When it comes to the discussion of Spiritual Gifts, there is not a Christian excluded- every believer has received a deposit from God- a ministry and its requisite tools- whereby they are expected to serve the Lord

Taken together the picture here is of a person bound not by his fleshly wants, desires, fears, or needs nor by the mind of the world -its wants, desires, fears, or needs-. Rather, the picture is of the Christian living in light of eternity and so praying, depending on, and so communing with God-

The Day of the Lord in Scripture oft-times references a temporal trial-struggle in which there was-is much suffering. And so, associated with this -day- is seismic disturbances -e.g., Joel 2-1-11- 2-31- 3-16-, violent weather -Ezek. 13-5ff-, clouds and thick darkness -e.g., Ezk. 2-2- Zeph. 1-7ff-, cosmic upheaval -Zeph. 2-3, 30-, wars, rumors of war, hardship, trial, and oppression -Mt. 24-6-.-Think of the birth pangs of a woman in labor. That is what the trials and difficulties of life in this age truly are. In theology, we don't call them -Labor Pains- but -Portents- -cf. Rom. 8-19-22- Biblically speaking we expect that these Portents will characterize life in this world but will intensify right before the end -just as with labor pains, cf. Mt. 24-21-22--

There is no such thing as a minor sin- While some sins are -more heinous in the eyes of God than others,- nevertheless all sin is heinous to God- This is why -malice- toward God's people seeking to be holy is a major sin-

Sensuality-- -------- -aselgeia---Lusts-- -------- -epithumia---Drunkenness-- ---------- -oinophlugia---Carousals-- ----- -k-mos---Drinking Parties-- ----- -potos---Abominable Idolatries-- --------- -------------- -athemitois eid-lolatriais--Question- What should come to mind when you think of these sins in your life-

When we think about God we are dealing with a Being who is so awesome that we will spend eternity growing in our understanding and knowledge of Him, yet we will never arrive at a point of completion--

When we come to a passage like the one before us which speaks of -salvation- or -being saved,- we have to ask ourselves, -What facet of salvation is being addressed here-- In answer to that we know from the context that Peter is not talking here about the forgiveness of sin, but the maintenance of our faith in the midst of trial-

The trials, miseries, sufferings, persecutions, and death of this world cannot and did not thwart or hinder the life that Christ entered into upon His death- And if that is true of our Lord, it most certainly will be true of His servants -cf. Rom. 6-9-11, 8--...

The most important thing we can do as it relates to our conscience is to make sure that it is properly informed. Assuming that is the case, the second most important thing we can do when it comes to our conscience is be true to it - which is what is behind the exhortation here to -keep a good conscience.---How does this relate to witnessing- It is very simple- the first step in any fall into sin is a wounded or neglected conscience-

Our goal when it comes to our witness is not that we somehow convince the persecutor to trust Christ. Rather, our goal is that we share of the hope that is ours on account of who Christ is and what He has done-