WEBVTT 00:00:10.209 --> 00:00:11.990 And we're only going to be going through chapter 00:00:11.990 --> 00:00:14.849 4, 1 through 6. Before we get started, let's 00:00:14.849 --> 00:00:17.469 pray. Father, I want to thank you so much that 00:00:17.469 --> 00:00:21.690 you are so good. Lord, I do praise you for this 00:00:21.690 --> 00:00:28.640 day that we celebrate moms. and how you have 00:00:28.640 --> 00:00:32.140 called us as your people to be a holy people. 00:00:33.359 --> 00:00:36.140 Lord, I do ask that you would bless the moms 00:00:36.140 --> 00:00:39.340 who have little ones and bless the moms who have 00:00:39.340 --> 00:00:48.240 lost sons and daughters. Bless the moms who have 00:00:48.240 --> 00:00:51.420 seen their kids grow and move out of the house 00:00:51.420 --> 00:00:55.820 and start their own families and bless the daughters 00:00:55.820 --> 00:01:01.549 who are now moms. And Lord, we ask for not only 00:01:01.549 --> 00:01:04.810 grace for moms to accomplish what you have called 00:01:04.810 --> 00:01:08.810 them to do, which is to lead the kids in righteousness, 00:01:08.930 --> 00:01:16.030 to learn of you, but that you would also bless 00:01:16.030 --> 00:01:23.129 them as they are a support and a partner in life 00:01:23.129 --> 00:01:28.200 to their husbands. We thank you and praise you 00:01:28.200 --> 00:01:31.939 for your goodness, for your wisdom. We thank 00:01:31.939 --> 00:01:35.980 you and praise you that you have knit together 00:01:35.980 --> 00:01:39.120 in this secret place children. And because of 00:01:39.120 --> 00:01:45.040 that, you have desire for godly offspring. And 00:01:45.040 --> 00:01:46.739 through your wisdom, you have done that through 00:01:46.739 --> 00:01:51.079 the womb of a woman. We do praise you and we 00:01:51.079 --> 00:01:54.239 thank you. We ask that you would give us your 00:01:54.239 --> 00:01:56.219 wisdom as we open up your word. In Jesus' name. 00:01:56.590 --> 00:01:59.810 Amen. So I'm going to read verse 1 through 6. 00:02:01.090 --> 00:02:03.870 Before I do 1 through 6, I'm going to particularly 00:02:03.870 --> 00:02:08.409 read 1 Peter 3 .18 because verse 1 through 6 00:02:08.409 --> 00:02:12.969 is really the continuation of what Peter is saying 00:02:12.969 --> 00:02:17.949 here. You guys know that Peter is writing a letter 00:02:17.949 --> 00:02:21.599 to the dispersed believers. Throughout the area. 00:02:21.699 --> 00:02:24.099 They have been dispersed due to heavy persecution. 00:02:24.580 --> 00:02:29.180 They're living in caves. And so Peter is really 00:02:29.180 --> 00:02:35.780 challenging them to live holy in a very difficult 00:02:35.780 --> 00:02:41.340 time. And in reality, I think it's kind of fitting 00:02:41.340 --> 00:02:45.159 for today, though. As we're going through this 00:02:45.159 --> 00:02:50.620 letter. Because we live in a very... depleted 00:02:50.620 --> 00:02:58.960 moral country. It is sad to see the post -Christian 00:02:58.960 --> 00:03:04.159 nation that we've become. And I can't help but 00:03:04.159 --> 00:03:05.780 think that there are several different things. 00:03:05.939 --> 00:03:11.300 One, the joy of, or not the joy, the absolute 00:03:15.459 --> 00:03:20.400 desire and excitement to lavish and debauchery. 00:03:20.800 --> 00:03:30.080 It's crazy. But it's also this missingness of 00:03:30.080 --> 00:03:38.219 holiness. Of what does it truly mean to be a 00:03:38.219 --> 00:03:47.039 believer? And then lastly, The reality of what 00:03:47.039 --> 00:03:51.520 is missing in the pulpit of the church today, 00:03:51.680 --> 00:03:55.340 which is chapter 5. So I'll just build on that 00:03:55.340 --> 00:03:59.479 as we move into chapter 5 two weeks from now. 00:04:01.560 --> 00:04:04.460 But it all really stems from this understanding 00:04:04.460 --> 00:04:09.360 of how I should be living out the glory of God 00:04:09.360 --> 00:04:11.120 and the holiness of God in my life. And this 00:04:11.120 --> 00:04:17.180 is really verse 1 through 6. So in chapter 3, 00:04:17.220 --> 00:04:20.139 verse 18, it says, For Christ also suffered once 00:04:20.139 --> 00:04:22.899 for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, 00:04:22.899 --> 00:04:27.019 that he might bring us to God, being put to death 00:04:27.019 --> 00:04:32.480 in the flesh and made alive in the Spirit. So 00:04:32.480 --> 00:04:39.060 Christ suffered once for sin, the unrighteous 00:04:39.060 --> 00:04:44.670 for the righteous. And as we get into chapter 00:04:44.670 --> 00:04:47.129 4, 1 through 6, I'm going to read these verses. 