Wayfaring Strangers Part 16 " Armed With Christ's Attitudes" Series

Wayfaring Strangers

A Study Of 1 Peter

Part 16

“Armed with Christ’s attitudes”

Today as we continue our study of 1 Peter

Titled wayfaring strangers

We will continue the topic of suffering

Peter has written, and we have taught over the last few weeks

That suffering in the life of a Christian can be a reality

We are simply passing though this world

And as a result, we sometimes face trials

Troubles

Temptations

Hardships

And even persecutions

The fact that we are followers of Jesus

In a world that is dominated by non-believers

A world that is filled with sin

Lust

Worldly pleasures

And an overwhelming sense of

“let’s see how bad we can be

How many of the big ten we can break?

But even more than that

A complete ignorance

And complete disregard for God and his word

Simply put

The lost

See no need for God

They have no desire for morality

And they live to get what they want

Whatever that is

This places the believers in Christ

In many unfriendly situations

Sometimes even hostile situations

You see

As wayfaring strangers

We are not of this wicked world

We don’t understand it

And it does not understand us

Let me read 1 Peter 4:1-6 for you in its entirety

Then we can come back and break it down and apply it to our lives

1 Peter 4:1-6

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.[a] 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[b]—so although they were destined to die like all people,[c] they now live forever with God in the Spirit.[d]

Look at verse 1a

“So then”

Your bible may say “therefore”

So then ties todays teaching in with chapter 3

Verses 18 and 22

18 Christ suffered[a] 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.[b]--------

Skipping to 22

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.

Verse 1a

“So then”

“Therefore”

Verse 1b

“since Christ suffered physical pain,”

Since Christ suffered

Since Christ never sinned

Since he died for sinners

Since he was raised to life

Since he is seated in the place of honor

And since his power is undisputed

Because Jesus Christ

Suffered and died

Because the just was given for the unjust

The innocent for the guilty

The pure for the corrupt

We should

Verse 1c

“you must arm yourselves with the same attitude he had, and be ready to suffer, too.”

The words arm yourself

Bring to mind

Someone defending themselves

And yes, this is a good picture

But a better one is quite possibly

Prepare yourself

When you are preparing yourself

You are preparing against something

Right

So, Peter says arm yourselves

But he specifies with what we are to arm ourselves with

He is not prompting violence

Or revolt

He is not advocating disrespect or even disregard for the authorities

He says arm yourselves

Prepare yourselves

For the suffering that could come your way

By picking up

And applying

The attitude of Jesus

What was his attitude towards suffering

Let me remind you

He could have called down legions of Angels

To deliver him for his enemies

But he showed them love

He prayed for them

Asked God to forgive them

Humbly

Willingly submitted himself to their hands

To show his mercy and grace to the world

He did not respond in hate

Or violence

Or even a defense

He said

Not my will God

But yours

This is the attitude we should arm ourselves with

I know

I get it

The world says

And the man inside says

Fight back

Don’t let them do that

The attitude of Jesus says

Because he suffered

Be prepared to suffer

And use that suffering as a witness to the unbelieving world