A Better Man ...

Can you tell a Christian by looking at them?  How about after spending some time in conversation, does a Christian begin to be revealed clearly?  Perhaps after getting to know someone, after they are a friend, after you have shared common experience – is it plain to you whether they are a Christian?  Christians bleed, get old or sick, and they die.  Christians make mistakes.  So if the difference between a Christian and just a regular “good guy” does not present a clear difference – why be a Christian?  Some would argue that the key difference is that the Christian is forgiven for his mistakes, the regular “good guy” does not believe he needs forgiveness (or perhaps he lives in a state of perpetual forgiveness).  The past of a Christian is wiped clean.  No matter what a Christian may have done he is accepted by God.

Some would argue that the Christian has hope that in the next life, he will no longer get old or sick, no longer die.  His life then will be eternal – this is all the hope of some Christians.  Christians like the idea that in the next life, sickness will be a thing of the past.  They will walk on golden streets, play with formerly fierce beasts, make music on harps, and generally enjoy a “cushy” life where joy is all there is.  But in their hearts, the Christian believes he will be the same person in heaven, he was here on earth.  The only real difference is the perfections enacted in his body.  The bad vision will be gone.  The overweight condition will be a thing of the past.  He will be strong, and physically perfect from head to toe, a full head of hair without the need for coloring it from age.  He will be perpetually in his perfect state, and perfect age.  And in this he will perfectly mimic the condition of Lucifer before the fall, and if this line of thinking is all there is – history would repeat itself.

The problem with most Christians is that they understand well the beginning of their story founded in forgiveness.  They also understand well the end of their story that results in a life eternal.  What they completely miss is the transition that occurs between the beginning and the end.  The change in who you are that occurs is something they understand all too little.  Christians understand they need to obey, and that they “should” be doing good deeds, but their carnal nature has never been fully understood, let alone removed from them.  So they continue to war against their own selfishness, and predictably lose the battle again and again.  Oh sure, it is easy to fall back on forgiveness to cover what I just did wrong.  But it is infinitely harder not to “want” to do wrong again.  Just give me a little time to get past my guilt, and I will be right back here committing the same sin over and over again.  It is an addiction to selfishness from which Christians are every bit as afflicted as the regular “good guy” is, with nearly no distinction.

It is that lack of distinction that kills the gospel.  If how we live is no different from those around us, no less filled with the anguish of self-inflicted pain – what is point of the gospel?  The gospel was intended to free us from that pain, not give us a license to wallow in it.  The gospel was intended to make us members of the kingdom of God in the here and now, not in some distant future that only occurs after we die and are resurrected in perfection.  The gospel breaks our chains of slavery right here, right now, and makes us free from sin, not free to sin.  Through submission of our will to Christ we become someone new right now.  The process begins here in this world.  And the changes that become evident cannot be hidden.  When we love like He loves, our persona begins to scream that we are Christians.  We become a peculiar people, because we no longer suffer from the same pain that the regular “good guy” inflicts on himself every day.  The freedom from sin and self-love makes our lives better right here and right now.  We become free to want something else, something better.

This is the lure of the gospel.  This is the power of the gospel.  This is something Peter well understood and wanted to insure the early church did not lose sight of in the corrupt world in which they lived.  The point of Christ offering us life was not about extending the number of years we live on this earth, but exploding the joy of every minute we live right here and now.  Christ was not offering us the trappings of this world in which people believe there is happiness.  We are not to be free because of wealth, or power, or even perfect health.  We may still carry the burden of poverty, oppression, and disease brought on by our own choices, or those of others.  But no matter our earthly conditions, our internal conditions can be radically different.  It is not a Mercedes Benz, Armani suit and Rolex watch that screams Christian, it is a heart that loves so deeply it cannot turn away from any need.  It is a heart that is compelled to act because it simply cannot just “pass by”. 

Peter was keen that the early church understood the gospel frees them to be something else, something better.  In chapter 4 of his first letter he begins in verse 1 writing … “Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin;”  We may suffer from the evil actions of those that war against love in this world.  Christ did.  Christ took the abuse we heaped upon Him, because He had an eye for our redemption.  Those who have experienced redemption should be like minded.  For it was through the suffering of Christ, that He was given the power to see us redeemed from our former selves.  It is through the sacrifice of Christ, His willingness to take on our punishment, that He is now able to offer us the gift of freedom from our sins.

Peter continues in verse 2 … “That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God. [verse 3] For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries:”  Herein is the hope of our gospel, herein is its power.  Because of the sacrifice of Christ – “we” – are no longer to live the “rest of our time in the flesh” according to the lusts of men.  The transformation Christ offers us is real.  It is permanent.  It is life altering.  What we used to crave, we no longer have to crave.  What we used to want, we no longer have to want.  What we used to be unable to cease from doing, we no longer have to do.  All addictions broken.  All patterns of negative behavior changed, such that we stop hurting ourselves and others.  This happens IN THE FLESH, meaning in the here and now.  This is not a distant promise that only sees fulfillment in heaven, it is an immediate here and now beginning that makes THIS LIFE a better one.

Instead of living in slavery to self, we are blessed to live according to the “will of God”.  Obedience is not possible without harmony with God.  We can fake it, but we cannot achieve it.  But when we abandon our ideas for His, when we submit our decisions and desires to Him in order to be remade – He transforms how we think and how we love and brings us into harmony with Him.  After transformation, obedience is not only possible, it becomes natural, a part of who we are.  After transformation our slavery to self is ended, as we are made free from sin by Him.  What we used to do, how we used to live, becomes truly a part of our past – NOT our present.  Peter is clear, and pulls no punches, as he describes our past lives prior to transformation with Christ.  He calls himself, and each of us out for having lived in a condition of lust, partying, and abominable acts of self-love.  Sex, drugs, and rock and roll anyone?  Living according to the will of men, and steeped in a culture of sexual exploration where self-gratification rules all is a part of our FORMER lives, not our present ones.

