Well, good evening. As it's been said, we're continuing our series in 1 Peter, looking at the first 11 verses of chapter 4.
I think it's a passage that has a lot to say to us and challenging to us as we think about how we live in the limited time that we have in our lives.
Our culture has a really strange relationship with death.
On one hand, we hide away from it.
I'm sure in most cultures, in most societies around the world and throughout history, it would be completely inconceivable that I could have got to this age without having ever seen a dead body.
But on the other hand, it's also obsessed with the idea of morality.
People make bucket lists. Lists of things to do before they kick the bucket.
Publishers have jumped on the bandwagon with 1,001 whatever's to do, see, hear, visit before you die.
And those of you who are a bit younger than me, tag all your posts with YOLO.
You only live once.
It's something I was particularly conscious of towards the end of last year as I was heading towards my 40th birthday.
And sort of looking back and thinking about, yes, the things I'd achieved.
But also possibly the opportunities that may have let pass by.
So with that in mind, let's turn back to the passage that was read to us.
Be helpful to keep it in front of you because we're going to be jumping about a bit in it so you can see where we're going.
And so you can confront me at the end if I completely misinterpret what it says there.
Because in this passage, Peter talks about how the Christians should live.
But this is mixed through with why.
Why should they live this way?
Why does it matter?
As we read the passage, you may have spotted that's full of words giving reasons.
In verse 1, therefore, since, because.
Verse 2, as a result.
Verse 3, for.
Verse 6, for this is the reason.
So that.
Verse 7, therefore.
Verse 11, so that.
Peter wants to make sure that they are not just blindly following what he says.
But that they understand why.
That they are not about legalistic rule keeping.
But that they are about living, intelligent lives of thoughtful worship.
So I want us to take a first pass over the text looking at the reasons why that he gives.
And then go back over it to look at how he says that we should live.
One of the reasons that Peter keeps repeating throughout the passage is that time is short.
In verse 2, he talks about how the Christian lives the rest of their earthly lives.
And he carries on in verse 3 to say, you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do.
You have limited time and you've wasted enough of it already.
Stop wasting time and get on with it.
In verse 4, he compares the Christian life with the reckless, wild living of the people around.
The phrase in some translations, in fact in the older version of the NIV on the pews,
translates it as dissipation.
Essentially, waste.
Waste.
Squandering.
Just letting life run away.
It's the same word that's used to describe how the prodigal son wasted his inheritance.
But he notes how that will be brought to an end.
And they will have to give an account before God for this wasted life.
But then we get to verse 6, which says,
For this is the reason the gospel is preached, even to those who are now dead,
so that they might be judged according to human standards in regard to the body,
but live according to God in regard to the spirit.
When you first look at this, it's a confusing verse.
You wonder if this is going back to those tricky things that Thomas dealt with last week
about imprisoned spirits and such like.
But in the context, he has just talked about having to give an account to God.
And so because of that, it's important that the gospel was preached to those who are now dead,
to those who have died since the gospel was first proclaimed,
since Christ's death and resurrection.
In Peter's time, that would only be part of a generation.
Today, that is many, many generations.
We and the world may judge them by human standards.
We may see some of them as great men and women.
We may see others of them as tyrants.
But many of them we'll see as nobodies that have been completely forgotten to history.
But that is not how God judges them.
He knows the heart.
And he will judge them on how they responded to the gospel that was preached to them.
And I think that's a key thing to point out here.
This passage is not about how to live a good life to please God.
Instead, this whole letter is written to Christians.
It's written to those who have accepted the free gift of salvation
through the death and resurrection of Christ Jesus.
It's written to teach them how to live in response to what has been done for them.
If that's not you, then that's the issue you need to be thinking about.
But Peter doesn't just want to tell them that life is short.
Because actually, he tells them that time is running out on a far more cosmic scale.
In verse 7, he writes,
The end of all things is near.
In his second letter, he repeats this idea again, saying,
Since everything will be destroyed in this way,
what kind of people ought you to be?
Even at that time, people were questioning,
Will this really happen?
Would Christ truly return?
They'd waited several years.
Decades even.
But Peter insists that the end is near.
And if that was true in around 65 AD,
how much more true must it be in 2020?
So it's not just our individual lives that are short.
But history itself is rapidly heading towards that day
when God will say,
Enough is enough.
When he will bring all things to an end.
When, as we thought about this morning,
he will bring all the earth to justice.
And we'll usher in new heavens and new earth.
So Peter wants us to know that time is short.
But so what?
The world understands that.
We know there is limited time,
but why does it matter what we do with that time?
Peter bookends this passage with two reasons.
Right at the beginning, in verse 1, we read,
Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body.
