And looking to verses one through six of 1 Peter chapter four, I want to preach a message entitled, Does Knowing Christ Change Anything? Does Knowing Christ Change Anything? Sadly, I fear that we've been wrongly persuaded to believe that knowing Christ does not change anything. In fact, I think it is safe to say that the prevailing thought among most Christian churches is that most people who get, quote, saved will continue living as they once did. And the primary reason for our lack of expecting a change in those who call themselves Christian is due to the fact that we've come to believe that coming to faith in Christ is nothing more than academically believing and verbally affirming that Jesus died on a cross. That's it. That's what we've come to believe faith is. We've come to believe that the sum and substance of the Christian life is simply believing that Jesus is the Christ. So long as someone believes in the existence of God and that God sent Jesus to be the savior of the world, we think that they are Christian. This is the modern day concept of Christianity. The modern-day concept of Christianity is nothing more than intellectually agreeing about the biblical facts of Christianity. The modern-day concept of Christianity has become nothing more than repeating some man-made prayer so that others can get their imaginary ticket to heaven and their fictional fire insurance from hell. And to make matters worse, Many well-meaning Christian people who've been influenced by false teachers have come to believe that it is possible to be a true Christian while living in a perpetual state of backsliding. We've come to believe that someone can be a true follower of Christ while living years on end in a carnal condition. We call it carnal Christianity. We believe that it is possible for someone to be a true Christian and not love Christ. We believe that it is possible for someone to know Christ savingly without a burning desire to do God's will. We believe that it's possible for someone to be a child of God and be infatuated with the sinful pleasures of this world. We believe that someone can be on their way to heaven even if their profession of faith in God has not produced any real noticeable change in life. We do. We've come to a point in our Christianity where we've quit expecting a change in those who claim to have faith in Christ. So the question I'm seeking to ask and answer from our text this morning is, is what we've come to believe, preach, and practice in recent days, Bible truth, does becoming a Christian change anything? And if so, what does it change? Well, in our text, God through Peter plainly affirms three radical changes that will inevitably occur in the life of one who truly knows Christ. Notice them with me. Peter declares in verses one and two that knowing Christ changes one's relationship with sin. Knowing Christ changes one's relationship with sin. Peter says, verse one, for as much 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. that he should no longer live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God. Now what Peter is declaring here in these two verses is the same doctrinal truth Paul emphasizes in Romans chapter six, which is the truth that if one is truly in Christ, then they are dead to sin by Christ's work. The assumption of Paul in Romans chapter 6 And the assumption of Peter in 1 Peter chapter four is that through the process of salvation, Christ frees those who would believe on him from the bondage of Satan and sin so that they might become the servants of God and the servants of righteousness. Listen to what Paul says in Romans chapter six, verses six through 13. Paul says, knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, speaking of Jesus, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin, for he that is dead is freed from sin. Now, if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him. Knowing that Christ be raised from the dead, dieth no more. Death hath no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died unto sin once, but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Paul goes on and says, Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it and the lust thereof. Neither yield your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin, but yield yourselves unto God as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. Did you catch the expected change? that Paul assumes will come to the life of a Christian. He says, with Peter, that if someone is in Christ, and if Christ is in that same someone, They cannot and will not live as they once did before they came to Christ because their old men, speaking of their old nature of sin, has been destroyed through the saving power of Jesus Christ. Now, I want you to know the distinction between the old man and the new man. Notice the change regarding who we were as servants of sin and those who we are in Christ the servants of righteousness. Over and over and over we read of biblical statements that declare and demonstrate that the believer has a new relationship with sin. Over and over and over God tells us that the new birth reverses one's whole moral outlook. And this is what Peter is saying in 1st chapter four. Peter is saying that believers are not defined by sin, but believers are defined by doing the will of God. Peter says there was a time in the past that Christians lived as pagans. And they carried on in their unrestrained behaviors, their evil desires and lusts, their drunkenness, their carousing, their parties, their abominable idolatries, but now in Christ they don't. Note the text, Peter says, there was a time in the past as the children of devil that they were doing the lusts of their father. There was a time that they carelessly did what they wanted to do, living for the carnal pleasures of this life. But when Christ saves a person, he makes them into a new creation in which all things are passed away and behold, all things are become new. Peter is saying to these believers, whereas before you used to run to sin, now in Christ you run from sin. Whereas before you used to sin without any care of the world, regarding what God thought about how you live. But now in Christ, you're eager to do those things that are pleasing in his sight. Are you listening? The Bible assumes that the Christian will come to hate the sins he used to love and will come to love the God that he used to despise. The Bible assumes that the new birth will lead to a life of holiness, not just for a short season in life, but the entirety of one's life. And this is so because when Christ saves his people, he not only saves them from the penalty of their sin, namely hell, he equally saves them from the power of their sin. And this is the fundamental truth that we have thrown out of the window regarding what the gospel is and what the gospel does. We say that the gospel has the power to save people from Satan in hell, but we don't expect the gospel to save people from the power of Satan on earth. We say that the gospel is the power of God unto salvation, but we act as if the same gospel is broken and unsuccessful in bringing about growth and holiness in the lives of God's children. And I'm submitting to you this morning that the Bible declares that the same God who saves is the same God who sanctifies. The same God who calls us unto salvation is the same God who keeps us in his hands. So the question is asked, does knowing Christ change anything? If so, what? Peter says the first thing it changes is one's relationship with sin. The second thing it changes is one's regarding for God's will and God's word. Does salvation change anything? Peter says yes, it changes one's regard for God's word and God's will. Notice the statement again. For as much 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. 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. And Peter proceeds in answering the question for us, contrasting the believer's desire to live unto the will of God over and above fulfilling their own will. Here we find a distinctive characteristic that sets the believer against the unbeliever. Here we find a compelling contrast between someone who merely says that they are Christian and someone who is actually a Christian. Peter is teaching us here that it is the one who actively seeks to live his life in submission to God that has been united with Christ. Whereas before, the believer did not care what God expected of their life. In our sin, we were as sheep going astray. We were living our lives in the flesh to the lusts of men. In our sin, we did what we wanted to do. But now in Christ, God, having given us a new heart with new desires, our motto has become that of our Savior, which is, thy will be done. For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. So how can we distinguish someone who is a professor of faith and someone who is a possessor of faith? Well, the Bible tells us over and over and over that it is the one who is a doer of God's will, not a mere hearer of God's will. Listen to what Jesus says in Matthew chapter seven. Jesus says, not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that final day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name, and in thy name have cast out devils, and in thy name have done many wonderful works, and then will I profess unto them, I never knew you, depart from me, ye that work iniquity. Did you catch the distinction? Jesus says that there will be many who say, I'm a Christian, I'm a follower of God. Many will say Jesus is my master. But it's not that person who's the genuine Christian. It's the person who actually does the will of the Father who is actually a Christian. Matthew chapter 12, verses 46 through 50. But while he, Jesus, yet talked to the people, Behold, his mother and his brethren stood without, desiring to speak with him. Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren, they stand without, desiring to speak with thee. But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother and who are my brethren? And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples and said, Behold, my mother and my brethren, for whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother and sister and mother. He's distinguishing between the physical and the spiritual. Jesus is teaching us here that His true spiritual children are the ones who are doers of God's Word, not just hearers of God's Word. Now question, where do we find the will of the Father? We find the will of the Father recorded for us in the Word of God. God's word is God's will. To be filled with the knowledge of God's word is to be filled with the knowledge of God's will. So this teaches us then that knowing Christ savingly changes our desire to know and obey God's will. So someone says, I'm a Christian, I'm on my way to heaven, I'm saved, but they don't live for God. They have no yearning to know what God says in His Word. In fact, though they say they have been Christian for 40 years, they've never read the Bible through once, and they stubbornly resist the fellowship of Christ's church, where the preaching and the teaching of God's Word is faithfully articulated. Are we to expect that they are Christian? Peter's telling us no. Why? Because knowing Christ, changes one's regard for God's will and God's Word. And I think this point is beautifully articulated for us in the testimony of Saul's conversion. In fact, one of the first things we read in the testimony of Saul's coming to faith in Christ is his crying out to the Lord and saying, Lord, what will you have me to do? Do you remember that in Acts chapter nine? Here Saul is breathing out threatenings and slaughters against the disciples of the Lord. Keep in mind that he professes to be a Christian. He's a Pharisee. He's been circumcised. He belongs to the tribe of Benjamin. No doubt he prays. He goes to synagogue. He knows the scripture. He's convinced that he is one of God's children, but he's a rebel. He doesn't know Christ. He hates Christ. In fact, he's persecuting the church of Christ. And then God humbles this hard-hearted, unbelieving, two-faced