Monthly Archive for November, 1997

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1 Peter 4:7e

Published on November 20, 1997 in 1 Peter. 1 Comment
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“But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers.”
 
 
in your prayers
 
This is the third reference to prayer in I Peter (3:7,12). “Prayers” is in the plural and means both quantity and quality of our prayer life. We need balance and vigilance in every situation of prayer and every kind of prayer. 
 
Ep 6: 18 “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.”
 
“In” connotes in the Greek “with a view to.” Carry out the above commands with a view to your prayer life. The first issue of prayer is the desire, not to get what we wish, but to discover the will of God. If we consummate the seven commands of verses 7-11, God will answer prayer. A calm and collected spirit and self-discipline facilitate our prayer life. If we do not retain capacity for self-restraint in our mentality, it will be difficult to pray. 
 
If believers have qualities of seriousness of mind and self-control in prayer, we can face trial properly. If we employ these two qualities, this will help us to pray. A Christian needs to know how to restrain himself, to reign himself in and operate in an orderly manner. God wants us to be apt to pray. A calm and collected attitude enables us to be more effective in our prayer life. 
 
Sober prayer stands in striking contrast to the “frenzied” prayer of pagan worship of the first century. This is the opposite of undue excitement or mania prayers of those who have no right to pray based on the finished work of Christ.
 
II Th 2: 2 “Not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come.”
 
PRINCIPLE: Stability of mind is necessary for effective prayer.
 
APPLICATION: Christians always on the race do not pray much. We need sobriety and self-discipline in prayer. Are you self-disciplined in prayer?  When people succumb to pressure, they no longer concentrate.  Hysteria indicates lack of concentration and discipline.  Stability of mind is absolutely necessary for your prayer life. Prayer takes concentration. Unless we can pray under pressure, we will not pray properly.
 
Are you sleepy in your prayer life?  Dullness prevents dynamic prayer. If we fulfill the two commands of this verse, we create an environment conducive to answered prayer. God wants us to keep an inner steadiness while in prayer. Keep your heads. It is difficult to get through to the presence of God if we try to force our way into his presence through the crowd of anxious thought and sinful desires. We will rise from our knees disappointed and frustrated every time. We will say prayers but not pray. 
 
Apathy, sluggishness, lethargy prevent dynamic prayer. Peter slept when he should have prayed. Peter was filled with anxiety and confusion in the Garden of Gethsemane when the soldiers arrested Jesus. Lacking sane judgment, he grabbed a sword and cut off the ear of a slave. This is not how we are to handle pressure under duress. 
 
Mt 26: 41 “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
 
Co 4: 2 “Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving.”
 
When we have an unbalanced mind we cannot pray as we could otherwise. If our approach to life is selfish and irresponsible, we cannot pray as we ought. We would not know what to ask. We would ask for the wrong things because our priority would be wrong. The first priority of prayer is that we discover God’s will for our lives, not to get what we want.  
 
Do you have an aversion for prayer?  Aversion to pray is bizarre since prayer is a great promise and opportunity provided by God. We make a great mistake if we think that spiritual business will compensate for lack of communion with God. A full prayer life is a powerful life. 
 
All of us do not have the same amount of money but we all have the same amount of time. We all have equal opportunity to pray.
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1 Peter 4:7d

Published on November 19, 1997 in 1 Peter. 0 Comments
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“But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers.”
 
 
and watchful
 
The word “watchful” means self-controlled, dispassionate (1:13; 5:8; I Thess. 5:6, 8; II Tim. 4:5). God expects those under suffering to be spiritually alert, vigilant, on guard. He wants us to be in control under any circumstance. A person on guard can be calm and collected when difficult times come. Keep your cool when things go haywire. 
 
The New Testament used “watchful” for drunkenness. Drunkenness means that we are not in control of our mind or thought processes. A characteristic of true character is self-control. 
 
God expects us to behave with restraint and moderation not permitting excesses. He wants believers to have sobriety of thought that avoids excesses in passion, rashness or confusion. “Do not be intoxicated with anxiety, care and pleasures. Be calm and collected. Don’t always be on a tear worrying about this or that.” Every football player needs self-discipline. We need this for school. We need it in business. We need it in prayer.
 
