People approach life in a variety of different ways. I suspect that no two people here today are exactly the same in how they think about what lies ahead and how or even whether they prepare themselves in advance for what is to come.

Some of you hardly give a second thought to what your day may hold. You just take it as it comes. You’re not the sort that plans and prepares and tries to anticipate what is around the corner, while others of you have every hour strategically mapped out the night before, maybe even the week before. Some of you don’t like to think about the future, whether short term or long term. Others of you have a life plan in place and it would take an act of Congress to change it!

I mention this because of something Peter says in verse 1 of chapter 4 of his letter: “arm yourselves with the same way of thinking.” Peter evidently believed that at least some degree of readiness and preparation and forethought should be given to life. But the language he uses is intriguing.

We aren’t just to “have” a way of thinking nor are we simply to “plan” or “prepare” in advance. We are to “arm” ourselves. The language is clearly related to Paul’s frequent exhortation that we take up the armor necessary for living the Christian life. What Peter is calling for here is obviously difficult; it requires the same commitment, discipline, and spiritual fortitude that are expected of a soldier entering battle. So there’s a real sense of urgency in Peter’s language that we need to note.

But note also that it isn’t with a sword or a gun or a weapon in any traditional sense of the term with which we are to “arm” ourselves. Don’t think in terms of purchasing a Smith & Wesson 38 special or an AK-47 assault rifle! Rather, it is with a way of thinking, an idea, an intention, a purpose, a point of view.

But with what point of view? With what intention or idea or way of thinking are we to arm and prepare ourselves? He tells us: the “same” one that Jesus had. Read v. 1 with me again: “Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking.” And with what way of thinking or purpose did Christ approach life? He approached life and lived it, determined to embrace the suffering that comes from obedience to God.

Go back with me to an earlier place in 1 Peter where we saw this same emphasis. See 1 Peter 2:19-21 . . . and 3:17-18 . . .

Jesus willingly embraced the suffering that a godly life so often provokes. So also should we. We are to “arm” ourselves with this perspective on daily life. Get ready to suffer! Be prepared to endure unjust treatment for being a Christian. Think in advance and strengthen your heart to face opposition and persecution. Don’t let suffering catch you off-guard or by surprise.

I know this is hard for some of you. One reason is that you’ve been misled by well-meaning Christian pastors or teachers. They’ve told you that if you will obey and pursue righteousness and align your life with the Word of God that you will escape suffering, that you will prosper financially and socially and physically. They’ve tried to persuade you that if you do end up suffering it is because of some defect in your faith, some fault in your commitment to God, some sin in your life that you’ve failed to confess.

Others of you struggle with this because no matter how obedient you may be you don’t see much suffering in our safe, western, insulated environment. After all, how many of you are well acquainted with someone who was imprisoned, tortured, and eventually martyred for their faith in Christ? Not many, if any.

But let’s not forget that the people to whom Peter is writing hadn’t experienced that degree or kind of suffering either. State sponsored persecution had not yet emerged. No one had been beaten or thrown in jail as yet. As far as we can tell, no one had yet lost their life. The suffering in 1 Peter was more along the lines of what we in fact do face today: slander, ridicule, mockery, rejection, and social ostracism.

You know what I’m talking about. All of us do. It may be as big as the loss of a well-deserved promotion at work or as small as the way your next door neighbor ignores you simply because you’re a Christian. And all of us know what to do to avoid it. We know how to keep our mouths shut, or how to avoid certain topics, or how not to bring up Jesus in a crowd of people who’d rather tell filthy jokes or laugh about adultery or drop the F-bomb every other sentence.

But Peter’s simple yet forceful word of exhortation to us all is this: arm yourself with a way of thinking about life and about how to live and move and relate among people who hate God and want nothing to do with Jesus Christ. And that way of thinking is simply this: 1 Peter 3:17 . . . 4:1 . . . God often calls his children to endure suffering that they don’t deserve.

This paragraph today is all about encouragement to suffer for righteousness’ sake. And Peter gives us five reasons why we should “arm” our hearts, minds, and wills with the readiness to suffer.

Now, just so you are prepared, in doing so he also says a lot of things that call for extended explanation. This is a difficult passage and there are some deep theological issues that arise. And as you’ve come to expect from me, I have no intention of avoiding them!

