Distinguished by Grace, Part 1

Welcome to Delight in Grace, the teaching ministry of Rich Powell, pastor of Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. For believers, our freedom is anchored in the cross of Jesus. Because of that, the way we process life must be cross-centered. As we surrender daily to Christ's work, our attitudes and affections will be transformed by Him. Only then can we do life well. A cross-centered life will look drastically different from the world system of living, but we can swim against the current with a confident expectation of a glorious future with our Savior.

Even as Rich brings a message from 1 Peter 4, 1-6, titled Distinguished by Grace. For God in the person of Jesus came to us. He came to us. He lived like us. He died. He was buried. He rose again. He ascended, and He's coming again. The line. If from that wall to that wall is a line that represents all of time, your life is a tiny speck on that line.

And the Advent season reminds us that tiny speck isn't the point. This is what Peter appeals to as he's writing to first century Christians who are experiencing adversity, disdain, pushback. They're being reviled.

Some of them have been displaced. Make sure you're not simply focused on the here and now. Keep the big picture in view. And so this series that we're in in Peter, Live as People Who Are Free, a sub-series is 12 characteristics of people who are free. Today's number 11, Distinguished by Grace. Distinguished by Grace, chapter 4, verses 1-6. Our freedom is anchored in the cross of Jesus Christ. That we as followers of Jesus, those who have entrusted ourselves, surrendered ourselves in faith to Jesus Christ. We are free from the penalty and the very power itself of sin, that which held us in bondage, that which deserves the necessary holy wrath of God. We are free from that. But we're not just free from something.

We are free to. We are indwelt with the Spirit of God. We are new creation. We have the righteousness of Jesus Christ. It's not our own righteousness.

It's his. And because of that, we are free and we just sang about it. That we would live as God designed and purposed for us, for our joy and for his glory. That's our freedom.

12 characteristics of people who are free. And those characteristics are most clearly understood in the context of suffering. And that's why Peter is writing this letter to the first century believers. So let's remember that context.

Let's remember the line and not become fixated with the dot. Those who are distinguished by grace live a cross-centered life. Verses 1 and 2 of chapter 4. Since, therefore, Christ suffered in the flesh, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live the rest of the time in the flesh, no longer for human passions, but for the will of God. That is a cross-centered life. Jesus, as well as ourselves, the truth is this. Our union with God.

Jesus as being equal with God and ourselves in Christ united with him, that union culminates in mixed reviews here on the earth. People get uncomfortable with it. It's strange to them.

They don't understand it. And so faithfully following Christ will always be in that reality. As we are faithfully following Christ, we will always be swimming against the current tide, the current moral tide of the day. We have to understand that. And that's why he says, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking.

Anchored in what? Since Christ, since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, he's speaking of his death and burial. The passion of Christ that he suffered for us. And then he says, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking. He said something very similar to this in chapter 1 and verse 13, where he said, prepare your minds for action. Literally, gird up the loins of your mind. Prepare your minds for action.

In other words, there's no such thing as a passive Christian life. It is an active calling. Call to actively following, glorifying God. Gird up loins of your mind. Prepare your minds for action, which he says here, arm yourselves. Arm yourselves with the same way of thinking as Christ did. That is the mind of Christ that we find Paul writing about to the Philippian church in chapter 2 and verse 5. And the same way of thinking, that phrase way of thinking is the same we find in Hebrews 4.12, which is translated intentions of the heart.

Intentions of the heart. So let me give you this today. Doing life well is the product of thinking well. You can take that to the bank.

I'm not sure what I meant by that, but you can count on that. Doing life well is the product of thinking well. And Peter here is challenging, exhorting, admonishing our thinking. And that's why he says, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking as Christ. What was his attitude? What was his disposition? As he came to earth, as he walked on the earth, what was his way of thinking? Did Jesus do life well? In fact, he did it perfectly.

Because his thinking was perfect. And doing life well is the product of thinking well. That really is the premise of our whole counseling ministry.

Thinking well. Bringing the word of God to bear upon our lives so that I think God's thoughts and I perceive life the way God perceives life. I perceive myself the way God does.

And therefore I function in that light. Doing life well is the product of thinking well. Thinking well is one who is surrendered to Christ. And as one who is surrendered to Christ, my affections and my attitudes are transformed by Christ and his self-disclosure. And that is the way that I love God with all my mind. That's thinking well. And what are your resources for that? Think now for a moment. What resources God has granted you for your living well as the product of your thinking well.

Here are the resources. You have the word of God. You have the Son of God. Spirit of God. You have the church of God. All of that is God's grace lavished upon us so that we can arm ourselves with the same way of thinking as Jesus Christ. So getting back to how I introduced this through out this letter, Peter is constantly taking us back to the big picture.

A fundamental element of your thinking well is keeping the big picture in view. Life did not begin when you were born. Existence did not start at the moment of your birth. And it will not end at the time of your physical death.

It's a tiny speck, hardly discernible on the timeline of all time. God is eternal and God is infinite. And he has invited you into his creation.

That's how we need to see it. That is a fundamental part, a foundational part of thinking well. And so we see the pre-existent Christ who came and lived and died and rose again and ascended and is coming back. That's keeping that in mind is the thinking is part of the face, the foundation of thinking well.

And where am I in all of that? This is why Peter says arm yourselves with the same way of thinking. Living for the line, not just the dot. Jesus said something very similar.

It's a hard thing to hear him say, to read. We read the verse where Jesus, it's recorded that Jesus said this in Matthew chapter 16, where Jesus said, If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me, for whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. And we can be bent on preserving ourselves, can't we?

We can. It's in our DNA, right? And so he says the take up the cross is, that's the same as what he says in here, suffering in the flesh. Suffering in the flesh. That if you want to save your life, if your life is about you saving yourself, preserving yourself, living for yourself, you're going to lose it.

You will lose your life. I'm not talking about existence, I'm talking about life. Because when you die physically, you don't cease to exist. But if you don't have life, you will exist in a state called death. And that is separation from God.

Because he is the source of all life. We're so glad you've joined us for Delight in Grace, the teaching ministry of Rich Powell, pastor of Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. You can hear this message and others anytime by visiting our website, www.delightingrace.com. You can also check out Pastor Rich's book, Seven Words That Can Change Your Life, where he unpacks from God's word the very purpose for which you were designed. Seven Words That Can Change Your Life is available wherever books are sold. As always, tune in to Delight in Grace weekdays at 10 a.m.