00:04:47.189 --> 00:04:49.170 And I want you to kind of pay attention. Hear 00:04:49.170 --> 00:04:54.829 how Peter is really pulling us in this direction. 00:05:11.879 --> 00:05:15.000 for the rest of the time in the flesh, no longer 00:05:15.000 --> 00:05:17.860 for human passions, but for the will of God. 00:05:19.199 --> 00:05:22.600 For the time that is past suffices for doing 00:05:22.600 --> 00:05:25.939 what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality 00:05:25.939 --> 00:05:28.800 and passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, 00:05:28.939 --> 00:05:34.060 and lawless idolatry. With respect to this, they 00:05:34.060 --> 00:05:36.899 are surprised when you do not join them in the 00:05:36.899 --> 00:05:43.800 same flood of debauchery. They malign you. But 00:05:43.800 --> 00:05:46.139 they will give an account to him who is ready 00:05:46.139 --> 00:05:49.639 to judge the living and the dead. For this is 00:05:49.639 --> 00:05:52.800 why the gospel was preached even to those who 00:05:52.800 --> 00:05:57.639 are dead, that though judged in the flesh the 00:05:57.639 --> 00:06:00.680 way people are, they might live in the spirit 00:06:00.680 --> 00:06:04.199 the way God does. So as we're reading this, there's 00:06:04.199 --> 00:06:06.399 some things you're like, what does he mean by 00:06:06.399 --> 00:06:10.339 preaching even to those who are dead? We will 00:06:10.339 --> 00:06:16.019 address that. First principle, I hear a bird. 00:06:20.040 --> 00:06:22.819 I'll take it. I'll take it. But it's definitely 00:06:22.819 --> 00:06:29.180 a phone issue. How can we who died to sin still 00:06:29.180 --> 00:06:32.560 live in it? Do you not know that all of us who 00:06:32.560 --> 00:06:35.439 have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized 00:06:35.439 --> 00:06:39.939 into his death? Romans 6, 2 -3. That's principle 00:06:39.939 --> 00:06:45.480 number one. We were baptized into Christ's death. 00:06:45.579 --> 00:06:49.660 We were buried with him. And if we have been 00:06:49.660 --> 00:06:53.279 put to death in Christ, our sinful nature has 00:06:53.279 --> 00:06:55.720 been put to death in Christ, then why should 00:06:55.720 --> 00:07:00.160 we live in sin? It's really the question. Romans 00:07:00.160 --> 00:07:03.040 6, 5, it says, for if we have been united with 00:07:03.040 --> 00:07:06.000 him in a death like his, we shall certainly be 00:07:06.000 --> 00:07:10.129 united with him in a resurrection like his. The 00:07:10.129 --> 00:07:12.569 fact that the perfect one, the holy one came, 00:07:12.709 --> 00:07:20.410 put on flesh, became sin for us as the scripture 00:07:20.410 --> 00:07:23.910 states. He who knew no sin became sin so that 00:07:23.910 --> 00:07:27.949 we might become the righteousness of God. And 00:07:27.949 --> 00:07:30.709 if our sin has been crucified and buried with 00:07:30.709 --> 00:07:34.589 him, why should we continue to live in it? That's 00:07:34.589 --> 00:07:37.310 really what he's saying here. So in 1 Peter 1 00:07:37.310 --> 00:07:41.490 and 2. 