Suffering: Motivation from the Future

Introduction: The Sobering Reality of Judgment

0:04 The following sermon was delivered on Sunday evening, October 10, 1999, at the Trinity Baptist Church in Montville, New Jersey. Now let us turn together in our own Bibles to 1 Peter and chapter 4, 1 Peter chapter 4, and I shall read the first six verses in your hearing. For as much then as Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind. For he that has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, that you no longer should live the rest of your time in the flesh to the lust of men, but to the will of God. For the time past is sufficient to have wrought the desire of the Gentiles, and to have walked in the flesh. in lasciviousness, lusts, wine-bibbings, revelings, carousings, and abominable idolatries, wherein they think it strange that you do not run with them into the same excessive riot, speaking evil

1:26 of you. Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the living and the dead? For unto this end was the gospel preached even to the dead, that they might be judged indeed according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the Spirit. Now as we again ask God's help in the preaching of the word, let us pray that the sobering things of which we have sung may somehow become to us more than words. It's an awesome, awesome thing to preach, against the backdrop of the day of judgment. As surely as you look on my face and I look on yours, we're all going to be gathered together again at a moment in history, and the face that will be fastened, all our eyes will be fastened upon, is the face of the glorified Son of God, who will determine your eternal destiny and mine. Let us pray that God will help us. Help me to preach as one who believes this, and help you to listen as those who ought

2:46 to believe the same. Let's pray. Our Father, you know us all together. You know the horrible power of that foul fiend of hell who wants to drag each one of us with him into the pit.

3:07 How he blinds the minds of your creatures, marked for judgment, and in eternal heaven or hell. Oh, how he has succeeded to make us dull and stupid and indifferent before these awesome realities. We plead with you, Holy Father, come upon your servant. May his own heart and mind be gripped with these realities. Come upon this people gathered in this place, and may we together taste the powers of the age to come. Oh, God, break in upon us by the Holy Spirit, and rivet our minds and our hearts to your truth. And may the same Spirit constrain our hearts to lay hold of you in the light of that truth. Hear us, for the good of our souls, and for the glory of Christ, we pray. Amen.

Recap: Arming with the Mind of Christ and Past Motivations

4:10 Now, the vast majority of you who are here tonight know that the Holy Spirit is coming. I know that this morning I said that our study in the Word of God this evening would be a continuation of an effort to expound 1 Peter chapter 4, verses 1 to 6. And I chose to do this for two very simple reasons. Number one, I felt the connection of the various strands of the mind of God in this passage were such that I didn't want to allow a whole week for leakage before we came to the passage. And I also judged that the next paragraph, beginning in verse 7, contains material more appropriate to that opening day of the pastor's conference. And so I decided to preach on this passage both this morning and again this evening. Now, because most of you were here, but a few of you who are present tonight were not here, let me take just a few moments to sketch in the substance

5:19 of 1 Peter's letter to the people of God in those five Roman provinces in Asia Minor. Starting in chapter 3 and verse 13, Peter comes to the very heart of his pastoral burden in this epistle. And that pastoral burden is to enlighten, to strengthen, and to encourage the saints of God there in Asia Minor in the light of their present sufferings and in the light of the Lord's love for them. And I believe that this is the most important part of future sufferings that Peter is certain will come upon them. And in the unfolding of that pastoral burden, here in chapter 4, he lays before them one central imperative. It is found in the words of verse 1. For as much then as Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind. He is saying that the mind, the disposition, the mindset, these are all ways that we might render that Greek term, the mindset, the attitude, the disposition of the Lord Jesus when he faced his suffering was this. I will suffer, but I will not

6:37 sin. I will choose suffering rather than sin. If the unfolding of the will of God for me brings me into the crucible of suffering, I will not sin. I will not sin. I will not sin. I will not sin. I can bear suffering in the strength of my God, but I will not sin against him. And so Peter says to these believers, you need to be armed, you need to be furnished, you need to be equipped with that very mindset that our Lord Jesus Christ had in the face of his sufferings. And as they are armed with that mindset, Peter says, they demonstrate that the reign of the Lord Jesus Christ is the reign of the world. The reign of sin has been broken in their lives. He that has suffered in the flesh has ceased

