The end of all things is at hand. 

We have seen that we live in the last days. Jesus Christ was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but was made manifest in the last times for your sake. The resurrection of Jesus Christ demonstrated God's righteous judgment. All the wrath that we deserved was poured out upon Christ. He endured the pains of hell for us. And in his resurrection, God declared Jesus to be the righteous one. God's final judgment was declared in Jesus Christ. In Christ we see the eschatological judgment. Therefore, the end of all things is at hand. If God has already declared his final judgment in Christ, then all that remains is the execution of that judgment. The redemption of the saints is accomplished in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. All that remains is its application in the salvation of his people. The condemnation of the powers of sin, death and the devil has been accomplished in Christ. All that is left is for them to be cast into the lake of fire.

The resurrection of Christ was the beginning of the end. Now, Peter says, we must live in a manner that is consistent with this truth.

You've probably heard the question: "If you knew that you only had a few days to live, how would you spend your last few days?" Peter is saying, "Since the end of all things is at hand, live as those who have passed through the judgment of God." (Verse 6: the judgment of death has no fear for the believer.) Peter contrasts two different modes of life: 1) The "Gentiles" mode of life (v3-4) which pursues your passions with reckless abandon. What do you love to do in life? Peter uses the example of drunken orgies (perhaps the most extreme example), but this extends to any way of life that does not glorify God. 2) The "Eschatological" mode of life (v7-11) which pursues the will of God (v2).

Our Shorter Catechism nicely expresses this eschatological mode of life. "Q: What is the chief end of man? A: Man's chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever."

What is our purpose? What is our goal? Why do we exist in the first place?

Our chief purpose as human beings created in the image of God is to glorify and enjoy him. As we see, in Christ, the end of all things at hand, it ought to cause us to remember our own purpose. It is easy to go adrift. In all of the hectic pace of life, it is too easy to forget our purpose, and to turn aside to our passions, our loves. Our society is obsessed with recreation and leisure. We pay people ridiculous sums of money to be entertained. A man who can hit a little ball with a little stick can make millions! A woman who can pretend to be someone she's not, can make more money for a single movie, than you or I will make in a lifetime. But the end of all things is at hand. 

Therefore, Peter says, be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers (literally, "be self-controlled and sober-minded unto prayers"). These are the two imperatives in this passage (the rest of the paragraph is comprised of participles that refer back to these verbs). Be self-controlled and be sober-minded. What a contrast to the drunken orgies of the Gentiles! What a contrast to the mindless frivolity of modern American culture! We are not to be carried away by such things. We are not "to live for the rest of the time in the flesh for human passions, but for the will of God" (v2). Your life must not be characterized by the vain passions of our culture. 

A point of clarification: Peter does not condemn alcohol and sex. Rather, he condemns the improper use of these things. I am not condemning movies and sports; rather I am warning you against an immoderate use of them. In your usage of all human pleasures, do you remain self-controlled and sober-minded? And indeed, as Peter puts it, do you remain self-controlled and sober-minded unto prayers? The Stoics prided themselves on their self-control, but our self-control has a different purpose. It has the purpose of reminding us that the end of all things is at hand!

Prayer is communication, but it is more than that. Prayer is a means of grace. We may be the ones doing the talking, but God is the one who acts in prayer. Prayer reorients us to our eschatological hope. Prayer reminds us of who we are in Christ. Or, more accurately, the Holy Spirit reminds us through prayer. And remembering who we are is especially important as we live in the last days (Luke 21:31-6).

Peter probably has in mind the traditional Jewish (and early Christian) practice of stated times for prayer, a practice which the book of Acts indicates that Peter followed. In Acts 3:1 we hear that Peter and John were on their way to the temple at the hour of prayer (the ninth hour, around 3 pm). In Acts 4:23 we hear that Peter and John went to their friends and reported the threats of the high priests (suggesting a daily gathering of the saints for prayer). In Acts 12:12 we hear that after the angel freed him, Peter went straight to John Mark's mother's house, and found a prayer meeting in session, again suggesting regular prayers. In the early church it was common for the church to hold both morning and evening prayers daily. If a person could not attend, they were encouraged to pray at the same time as the meeting, as a way of maintaining a common rhythm to life, oriented around the body of Christ. In the world of the apostles, prayer included both a deep, personal sense, as well as a deep communal sense.

This would make sense in light of the participles that Peter uses next. Be self controlled and sober-minded unto prayers, above all, continually loving one another earnestly (v8), showing hospitality (v9), and using your gifts in the service of others (v 10-11).