Even though the Lord warned Peter, James and John not to fall asleep, they fell asleep in spite of what the Lord said. He woke them up and yet they fell asleep again. Three times this happened. 
 
Mt 26: 40 “Then He came to the disciples and found them asleep, and said to Peter, “What? Could you not watch with Me one hour? 41“Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
 
PRINCIPLE: Effective prayer takes self-discipline.
 
APPLICATION: Do you have a calm, sober disposition and self-discipline fit for prayer?
 
Watch that you do not fall asleep in prayer. Look out lest your mind wanders from consciousness contact with the Lord. The Devil will cause our minds to wander. We will think about a dozen different things rather than truly pray. Ten minutes will pass and we thought we prayed but all we did was let our minds wander. 
 
If our sin capacity is in the ascendancy we will have no interest to pray. Peter, who wrote this epistle, knew all about this (Mt. 26:41). He did not watch and pray. He slept and prayed!
 
Lk 18: 1 “Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart.”
 
Col 4: 2 “Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving”
 
Eph 6: 18 “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.”
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1 Peter 4:7c

Published on November 18, 1997 in 1 Peter. 0 Comments
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“But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers.”
 
 
be serious
 
“Serious” comes from two words: to keep safe and mind.   This is a term of mental health – to be in our right mind, then to be reasonable, sensible, serious, keep our head to be temperate, discreet, show self-control to come to ones senses, learn self-control. Peter says in effect,“Preserve your sanity. Keep things in their proper proportion.” 
 
This person sees what is important while under duress. “Guard your mind.” God expects us to stabilize our thought pattern. Why should the Christian get upset and fall apart when trial comes? 
 
Is 26: 3            “You will keep him in perfect peace,
Whose mind is stayed on You,
Because he trusts in You.”
 
Peter wants us to keep our minds safe, to preserve our sanity. A great attribute of sanity is that it sees things in proper balance. It sees what is important and what is not. It is not impulsive and capricious. It is not subject to fanaticism nor indifference. It sees the circumstances of time in the light of eternity. Circumstance finds its importance in the light of eternal values. When God gives us this perspective, all things take proper place in our thinking.
 
“Serious” signifies alertness (I Thess. 5:6, 8; II Tim. 4:5; I Pet. 1:13). Metaphorically, it does not in itself imply watchfulness, but is used in association with it to think soberly. Christians are to be clear in their thinking about how to live the Christian life. God wants our minds stayed and solid. This is a mind that restricts excesses from coming into our lives. 
 
“Be serious” is an urgent command. “Deal decisively with your instability. Do not panic. Keep sound as a bell.” The person who is never at rest does not do much praying. Stability comes from orientation to the plan of God. When we keep balance in our thought life we are not flighty and carried away by distorted thinking or by attacks from men. 
 
The idea is that God wants us to approach life free from frivolous and irresponsible living. We take life seriously. We understand the consequences of our decisions for time and eternity. We know the impact of our decisions on self and others and take a responsible approach to life. We do not abandon ourselves to such excitement that we lose self-control. We cultivate spiritual calmness. 
 
PRINCIPLE: God wants us to establish balance in times of disaster.
 
APPLICATION: The Christian should have the ability to think in the stable sector. Do you keep your thinking stable in times of trouble? It is very easy to allow some disaster to cause a wide variety in the consistency of our thinking. Our thinking determines how well we live the Christian life. 
 
The Christian life comes down to what we think. Mental attitude sins such as bitterness, antagonism, fear, worry, anxiety, jealousy or a guilt complex will destroy our stability. We need this stability before we enter the storm.  If we enter suffering conditions without stability we will crack up mentally. 
 
We need something greater than ourselves to face disaster conditions. This greater thinking is the thinking about the Word of God and his providential care for us. The more of the Word we get into our orientation toward life the more stable we will be. We will have greater capacity to deal with whatever we face. As you move into the storms of life you need to have the Word firmly lodged in your thinking patterns. This will give you the stability you need in the trials of life. 
 
