Devotion for Tuesday 10 MAY 2011 Anno Domini

Devotion for Tuesday 10 MAY 2011 Anno Domini
“1Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin;2 That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God. 3For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries: 4 Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you:5 Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead.6 For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.” (1 Peter 4:1-6)
1.Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin.” Please do not expect an exemption from suffering and depravation the moment you claim Christ as Lord and Savior. How greatly do men (the world) despise the leader (Christ) of their known enemy (Kingdom of Heaven)? To them, he represents the face of all that opposes them and their wills. How much more so will men despise the subordinates of the enemy leader! Being so much lower than the Bishop of our Souls, we are treated with less than contempt by the enemy (the world). “The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord. It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household?” (Matt 10:24-25). You are a target for the world upon which they may release their rage against the powers of Heaven. Many are deceived today believing that they will somehow forego the tribulation to come, and which now may be just beginning, by being “raptured” out of the world and spared any hardship. Where will the faith of these be when the rapture does not occur prior to the end of all things and their hope is shipwrecked?
“That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.” We are to be armed with this same mind. Do we live to satisfy our perverse lusts on wealth, power, and every damnable sin? Or do we forego the lusts of the flesh for the liberties of Heaven? If we have put on the Mind of Christ, our wills will be perfectly aligned with that of God.
“3For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries: Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you.” We have certainly contributed our quota of sin and compromise to the coffers of the world. We did, indeed, walk in a contrary manner to the Word of God. Now, our old associates and compatriots in the life of sin think us to be somewhat strange in our restraint and withdrawal from those so-called pleasures. You were a good old pal to the children of the Dark Angel in times past, but now, to them, you appear to be aloof. You seem a “peculiar people” to these vagabonds of Satan. They accuse you of hypocrisy when you turn to walk from the old dirty paths and into the straight and narrow that leads up to the gate of promise.
Of course these evil hordes are not ‘getting away’ with their slander and abuse of God’s Holy ones. They shall answer in due time for every idle word and smear. “Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead.” When the Judgment comes, it shall include those who have died in their sins as well as those found alive in sin.
“For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.” Who are the dead? Did the Rich Man appear dead in Hell? Was Lazarus dead in the bosom of Abraham? Was Abraham dead? Were Moses and Elias dead when they spoke with Christ on the Mount of Transfiguration? The definition of dead ones in this verse must relate to those dead men who walk among us daily of whose party we belonged before we came to Christ. The scriptures tell us that the physically dead “know nothing at all.” (Eccl 9:5). But those who know not Christ, or reject His Lordship, are dead already in trespasses and sins. “Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: 3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.” (Eph 2:2-3 & Colossians 2:13). If there remained no preaching to the dead, according to this definition, we could not have come to Christ. These refer to ‘spiritual’ death and not bodily death. But if the spirit is dead to Christ at the moment of physical death, the seal of damnation is immediately assigned that soul for eternity. There is no pardon extended to a soul in Hell, and no possibility of rejection to that soul in Heaven. The abyss dividing the two estates is not navigable. One cannot descend to Hell and escape just as one cannot ascend up into Heaven and return except the One and Only who has been so commissioned on our behalf. This is true regardless the filthy lucre earned by authors of books claiming the lie.
It will be well for our souls if we make our calling and election sure while hope reigns above us. He stands at the door and knocks!