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In light of Christ’s willingness to suffer so that you might escape eternal judgment, how then should you live?

Background Context

Christ willingly experienced physical harm to bring eternal spiritual gain (3:17-18)

Eternal judgment is real – baptism is a symbol of rescue from a deserved watery grave (3:21).

Therefore, since Christ suffered, salvation is available, and eternal judgment is real, how do the genuinely saved live?

1. You take on this attitudinal mindset - “I will obey God’s will and suffer, rather than disobey and sin” (3:17; 4:1).

• Motivation – to be “done with sin”
  
  
• Sin is finally tamed when obeying God is more important to you than avoiding hardship.
  
  
• Our baptismal promise – to repent of sin and to be raised to new life in Christ.

2. You make a complete break from your old ambitions so that you can live out your entire earthly life for the will of God (4:2).

• Deciding to endure pain rather than disobey God moves you to the spiritual big leagues.
  
  
• You must make a complete break from feelings (“evil human desires”) as your guide, in favour of God’s word/will.

3. The right attitude will shape the right ambitions which will enable you to say no to life-killing activities (4:3).

• You may have already used up more than enough of your life chasing the wrong desires

Living for Christ-means saying goodbye to activities of unbelievers:

• Sex with everybody and anybody
• Violent behaviour
• Getting drunk
• Wild partying with unrestrained sex and drinking
• Demonic priorities

4. You stop associating (“running with”) with this flesh-fixated crowd even though they abuse you for abandoning the lifestyle (4:4-5).

• Cost? –Escaping from the tsunami of unrestrained indulgence will be taken personally as disapproval.
  
  
• “Bad company corrupts good character” (1 Cor. 15:33) – Will you make the break or remain ashamed of Jesus?
  
  
• All people will be held accountable – death is not an escape from accountability, it ushers you into the epicentre of it.

5. The reason the gospel is preached (4:6)…

• Death is God’s judgment on sin; if not redeemed (saved), death is eternal and permanently painful.
  
  
• The gospel received, enables people, although physically judged by physical death (Rom. 6:23; Heb. 9:27), to live in the Spirit like God for eternity.

ARE YOU SAVED?
ARE YOU LIVING THE SAVED LIFE?

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