7:26 from sin. When a man, when a woman, when a boy or girl has come to the place where he or she is willing to endure the most intense suffering, even martyrdom, rather than sin against God, that person makes it evident that the grace of God has so united them to the virtue of Christ's death and resurrection that they too have died with him to the reign of sin and have risen to newness of life, the life of righteousness and obedience. Now having laid before them that central imperative, Peter, knowing that this is not comfortable teaching, that this is difficult upon frail, weak humanity, humanity still afflicted with remaining sin, seeks to buttress their faith and their resolve by surrounding that imperative with various motives. And we looked at the first two motivations this morning. The first motivation is that which is drawn from their sinful past, verse 3. For the time past is sufficient to have wrought the desire of the Gentiles and to have walked, and then he names these sins, and then he names the sins of the

8:49 Gentiles, and then he names the six categories of gross manifestations of the lusts of men, of the will of the Gentiles. And he says in essence to these believers, when the life of obedience is bringing you into the crucible of suffering, and you are tempted to turn aside from the path of obedience and righteousness into sin in order to avoid the suffering, remember, you will not turn to your sinful past. Enough time has been spent in the service of sin. Remember that from which God has delivered you, and remembering that, press on in the way of gospel obedience. And then he draws, secondly, a motivation from present opposition. Wherein, that is, in the light of this transformation that has been wrought in your life, they, your former companions, are the ones who are going to be the ones who are going to be the ones who are going to be the ones who are going to be the ones who are going to be the ones who are going to be the ones who are going to be the ones who are going to be the ones who are going to be the ones who are going to be the ones who are going to be the They think something, and they do something. They think it's strange that you do not run with them into the same excess of riot. You do not plunge with them into this torrent of sinful passions.

Motivation from Future Judgment: The Opposers' Accountability

10:08 And because they think this of you, they speak evil of you, they blaspheme, they slander you and your God and your, quote, new life. religion. Now tonight we come to consider the third category of motivation with which Peter seeks to furnish these believers in the light of that central imperative. And it's found in verses 5 and 6, who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the living and the dead? For unto this end was the gospel preached even to the dead, that they might be judged indeed according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the Spirit. And this is the motivation drawn from the fact of future judgment. The motivation drawn from the fact of future judgment. The blasphemy of the non-Christians mentioned at the end of verse 4 turns Peter's mind towards the fact of future judgment.

11:19 And he assures his readers that those who persecute them now, those who blaspheme them now, those who speak evil of them now, will one day give an account to the living God. Verse 5, these who think it strange that you do not run with them, these who speak evil of you, are those who shall give an account to him that is ready to judge the living and the dead. So he focuses first upon the judgment of those who oppose the people of God. And then secondly, in verse 6, he speaks of a judgment that has been passed upon the dead. For unto this end was the gospel preached even to the dead, that they might be judged indeed according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the Spirit. So we'll consider then a statement under this heading of the motivation drawn from the fact of future judgment, the judgment of those who oppose the people of God, and secondly, the judgment of the dead. And it's very interesting that in

12:33 this simple statement in verse 5, Peter brings into the theater of the consciousness of these believers a marvelous distilled statement of the theology of the judgment of the final day. Peter writing to ordinary believers, many of them slaves, for remember in chapter 2 he speaks to these house slaves, many of them ordinary housewives, people married to unconverted spouses, chapter 3, the rank and file, the foot soldiers in God's army, he puts in the midst of his effort to strengthen their resolve to maintain the disposition and mindset of Christ, I would rather suffer than sin, he dumps this

13:19 rich, distilled theology of the day of judgment. Underscoring again that all theology is practical, all theology has tremendous implications for life and for our ordinary experience as the people of God. Now notice what he says about this judgment of those who oppose the people of God. He says three things about it. The essence of this judgment, the identity of the judge, and the subjects of the judgment.

13:49 What is the essence of this judgment? Look at the text. Who shall give account to him? Who shall give an account? Now this little phrase comprised of two Greek words is the word you would use if you were speaking to someone who was given a stewardship and you were requesting that he come and take the books and give an account of his stewardship to him.

