With Whom Do You Run?

Read Peter 4:1-7 (NRSV)
Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same intention (for whoever has suffered in the flesh has finished with sin), 2so as to live for the rest of your earthly life no longer by human desires but by the will of God. 3You have already spent enough time in doing what the Gentiles like to do, living in licentiousness, passions, drunkenness, revels, carousing, and lawless idolatry. 4They are surprised that you no longer join them in the same excesses of dissipation, and so they blaspheme. 5But they will have to give an account to him who stands ready to judge the living and the dead. 6For this is the reason the gospel was proclaimed even to the dead, so that, though they had been judged in the flesh as everyone is judged, they might live in the spirit as God does. 7The end of all things is near; therefore be serious and discipline yourselves for the sake of your prayers.

Additional biblical texts: Ephesians 6:12 and Hebrew 12.  Please click on the verses to read the entire text.

Questions for Personal Reflection from Jerry Tankersley
Do you remember your childhood friends with whom you ran? What comes to mind? The sermon subject is: With Whom Do You Run?

Ever thought about the influence you friends had upon you? Was it positive or negative?

Peter was aware that the Christians of Asia were living their faith in a world that sought to press them into its own mold. That included sexual immorality, drunkenness, and lawless idolatry. To be patriotic citizens they needed to eat, drink, and play with the culture. Peter’s concern was that they would be lost to the sins of sensuality and pride. The party scene meant drugs, sex, and rock n roll. The cultural gods and goddesses were money, sex, and power. Ever see the TV program on AMC entitled Mad Men. It was that kind of world, our world.
 
How difficult is it to be a Christian with these pressures?
 
If you were to arm yourself with Christ’s intentions, what would your armament look like?

Spiritual warfare is a major subject in the New Testament. What spiritual power is behind the forces with which we struggle? When you imagine evil what do you see? When you are being tempted how do you resist? Are there spiritual disciplines that help you? What are they? 

Prayer
For the grace of God has appeared,
bringing salvation to all,
training us to renounce impiety and worldly passions,
and in the present age
to live lives that are self-controlled, upright, and godly,
while we wait for the blessed hope
and the manifestation of the glory
of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ,
who gave himself for us
that he might redeem us from all iniquity
and purify for himself a people of his own
who are zealous for good deeds.