Freedom Not to Sin

Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh,

arm yourselves with the same way of thinking.

For whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin,

so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh,

no longer for human passions, but for the will of God.

For the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do,

living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness,

orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry.

With respect to this, they are surprised when you do not join them

in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you.

But they will give account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.

For this is why the gospel was preached even to those who are dead,

that though judged in the flesh the way people are,

they might live in the spirit the way God does.

There's a high school girl.

She's a Christian girl, a devout girl.

She reads her Bible daily, prays for her family and friends.

And at the public high school she attends, she prays before a meal,

which is really hard to find in a public school.

And people kind of look at her a little awkwardly while she does that

because no one else is doing that at the table.

And as her peers are beginning to, her girl peers are beginning to dress more and more scantily,

she refuses to follow that pattern, and she continues to dress modestly as the Bible teaches her to.

And for that reason, she gets unfairly labeled as a prude in the school,

especially by the guys who are vindictive toward her because she had refused,

spurned their inappropriate advances.

And she goes to college, and there she decides that she's not going to join the sorority

that all her best friends from high school are joining

because she knows that it was known for a lot of drinking parties

and even one-night stands for the girls that are there.

And so she refused to join that.

But as a result of that, she gets disowned by her friends,

who are her best friends from high school

because they think that she is now being judgmental

and looking down on them for not joining that sorority,

even though her affection for them and her commitment to them has not changed at all.

And her junior year, she's continued to be devout in following the Lord

as she becomes a leader of the Christian Fellowship there.

But that year, she gets kicked off campus,

or the Christian Fellowship gets kicked off campus

because they subscribe to biblical sexual ethics

and will not let people who don't subscribe to the biblical sexual ethics

become leaders in that fellowship.

So she gets kicked out, and because she's one of the leaders of the group,

she gets publicly vilified by her peers in the college newspaper.

And after graduation, here's a bright point in the story,

she meets a godly man and gets married at the workplace.

However, to her great dismay, she discovers that she has breast cancer,

and she dies shortly after getting married.

There's also a Christian man in his 50s.

He's a banker. He's diligent.

He conducts himself with integrity,

and he goes on business trips just like his other co-workers.

And when he goes, but sees co-workers sometimes go on their off hours

visit strip clubs or to go out drinking, and he doesn't do that.

And because of that, he gets labeled the Christian guy

who spoils all the fun.

Nevertheless, because he does his job better than most people,

most of his colleagues, he gets tolerated.

That is until his boss starts to tell him to lend to subprime borrowers,

people who are not qualified, according to their credit history,

to take out loans to buy a house.

And he boxed at that, and conscientiously and respectfully

expresses his objection to his boss, and says,

no, I don't think that's a good idea.

These people are not going to be able to pay.

You're not setting them up for success.

And the boss uses that opportunity to fire him

and paint him as incompetent and insubordinate

and fires him without severance pay.

And he gets fired, and after that,

the housing market bubble bursts,

inspiring the U.S. economy into financial crisis.

And so he can't get a job as a banker anymore, anywhere.

No one's hiring.

So he gets a job at the local grocery store.

And he works there for several years.

And then he retires and lives,

free marines and dies without much savings to give to his kids

because he had used it all up in the intervening time

between his two jobs.

As you hear stories like that, you might ask,

you know, what gives, right?

I mean, that's, God, what are you doing?

If these are the people that are trying to serve you,

why don't you bless that first girl with health

and with some loyal friends?

Why doesn't God reward that conscientious banker

with an even more lucrative job,

helping him to make more money than his boss

who was trying to do not so helpful practices

in order for selfish gain?

And after all, they die just like all their less scrupulous peers.

What do they have to show for that?

Living in a different way.

And these were the questions

that were burning in Peter's audience mind

because the unbelievers of the first century

were similarly viewed as killjoys

because the Christians refused to participate

in the most popular entertainments of the Roman Empire.