Immediately we see he starts,
Therefore.
This is not a standalone passage.
He's continuing the argument that he's been going through
in the previous passages.
In particular, I think this is a reference back to
verse 18 of chapter 3,
which says,
Christ suffered once for sins,
the righteous for the unrighteous,
to bring you to God.
If Christ suffered for our sins,
to bring us to God.
If, as we read back in chapter 1,
we were redeemed by something as valuable
as the blood of Christ.
Then, we are under an obligation
to live in response to this.
Our lives are not our own.
And so how we live matters.
But he then finishes the section,
in verse 11,
with the ultimate reason.
The reason that we,
and in fact all of creation,
exist for.
So that,
in all things,
God may be praised
through Jesus Christ.
To him be the glory
and the power
forever and ever.
Amen.
It's not about us.
It's not about us
feeling fulfilled.
It's not about us achieving.
It's not even about what we do for others.
Although, as we'll see later,
that is important.
As the Catechism says,
and probably the only line of it I know,
man's chief end
is to glorify God
and enjoy him
forever.
So how we use
our limited time
is important
because Christ
has died for us.
Because
we have been redeemed.
And because
we were made
for an amazing purpose.
To bring glory
to God.
So then,
having thought of the reasons
of our limited time,
of the great price
that has been paid
to redeem us,
what does Peter say
about how we should live?
About what
we should do?
We see back in verse 1,
he talks about suffering.
It's a major subject
of his letter
and one that will be dealt with
far more fully next week.
But primarily,
he says
that just as Christ
was willing to suffer for us,
we should be willing
to suffer for him.
He goes on to say,
whoever suffers
in the body
is finished with sin.
Obviously,
suffering for Christ
does not bring about
moral perfection
in this life.
So what on earth
does he mean?
I think he's saying here
that if we're willing
to suffer for Christ,
it demonstrates
that we are
no longer living
for the desires
of the flesh.
If what is driving us
is what feels good,
then of course
we will not be willing
to suffer.
Everything in us
will flee from it.
If we are willing
to suffer,
it shows that something
has changed.
We will
still fail.
We will still stumble
and fall
again
and again.
But that's
no longer
what defines us.
Last week,
we were reminded
about how
baptism demonstrates
the fact
that our old self
has been put to death
and that we have been
raised
to new life
in Christ.
But in Romans
chapters 5 to 8
that we studied
last year,
Paul discusses
the complexity
of all of this.
Yes,
we have been made
alive in Christ,
but we still
must daily
put to death
the deeds
of our sinful nature.
I think
what Peter
is saying here
is that
if we are willing
to suffer
for Christ,
it shows that sin
is no longer
our identity.
It's no longer
what defines
who we are.
He continues
this in verse 2,
writing that we
should not be
living for
evil earthly
desires.
We're really
not sure why
the NIV
chose to
translate it
that way,
because almost
every other
translation
just talks
about human
desires.
I think
what Peter
says
is true
whether
these
desires
are evil
or not.
What drives
us should
not just
be what
feels good,
what our
bodies want.
Some of the
things we
long for
may be good
in themselves,
but they are
not what
life is about.
We are made
for far more
than that.
rather than
our lives
being driven
by our own
desires,
our own
ideas,
our plans,
our own
wisdom,
Peter says
we should be
seeking to
live for
the will
of God.
When we
make the big
decisions in
life,
or when we
make the
small ones,
when we
choose what
career to
follow,
where to
live,
or how to
respond to
the person
that's just
said something
that really
annoyed you?
Are we
just trying
to do
what feels
good,
what feels
right,
or are we
seeking to
know and
learn what
would be
honouring to
God?
He goes on
in verse 4
to talk about
how we should
not be
living.
I think the
key idea that
links all of
these things
together is
losing control.
being carried
along by our
feelings,
our fantasies,
by losing
our inhibitions.
But probably
one of the
least popular
parts of the
fruit of the
spirit is
self-control.
We should
not be
losing our
inhibitions to
alcohol,
good though it
may be in
moderation,
or allowing
ourselves to be
controlled by
anything else.
But instead,
we should be
seeking to be
led by the
spirit.
This may
make us not
fit in with
the world
around us.
Like Noah,
who we thought
about this
morning,
we are
sometimes called
to go against
the flow.
Some people
we meet
may be
curious.
Some may
mock,
as they can't
understand why
we don't want
to live the
same way as
they do.
But we
know why
it's important.
We know
what we have
been made
for.
We know
that we
have been
redeemed.
So Peter
then goes on
to detail
some of the
positive things
that we
should do.
In particular,
how we should
respond to the
fact that
there's so
little time.
And they're
not necessarily
the things
that we
would
automatically
put top
of the
list.
