In the sermon titled 'Be Mortifying Sin,' Trent Moody explores the theme of overcoming sin through the lens of 1 Peter chapter 4. The speaker emphasizes the importance of mortifying the deeds of the flesh, drawing on the example of Christ's suffering and victory over sin. The sermon highlights the significance of Christ's death and resurrection as the ultimate triumph over sin's penalty, encouraging believers to live for the will of God rather than the desires of the flesh. It underscores that through the power of the Holy Spirit, believers are equipped to battle sin, not as victims but as empowered individuals. The sermon challenges listeners to evaluate their lives and be resolute in their commitment to be 'done with sin,' living in accordance with God's will. It calls for a transformation of the mind and spirit, urging believers to embrace the paradoxical nature of Christianity where true strength and victory come through Christ's sacrificial death and resurrection.

Thank you brother. Well praise the Lord for those words that we just sang. Because of Christ it is well with my soul. 1 Peter chapter 4 thus says the word of the Lord, Therefore since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind. For he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the will of the flesh for the lust of men, but for the will of God.

For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles when we walked in lewdness lust drunkenness revelries drinking parties and abominable idolatries in regard to these things they think it's strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of dissipation, speaking evil of you. They will give an account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. For this reason the gospel was preached also to those who are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the Spirit. Let us pray. Gracious Father, we are so thankful.

Lord, you give us songs to sing of your truth. Lord, you give us the gospel to sing and it encourages our hearts and then you lay for us the very words of God before us so that we would see them and hear them and take them into our hearts Lord and you encourage us with them. Lord you show us Christ in your word. You show us what he has done for us. And you exhort us because of what he has done, how we should live.

Lord I pray that you would enable us through the power of your Holy Spirit to live according to the Word of God for the glory of God and all praise and honor Lord forever and throughout eternity will be yours. Amen. You may be seated. As we come to this passage in 1 Peter, I want you to be thinking on this point. Be done with sin.

Be done with sin. Last time in 1st Peter we saw how Christ's suffering, how his suffering, encouraged us to be patient in suffering. And this week we are presented with Christ's suffering for sin as an encouragement for us to be done with sin, to mortify the sins of our flesh. As Peter says, for we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles. It is enough.

First and foremost, I want to present to you Christ through suffering put an end to the penalty of sin. Christ through suffering put an end to the penalty of sin verses one and two focus first and foremost upon Christ's suffering. Again, this text is not out of context. This text is pulled right in the middle of this whole topic of what Christ has done in 1 Peter chapter 3. He speaks about Christ's suffering, for Christ also suffered once for sin, the just, for the unjust that he might bring us to God.

That's what Christ's suffering did. Now he says in verse 1 of chapter 4, Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind. Peter is building upon all that he has said before regarding suffering for righteousness sake. He's building upon all that he has taught us about Christ and his suffering for us upon the cross and his aim is to teach us that suffering for righteousness is something that we should expect as followers of Christ who also suffered for us. It's not something that should be strange to us but something that as believers and followers of the man of sorrows that we also should be familiar and we will also be familiar with suffering as Christ followers.

You see Christ suffered but the thing that I want you to understand and that Peter wants us to understand this morning is that his suffering was not pointless. It wasn't a powerless suffering, it was a very focused suffering for a purpose. Christ suffered, he says, for us. He suffered for you. He died for you.

He was buried for you. And he rose for you. And he ascended for you. And he intercedes for you. And he is calling every one of you to trust in him to repent of your sins and to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ so that you will be saved.

Notice Christ suffered for us His suffering accomplished a great victory. It wasn't weakness that Christ example for us. It was strength. He suffered for us. And through that suffering, accomplished a great victory.

His suffering was to take away sin through the thousands and millions of sacrifices of animals throughout the history of the Jewish people and their offerings of sacrifices day after day and year after year. It could not take away sin. But Christ, as chapter 3 verse 18 says, for Christ also suffered once for sin. That's the power of Christ. What all the blood and bulls and goats and all the ceremonies and all the sacrifices could not do, Christ did once when he died upon the cross.

He did that for you. Matthew Poole notes this, both in the guilt and in the power of it, and that he might be the procurer of, as well as the pattern of our mortification. He's wanting to example for us not only that Christ's death was the greatest victory through his death, burial, and resurrection, but he is also wanting us to see this great work of Christ was on our behalf, not for him. These truths are really counterintuitive to the mind of natural man. It goes against what logic would tell us.