Above all, Peter says, love one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Remember that in the Greek this is still the same sentence. Your self-controlled life of prayer is not a detached, contemplative life. The life of prayer is a life of love to one another. Why? Because love covers a multitude of sins. Does this mean that love ignores sin? No. Covering sin does not mean covering up. Let's say your friend blows up in anger at you. How do you respond? A response of love does not ignore the sin, rather it covers the sin, it patiently bears the injustice, and gently works to bring reconciliation and peace. 

Peter is possibly thinking of Proverbs 10:12: "Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses." The contrast reveals the point: hate exacerbates sin by making things worse, by returning evil for evil; love covers sin by bringing reconciliation. In the Old Testament, "covering" sin includes the idea of the restoration of fellowship. Perhaps the best illustration of love covering sin, is when Jesus restores Peter after Peter's threefold denial (cf. Matthew 18 and John 21:15-19). Love recognizes that the end of all things is near, and then you realize that the petty differences between you and your friend are not worth fighting over. What is important is that both of you recognize that you are on the same side, as the judgment of God is revealed.

Therefore Peter also says, "show hospitality to one another without grumbling." Don't worry about whether so-and-so is doing "their share" of hospitality. So what if they haven't invited you over?! Don't grumble about it! This is not just about showing hospitality within the body. Hospitality in the ancient world included taking in strangers. The "one another" suggests that Peter is urging his hearers to open their homes to fellow believers who are traveling through town. It speaks of an attitude toward fellow believers that eagerly shares all that we have. When I was in Eritrea, I was warmly welcomed, and lavishly feasted, by people who lived in poverty. They rejoiced to show hospitality to me. One woman even prepared a hamburger for me (she had never made one before) fearing that I would not like her Ziggani. (Both were excellent.)

The point is, Peter says, everyone should use the gifts that God has given them, "as good stewards of God's varied grace" (v10). The gifts that God has given you are, after all, his gifts. God's grace is a multifaceted thing. As Paul says, there is one Spirit, but a diversity of gifts (1 Cor 12). Whatever gifts God has given you--and they are indeed many!--use them to serve one another. 

But, you may say, I don't know what my gifts are! Spiritual gifts are not like personality traits. They are not natural gifts. I knew a man once who had a natural gift for speaking. He was a good teacher. But the church had plenty of good teachers, so we put him to work running the sound system. You see, he had a natural gift for teaching, but we saw that he was too eager for the limelight. He was more interested in showing off his abilities than in serving others. So we gave him a small place, a place to serve. Would he be content with that? Whose glory was he interested in?

Spiritual gifts do not simply fall out of the sky. There is training and discipline involved. The Holy Spirit must take those natural gifts and abilities, and refine them and sanctify them, before they are truly Spiritual gifts. This is why Peter says, "Whoever speaks, as one who speaks the oracles of God." This is preeminently true of preachers, but it speaks to all of us: Whenever you admonish, encourage, exhort, or rebuke one another, you must consider yourself the ambassador of Christ. You are a prophet, speaking forth the word of God to your brother or sister. If this does not make us slow to speak, nothing will! And whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies. As our speaking must be characterized by the Word of God, so also our service must be characterized by the Power of God.

If you rely upon any other for wisdom and strength, you will find yourself foolish and weak.

What does it mean to serve "by the strength that God supplies"? Well, let's start with the negative. What does it mean to serve others by your own strength? If you rely upon your own power to serve others, what happens? 1) You get burned out. You simply don't have the strength to maintain that service. This is the nicer option of the two, and by far the most common among well-meaning Christians. Or 2) You suck the life out of everyone else. Have you ever known someone who was "draining" to be around? They are so absorbed with themselves that everyone else gets sucked in and destroyed. 

To serve by the strength that God supplies is simply to live in the constant memory of your eschatological hope. The end of all things is at hand! Jesus Christ has endured the final judgment of God, and we now partake of that final judgment in him. He has suffered in the flesh, destroying the power of sin and death; now WE are suffering in the flesh, which results in the destruction of the power of sin in our lives. Therefore, to anticipate where Peter is going, "Humble yourselves therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties upon him, because he cares for you" (5:6-7).

To serve by His strength means that you remember who you are, who you are in Christ, and therefore have no concern to maintain your own power and status.

What is the purpose of this way of life? That "in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ." We speak his oracles. We serve by his strength. In other words, "Man's chief end is to glorify God and enjoy him forever."

And as we glorify him through Jesus Christ, we confess that Jesus Christ deserves all the glory and dominion forever (v11). Amen.

Copyright © 2003 Peter J. Wallace