Oppose Sin by doing the Will of God (1 Peter 4:2)

SPIRITUAL DIARY

                                                                                                Date:  01-27-03

My Worship Time                  Focus:  Oppose sin by doing the will of God

Bible Reading & Meditation                         Reference:  1Peter 4:2

            Message of the verse:  “As a result, he does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God.”  (NIV)  “And you won’t spend the rest of your life chasing after evil desires, but you will be anxious to do the will of God.”  (NLT)

            If I understand the flow of these two verses in chapter four, they seem to say that Christ suffered in the flesh to put away sin, and when a believer suffers in the flesh he will not be thinking about sinning, but will want to do the will of God, as written in verse two.  Peter is writing to believers who have, or will go through persecution for the cause of Christ, and persecutions have a way of speeding up the process of sanctification, so that we become more like Christ more rapidly.  Peter is saying to forget the way that you were before you were saved, and to be anxious to do the will of God.  Psalm 33:11 speak about the will of God:  “The counsel of the LORD stands forever, The plans of His heart from generation to generation.” Nothing, or no one will ever be able to change the will of God for what He wants to accomplish upon this earth.  Mankind cannot ever change God’s plans, even though at times it seems that God is nowhere around.  God does not pay His bills, (so to speak), at the end of the week.  Believers can know what the will of God is for their lives, and they can prove the will of God for their lives as Romans 12:2 speaks of.

            Spiritual meaning for my life:  Part of doing the will of God is trusting Him completely when going through a trial so that perseverance will be gained in my life, and so that God will build character into my life, so that somewhere down the road I will be able to help someone else out who is going through similar trials.

Again, as I read and studied this passage in 1Peter 4, I have been challenged by the Word to live a life that is pleasing to the Lord. 

My Steps of Faith Today:  To trust the Lord to give me peace, and not fall to the temptations of Satan, as I go through this trial.  To trust the Lord to do His will in the lives of Kim and Tim.

Memory verses for the week:  Psalm 119:11

Thy Word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against Thee.

Think of What Sin did to Jesus (1 Peter 4:1)

SPIRITUAL DIARY

                                                                                                            Date:  01-26-03

My Worship Time                  Focus:  Think of what sin did to Jesus

Bible Reading & Meditation             Reference:  1Peter 4:1

            Message of the verse:  “Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin,”  (NASB95).  “So then, since Christ suffered physical pain, you must arm yourselves with the same attitude he had, and be ready to suffer, too. For if you are willing to suffer for Christ, you have decided to stop sinning.”  (NLT)

            The phrase “he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin” is difficult to understand exactly what Peter was writing about.  It can be said for sure that when a believer dies sin will then have no more affect upon him.  Another view could be that the believer is identified with Christ similar to what Paul wrote about in Romans 6.  Still another this can be looked upon is that believers who do suffer in the flesh for doing what is good can be drawn closer to God, and therefore sin less because of the suffering, and trusting in God.  The Bible does not teach that a believer can be sinless in this life, we all still have the old nature within us and therefore when we yield to it will sin.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  The battle not to sin is with me each and every day of my life, and there are far too many times when I fail to trust in the Lord for strength and fall to the lusts of the flesh.  I know that I am in a battle, and I know that there are times when I will fall, but as I grow up in the Lord, these times should become less and less.  If I were sinless while upon this earth, then I would have no need to trust the Lord for victory over sin.

The Word of God was very challenging to my heart as I read it this morning.

My Steps of Faith Today:  I want to trust the Lord, who is completely trustworthy;to work out His perfect will in the hearts of Kim and Tim as they prepare to vote next week. 

Memory verse for the week:  Psalm 119:11

Your Word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against You.

Resurrection & Ascension of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 3:21-22)

SPIRITUAL DIARY

                                                                                                Date:  01-21-04

My Worship Time                     Focus: Resurrection & Ascension of Jesus Christ

Bible Reading & Meditation                         Reference:  1Peter 3:21-22

            Message of the verse:  “21 ¶ There is also an antitype which now saves us—baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to Him.”  (NKJV)

            I have chosen the NKJV because it seems to me that it is the best version to understand this very difficult passage.  The word translated “antitype” in this verse has this meaning form the Greek:  “something in the Messianic times which answers to the type, as baptism corresponds to the deluge (#1Pe 3:21).” Newsflash!  Last night at 1^st Baptist Church in Elyria our Pastor, Patrick Odle preached on verses 18-22 and stated that the ESV was the best translation to understand this passage and so I am going to  put into this SD the ESV for verses 21-22.  “21 ¶  Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22  who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.”  6/4/2012 10:52:53 AM