We think victory is when someone is stronger than their enemy and conquering them, we think that we are victorious when we are stronger than someone else through our own strength. But Christianity really is a paradox. Christ won the greatest victory through death and through the resurrection. He secured our eternal redemption through his physical death and through his bodily resurrection. We live because he died and rose again.

Our spirit is strengthened, you see, when our flesh suffers. These are paradoxes. I do not merely speak of the flesh as our health or bodily well-being. Although I have received testimony from many people that when they have suffered in the flesh that it benefited them in the spirit. As David said, before I was afflicted I went astray but now I keep thy law.

There is benefit. Primarily I speak though of our fleshly nature which consequently is comforted by good health. When we are in good health it seems like all things are going well But I speak of what Peter here terms in the flesh for the lust of men. He also terms it as the will of the Gentiles. See when this area of our nature suffers death as Paul would say mortification our souls greatly benefit.

Again Peter says, therefore since Christ suffered in the flesh for you in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind. So here is what I understand this to mean. That the sufferings of Christ here refer to his death. Not just his physical pain that he experienced, but his death. Again, 1st Peter 318 says, for Christ also suffered once for sin, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit.

I believe that he is defining for us what it means to suffer in the flesh. When Christ suffered in the flesh, he describes that here in 1 Peter 3, 18, as being put to death in the flesh. It seems clear that this suffering in the flesh equates death. And I believe that Peter then relates Christ's death, his physical death for sins, to our death to sin. Christ's physical death for sin to our death to sin.

So I don't believe that it's necessarily a one on one correlation that when he speaks about for he who suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin that he's talking about Christ I think he's talking about us but I don't think that he means when he says suffer there that he literally means only when we die so I believe that what he's saying is is that when we die to sin, Christ dying for sin, us dying to sin is what I believe Peter is wanting to communicate. He goes on to say, arm yourselves also with the same mind for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin that remember these key words always when you're reading the scriptures that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lust of men but for the will of God so that's why I believe that it doesn't mean our physical death because he's speaking here that we should live the rest of our time not in the will of the flesh. So we're living on past this suffering towards something, towards something that's beneficial for our souls, and something that is beneficial for your soul, that I want to really press upon you, that because Christ died and had great victory over sin, the penalty of sin, through the power that rose Christ from the dead is the same power that is in you through the power of the Holy Spirit that will enable you to put to death the deeds of the body.

So when we think about the death and suffering of our Lord Jesus Christ, it wasn't just this power for this one moment that raised Christ from the dead, but it is this power that works in you through the power of the Holy Spirit to be mortifying the deeds of the flesh. You're not powerless when it comes to sin. You're not a victim. You have the power of God living in you through the power of the Holy Spirit. So it seems that Peter is not talking about us again literally dying in our suffering.

Although we should be ready to do so and truly if we were the case, that were the case, we would cease from sin, as he's talking about ceasing from sin, because we would be in the presence of God. We would be not only saved from the penalty and the power, but from the very presence of sin. We would be with him in heaven. We would have no more need of trying to mortify the deeds of the body because they would be completely mortified, we would be glorified. I believe that his focus specifically is for us to be encouraged that because Christ died for us we have power to put sin to death, mortifying the deeds of our body.

Paul says in Romans 8, 13, and 14, he says this, For if you live according to the flesh, you will die. But if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. Now the King James version says it this way, it says, but if you through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, you shall live. Part of the proof that you are a child of God is that by the Spirit you are mortifying the deeds of the flesh. If there is no mortal battle going on in your life with sin, there is no spirit of God living in you because of salvation.

These things, one of the surest proofs that you're a believer, I know everyone goes through times in their life where they struggle, am I a believer? Am I truly saved? Here's one of the surest ways to know if you're saved. Are you doing battle with sin? Are you mortifying the deeds of your body?

Because he tells us those who do this are led by the Spirit of God. So those who are Christ have mortified the deeds or are mortifying the deeds of the body and those who are Christ as Paul says in Galatians have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires and if we live in the spirit let us also walk in the spirit If the spirit of God is in you, let us walk in the spirit. You think they're in Galatians 5 of the fruit of the spirit and that's what is going to be pouring out of your life if you're led by the spirit and you're walking in the spirit of God. These things will be seen. They will be living in you.

So, what does this mean when it speaks about that he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin? So, if we just suffer a little bit that we won't sin anymore, that's almost what it seems like at your first glance of reading this. But we know that not to be the case. There have been many even here who have suffered. There have been others who have suffered in the flesh.

