Christ suffered for sins, once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit. Therefore, since Christ has suffered in the flesh, we must arm ourselves with the same purpose. because he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin. (1 Peter 3:18 & 4:1) Jesus suffered through all of the indignities of sin even though He was sinless. He paid the ultimate price for sin – death. And He did so in order that we might walk in the newness of victorious life with Him – not so that we can stumble through life in the darkness and pain of sin.

In this new life we are to live in victory over sin by following Christi who was himself victorious over sin. Furthermore, we are to let love – His love – be our guide in how we live and interact with those around us. His love covers our sin and our Christ-given love should do the same. God demonstrated his love toward us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8) Our love can’t save someone from the judgment of God, nor can it cleanse someone of their sin – that’s all in Jesus’ authority. However, our love can show them what the unconditional love of God looks and feels like and our new, victorious life can give them a light of hope in their dark world.

This Bible study was presented to the Agape Life Bible Study Class of the First Baptist Church in Brenham, Texas, on Sunday, March 16, 2025. It is part of a series in a Bible study curriculum called Connect 360, published by the GC2 Press of the Baptist General Convention of Texas. The overall title of the current set of lessons is Hunger for Holiness: Living Pure in an impure World. You can find print and digital versions of this series online at https://gc2press.org/hunger-for-holiness-1-peter-digital-study-guide/ .Handouts with slide content can be requested at: fromthebackporchintexas@gmail.com . Handouts are also available at: fromthebackporch.org .


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