            Peter is not saying in this verse that water baptism saves a sinner, for this does not keep with the teachings of the Bible on how a person is saved from their sins.  When a person is baptized they are identified with whom they are baptized.  An example of this would be those who went through the Red Sea with Moses were said to have been baptized with Moses, or they went through the same experience as Moses did.  Christian baptism is the identification of believers with the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Water baptism is one of the two ordinances of the Church, with the other being the “Lords Supper.”  When a new believer is baptized he is first asked to give his testimony as to how he accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior, and this word is used in verse 21, when Peter writes “the ‘answer’ of a good conscience.”  After giving their testimony, the believer is then plunged under the water and then taken up out of the water, which symbolizes Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection from the dead.  Now the question still remains as to how this relates to the ark that Noah and his families were in.  In both cases the water represents death, or judgment and the salvation from the judgment of the flood was the ark, and it is a picture of Jesus Christ, for all believers are in Christ, and will be delivered safely to heaven by Him just as Noah and his family were delivered safely from the judgment of the flood.

            Peter goes on in verse 22 to tell his readers that after the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the grave, He now sits at the right hand of God in heaven, and that angels and authorities and powers have been subjected to Him.  This may relate back to verse 19, which is the verse that was written about yesterday, and in the commentary on that verse I said that when Christ died that He may well have gone and spoken to the spirits of fallen angels proclaiming to them His victory and thus their defeat.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I have learned a lot more about baptism as I studied this passage this morning.  I was again reminded of my identification with the Lord Jesus Christ when he died for my sins, and when He was buried, and when He arose from the dead.  I believe that the Bible teaches that somehow I was with Him when all of this happened, and I certainly do not know how to explain that, but it surely makes me closer to Him because of that teaching. 

The Word of God was very refreshing to my soul as I studied it this morning.

Memory verses for the week:  Psalm 119:11, and 1Peter 3:15

Your Word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against You.

But sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence.  

    

Preaching of Noah (1 Peter 3:19-20)

SPIRITUAL DIARY

                                                                                                Date:  01-20-04

My Worship Time                                                      Focus:  Preaching of Noah

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  1Peter 3:19-20

            Message of the verse:  “19 in which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison, 20 who once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water.”  (NASB95)  “19 through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison 20 who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water,”  (NIV)

            As I stated in yesterday’s “Spiritual Diary,” this section from verses 18-22 are difficult to understand so what is given in this diary is only one viewpoint, and may not be the perfect interpretation of the verses.  Between the death of Christ on the cross and His resurrection from the dead He visited spirits who were in prison, and these spirits were disobedient to God at the time before the flood that Noah and his family went through.  This was an extremely wicked time on planet earth, for the Bible says that Noah preached for 120 years, and no one believed his message except the seven other people in his family.  The word for preached does not mean that Jesus preached the gospel, but the word means to proclaim.  It could be that Jesus was proclaiming His victory over Satan to these evil spirits who may be the ones spoken about in Revelations who come up out of the pit as one of the judgments during the tribulation period.  These could also be the angels that Jude was writing about in verse 6 of his letter where he states, “And I remind you of the angels who did not stay within the limits of authority God gave them but left the place where they belonged. God has kept them chained in prisons of darkness, waiting for the day of judgment.”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  God judges sin is the message that I get out of these two verses, for in them I see that God judged my sin on the cross where Jesus paid it all for me, and I also see that God will judge all sin one day and make every wrong right, just as He will do during the time of trouble that will come upon the earth, and also when He justly sends people to hell for not accepting the payment for their sins that was paid for by Christ on the cross.

The Word of God is a challenge to my heart as I read it this morning.

My Steps of Faith Today:  I want to continue to trust the Lord with our investments, and pray that He will work in the heart of His servant Andrew Lech to confess his sins and to reveal where the money is so that this trial will be over.  I want to continue to trust the Lord with the trial that is going on at our church, and ask Him what I personally am to do about this, and what our Bible Study group is to do about this sin that has been revealed to all of us.  I want to trust the Lord to bring back Jessica from her rebellion. 

Memory verse for the week:  1Peter 3:15

But sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence.”