14:20 In the handling of your property. That's precisely the way it is used in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 16 and verse 2. And he said also to the disciples, there was a certain rich man who had a steward, and the same was accused unto him that he was wasting his goods, that is his master's goods. And he, the master, called him and said to him, what is this that I hear of you?

14:48 Render the account of thy stewardship. That's the same Greek phrase. Render an account. Come with your books. Let us look together into the specifics of what you've done with that which was entrusted to you that belongs to me.

15:08 It's the same word used in Acts 19 and verse 40. The same phrase. Acts 19 and verse 40. Not in an economic...

15:18 Not in an economic framework, an employer-employee relationship, but within the structures of government. Acts 19 and verse 40. In a situation where there is this tumult precipitated by the Apostle Paul and the impact of his ministry there at Ephesus, we read in verse 40, for indeed we are in danger to be accused concerning this day's riot, there being no cause for it. And as touching it, we shall not be able to give account of this concourse.

15:57 When we stand before those who are over us in the chain of command in government, we shall be unable to give a rational explanation, a justifiable explanation, to render an account. That's the sense of the Greek phrase, and it's exactly the same phrase used in the familiar words of Matthew 12. Every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give an account in the day of judgment. They shall give an account.

16:32 What is the essence of the coming judgment? As Peter writes to these ordinary believers, seeking to strengthen their resolve to persevere in the way of gospel obedience, even when it brings them into suffering, he says, Remember, while the slander still rings in your ears, and while the blasphemy directed to your God grieves your spirit, look upon the blasphemer, and remember, he is one who regards himself as his own man. She regards herself as her own woman, answerable to nothing but his or her own passions and lusts, but the fact is, they are answerable to the God who made them, and they, each one, shall render an account. There shall be a day of reckoning, a day when the accountability of moral agents will find them rendering an account to God, down even to every last idle word. The words of blasphemy against the people of God and the God of His people, the words and the thoughts and the deeds by which they have opposed Christ and His people, the essence of this judgment is the rendering of an account.

The Identity of the Judge: Christ Ordained by the Father

17:58 But then, Peter sets out the identity of the judge. Look at the text. Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the living and the dead? The identity of the judge is given to us in these words, the one who is ready to judge.

18:20 And who is that? Well, you say, it could be God the Father, because Peter, in chapter 1, in verse 17, had written, If you call on him as Father, who without respect of persons judges according to each man's work, past the time of your sojourning in fear, it could be the Father. There, in chapter 1, in verse 17, Peter specifically names the Father as the judge. But when we study the Scriptures, we see that God the Father has entrusted to God the Son the administration of this judgment in its actual performance in the last day. This is made clear in a number of passages. We look only at several. John, chapter 5.

19:15 Our Lord Himself, was conscious that He had been appointed by the Father to actually be the judge who sits upon the throne in the last day. John, chapter 5, and verse 22. For neither does the Father judge any man, but He has given all judgment unto the Son. Words could not be clearer.

19:44 The Father actually does not, engage in that work of final judgment. It has been deposited in the hands of the Son. Verse 27. He gave Him authority to execute judgment because He is the Son of Man.

20:04 And this is precisely what the Apostle Paul preached there on Mars Hill in the city of Athens at the conclusion of his sermon, Acts 17, verses 30 and 31. The times of ignorance therefore God overlooked, but now He commands that they should all everywhere repent inasmuch as He has appointed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness by the man whom He has ordained, whereof He has given assurance unto all men in that He has raised Him from the dead. Christ will be the one who will sit upon the throne of judgment and administer justice in that day. And it was Peter who preached in a similar vein in the household of Cornelius. Acts chapter 10. This is our last cross reference.

21:00 Acts 10 and verse 42. Speaking of the Lord Jesus giving a commission to the apostles, we read, and He charged us to preach unto the people and to test them. Then to testify that this is He who is ordained of God to be the judge of the living and the dead. And one wonders if this terminology was not so much a part of Peter's preaching that it came out when he wrote this letter.

