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
2 Corinthians 5:17 says this
17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!
When we become a new creation, our lives change
And when we truly arm ourselves with the attitudes of Christ the way we look at life changes as well
You see when we are New creations armed with the attitudes of our savior
We are no longer salves to sin
Verse 1d
“For if you have suffered physically for Christ, you have finished with sin “
The sin which once defined us
Corrupted us
No longer has a hold on us
We still may sin
We will still be tempted
But the wages of sin have been paid by Jesus
Sin no longer has control of our lives or our eternal destiny
Next
We no longer let the sinful desires of our hearts be in control
Verse 2a
.[a] 2 You won’t spend the rest of your lives chasing your own desires “
Before we came to salvation
Before we were New Creations
Before we armed ourselves with the attitudes of Christ
We let our desires drive
Now even though the pre-Jesus part of your life revolved around personal pleasures and desires
The after Jesus us
Has the power to overcome
We have the power living inside of us
The Holy Spirit
The counselor
The helper
Giving us the power to take control of our own lives
Desire no longer controls us
Temptations may come
But they will be quickly be swept away
When we apply Jesus’ attitudes to our lives
Next
We now live to do the will of God
Verse 2c
“but you will be anxious to do the will of God.”
A desire to do God’s will is the mark of a Bona Fide believer
When we are born again
When we arm ourselves with the attitudes of Jesus
We will be as Peter says
Be anxious to do God’s will
Sometimes we don’t know what that is
That is where prayer
Study and fellowship come in
But we
When we are redeemed
We have the knowledge of right and wrong in our hearts
We know the difference
The unbelieving world
Often has no clue that the immorality
The addictions
The self-gratifications they chase are wrong
Many unknowing say
Well God would want me to be happy
This is a lie from Satan
Listen to me
If we are living in God’s will his desire is that we be happy
And we will find peace and contentment
But
When we let our desires control us
We should be miserable
And God does not want us to be happy in our sin
He loves us like we are
But loves us do much to leave us there
He wants us to be like Jesus
Lastly
When we are a new creation
When we have armed ourselves with the attitudes of Christ
We have put Godless living behind us
Verse 3
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.
Knowing right from wrong
Desiring Gods will
No longer being controlled by sin and temptation
Leads us to changed lives
The things you once thought were fun
Or harmless
Now are offensive
Our desires change as our lives change
The thought of doing something that goes against God should make us sick to our stomachs
Peter says
You did all that before
But now
But now
You no longer need all that mess
Listen to me
We all have a past
And many of them are not pretty
We all may have sowed some wild oats
But
Then we had no power to overcome
The old was still on us
But now the new has come
And we are filed with the power
I need you to hear me
The world we live in is not a fan of the new you
They will think you are weird
Just a Jesus freak
A bible thumper
Your old friends will try to lure you back
Misery loves company
And when you are in the mudhole
They don’t feel so bad about being there their selves
Verse 4 says they won’t understand why you have changed
Verse 4
“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 “
They won’t understand why you have changed
Why you don’t do the things you once did
They just don’t get it
So, they talk about you
They may avoid you
Unfriend you
They most likely will try had to tempt you
All of this is part of the suffering Peter preaches about
When we become a New creation
When we take on Christ’s attitudes
The world does not understand it
They may not like it
They may even try and make our lives difficult because of it
We may lose friends
Positions
Jobs
We could even face physical suffering
And even death
But with the attitude of Jesus
We can and will overcome
So instead of striking back
Instead of getting even
Instead of beating someone over the head with God’s word
We need to let God be their Judge
Just as he is our judge
Verse 5 says
. 5 But remember that they will have to face God, who stands ready to judge everyone, both the living and the dead.”
How you act is on you
How the world acts is on them
Verse 6 says
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
This verse once again
Says that God puts it in the heart of all men to seek him
To desire a relationship with him
But that each person must make a choice for themselves
So how do we apply this
Peter is saying in the midst of suffering
Live a Bona Fide life
Nothing is a stronger testimony than a changed life
Peter says in the midst of suffering
Ride for Christ
With everything you have
Be different on purpose, never apologize for it
Let your integrity be your greatest testimony
But always be prepared to give the reason for your hope
Expect to be misunderstood
And always keep your eyes on Jesus
When we know Jesus
And we know he lives
We can face tomorrow
Without Jesus
There is no hope in tomorrow
Close from the heart
Pray
