Fight Like Christians
Introduction:
Brothers and sisters, we are in a battle. It is the same battle that the saints of Christ have been in since the beginning and it is the same battle the original readers were fighting when Peter wrote this letter to them. I would like to draw your attention to some of the things we easily forget in our historical and geographical context. I would also like to point out some solutions that Peter presented to his original readers and things we can put into practice just as they did.
Text:
“Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.” (1 Pet 4:1–2)
Context:
Peter had three goals in writing to the saints in Asia Minor: first, he wanted to encourage his readers to suffer in a way that brought others to faith in Christ. Second, he wanted to give them some very practical direction in how to go about suffering so that those who caused the suffering would come to Christ. And third, Peter wanted all of this to give glory to God.
What God has done for us:
It is always important when we are talking about living out our salvation, to begin with what God has done for us. We call the news of this the Gospel. 1 Corinthians 15:3 encapsulates the Gospel with this:
“Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time” (1 Cor 15:1–8).
Peter said it this way:
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Pet 1:3–5).
The NKJV uses the word begotten here, but the actual word is “born-again.” We have been born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We have been born again from the dead. We were dead, now we are alive because of what Jesus did for us on the Cross. We see this again, in 1:18–19 when Peter said, “knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” You see we have all the elements of the Gospel. We were dead, we couldn’t help ourselves, we needed help, God sent his Son to die for us so that we could live.
As a result, we greatly rejoice (6) and we also rejoice with inexpressible joy (v. 8). And we love him (v. 8). This speaks to our emotional response to the good news of our salvation and what God did in giving it to us.
Peter is careful to let us know that this salvation, while glorious now, is not finished yet. God is keeping it for as we live by faith with him.
Also, this Gospel is not just for us in our time (nor for them in theirs). Prophets and angels saw all this working itself out through history, and they longed to see what was coming, but they didn’t. They couldn’t quite figure it all out. But we have it all together. We know and understand what God was up to when he was working history to come together at just the right time and in just the right way.
The saints who received this letter for the first time, lived it out and that’s why we can read it today. We have the same obligation to read, hear, and obey that they had so that in 2,000 years from now, some other Christians will be reading this letter and rejoicing with inexpressible joy.
What we do as a result:
Changes in being cause changes in other areas of life. Part of being born again, as you will remember, involves laying down your life (1 Jn. 3:16), taking up your cross (Mt. 16:24), and following Jesus (Mk. 10:21). This last part requires suffering for and with him. Peter said our suffering, as Christians, was part of Jesus’ suffering, “Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy” (1 Pet 4:12–13).
An Important Principle:
Like Christ: “For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps: “Who committed no sin, Nor was deceit found in His mouth”; who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously;” (1 Pet 2:21–23).
Jesus did not go to the cross as a passive, limp, whiny, beaten, effeminate, lackey. He entrusted himself to his father in heaven, knowing that he would judge those who killed him. He also knew that this was not the end. There was joy on the other side. God would not leave him, nor forsake him, nor abandon him. He obeyed God, in his passion, by giving himself over to God first, and to the executioner second. He died as an act of love. He died aggressively as an aggressive, giving, active, efficacious act of love.
The context of this passage is how slaves are to treat non-Christian and unjust masters. It is also how wives are to treat their husbands (whether they are obeying God or not), it is husbands are to love their wives, and it is how everyone is to live with everyone else. We serve one another, not as limp, symps, but as glorious servants of the Risen Lord of lords and King of kings. This is hugely important for how we hear anything having to do with submission in the Bible. And as you know, there is a lot about submission in the Bible.
Back to what we do with all this:
“Therefore gird up the loins of your mind (v. 13)—ESV has “prepare your minds for action.” This is good, but it loses the imagery. The picture is similar to Hebrews 12:1-2— “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” It has the image of getting rid of everything that will slow you down in a race. If you are wearing a robe, you’ll need to anticipate what is coming and tie the loose pieces up around your hips and upper legs so that it won’t get in the way. The main point is to think about what you’re doing and what is coming. Get ready.
Then Peter adds, “be sober (v. 13)—We see this same word in 4:7; “But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers.” And, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (5:8).
And Paul said pretty much the same thing to the Thessalonians,
“Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him” (1 Thess 5:6–10).
In all this, we need to “rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1:13).
The point is that because of what God has done for us, we need to be a different sort of person than those who just float through life. We have a purpose, we have a savior, we have life.
Peter continued: “as obedient children” (14). You know the contrast here. You know children who are not obedient. They aren’t a lot of fun to have around or to be around. And Peter’s assumption is that we haven’t always been Christians. We know what it is to live as non-Christians, in disobedience.
I know this because he adds, “not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance.” Before we came to Christ, we were ignorant and thus lived according to our desires, passions (ESV), and lusts. This word does not necessarily imply that they were, or we are sexually immoral. It means any desire that wars against the Will of God for our life. James uses the same word when he says we are tempted when we are lured and enticed by our desires (Jas 1:14). Enticed to what? Enticed to leave the presence and pleasure of God and do it ourselves.
Peter says, you’ve learned, you aren’t ignorant, you have indescribable joy, think about it. What things did you let rule your life, that you still have hanging on to your heart? What things do non-Christians think are cool that are tugging at you to agree with them, but are really at war with God and with his kingdom?
Peter rounds it all out by saying, “but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, ‘Be holy, for I am holy‘” (v. 15-16). You are Holy (set apart, like God, like Jesus, loving God, loving Jesus, different from those around you, not hypocritical, loving those Jesus has put in your path, etc.) You are holy, so be holy. Live up to who God has made you to be. Think about it, prepare for it, decide to do what your new nature says you are. Live this way in an aggressive, poured out to God, dead to yourself way.
Finally, for today, “And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear; knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God” (1:17–21).
One of the things Peter is saying here is that we might be tempted to think that our salvation isn’t really real. It is just a dream, or what we do doesn’t matter. We have been living here for a long time and it appears that the world is winning the battle. But God didn’t save us by redeeming us with trading stamps. He didn’t trade his favorite island in the south pacific for us. No, he gave his only son for us. He sent his Son so that we could live with him. He wants us to live in his presence and because Jesus’ death and resurrection are permanent, perfect, everlasting, and totally and absolutely efficacious, we will live with God forever and ever and ever. Amen.
Conclusion:
I encourage you to go back to 1 Peter and keep reading. Peter has a lot more to say about how to live in a world that is all bent out of shape. As I mentioned in the beginning, these original saints changed the world. We live in a world where the saints have forgotten Peter’s word to them and so our world is drifting back to the pagan ways it was in during the time of the original readers. But God can change the world again, he’s done it before. And he can change us in the process and give us joy inexpressible. When you read on you will see that God has given us great gifts, has built us into a holy nation, made us holy people. We are these things; therefore, we need to live in particular ways. These particular ways are not the ways we used to live. We need to know that if we weren’t born into a Christian family or even if we were, but our parents weren’t living as Christians, we need to rethink everything we’ve ever known so that we can bring our lives into conformity with the Word of God, so that we will give glory to God and will please him. Based on what God, in Christ, has done for us, gird up the loins of your mind, and live for Jesus.
Image by Ryan McGuire from Pixabay