Maybe
sort of
naturally,
he starts
in verse
seven
by calling
us to
be alert
and of
sober mind
so that
we can
pray.
It's
interesting
because so
often we
think of
prayer as
a means
to an
end,
of a way
of achieving
something.
even if
that thing
that we're
trying to
achieve is
just a
closer
relationship
with God.
But Peter
here sees
prayer as
an end
in itself.
Because
prayer shouldn't
be something
that we
fit into
the gaps,
as so
often I'm
inclined to
do.
I think
possibly many
of us
rebel
against the
sort of
perceived
legalism of
fixed daily
quiet times
and think
that somehow
spontaneity
is more
spiritual.
But what
Peter's telling
us here
is to
shape our
whole lives
in such
a way
as to
enable
prayer.
That's
what we
should be
fitting
everything
else
round,
not fitting
it into
the gaps.
We may
think that
we're too
busy to
dedicate
much time
to prayer.
But Peter,
in light of
the fact
that we
have so
little time,
puts living
a life of
prayer as
his top
priority.
It should
be the
central focus
of our
lives.
But then
the next
thing he
prioritizes
in verse
eight is
living in
community.
He tells
us to
put loving
each other
above all.
And not
just loving
each other,
but loving
each other
deeply.
This should
not just
be a
passing
concern for
a brother
or sister,
but an
intense,
deep,
sacrificial
love,
a willingness
to put
ourselves
out for
the benefit
of our
brothers.
And the
reason he
gives is
quite
interesting.
Because love
covers a
multitude of
sins.
He's not
saying here
that love
is salvific,
that it's a
means to
gain salvation.
That is
only available
as a free
gift from
God.
But what he
is saying
here is
that in our
relationships
with one
another,
as we
try and
live as
best as
we can
as a
community
of broken
people,
we will
sin against
one another.
And it's
only if we
have that
sort of
love that
we will
be able
to forgive,
that we
will be
able to
put aside
our grievances
and keep
seeking the
best for
those who
have wronged
us,
knowing that
we likewise
need forgiven
for the
way we
through our
own
selfishness,
arrogance,
pride,
and just
general
carelessness
hurt those
around us.
To go
perhaps slightly
off-piste,
on Friday
many,
many cards
and gifts
were given
in the name
of love.
many romantic
words were
spoken,
and I
don't want
to belittle
the importance
of that
for a
moment.
But this
morning,
I saw
something
different.
I watched
as a few
rose in
front of
me.
John
Cameron
put his
arm
round his
wife,
Rose
Marie,
and helped
her to
stand up.
That is
love.
The love
that is
there through
thick and
thin.
the love
that is
there when
it hurts.
And that
is the
love that
we are
called to.
In
verse 9,
he teaches
us to
offer
hospitality
to one
another.
And he
goes on to
say that we
should do
this without
grumbling.
I think
all of us
appreciate
generous
hospitality,
and we
often
aspire to
it,
but then
allow other
things to
get in
the road.
Whether it
is being
too worried
about having
to impress
with our
homes,
or our
culinary
abilities,
or just
being too
keen to
keep our
own space,
and not
wanting
others
intruding
on it.
Recently,
I had a
friend asking
if one of
their friends
could stay
with me for
the weekend.
I must
admit that
when I
initially
asked,
it took a
while to
respond.
If I
had been
my friend
himself,
yes,
I'd have
dropped
everything
immediately,
and welcomed
the opportunity
to spend
time with
him.
But,
I felt
this would
be an
intrusion.
I'd had a
hectic week.
I just
wanted to
be able to
collapse in
a heap,
and not
worry about
anyone else.
To be
honest,
it was
partly
studying this
passage at
the time
that persuaded
me that I
should be
willing.
And,
to be honest,
he was no
problem at
all.
And I've
welcomed him
back several
times when he's
here tonight.
So,
yeah,
but,
I've
experienced
two great
examples of
hospitality in
my life.
Before coming
to Brunsfield,
I lived and
worked for
about a
year and a
bit down
in Guernsey.
I went
along to
a small
gospel hall
there.
There was
only about
15 to
20 people,
and there
were many
things that I
would have
happily changed.
But one
thing they
got right
was their
welcome.
I was
really made
to feel
part of
the family
right from
the beginning.
I was
fed four
nights a
week,
every week,
for the
year and a
bit I was
there.
For a
young man
away from
home for
the first
time in
a strange
place,
that was
amazing.
second was
a woman who
used to be
in Brunsfield,
Sheila
McBride.
Many of
you will
have known
her, but
it's amazing
how many
of you
never met
her.
In fact,
some of
you may
not even
know her
name.
