1 Peter 4:1-8

Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin. As a result, he does not live the rest of his earthly life for human desires, but rather for the will of God. For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do--living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry. They think it strange that you do not plunge with them into the same flood of dissipation, and they heap abuse on you. But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. For this is the reason the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they might be judged according to men in regard to the body, but live according to God in regard to the spirit.
The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray. Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.

Amen. This is a rather large scripture, and there's a lot to dig through, but we can do it :)

So, to start off, let's talk about suffering. A very interesting concept in and of itself, but when combined with the context of this scripture, it takes on a deeper meaning. Jesus Christ--God in the flesh--came down to earth so that we--frail human beings--might have the chance at salvation. He taught us a new way to live, with some non-traditional actions, and then was arrested for teaching these things and performing the miracles he did. He was flogged--39 lashes of a cat-of-nine-tails; a whip with shards of metal and glass and bone at the end of it. He wore a crown of thorns on his head--which caused rather a lot of bleeding: the head is the most vascular part of the body, so bleeds really easily. He had huge nails drove through his hands and feet. And, what I think is the worst kind of suffering he could go through: being separated from his Abba Father, with whom he was very close, because he took on the sin of the world. And Isaiah 59:2 says that our sin separates us from God.
Why did he suffer so? Because he loves us, and because it says in 1 Peter 2: 18-22 that slaves (in essence, us before our supreme master, God) should submit to their masters with all respect--and that goes for the masters who are harsh as well as those who are just. Because (vv19) "it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God." And in the second half of verse 20, it says "But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God." So Jesus' suffering for us on that cross, and in the beating of his mortal body for us, is commendable before God, and thus he rose on the 3rd day, becoming one with God yet again.

And it is the same with us. We as Christians will suffer abuse--as it says in verse 4--for being different than the worldly people around us. But if we stand up under the abuse and the unjust suffering that will come from the persecution we receive--(2 Timothy 3:12--In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted)--we will stand commendable before God, and as a result, we will live a life free from sin.

And not only that. Verse 2 says that as we suffer and live a life free from sin, we will be living for the will of God, and not the evil desires that so plague this world today. What exactly are the evil desires? Well, in verse 3 it says that the pagans--those who are not Christians--chose to live in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing, and detestable idolatry. Yep, I can definitely see the non-Christians of today still doing those things. And even today they too think it's strange that Christians don't "plunge with them into the same flood of dissipation." Just the other week this drunk guy came into the dorm building, boasting about some sketch bar of some sort, where the women degraded themselves by barely wearing clothes and served the guys hot wings. He had asked us (a couple of friends of mine and me) if we would go to that sort of thing--even for just the wings--and was astonished at how we all answered no. Granted, at that point there was no abuse going on, but it is the same principle in effect--he thought us strange and, if he were a little more sober or drunk--you can never tell who's more violent these days--he most likely would have heaped insults at us, and attempted to make fools of us for choosing such a lifestyle.

But hey, verse 5 says that people like him will have to give account to "him who is ready to judge the living and the dead." All we can do as disciples is live out John 13:34 and love him as Jesus loved us.

Verse 7 changes gears a little bit and starts talking about the urgency of living a godly live here and now. "The end of all things is near," it says. Not even Jesus knows the day or the hour (Mark 13:32), but we have to be prepared for when it does come, so we can be presented pure and blameless before God. So, to do this, we need to be clear minded and self-controlled to be able to pray--and the importance of prayer is an entirely other can of worms--but the focus here is to be clear minded and self-controlled. The way to do that is to repent of whatever sin that is in your life (and you will receive times of refreshing--Acts 3:19) and to live out God's commands, so you can have control over your mortal body, and you won't give in to its evil desires.

And of course, verse 8 is an echo of John 13:34 when it says "Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers a multitude of sins." Love is another one of those big subjects that is way too big to explain fully in the midst of another focus. But love--especially love like that which God has for us--is much, much stronger than anything creation could possibly come up with (Romans 8:38).

So what have we learned? Suffering in your body--fighting sin--helps you to overcome that sin and helps you to live the rest of your life for the will of God.
Non-Christians live crazy, out-of-control lives and think it's strange that you, a Christian, don't join in, and will sometimes "heap abuse" on you for it. But they will be held accountable for that too--just as we will be held accountable for living lives unlike those that "pagans" are living.
The end is coming. We don't know when it is, but we wanna be ready, so we're gonna be clear minded and self-controlled so that we can pray--which can help in all situations.
Let's love. It's stronger than anything the enemy can devise, so let's use it to drown out his attacks.

I love you all, I hope you got something out of this--I certainly did.

To God be the Glory.

Amen.