Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Evening Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/ev/ev20110828.htm

THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION
1 Peter: Effective Christian Living In A Spiritually Hostile World
Part XI: Living In Holiness Under Spiritual Persecution, 1 Peter 3:8-4:19
D. Adopting Christ's Attitude Toward Suffering Persecution
(1 Peter 4:1-6)
  1. Introduction
    1. Suffering persecution for the sake of righteousness is not a humanly easy calling to perform, and the believer needs to know how to think and what attitude he must have to face unjust persecution effe ctively.
    2. Peter clarified these things, giving specific directives on the subject in 1 Peter 4:1-6 as follows:
  2. Adopting Christ's Attitude Toward Suffering Persecution, 1 Peter 4:1-6.
    1. Since Jesus Christ, the Messiah, has suffered in His body by way of the cross (1 Peter 4:1a with 3:21-24), we believers in Him must arm ourselves with His same courageous attitude (ennoian , attitude, thought, Bible Know. Com., N. T., p. 852) toward suffering, 1 Peter 4:1b. The verb "arm" (hoplisasthe) pictures a soldier who puts on his armor for battle ( Bible Know. Com., N. T., p. 852), implying the need to use this attitude to preserve the mind under the stress of persecution.
    2. That protective attitude carries specific directives for the believer as clarified in 1 Peter 4:1c-6 as follows:
      1. Christ experienced the cross to atone for sin (1 Peter 2:24), so it is imperative that the believer who follows Christ in suffering consider himself to be done with committing acts of sin, 1 Peter 4:1c.
      2. Consequently, he is not to live for evil lusts, but for doing the will of God, 1 Peter 4:2 NIV.
      3. The rationale for this shift from indulging in lusts to doing God's will is that the believer has spent enough time doing what pagans do in living in sensuality (aselgaiais), lusts ( epithumiais), drunkenness (applicable to all substance abuse), excessive feasting and carousing (komois), drinking parties (potois) and "detestable idolatry," 1 Peter 4:3 NIV. ( U. B. S. Greek New Testament, 1966, p. 800; Arndt & Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, 1967, p. 114, 293, 462, 702 respectively)
      4. As lost people consider it strange that believers in Christ do not indulge in their sinful lusts, they feel the believer's abstinence is a critique of their sin (cf. John 15:18, 22), so if they do not repent, they retaliate against the believer by heaping verbal abuse upon him, 1 Peter 4:4 NIV.
      5. However, such pagans will have to give an account to God who is ready to judge both the living and the dead, implying it is wise for the believer to heed the Lord and live righteously in life, 1 Peter 4:5.
      6. Peter then noted that it was for this reason that the Gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, that they might be judged according to men in regard to the body, but live according to God in regard to the spirit, 1 Peter 4:6. Great confusion and debate has occurred over what this verse teaches, and we examine the debate and clarify the true interpretation in view of the context (as follows):
        1. Some like William Barclay (The Letters of James and Peter as cited by Roger M. Raymer, commentary on 1 Peter, Ibid., Bib. Know. Com., N. T., p. 853) claim Peter here taught Christ preached the Gospel to the unsaved dead that they might have a second chance to believe and be saved after death. However, this view is countered by Hebrews 9:27 that claims man is destined to die and then to be judged for what they did in that life without a second chance for salvation!
        2. Others claim Peter here referred to those who are "dead in sin," but these people are also said to live according to God in the spirit as believers, not as unsaved people, 1 Peter 4:6b.
        3. Rather, these are, "judged in the flesh and condemned to martyrdom according to human standards, but they are alive in the spirit after death," Ryrie Study Bible, KJV, 1978, ftn. to 1 Peter 4:6.
      7. Accordingly, Peter called his Christian readers to live in accountability to God Who will judge them even beyond this life, meaning it is wise to live uprightly even if it costs us our lives in martyrdom since we and our persecutors will both be judged in eternity by a righteous God!
Lesson: Believers should arm themselves to handle unjust persecution by adopting Christ's attitude of handling the cross: they must consider themselves to be "done" to living in sin along with the world as those who will give account to God Who will judge all men in eternity after this life is ended.

Application: May we arm ourselves with this attitude of Christ's to face unjust persecution today.