Peter brings his point home when he wrote “you have spent enough time in the past”. Whatever age you are when you become a Christian the time before is enough spent not heeding God’s commands. Live for Christ by choosing not to do as the pagans. “Pagan" as it is used here simply means anyone who is not a Christian. This list of vices, “living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry” were apart of the pagan world and still is a part of the present day. All you have to do is look around you to see each of these vices. The only way to overcome such vices is to put your life into hands of the Master, Jesus Christ. It comes down to the question of what will you do with Jesus? The decision is yours. THINK ABOUT THIS VERY CAREFULLY!!!
“As a result, he does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. 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,” 1st Peter 4:2-3. Seeking to have the same attitude and mind of Christ is the goal of every Christian. The problem arises when we let things of the world get in the way. In this verse, Peter is telling us how to have the same attitude Christ has. It is the result of striving to follow in the steps of Jesus. It is changing our focus from the things of the world to following Jesus or as Peter wrote, you do “not live the rest of your earthly life for evil human desires”. When you become a Christian your desires change; in everything you do, you want them to be pleasing to the Lord Jesus Christ. But Satan will continue to tempt you with human desires, presenting evil desires as more important than obeying Jesus’ commands. The next verse describes some of those evil desires which we will examine a little later. What is “the will of God”? It is serving Him as is revealed in the Scripture. You may read all kinds of books on this subject, but the only true source is the Bible. In reading you will find there are three different ages and instructions for those ages. The Old Testament reveals the first two, the Patriarchal Age and the Mosaic Age. The Christian Age of which we are a part of is revealed in the New Testament. After studying the Gospels to learn about Jesus Christ, which is still under the Mosaic Age, you will see the preparation for the beginning of the Church. This leads into the book of Acts which gives instruction for how to become a Christian. The letters, Romans through Jude, give instructions for how to live the Christian life so you are pleasing to the Lord Jesus Christ. Revelation deals with events leading up to including the return of Jesus Christ and the New Jerusalem. You will learn “the will of God” is giving yourself totally to God and He will supply all of your needs. When God is the priority in your life, everything else will fall into place. Sometimes, the best way to know what God’s will, is in a particular situation, is to ask yourself, “What would Jesus do if He were in my place?” This may take some deep searching on your part, to know the truth, but if you are really searching you will find the answer.
Peter brings his point home when he wrote “you have spent enough time in the past”. Whatever age you are when you become a Christian the time before is enough spent not heeding God’s commands. Live for Christ by choosing not to do as the pagans. “Pagan" as it is used here simply means anyone who is not a Christian. This list of vices, “living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry” were apart of the pagan world and still is a part of the present day. All you have to do is look around you to see each of these vices. The only way to overcome such vices is to put your life into hands of the Master, Jesus Christ. It comes down to the question of what will you do with Jesus? The decision is yours. THINK ABOUT THIS VERY CAREFULLY!!! Comments are closed.
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