For example, the gladiatorial games

or the chariot races with all their violence and gore

or the risque theater performances.

And they also refused to participate

in other sinful acts like premarital sex

or adultery or theft

or a lot of drinking and orgies.

They refused to participate in all of these things.

So the Christians in the first century

were considered killjoys.

And instead of being rewarded by God in this life,

they suffered slander and persecution.

And many of them died.

They passed on without any sort of vindication.

So what gives God?

In that situation, Peter reassures believers.

He says, we can suffer rather than sin

because God will judge both the living and the dead.

That's what Peter tells us here.

So we'll talk about those two in two parts.

So we can suffer rather than sin.

Percy, look with me at verses one to two.

It says,

Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh,

arm yourselves with the same way of thinking.

For whoever has suffered in the flesh

has ceased from sin,

so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh,

no longer for human passions,

but for the will of God.

It begins with a sense clause,

meaning that's the reason,

that's a grounding for this exhortation.

Since before Christ suffered in the flesh,

that's why we ought to also arm ourselves

with the same kind of thinking.

So he's kind of hearkening back to chapter three,

verse 18,

which we talked about a couple weeks ago,

where he says,

For Christ also suffered once for sins,

the righteous for the unrighteous,

that he might bring us to God.

And what is that same way of thinking that Christ had?

Because he doesn't really seem to unpack it here.

So he continues in verse one to two.

For whoever has suffered in the flesh

has ceased from sin.

I'll explain that in a second.

So as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh,

no longer for human passions,

but for the will of God.

So the conjunction for there

can also be translated as that is.

It's an explanatory conjunction.

And that seems to make more sense

because he had already given the reason for it

with the first sentence,

since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh.

And now, so it really,

what's going on here

is explaining the content

of that attitude that Christ had.

So he's saying,

Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh,

arm yourselves with the same way of thinking,

that is, this way of thinking,

that whoever has suffered in the flesh

has ceased from sin.

And that's in fact how some of the English translations have it,

including the TNIV.

So that means the attitude that we're supposed to have

is that those who suffer,

whoever suffers,

has ceased from sin.

But what does that mean, right?

That's a really,

it's a question that bothers a lot of Bible interpreters.

What does it mean that when we suffer in the flesh,

we cease from sin?

And I don't think it means that

when we suffer a lot in life,

that we are no longer susceptible to sin, right?

And I think we see a lot of counterexamples of that.

So like, for example,

if you have a fire,

let's say you have a fireplace,

and you throw wax into the fire,

it's going to melt, right?

But if you throw clay into the fire,

it's actually going to harden.

It's not going to melt, right?

In the same way,

even though it's the same fire,

the response of the wax and the clay

vary because of their material constitution.

In the same way,

suffering is the same way.

It's like the same fire.

You could throw one person in there,

they'll come out softer.

They'll become more grateful

for the small blessings they have in life.

And they'll become more tender

and compassionate toward other people.

And one person,

you throw them into suffering,

they'll come out more hardened.

They'll come out bitter

and dissatisfied with life, right?

So suffering itself

is not what objectively

makes people cease from sin.

I don't think that's what it's referring to.

In fact, as the Bible also teaches,

if you look at the example of Job,

Satan tries to use suffering

as an occasion for sin for Job, right?

So there, clearly,

suffering is not leading to seizing from sin.

He's trying to use suffering

to make people sin,

Satan in that case.

So that's not what that means.

So what does it mean then

that whoever has suffered in the flesh

has ceased from sin?

And I don't,

so some people tie it to what Paul teaches,

you know, how he talks about it in Romans 6 too.

How can we who died to sin still live in it, right?

So he talks about how we as believers,

we participate in Christ's death and resurrection.

We have died to sin,

so now we live to holiness.

So then how can we,

how can we then live in sin anymore?

This is an important truth

and it is a true,

that's a true statement.

