The Supreme Court
1 Peter 4:1-6
1. Choose a Side! (Vs. 1-2, Gal 5:24-25, Matt 6:10)
a. Galatians 5:24-25, “Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.”
b. Matthew 6:10, “Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
2. The World:
a. Delights in Sin. (Vs. 3, Titus 3:3)
i. Titus 3:3, “For we too were once foolish, disobedient, deceived, enslaved by various passions and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, detesting one another.”
b. Expects Participation, and Acceptance, in/of Sin. (Vs. 4)
c. Slanders Those Who Don’t. (Vs. 4b)
d. Will Be Judged by God. (Vs. 5, Psalm 1:5-6)
i. Psalm 1:5-6, “Therefore the wicked will not stand up in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to ruin.”
3. The Good News of God:
a. Brings Life and Freedom. (Vs. 1b, 6)
i. John 17:3, “This is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and the one you have sent—Jesus Christ.”
b. Overrules the Judgment of the World. (Vs. 6, 1 Cor 4:3-5a, Rom 5:1-2)
i. 1 Corinthians 4:3-5a, “It is of little importance to me that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I don’t even judge myself. For I am not conscious of anything against myself, but I am not justified by this. It is the Lord who judges me. So don’t judge anything prematurely, before the Lord comes, who will both bring to light what is hidden in darkness and reveal the intentions of the hearts.”
ii. Romans 5:1-2, “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. We have also obtained access through him by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we boast in the hope of the glory of God.”