THE NEW LIFE CONTRASTED WITH THE OLD (1 Peter 4)

THE NEW LIFE CONTRASTED WITH THE OLD (1 Peter 4)

Many times God uses suffering to keep us from going into that which would dishonor Him. And when exposed to severe temptation it is as we suffer in the flesh that we are kept from sin. In this we may see the difference between our Lord’s temptations and those which we have to face. He was tempted in all points like as we, apart from sin. He did not have a sinful nature as we do. He was from His birth the Holy One. He could say, “The prince of this world cometh and hath nothing in Me.” With us it is otherwise. When Satan attacks from without there is an enemy within, “sin, the flesh,” that responds to his appeal, and it is only as we reckon ourselves dead indeed unto sin but alive unto God that we are enabled to mortify the deeds of the body. This means suffering, often of a very severe character. But, we are told, Jesus “suffered being tempted” (Heb. 2:18). So infinitely pure and holy was He that it caused Him intense suffering even to be exposed to Satan’s solicitations. He overcame by the Word of God, and the devil left Him for a season, to return in the hour of His agony as He was bearing our sins upon the cross. H. A. IRONSIDE  

1 Peter 4:7.—The Christian is ever to keep the end in view. He is to live not for the passing moment, but as one who knows that the end of all things—that is, all things of this present order, is at hand. It will be ushered in at the Lord’s return; therefore, the importance of sobriety and watchfulness unto prayer. - H. A. IRONSIDE  

The name “Christian” is not found very often in the New Testament, but is the distinctive title of those who belong to Christ. We read of it in Acts 11:26 where it was conferred upon the Gentile believers at Antioch by divine authority; for the word “called” there literally means “oracularly called,” and therefore it was not the Antiochians alone who bestowed this name upon the believers, but God Himself who so designated them. That it has become their well-known appellation is evident from Acts 26:28, where we read that King Agrippa exclaimed, “Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian!” - H. A. IRONSIDE  

1 Peter 4:12 he writes of “the fiery trial which is to try you.” Primarily, the reference was to the great suffering that the Jews—whether Christian or not—were about to undergo in connection with the fulfillment of our Lord’s prophecy concerning Jerusalem’s destruction, shortly to take place (Luke 21:20–24). But it also has reference to the horrors of the Roman persecutions, which were to continue for two terrible centuries. The words are applicable to every time of trial and persecution. - H. A. IRONSIDE  

1 Peter 4:14.—“Reproached for the name of Christ.” No one can be true to Christ and loved by the world-system, for everything that Jesus taught condemns the present order and leads ungodly men to hate Him and His people. But he who suffers for Christ’s sake now is assured of glory hereafter, which will fully answer to the shame now endured. “On their part He is evil spoken of, but on your part He is glorified.” The reproach of the world should not deter the Christian. He need not expect the approval of those who reject and misunderstand his Saviour. It is his responsibility so to live as to give the lie to the false reports of the ungodly and so to glorify the One whose name they spurn. - H. A. IRONSIDE  

1 Peter 4:15.—No believer should ever suffer as “a busybody in other men’s matters.” Notice the company in which the busybody is placed. He is linked with murderers, thieves, and evildoers of every description, and that for a very good reason; for the busybody steals men’s reputations, seeks to assassinate their good names, and by his calumniations works all manner of evil. The follower of Christ is called upon to be careful never to misbehave so as to deserve the ill-will of the wicked. He is not to be dishonest or corrupt in life, nor to be given to gossipy interference in other people’s affairs. Thus by a holy and righteous life, he will adorn the gospel of Christ (Phil. 1:27, 28). - H. A. IRONSIDE  

1 Peter 4:17.—“Judgment must begin at the house of God.” Our Father-God does not pass over the failures of His people, but disciplines them in order that they may be careful to walk in obedience to His Word. If He is thus particular in chastening His own, how solemn will be the judgment of “them that obey not the gospel,” but persist to the end in rejecting the Saviour He has provided! - H. A. IRONSIDE  

Throughout the entire Christian era, which is that of the dispensation of the grace of God (Eph. 3:2), believers in Christ are called out from the world and are responsible to live for the glory of Him who has saved them. But though separated from the surrounding evil, they are not to shut themselves up as in a monastery or convent in order to be protected from defilement, but are to go forth as God’s messengers into that very world from which they have been delivered, preaching to all men everywhere the gospel, which is God’s offer of salvation through the finished work of His beloved Son. - H. A. IRONSIDE  

His Church is to be in the world, but not of it, witnessing rather against its evil, and offering pardon through the cross. Tertullian declared that the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church. This has been demonstrated over and over again. Persecution can never destroy the Church of God. The more it is called to suffer for Christ, the stronger it becomes. It is internal strife and carelessness in life that endangers it. But so virile is the life it possesses that even this has never been permitted to destroy it, for although its outward testimony has at times been ruined by such things, God has always kept alive a witnessing remnant to stand for the truth of His Word. - H. A. IRONSIDE