Our Battle with the Flesh

1 Peter 4:1-7 | Sermon Resources | 2 February 2025

Summary

Throughout the letter, Peter has addressed various forms of hostility Christians inevitably face. He sympathizes with those who are being persecuted by the world. He warns of the devil who prowls around like a roaring lion. In our passage this week he calls attention to yet another area of hostility: our own flesh.

Discussion Questions

  1. Our passage begins with Peter calling us to “arm ourselves with the same way of thinking.”  When it comes to our ongoing battle with the flesh, what are some wrong ways of thinking that you have fallen into in the past (or the present)?  In other words, what lies do we believe in this area?
  2. What might happen in our lives if we are blind the battle that must be fought against our own flesh?
  3. Why is it so hard to say no to the “human passions” Peter addresses in this passage?  Why do you think these things often seem so appealing?
  4. How should we as believers think about the judgment that Peter writes about in this passage?
  5. In the sermon Pastor Billy made the point that love for Jesus is what is needed to compel us to do battle with the flesh.  How does love provide a better motivation to put sin to death?  What happens when love for Jesus is missing?
  6. What truth in this passage most encourages you in your battle with the flesh?
  7. What was your biggest takeaway from our study today?

Quotes

“The cross is laid on every Christian. The first Christ-suffering which every man must experience is the call to abandon the attachments of this world. It is that dying of the old man which is the result of his encounter with Christ. As we embark upon discipleship we surrender ourselves to Christ in union with his death-we give over our lives to death. Thus it begins; the cross is not the terrible end to an otherwise god-fearing and happy life, but it meets us at the beginning of our communion with Christ. When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.”  – Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship

Sermon Audio

Sermon Video