1 Peter 4, 1 and 2. Since therefore Christ 00:07:41.490 --> 00:07:46.230 suffered in the flesh, meaning bodily, arm, equip 00:07:46.230 --> 00:07:53.629 yourselves with the same way of thinking. And 00:07:53.629 --> 00:07:57.290 this word, same way of thinking, is thought or 00:07:57.290 --> 00:08:05.550 purpose. And that's an important understanding 00:08:05.550 --> 00:08:10.420 here. It's not that I think this way. It's that 00:08:10.420 --> 00:08:15.860 my purpose is this way. So if we have been, if 00:08:15.860 --> 00:08:19.759 Christ has suffered in the flesh, then we should 00:08:19.759 --> 00:08:24.839 equip ourselves with the same purpose. Whoever 00:08:24.839 --> 00:08:27.779 has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin. 00:08:27.839 --> 00:08:29.439 What's the point of Christ's return? Why did 00:08:29.439 --> 00:08:33.120 Christ come the first time? To do away with sin. 00:08:33.159 --> 00:08:36.320 That was his purpose. He didn't think about it. 00:08:37.000 --> 00:08:41.379 He did it. So this idea of a way of thinking 00:08:41.379 --> 00:08:46.320 is, it's really the way of life. It's what I 00:08:46.320 --> 00:08:51.860 should be doing with my life. And he clarifies 00:08:51.860 --> 00:08:54.720 this thought by whoever has suffered in the flesh 00:08:54.720 --> 00:08:59.159 has ceased, has been released or to cause to 00:08:59.159 --> 00:09:03.320 stop from sin. And we know what this means. We 00:09:03.320 --> 00:09:08.620 get it because What we have read in the scripture 00:09:08.620 --> 00:09:12.700 is that we have been freed from sin. We're no 00:09:12.700 --> 00:09:16.919 longer slaves to sin. We have been released, 00:09:17.059 --> 00:09:20.700 not only of the debt of our sin, which is a debt 00:09:20.700 --> 00:09:23.740 we could not pay, but we also have been released 00:09:23.740 --> 00:09:29.840 from the slavery of sin. And that sin, Christ 00:09:29.840 --> 00:09:35.690 has caused us to come to a stop from sin. So 00:09:35.690 --> 00:09:37.970 why do I do the things I do not want to do, but 00:09:37.970 --> 00:09:41.309 the things I hate, I keep on doing? Yes, that 00:09:41.309 --> 00:09:47.009 does exist. But the reality is, we aren't mastered 00:09:47.009 --> 00:09:53.070 by sin anymore. Christ is our master. So in verse 00:09:53.070 --> 00:09:59.389 2, it says, so as to live for the rest of the 00:09:59.389 --> 00:10:02.409 time in the body or in the flesh, no longer. 00:10:03.789 --> 00:10:09.649 Make a tea. Or make a tea is another way to say 00:10:09.649 --> 00:10:14.090 it. So as to live life for the rest of the time 00:10:14.090 --> 00:10:18.929 in the body, never again for human passions is 00:10:18.929 --> 00:10:21.289 really what this term means. It's not no longer. 00:10:21.870 --> 00:10:24.129 I think it could have been a little bit better 00:10:24.129 --> 00:10:28.230 of a translation in the English instead of no 00:10:28.230 --> 00:10:31.649 longer. How about never again? Never again implies 00:10:31.649 --> 00:10:36.500 some very important things here. That we are 00:10:36.500 --> 00:10:44.440 not to strive for human passion, for the desire 00:10:44.440 --> 00:10:47.379 for the forbidden. And we talked about the sacred 00:10:47.379 --> 00:10:53.179 last week. Do we really seek the sacred or do 00:10:53.179 --> 00:10:58.139 we seek the forbidden? And we can't help but 00:10:58.139 --> 00:11:00.500 look at what's happening in our world today and 00:11:00.500 --> 00:11:04.039 go, there are so many seeking the forbidden. 00:11:05.330 --> 00:11:09.009 Even among those who claim they seek the sacred. 00:11:13.909 --> 00:11:18.309 What is the sacred? The will of God. So let's 00:11:18.309 --> 00:11:24.549 clarify this a little bit simply. We must live 00:11:24.549 --> 00:11:30.789 the rest of our lives never again for the desires, 00:11:31.129 --> 00:11:36.440 for the forbidden, but for the will of God is 00:11:36.440 --> 00:11:43.580 really what Peter is saying here. What do we 00:11:43.580 --> 00:11:46.720 seek? What do we desire? What do we give our 00:11:46.720 --> 00:11:53.019 mind and time and money and effort to? There's 00:11:53.019 --> 00:11:57.720 not a call among the faithful brothers and sisters 00:11:57.720 --> 00:12:05.480 to obedience anymore. It's more about... God 00:12:05.480 --> 00:12:07.519 loves you and you have to have a wonderful relationship 00:12:07.519 --> 00:12:11.139 with him. But Jesus clarifies what that relationship 00:12:11.139 --> 00:12:14.940 requires. And this has been something we've been 00:12:14.940 --> 00:12:19.000 talking about for almost two years now. And there's 00:12:19.000 --> 00:12:21.879 no way to avoid it. It's on every page practically. 