Some Christians enter psychotic or neurotic dimensions even without heavy duress. This is a case of the difference between the charge of the mosquito and the charge of the elephant. How we handle of the charge of the mosquito will determine how we handle the charge of the elephant. In principle the elephant goes down the same way the mosquito. It is when we are in the normal experiences of life that we need to learn how to cope with mosquito issues.  We cannot depend on other people to help us. This is something that we must learn for ourselves. 
 
Do you approach life frivolously and irresponsibility? Do you take life seriously? We should keep the importance of eternal issues before us at all times. We need to be aware of the consequences of our actions both for time and eternity. We need to be aware of the effects of our actions on ourselves and on others. 
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1 Peter 4:7b

Published on November 17, 1997 in 1 Peter. 0 Comments
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“But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers.”
 
 
therefore
 
“Therefore” draws an inference to the phrase “the end of all things is at hand.” Because of the coming crisis, Christians are to follow the following seven directives (vv. 11-17). These are as binding on the child of God as “you shall not kill” (Ex. 20:13). 
 
The Holy Spirit sets forth these commands in light of the imminency of the dire situation these Asia Minor Christians were about to face. They were to lay these things to heart. The “therefore” is the verbal link between seven exhortations that follow and the pressure the Asia Minor Christians are going to encounter.
 
PRINCIPLE: We need to operate on divine directives during duress.
 
APPLICATION: It matters how we think under pressure. The Word of God will mold and direct our thinking. As the Spirit of God deposits truth in our mind, our thinking will change (II Co. 3:18) and God will progressively transform us. Eventually the Lord of Glory will dominate our entire thinking apparatus. He is Lord of the mind (I Co 2:16). 
 
Our head is usually the last citadel to capitulate to the sovereign Lord. “I know better. I am too wise. I am too smart. It doesn’t stand to reason…” This is a proud head. We are too top heavy (II Co 11:3). In II Co 11:3 Eve wanted to be smarter, more brilliant and clever. We can corrupt our minds from the simplicity that is in Christ. 
 
If we do not operate on the principles of the Word we will fail miserably under trial. We must use the resources of God’s Word. Many of us run to some friend for sympathy. If we depend on a sympathetic ear, we will not learn to pipe the Word into our soul in times of disaster. 
 
People who attend churches that do not teach the Word but operate on entertainment and social life will end in tragedy. People indifferent toward the Word will not cope in times of deep trouble. Social life does not carry us in disaster. In times of disaster we do not think in terms of musical chairs! The thing we remember is what God says about suffering, if we are mature. No incubator Christian living will carry us.
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1 Peter 4:7

Published on November 16, 1997 in 1 Peter. 2 Comments
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“But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers.”

 

Now Peter turns to a new subject – the effectiveness of the believer’s life in the middle of suffering (vv. 7-11). Do you have stability under any kind of pressure?  When disaster comes, do you know how to cope with it? 
 
But the end of all things
 
Peter now presents a motive for facing trials. He appeals to the “end.” The “end” is the limit at which a thing ceases to be what it was up to that point. The “end” here probably refers to maximum disaster coming from persecution from Rome in Asia Minor (Turkey today). 
 
Up to this time these Christians were relatively free from persecution. Nero is now out to persecute Christians. He used Christians for bate for wild animals and subjects for the gladiators to fight. He also used them for torches to light the streets of Rome. Therefore, this would be the end to a period of calm for Christians in Asia Minor. 
 
Peter prepares Christians for a radical change of circumstance. This preparation demands a thorough understanding of God’s perspective on the purpose for suffering. It demands an understanding of prayer. 
 
 “All things” is emphatic and refers to the conclusion of this era of history in the first century. The sweep of this statement is awesome. The next thing on the program of God for Asia Minor Christians is now at hand. 
 
is at hand
 
The phrase “is at hand” means approach, come near, to move nearer to a reference point. Peter is talking about the imminent coming persecution on Christians in Asia Minor and uses these words to motivate these believers to hang in there due to this suffering they will face.
 
Some think that this statement by Peter is a claim for imminent coming of Christ. Although the New Testament teaches this truth elsewhere, the context does not argue for imminency here. Imminency means that there is no prophetic event that needs fulfillment before Jesus comes again. He could come at any moment. This is why some think Peter can make the statement that the coming of Christ has drawn near. It is near in the sense of imminence. 
 