21:30 It is Jesus Christ ordained of God to be judge of the living and the dead. And I'm quite certain that some of you have already thought of that majestic passage in Matthew's Gospel 25 and 31 and following where the Lord Jesus speaks of the Son of Man coming in His glory and sitting upon His throne and the King shall say, and the King shall say. Here He points to Himself as the judge appointed for the last day. So we have in the passage then the essence of the judgment.

22:08 It is giving an account. The identity of the judge. It is the risen Christ. But who are the subjects of the judgment?

22:17 Peter tells us in this brief statement. Who shall give account to Him that is ready to judge the living and the dead? That is those who live when He comes in glory and power to set His throne of judgment and those who have died prior to His coming and to the day of judgment He will judge the living and the dead. This is but a distillation of what Jesus Himself said in John 5, 28 and 29.

Comfort in Judgment: The Vindication of Suffering Saints

22:52 Marvel not at this for the hour is coming in which all that are in the grave shall hear the voice of the Son of Man and shall come forth. They that have done evil to the resurrection of damnation and they that have done evil to the resurrection of life. The subjects of the judgment all men without asking for anyone's consent without asking for anyone's vote without in any way seeking to discern whether men would like to be summoned to judgment again the majestic passage of Revelation 20, 15 and following where John demonstrates that the grave and the sea and every chamber of the dead will give up its dead and all will stand before the great white throne to be judged by the Lord Jesus. Now you may ask how does this fact of future judgment on those who revile them become a motivation to be armed with the mind of Christ? Did Peter just have a lapse of memory and forget that what he was doing was trying to strengthen the arm of these Christians to bear up under the pressure of affliction and persecution? No, Peter has not forgotten his intention having told them that they are to arm themselves

24:20 with the mind of Christ. It is better to suffer than to sin. He has now told them that as a result of leaving their sinful companions and their sinful ways these very people now think they are weird they can't figure them out they can't compute what has happened to them and so because they don't understand it and the light of their transformed lives exposes their darkness they blaspheme they blaspheme the people of God revile them speak evil of them and to them they revile and blaspheme their God. Peter says dear people of God when you are tempted to cave in under that pressure remember the full story hasn't yet been told there is a day of judgment coming look through and listen through their blasphemy look through and listen through their reviling and bring to mind that great day when these who think it strange that you do not run with them who blaspheme you and your God think of the day when the one who is ready to judge he has already accomplished his redemptive mission he has come from heaven by way of Mary's womb he's lived the perfect life under the law died under the curse of the law been raised from the dead

25:46 exalted to the right hand of the Father there is nothing more that needs to be done to qualify him as judge he has validated his claims by his resurrection dear child of God remember this the ones who think it strange that you do not run with them the ones who speak evil of you they shall give an account to this very Christ they shall give an account of all that they have said and done and remember in that day Jesus underscores the truth that the treatment of Christ's people is regarded by Christ as their treatment of him this is what Peter is doing to comfort them saying as scripture does again and again that when the going gets rough for the child of God he is to lift up his eyes and fasten his gaze upon that unseen world of future reality that's what Moses did the scripture says by faith Moses was able to refuse to be the son of Pharaoh's daughter choosing rather to what suffer affliction with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season why? the text tells us why he had respect to the recompense

27:14 of the reward he looked beyond the gold and the glitter and the glamorous gals in Egypt that was all in his hands if he wanted it and with it every sensuous pleasure a man could desire and he refuses that and chooses to go out into a wilderness with a bunch of ex-slaves why in the world does a man do that unless he's lost his sanity it's because he is thinking with the sanity of one who faces ultimate reality he looked to the recompense of the reward stay in Egypt be reckoned as son of Pharaoh there in Egypt all the wealth all the influence all the prestige all the pleasure of sin but damnation at the end turn my back on that and identify myself with the coming Messiah the scripture says he counted the reproach of Christ he knew something that his identification with the people of God had something to do with that ancient promise given in the garden that one would come and bruise the head of the serpent and he said I'll choose this because I see something beyond the glitter the gold the glamour and the gals in Egypt