00:12:23.779 --> 00:12:27.539 Obedience is the key. Not that we obey in order 00:12:27.539 --> 00:12:29.840 to be saved, but we obey because we are saved. 00:12:31.049 --> 00:12:33.549 I want to obey you because I want to please you. 00:12:33.669 --> 00:12:36.730 You saved me. That's what I want to do for you. 00:12:37.230 --> 00:12:39.809 And that's exactly what Jesus says. If you love 00:12:39.809 --> 00:12:41.909 me, you will obey me. And you've heard this a 00:12:41.909 --> 00:12:47.909 lot. Being united with Christ demands that we 00:12:47.909 --> 00:12:52.389 live like him in holiness. If we are united with 00:12:52.389 --> 00:12:57.659 him, then we must live as he has lived. And we 00:12:57.659 --> 00:13:00.720 must walk as he has walked, as Peter said previously. 00:13:01.259 --> 00:13:05.820 In Ephesians 4, 20 through 24, but that is not 00:13:05.820 --> 00:13:09.580 the way you learned Christ, assuming that you 00:13:09.580 --> 00:13:11.559 have heard about him and were taught in him, 00:13:11.620 --> 00:13:15.000 as the truth is in Jesus, to put off the old 00:13:15.000 --> 00:13:18.080 self, which belongs to your former manner of 00:13:18.080 --> 00:13:21.120 life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 00:13:21.460 --> 00:13:25.059 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds. 00:13:26.509 --> 00:13:30.330 And put on the new self created after the likeness 00:13:30.330 --> 00:13:33.809 of God in true righteousness and holiness. There 00:13:33.809 --> 00:13:36.929 it is again. It does not matter how many places 00:13:36.929 --> 00:13:40.549 you turn. The reality of righteous and holy living 00:13:40.549 --> 00:13:45.870 requires obedient heart. And in 1 Peter 4, 3 00:13:45.870 --> 00:13:50.129 -6 it says, For the time that is past suffices 00:13:50.129 --> 00:13:52.970 for doing what the Gentiles want to do. And what 00:13:52.970 --> 00:13:59.230 he's saying is, eh. It is what it is with the 00:13:59.230 --> 00:14:01.929 pagans. Because that's really what the word term 00:14:01.929 --> 00:14:06.649 here, Gentile, can be Gentile, meaning of the 00:14:06.649 --> 00:14:11.370 nations, the ethos. Or the pagans, those who 00:14:11.370 --> 00:14:15.169 lived and worshipped false idols and did things 00:14:15.169 --> 00:14:18.450 that they shouldn't be doing within these temples 00:14:18.450 --> 00:14:20.970 of false idols. And that's what Peter is talking 00:14:20.970 --> 00:14:25.470 about here. For the time that has passed suffices 00:14:25.470 --> 00:14:28.009 for what the Gentiles want to do. They do what 00:14:28.009 --> 00:14:34.730 they do. Living. They perpetrate. That's what 00:14:34.730 --> 00:14:36.850 this word living means. It's not the word Zoe. 00:14:37.750 --> 00:14:41.190 It's not life. It's literally perpetrating. It's 00:14:41.190 --> 00:14:45.750 what they do. They perpetrate sensuality. And 00:14:45.750 --> 00:14:50.019 sensuality is debauchery. They perpetrate. Passions, 00:14:50.019 --> 00:14:52.840 meaning the desire for the forbidden. They perpetrate 00:14:52.840 --> 00:14:56.500 drunkenness. And that's just something that we 00:14:56.500 --> 00:15:00.320 must be mindful of as believers. It's not an 00:15:00.320 --> 00:15:04.519 option here. Orgies. Drinking parties. Now this 00:15:04.519 --> 00:15:08.039 is an interesting term. Because you think about 00:15:08.039 --> 00:15:09.620 drinking parties. I don't know why they would 00:15:09.620 --> 00:15:11.419 say drinking parties because drinking parties 00:15:11.419 --> 00:15:16.159 is part of carousing. It's just one way to carouse. 00:15:17.470 --> 00:15:19.590 Carousing would have probably been a much better 00:15:19.590 --> 00:15:22.309 term here. Because it's like, don't get drunk, 00:15:22.389 --> 00:15:26.690 but don't go to drinking parties. Or English. 00:15:28.190 --> 00:15:31.669 It's more carousing. And I can't help but think 00:15:31.669 --> 00:15:38.730 about carousing in our day. When we think about 00:15:38.730 --> 00:15:41.190 carousing, we think about the riots that happen 00:15:41.190 --> 00:15:46.919 throughout the cities. The noisy, obnoxious riots. 