Imminency is not immediacy. Immediacy means that Jesus must come shortly. Imminency means that the coming of Christ could occur at any moment. There is nothing prophetically preventing his coming. The next event in prophetic history looms ready to take place (Ro 13:11,12; I Co 15:51; II Co. 5:2; Phil.4:5; I Th 4:17; Ja 5:8; I Jn 2:18; Jude 18; Re 1:3). 
 
Jesus may appear at any time. Do you have a constant expectancy of the coming of Christ? That appearing is hastening on. We do not know the hour or day when we shall meet him. We should live all life in the shadow of eternity. 
 
“At hand” is also a formula for the rapture of the church making another argument for this passage referring to the rapture (Ro 13:11,12; Phil 4:5; Ja 5:8,9). The rapture is seven years before the 2nd coming. The rapture is an any moment event. Jesus is right at the door. He may come momentarily. No prediction must be fulfilled before he comes. The signs of the times such as the Jews going back to Palestine, the apostasy of the church, the increase of violence are all signs of the 2nd coming, not the rapture. It may take place today, tomorrow, or sometime in the twenty-first century. Only God knows. 
 
However, the meaning in this context is the coming persecution of Christians in Asia Minor.  This persecution will momentarily come on these Asia Minor Christians. When it comes, Christians must have already prepared themselves for it.
 
PRINCIPLE: God wants the Christian to be prepared for disaster.
 
APPLICATION: If this verse refers to the rapture, God wants us to live in constant expectancy of Christ’s return. None of us know whether we will live to see the end.
 
Since this verse probably refers to coming persecution, the meaning is that Christian will come to the place of the end of calm in their lives. Each Christian will face maximum disaster situations at least a few times in his life. God wants us to prepare ourselves  for coming disaster. Each of us will face stark situations in life. None of us will get through life without severe problems.
 
Peter’s point is preparation. Are you prepared for trial when it comes? If you wait till trial comes to prepare yourself, it will be too late.  Under major duress we do not think clearly.  We cannot learn properly when emotionally upset. Therefore, we must prepare our souls before trial comes. Do you know enough principles of God’s Word to face the bad times when they come?
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1 Peter 4:6b

Published on November 15, 1997 in 1 Peter. 0 Comments
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“For this reason the gospel was preached also to those who are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.”

 

that they might be judged according to men in the flesh,

“That” denotes aim or purpose. God’s purpose in preaching the gospel is twofold:

1.     that non-Christians will evaluate Christians as people in the flesh, and

2.     that those who accept the gospel will live forever according to God’s norms

The judges in this case are non-Christians who hear the gospel and make their negative evaluation of the gospel according to their own set of norms. They judge the Christian according to their own standards. They set up their own norms of evaluating the Christian life and they slander what they see. The impact of this is that all those who malign Christians will themselves face the Judge of all the earth. This is the point of the “for” at the beginning of the verse.

Even though these people came fully face to face with the gospel, they went negative volition towards it because they measured the gospel by a different scale of values [“according to”]. They rejected gospel even though they sufficiently saw its power in the lives of Christians around them.

but live according to God in the spirit

The Greek has a contrast that is not evident in the English – “That they might be judged according to men on the one hand but live according to God in the spirit on the other hand.” This deals with a double purpose: that Christians may be judged by non-Christian norms on the one hand and that they may go on living by God’s norms on the other hand. 

The judgment of men’s norms is not the final end of the Christian. That is only one side of the story. The other side of the coin is that Christians will live eternally according to God’s norms in the spirit. Christians will live according to God’s standards in eternity. Christians will live forever after their physical death. 

John 11: 25 “Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.”

PRINCIPLE: Christians live according to a different set of values than non-Christians. 

APPLICATION: God will not judge Christians in eternity.  Their sins have already been judged by the death of Jesus on the cross. Therefore, God will not condemn Christians (Ro. 8:1) because they accepted the gospel while on earth. 

Therefore, the Christian lives according to a different scale of values. We abide by a different manual. We march according to a different drum beat. We look at life differently because we have been born from above. We do not live “according to the norms” of the world.