It is true that we participate

in his death and life resurrection

and that we are no longer to live in that way.

But I don't think that's what Peter

is trying to say here.

And that's because Paul uses the phrase,

he's in the flesh

to refer to our sinful flesh,

but Peter doesn't use it that way.

Peter uses it to refer to our time on earth,

our time in the body, right?

So he,

so that's why if you look at verse two,

the latter half of it,

Peter says,

so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh,

no longer for human passion,

but for the will of God.

See,

Paul could never write that sentence

because he would say,

if you're living in the flesh,

then you are living for human passions for him.

Those two things are synonymous.

But here Peter is saying that you live,

while you're living in the flesh,

don't live for human passions.

So that's a clear example

that Peter and Paul

are not using the phrase in the same way.

So,

so that's,

so then it doesn't mean that

the word,

we cease from sin

in the sense that we're justified by,

by Christ.

We were righteous because of what he has done.

So then what can it mean,

right?

As we have gone through the book of first Peter,

he,

he has talked about the various stations in life,

whether in our relationship to government,

in our relationship to our spouses,

in our relationship to,

to our,

to our neighbors,

to our employers.

In all of that,

he taught us to do good and suffer while doing it,

while suffer unjustly while doing good.

And,

and that's,

I think what he is referring to here is that

when we suffer in this manner,

even while doing good,

when we suffer in this manner,

even unjustly,

we,

we demonstrate the fact that we are through with sin.

We're done with sin.

No matter what,

we're not sinning because I am,

I'm,

I'm,

I'm dead to sin and I'm no,

I'm no longer going to,

entertain the possibility of doing good and contravening God's word.

It's kind of like a,

this example came to mind.

I think you guys all know and love the Lord of the Rings,

right?

And the,

in,

in the book,

Fellowship of the Ring,

I mean,

the Fellowship is formed.

It's,

it's like a dwarf and,

and,

and a wizard and,

and an elf and a man.

Like they are,

they form a fellowship to go and destroy the evil ring that gives the evil Lord Sauron his power.

And as the,

on their quest,

they go through the mountain of Moria and,

and are attacked by a giant demonic fiery monster called the Belrog,

right?

You guys know the scene I'm talking about.

As he's getting,

as they're getting chased and they're going through this narrow bridge,

called the bridge of Khazad-dum.

And the wizard,

the Gandalf recognizes that the most vulnerable members,

the hobbits of the fellowship are not going to make it.

So he,

instead of going through the bridge,

he stops in the middle,

right?

And he,

and he,

he,

in the movie,

he says,

you shall not pass,

right?

He faces the Belrog.

He says,

it's not in the book,

but in the book he says this,

he says,

you cannot pass.

I'm a servant of the secret fire,

realtor of the flame of Anur.

You cannot pass.

The dark fire will not avail you flame of Udun.

Go back to the shadow.

You cannot pass.

He knows that he might be inviting his own death,

right?

In fact,

he does die from that,

from that fight against the Belrog.

Yet he stands his ground and says,

you cannot pass.

It's that kind of resolve,

that cutting off and saying,

hey,

for him,

going through that bridge was no longer an option,

right?

So he's like,

you shall not,

but that was the end of that quest.

He was not going anywhere,

even if Barak were to destroy him and go through him,

right?

So in the same way,

a believer,

when he says that,

you know what?

I will suffer in my workplace.

I will suffer in my marriage.

I will suffer in my life,

among my neighbors,

so that I don't have to sin,

so that I can obey God and do good for his glory.

That's the kind of attitude that he's portraying here,

that when you have demonstrated that you're going to suffer for his sake,

then you have ceased from sin,

right?

Not in the sense that you're sinless,

but that you have shown that resolve.

You have shown that that's what it takes to take up the cross and follow Christ.

And that mindset,

that Jesus calls us to take up the cross and follow him,

right?

Follow Christ.

And that's not the mindset.