00:15:47.980 --> 00:15:53.860 For what? Living in such a way that you carouse 00:15:53.860 --> 00:15:56.779 and that you are noisy and obnoxious and you 00:15:56.779 --> 00:15:59.539 just want to create problems. Go to the mall. 00:16:00.940 --> 00:16:05.240 I guarantee you're going to see some 16, 17 year 00:16:05.240 --> 00:16:10.000 old loud and obnoxious. They just can't help 00:16:10.000 --> 00:16:13.950 themselves. That's what he means by carousing. 00:16:15.629 --> 00:16:17.750 And I'm not picking on teenagers just to pick 00:16:17.750 --> 00:16:24.429 on teenagers. I was one. I was a carouser. Not 00:16:24.429 --> 00:16:28.169 a good thing. And then you see this term and 00:16:28.169 --> 00:16:31.230 lawless idolatry. Now you would think lawless, 00:16:31.230 --> 00:16:35.970 which means lawlessness. And forgive the typo. 00:16:35.970 --> 00:16:38.710 It's supposed to be a K, not an H in wicked. 00:16:39.629 --> 00:16:45.279 Not witched. So I apologize about that. That's 00:16:45.279 --> 00:16:49.399 me typing. But really this idea of lawless idolatry 00:16:49.399 --> 00:16:53.259 means the wicked worship of false idols. Because 00:16:53.259 --> 00:16:56.340 that's what lawlessness means or lawless, to 00:16:56.340 --> 00:16:59.460 be wicked. And that's what Peter is saying here. 00:16:59.539 --> 00:17:01.419 Because if you understand why he's talking this 00:17:01.419 --> 00:17:04.920 way, the cities that some of the people were 00:17:04.920 --> 00:17:09.420 living in had pagan idol temples where they would 00:17:09.420 --> 00:17:13.519 go and they would do carousing. And orgies and 00:17:13.519 --> 00:17:16.400 all the other things they shouldn't do. So he's 00:17:16.400 --> 00:17:21.140 saying, don't be like them. In verse 4 he says, 00:17:21.259 --> 00:17:24.619 with respect to this. With respect to what? With 00:17:24.619 --> 00:17:28.339 respect to this list I just gave you. With respect 00:17:28.339 --> 00:17:33.299 to the way the pagans lived. And you used to 00:17:33.299 --> 00:17:38.619 live. Right? With respect to this, they are surprised. 00:17:38.680 --> 00:17:42.549 They're astonished. They're shocked. They think 00:17:42.549 --> 00:17:46.089 you're strange if you don't join them. Of course 00:17:46.089 --> 00:17:50.529 they're going to think you're crazy. Why? Because 00:17:50.529 --> 00:17:54.089 they're running headlong over a cliff and you're 00:17:54.089 --> 00:17:57.509 like, I'm not doing that. That's crazy. Like, 00:17:57.569 --> 00:18:03.150 come on. We're having a party. It's fun. And 00:18:03.150 --> 00:18:06.549 I know a couple of gentlemen that deal with this 00:18:06.549 --> 00:18:11.759 on a regular basis. This idea that these guys 00:18:11.759 --> 00:18:14.299 who call themselves men, who are actually little 00:18:14.299 --> 00:18:18.019 boys, act foolish and disrespectful and they 00:18:18.019 --> 00:18:19.819 talk nonsense and they talk about stuff they 00:18:19.819 --> 00:18:21.859 don't know and they act like they know everything 00:18:21.859 --> 00:18:25.579 and in reality they don't know nothing. Because 00:18:25.579 --> 00:18:28.759 they're just puffed up in pride and they just 00:18:28.759 --> 00:18:31.819 want to fulfill their desires. And that's what 00:18:31.819 --> 00:18:36.109 we see. And they're surprised that you don't 00:18:36.109 --> 00:18:38.869 join them. Like, why aren't you joining us? Why 00:18:38.869 --> 00:18:40.789 aren't you running with us? Why aren't you flocking 00:18:40.789 --> 00:18:43.509 together? After all, birds of a feather flock 00:18:43.509 --> 00:18:50.109 together is really what this means. I like this 00:18:50.109 --> 00:18:54.410 term here that he uses. Why aren't you joining 00:18:54.410 --> 00:19:00.630 them in the same flood of debauchery? Isn't that 00:19:00.630 --> 00:19:04.900 interesting? The word flood he uses here. It's 00:19:04.900 --> 00:19:09.140 really a tsunami is the idea, I think. But what's 00:19:09.140 --> 00:19:11.019 interesting about this word flood, it means a 00:19:11.019 --> 00:19:16.319 wide stream. Not a narrow stream, a wide stream. 