Grace Fellowship Church
A Gospel To Die For
1 Peter 4:1-6
February 4, 2007
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, 2 so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God. 3 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. 4 With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you; 5 but they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. 6 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.
Introduction
The Gospel of grace is a magnificent work by our great God and Savior. But what is the Gospel? And is this Gospel worth suffering for? Is it worth dying for if necessary? The Gospel of Jesus Christ is called the Gospel of Jesus Christ because it is all about Christ. Dr. Tom Ascol at Founders Ministries states the Gospel to his congregation this way. “It is the message of Who Christ is, What He has done, and Why it matters. Answering these questions from the Scripture will provide an outline of the biblical Gospel.”
First, who is the Lord Jesus Christ? He is God the Son. He is the theanthropos, the God-man. He is both fully human and fully divine. Colossians 1:15-19 says this:
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. 18 He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. 19 For it was the Father's good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him,
Christ is the One with ultimate authority. Before the Lord Jesus gave the Great Commission He said this in Matthew 28:18, “All authority has been given to me in Heaven and on Earth…”
So we must answer the second question and that is What has Christ done? Colossians 1:19-20 says, “19 For it was the Father's good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, 20 and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven .
Given the fact of who Christ is and his eternal position in glory, the amazing aspect of the Gospel is the second part and that is what He has done. The Lord of glory humiliated Himself by taking on human flesh and dying on a cross in order to reconcile the universe to Himself. Understand this is not universalism but some will be reconciled to life and others will be reconciled to eternal torment. Either way it is, in the mind of God, already accomplished.
Philippians 2 is very helpful at this point. Turn there with me. Look starting in verse 5 to see who Christ is and what He has accomplished.
5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped , 7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. 8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
The third question that we need to ask is Why this matters. The first reason that this matters so much is because we can not save ourselves. We can not keep the Law perfectly which is what God requires. Listen to Galatians 2:16.
16 nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified.
In other words we can not be good enough, handsome or pretty enough, smart enough, or righteous enough to secure salvation for ourselves.
The Bible teaches that mankind is totally depraved. That means that we are from our mother’s womb sinners. We do not sin and become a sinner, we sin because by our very warped nature we are sinners. And because God is an infinite God and one sin against an infinite God rightly deserves an infinite punishment we all as human beings stand rightfully under the judgment of God. And there is absolutely nothing that we can do about it.
One of the most picturesque passages of Scripture about this is Colossians 1:13 and 14.
For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
The picture is clear here in Paul’s text. Christ rescued us from what we could not rescue ourselves from, the domain of darkness. He then transferred us to the
Then I think there needs to be a fourth question asked and that is What is our proper response to the Gospel? When the Apostle Paul was on that pagan stronghold, Mars Hill, he proclaimed this to the philosophers. This is Acts 17:30-31.
"Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, 31 because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead."
The first word of the Gospel is repent. When John the Baptist was preaching in the wilderness his message was simple. “Repent for the
To repent means to turn from sin and turn to God. But we have a problem. If you read Romans 1 you will find out what you already know about yourself and that is you are a sinner and without God you would love your sin even more. Your sinful nature left unchecked by God will simply allow you to destroy yourself.
Understand that true repentance is a gift of God. 2 Timothy 2:25 says, 25 with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth,
The reason that repentance is a gift is because of total depravity or better said total inability. It is impossible for us to reach out to God without Him first reaching out to us. The reason is because our sinful natures would simply do what Adam and Eve did in the Garden of Eden and hide our sinful selves from God.
John 6:44 says, "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him;
There is a reason we must be drawn to Christ by the Father.
Ephesians 2:1 says this, And you were dead in your trespasses and sins,
Paul is speaking to Christians who as he says in verse 5, has been made alive by God to the Gospel. Dead in the text does not mean injured, it does not mean critical condition, it does not even mean in a coma. It means dead.
So we can not in any way shape or form contribute to our salvation. It is either all of God or it is not salvation. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Did you see that? People have read this passage and thought that the grace belonged to God and the faith belongs to us and we must exercise our faith to be saved. But in the passage the whole of salvation is the gift. The grace and the faith of salvation is the gift. They are connected. You don’t get grace without faith and you can’t get faith without God giving it. Biblically speaking God will not share His glory with anyone and even in salvation it is all His work.
