Enjoying The Carnival Of Love Series

Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy.

(Romans 13:13 NKJV)

Let us imagine for one moment a scene. Someone has invited you to a party celebrating the victory of the Werder Bremen football team. It will take place at the Park Hotel and it will include a full-course meal with a variety of good food. There will be all kinds of drinks served, and it will last all night. Best of all, it will be free. What if everyone was invited, and you were invited to eat and drink everything in the entire room. How would you respond to this offer?

Some of you, I know what you are thinking: Free food – great! Some are thinking? Is there going to be alcohol? Some will ask who will be there?

Suppose I tell you that other people from Bremen will be there and that everyone will be eating and drinking. They will indulge themselves in eating, drinking, partying, singing, and live music all night. It will be a wild party.

Now remember it is free, but there will be alcohol, possibly some drugs, and perhaps some people going into some other rooms and having sex in the various beds. I mean it is a hotel after all. They will be some games, and perhaps people may start to shout to one another. Do you want to go? Oh, it will be fun, no harm will be done. You will enjoy yourself.

What is the difference in this scene? A nice party has turned in to a wild party. A group of people have let themselves get out of control. This is the idea behind the world “revelry.” You remember this word from Romans 13:13. It is the first pair of activities that we are to restrain in our lives.

Here in 1 Peter see the affect of what happens when you decide to follow God’s instruction about responsible love with others. Here, our lives were filled with “doing the will of the Gentiles”, as opposed to the “will of God.” What is that life of doing the will of the Gentiles?

1 Peter 4:3 defines it in this way:

For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles--when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries.

(1 Peter 4:3 NKJV)

This pretty much sums up the life of people in the world. Revelry is also known as:

Revellings–KJV, Carousing–NASB, Orgies–NIV, Revelries–NKJV, Wild parties–NLT

Here are some definitions for the word that is used in Romans 13:13 and 1 Peter 4:3:

excessive, and boisterous acts of intemperance and lustful indulgence

feasting and noisy merriment

the original word includes rioting and wild actions associated with drunkenness

This word graphically describes a life of uncontrolled license, indulgence, and pleasure; taking part in wild parties or in drinking parties; lying around indulging in feeding the lusts of the flesh.

In the Greek writings it was a a procession of people at night, who were half-drunk after supper. They would parade in the streets with torches and music in honor of Bacchus or some other deity. They usually led themselves into riots. This practice perhaps had its origins in the nightly worship of the Moabite god Chemosh as seen in the Old Testament.

because they have forsaken Me, and worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the people of Ammon, and have not walked in My ways to do what is right in My eyes and keep My statutes and My judgments, as did his father David.

(1 Kings 11:33 NKJV)

Revelry (carousing, and orgies) is unrestrained behavior that comes from engaging and indulging in wild parties and everything that is associated with these parties to the point where I allow myself to get out of control.

It is the Carnival parade where drink has lowered inhibitions.

How do I know it is wrong?

1.I know it is wrong because God teaches that it is wrong. You can look at the list of actions in various places:

Galatians 5:21-22 show a list of actions that tell me that I am not living in the Holy Spirit.

Luke 21:34 shows me that Jesus says this behavior is wrong.

Here, 1 Peter 4 shows me:

2.I know it is wrong because from the reaction from the people who do these things prove that this is wrong for me to do.

Let me explain what I mean. Your non-Christian friends will encourage you to indulge yourself. They will encourage you to live it up. They will say: “Go ahead and drink, live it up, and party like it is no tomorrow.” You know it is wrong because God teaches that people who do these things will not enter the kingdom of Heaven.