Written ~ 12-12-2024
Read 1 Peter Chapter Four
1 Peter 4
Today we will start with the last few verses from chapter 3, these verses blend seamlessly with chapter four.
1 Peter 3:13-17…
13 Now, who will want to harm you if you are eager to do good? 14 But even if you suffer for doing what is right, God will reward you for it. So don’t worry or be afraid of their threats. 15 Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it. 16 But do this in a gentle and respectful way. Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ. 17 Remember, it is better to suffer for doing good, if that is what God wants, than to suffer for doing wrong!”
In the verses we just read, does anything stand out to you? Really think about what we just read…
There will be people who do not understand the faith we have in the Lord. And because of that lack of understanding they will not comprehend or appreciate the good we do as believers. So, it may feel like we are under attack at times from those who want to dismiss the good deeds we do specifically for the Lord. Even under threats and persecution, we must stand firm in our faith. The verses above say we aren’t to worry about any threats, instead we are to continue our worship of the Lord and continue to proclaim His Name. This type of response from us could very well generate questions about how we can stay hopeful in a world that has become so evil… When someone does ask, it says in verse 3:15 that we must always be ready to explain the hope we have as believers. If our response to difficult questions is done in a gentle and respectful way it might just cause that person to seek the Lord themselves! When we come up against persecution and threats of any kind and respond with defensive or angry retorts, the person throwing the insults at us will feel justified in their threats! But when we respond in love and with the joy of the Lord, it is the other person who will be ashamed of their actions. When persecution doesn’t create chaos, confusion and retaliation, some people won’t know what to do the joy and love of Jesus you are displaying… hopefully it will make them think about why you can respond in a peaceful and joyful manner and eventually come to know the Lord themselves because of your actions!
1 Peter 3:18, 22 and 4:1…
18 “Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but He died for sinners to bring you safely home to God. He suffered physical death, but He was raised to life in the Spirit. 22 Now Christ has gone to heaven. He is seated in the place of honor next to God, and all the angels and authorities and powers accept His authority. 4:1 So then, since Christ suffered physical pain, you must arm yourselves with the same attitude He had, and be ready to suffer, too. For if you have suffered physically for Christ, you have finished with sin.”
If you have read through the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John), you will know by their descriptive accounts of what Christ did for us that what Peter is saying here confirms the Gospel message and we should never take it for granted. 1 Peter 4:1 says we must arm ourselves with the same attitude Jesus had! That means that whatever persecution or suffering comes our way because of the boldness and confidence we have in the message of Jesus, we need to be ready to handle it the same way Jesus did. If by dying on the cross Jesus abolished sin and death for good, and we accept forgiveness of sin and invite Jesus to be our Savior and reside within us, we too, must abolish sin from our lives. We can’t go on living the way we did before knowing the Lord.
1 Peter 4:2-6…
2 “You won’t spend the rest of your lives chasing your own desires, but you will be anxious to do the will of God. 3 You have had enough in the past of the evil things that godless people enjoy – their immorality and lust, their feasting and drunkenness and wild parties, and their terrible worship of idols.
4 Of course, your former friends are surprised when you no longer plunge into the flood of wild and destructive things they do. So they slander you. 5 But remember that they will have to face God, who stands ready to judge everyone, both the living and the dead. 6 That is why the Good News was preached to those who are now dead – so although they were destined to die like all people, they now live forever with God in the Spirit.”
As a believer… Do you still spend your life chasing down your own desires? Are you anxious to do the will of God? Have you had enough of the immorality, lust, drunkenness and idol worship that is only found in this evil world? Do the people around you see a difference in you? When our lives have been given over to the Lord, we should want nothing more than you pursue life with the knowledge of the Good News and stand by it, no matter what. We will one day stand before the Almighty God. Imagine this… When you look at your life today… if God were to ask you today, right now, “How have you served Me?” What would you say to Him? What if God asked you, “Were the desires of the world more important to you than Me?” How would you respond? If you are a Born-Again believer, Christ’s blood has cleansed you top to bottom, but have you taken advantage of your Salvation? Do you only give the Lord a small portion of your life?
