Jump Start # 4182

1 Peter 4:4 “In all this, they are surprised that you do not run with them into the same excesses of dissipation, and they malign you.”

  Surprises – they happen all the time. A surprise birthday party in which all the guests are hiding and as you walk into the room, everyone shouts, “SURPRISE.” An unexpected and surprise bonus at the end of the year. But, here in our passage, the surprise surrounds a changed moral behavior. Once, these people were all doing the same thing. Now, one has become a Christian and no longer participates in those sinful and wicked activities. The shock and the surprise come from those who are still engaging in those things. They are surprised that you stopped. And, that leads them to “malign” you.

The Common English Bible words it this way: “Now your former friends wonder why you have stopped running around with them, and they curse you for it.”

Here are some lessons:

First, the world doesn’t understand the transformed life that comes from following Christ. Many want to just add Sunday morning church without changing a thing. Talking filthy. Drinking like there is no tomorrow. Dressing immodestly. Selfish and prideful. They go to church and still do those things. Why can’t you? Rather than learning from you and wanting to be like you, they use the opportunity to curse you. Their sinful lifestyle is more important to them than friendship with you.

Changed behavior is something that many never fully get.

Second, in too many sections today, young Christians are surprising their parents, elders, preachers and the faithful by claiming to be a disciple of Jesus while continuing to participate in things that are wrong. It’s not the world that is shocked, but the faithful of God. The context of our passage tells us that the time has passed for such wrong behavior. Don’t look for loopholes in the Scriptures. Don’t run to Jesus turning water to wine. Don’t hide behind the word “grace,” to justify wrongs. There is no way a wrong can be made right. Rather than shocking their friends, and letting their light shine, some are shocking the faithful of God.

Third, following the Lord comes with blessings, responsibilities and consequences. Jesus said a man’s enemies may be his own household. Don’t build bridges of compromise that dims your light and weakens the Gospel message. The world never moves towards the cross. If anyone has to move, it will be you giving up your convictions. It is better to be alone and with the Lord than to hang on to friends who try to pull you away from the hope and promises that you have in Christ.

In the Lord’s sermon on the mount, a picture of the judgment brought surprise to some. They thought they had it made. They had prophesied, cast out demons, yet the Lord declared that He never knew them. How shocking this was to them.

Spiritual surprises…

Roger