Home / 1 & 2 Peter: Verse by Verse / 1 Peter 4
Living for God in the Last Days
- Passage
- 1 Peter 4
- Taught
- December 7, 2025
Summary
Since Christ suffered in the flesh, Peter says, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking and live the rest of your time no longer for human passions but for the will of God. The time past is enough for living as the surrounding culture lives, and the world will be surprised and will malign you when you do not join in. The lesson ties this to Romans 6 and to the Greek asōtia, a life of reckless excess.
To illustrate how differently people answer the world’s invitation to indulgence, the slides compare the public stances of Bill Maher and Charlie Kirk. On alcohol and marijuana, Maher openly drinks and smokes on his show and calls it personal freedom, while Kirk opposed recreational drug use and intoxication and stressed discipline and moral restraint. On sexual morality, Maher advocates sexual freedom and sees restrictions as outdated, while Kirk promoted Christian sexual ethics and emphasized marriage and purity. On religion, Maher is skeptical of organized religion, while Kirk was an outspoken Christian who framed morality around biblical authority. The slides describe Maher’s moral framework as secular and tied to personal choice, and Kirk’s as an absolute one rooted in God’s Word.
With the end of all things at hand, Peter calls believers to be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of prayer, to love one another earnestly because love covers a multitude of sins, to show hospitality without grumbling, and to use their gifts as good stewards of God’s varied grace, so that in everything God is glorified. The lesson surveys early Christian hospitality and the spiritual gifts listed in the New Testament.
The last section (4:12–19) addresses the fiery trial. Suffering is not strange; rejoice as you share Christ’s sufferings, count it a blessing to be insulted for His name, and entrust your soul to a faithful Creator while continuing to do good. The lesson looks at how early church fathers and martyrs viewed suffering.
Three sections
Each part of the chapter answers the same question: how do we live while we wait?
- 4:1–6. Live for God’s will, not human passions.
- 4:7–11. The importance of mutual love: prayer, hospitality and serving with our gifts.
- 4:12–19. Suffering as a Christian: rejoice, glorify God, and entrust yourself to Him.
Practical takeaways
The slides draw out these lessons from 4:12–19:
- Expect trials as part of the Christian life (2 Timothy 3:12).
- Rejoice in sharing Christ’s sufferings (Matthew 5:11–12).
- Entrust yourself to God’s faithful care (Psalm 18:2).
Questions to talk about
- Am I choosing to live for God’s will rather than my own desires?Be transformed by the renewal of your mind (Romans 12:2).
- When I face ridicule or hardship for living differently, do I stay faithful or compromise?All who desire to live a godly life will be persecuted (2 Timothy 3:12).
- Since love covers a multitude of sins, am I choosing forgiveness, or letting bitterness erode fellowship?Colossians 3:14.
- When I use my gifts, do I rely on my own ability or on the strength God supplies?Our sufficiency is from God (2 Corinthians 3:5).