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Can My Pain Kill My Sins? · Pastor John Piper's answers

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  Speaker 1: Well, if you've been reading your Bible for some time,
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  Speaker 1: you know there are Bible texts that seem simple and
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  Speaker 1: straightforward until you begin to study the details. And then
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  Speaker 1: what you thought it meant isn't so clear. We arrive
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  Speaker 1: at such a Bible text in 1 Peter as we
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  Speaker 1: read this epistle together in the second half of October
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  Speaker 1: in the Navigator's Bible Reading Plan. I hope you're reading
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  Speaker 1: along with us. Grateful for you if you are. Peter
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  Speaker 1: tells us that whoever has suffered in the flesh has
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  Speaker 1: ceased from sin. And that raises one obvious question today
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  Speaker 1: on Ask Pastor John. Can my pain kill my sin?
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  Speaker 1: There's a question from a pastor who writes this, Dear
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  Speaker 1: Pastor John, in counseling church members who are enduring fiery trials,
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  Speaker 1: I frequently turn to 1 Peter to help them navigate
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  Speaker 1: their pain. Whenever I come to 1 Peter 4.1, whoever
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  Speaker 1: has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin. I
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  Speaker 1: am perplexed. This seems like a very precious promise for
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  Speaker 1: learning how to win the victory over our own sin.
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  Speaker 1: Perhaps the pain we feel is killing the sin within us.
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  Speaker 1: So how would you preach and apply this text, this
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  Speaker 1: truth to your church?
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  Speaker 2: I have at least two friends. who have written commentaries
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  Speaker 2: on 1 Peter, who take a viewpoint on chapter 4,
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  Speaker 2: verse 1, that I have tried and tried to agree with.
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  Speaker 2: My respect for these men is super high, but I
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  Speaker 2: stumble every time I try to get on board. with
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  Speaker 2: this interpretation. And I respect these brothers so highly. I
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  Speaker 2: don't take their interpretations lightly. They may be right. So
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  Speaker 2: I'm going to tell you what they think and then
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  Speaker 2: give you another possibility that I'm more inclined to. In
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  Speaker 2: the end, they both come out to the same kind
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  Speaker 2: of Christian commitment and behavior. But the way they get there,
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  Speaker 2: the way we get there using the verse is pretty different.
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  Speaker 2: neither is theologically false. But the question is, what's the
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  Speaker 2: immediate context doing? So 1 Peter 4.1 says, Since therefore
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  Speaker 2: Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same
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  Speaker 2: way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh
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  Speaker 2: has ceased from sin. So the questions are, what does
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  Speaker 2: it mean when he says Christians have suffered in the
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  Speaker 2: flesh like Jesus? And what does it mean that Because
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  Speaker 2: of that, they have ceased from sin. So the view
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  Speaker 2: that I have trouble agreeing with sees suffering in the
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  Speaker 2: flesh as persecution from unbelievers because we have stopped following
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  Speaker 2: them into paths of sin. So our persecution or suffering
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  Speaker 2: in the flesh becomes evidence that we have ceased from sin.
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  Speaker 2: Makes sense. Yeah. Here's an actual quote from one of
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  Speaker 2: the commentaries that I like very much. I'd go to
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  Speaker 2: it in a minute for help. It says, they should
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  Speaker 2: prepare themselves to suffer, seeing the commitment to suffer as
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  Speaker 2: evidence that they have broken with a life of sin.
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  Speaker 2: And the basis for that understanding is in verse 4,
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  Speaker 2: which says, with respect to this namely this new lifestyle
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  Speaker 2: of godliness that you have as a Christian. With respect
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  Speaker 2: to this, unbelievers are surprised when you do not join
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  Speaker 2: them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you.
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  Speaker 2: So that maligning is seen as the suffering that is
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  Speaker 2: the evidence of the Christians now having broken with sin.
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  Speaker 2: They have ceased from sin, and that's why they're being maligned.
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  Speaker 2: They no longer join the unbelievers in the flood of debauchery.
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  Speaker 2: So the words in verse 1, whoever has suffered in
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  Speaker 2: the flesh has ceased from sin, is taken to mean
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  Speaker 2: whoever is willing to be maligned for godliness gives evidence
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  Speaker 2: of having ceased from sin. It may well be that's right.
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  Speaker 2: Maybe so. Certainly, there's nothing theologically wrong about it. But
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  Speaker 2: I want to suggest another interpretation that I think fits
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  Speaker 2: the wording of 1 Peter better. So I want to
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  Speaker 2: suggest that the words Christ suffered in the flesh, verse 1,
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  Speaker 2: refers to his death. And our suffering in the flesh, therefore,
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  Speaker 2: refers to our dying with Christ in his death so
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  Speaker 2: that we die to sin. Hmm. or cease from sin
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  Speaker 2: in that way. And here's my rationale. Four verses before this,
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  Speaker 2: in 318, Peter says, Christ also suffered once for sins,
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  Speaker 2: the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us
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  Speaker 2: to God, being put to death in the flesh, put
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  Speaker 2: to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit.