28:41 I see that eternal city and his choice was the only wise one the apostle Paul said the same thing why in the world a man would subject himself to the kind of suffering that he endured he says I'll tell you why while we look 2 Corinthians 4.18 while we look not on the things that are seen but on the things that are not seen you see there's two sets of things things that are seen things that are not seen the problem with some of you is you think if it's not a thing you can see there is no thing else but the thing to be seen ah no there are two sets of things seen things with these eyes and unseen things declared to be by the word of God and Paul says we look not on the things that are seen but on the things that are not seen for the things that are seen are temporal but the things that are not seen are eternal and within that general perspective there is a unique application of this to God's suffering saints God's suffering saints are to suck sweetness from the fact that those who cause them to suffer will be judged at the coming of Christ you say that's sadistic no it's biblical

30:08 look at 2 Thessalonians 1 2 Thessalonians 1 the Thessalonians were brought to faith in the midst of suffering Paul said in his first letter you receive the word with much affliction and joy in the Holy Spirit and now knowing that they continue to suffer affliction he writes to them and he says we glory verse 4 of chapter 1 2 Thessalonians we glory in you in the churches for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and in all the afflictions which you adore which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God to the end that you may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God for which you also suffer if so be it is a righteous thing with God to recompense affliction to them that afflict you and to you that are afflicted rest with us that the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with the angels of his power in flaming fire rendering vengeance to them that know not God and to them that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ who shall suffer punishment even eternal destruction from the face of the Lord and from the glory of his might when he shall come to be glorified in his saints you see what he said as surely as the eye of the believer

31:36 seizes the prize of being glorified with Christ at his coming it seizes the equal ultimate reality of the fiery judgment of Christ upon all who oppose them and that's set forth for their comfort the same way Peter does he says yes by the spirit of God I'm calling you saints to something that is not comfortable to human flesh you're to be armed with the same mind that Christ had it is better to suffer than to sin and in that suffering there will be former comfort from both sides it is better to pursue and the utvecklement And until he comes and until their lives are snuffed out This is the great paradox of the disposition of the child of God While he draws comfort from the fact that the Lord will deal with all his and his people's enemies

32:59 They are prepared to spend and be spent And in spirit wrought love seek to win their very enemies To the cause and to the blessings of the gospel Before I leave that heading I want to say not only a word to you God's people But a word to you who are in the company of those who blaspheme Who slander the people of God Some of you may do it outwardly When you get with your own kind you may smart mouth everything you hear tonight I have no doubt that there may be one or two or more With the end of this service will find your own kind And try to as it were whistle in the dark to yourself That it's all a bunch of pretense And mock and sneer at the things you've heard tonight My friend I tell you one simple thing You're going to give an account to a Christ who's already right now set Who shall give an account to him that is ready Is ready Is ready to judge the living and the dead There are others of you you wouldn't be so bold as to say it outwardly But there's some of you who have a deep seated In the heart of God And they say what's the word resentment To everything that seeks to press you to Christ God sees that resentment

34:28 If you could get away with it It would break out in words and actions I remind you that your dealings are not with mom and dad Who seek lovingly to press you to Christ Your dealings are not with your Sunday school teacher And the pastors who seek to press you to Christ Your dealings are with him Who's ready to judge the living And the dead and the dead.

The Vexing Verse: Gospel Preached to the Dead

34:53 May God haunt you with that reality till you become friends of the judge. Till you become a friend of the judge. Throw yourself upon His mercy and know the sweetness of His forgiving grace. But then verse 6 is here.

35:12 This vexing verse, speaking of another judgment, it's connected with what goes before because it, like verse number 3, begins with the word for. There's a connection between verse 6 and verse 5. Who shall give account to Him that is ready to judge the living and the dead? For unto this end was the gospel preached even to the dead that they might be judged indeed according to men in the flesh but live according to God in the Spirit.

35:51 Now our confession states that not all parts of Scripture are equally faithful or equally clear to all men. And this is one of them. And if you had had the privilege that I've had of rooting around in the commentaries for I don't know how many hours over the past couple of weeks, you would discover that there are a number of views on this passage. I will not weary you with even naming the views, but a number of them derive from these words the gospel was preached even to the dead that it must mean to people who were dead when the gospel was preached to them.