Our transformation changes the perversion of self-love, into an unselfish love of others.  Our focus becomes how to improve the lives of others, not how to make our own a little better.  Sex becomes something intimate shared in the confines of a marriage where we give everything we have to serve the needs of the most precious gift of spouse we have been given.  Drugs, or anything that would reduce our ability to truly feel, and think, becomes a distraction and detriment we no longer want getting in the way of the joy He brings.  Rock and roll that glorifies the things of this world is discarded.  The music we value becomes music that will only uplift the cause of God, we have no time for music that would deter from His glory.  It is not the genre of music we concern ourselves with, it is the utility of the music to bring one closer to Christ.

Peter continues in verse 4 … “Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you: [verse 5] Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead. [verse 6] For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.”  Peter reminds the church that once they begin to experience transformation and no longer wish to do the things that once were so important to them, the world takes notice.  We will be criticized by our “friends” who continue to party without us.  Misery loves company.  Those who still engage in hurtful practices of the world, and know we used to be with them in these things, are not happy when we make another choice.  They do not understand why we would no longer to do all those “fun” things with them anymore.  They judge us harshly, it is natural to do so.

But Peter continues, that the preaching of the gospel is targeted at those who are dead to God, and alive only in their sins.  The point of the gospel is to resurrect people who have known only pain and death into a real and vibrant life with Christ.  The power of the gospel is that it can stop the pain we inflict upon ourselves and others, and replace that with the will of God, which is to make the lives of others better through His love.  It is the Spirit of God that works within us to reflect Him, and His love through us to others.  We become tools in the work of redemption.  Less broken than we were before.  Less hurting than our former choices put upon us.  Less dead to life than we have ever been.  The process of transformation leads us to a good accounting of His love reflected through us to others.

Peter continues in verse 7 … “But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.”  When we consider the enormity of decisions people will make for or against a life with Christ, we begin to sense the urgency of the gospel we preach.  Every day, circumstances and things beyond our control will claim the life of someone near to us, for that person, the end of all things has come.  Peter is not advocating that we abandon all joy in order to be sober.  But he is making a statement that our highest joy is shared with God in the redemption of just one more soul.  We should be ever praying for that experience to be one in which we share.  Having experienced the freedom from a former sin, having known the joy that comes from becoming a better version of who we were, our prayer should ever be how to successfully witness for the cause of Christ.  Our goal is for others to come to know what we have come to know ourselves.

Peter continues in verse 8 … “And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins. [verse 9] Use hospitality one to another without grudging. [verse 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.”  The key witness to the world, the key observation they will see, when they look at you to determine if you are a Christian is whether you have a “fervent charity” for others.  Those who deeply care about others show this characteristic in everything about them.  Strangely it comes out in how they dress, how they speak, what kind of friend they are, and how they interact with total strangers.  The transformation is self-evident, unmistakable, and transparently clear. 

The fervent love of others leads us to behave differently.  We stop thinking about what we can take from someone, and start thinking about what we can offer without being asked.  This change in how we love as Peter says “covers” a multitude of sins.  We no longer think to lie to someone because they deserve the truth.  We no longer think to steal from them, take their wife or property, or worse hurt or kill them.  All the commandments that deal with how we treat people are covered automatically when we love them and not ourselves.  The commandments to love God also become self-evident when through our submission to Him, we find ourselves loving Him more for what He does in our lives.  Peter says that love for others is reflected even in the slightest things like how we offer hospitality to others.  We share our gifts with others, not with a grudging heart that longs to retain its wealth, but with a heart that understands our wealth is defined in what we share, not what we hold.  The wealth of God is not defined in the mass of gold He created, but in the joy He takes in sharing His wealth with all His creations.  God does not hoard gold in a pristine vault deep underground in heaven.  Instead He sprinkles it everywhere, and puts in into the concrete of His city, to give us something nice to look at.  His joy is found as we appreciate how He makes our lives just a little better. 

And our gifts are not just confined by what we “have” in material wealth, they are also defined by what God has given to us to share.  Peter continues in verse 11 … “If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.”  When we speak, we should be speaking as if we are His prophets, and have clarity into His will.  This is no small thing.  It changes the tenor of most of our conversations.  When we speak about religious topics, often it is with reservation based on how little we know.  But the more we love others, the deeper that love becomes as He works to transform us, the more insight we begin to have regarding the intentions of our God.  A revelation of how deep His love is for us, is ALWAYS a welcome revelation.  Using the gifts God has given us to minister, whether compassion, caring, clarity of speech, articulation, discernment … all are to be steeped in the deep and abiding love of God for ALL mankind.  When our speech is consistent in this manner, we do become oracles of God, a window into which God can be seen reflected through us.

A Christian who has not been transformed by Christ may not be self-evident to the world around them.  But one who is undergoing the transformation to love like Christ loves becomes a beacon of light to the world which cannot be hidden from it.  Living a life free from the pain sin causes, living free to love others without precondition, hesitation or limit – this is the “life” Christ offers us in the here and now.  Living this way transforms those who are familiar with the stories in scripture, to those who have one of their own, a living one …