3 For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry. 4 They are surprised that you do not join them in their reckless, wild living, and they heap abuse on you. 5 But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. ~ 1 Peter 4:3-5
Today, we return to our study of 1 Peter 4 where the Apostle Peter is helping us to recognize the value of the culture of God which is primarily inculcated into our souls by the Holy Spirit and our choice to obey the Word of God. It is God's definitions of all things that reveals His culture which is that which makes all things good and right, even though they may be delivered to us through painful experiences.
In v.3 of today's passage we read, "For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry."
In v.4 of today's passage we read, "They are surprised that you do not join them in their reckless, wild living, and they heap abuse on you."
As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, we should be different in our lifestyle in comparison to unbelievers because we have entered into a personal relationship with God and our eyes have been opened to the destructiveness of sin. Our lifestyle difference is not a sign that we are better than those who have no personal relationship with God, because it has been created by the impartation of the Holy Spirit into our hearts. Depending on where we are in the process of being defined by God, we will reflect a measure of difference at various times in that process.
The key word in this verse is the word "choose." This word reflects why those who know not God live as they do. They have been sold a bill of goods, as we had been before we came to faith in the Lord. The list of sins that Peter highlights here are addictions which entangle those who live for pleasure, thinking that pleasure is the ultimate experience in life. What they do not know is that the self life is destructive and it leads to plasticity. I remember when I was in high school and every Monday morning the guys would talk about the girls they had been with over the weekend. They would tell how they had sex with a girl whom they had gotten high or drunk. They had a warped view of sex and this is what motivated them to take advantage of those girls. Such is the case for those who are being defined by sin.
In v.4 of today's passage we read, "They are surprised that you do not join them in their reckless, wild living, and they heap abuse on you."
Those who know not for themselves the saving grace of God do not understand what happens to a person into whom God enters. The world is surprised when we get serious at our attempt to follow Christ and forsake sin. They don't think it strange when we wreck our bodies with drugs or when we turn our backs on destroying our families through wild and irresponsible living. They don't think it strange when we wreck our jobs because of our hangovers. They do think it strange when the drunk becomes sober or when the dad starts loving his children as he ought. They think it is strange when the sinner enters into a personal relationship with God resulting in his eyes opening to the diabolical nature of sin.
It must be stressed that any change in the believer's lifestyle is not a requirement for going to heaven, but a result of heaven getting into the believer. As a result, the believer in Christ must never be surprised by unbelievers who "heap abuse" on us when we do not enter into their sin. They do this because they are empty of the substance that makes the believer different.
We all struggle with the idea that as Christians we are to be both out of step with the culture of this world, and compelling to those who live in that culture. In order to have a chance at accomplishing this task, our motivation as believers in Christ must come from God's definition of us and of all things, including our unsaved friends. All the while, we must remain aware of the fact that unbelievers will one day face the judgement of God. And, due to this fact, we must desire to be used of God, pointing our friends to God with the hope that they will receive the free gift of forgiveness of their sin by God.
In v.5 of today's passage we read, "But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead."
These described in this verse are those who in the previous verse were "surprised that you do not join them in their reckless, wild living." Of them, the Apostle Peter wrote, "they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead."
The Lord Jesus Christ is the standard or the plumb line for that which is true and right. He has always been without sin, and He prevailed over sin and death because of His sinlessness. He is the embodiment of the law, and therefore, He is the ideal to which all others must attain in order to be acceptable before God. Once a person has come to the end of himself and trusts Christ as his Savior, he then through Christ is made acceptable before God.
In this verse, the Apostle Peter writes of the judgment that will be for both "the living and the dead." For all who will be found in Christ and His finished work on the cross for the forgiveness of their sin, they will be pronounced righteous and acceptable before God. For those who will be found not humble enough to receive the free gift of forgiveness from God, they will spend eternity in hell, separated from God and all that is good. No one who has ever lived on this earth will escape this judgement. The Christian will pass the entrance exam only after having trusted that the Lord Jesus' death on the cross paid his penalty before our holy and just God.
The Lord Jesus Christ is not only the plumb line for that which is true, He is also the plumb line for those who trust in Him as their Savior. And, for those who have yet to receive the free gift of salvation through Him, He will be the plumb line who will reveal there crookedness in the end. As believers in Christ, we are to be daily prepared to give a reason to those who ask for the hope that we have within us. In addition, we should regularly pray for those whom we meet, praying that God opens their eyes to the truth like He did for us.