One grammatical man, a grammarian, would say and define this word in this way. He says, the word and the idea around this word ceased is as follows. It has got release, is no longer stirred by its incitements and seductions. So what he is saying here is when he who has suffered in the flesh, literally you're suffering in the sense of you're doing battle and mortifying sin. When you are doing battle and mortifying sin by the power of the Spirit, You're being led by the Spirit of God to mortify the deeds of the flesh.

And when you do that, you cease from sin in this sense that you are no longer stirred by its incitements and its seductions. You're willing to kill it, not to play with it. So it does cause a suffering. Anytime that we battle with sin, it's not easy. It doesn't feel good.

Why do you think Jesus went to such extremes when he spoke about plucking out your eye and cutting off your hand? It's not like, oh yeah, man, it was just so easy, I just killed that thing. No, it's through prayer, it's through fasting, it is through crying out to God, it is through doing battle with sin. We are not on a playground. It is a battleground that we must fight and kill these things.

As one man said, be killing sin or sin will be killing you. And we must do battle with sin. Remember Peter has just referenced Noah here in the previous verses who was spared from the judgment of the flood, who was delivered because of the ark, which is a type of Christ, and he endured the suffering of judgment of the flood because of the ark. Therefore, they did not come off the ark and live like those who were just destroyed. They came out and what was the first thing that Noah and his family did?

Did they go and look for the gold that everybody had and try to find those things that were alluring to the flesh? No. They sacrificed animals and they worshiped God. What should be the impulse? What is the impulse of your heart?

Where are your affections? Are they for the world? All the allurements that are all around us? Or are your affections drawn to Christ and to His worship? This is the greatest day of the week, the greatest moment of the week, when we come together and we worship God.

All that thrills my soul is Jesus. Can you say that? Oh brothers and sisters, that's my desire for you. Think about that song we just sang. My sin, oh the bliss of this glorious thought.

My sin, not in part but the whole, was nailed to the cross and I bear it no more. Praise the Lord, Praise the Lord. It is well with my soul. Can you say that it is well with your soul? That's my desire.

That's my prayer for you. That you can truly say it is well with my soul because Christ has born my sin upon that tree and I bear it no more. And because I bear it no more, I want it no more. And I want to kill it and I want to be putting it to death in my life. Peter wants us to understand these things.

He wants these believers here as they're living in this foreign land, they're being persecuted for their faith, He wants them to understand that it's not just about the physical suffering that they're going to experience, but it's about something deeper than that. It's about the mortification of your sin. I would be remiss if I did not bring to your attention the reference to the central sphere of the battle with sin. Notice what he says, Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind. Have you engaged your mind in the battle with sin?

Arm yourself likewise with the same mind. Jesus did not haphazardly go to the cross. Think about the garden. Think about what he did in preparation for the cross. How much time do we spend praying because of our sin?

He wasn't dealing with his sin, he was dealing with ours. How much time do we pray dealing with our sin? Because of our sin. And he prayed and He sweat as if it was great drops of blood. And he came back to the disciples and where were they?

They were asleep. How often, and I don't mean this literally, that we always fall asleep when We pray, but think about how unimportant our sin is to us. We pray about something and we ask God to help us, but you know, it's kind of how the disciples were. Before the crucifixion, they fell asleep. And you know what Jesus said to them after the third time?

It is enough. We're going to hear that in just a moment. It is enough. John Gill notes, well before John Gill, Paul, the apostle Paul notes this in chapter 12 of the book of Romans. He says, and do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

Folks, if I could help you with anything, I would say be engaged in your battle with sin by renewing your mind in the Word of God every day. That will be your greatest help. Engage your mind in prayer, thinking about what it is that God would want you to do battle with in your life. Remember, Christ has died for your sins. He rose for your sins.

He has empowered you by the Spirit to do battle with your sin. You have all that you need. Peter tells us in 2nd Peter, he has given unto us all things that pertain to life and godliness. Everything you need is there that we must arm ourselves with the same mind. That's what we are called to do.

John Gill says arm yourselves likewise with the same mind that was in Christ. As he suffered for you, do you likewise suffer for him in his calls for righteousness sake, for the sake of him and his gospel, and bear all reproaches and afflictions and persecutions on his account, willingly and cheerfully with meekness and patience as he did, and with the same view, not indeed to make satisfaction for sin, which was his principal design, but that being dead unto sin, you might live unto righteousness. The apostle speaks to the saints in this exhortation as to soldiers and who had many enemies to engage with and therefore should put on their armor and be in readiness to meet any attack upon them. Matthew Henry says, as Christ suffered in his human nature, do you according to your profession make your corrupt nature suffer? By putting to death the body of sin by self-denial and mortification.