man. God throws him down from his high horse, quite literally. God reveals to Saul who Jesus is, the resurrected Christ. opens the blind eyes of Saul of Tarsus. God changes his heart and the first thing that Saul cries out as he understands who the Lord is, as he understands his sin is, Lord, what do you want me to do? Saul says, Lord, I've been living by my standards. I've been living by my wants and my wishes. I've been living as if I'm the Lord of my time and my money and my resources. But now in my knowing that you are God and God alone, Lord, what do you want me to do? My life is not mine to live for my own. I've been bought with a price. Therefore, I want to glorify God in my body and in my spirit, which are yours. That's the change. And from that moment on, from Acts chapter nine onward, what do we see of Saul? We see that Paul, as his name is changed, has his ear in tune with God's will over and above his own will. That's the change conversion brings. Whereas before we were the king of our lives, Whereas before, we did not regard what God wanted us to do, but when Christ brings the change to our heart, we submit to Him. He is the pot or we're the clay. And daily in our prayers, we're asking the Lord to lead us and guide us down the pathway He would choose for us. So does knowing Christ change anything? And if so, what does it change? First, it changes one's relationship with sin. Second, it changes one's regard for God's word and God's will. And then third, it changes one's relationship with the world. Notice it. Peter says, for the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles when we walked past tens in lasciviousness, lust, excess of wine, revelings, 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." Now under this third point, I want you to notice the turning away from those who are still in the world and their amazement that you no longer want to run with those who are still practicing sin. In fact, Peter says, now that you are in Christ, those you used to consider as close friends now view you as a fool for wanting to live for Christ. Do you see the change? Do you see the severing of the believer from the world? Do you see even how unbelievers should be able to discern within the life of a Christian a lack of desire to be in the world? This is Bible truth. And it's vital that we understand that the message of the gospel is at its very essence a call of separation out of the world. It's a calling from outside the world unto God. So the Bible assumes that when somebody comes to faith in Christ, that they will come out from among their ungodly influences and be separate. Don't lose me here. The Bible assumes that someone who truly knows Christ will not desire to commune with darkness. For what harmony does light have with darkness? The Bible supposes that those who know the Lord will desire to be closely connected with believers more than unbelievers. Why? Because being a believer, now we share with other believers the same Father. And sharing the same Father, we share the same faith. And sharing the same faith, we share the same aspirations and desires for life. We read it in James chapter one this morning. Pure religion is what? Pure religion looks like what? Pure religion looks like one keeping himself unspotted from this world. That's how you can tell true faith. Are they still mingling in things that they used to mingle with before or has there been a change? And I dare say that someone who is truly in Christ cannot habitually love the same music, movies, and entertainments they did as they were an unbeliever. I find nothing in scripture that supports the idea that a Christian can find continual enjoyment in the same garbage the world finds enjoyment in. I find nothing in scripture that justifies the believer continuing on in his habitual lying in his verbal profanities, in his love for alcohol, in his addiction to drugs, in his enjoyment of sexual sin, and in his disregard for God. It's not there. And on the contrary, I find verse after verse teaching us that the new birth changes everything. It changes our thinking. It changes our behavior. It changes how we treat others. It changes how we dress. It changes how we talk. It changes what we listen to. It changes what we set before our eyes. It changes who our friends are. It changes what we value. It changes how we spend our time and our money. It changes how we raise our children. Salvation changes everything. And this is what Peter is teaching us. Peter is teaching us it changes our relationship with sin. In Christ, we're freed from sin. In Christ, we no longer want to be polluted by the things of this world. In Christ, we want to be separate from the world, and in Christ, we want to do His will, and knowing His will is the same thing as knowing His word. Now, if you're sitting here this morning thinking that Peter may be just a little bit too fanatical, too zealous, too extreme in his expectations, let's take what he says here and weigh it with the rest of God's word. I mean, I think that's logical. Maybe Peter's got something off. Maybe he's just hammering on something. I mean, Peter is kind of an optimistic character. Peter is one who we find to be filled with a lot of zeal. Maybe he's lacking in knowledge, right? Paul told of the Israelites that they were people who were filled with zeal but lacking in knowledge. So let's take what Peter says and weigh it with the rest of the disciples, shall we? And the question is, does knowing Christ change anything? This is just Peter's opinion. Well, let's weigh it with what Paul says. 1 Corinthians 6, 9-11. Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived, neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. Well, that hits on carnal Christianity right there. Don't be deceived. You're liable to be deceived. You're liable to hold on to a false hope, thinking that you're in Christ as you habitually continue on in your sin. Paul says, you will not inherit the kingdom of God if your life is characteristic of sin. But then he goes on and says, and such were, past tense, some of you. But there's been a break, there's been a change, there's been a transformation, and such were some of you. but ye are washed, ye are sanctified, you're justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Spirit of our God. So this ties in with what Peter says in 1 Peter 4. To come to Christ is to have a new relationship with sin. To come to Christ, we have a new relationship with God's word and God's will. To come to Christ, we have a new relationship with the world and the things of this world. Okay, well, that's only two. That's just Paul and Peter. Perhaps they just influenced each other a little bit too much. Perhaps they're together creating their own doctrine. Let's weigh it some more, shall we? John, the apostle says, love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. Declarative statement. No room to argue. The love of the father is not in the one who is caressing the things of this world, who is infatuated with the sins of this life. Mark it down. They've not been changed. They don't know the love of Christ. They're still under bondage because they're doing the will of their father, Satan. Okay, that's only three. Perhaps Peter and Paul and John all got together in their seminary course and said, let's just create this new doctrine. Maybe they're just all three zealous. Well, keep weighing it out. What does James say? James says to be a friend with the world is to be at enmity with God. If you love the world and the things of this world, you should not consider yourself to be a friend of God. You should consider yourself to be at enmity with God. And all these things are cohesive. All these things unite one with another. And then Jesus tells us, even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit, but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Why? Because if you are in Christ, you are a new creation. Whereas before you used to produce the works of the flesh, now in Christ being possessed by the Spirit, you live by and walk in the fruit of the Spirit. That's the change. You've been crucified with Christ, nevertheless you live. Yet you do not live for yourself, you live unto the will of God. That's the expectation. So if you're here this morning, And you claim to know Christ, but your life has not been changed. You're not a true Christian. If you're here this morning and you profess to know the Lord, but since the time of your profession, you have no desire. to walk in the ways of God. You cannot recognize a new relationship with sin, a new regard for God's will and God's word, and a new relationship with the word. I can say with God as my witness that you do not have the slightest clue about what it means to be God's child. My Bible says, if any man is in Christ, he is. Not might, not maybe, but he is. A new creation in Christ, old things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new. Listen, if you saw a corpse lying in front of our auditorium, open casket, and you went up to that corpse and pinched it and tried to talk to it, no movement. Would you expect that corpse to be living? There's no life. There's no stimuli. There's no recognition of what's real. But if God gave life to the corpse and that corpse came out of the casket and walked and talked among us, would you believe that that corpse was given life? Obviously, so it is with those who come to Christ. Whereas in sin, we are dead, spiritually dead, Ephesians chapter two. Dead in trespasses and in sin. In sin, we are blind. In sin, we are deaf. In sin, we are spiritually crippled. But when Christ heals us, when Christ gives us life, we have spiritual stimuli. You see, that's the transformation. And if somebody does not have that spiritual life, they are not Christian. Even though they walk around as dead zombies, traditionally going through the motions of Christianity. And there are dead zombies who profess to be Christian. Listen, if truth be told, there are several people that I'm concerned about who come Sunday by Sunday. Some of you who come, you smile, You say that you're a Christian, but your life shows a cold-hearted carelessness for God and His will. Your whole demeanor demonstrates you don't know the joy of God's salvation. Your mouth, when you come to church, is more eager to talk about the things of this world than the things of God. The friends you hang out with are vile and worldly. Your resistance toward the preaching of God's word can be strongly felt by the preacher. Well, listen, there are some of you who are holding on to a false hope of salvation. There's some of you who are living a life of sin. You're living a double life. And God knows who you are. You may fool others, but you're not going to fool Him. And if you do not repent of your sin, if you do not find true salvation, Jesus says you will die in your sin. And I say these things not to attack you, but to awaken you out of your fairytale faith. So awaken to righteousness. Stop coddling yourself to be a Christian when the Bible tells you that you're living opposite of what a Christian should be. If there's been no change in your life, then you should expect that you are not in Christ. If you do not have a desire to walk in holiness, you should not expect that you've been born again. If you have no hunger and thirst for righteousness, if you have no desire to know what God says in his word, all you know is nominal faith. And if you have not separated yourself from this world, you should not coddle yourself in thinking that you have pure religion. These are Bible truths. Examine yourself, see if you're in the faith. Know your own selves lest you die and go to hell. Now let me conclude by giving two words of clarification. Clarification number one, this converting work that God does in the heart is not, I repeat, is not something that Christians do for God, but something that God in Christ does for those who repent and believe. Let me say it again, this work of conversion, the work of salvation, the work of coming to Christ is not