That's not only the call of super Christians,

right?

In fact,

that's the call of every single Christian,

to take up the cross and follow him.

And if we're not willing to take up the cross and follow him,

to give our all to follow him,

then we are not in a real sense being a Christian.

Because that's what it means to be a Christian,

is to take up our cross and follow him.

I think this is what the author of Hebrews also has in mind in chapter 12,

verse 4.

He says,

In your struggle against sin,

you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood,

right?

I don't think he's telling us,

teaching us self-flagellation like,

you know,

some other ethno-religionists do.

He's saying that you need to bleed in order to stop from sin.

I don't think that's what he's saying.

I think what he's saying is comparing us to Christ's obedience.

He says,

Jesus obeyed to the point of shedding his blood on the cross.

And we as believers,

the people that the author of Hebrews is addressing,

they're persecuted,

but they haven't resisted sin to the point of shedding their blood,

the point of suffering and dying like Christ did.

That's basically what Peter is calling us to,

right?

And are we Christians who seek to obey all the way,

or are we Christians who only seek to obey to a point?

And I think that's an important question that we have to ask ourselves this evening,

because do we obey only until our life is threatened?

Do we obey only until our jobs are on the line?

Do we obey only until we're offended?

Do we only obey until our comforts and convenience must be sacrificed?

I mean,

brothers and sisters,

if you're a believer here this evening with you,

we are not called to be half-hearted,

half-committed Christians.

We're not supposed to be like an out-of-shape couch potato who runs a race,

runs the first 50 meters of the race,

and is out of breath,

and has to stop for a drink.

We're supposed to run like a horse

that runs and runs and runs and runs

at its master's bidding,

and doesn't stop.

In fact,

the horse will run itself to death

until it dies of a heart attack,

or dehydration,

if the master keeps telling the horse to run.

That's how we are to be as Christians.

Not half-heartedly,

half-committedly saying,

oh no,

I'll do it up to a point,

until it gets difficult to be a Christian,

until it gets hard,

until it's impinging on my comfort.

No,

we say,

no,

we go and run and run and run,

until,

even if it means,

our suffering and death.

In fact,

that's what countless Christians have said

throughout the ages,

and have given their lives

attesting to this truth.

So Peter continues in verses 3 to 4.

For the time that is past,

suffices for doing

what the Gentiles want to do.

Living in sensuality,

passions,

and drunkenness,

orgies,

drinking parties,

and lawless idolatry.

With respect to this,

they are surprised

when you do not join them

in the same flood of debauchery

and they malign you.

So,

the first five words

in that list

all refer to

some kind of

unrestrained desire.

It's food,

eating,

drinking,

sex,

it's all common,

it's lack of self-control

he's referring to.

So then,

in what areas,

in what ways

are we lacking self-control?

Are we refusing to follow,

take up the cross

and follow him?

Refusing to suffer

even to the point of death?

If everything in our lives

are not directed

to glorifying him

and honoring God,

then that's lawless idolatry,

right?

Peter's talking about here.

Because we are putting

created things

before the creator.

We're putting,

prioritizing ourselves,

our lives,

or other people's lives

before God

and what he's calling us to do.

That's idolatry.

And the language of idolatry,

you have to know,

like we hear this a lot,

I mean a lot of Christian books

talk about

what are the idols of your heart?

So we've become

so accustomed to it.

But this would have been

shocking language

to the readers

and to the audience

in this day and time

because it's a thoroughly

polytheistic culture.

It's a pluralistic culture.

It's a Roman Empire.

So, you know what?

Everybody's worshipping

different gods

and you might not like

the gods that they worship,

but you would never question

that they are valid gods.

I mean,

that's the polytheistic culture.

They're all,

they're legitimate.

And I think

worshipping their own gods

can be good for society

because it ensures good order.

That's what,

that's how these people think

in the Roman Empire.