She was a
fairly quiet,
unassuming
woman who
lived alone
just across
the road from
the church,
where many
people say,
oh, drop
in at any
time.
Sheila
meant it.
Her door
was always
open at
any time
of day
or night.
As students,
we'd be
frequently there
for a Sunday
lunch, and
it was always
full three
courses, the
full Sunday
roast, all
the trimmings,
and we
were gathered
there around
huge dining
table, and
another table
set up in
the corner
to take the
overflow.
She frequently
had one or
more guests
staying with
her, even
sometimes when
she wasn't
even there
herself.
I remember
one time
turning up
at her
door at
about half
ten at
night.
I've locked
myself out
my flat,
and my
flatmate's
not back
till tomorrow.
Do you have
a bed for
the night?
And
unquestioningly,
I was
welcomed in.
We sat
and talked
for several
hours, and
before heading
off to bed.
When at
the end she
was seriously
ill, it
was announced
that visiting
was for
family and
close friends
only.
But they
discovered a
slight problem.
There was an
awful lot of
people who
considered
they were
close friends.
When John
Gemmel, our
previous pastor,
first came to
Brunsfield,
probably about a
year after
Sheila's death,
he made a
point of meeting
up with as
many people in
the church as
possible and
talking to
them about
the church.
And he
commented that
almost everyone
he spoke to
mentioned the
huge influence
that Sheila had
had on the
life of the
church.
And so
finally, in
verses 10
and 11,
Peter teaches
us to use
all of the
gifts that
God has given
us to serve
others.
For some
of us, like
Sheila, that
gift may be
going way above
and beyond
expectations in
hospitality.
For others, it
may be a
great ability
to get
alongside those
who do not
yet believe
and share the
gospel with
them in a way
that they can
relate to.
For others, it
may be being
great at
encouraging those
around you to
keep on in
their Christian
faith, to
listen to their
struggles, their
difficulties, their
doubts, to
offer wise,
godly advice.
For others, you
may be those
people whose
life is defined
by prayer, who
spend much time
alone interceding
for brothers and
sisters around
the world.
We're told to
do whatever we
do as
faithful stewards,
recognizing that
God has
graciously given
us these
gifts, not to
use for our
own benefits,
but for that
of others.
He specifically
focuses down
in verse 11
on anyone who
speaks.
That's
particularly
humbling when
in this position.
conversation.
But I don't
think it just
means in this
context, but
whenever we
speak of God
and his word,
in public, in
small groups, in
our homes, one-to-one,
in any of these
situations, we have
to make sure that
we are not saying
what we want to
say, or what we
think our
hearers want to
hear, but that
we're trying as
much as we are
able to keep
faithful to God's
word and to
allow him to
speak through
us.
But of
whatever we
say, whatever
we do, however
we serve, Peter
reminds us in
verse 11,
that we cannot
do it by our
own strength.
We can't
love as we
need to.
We can't
share hospitality
as we should.
We can't
speak the right
words in the
right way at
the right time
by our own
strength.
Instead, we
must do
everything relying
on the strength
that God
provides to
us.
And so as
we draw to
an end, we've
seen that Peter
agrees with the
slogan, you
only live
once.
As C.T.
Stud, the
English international
cricketer who
gave up a life
of fame and
fortune to go
as a missionary
to China and
beyond, famously
wrote, only
one life
will soon be
passed.
Only what's
done for
Christ will
last.
It doesn't
matter if you
visit all
1001 buildings
and have only
managed 108 on
the list so
far.
Watch all 1001
films or
whatever.
Ultimately, at
the end, it
doesn't matter.
Do you want to
be remembered at
your funeral by
those who knew
you for having
done all the
amazing things on
your bucket
list?
Or do you
want to stand
before the
throne of God
after a life of
service to him
and hear the
words, well
done, good and
faithful servant?
for some, like
Sheila, our
lives may be cut
short by
illness.
For others, like
her father who's
commemorated the
plaque on the
back pew, we
may live past
100.
Either way, time
is limited.
So what we do
for Christ
matters.
others.
I'd like to
finish with the
words of a
hymn that were
quoted at my
gran's funeral.
Don't remember
much else of it.
It was quite a
long time ago, but
this stuck with
me, and I hope
it's a challenge
to all of us.
We bear the
torch that
flaming fell
from the hands
of those who
gave their
lives proclaiming
that Jesus
died and
rose.
Ours is
the same
commission, the
same glad
message ours,
fired by the
same ambition.
To you we
yield our
powers.
O
Father who
sustained
them, O
Spirit who
inspired,
Saviour whose
love constrained
them to toil
with zeal
untired.
From
cowardice
defend us,
from lethargy
awake, forth
on your errands
send us to
labour for
your sake.
Amen.