On the other hand, we concur with God “according to the standard of God in the spirit.” We do not fit in with the herd any more. The Savior spoils us for “living according to the standards of men in the flesh.” He spoils the values of the old crowd. We did not give up those values but they gave us up because the Savior gave us soul satisfaction. That satisfaction more than compensates for the fair weather friends we lost when becoming Christians.  

 

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1 Peter 4:6

Published on November 14, 1997 in 1 Peter. 56 Comments
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“For this reason the gospel was preached also to those who are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.”
 
This verse is one of the most difficult verses in the Bible to interpret. The rules of interpretation that we should keep in mind is that we interpret unclear verses with the clear verses, and the minority of texts with the majority of texts. Neither is this verse clear, nor the majority of texts dealing with this subject.
For this reason
“For” is a term of explanation. Peter is explaining that everyone must give account to God (v.5).
“This reason” means unto this end. For what purpose was the gospel preached? There is a twofold purpose found in this verse:
1. that non-Christians will evaluate Christians as people in the flesh, and
2. that those who accept the gospel will live forever according to God’s norms
the gospel was preached also
The tense in the verb “was preached” is most important (aorist tense [one point], indicative mood [actually happened]). Peter deals here with the historic past. He is not saying that the gospel is in the process of being preached to the dead. The preaching took place when these “dead ones” were still amid the living. This is the only time when preaching is effective — when we are alive physically on earth.
to those who are dead,
There is no verb “are” in this verse. Literally, this phrase would read “to dead ones.” They are dead from the viewpoint of the remaining Christians on earth. The dead Christians of verse six had the gospel preached to them while alive on earth (aorist tense; indicative mood). They became Christians while on earth and are now dead. They heard the gospel while alive and have now passed into eternity before the writing of this epistle. This statement encourages Christians that they have something for which to live beyond this present life.
What is the difference between the “dead” of verse five and verse six? The dead of verse five “will give account” (future tense). Therefore, these persons are spiritually dead, dead in sin. They are eternally out of fellowship with God (Romans 5:12; 6:23; Ephesians 2:1; Colossians 2:13). The dead of this verse are Christians who have come to Christ and have their sins eternally paid for by the sufferings of Jesus on the cross.
Principle:
Christians face an altogether different future than the lost.
Application:
Is there a gospel of the second chance? According to this verse–no! There is no second chance. The only time we can come to Christ is when we are alive on earth.
The Bible says that those without Christ are dead while still physically living. They are dead spiritually.
“Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned” (Romans 5:12).
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).
“And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1).
Are you dead spiritually? Would you like to come alive spiritually? All it takes is trust in Christ’s death for your sins to give you eternal life.
“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life” (John 5:24).
Note that the above passage says that you immediately pass from death (spiritual) into life (eternal) at the moment of belief. Will you now trust what Christ has done for you?
For more information, note this URL: http://www.4laws.com/laws/englishkgp/
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1 Peter 4:5b

Published on November 13, 1997 in 1 Peter. 0 Comments
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“They will give an account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.”
 
 
who is ready
 
God will fulfill an obligation to himself to judge. God does not expect people to live under a threat but he must be consistent with or true to himself. We do not do what we do for doing good itself but out of love for God. Thus, it is of the very nature of being related to God to be subject to requital or accountability. Sin works retribution against us. God conjoins accountability and love and forgiveness through redemption by the blood of Christ. 
 
God holds himself ready and prepares himself to judge. He will leave no stone unturned. 
 
to judge
 
“To judge” is in the future tense. Non-Christians will face the Great White Throne Judgment one day. 
 
Heb 9: 27 “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.”
 
Death is bad enough but to face judgment of almighty God is worse. 
 
the living and the dead
 
God will judge the “living”– those unbelievers alive at the last judgment.
 
God will judge the “dead” – unbelievers who died physically before the last judgment. God the Father gives the function of judgment to the Lord to judge both the living and the dead. 
 
Ac 10: 42 “And He commanded us to preach to the people, and to testify that it is He who was ordained by God to be Judge of the living and the dead.” 
 
