1Peter 4:7-11
Nearly Done
Peter continues to do what he has been doing, teaching the persecuted
Christians how they should respond to suffering. However in this
section, he gave a different reason for living godly.
Notice the Peter’s reasoning.
A. There is another "therefore" in verse 7.
a. It is in the middle of the verse, but it still means the
same thing.
b. What Peter was about to say was because of what he just
said.
c. We don’t have to look far to see what he just said. It’s
in the first part of the same verse.
1Peter 4:7 But the end of all things is
at hand….
B. Everything Peter was about to say was because the end of
all things is at hand.
1. That confuses some folk, and I understand why.
2. If we were nearing the end of all things 2,000 years ago,
how come all things have not ended?
C. Notice Peter did not say the end of all things was here but
that they were "at hand" or near.
1. "At hand" means close.
2. Peter was already living in the church age (the age
of grace) and he was not saying that the church age was
the end.
3. If the church age was the end, Peter would not have said
the end is near but that it was here.
4. By saying the end was close, he was saying the end was
sometime AFTER the church age.
5. Peter understood that God’s plan for the earth was about
done.
6. What plan? From the Bible, we can divide God’s dealings
with mankind into six ages:
a. The Age of Innocence - Before the fall
b. The Age of No Law - From the fall to the flood
c. The Age of God’s Law - From the flood to cross
d. The Age of Grace - From the cross to the rapture
e. The Age of Judgment - Tribulation (7 years)
f. The Age of God’s Rule - Millennium (1000 years)
7. Then comes the judgment and end of all things.
a. So there are only two more phases of God’s plan left
and both of them are timed.
b. So from God’s prospective, the end of all things IS
at hand.
Based on our nearness to the end of all things, Peter then gives 6
commands (by my count).
I. \\#7\\ Be sober, watch and pray
1Peter 4:7 But the end of all things is at hand:
be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.
A. This is actually three commands, but I think they all go
together so I am counting them as one.
B. The parts:
1. Be sober means to think soundly.
a. This aspect of the command relates to us and the
control we have over our own wellbeing.
(1) How we think determines what we do.
(2) If we think soberly, then we should behave
responsibly.
b. There is not much sound thinking today.
(1) As I contemplated our world in the light of sober
thinking, three descriptive phrases came to
mind: ridiculous, beyond ridiculous, and
insane.
(2) I thought about abortion.
(a) That is and has been a hot topic in our
world because it is so evil—and because
evil people keep pushing for more evil.
(b) The Alabama House just passed a bill that
would greatly restrict abortion in our
state leaving little access to abortion at
all.
(c) I am very confident the pagan world will
fight against it, but I am thankful for
every baby it will save.
(3) I thought about homosexuality.
(a) It is ridiculous that anyone would think
that kind of lifestyle is normal.
(b) It is beyond ridiculous that anyone would in
anyway encourage it.
(c) It is insane that anyone would participate
in it, especially mutilating their body
to become something they are not.
(d) It is criminally insane that anyone would do
that to a child.
(e) You wait: The day will come when you will
lose your child for refusing a vaccine, but
you will be praised for sexually mutilating
your child.
(4) I thought about how so many Christians are giving
their children over to a pagan world.
(a) The entertainment culture, including
television and music.
(1) Most people use television as a baby
sitter.
(2) I trust you saw how PBS put a gay
character onto their preschool
programming, Arthur.
https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/arthur-character-mr-ratburn-
comes-out-gay-gets-married-season-n1005436
(3) That is nothing. Such things are the
message of most every television show
today.
(b) Education
(1) Education started teaching Atheism.
Now they teach paganism.
(2) Started out teaching promiscuous sex.
Now they teach perverted sex.
(3) Started out being anti-American. Now
they are pro-socialist.
(4) Started out claiming to want to help
our children. Now it is obvious that
they want to control our children.
2. Watch
a. The command to think soberly is to given to keep us
from harming ourselves.
b. The command to watch is given to keep another from
from harming us.
(1) When you are thinking, you are looking inward.
(2) When you are watching, you are looking outward.
c. We could say that the world watch means to "watch
out."
d. I know there are a great many who cry out "conspiracy"
in this day.
(1) Some say of it our medical industry, of our oil
industry, of our various levels of governments.
(2) But let me tell you that there is at least one
true conspiracy. The devil wants to dethrone
God, demolish everything that it is good, and
glorify himself.
(3) We need to open our eyes because he is very close
to accomplishing it.
e. Peter’s command is for us to watch what is going on
around us. Why?
(1) Because we can stop it? Not necessarily. We
can, have, and, I think, could again slow it
down; but at some point it was going to come any
way.
(2) To be frightened? Not at all. We have the
promises of God and while they can imprison us
and remove our children, they cannot corrupt
them if we have them long enough and raise them
according to God’s commands.
(3) To know the truth, to proclaim the truth, and not
to be deceived by the lies.
(4) I think another (lesser) reason to watch is to
see that what they are forcing people to do
DOES NOT WORK.
(a) They said spanking our children was making
them violent. That if we quit "being
violent" against them, they would be better
behaved and better adjusted.
(b) They said that sex is natural and that if
we removed the restraints and rules of
purity and marriage, assaults on women,
divorce, child abuse, broken homes, and the
other maladies of our society would go
away.
(c) They said that God is man-made, that the
Bible was written by man, that man in
evolving, that science can determine the
best paths for mankind to take.
(d) They are saying that if we give up our guns,
violence will go away.
(e) They are saying that if we let the government
take care of us, hunger, homelessness,
terrorism, and medical inadequacies will
go away.
3. Pray
a. What is the solution? Peter gave it to us. We are to
pray.
b. We are not rebels, or anarchists, or terrorists.
c. We are Christians.
d. God has given mankind freewill, and if God will let
mankind choose to rebel and revolt against Him, we
have to as well; but we are to pray (and to preach)
that God would be honored and obeyed.
e. And we are to do that even while they are persecuting
and killing us—the very thing that was going on when
Peter wrote these words.
II. \\#8\\ Have fervent charity
1Peter 4:8 And above all things have fervent
charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover
the multitude of sins.
A. Charity means love with action.
B. Peter was and is telling us to love one another with deeds of
love.
C. He even tells us why. Such love will cover a heap of sins
and wrongs.
1. We cannot remove a wrong, but we can bury it under 1,000
deeds of love.
2. We cannot strike a wrong from another person’s memory
but we can give them many better ones.
III. \\#9\\ Use hospitality one to another
1Peter 4:9 Use hospitality one to another without
grudging.
A. If charity is opening our heart to other believers,
hospitality is opening our home.
B. There is no doubt that we live in a wealthier time, but
there is nothing better than a giving, caring heart to make
one feel loved.
IV. \\#10\\ As we have received… so minister.
1Peter 4:10 As every man hath received the gift,
even so minister the same one to another, as
good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
A. It does not matter what good grace God has given to us.
B. What have you received?
1. Salvation
2. Wisdom
3. Help
4. Love
C. Then give as freely as you received it so that it may
accomplish in another what it accomplished in you.
V. \\#11\\ Speak as the oracles of God - Instead of speaking out our
opinions, let us give out the Word of God.
1Peter 4:11 If any man speak, let him speak as
the oracles of God….
VI. Minister with the ability God gives.
1Peter 4:11 ….if any man minister, [let him do it] as of the
ability which God giveth….
1Peter 4:11 …that God in all things may be
glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be
praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
All of this is done with the intent that God might be glorified. May
it ever be so!
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