For if you do thus suffer, you will be conformable to Christ in his death and resurrection and will cease from sin now again we understand that he does not mean that you're gonna be sinless but you're gonna cease to what I described to you earlier, that incitement to it. When you do battle with it, it means that you're willing to put that incitement to sin down and that you're ready to kill it. Sin's funny though, and not in a humorous way, but in how it works upon us. I don't know if you love cats or not. Any cat lovers?

It's okay, I'm not going to throw you down under the bus. Cats are funny though, they're not like dogs. We have both so we're okay. Cats are funny in the sense that when they come up to you and they'll rub on you, if you don't want them to rub on you and you very gently and carefully push them to the side or move them away and you walk back, where does that cat go? Right back to your leg.

And I describe this for my children sometimes as this is how sin will be. Now I don't want to give you the picture wrongly of doing something harmful to a cat, not at all, but I'm just saying that sin has a tendency to come right back. You think you've killed it and you say, I'm going to move on from that and the next thing you know, here it comes again rubbing on your leg to incite you again. So this mortification of sin is not this one time thing that's once and done but it is a lifetime of sanctification. It is a lifetime of putting sin to death in your life.

Our hearts are idle factories and we must be killing them. We must be putting sin to death in our flesh. So I believe that Peter helps us in our understanding of what this means about ceasing from sin in verse 2 when he says that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lust of men. I think that's a description there for us or a definition if you would for what it means to cease from sin. That he would cease from sin that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the will of the flesh for the lust of men but for the will of God.

That's what it means. I believe scripture is interpreting scripture for us here. It means that you're done with it. Be done with it. God did not save you so that you would live the rest of your life in the will of the flesh and to the lust of men.

That's not why he did that. He who saved you from sin is here to save you from sin. You understand what I'm saying? He who saved you from the penalty of sin has come to set you free from the power of sin in your life so that you would live a holy life before the Lord. That's why he did this.

That's why the Spirit came to live within us and to enable us to do these things. So he, Christ, destroyed, he died to destroy sin. And though he could cheerfully submit to the worst sufferings, yet Christ could never submit to the least of sins says Matthew Henry. Here Peter contrasts between this will of the flesh and the will of God for us. The rule of the Christian life is now turned away from seeking the will of the flesh and we are turned to seeking the will of God.

And this should be our aim. This should be what we are going for, that we would live for the will of God. This is not legalism. This is love. I love God, therefore I want to Live for God.

This should be what we seek after. How do you make your decisions? Do you seek the will of God? That should be our aim. Secondly, Christ did die for the penalty of our sins, but here in verses 3 through 5 has really captured my thoughts this week.

Enough of our life has been wasted living in sin. Enough of our life has been wasted in living in sin. Look at what verses 3 and 4 say, for we have spent enough of our time past excuse me we have spent enough of our past lifetime and doing the will of the Gentiles when we walked in lewdness and lust and drunkenness and revelries and drinking parties and abominable idolatries." Now let's stop there just for a moment. This part really has captured my mind. It's enough.

It's enough. Enough time wasted living in the flesh. How much is enough? Young person or older person, Are you continuing to live in the flesh? How much is enough?

Do you think you'll ever fill up your flesh? You will not. Your flesh will say more. More. I want more.

It will never be enough. For the Christian, we look back on our sin and we say enough. I'm done with it. How much of your time have you wasted in living in your flesh? How much time have you squandered in not living for the Lord?

I Do not speak of satisfying your flesh again because you can never satiate your flesh by feeding it. The best thing you can do with your flesh is kill it. Mortify it. No I speak of it from another perspective, when a Christian thinks back on their former life and their behavior before they came to Christ, and all Christians do this from time to time, I don't think there's a Christian here who has not thought back on their former life. It is not a pleasurable experience.

It is grievous. It's detestable. It's grievous to our soul to think that I spent time living for my flesh. Think of the trouble that it caused you. Think of the broken relationships.

Think of the harm to yourself and to others and the dishonor to God and the blasphemy, the idolatry, the vain pleasures. No, truly converted person thinks back on these things with delight. But with remorse and repentance, There are no fond memories there. How do you think of sin? No, we should grieve over it.

It should afflict your soul. It is enough. How much is enough one day? If I had lived one day to my flesh my soul now says enough. One hour, one minute, when I stand before the Lord I will look back on every second and say, enough!