God will judge non-Christians at the Great White Throne Judgment. 
 
Rev. 20: 11 “Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. 12And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. 13The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. 14Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.” 
 
PRINCIPLE: Non-Christians will face accountability to God at the Great White Throne Judgment. 
 
APPLICATION: If you know not Christ these words must terrify you. There you will stand with all of your sins. 
 
However, there is wonderful news that Jesus paid for all of your sin for all time by his death on the cross. If you accept that truth by trusting God’s promise you will not face this judgment.
 
For information on how to become a Christian go to this URL: http://www.crusade.org/fourlaws/
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1 Peter 4:5

Published on November 12, 1997 in 1 Peter. 0 Comments
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“They will give an account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.”
 
 
They will give an account to Him
 
The “they” are the Devil’s crowd of verses three and four. 
 
“Give” means to give back. The Devil’s crowd will one day give an account to the Lord (maybe a verbal account). We can translate this phrase literally as “give back a word.” However, a better translation is to give account. The fast crowd may not think that they are accountable to God now but they will be accountable one day. None of them will flee accountability for their immoral conduct. God will ask them to give an explanation of their behavior. 
 
The first time Jesus came was not to judge but the second time will be a different story. At his second coming he will come to judge.
 
Jn 3: 17 “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn [judge] the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”
 
Acts 17: 30 “Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, 31“because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.”
 
Jn 5: 22 “For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son.”
 
As God, Jesus must be absolutely righteous. As God, Jesus is omniscient and knows all the evidence. As God, Jesus is omnipotent and is able to execute thorough and swift judgment. The same Jesus that received judgment on the cross will be the Judge. 
 
PRINCIPLE: If God is just there will be payday someday.
 
APPLICATION: Vance Havner used to preach a sermon called “Payday Someday.” Everyone will render back to God an accounting of their lives. 
 
Non-Christians will come to the end of life’s short road. At that time they will give back an accounting of their lives. Everything will come out – all of their immorality, lies, thefts, blasphemy and murder. Their sin is not the central issue but whether they accepted the death of Jesus for their sin.
 
The issue at the Great White Throne Judgment for non-Christians is whether they accepted the finished work of Christ for their sin. If they did not do this, God will reject them for admittance into his heaven.
 
If you would like admittance into heaven go to this URL: http://www.crusade.org/fourlaws/
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1 Peter 4:4c

Published on November 11, 1997 in 1 Peter. 0 Comments
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“In regard to these, they think it strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of dissipation, speaking evil of you.”
 
 
speaking evil of you
 
“Speaking evil” is literally to blaspheme but means in this context malign. The fast crowd of verse three do not like Christians because the life of the Christian condemns them. People hate to have their sins exposed. The new life of a Christian stands in stark contrast to theirs so they love to rail at Christians.
 
I Pe 3: 16 “Having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed.”
 
They will slander you and lie about you. They will misquote you. They will try to do anything to ruin your testimony. 
 
Mt 5: 11 “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. 12“Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
 
PRINCIPLE: Dynamic testimony will draw criticism.
 
APPLICATION: The Christian’s testimony threatens the value system of those who live without limits so the Devil’s crowd will seek to injure your reputation. They will drop words to defame your character. They love to slander Christians because their testimony casts aspersions on the direction of their lives. 
 
The surprise of the wild crowd causes them to slander Christians for their new values and orientation. It seems incredible to them that you would walk way from a philosophy of pleasure: “Why lose all these pleasures?” They cannot comprehend this. “How can you go for that Jesus stuff?” They will use anything to ridicule Christians. 
 
Do you care about what the fast crowd thinks about you? Are you in slavery to opinion or do you stand independent from the crowd? The group usually preys on people who do not have core to their character. They capture people who are swept along by the opinions of people. This is not true for the Christian.
 
The Christian who breaks off from the fast crowd becomes a point of conversion among the group. They crank up negative attitudes about this. The group develops bitter attitudes. They do not like to be jilted.
 
You may have to stand alone in the office or school. You may stand out like a speckled bird but when they come to a crisis they will remember you. When that divorce comes along they will remember that there is another alternative. Our testimony condemns them as nothing else could. 
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