36:31 And they come up with some form of a doctrine of a second chance seeking to tie it in with chapter 3 and verse 19 of Christ going and preaching to spirits in prison ignoring who those spirits were those who were disobedient in the days of Noah while the ark was preparing and they come up with a doctrine that there's some second chance or has been a second chance for some. Others say no that's a preaching Christ did after he died on the cross and secured redemption in space-time history he went and preached to all the Old Testament saints and took them out of Sheol and took them into paradise with him and they build a doctrine of the intermediate state in the stages of redemption found nowhere else in the Bible. And remember our three rules whenever we come to a difficult passage. Whatever view we take it must be true to the language of the text. Secondly, it must be sensitive to the context in which the passage comes to us and thirdly it must not introduce a novel strange doctrine not taught elsewhere in the word of God. Well then when we take up this verse and ask what is this judgment of the dead how does it tie in with that future judgment of the living and the dead and what in the world does it say to a bunch of suffering Christians in Asia Minor to strengthen them to have the mind of Christ that it's better

37:57 to suffer than to sin. Well I'm greatly indebted to three or four of my constant mentors as I seek to preach through 1 Peter with you. One of those mentors is Wayne Grudem another is Edmund Clowney and then also Edmund Hebert and then a more technical work by the name of a man by the name of Selwyn. And I have had my judgment persuaded as I've sought to read the Bible.

38:29 I have sought to follow the track of the thinking of these men who have a grasp upon the biblical languages beyond my own who have a background in general biblical studies greatly exceeding my own and without shame I say that having read the various views I am persuaded that their view most comfortably snuggles up to those three standards honesty with the language sensitivity to the context and no introduction of any novel doctrines. Will you indulge me as I read several paragraphs from one of my patron saints of exposition of 1 Peter Mr. Mr. Which one have I got here? This is Mr. Hebert. Mr. Hebert.

39:18 He writes a widely accepted view and that is what I'm going to set before you is not a novel view it's widely accepted is that those described as dead in the Bible in the passage for that's a key to understanding the passage for unto this end was the gospel preached even to the dead there is a widely accepted view that those described as dead were members of the Christian churches addressed but had died before the writing of 1 Peter the New International Version takes this exegetical judgment and inserts the word now into their translation it's not in the Greek but the NIV reads this way for this is the reason the gospel was preached to those who are now dead and though that's not right to put in the word now in translation I believe it is right in our understanding of the passage now let me try to illustrate it and I was racking my brain for an illustration that would illustrate and not confuse and this is the only one I could come up with years ago my wife and I used to be involved in summer camp ministry before I became a pastor and I would be camp evangelist and she would be Aunt Micky and I would be Uncle Al Aunt Micky and Uncle Al that's what the kids called us and suppose I were to take you to see or you were to visit us up there in New Hampshire where one of the camps was located called Camp Good News

40:46 and I was to describe the camp and the various activities and then after supper and after evening activities I was to take you to one of the cabins and there open the door quietly and you were to see 12 kids just zonked up out like they've been shot through the temple they've been going from 6 o'clock in the morning flat out all day long and when they hit their beds at night they're out and I were to say to you I have the privilege I have the privilege of preaching to these sleeping kids now what would you think if I said I have the privilege of preaching to these sleeping kids what word would you insert in your brain as you sought to understand what I meant when I said I had the privilege of preaching to these sleeping kids you put in the word now what you're saying to me Pastor Martin is you had the privilege of preaching to these now sleeping kids you would not in any way read into it that I preached to them while they were asleep you've got more sense than to do that right well won't we give Peter and the Holy Spirit the liberty to speak to us that way look at the text for unto this end was the gospel preached even to the ones who are now dead and because the doctrine