00:19:17.539 --> 00:19:21.200 And we know what that is. Wide is the road that 00:19:21.200 --> 00:19:23.819 leads to destruction. And wide is the road and 00:19:23.819 --> 00:19:25.400 wide is the gate that leads to destruction. Many 00:19:25.400 --> 00:19:27.420 go thereof. And that's exactly what Peter is 00:19:27.420 --> 00:19:30.480 implying here. He knows that term because Jesus 00:19:30.480 --> 00:19:34.420 spoke that term to him. And he's really sharing 00:19:34.420 --> 00:19:40.859 the same thoughts. They think it's strange that 00:19:40.859 --> 00:19:43.240 you're not doing the same thing and joining them 00:19:43.240 --> 00:19:49.059 in the same wide stream of debaucherous living. 00:19:49.900 --> 00:19:52.700 So what do they do? They malign you or malign 00:19:52.700 --> 00:19:54.960 you. They insult you. They slander you. They 00:19:54.960 --> 00:19:57.460 defame you. They curse you. They make fun of 00:19:57.460 --> 00:20:03.980 you. But that's okay. Why? Verse 5, because they 00:20:03.980 --> 00:20:06.220 will give an account to him who is ready to judge 00:20:06.220 --> 00:20:08.559 the living and the dead. He is already on the 00:20:08.559 --> 00:20:14.279 throne. The judgment is going to come. He's ready. 00:20:15.059 --> 00:20:17.700 There's nothing that will hinder him from judging 00:20:17.700 --> 00:20:22.660 anything when he is ready. He is ready. And they 00:20:22.660 --> 00:20:24.599 will give an account. One way or another, they 00:20:24.599 --> 00:20:26.420 will give an account. Though the wicked prosper. 00:20:29.609 --> 00:20:31.609 They might seem like they're prospering now, 00:20:31.730 --> 00:20:34.210 but they will only prosper in this world that 00:20:34.210 --> 00:20:36.690 they live. And when they die, they realize how 00:20:36.690 --> 00:20:39.329 much their prosperity has brought them, especially 00:20:39.329 --> 00:20:45.569 to all our fun prosperity preachers. Listening 00:20:45.569 --> 00:20:49.930 to Justin Peters the other day, he's talking 00:20:49.930 --> 00:20:53.930 about a preacher who was bragging about people 00:20:53.930 --> 00:20:56.150 calling him up and giving him million -dollar 00:20:56.150 --> 00:21:04.150 checks. Interesting. Oh, brother, when you die, 00:21:04.309 --> 00:21:09.710 because you had not a heart of the gospel of 00:21:09.710 --> 00:21:12.869 Jesus Christ and the truth and the reality of 00:21:12.869 --> 00:21:16.650 the resurrected Savior, you are in so much trouble. 00:21:17.589 --> 00:21:23.329 I would not want to be that man. For this is 00:21:23.329 --> 00:21:25.710 why the gospel was preached. Why was the gospel 00:21:25.710 --> 00:21:28.910 preached? Because of the list. that he went through 00:21:28.910 --> 00:21:35.109 because they demand that you join them in debaucherous 00:21:35.109 --> 00:21:39.349 living. That's the reason why Christ came. He 00:21:39.349 --> 00:21:43.150 came to deal with sin, to wash away our sin, 00:21:43.190 --> 00:21:45.950 to take away our sin, to make us the righteousness 00:21:45.950 --> 00:21:53.710 of Christ before the Father. We are free, and 00:21:53.710 --> 00:21:57.309 this is important. And this is why he has commanded 00:21:57.309 --> 00:22:02.130 us in Matthew 18, Matthew 28, 19, and 20 to preach 00:22:02.130 --> 00:22:07.529 and to teach. This is why the gospel was preached 00:22:07.529 --> 00:22:11.990 even to those who are dead. Now, there's two 00:22:11.990 --> 00:22:16.390 thoughts on this. This could be what he was talking 00:22:16.390 --> 00:22:20.150 about in chapter 3 where he went and he spoke 00:22:20.150 --> 00:22:24.910 to the spirits of the time of Noah who were... 00:22:25.049 --> 00:22:28.289 Locked away in prison. Or he's talking about 00:22:28.289 --> 00:22:32.750 the walking dead. I lean a little bit more towards 00:22:32.750 --> 00:22:36.630 where. A lot more actually. I lean a lot more 00:22:36.630 --> 00:22:40.289 towards where. John Piper stands on this. And 00:22:40.289 --> 00:22:43.569 that is. Those who are dead are the walking dead. 00:22:43.670 --> 00:22:45.690 The ones who are dead in their trespasses and 