I wasted a whole second that I didn't live for my Lord. How many of us will stand before the Lord with years of waste that we didn't live for the Lord. That we did not give him thanks. That we did not praise his holy name. That we did not love the brethren.

That we did not serve one another. How much is enough? Peter gives us a list of this grievous lifestyle. I'm not going to go into all the details of it, but he says when we walked in lewdness and lust and drunkenness and revelries and drinking parties and abominable idolatries, this is not comprehensive, but it sure gives a picture of the evil that's in the human heart. Now I'm sure that some of you who have grown up in this church or other churches can say I've not lived in such a way.

Praise God. But think not to establish your own righteousness. Know this, that every seed of every sin is in your heart. Think of the worst vile thing that discussed you. That seed is there.

By God's grace it has not been watered. It has not sprouted. Thanks be to God who has kept us from such sin. You know in the book of Romans we see that God comes to a point where he turns them over. He literally is the judgment of abandonment where he says this is the way you want to go there.

I'll just show you how far your evil wicked heart can go And we are seeing that in our country today. But before you, maybe who are younger and who have not participated in such things, thinks too highly of yourself, consider the list in Romans chapter one and in the midst of that list with all of the vileness he lists something else disobedience to parents what is that doing there What is that doing there? God sees it that way. I don't say this to shame you, I say this to humble you. I say it so that you would be humbled in your heart and you would recognize I need Christ.

He died for me. I need Christ. And I want to live for Christ. And I want to be done with sin. And I want to do battle with sin.

And I want to live for the glory of God." Matthew Henry aptly says, it is a Christian's duty not only to abstain from what is grossly wicked, but also from those things that are generally the occasions of sin or carry the appearance of evil. So often we want to live as close as we can to this line without crossing it. But The humble heart and the thankful heart and the holy heart desires to live in obedience to the Lord, not wanting to even give the appearance of it. Oh, God help us to see these things clearly. Remember what James says in James 2, 10, for whoever shall keep the whole law and yet stumble in one point, he's guilty of all.

There is one law of God. And we say there's 10 commandments, there are. There's one law. If you were hanging over hell by a 10-link chain, which one would have to break for you to fall? Any of them.

Any of them. You would break the law of God. And who has not? We all have. We all have.

We have all fallen short of the glory of God. You see, everyone stands in need of a Savior here this morning. And you know what? I know such a Savior. The one and only Savior.

The Savior that we read of in the book of Acts, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. And it is the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. He can save you from all of these sins and He will give you the power to live in victory over those sins. Oh, how I detest every second that I've lived in the flesh. Oh, that I would live every minute of my future life, and I pray that you would too, for the glory of the Father, for the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you would live in obedience to Him to show your thankfulness and your glory and honor to Him who died for you.

That's my desire. You know when you stand before the Lord, you will not look back upon your life as many people do on their deathbed. They look back upon their life and they think about the things that they have done and not done. When you stand before the Lord, you will not for one second think I wish I would have lived just a little longer in the flesh. That will not be on your thoughts.

You will however think of all the times that you should not have lived that way but how you should have lived for the glory of God. You see, there is a strangeness in this life, and I'm running out of time, but I'm going to do my best to finish this up through verse 6. I want you to understand that when we live this way, it is strange. Look at what he says in verse 4, In regard to these, they think it strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of dissipation, speaking evil of you. Are you okay with being spoken evil of?

Well, guess what? If you're going to follow Christ, you will be spoken evil of. So just get ready. If they call the master of the house, Beelzebub, how much more will they call those who are his servants and those who live for him? They will call us these same things.

You see the response of the former companions that we had who ran with us in those evil deeds, they think it's strange. I have friends like that. They think me strange. Can you imagine that? You see the response of the evildoers is only to speak more evil.

And what do they speak evil of? Those who do well. Those who do well. They will call good evil and evil good. They will put darkness for light and light for darkness.

They don't understand. They have unnatural affections and they go after those sins that are appalling to God. You see, we are living in such a day as this. You see, at first those living with unnatural affections only want permission to live the way they wanted. And then they want you to accept their sin, and next they demand you to applaud their sin, and now they want you to promote their sin.

And if you don't, you're evil. They will speak evil of you. But do not fret over this. Don't fret over this. Grieve over their lost estate.

Grieve because the God of this world has blinded their eyes. Grieve because if they do not repent, they will go to hell for all eternity. They will give an account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. This is our consolation. You see, 1 Peter 2, 23 says, regarding Christ, who when he was reviled did not revile in return, when he suffered he did not threaten, but he committed himself to him who judges righteously.

