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The Sixth Sunday After Easter
Living as a Christian
May 4, 2008

NKJ 1 Peter 4:7 But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers. 8 And above all things have fervent love for one another, for "love will cover a multitude of sins." 9 Be hospitable to one another without grumbling. 10 As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. 11 If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
 
Peter begins this chapter discussing how men of the world live—and reminding Christians that we all lived in that way to some extent—but that time has ended with our becoming Christians
 
Peter says we’ve wasted enough time doing this sort of disgusting stuff—and now it is time to concentrate on the things of God—in preparation for Judgment Day
 
NKJ 1 Peter 4:1 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, 2 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. 3 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.
We Christians have something better to do with the time God gives us—first, we must be reading, hearing, learning, and practicing the Word of God—second, we need to cry out to God for help to fight the temptations and conflicts caused by the devil himself in our lives
 
If we occupy ourselves with one of these two things at all times—we live God-pleasing lives—and we frustrate Satan who wants to steal our souls
 
Even a casual survey of Peter’s list of activities to be avoided—lewdness, drunkenness, lusts—tells us what he was concerned about
 
Christians cannot follow the pleasures of the this world—and live God-pleasing lives—our pleasures, comfort, and joy—must come from studying and practicing the things of God’s Word
 
Peter is reiterating the teaching of Jesus—when Jesus was telling the disciples about the coming of the end-times
 
NKJ Luke 21:32 "Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all things take place. 33 "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away. 34 " But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly. 35 "For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. 36 "Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man." 37 And in the daytime He was teaching in the temple, but at night He went out and stayed on the mountain called Olivet.
 
And once again we find a parallel teaching in Paul’s writings
 
NKJ Galatians 5:16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. 24 And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.
Worldly pleasures and Christian living are not compatible—as Paul says—those who follow the pleasures of this world will not inherit the kingdom of God—and he even goes further than that—he tells us not to associate with those who refuse to give up the evil pleasures of this world
 
NKJ 1 Corinthians 5:9 I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people. 10 Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. 11 But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner -- not even to eat with such a person. 12 For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? 13 But those who are outside God judges. Therefore "put away from yourselves the evil person."
 
Peter reinforces this point later in his epistle
 
NKJ 1 Peter 5:6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, 7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. 8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 9 Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. 10 But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. 11 To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
 
We cannot be serious and watchful—nor can we be prayerful—if we are frolicking in the pleasures and sinful ways of the world
 
Remember—we are in this world—but we are not of this world—our citizenship is in heaven
 
NKJ Philippians 3:20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,
 
Peter is speaking to Christians—because the ability to cover sins with love is unique to Christians—and is not possible for the unbeliever
 
The world takes its pleasure in the sins of others—mocking and ridiculing those who sin
 
Consider the words of Jesus—when He taught us to pray
NKJ Matthew 6:12 And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors.
 
When you truly love your neighbor—and your neighbor sins against you—it is our responsibility as Christians to forgive—and forget—and move on to something more constructive for the kingdom of God—that is the loving thing to do
 
No one benefits if we dwell on wrongdoing—we are Christians who love our neighbors—and that is the message of Peter’s words—but what does it mean to really love our neighbor?—we should know because Jesus gave us the command to love our neighbor as ourselves
 
NKJ Matthew 22:36 "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?" 37 Jesus said to him, " 'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' 38 "This is the first and great commandment. 39 "And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' 40 "On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets."
 
The most recognized examples of love in all of Scripture—is God’s love for His creation—the people inhabiting the earth
 
NKJ John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
 
John expands this thought in his first letter to the Church
 
NKJ 1 John 3:16 By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren….22 And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. 23 And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment. 24 Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.
 
A chapter of Scripture often quoted when discussing love is Paul’s 13th chapter of his first letter to the Corinthians—let us consider a portion in this discussion—listen as Paul speaks about love
 
NKJ 1 Corinthians 13:5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away.
But by far—the simplest explanation of love is found in the 4th chapter of John’s 1st Epistle
 
NKJ 1 John 4:8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
 
And now it becomes possible to understand how Peter can say love covers a multitude of sins—God is love—God forgives sin—and our relationship with God must be such that when we look at our sinful neighbors—we look at them through eyes of love—despising the sin—yet hoping and praying that the sinner will repent and ask God’s forgiveness
 
And Peter goes farther in his lesson—he reminds us that some of us have special gifts—and that those gifts should be used to glorify God through the name of Jesus
 
God gives each of us gifts of the Holy Spirit—according to the calling He has for each of us—and each of us must contribute those gifts for the good of the Kingdom—this helps make the Church stronger and brings us encouragement and a common hope
 
NKJ Ephesians 4:11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head -- Christ -- 16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
 
We each play a part in strengthening the Body of Christ through the Word—and we each bear responsibility to maintain the congregation in the truth of the Word—none of us is to tolerate a doctrine other than that provided by God through His Word
 
NKJ Galatians 1:8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed.
 
And now we see the truth of the message of Peter this morning—that we must remain alert and in the Word—in order to bring strength to the Body of Christ—and defeat the devil our foe
 
ALL GLORY BE TO GOD!