle) that most often got them into trouble with society. Among the nations, they were maligned for their lifestyle.
But we live in a time where we will be maligned for both our biblical doctrines and our biblical lifestyles. One scholar said: “It is a problem that will recur whenever Christians are forced by their faith to oppose cultural values widely held in the secular world within which they live" (Achtemeier, 1996).
Why would people malign us for the way we live? Partly because it is an implied indictment of their way of life. We don't mean it that way, of course. We don't believe people are made right with God by the way they live. We think people are made right with God by faith in the gospel. Jesus Christ died for all of humanity, was buried, and rose from the dead. The only way for our guilt and shame to be settled before God is to believe in what his Son did to erase and consume our sin. He died in our place. He rose. And he will return. Belief in this message is what saves you, not your lifestyle.
But since submission to the gospel highlights our need for forgiveness, and since we become new people (born again) after placing our faith in Christ, it is inevitable that we would begin living in a different way. Unfortunately, many people see this different way of life and take offense, thinking we mean to communicate they are somehow less than us. Not so.
Another reason for this maligning word is that our lifestyles disrupt the accepted flow of society. The Christians Peter wrote to were seen as haters of the Roman way of life, and people wanted to build that Roman society together. Christians, in their minds, weren't helping. And all these Christians were first-generation Christians, meaning they weren't raised in Christian families with Christian values and traditions. So when these new believers began following the way of Jesus, they broke with many ancestral traditions and practices handed down from their families and societies. All this caused quite a stir.
In our closing verses, Peter gave two statements that help us face being maligned for Jesus. The first is a reality to know; the second is a prayer to pray. Let's read:
5 but they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. 6 For this is why the gospel was preached even to those who are dead, that though judged in the flesh the way people are, they might live in the spirit the way God does.
Reality: Everyone Judged
When maligned, the reality to know is that everyone will be judged (5). Every human soul must give an account to God for their lives. He is the judge of the living and the dead, meaning no one escapes accountability to him.
Jesus spoke of the day of judgment when we will give account for even every careless word we speak (Matthew 12:36). Paul said we would all give an account of ourselves to God (Romans 14:12) and that God has fixed a day when he will judge the world by Jesus (Acts 17:31). Jude said the Lord is coming with ten thousand of his saints to execute judgment on all (Jude 14-15). James said the judge is standing at the door (James 5:9). The psalms say the way of the wicked will perish (Psalm 1:6). Solomon wrote that God will bring every deed into judgment (Ecclesiastes 12:14). And, back to Jesus, he promised he would come in glory with his angels and sit on his throne of judgment (Matthew 25:31).
For Christians, giving an account for our lives is a day of grace and mercy. We plead the blood of Christ! His righteousness will save us.
But Peter is encouraging us that those who malign us will give an account of themselves before God.
Prayer: Everyone Saved
But when maligned, the prayer to pray is that all people would be saved, even (and especially) those who malign us. Peter said the gospel has to be preached to spiritually dead people with the hopes that when they die (are judged in the flesh the way people are), they will live before God the way God does (6).
But this final confession -- I might be vilified -- is often hard for us to stomach. I think many have watered down the Bible or Christianity in an attempt to become compatible with society. But, though we shouldn't be any weirder than the Bible says we have to be -- we should retain and pursue our biblical distinctions. And we must know we might be vilified for following Christ above culture.
Let us say:
- We will suffer for Jesus.
- We are moving on from sin.
- We might be vilified.