A Way To Christian Living

Generally speaking the world today has only a vague idea of what it means to be a Christian. A true Christian is a follower of Christ and one that Keeps every one of Hid known commands. One of His first commands, after beginning His ministry on earth, is found in Matt 4:4, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." Now the Bible is the Word of the living God and we are commanded to live by every word of it. 2 Tim 2:15 tells us, "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needed not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of "truth". In view of these two specific commands how can anyone plead ignorance as an excuse for failing to measure up to the teaching of Jesus in his notable Sermon on the Mount and all other teaching of the bible.

We are known as a Christian nation but we are not, for we are not measuring up to Christ's teaching. So many today are being taught that if they just say with their mouth that they believe in Jesus Christ they are Christians. Head belief in our Lord is not enough. It must go deeper than that. The belief must come from the heart and produce a great change in the lives of those that believe Him. Paul tells us that if any man be in Christ he is a new creature: old things are passed away and all things are become new. When this great change from old to new has taken place we are going to have a real hungering and thirsting for the things of God and the study of the Bible will become a great pleasure for us. We will love God with all our being and will gladly, willingly, obey His every known command.

You who are professing to be Christians, ask yourselves these questions: Am I loving the Lord with all my heart and soul? Do I love my neighbor as myself? Can I return good for evil with no desire for revenge? Can I rejoice at the good fortune of others? Can I, with a sincere heart, pray for those who have mistreated me? Have I hatred in my heart?

We Are Called To Be Like Christ

1 Peter 4:1---As Christ hath suffered for us---Jesus gave His life for us that we might have salvation and so escape the flames of an eternal hell. He remained true to his calling in the face of death upon the cross and so must we be willing to give our lives if need be that others may have the gospel preached to them. Salvation is the greatest blessing that anyone can have and we must be prepared to guard it with our very lives, trusting God to give the grace and courage to endure to the end.

Verse 2---No longer should live….in the flesh---As a follower of Jesus Christ our affections must be set upon things above and not on the material things of the earth. The true follower of Christ has been bought with a price, the precious blood of Jesus, and he is no longer his own but a servant of the most High and it is His will that he must do.

The Evil Of Fleshly Lust

1 Peter 4:3---When we walked in lasciviousness---As we Christians look back our lives when sinners and the many evil things we did, we should thank and praise the Lord for saving us from a life of sin and determine in our hearts that we lived too long in sin already and by the help and grace of God we will never go back in sin. We cannot undo the past but we can set our faces like a flint and fight the good fight of faith as long as the Lord sees fir to give us breath. Praise God forever..!!

Verse 4---They think it strange---The sinner's desire are very different from those of the Christian, and when he sees the changed life of the Christian he cannot understand how he could get any pleasure out of such a life. The sinner's eyes are blinded by the devil and he cannot see the beauties of a holy and godly life. Consequently he will ridicule and make fun of those that are living the humble and lowly life of the Christian.

Verse 5---Who shall give account to him---If we could only get people to realize they are going to have to give account to God for every unrepented of disobedience to His holy Word, they would forsake their sins and seek the Lord for salvation. Thus it becomes the duty and obligation of the child of God to do all in his power to get this truth to those we come in contact with. The quick and the dead---The quick are those who have been quickened by the Spirit as recorded in Ephesians.2:1, and the dead are those that are living in sin with the sentence of eternal death hanging over them.

The Gospel Brings Life

1 Peter 4:6---Was the gospel preached to the dead---Here the dead refers to the Gentiles who were living in sin. The gospel was preached to them that they might be saved from their lives of sin, although they would be condemned and persecuted by men in the flesh, yet they could live for God in the Spirit.

Verse 7---The end of all things is at hand---Peter probably has reference to the end of the Jewish nation which took place in A.D. 76. The end of all things will soon come to every one of us. What is a few short years of our life compared to eternity? Therefore we should indeed live every hour as though it were to be our last. We have no assurance of tomorrow and many lives are being snuffed out when least expected and this why Peter says to be sober and prayed up, lest the end comes upon us unawares.

Verse 8---Have fervent charity---A heart that's full of love will overlook the faults of others and will not be offended when he is wronged by others. Cover the multitude of sins---This one does not mean that our love will cover any in God's sight for only the blood of Christ can do that. It means that our fervent love will cause us to forgive the sins of others against us.

Verse 9---Use hospitality---We must be ready and willing to lend a helping hand to those in need when it is within our power to do so. If we love our neighbor as ourselves we cannot see them in need when we are able to help.

Verse 10---Hath received the gift---Every gift and talent that we possess was received at the hands of our loving and merciful heavenly Father and we must earnestly strive to use them to the honor and glory of God. Let us remember that we will have to give account to God for the use of them.

God Is Our Director

1 Peter 4:11---If any man speak---No man should attempt to preach the gospel without a divine call to the ministry and then he should only preach God given messages. God knows every heart in the audience and its need and He will give the preacher the proper message for the occasion. It will take earnest prayer and waiting before God to be able to do this, but the end to be attained is more than worth all it cost. It should be our greatest desire to bring glory and honor to God in all our undertakings for Him

When Jesus began His ministry He said, "Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." This command is just as much in force today and needs to be obeyed just as much now as then. Everyone that fails to give heed to this command is in rebellion against God and must suffer the pangs of eternal fire throughout the ceaseless ages of eternity. If we want to please God and be an asset to the community in which we live, then we need to accept Christ as our Savior and live for Him. If all the men of the earth would do this, the earth would really be a grand and glorious place in which to live. Everyone would be able to enjoy all the material blessings that God has so wonderfully provided. God wants us to prosper spiritually and materially and be able to enjoy them.