42:14 that there is no second chance it's appointed unto men once to die and after this comes judgment is so embedded in the consciousness of these believers that Peter can speak with a little bit of verbal shorthand and assume that they'll put the right meaning on his words it seems to me that that isn't honest fair without doubt the contemporary parallel linguistic usage of what Peter is saying so what he is saying in my judgment and this is most satisfactory to me at this point in my understanding having said that these who oppose you are going to give account to him that is ready to judge the living and the dead and for this very end the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead preached to them when they were alive preached to them and met with a believing response in order that even they might be judged indeed according to men in the flesh but live according to God in the spirit well if I've persuaded you that at least it's reasonable to assume that the identity of the dead is not people who had gospel preached to them while they were dead that introduces an entirely novel unscriptural notion but the gospel was preached to these who are now dead what in the world does it mean in order that

The Purpose of Preaching to the Dead: Judgment and Life

43:43 it was preached with this end in view with this purpose you Greek students ahina clause of purpose in order that they might be judged according to men but live according to God in the spirit and here you have one of those men dead constructions nice little shorthand in Greek in English we have to say on the one hand but on the other hand in order that they might be on the one hand judged according to men in the flesh but on the other hand live according to God in the spirit now what in the world does that mean well let me tell you what I think it means as I lean upon my patron saint of exposition of this passage the true purpose of that preaching of the gospel to these who are now dead is stated in two different ways that they might be judged indeed according to men in the flesh on the one hand but live according to God in the spirit on the other hand the two aspects are viewed according to a different standard on the one hand according to indicates the standard or rule by which that judgment fell upon them and it was a judgment that came upon them according to the standard of men and according to the standard of men

45:12 these who had heard the gospel these who had embraced the gospel Peter says the gospel was preached to them that they might be judged indeed according to men in the flesh that is according to a human man-made standard and what would that be that would be the blessing of the gospel your kind die just like we die your kind go to the grave just like we go to the grave you have your funerals just like we do and being judged according to men in the flesh the attitude would be what benefit is the gospel you speak of eternal life and you speak of the blessings of the gospel your people die just like ours do and that's the end of them just like we are and Peter says the gospel was preached to those who are now dead that they may be judged a gospel that promises resurrection at the last day it does not promise exemption from death in this life all the sons of Adam will pay their due in death and even though death has been conquered by Christ and the scripture says all things are yours in Christ even death is present as men judge

46:41 believers they say what does your gospel do they use the occasion of the bodily death of believers to be another arrow in their quiver to shoot at the people of God but the reality is that according to God they are living in the spirit according to God they are living in the spirit to judge is an heiress subjunctive that they might be judged with a definitive judgment according to the flesh then you have a presence subjunctive that they may be continually living unto God in the spirit now if that is a right understanding to me it does fit the context it does indeed harmonize with the overall teaching of scripture for remember the early church did not have all the epistles that we have in the church at Corinth there were some denying the doctrine of bodily resurrection 1 Corinthians 15 Paul had to write to the church at Thessalonica and say I would not have you ignorant brethren concerning them which fell asleep that you sorrow not as those who have no hope there were foggy thoughts about what happens to believers when they die and it is not stretching the imagination to think some of that foggy thinking

48:10 may have been present there in Asia Minor and that Peter became aware of it and so when he is nerving these people to face opposition with holy vigor and godly boldness he says look take comfort not only not only will your opposers and detractors be judged by him who is ready to judge at the last day but that last day will be not only the judgment of your enemies but the vindication of your friends in a Yang Meow Randy and his campus that they might be judged indeed according to men in the flesh Gods not caught by surprise with their sneering unbelieving cynical remarks but the reality is that they live according to God in the Spirit and so if your detractors line you up to the wall and say deny Christ or on the count of three And say, for to this end the gospel was preached even unto me, that though men judge me a fool and will see my crumpled body in the courtyard, I know that I shall live according to God in the Spirit. And all they can do with their bullets is chase me up to heaven sooner than I thought I'd go there.

Conclusion: Vindication and the Wrath of the Lamb

49:31 And then in the last day when the judge comes, he'll raise my body out of the grave and make it a glorious body like unto his own body of glory. Well, I said, I'm not ready to die for that interpretation, but after wrestling for many hours, I do believe it is at least a reasonable explanation of the passage. If it's carried your judgment, I trust you will suck sweetness from it. Peter is saying in this final motivation, a motivation drawn from the doctrine of judgment, your persecutors will be judged.