And that's what we should do. When you are made fun of or when you are evil spoken of because of your stance for righteousness, you stand with Christ. Do not revile in return. Know that there is a day coming when God will judge the living and the dead. Have you ever read Psalm 73?

I encourage you to do so. In Psalm 73, the writer of this Psalm goes through and he's looking at all the blessings of the wicked and he says, my foot almost slipped. You get to verse 17 and there's a hinge point and in the verse 17 he speaks about my foot had almost slipped until I went to the house of the Lord and then I knew their end. I want you to know the end of the wicked and that is this, they will give an account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. So where are you, my friend?

Are you ready to stand before him and give an account? There's only one way to survive that day of judgment and that is if Christ, in verse 1, Christ suffered for you. That's the only way. And so as we look at this last verse, I want us to try to understand this. It can be a little bit confusing.

He says in verse 6, he says, for this reason the gospel was preached also to those who are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh but live according to God and the Spirit. You see, I want you to understand that the gospel was preached not only to save you from the power of sin, but it was saved to mortify sin. We've spoken about this throughout. That's one of the purposes of the gospel, is to save you from sin and also the power of sin in your life. So for this reason, it says the gospel was preached to those who are dead.

Now this can, like I said, can be a little bit confusing, but I don't want it to be. I believe it can be made clear, and it's this. What does it mean that the gospel was preached to those who are dead? I understand it in two possible ways, and I think both are fine. Those who are dead in sin, so the gospel is preached to those who are dead in sin, which is true because all men are born dead in sin.

The gospel is only preached to those who are dead in that sense. For all men are dead in sin. The second is those believers who formerly died, those who heard the gospel and believed, and at the time of Peter's writing have already died and are with the Lord. So what does this mean? They're judged according to men in the flesh.

So he goes on and he says they were preached to those who are dead that they might be judged according to men in the flesh. I believe that what he is speaking about is what we see earlier in chapter 3 when we hear about Noah, when we know that Noah was a preacher of righteousness and no one listened to his message. No one listened to his message. No doubt He was mocked and made fun of but I believe he's also speaking about here in verse 4 in regard to these they think it's strange That you do not run with them in the same flood of dissipation Speaking evil of you that is being judged according to men in the flesh. You really don't need to worry about being judged according to men in the flesh.

Don't worry about that. What you do need to be worried about is is verse 5, they will give an account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. That's the judgment you should be concerned with. So as we look at these final things, verse 4 is regarding those who are speaking evil of you. These men who believe the gospel are judged by men who do not understand the gospel.

So we see that the gospel was preached to make new creatures out of us. It was preached so that we would live according to God in the Spirit. Not only that we would be saved again from the penalty of sin, but from the very power of sin that it has in your life. That we might live, it says, that we might live according to God in the Spirit. This is the mortification of sin.

This is what Peter is exhorting us to. So my encouragement to you this week is to remind you that since Christ has suffered for our sins and put an end to the penalty of sin for the believer. Let us be done with sin in our life. Be done with it for Christ has triumphed over it and he has enabled us to live and to do battle with it. No longer captive to the power of sin.

For the angel declared in Matthew 1.21 to Joseph and said, and she will bring forth a son and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. And also in Romans 6, I want to close with this, Romans 6 1 through 14, what shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not. How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?

Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore, we were buried with him through baptism into death that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father even so we also shall walk in newness of life. For if we had been united together in the likeness of his death, certainly we shall be in the likeness of his resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. Let me repeat, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. Let me repeat that we should no longer be slaves of sin.

Now if we died with Christ we believe that we shall also live with him knowing that Christ having been raised from the dead dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over him. For the death that he died, he died to sin once for all, but the life that he lives, he lives to God. Likewise, you also reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body that you should obey it in his lust and do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.

For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace. I want you to understand that sin shall not have dominion over you. Christ died for you. Let us pray. Our Father, oh Lord I pray that your people will be done with sin.

I pray that I will be done with sin. God, through the power of your word, I pray that this would be effectual to our souls. Lord, that we would be encouraged in the inner man. Lord, that we would see the benefits of Christ's death and suffering and his resurrection and that we would understand, Lord, that we can be done with sin. Oh God would you help us.

Oh Lord grant us the grace to see these glorious truths. Help us to live for your glory and Lord please encourage your people. I ask it in Christ's name. Amen.