(1) Arm yourselves to suffer, because Christ did! (v. 1a)

The first reason we should be resolved in our hearts to embrace unjust suffering is because Jesus did! And this wasn’t something that fell upon him by chance. He chose it. He willingly embraced it.

This is actually quite stunning. I fear we’ve said and heard this so many times before that the reality of it has lost its punch. The second person of the holy Trinity, the righteous and majestic Son of God entered this world precisely so that he might suffer!

What does this tell us? Among countless other things, it reminds us that there is a fundamental, inescapable, entrenched hostility on the part of the world system towards God and truth and righteousness. The fact that Jesus suffered as he did points to the underlying conflict in values and morals and perceptions of truth between this world and us. Read John 15:18-21.

"If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. ¹⁹ If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. ²⁰ Remember the word that I said to you: 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. ²¹ But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me.”

(2) Arm yourselves with the aim to suffer, because to suffer is to cease from sin (v. 1b)

Whoa! Hold on. Are we being told here that if we will but embrace suffering as Christ did that we can attain a state in this life of sinless perfection? No. I don’t think so. Peter nowhere in this epistle envisions this as a possibility and numerous texts throughout the Scriptures explicitly teach otherwise.

Could it be then that Peter is saying that to suffer physically for our faith serves to purge and purify us from sin, even if we should never reach a state of sinless perfection? There is an element of truth in this, as 1 Peter 1:6-7 suggested (refines and purifies faith; intensifies our commitment to Christ and weans us off reliance on the world and flesh). But I still don’t think that’s his point in this passage.

I'm not completely sure, but I believe what this means is that if you trust God enough to suffer for doing what is right (as 3:17 says), then you have made a decisive break with sin.

Peter’s point here is that whoever suffers for doing what is right and continues to serve and love God in spite of it has experienced a fundamental reversal in their relationship to sin. That doesn’t mean he or she will never sin again, but that by their decision to embrace suffering rather than deny God and turn from it, they give evidence that their lives have taken a decisive turn for holiness and away from sin.

In other words, choose suffering because if you don't, you will choose sin. But if you do suffer for righteousness sake, you will prove that your bondage to sin has been broken. Get the thought and the purpose in your head that Christ is worth suffering for; live out that conviction when the choice comes between suffering and sin; and in suffering sin will be defeated and you will be triumphant. If you come to the point where you suffer for righteousness' sake, you have ceased from sin, not in the sense of sinless perfection, but a clean break with your former history of indulgence in sin.

“The point is not that believers who suffer have attained sinless perfection, as if they do not sin at all after suffering. What Peter emphasized was that those who commit themselves to suffer, those who willingly endure scorn and mockery for their faith, show that they have triumphed over sin. They have broken with sin because they have ceased to participate in the lawless activities of unbelievers and endured the criticisms that have come from such a decision. The commitment to suffer reveals a passion for a new way of life, a life that is not yet perfect but remarkably different from the lives of unbelievers in the Greco-Roman world” (Schreiner, 201).

What it means to make a clean break from sin is then explained in v. 2. To make a break with sin is to resolve not to live for human passions but for God’s will, a resolve that is clearly seen by one’s willingness to endure suffering for righteousness’ sake. When you suffer for what's right, it's a sign that you have renounced sinful human desires and embraced the will of God as a higher value.

By the “passions” or will of the flesh / humans Peter is referring to what we today typically have in mind when we say, “If it feels good, do it.”

Point: There is a sure fire way to avoid suffering. Just join with the world in their practice of sin! Blend in with the surrounding culture. Become one of them. Become like them. Don’t stand out in a crowd because of your moral convictions. Embrace the moral values of the world and the people in that world will leave you alone. Or they may praise you. But you will surely escape ridicule and mockery and the suffering that comes with it.

Note well. Peter appears to be saying that there are only two alternatives. Either you embrace suffering as the inevitable calling of all those who follow Christ, or you continue in sin together with those who reject him.

(3) Arm yourself with the aim and intent to suffer, because the sins you’ve committed in the past are enough! (v. 3)

Verse 3 is a simple and remarkable statement: The time already past is sufficient for sin. It's enough. So don't do it any more. Suffer if you must. But don't do any more sin.