00:22:45.690 --> 00:22:51.990 sins. That all of us at one time. did not know 00:22:51.990 --> 00:22:54.490 Christ were dead in our trespasses and sins. 00:22:54.609 --> 00:23:01.390 We did not have life. That though judged in the 00:23:01.390 --> 00:23:04.950 flesh, the way people are, they might live in 00:23:04.950 --> 00:23:10.089 the spirit the way God does. And I know that 00:23:10.089 --> 00:23:14.069 there's some debate among the theologians, our 00:23:14.069 --> 00:23:20.109 theologians in this area. But I can't help but 00:23:20.109 --> 00:23:26.259 think, That the ones who look at this particular 00:23:26.259 --> 00:23:30.680 scripture relate it very well to chapter 6 of 00:23:30.680 --> 00:23:37.680 Romans. That the reality of the gospel being 00:23:37.680 --> 00:23:43.859 preached, he preaches it to those who are on 00:23:43.859 --> 00:23:46.400 the earth dead in their trespasses and sins. 00:23:50.079 --> 00:24:01.230 So if you will, turn with me to Romans 6. And 00:24:01.230 --> 00:24:04.829 this fits so well in verses 1 through 6 of 1 00:24:04.829 --> 00:24:10.829 Peter chapter 4. We're only going to go through 00:24:10.829 --> 00:24:13.650 1 through 11 in chapter 6. But pay attention 00:24:13.650 --> 00:24:17.650 to what Paul says here. What shall we say then? 00:24:18.890 --> 00:24:22.710 Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 00:24:24.089 --> 00:24:29.049 You guys know my... My coined phrase, grace is 00:24:29.049 --> 00:24:31.089 not the license to sin, but the power to do what 00:24:31.089 --> 00:24:36.490 is right. This is an important principle to understand. 00:24:38.549 --> 00:24:42.289 When grace abounds, it abounds to you that you 00:24:42.289 --> 00:24:45.710 may be obedient, not continue in sin so that 00:24:45.710 --> 00:24:50.589 you get more grace to be disobedient. By no means, 00:24:50.589 --> 00:24:55.750 verse 2, how can we who died to sin live in it? 00:24:57.549 --> 00:25:03.690 Do you hear that? If we have died to sin, as 00:25:03.690 --> 00:25:07.190 Peter states also in chapter 4, how can we continue 00:25:07.190 --> 00:25:10.789 to live in sin like the Gentiles in 1 Peter chapter 00:25:10.789 --> 00:25:16.690 4? Do you not know that all of us who were baptized 00:25:16.690 --> 00:25:19.589 into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 00:25:19.789 --> 00:25:24.250 That baptism is not immersion into water, but 00:25:24.250 --> 00:25:27.380 really immersion into Christ. We were baptized 00:25:27.380 --> 00:25:34.299 into Christ Jesus. And if we were baptized into 00:25:34.299 --> 00:25:37.279 Christ Jesus, we were baptized into his death. 00:25:37.579 --> 00:25:41.599 And that the baptism of a believer, the picture 00:25:41.599 --> 00:25:45.880 of being crucified with Christ, being buried 00:25:45.880 --> 00:25:51.299 with him, is this association. We were buried, 00:25:51.319 --> 00:25:56.509 therefore, with him by baptism into death. By 00:25:56.509 --> 00:26:01.609 immersion into death. Did Christ die? Yes. Was 00:26:01.609 --> 00:26:05.869 he crucified on your behalf? Yes. Were you with 00:26:05.869 --> 00:26:08.430 him in his crucifixion as the scripture implies? 00:26:08.950 --> 00:26:12.869 Yes. Which means that you were buried with him. 00:26:14.390 --> 00:26:16.970 Through baptism into death. Through immersion 00:26:16.970 --> 00:26:21.789 into Christ. We are in him. He is our substitutionary 00:26:21.789 --> 00:26:26.890 atonement. That's what this means. Not that I 00:26:26.890 --> 00:26:30.089 personally, physically died. I am not the Savior. 