something that Christians do for God, but it's something that God in Christ through His Spirit does for those who repent and believe the gospel. Now I say this because inevitably, After preaching a sermon like this, there will always, there will always be someone who misunderstands everything that I've said, and they will leave here thinking that what they need to do is to try better. What they need to do is act more like a Christian. Many people will leave here this morning thinking, the pastor says, the Christian is someone who changes, so I need to reform my life to be accepted by God. Always. There'll be somebody who says, well, salvation is about doing good, and I'm not doing good, so I'm gonna try to do good, and they look back at their life thinking, well, I was saved here, and then I got lost, and then I got saved again, and then I got lost, and then I rededicated, then I backslid, and I re-rededicated, and then I backslid again, and vice versa, and they never know when they came to Christ. They think salvation is about them stopping their drinking, and smoking, and cussing, and hanging out with the world, and that's not salvation. So if you leave here with only one truth ringing in your ear, leave with this truth. You do not have the power to change your sin nature. You do not have the power to release yourself from sin's bondage. You do not have the power to wash away your sin. Salvation is not a reward for the righteous, salvation is a gift for the guilty. The converting work of salvation is not about man reforming his habits. Salvation is about God regenerating the heart. If you are to see the kingdom of God, you must be born again. You must be born of God. You must be born from above. Go back to the corpse illustration. Does a corpse have power in and of himself to give himself life? Can you tell a corpse, corpse live? Can you smack a corpse across its face and say, listen to me, wake up. It's not going to happen. So it is with salvation. Jesus said with men, this salvation conversion is impossible. But with God, all things are possible. No person who needs a heart transplant can throw himself on the operating table and take a scalpel and cut his heart out and replace it with a new heart. Can't be done. You need somebody from without to do that work for you. And so it is with salvation. You cannot change your own heart, but God in Christ can. But as many as received him, to them gave he power, power that they don't have. power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name, which are born, not of the will of the flesh, not of the will of man, but of God. Salvation is all of the Lord. So that's what you need to do. If you are to be a true believer, you must cast yourself on God's operating table and say, Lord, I know that I'm a sinner. Lord, I don't deserve salvation, but I know that Jesus Christ died and rose again so that I might have eternal life and I want that so God be merciful to me, a sinner. That's what you have to do. It's not about cleaning up your life. It's about casting yourself on the mercy of God. That's what salvation is. You must be born again. God and God alone has the power to translate you from darkness to life. And the final thing I want to say is this. The spiritual, moral, Life altering transformation that comes by believing on Christ does not happen to some Christians, but to all Christians. The change that conversion brings is not reserved for a select few. Yet this is what we believe today, isn't it? We look at all those who used to be among us, who used to say that they love God, who are now in the world and we say, well, God doesn't change everyone. I guess the faithful ones have some special added grace that the unfaithful ones don't have. We say these things and we say these things as if there are two gods and two gospels that preach two different things. Excuse me, there's one God, there's one gospel that does one thing for sinners, and what does it do for sinners? It saves to the uttermost. So listen, the same gospel, the same spirit, the same God that changed Saul of Tarsus is the same God that changed those on the day of Pentecost. The same gospel that changed those at Pentecost saved Lydia, and the same gospel that saved Lydia is the same gospel that changed the Philippian jailer and all who will call upon his name. So again, the question is, does being a Christian, does knowing Christ change anything? Well, if you've experienced such a change in your life, if you're a true believer in God's word, you know the answer is yes and amen to the glory of God. if you only knew my life before. And my growth in holiness was not something I did. It was something that God did for me. And if you have never experienced such a change and you question the authority of God's word, your answer to my question is, no, not really. Does being a Christian change anything? Not really. So the question I leave you with this morning is this, will you believe the Bible or your feelings? Will you believe the Bible or the teachings of others? And if you're here this morning desiring to be saved, not only from the penalty of sin, but from the power of sin, if you are wanting to be saved from the evil influences of this world, the invitation is still open. God is calling you now to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved. Whosoever shall call in desperation by faith on the name of the Lord shall be saved, not just from hell, but from the power of sin, from the influences of this world. So the invitation is for you. Come, look to the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world, then His name shall be called Jesus, for He shall, not might, not maybe, but He shall save His people from their sins. Is Jesus a failing Savior or a successful Savior? That's what it all boils down to. Is Matthew chapter one, verse 21 correct? or is it false? Does he just save his people from some of their sins or from the power of sin? That's what we need to examine this morning. Does knowing Christ change anything? Has God changed your life?