By the way, in saying that we’ve sinned “enough” in the past doesn’t mean that we reached our quota! Peter isn’t saying, “Hey folks, I know each of you had a certain number of sins to commit in the past. Well, you’ve filled that quota. In fact, some of you went way beyond what was expected of you. So stop.” No!

Arm yourself with this thought: any amount of past sinning is enough. If you sinned a little before you were converted, it's enough. If you sinned a lot and for many years before your conversion, it's enough. You can never sin so little that you could say, "I need some more time to sin."

How many people say, "I know I need to get right with God. I know I need to stop what I’m doing. I know I need to put an end to this life I’m leading and turn things around. But maybe just a little more. Maybe just a little longer. There’s a few more things I’d like to do. I don’t feel like I’ve fornicated enough. I’ve got a few more wild drunken nights ahead of me.” No! Peter says, arm yourself with this thought: the time you've spent sinning is sufficient. Make the break; choose the will of God. And suffer for it if you must.

When he talks about living like the Gentiles, i.e., unbelievers, when he talks about sin, what specifically does he have in mind? It is striking how similar life is now to what life was like then. Human passions haven’t changed.

• “living in sensuality” – living without regard for moral restraint; living as if there were no moral control or guidelines for your actions (especially when it comes to sexual sin).

• “passions” – sinful human desires that when given reign can control you; whatever feels good, whatever is “in”, whatever the crowd does.

• “drunkenness” –

• “orgies” – banquets and feasts, i.e., parties given over to sensual and sexual indulgence

• “drinking parties” –

• “lawless idolatry” – does this mean against God’s law or against civil law? This suggests that sensual living is wrapped up in idolatry and it is difficult to engage in the former without falling into the latter.

(4) It is the wise and godly thing to arm yourself for suffering, because those who continue in sin and malign you for not joining them will face divine judgment (vv. 4-5).

Here we see again what it means for Christians to regard themselves as sojourners and exiles on the earth: we do not share the values of the world and thus do not fit into the social or moral fabric of the surrounding culture.

The response among unbelievers and those who want nothing to do with Christ is one of both surprise and contempt: they “malign” you, they revile, ridicule, they verbally abuse you and laugh at you. Discrimination in daily life; cut out of the “in” crowd. Resolve that you will probably never be among the “insiders” in modern society.

Why do they react this way? Because silent withdrawal or refusal to participate implies condemnation of the action. By your refusal to join with them they feel the judgment of God. They are forced to reckon with a higher standard of conduct and it makes them feel horribly uncomfortable.

You refuse to “join them” – literally, “run with them,” which points to the urgent and energetic pursuit of some new thrill, some new rush.

The words “flood of debauchery” = “rapid pouring out of unrestrained indulgence” or “torrent” or “flood” of indulgence.

But here’s Peter point: simply because they are surprised and angry does not get them off the hook. They will be held accountable by God!

When you suffer for righteousness sake, you do not need to resort to sinful vengeance. You do not need to have the last word. God stands ready to settle all accounts. And he will do it far better than we.

One of the greatest temptations when we suffer for doing right is to cry out that it is unjust and to call the other person to account. There may be times when that is right to do. But most of the time when you suffer for righteousness' sake, God's will is not that you do the calling to account, but that you hand over to him who judges justly. Nothing will be swept under the rug. Nothing will be forgotten. And the judge will be God.

Do you see how immensely practical thinking about the final judgment can be? Reinforce your soul, strengthen your heart, empower your will to stand firmly in the path of righteousness, because a day really is coming when God will address every wrong and reward every right. The evil men and women commit may be long forgotten by the people around you. The repentance which was never carried through may be forgotten by men. Death may have come after a long and comfortable life of sin. But then comes judgment before the all-remembering God. Don’t capitulate to their ways, for the day will come when the tables will be turned . . . by God.

So when you suffer wrongly, and you feel that someone "gets away with murder," leave it in the hands of God. He will judge justly the living and the dead. Arm yourselves with this assurance: it is better to suffer for doing right and to leave judgment to God.

(5) Be like Jesus and arm yourself for suffering, because suffering in the flesh does not separate us from God but leads to an experience of life in the spiritual real such as God himself lives (v. 6).

