1Pet 4:1-19

Jesus set his mind towards the cross. He had, as Peter puts it, a ‘way of thinking’.

• He humbled himself
• He looked forward to the joy set before Him – winning the victory over sin and receiving His reward from the Father
• He knew He would be condemning sin to make us free.

Peter tells us to arm ourselves with the same way of thinking – knowing that suffering leads to victory. We are in Christ so what happened to Christ is true of us. Christ died to sin, so have we. Romans 6:12 tells us ‘therefore do not let sin reign in your bodies’. 1 Peter 4:1 tells us essentially the same thing.

Arm yourselves – know that we have been transferred from the kingdom of sin to the kingdom of grace, from darkness to light, from death to life. Sin and death have been dealt a deathblow, so live in the good of it.

Peter then tells us what that means

• Avoid sexual immorality – sexual activity outside a marriage between husband and wife
• Don’t get drunk
• Be self-controlled and sober minded
• Show hospitality to others
• Don’t be surprised when trials and tests come.

All those things we can do, but we have already died to sin and come alive to Christ – that is true if you are a Christian. And then we need to think the truth and live in the good of it.

Marinate on that.

Andy Moyle