1 Peter 4:7-9…
7 “The end of the world is coming soon. Therefore, be earnest and disciplined in your prayers. 8 Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins. 9 Cheerfully share your home with those who need a meal or a place to stay.”
When our lives get so wrapped up in the responsibilities of work and family life and the pursuit of anything other than the Lord, do we take the time to love like Christ? If you truly understand that this world is only a temporary place and that it will come to end, does that change how you want to live your life? All throughout the Bible, it instructs us to look to heaven, to think about the things of heaven, to put our treasures in heaven. So, do we really earnestly discipline our lives when it comes to prayer and the love we show to other people?
When the lure of the world begins to fade away and your life starts to show the light of Jesus within you, by your actions it becomes evident to everyone that your heart and mind are sharing the same attitude of Christ. It’s then that your focus becomes fixed on everything you have learned from your study of Scripture. It’s then that we desire more of the Lord and our lives crave the presence of the Lord in everything we do.
1 Peter 4:10-11…
10 “God has given each of you a gift from His great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. 11 Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God Himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to Him forever and ever! Amen.”
OHHH how I love these verses! Oh, how I wish all of us would realize what our spiritual gifts were…those wonderful gifts we have buried deep within. Some of us know what gifts the Lord has given us and we walk in them boldly, freely and confidently. But there are some who haven’t put into practice what God as placed within their very core. When we make it our ultimate goal to please the Lord in everything we do, the gifts God has given us will begin to emerge from us naturally. When you and I tap into the spiritual gifts the Almighty God has given to us it says in verse 4:11 to “do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies.” When we don’t feel strong enough to do what the Lord asks of us, it is God’s strength, it is God’s power that is given to us in endless supply! That should give you hope that God will be with you every step of the way, so we shouldn’t be fearful when exercising our gifts. When we do walk in our spiritual gifts, “Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ!”
Peter continues after giving us a bit of a pep talk to again warn us that we will go through trials and suffering. It just comes with the territory when we serve the Lord with all our hearts.
1 Peter 4:12-13…
12 “Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you. 13 Instead, be very glad – for these trials make you partners with Christ in His suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing His glory when it is revealed to all the world.”
When we honor the Lord with our lives, the world is not going to understand why we stand up for what we believe in so firmly. The truth of the Bible is not readily accepted by a lot of people, and they will take notice when our lives are different from theirs. That’s when Peter’s words make a lot of sense. “Don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through…” we cannot be taken by surprise that some people are not going to like what we have to say. Especially when we adhere to the Word of God. When a life has been transformed by the Holy Spirit, it will become evident to everyone around you that something is different. That’s when trials and suffering become a part of your life. Why? Because the more you become like Christ, the more you will suffer just like He did. Why should we be glad of that? I’ll say it again, it’s because we have become more like Christ! Jesus said that because the world hated Him, they will also hate us because we are united with Him. So, we needn’t be surprised by suffering, instead we should welcome it with joy and gladness. I don’t know about you, but for me… I want to be “partners with Christ in His suffering, so that I will have the wonderful joy of seeing His glory!”
1 Peter 4:14-16, 19…
14 “If you are insulted because you bear the name of Christ, you will be blessed, for the glorious Spirit of God rests upon you. 15 If you suffer, however, it must not be for murder, stealing, making trouble, or prying into other people’s affairs. 16 But it is no shame to suffer for being a Christian. Praise God for the privilege of being called by His Name! 19 So if you are suffering in a manner that pleases God, keep on doing what is right, and trust your lives to the God who created you, for He will never fail you.”
Wow, what a way to end chapter four. Keep doing what is right! Keep following the commands and the instructions given to us in the Word of God! Keep your focus on the things of heaven. And above all have the same attitude as Christ. When we put all of our trust in the Lord, what is the promise? “God will NEVER fail you!”
~AMEN~