Some have tried to argue that this verse speaks of the gospel being preached to people who have physically died, providing them with a second chance, after death, to believe and be saved. The link between this interpretation of v. 6 and v. 5 is: “How can God judge those who’ve never heard the gospel?” Reply: He can judge them all because all have in fact heard, if not in this life then certainly in the next.

This interpretation is related to a particular interpretation of 3:19ff. There we saw that some contend the “spirits” in prison are human beings who have died and that Christ went to them between the time of his death and resurrection and preached the gospel, giving them yet another opportunity to be saved. But as we saw, the “spirits” are fallen angelic beings, that is to say, demons, and the proclamation to them is one of judgment, not salvation.

But even if this theory were correct, which it isn’t, what about all those who’ve died after Christ’s resurrection without hearing the gospel? If this verse is telling us what was done by Christ during the three days between his death and resurrection, when is it that he is supposed to have preached to everyone who has died in the past two thousand years without having heard the gospel?

Furthermore, the NT nowhere envisions the possibility of someone who has died being offered yet another opportunity to be saved. See Luke 16:26 and especially Hebrews 9:27.

Also, if v. 6 refers to Christ preaching to all humans who have died physically, then we must embrace the doctrine of universalism, that is to say, the doctrine that all people will eventually be saved. For Peter goes on in the second half of v. 6 to say that although they experienced the judgment of physical death they will “live in the spirit the way God does.” But there are dozens of texts that disprove universalism.

Yet another reason this can’t be what Peter means in v. 6 is because of the overall argument of the entire letter. Peter’s aim has been to encourage Christians to persevere in the face of suffering, to endure when they are mistreated for their faith because they have a future reward of eternal life. But it would hardly motivate Peter’s readers to persevere in the face of hardship and trial if the easy road of sin and safety could be overcome after death. “It would make no sense at all if he were to shift gears suddenly and promise a second chance to those who have rejected the gospel during this life. If Peter were promising a second chance, the Petrine readers could not be faulted for concluding that they could deny the faith now and then embrace it after death” (TS, 207).

In other words, what kind of warning would it be to say that God is ready to judge people for sin (v. 5) and then say that it doesn’t really matter how you live now because you’ll always have another chance after death to get saved?

So, it seems clear that Peter is talking about the gospel being preached to Christians who are now dead. These people had heard and believed the gospel while they were alive but had subsequently died.

Hence the “dead” of v. 6 are people who are physically dead at the time of Peter’s writing this letter. The preaching is that done by Christian ministers and missionaries, like us. Christ isn’t the one who preaches. He is rather the content or focus of the message we preach. These people weren’t physically dead when they heard the gospel. They are people who heard the gospel and believed and have subsequently died physically.

Thus the gospel was preached to people who are now dead; it wasn’t preached to them while they are dead.

The pagan scoffers of Peter’s day seemed to have good grounds for their unbelief and their ridicule of Christians. The promised second coming of Christ hasn’t occurred. Meanwhile Christians are dying physically just like everyone else. Unbelievers viewed the death of believers as proof that there is no advantage in becoming a Christian, because everyone ends up dying anyway.

Was it in vain, therefore, that the gospel was preached to people who have since died? No. The gospel was preached to them in order that they might live in the presence of God even though to the eyes of unbelievers they appear to have suffered the penalty of death and gone the way of all mankind.

Probably one of the ways that the adversaries were maligning the Christians was by saying: "Ha! You say that you have such good news. You say that you escape judgment. You say your God is great and saves you and gives you joy. Well all we've got to say is: you are missing a lot of parties and you die just like everybody else. So if you die and go to the worms, and we die and go to the worms, we say, Eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die!"

Peter's armor against this slander and his fifth word to help us embrace suffering like Jesus is simply: The gospel was not preached to your dead Christian friends in vain. The reason the gospel was preached to those who have died is so that even though it looks like they have been judged like everybody else, they haven't. They are alive in the spirit. They are with the Lord. And the sufferings that they experienced here are not worthy to be compared to the glory that has been revealed to them (Romans 8:17f.).

The point of this verse is to encourage us that even though there is a judgment coming beyond the grave, and even though all of us die, nevertheless those who hear and believe the gospel will "live in the spirit according to the will of God."