1 Peter 4:1-6 - NOTE: There will be no audio streamed during our evening time of prayer, audio will resume when the message commences.

Order of Service

• Call to Worship — Psalm 100
• Hymn — All People That on Earth Do Dwell (#1)
• Prayer of Invocation
• Hymn — My Jesus, I Love Thee (#648)
• Pastoral Prayer
• Scripture Reading — 1 Peter 4:1-6
• Sermon
• Benediction — Numbers 6:24-26

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Sermon Title: Living Before God and Not Man

Scripture: 1 Peter 4:1-6

I. The Source of a Life Lived Before God and Not Man

(1 Peter 4:1)

A. Christ suffered in the flesh — a definitive past act with ongoing implications

1. In his death, Christ bore our sins and sin lost all claim on him (1 Peter 2:24)
2. Those united to Christ by faith utter with him: "It is finished" — dead to sin, alive to righteousness

B. The phrase "has ceased from sin" is in the Greek perfect tense — a past act with ongoing present and future ramifications

C. This follows on the heels of Peter's discussion of baptism (ch. 3), mirroring Paul's argument in Romans 6:3-7

1. Baptism is the sign and seal of union with Christ in his death and resurrection
2. We are to live out existentially what we are declared to be sacramentally — dead to sin and alive to God

D. Suffering for Christ is one of the means by which the Spirit confirms to our spirit that we are indeed united to Christ and have ceased from sin

II. The Lifestyle of a Life Lived Before God and Not Man

(1 Peter 4:2-4)

A. Verse 2 — the goal: live the rest of one's time in the flesh not for human passions but for the will of God

1. The phrase "the rest of the time in the flesh" implies urgency — life is short; do not waste it on the flesh
2. Spend it on treasures that neither moth nor rust can destroy

B. Verse 3 — Peter lists the former way of life practiced by these gentile Christians

1. Sensuality — unrestrained moral attitudes and behaviors
2. Passions — lust, craving, coveting
3. Drunkenness — excess of strong drink
4. Orgies/carousing — raucous, noisy reveling, often associated with pagan temple worship
5. Drinking parties — excessive alcohol consumption
6. Lawless idolatry — idolatry transgressing even civic law, making Christians the better citizens

C. Verse 4 — the world's reaction: surprise and slander

1. The word for "malign" is the root of the word blaspheme — they will slander Christians and their God
2. We are strangers and exiles; faithfulness to the gospel will cause the world to consider us strange and even dangerous
3. Matthew 10:22 — "You will be hated by all for my name's sake"
4. This was true in the first century and is increasingly true today — the church is not merely tolerated but actively opposed

III. The Future of a Life Lived Before God and Not Man

(1 Peter 4:5-6)

A. Verse 5 — those who slander believers will give account to Christ, who is ready to judge the living and the dead

1. The Father delegates final judgment to the Son (1 Peter 3:22 — Christ is at the right hand of God, all authorities subject to him)
2. This refers to the final, physical judgment of all people — believer and unbeliever alike (John 5:28-29)

B. Verse 6 — the gospel was preached to those who are now dead, so that though judged in the flesh by men, they live in the spirit according to God

1. The KJV rendering is preferred: "judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit"
2. Peter encourages Christians who have lost brothers and sisters to martyrdom — they were condemned by men but live forever before God
3. This parallels Paul's concern in 1 Thessalonians 4 for those confused about the fate of Christians who have died
4. Though we may be judged and even put to death by the world, our spirits live on awaiting reunion with resurrected bodies in the new heavens and new earth (Philippians 1)

C. Practical application: do not waste the short time in the flesh on human passions; do not fear persecution or death, for those united to Christ will live forever — and will one day even judge angels