50:12 All Christians will be vindicated. That's a simple statement, but oh, the preciousness of that to the child of God. We can afford the luxury of being considered fools for a little while longer.

50:30 Yes, we can. We can afford the luxury of being considered fools. Considered fools for a little while longer. But the moment is coming when, as Paul says in 2 Thessalonians, we will be admired among all those that believe.

50:46 What God will do in us and for us is unbelievably glorious. And Peter draws near to these suffering saints and he says, look, I'm calling upon you to do something that I know it's not easy for flesh to imbibe. What God will do in us and for us is unbelievably glorious. And Peter draws near to these suffering saints and he says, look, I'm calling upon you to do something that I know it's not easy for flesh to imbibe.

51:06 And Peter draws near to these suffering saints and he says, look, I'm calling upon you to do something that I know it's not easy for flesh to imbibe. If you embrace, arm yourself with the same mind that Christ had, it is better to suffer than to sin. And if the suffering leads me into that crucible of slander and blasphemy, speaking ill of me and of my God and of my Savior, I must remember this. I already gave sin enough time, enough energy, enough of my faculties.

51:31 That's a chapter behind me. And when they now do not understand. And when they now do not understand me and speak evil of me, I am in fellowship with my rejected, maligned Lord. And I look beyond the now and I see the one who's ready to judge the living and the dead and will come forth from that present place at the right hand of the Father and will vindicate all of his own.

51:55 And he will be admired among his own. When those who are not his own will cry for rocks and hills to fall upon them, saying, hide us from the face. When you will be praised for Notice of Him who sits upon the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb. To me that little phrase is one of the most frightening passages in all of the Bible.

52:17 The wrath of the Lamb.

52:21 The lamb meek, lowly, as a lamb before her shearers is dumb. So he opened not his mouth. Behold the Lamb of God, meek, lowly, submitting to spittle and jeering and buffeting and a crown of thorns. and crucifixion, but the wrath of the Lamb. Think of it. The wrath of the Lamb. The wrath of the Lamb. When He comes forth in righteous fury to consume all His and His people's enemies, all the power of deity in the strokes of His judgment. God help you, my dear young man, young woman, older man or woman, if you are found among those who will pray to rocks and hills to hide you, when all around you will be those shouting with joy, exclamations of

53:17 praise and adoration. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. Let's pray. Our Father, we do earnestly pray that Your Spirit would attend the preaching of Your Word with power. Power to the world. We do encourage and strengthen Your saints to face whatever we must face before our earthly pilgrimage is over. We do acknowledge, Lord, our awareness that there is a growing, open, concentrated distaste for all that is Christian and decent and honorable and lawful. We acknowledge with shame that our society does indeed slouch, slip at breakneck speed into Gomorrah.

54:16 And we pray, Lord, that the things we are studying together would not be passed off as mere interesting facts, but that by Your grace we may store up the truths given to us by Your servant Peter, that we may be armed with the mind of Christ when we face greater, more intense opposition and persecution and suffering for the sake of Christ. Lord, have mercy upon those who have sat here tonight. Still unmoved, unbroken, unbent, who are defying You, daring You to put forth Your hand in judgment. Lord, have mercy, have mercy upon them. We pray that You will not allow them to go on in their willful blindness and rebellion. O God, give them what they least want, but what they most need, the constant, the unrelenting pressure of the Spirit through the world. Lord, help us open their hearts, the unbridled prayer of The Will of Jesus Christ itself, that the unborn mortal may find the beautiful, peaceful life of their nostra Qin. Lord, have

55:27 mercy on those sinners, the forcé, the misguided, and thestes in their sucked-up abilities. Lord, call upon us His Will. Lord, know our area and the centrality of Your такимus sanctus car Billie. Lord, find us in Your role. EDUARDO ИлиFA courageously led to Jesus He coverment performing the work in our testimonialNGEL BUNDAR for particular activities and notary that these things were not preached in vain. We ask in Jesus' name. Amen.