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  Speaker 2: So Christ's suffering once for sins and his being put
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  Speaker 2: to death in the flesh are the same. So when 4.1,
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  Speaker 2: chapter 4, verse 1, says that Christ suffered in the flesh,
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  Speaker 2: it is very likely it means he died. And so
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  Speaker 2: the phrase put to death in the flesh in 3.18
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  Speaker 2: sounds very similar to the phrase suffered in the flesh
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  Speaker 2: in 4.1. So what we're dealing with here in chapter 4,
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  Speaker 2: verse 1, is not only suffering but death, Christ's death
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  Speaker 2: and our death. Since Christ suffered in the flesh, that is,
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  Speaker 2: he died, arm yourself with with the same way of thinking, namely,
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  Speaker 2: that you too die with him and in him, for
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  Speaker 2: whoever has suffered in the flesh, that is, died with him,
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  Speaker 2: has ceased from sin. The power of sin has been broken.
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  Speaker 2: We have died decisively to sin. It doesn't have dominion
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  Speaker 2: over us anymore. Then the amazing, I mean, this is
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  Speaker 2: what kind of swings it for me, the amazing confirmation
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  Speaker 2: that this may well be the way Peter is thinking,
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  Speaker 2: it's chapter 2, verse 24. He himself bore our sins
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  Speaker 2: in his body on the tree that we might die
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  Speaker 2: to sin and live to righteousness. So when Christ suffered
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  Speaker 2: and died on the cross, we died with him, in
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  Speaker 2: union with him. And the explicit link Peter makes is
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  Speaker 2: the same as in chapter 4, verse 1. If we
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  Speaker 2: suffer with Christ this way, namely in his death, then
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  Speaker 2: we die to sin. And that death to sin leads
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  Speaker 2: to real triumph over sin's dominion, so we live a
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  Speaker 2: life of righteousness. So here's my understanding of 1 Peter 4,
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  Speaker 2: verse 1. The first part of the verse says, Christ
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  Speaker 2: suffered in the flesh. I take that to mean he died.
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  Speaker 2: And 2.24 and 3.18 make clear he died for our sin.
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  Speaker 2: He died to take away sin, both its guilt and
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  Speaker 2: its practice. Then the last part of verse 1 says,
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  Speaker 2: whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin.
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  Speaker 2: I take that to refer to our dying with Christ sin.
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  Speaker 2: and the fact that the guilt and the power of
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  Speaker 2: our sin has been broken. It ceased, and we now
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  Speaker 2: live in God's favor and walk in righteousness. And the
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  Speaker 2: link between the first part of verse 1 and the
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  Speaker 2: last part of verse 1 is arm yourself with the
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  Speaker 2: same way of thinking, which I take to mean join
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  Speaker 2: Christ in his mindset to die to sin and to
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  Speaker 2: be done with it, because you have died with him
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  Speaker 2: One of the criticisms of this interpretation is that it
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  Speaker 2: looks like a subtle way of smuggling Paul's theology into Peter,
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  Speaker 2: because this is exactly the way Paul talks. Here's Romans 6.
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  Speaker 2: We know that our old self was crucified with him
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  Speaker 2: in order that the body of sin might be brought
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  Speaker 2: to nothing. so that we no longer are enslaved to sin. Now,
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  Speaker 2: I think that's exactly what Peter meant. And I don't
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  Speaker 2: say that because I want Peter to say what Paul said.
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  Speaker 2: I say it because 1 Peter 3.18 and 1 Peter 2.24
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  Speaker 2: seem to me to illuminate 4.1 exactly the way Paul
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  Speaker 2: would illuminate it. So my interpretive paraphrase of 4.1 goes
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  Speaker 2: like this. since Christ suffered and died in his body
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  Speaker 2: to overcome the guilt and power of sin in his people,
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  Speaker 2: take heart and arm yourself with the reminder that he
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  Speaker 2: died for you and you died with him to sin
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  Speaker 2: because whoever has suffered in the flesh, that is whoever
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  Speaker 2: has died with Christ, has in fact been set free
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  Speaker 2: from the guilt of sin and has ceased to be
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  Speaker 2: dominated by its power.
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  Speaker 1: So maybe Schreiner is right.
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  Speaker 2: So maybe Schreiner is right. And maybe not.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you, Pastor John. Take heart and arm yourself with
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  Speaker 1: the reminder that he died for you and you died
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  Speaker 1: with him to sin. It's beautiful. 1 Peter 4.1 is
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  Speaker 1: pointing us to Christ and to our union with him
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  Speaker 1: and his death. We have died with Christ and therefore
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  Speaker 1: sin no longer reigns over us. We no longer live
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  Speaker 1: in the domain of sin.
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  Speaker 2: Amen.
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  Speaker 1: The beautiful, positional, applicable truth of our union with Christ
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  Speaker 1: is so beautiful, so important. Maybe you came to this
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  Speaker 1: episode with other questions. Maybe my own suffering doesn't kill
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  Speaker 1: my sin, at least not here in this 1 Peter 4,
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  Speaker 1: 1 text. So then what is God accomplishing in me
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  Speaker 1: in my pain? That's a great question with a long
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  Speaker 1: and detailed and glorious answer. And for it, in summary form,
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  Speaker 1: see that long section in the Ask Pastor John book
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  Speaker 1: on pages 365 to 394. We've learned a lot from
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  Speaker 1: Pastor John, his life, and what he sees in the Bible.
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  Speaker 1: over the years on trials. A lot to be gleaned
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  Speaker 1: from him. I am your host, Tony Reinke, Pastor John,
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  Speaker 1: and I will see you back here on Thursday. Thanks
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  Speaker 1: for listening.