But only the Judeo-Christian tradition,

Christianity, right,

and Islam too,

but because that's

a heretical offshoot

of Christianity, right,

but it's only

the Judeo-Christian tradition

that says

certain religious activities

are idolatrous.

It's not just,

I don't like that.

It's not my preference.

No, that's wrong.

Those are not just,

you know,

religions that

I don't personally have,

prefer,

but no,

they're wrong,

they're false religions.

That the gods that you worship

are not just some other gods

that I don't like to mention.

They are false gods, right?

This is a radical statement

to say,

and as C.S. Lewis writes about

in his book

Mere Christianity,

it's,

the question of religion

is a lot like arithmetic, right?

There is only one right answer

to a sum,

and all the other answers

are wrong, right?

And this is not unlike

the religious pluralism

that we live in, right?

And you guys may have heard

the analogy

of the elephant, right?

They say that

there's a big elephant

out in the room,

and that elephant is God.

Let's say that

that elephant is God,

not the elephant is God,

but imagine that

the elephant is God.

And all the people

who follow different religions,

we're all just blind men

who are groping about

and feeling different parts

of this elephant.

So one blind man

feels the leg

and says,

no, the elephant

is big and strong

and it's hard.

That's what an elephant is.

Another blind man

touches the trunk

and says,

no, the elephant

is long

and it's nimble

and it's flexible

like a snake, right?

And then,

and so the pluralist

using this analogy says,

well,

that's how religion is.

Everybody sees

just a part of the truth

and we're all

worshiping the same God,

right?

That's what a pluralist

would say.

The problem

with that analogy,

the fallacy of that analogy

lies in the fact

that in order for it to work,

somebody has to see

the whole elephant,

right?

The pluralist

is not saying

that every religion

is just as valid.

He's saying

that his pluralist religion

is superior

and more valid

because he alone

sees the whole picture

saying that,

oh, you guys

are all only

worshiping a part

and I just happen

to recognize it

while you don't,

right?

So it's not

any more tolerant

than what we're saying.

In fact,

I think it's simply

more honest for us

as Christians

do have

and have been saying

for centuries

and millennia

that other religions

are false religions.

Other gods

are not real gods.

They are false gods.

And this will make us

unpopular at times.

But it says in verse 4,

with respect to this,

they are surprised

when you do not join them

in the same flood

of debauchery

and they malign you.

It's surprising for them

that we don't join them.

But we shouldn't be surprised

that they malign us

as a result of that.

And this happens

even in our day

when our vision

of good

and human flourishing

is inconsistent

with other people's

vision of good

and human flourishing.

When we tell people

that a sinful lifestyle

is not just as good

as a life of holiness.

And we will suffer

unjustly as a result.

But in that,

we have to remember

that whoever has suffered

in the flesh

has ceased from sin.

So as to live

for the rest of the time,

not just some of the time,

but the rest of the time

in the flesh,

no longer for human passions,

but for the will of God.

And it says in verse 1,

we are to arm ourselves

with this same way

of thinking.

Isn't that a very cool word?

I love the fact

that Peter used

the word arm.

It's like an armor

that protects us

when we have this mindset

that whoever has suffered

has ceased from sin.

That we're willing

to go all the way

to say,

I will suffer

for the sake of the gospel.

I will suffer

for the sake of Christ.

That serves like an armor

to protect us

from temptation,

to protect us

when we are maligned.

So that's how

God calls to,

that we can suffer

rather than sin.

And the reason

that Peter gives further

is that God will judge

both the living

and the dead.

So that's in verses 5 to 6.

Verse 5 says,

But they will give account

to him who is ready

to judge the living

and the dead.

So that phrase

can be confusing

for some people as well.

But the living

and the dead

is a literary device

called merism.

Which basically takes

two extremes

of a subject

or a concept

to convey something

that is inclusive

of everything in between.

So for example,

in Genesis,

when it says

heaven and earth,

that means it's

everything in creation.