00:26:30.849 --> 00:26:34.329 But he did it on my behalf, figuratively, that 00:26:34.329 --> 00:26:37.809 I am dead with him. And he raised me to new life, 00:26:37.869 --> 00:26:43.490 which we'll read in a minute. We were buried, 00:26:43.490 --> 00:26:46.470 therefore, with him by baptism into death in 00:26:46.470 --> 00:26:49.049 order that just as Christ was raised from the 00:26:49.049 --> 00:26:51.950 dead by the glory of God the Father, we too might 00:26:51.950 --> 00:26:59.359 walk in newness of life. So my association, my 00:26:59.359 --> 00:27:08.099 being into Christ, means I am associated with 00:27:08.099 --> 00:27:13.880 his death and his resurrection. For if we have 00:27:13.880 --> 00:27:17.359 been united with him in a death like his, we 00:27:17.359 --> 00:27:20.299 shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection 00:27:20.299 --> 00:27:22.539 like his. And he promises that, does he not? 00:27:23.119 --> 00:27:31.619 That we will receive. A body like his. 1 Thessalonians 00:27:31.619 --> 00:27:38.480 chapter 5 and 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. Let's 00:27:38.480 --> 00:27:43.759 keep reading. We know that our old self was crucified 00:27:43.759 --> 00:27:47.599 with him in order that the body of sin might 00:27:47.599 --> 00:27:52.480 be brought to nothing. Do you see that? So that 00:27:52.480 --> 00:27:56.430 we no longer So that we would no longer be slaves 00:27:56.430 --> 00:28:03.210 to sin. And there it is. Remember that release? 00:28:04.390 --> 00:28:10.730 The unshackling? There it is. To cause, to stop. 00:28:13.690 --> 00:28:17.869 Now, verse 8. If we have died with Christ, we 00:28:17.869 --> 00:28:21.609 believe that we will also live with him. We know 00:28:21.609 --> 00:28:24.490 that Christ, being raised from the dead, will 00:28:24.490 --> 00:28:27.710 never die again because death no longer has dominion 00:28:27.710 --> 00:28:31.369 over him. And death does not have dominion over 00:28:31.369 --> 00:28:35.890 you. That's why for the believer, when we no 00:28:35.890 --> 00:28:40.490 longer are animated, we sleep, the scripture 00:28:40.490 --> 00:28:47.210 says. He raises us from the grave out of our 00:28:47.210 --> 00:28:51.839 sleep, the scripture implies. And that term is 00:28:51.839 --> 00:28:55.759 interchangeable. So when we read it and we go, 00:28:55.799 --> 00:28:57.759 he raises us from the dead, that understanding 00:28:57.759 --> 00:29:03.339 for the believers, he awakens us. Remember what 00:29:03.339 --> 00:29:13.980 he said concerning Lazarus? He stinks. No. He 00:29:13.980 --> 00:29:19.039 will be alive. He's alive. Read that story. It's 00:29:19.039 --> 00:29:24.680 an amazing story. Verse 10, for the death he 00:29:24.680 --> 00:29:27.880 died, he died to sin once for all, but the life 00:29:27.880 --> 00:29:32.880 he lives, he lives to God. Do you see that? So 00:29:32.880 --> 00:29:35.420 if the death he died, he died to sin once for 00:29:35.420 --> 00:29:36.960 all, and the life he lives, he lives to God, 00:29:37.119 --> 00:29:39.660 and we have been crucified with Christ and buried 00:29:39.660 --> 00:29:42.220 with Christ and been raised with Christ, are 00:29:42.220 --> 00:29:48.660 you living to God? Are you living for yourself? 00:29:52.079 --> 00:29:56.640 So you also must consider yourselves dead to 00:29:56.640 --> 00:30:03.819 sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. It's not 00:30:03.819 --> 00:30:15.960 by a coincidence or an accident that we are dead 00:30:15.960 --> 00:30:19.200 to sin and alive to Christ. My challenge to you 00:30:19.200 --> 00:30:26.640 is, Are you living that way? Father, I want to 00:30:26.640 --> 00:30:28.160 thank you so much for your goodness and your 00:30:28.160 --> 00:30:29.740 faithfulness. Thank you, Lord, for your word. 00:30:30.400 --> 00:30:34.000 Help us, Lord, to really walk in newness of life. 00:30:35.660 --> 00:30:38.220 I am so thankful for your people here in Mount 00:30:38.220 --> 00:30:43.180 Eaton and the consistency of their living. Continue 00:30:43.180 --> 00:30:49.039 to challenge us to become, to walk, not become, 00:30:49.140 --> 00:30:56.700 but be. the bright light on a hill. We do praise 00:30:56.700 --> 00:30:58.599 you and thank you for your faithfulness and your 00:30:58.599 --> 00:31:01.700 goodness. And we thank you that we have life 00:31:01.700 --> 00:31:06.980 and have it abundantly. And our abundance is 00:31:06.980 --> 00:31:11.400 not in the things of the earth, but in the righteousness 00:31:11.400 --> 00:31:15.700 of God. We thank you and we praise you. In Jesus' 00:31:15.720 --> 00:31:16.779 name, amen.