Living for Christ in a Counter Culture

Living for Christ in a Counter-Culture

7   The end of all things is near; therefore, be of sound judgment

and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer.

8   Above all, keep fervent in your love one for another,

because love covers a multitude of sins.

9   Be hospitable to one another without complaint.

10   As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another

as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

11   Whoever speaks is to speak, as it were, the utterances of God;

whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies;

so that all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ,

to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever.  Amen.

I Peter 4:7-10

Peter writes to a group of believers who, like us, live in a culture that is rapidly moving away from God.  The challenge for believers then and now was to live for Christ in a counter-culture, and to do it in a winsome way that “will adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in every respect” (Titus 2:10).

The Motivation for those Living for Christ in a Counter-Culture

Peter begins with what some might call a doomsday message – the end of all things is at hand.   But the word used here never refers to a temporal or chronological need; rather, it points to the culmination.   Peter is saying – Christ is coming!   Because He is coming we must keep the main thing the main thing and not waste our lives on lesser things.  Someday we will stand before Him to give an account, and that accountability ought to motivate us to live for Christ in every circumstance.

In verse 11 Peter tells us that our motivation ought to be that God would be glorified in all things.  In fact, Peter reminds us that our God is worthy of that glory because “glory and dominion belong to him forever and ever.”  It’s all about Him.  “He must increase and I must decrease” (John 3:30).

The Mandate for those Living for Christ in a Counter-Culture

v  Maintain Perspective so you pray effectively – “be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer” (v. 7)

If we are to live for Christ in a Counter-Culture we must think clearly and biblically.  We must run everything we hear, say, and do through the grid of God’s Word.   The danger for those living in a counter-culture is that they will be influenced by the CULTURE WHICH SURROUNDS them rather than by the CHRIST WHO SAVED them.  Not only must we be of sound judgment, we must have a “sober spirit.”  Peter counsels that we should be alert and aware of vulnerabilities.  We must be circumspect, looking around because Satan desires to devour (I Peter 5:8).  All of this is for the purpose of prayer so that we recognize and confess our dependence on the Lord.

v  Fervently love to the point of forgiveness – “above all fervently love one another, for love covers a multitude of sins”(v. 8).  The emphasis here is “above all.”  We must make it a priority to live in peace, harmony, and unity.   Jesus said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you” (John 13:33).   The law had long ago said “love your neighbor as you love yourself,” but Jesus raised the standard to love “as he loved.”

The extent of love is described as “fervently.”   The word was used in the athletic arena of a runner stretching to cross the finish line.   Loving fervently means I stretch outside my comfort zone and exercise an act of the will to love.

The evidence of love is that “it covers a multitude of sins.”   We should be willing to stretch to the point of forgiveness, setting aside the grievance.   We should be “forgiving one another, even as Christ forgave us” (Ephesians 4:32).

v  Never grumble at a God-given opportunity to give – “be hospitable to one another without complaint” (v. 9).

The word “hospitable” means a “lover of strangers.”  No doubt, there is someone right around me that I can encourage today and “esteem better than myself” (Philippians 2:2).

v  Serve rather than sitting on the sidelines – “as each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another” (v. 10).

As you serve, think about the source of that gift – it came from God.  Serve, but do so selflessly – employ the gift in serving others.   Serve, but do it as a steward of the grace of God.   Serve, but do it in the strength God supplies. 

As we apply these principles we can live for Christ in a counter-culture.