God chose from the foundation of the world those whom He would have grace and mercy upon, He sent the lamb slaughtered before the foundation of the world to die on a Roman cross to pay for the sins of His people and to secure eternal salvation for them, and then quickened these to life at His chosen time so that we could walk in newness of life.
Is that your experience? Were you walking in darkness and maybe suddenly or over a period of time the Gospel light came on and you understood what Christ had done and you believed? Why did you believe at that time and not another? Because it was God’s timing.
God is sovereign over all the affairs of men including their salvation and reprobation. Listen to Romans 9:13-18, one of the most unpopular passages of Scripture in the evangelical world today. 13 Just as it is written, "JACOB I LOVED, BUT ESAU I HATED." 14 What shall we say then? There is no injustice with God, is there? May it never be! 15 For He says to Moses, "I WILL HAVE MERCY ON WHOM I HAVE MERCY, AND I WILL HAVE COMPASSION ON WHOM I HAVE COMPASSION." 16 So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy. 17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, "FOR THIS VERY PURPOSE I RAISED YOU UP, TO DEMONSTRATE MY POWER IN YOU, AND THAT MY NAME MIGHT BE PROCLAIMED THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE EARTH." 18 So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires.
Folks that is the Gospel. God is the Gospel and He will not share His glory with anyone.
Paul was so bold in his proclamation and defense of the true Gospel that he said this in Galatians 1:8-9. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed ! 9 As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed !
If you think about it for more than a moment you will soon realize that for the most part in our churches today the Gospel has been at best shrouded in unbiblical language and at worst totally lost.
Illustration
One of my practices when I met with people who wanted to join the last church I served was to ask them to simply explain the Gospel to me. I told them they did not have to be technical or overtly theological just pretend that I had never heard the Gospel before. Most could not do it and the reason was because they themselves did not understand the Gospel. I asked the entire group of adults one time in a class to raise their hand if they could articulate the Gospel comfortably. I told them I was not going to ask them to tell the class outloud but was simply gauging their Gospel IQ. No one raised their hand.
Most who would give an answer about the Gospel would probably use this type of language. “You need to ask Jesus into your heart.” By the way that is a statement you will not find in Scripture. Or they would say something like, “You need to give your heart to Jesus.” Or “Invite Jesus into your life.”
Many pastors will preach “how to” sermons on many things only to tack on at the end of their sermon a come forward invitation that asks people to relocate their bodies in order to make a decision for Christ. Billy Graham’s long time radio show, Hour of Decision is based on this principle. The pastor will often say something like, “Someone needs to come forward. The Gospel is simple. You must admit that you are a sinner, believe that Jesus died and rose again for you, and then confess Him before men.” Let me tell you that the preacher in that situation does not understand the Gospel either.
We as reformed evangelical Christians will abhor the idea that someone can be saved eternally by their baptism. We will denounce that heresy to our death. But what about the heresy of salvation by a human decision? What about the common protestant belief that a person simply has to make a decision to be a Christian? Why do we not shout about that? I think it is because many of us in the church have never heard the truth of the Gospel.
The Gospel is an impossibility. In other words I could have never thought it up and for that matter ever believed the Gospel on my own in my human sinful flesh. Let me give you some verses. Turn over to John 1 with me. Start in verse 9.
9 The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. (Why did they not receive Him? Why did they refuse Him? Let’s look forward.)12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name,(Here is why the one group believed and the other did not) he gave the right (A better translation would be power or authority here. If anyone believes it is because the Lord gave them the power to believe. How do I know? Look forward.) to become children of God,(Notice particularly verse 13 and see the ways these believed and were born again and the ways they did not) 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. God is the cause of the receiving of the Gospel. If anyone refuses the Gospel it is because of their sin. Don’t make a mistake here. God is not responsible for anyone going to Hell. They are. But God is responsible if anyone goes to Heaven.
So if we understand this verse properly then we will understand that to tell someone they are saved by a decision is tantamount to telling someone that they are saved by their baptism. In order for anyone to be saved some things must first take place that God Himself initiates.
