Done With Sin

Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because whoever suffers in the body is done with sin. 1 Peter 4:1

Christians thinking of Jesus often meditate on his divine nature without giving equal attention to his human nature, in doing so with resolve ourselves of the responsibility to be like him. His suffering in the body was not just the suffering of the cross. Jesus suffered through the temptations to sin the same way every human being does. “Tempted in all ways yet without sin” He did not have our sin nature, but he did have a will of his own. The human will can be an enemy or a friend of God. The direction of the will, Peter points out, is determined by the attitude of the mind, and the crucifying of the flesh. In reference to the mind and body Paul’s words in Romans 12 agree with Peter’s. He tells us to present our bodies as sacrifices, and then renew our minds. The consequence is that we will know God’s good pleasing and perfect will.

Many believers struggle a lifetime trying to know God’s will without finding it. This happens because they never allow the body to suffer through temptation. Jesus suffered to obey God with such intensity that he bled sweat. How much have you suffered in the body for Christ? Before you limit this application to martyrs, consider the nursery rhyme, “be careful little eyes what you see, little ears what you hear, little hands what you do and little feet where you go.” The truth of suffering of the body is not just child’s play it is related to adult action and divine destiny. The failure to manage the body has destroyed the lives of many great Christians.

In a conversation with my supervisor about the reasons for divorce he highlighted three A’s, abuse, adultery, and addictions. Physical and emotional abuses stem from words and deeds done in the body; adultery and addiction are both rooted in appetites that are destructive. Anyone who has ever tamed a temper, or arrested an adulterous urge has suffered in the body. Addiction by definition is a body submitted to the level of slavery. Slavery does not usually end without a war. Remember God destroyed the armies of Pharaoh, and the next generation did not receive a single promise until they fought. Peter therefore reminds us to “arm ourselves”. Even though the United States has been a nation at war recently we are a citizenry that is predominately living in peace. People at peace are not trained to suffer. When applied to sin the desire for peace can lead to appeasement of the flesh and sinful nature. The consequence is a body that is nourished on sin instead of one that is purified from sin. Peter tells us “whoever suffers in the body is done with sin”

Let this mind be in you that was also in Christ Jesus, who suffered in the flesh to destroy sin. We are called to be like him. “Righteousness is following the divine law; holiness is having a divine nature.” These are the words of Samuel Logan Brengle, Salvation Army office, who lived out God’s good and pleasing perfect will for his life. I pray you and I are willing the arm ourselves, to suffer some, that we might be “done with sin”.