Suffering: Past to Present Motivation

1 Pe. 4:3-4 1 Peter

Pastor Albert N. Martin expounds 1 Peter 4:1-6, urging believers to arm themselves with the mind of Christ in the face of suffering. He argues that a powerful motivation to suffer rather than sin comes from reflecting on one's sinful past, which is now 'sufficient' and closed by grace. Furthermore, present opposition from the world, which finds Christian living 'strange' and responds with 'blasphemy,' should draw believers into deeper fellowship with Christ's sufferings, rather than causing them to compromise.

3 illustrations in this sermon

The Nature of Their Past Life: General Pattern and Grosser Particulars

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Lawless Bikers

In this part of the sermon: Peter describes their past life first in its general pattern as 'wrought the desire of the Gentiles' (doing what pagans do), and then in its 'ugly particulars' including…

Martin uses the example of describing 'half-drunk, lawless bikers' to illustrate that Peter's list of sins uses broad strokes to convey an overall impression, not airtight categories, and that God can save such people.

What did I see when I happened to drive by a group of half-drunk, lawless bikers? All right? Now, God can save lawless bikers. I'm not saying they're beyond God's salvation.

19:00 - 19:12 Read in full sermon

The Impact of Peter's Description and the Power of the Gospel

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Woodstock '99

The point: Do not despair when encountering those deeply immersed in sin, but believe that the gospel can transform them, just as it did the early church.

Martin recounts watching a synopsis of Woodstock '99, seeing the very sins Peter listed (lewdness, drunkenness, idolatry) on display, and asking himself if he truly believed the gospel could transform such people, affirming God's ability to do so.

And that ought to say something to us. We ought not to despair when in the providence of God we are brought into contact with those in whom these sins are manifestly and evidently displayed. We ought to go back to a passage like this and say, Lord, if you moved your servant Peter to write to these people in these various churches and to buttress their commitment to be armed with the mind of Christ in the face of persecution by looking back and remembering what they were, then surely, Lord, what you did then, you can do now. We can in faith confront those whose lifestyle is marked by all of the...

29:04 - 30:18 Read in full sermon

Why the World Hates: Darkness Hates Light

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Mole Hates Light

The point: When confronted by those who claim the Bible is full of contradictions, challenge them to show one, as it often reveals their lack of genuine engagement with Scripture.

The analogy of a mole, genetically programmed to love darkness, hating the noonday sun is used to explain why unregenerate people hate the light of Christ and the gospel.

There's the answer. Darkness hates light. You take a mole, genetically programmed in God's mysterious created world, to love the darkness, to put him out in the light of the noonday sun, is to do him no favor. He hates, he hates those bright rays of the noonday sun.

44:42 - 45:05 Read in full sermon

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