Here at Grace Fellowship we carefully choose the hymns that we sing because hymns teach theology. All hymns do that but only some hymns teach good theology. Many people believe in decisional regeneration because they have been singing it much of their lives.
How about the song, “I have Decided to Follow Jesus?” Did we really decide to follow Jesus? Can we really decide to do so? There is a song called, “Let Jesus Come into Your Heart.” How about the song “Softly and Tenderly?” It presents Jesus as this poor pleading person begging people to choose Him and who begs people to accept Him. Listen to the words.
Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling,
Calling for you and for me;
See, on the portals He’s waiting and watching,
Watching for you and for me.
Why should we tarry when Jesus is pleading,
Pleading for you and for me?
Why should we linger and heed not His mercies,
Mercies for you and for me?
Or this hymn. “The Savior is Waiting.”
The Savior is waiting to enter your heartWhy don't you let Him come in?
There's nothing in this world to keep you apart
What is your answer to Him?
Chorus:
Time after time
He has waited before
And now He is waiting again
To see if you are willing
To open the door
Oh, how He wants to come in.
If you'll take one step
Toward the Savior, my friend,
You'll find His arms open wide.
Receive Him, and all of your darkness will end
Within your heart He'll abide.
I have sung these songs for such a long time that they are instilled into my heart. For a long time they molded my theology and my understanding of the Gospel. But we can not let the world or the hymn book dictate our theology. We must understand the Gospel from the Bible. Here is why.
A false Gospel is not worth suffering and dying as a result of. If I truly can come to Christ anytime I like then why not wait until I have experienced all of the earthly pleasure that I can experience and then come confessing and accepting? If I can come to Jesus at anytime then why not come at my chosen time? Why not wait until the end of my life and avoid any possibility of suffering as a Christian and live my life and then be ushered right off into glory because of my decision? If I can come just as I am then why not come when I want to on my own terms? I hope that you see the problem with decisional regeneration. First it is unbiblical and it is not a Gospel worthy of suffering and dying.
Now I realize that this cuts against the grain of the modern church. I realize that at this point many in Christian leadership today would heartily disagree with me. I read a great quote from Charles Spurgeon this week when he was dealing with many similar issues in his day. Listen to this and may we adopt the same attitude.
“Truth is usually in the minority in this evil world. I have faith in the Lord Jesus for myself, a faith burned into me as with a hot iron. I thank God what I believe I shall believe, even if I believe it alone.”
This was about five years before Spurgeon’s death when he was in the heat of battle over the purity of the Gospel. He stood for truth in his day when what we are experiencing in our day was hatching.
So where did the push for decisional regeneration come from in our country?
A man named Charles Grandison Finney is to be blamed for much of what has been lost in our churches today. Finney decided that to secure more salvations he must work to so affect the will of those to whom he preached. By doing this he would ensure that the people responded to the Gospel.
I want you to understand that those who preached the Gospel in Finney’s day and before would preach what the Bible said and leave the decision up to God. They understood that only God could awaken a dead sinner to life and bestow upon them the gifts of repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. So the Gospel demand to repent and believe was proclaimed. The pastors and evangelists would give the Gospel command for everyone everywhere to repent and believe the Gospel. They would preach man’s inability to do that and tell the hearers that they must plead for the mercy and grace of God and ask Him for the gift of repentance and faith. And they must do so until God granted it to them.
Illustration
I preached a revival at a Baptist church in
Finney decided that this preaching and counsel was not good enough. There were no immediate outward signs of Gospel success. So he changed his sermons. He started the practice of calling people by name in the sermons. He would invite people to the front of the church to sit on the mourner’s bench. This ultimately became the altar call which is prevalent in today’s churches. In the eyes of men Finney was very successful. He had large numbers of “converts” and pastors all over the country were adopting Finney’s New Measures. Part of these New Measures were to preach to excite the will of the person to respond to the Gospel.
This was in opposition to the Law Grace preaching of the churches before Finney. Preachers would preach the Law of God to show man’s utter depravity and helplessness before God and then in the same sermon preach the grace of God in Christ Jesus as sinful man’s only hope. The Gospel message was “look to Christ and live.” It was not come forward and let the preacher pronounce you saved.