That's all creation.

It's a merism.

Or when Revelation

describes God

as the alpha and omega

or the beginning and end,

that means he is

occupying eternity,

all time.

So it's inclusive

of everything.

So when he's saying

living and the dead,

basically it's code

for all humanity

that's ever lived

in the history of mankind.

All of humanity,

the living and the dead,

he is ready

to judge

the living and the dead.

Right?

And this is why

Peter says in verse 6,

the gospel was preached

even to those

who are dead,

that though judged

in the flesh

the way people are,

they might live

in the spirit

the way God does.

This verse can be

easily misinterpreted

because,

in fact,

some do misinterpret it.

So for example,

I think Mormons

have a big practice

of getting baptized

on behalf of the dead

or preaching to the dead

and things like that.

But I don't think

that's what it's referring

to here.

In order to understand

this verse,

we have to understand

the context

in which it was written

and that's that pagans

of this day

didn't understand

and didn't teach

accountability after death.

So when you died,

it was pretty much over.

So in that context,

they're asking

these questions

that we began with

at the beginning

of the message.

So look at that

high school girl

that suffered and died

of breast cancer.

Look at that man

who suffers

at his workplace

and dies

just like everybody else.

They just died.

What are we going

to do about that?

And they critiqued

Christianity in this way.

What good is Christianity?

When you restrain yourself

and live this holy life

and have nothing

to show for it.

They just died

like everybody else.

In this context,

what Peter is telling us

is that it's not over

when they die

because the God

who called them

to holiness

is going to judge

both the living

and the dead.

So the fact

that they die

doesn't mean

that that is final

and that that is over.

The fact that they're

never going to get vindication.

No, in death

they will be vindicated

because they will be

raised with Christ

in their resurrection

and because God

will ultimately judge

all humanity

that's ever existed

in the course of history

according to his righteousness.

And that's

John Calvin

puts it this way.

He says,

we see that death

does not hinder Christ

from being always

our defender.

It is a remarkable

consolation to the godly

that death itself

brings no loss

to their salvation.

Even if Christ

does not appear

as deliverer

in this life,

yet his redemption

is not void

or without effect.

For his power

extends even

to the dead.

That God's power,

God's redemption

extends even

to the dead.

And that's why

our suffering

and obedience

in this life

will not be for naught.

We will be rewarded

and that's why

we can suffer

rather than sin

because we know

that God will

ultimately judge

both the living

and the dead.

And we are assured

of this

because as we talked

about last week

because as verse 1

starts here,

since therefore

Christ suffered

in the flesh.

Christ suffered

in the same way

while he lived

in the flesh

on earth

in his incarnation,

he suffered

and died

in the same way

and now he is

exalted above

the heavens

with all authority

and power

submitted to him

under his feet.

And that gives

assurance,

that reminds us

as we love God

and love Christ

who died for us

and saved us,

this is that

we have a goal

to look forward to,

we have an end

to look forward to

knowing that we

will ultimately

be vindicated.

Let me close

by reading

an excerpt

from one

of my favorite hymns,

it's called

Be Still My Soul.

It says,

Be still my soul,

the Lord

is on thy side.

Bear patiently

the cross

of grief

or pain.

Leave to thy God

to order

and provide.

In every change

he faithful

will remain.

Be still my soul,

thy best,

thy heavenly friend.

Through thorny ways

leads to a joyful end.

Let me pray.

Heavenly Father,

we do want

to be

fully sold out,

obedient believers.

In fact,

Lord,

we acknowledge

that that is the only way

to be a believer

is to completely

entrust ourselves

to you.

So we now ask

for your help.

Fill us with your spirit.

convict us

so we may repent

of ways

in which we may

have settled

and sinned.

Forgive us

for balking

at the face

of suffering

and failing

to obey you.

And now help us

by your power

to suffer

rather than sin

knowing that you

are the righteous judge.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.