THE PAST… THE PRESENT. 1st Peter 4:3-4 Before the people Peter was writing to were saved, they had been involved in the sins of pagan people who worshipped idols and indulged in the lust of the flesh. Since they were saved, unbelievers couldn’t understand what had happened to them or why or how they had changed. As a result, they had become objects of scorn, derision, antagonism, and malice.
They had had enough of living in the flesh, being motivated by the past six sins, which are mentioned that are linked with the pagan life, beginning with filthy conduct and ending with idol worship. Lewdness is unrestrained indulgence; primarily sexual in nature. Lusts are only gratifying unlawful appetites. Drunkenness involves giving over to the control of intoxicating beverages. Revelries are riotous behavior that takes perverse satisfaction in doing wrong. That kind of behavior leads to drinking parties, drinking bouts, debauchery, and brawls. Abominable idolatries: the worship of idols, in those days, led to sexual immorality that made people become like what they worship. Lowered standards have allowed idolatrous religions to breed sin and degradation.
What a litany! To some, it is the epitome of life as it is meant to be, but looking at the waste leaves a bitter taste of living that is abhorrent to those who love righteousness. In times past, such evil pleasure of sin for a season didn’t last for Moses, and none of that can last for people today. The pleasures of sin are but for a season; living like that is foolish. In fact, it is living without a sensible reason and having nothing of any worth to show for all those years of sinning – they are wasted years.
I am motivated to change; it is not passing strange that one who is forgiven much truly loves the Lord. Knowing what we’re saved from and how far we’ve come motivates us to submit to God's will. To watch those who seek, whose will is so weak that they fall for each temptation that comes, is a grief to my soul. This fact I know: those who live so have numb senses to the things of lasting value. I look all around, and I can hear the sound of merriment that seems to go on forever, and before they are eternally severed from God.
Opposition to believers whose lives are transformed by the power of God is bound to come from those whose evil practices are detestable even to civil authority. The changed lives of new believers expose the sinfulness of those who continue to indulge in the sinful lusts of the flesh. The radical change in a new convert’s lifestyle, holy and open, exposes and condemns sinful activities to people and, in particular, makes them conscious of God.
A godless lifestyle that is the “will of the Gentiles” stands in total contrast to the will of God. Included in this list of sins are the sins of Sodom, sexual sins associated with idol worship, which are even contrary to civil laws, demonism, and drinking parties that lead to drunkenness, brawls, and human degradation that leads to unrestrained sin.
“Why won’t you join us? Look at what you’re missing!” These are statements I often hear. “Well, I have found a much greater blessing! Could I share some of these blessings with you?” Peace in my soul that lasts both day and night – Comfort of mind and spirit deep within. Joy that remains, it doesn’t depend on sight. Hope, when things seem darkest, comes from Him. Assurance when uncertain, light in times of gloom. Faith when you can’t even see ahead. Contentment even though others see only doom.”
With all these things I have, what do you offer that can compare with such blessings as these? Is there something I am missing that you can proffer to fill what you think is missing in life? Have you found real satisfaction? What is your motivation to rise each morning with a smile? Are you more able to help those in need who, by faith in God, heed and are willing, for His sake, to walk the extra mile? What about the model you leave for those who follow – do they want to be like you and do what you do? Are you willing to say to them, “Be like me, and you’ll be fulfilled then! And you will never be ashamed when life is through?”
Those who God saves from their sins when they receive Christ as their Savior are often thought to have gone crazy and become religious fanatics. They once shared in sinful living, but have been born again by the Spirit of God and are now guided by the word of God in the Bible. These condemn the open sinner without having to say a word. They are living proof that light and darkness don’t mix; holiness and sinfulness have nothing in common; truth and lies cannot find common ground; honesty and deception make their lives total opposites. This describes what unbelievers think of Christians who live clean, moral lives.