What most do not realize is that this practice of having an invitation is relatively new to the church. It started back in the mid 1800’s and today many think that walking forward in a church service is the only way to come to Christ as if Christ is standing there with the preacher.
Some will ask me, Joe what is the big deal? So what if there is an invitation? So what if the Gospel demands are lowered to make the Gospel more palatable? Shouldn’t you rejoice that people are being saved?
My answer. When people are truly saved then I rejoice. But if my Bible is correct then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. And that means the whole counsel of God. The same Word that says in Ephesians 2:1 that we were “dead in our sins and trespasses.” And what can a dead person do? Can he or she call himself out of the grave? Not any more than Lazarus could have hobbled out of that tomb until the Lord called him. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For by grace you have been saved and that not of yourself, it is the gift of God. Not of works lest any man should boast.” In other words all of your salvation, from repentance to faith in Christ is a gift of God and not anything you could do.
If you are indeed a believer this morning it is because the Sovereign Lord of the universe has called you from death and sin and bestowed upon you the gifts of repentance and faith in Christ alone for salvation.
A Gospel call that rests upon the depraved, sinful, dead will of a human being’s response is like demanding that a corpse rise up out of the casket. It’s not going to happen. Salvation is supernatural.
I say all of this to say this one thing. The Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, when placed in the heart of a person regenerated by the Holy Spirit to spiritual life, will so drastically change a person’s life that they will literally die for the sake of Christ. Why? It is supernatural and that person understands that this Gospel is worth dying for.
What Finney desired was success in the ministry. The Gospel that he preached and the methods he employed led to what has happened in our churches today. You will not find in our churches today many willing to suffer and die for the Gospel. What you will find is a bunch of baptized pagans who simply want their best life now. Or they want purpose for their life without passages of Scripture like 1 Peter 3:13- 4:19. Suffering is foreign to this man-centered Gospel. This false gospel that rules the day simply gives people false hope.
What about you this morning? Have you received a false Gospel or has God changed your life so drastically that you know you have received the gifts of repentance and faith? Those who have received these gifts are ready and willing to suffer for the sake of Christ and the Gospel.
That is what our passage this morning is about. Peter has been preparing us for this text. We have seen that suffering in the Christian life will lead to the opportunity to proclaim the Gospel to those who would question us. Peter again in our text this morning turns our attention back to Christ. Look at verse 1 of 1 Peter 4.
Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, This verse should call our attention back to chapter 3:18 where Peter says, 18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit,
Christ is the example of suffering for doing good and likewise as His people we are to follow in His footsteps.
This morning I want to close with the command that Peter gives us in this verse. Next week we will flesh this out.
PNP
Next week from verses 1-6 I will give you two results of arming ourselves with the resolve to suffer as Christ did.
1. Suffering proves our ongoing sanctification. (1-4)
2. Suffering is a proclamation of the Gospel to the lost world. (5-6)
A. A Witness to
B. A witness against
But I want to call your attention to the command in our text. The word “arm” in the text is an imperative verb. It is a command. This is what the Christian is to do. The word is interesting because this is the only time it was used in the New Testament. It was a military word that was used to describe what a soldier did to prepare himself for battle.
Now you men who are soldiers here understand this far better than I but let me take a stab at it. I think I know what Peter means here. The soldier would get himself physically ready by training. Then he would prepare himself emotionally for the fight. He would even prepare himself for the possibility of dying on the battlefield.
Illustration
My Dad’s drill sergeant.
If you have ever watched one of those epic movie scenes of ancient battles you will see men charge directly into the onrushing enemies facing their swords and spears head on. The one that comes to mind is in the movie Narnia when the battle is happening between the witch and the troops of Aslan. They rode head first into each other fully dressed for battle and ready to die.
This is Peter’s command to us. Arm yourselves. With what are we to arm ourselves? Look back at verse one.
Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking….
Notice the phrase, the same way of thinking…
The KJV translates this mind. The NASB translates this purpose. I think resolve would be a better translation here. Our resolve is based on the life of the Lord Jesus Christ and his willingness to suffer so that we would be brought to God. We likewise arm ourselves with the resolve to suffer so that others can be brought to God.
Next week we will see these two results of arming ourselves with the resolve to suffer as Christ did.
May God give us the grace to do so.
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