1PETER1E 1 Peter 1:17 Conduct yourselves with fear
Rev. Ian M. Thomas
1 Peter • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 3 viewsNotes
Transcript
17 And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile,
Last week we saw Peter quoting from Leviticus: Be ye holy, as I AM holy. Holiness is part and parcel of the Christian’s life.
17
And now we have an added layer in verse 17. God judges impartially. Impartial means that we shall all be judged equally. There is no favouritism.
10 Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; 11 for it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.” 12 So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.
Hmm. I’ve only just started this sermon and we are already in deep. It seems to me it really matters how we live out our lives whilst alive. Let me continue in reading another passage:
13 each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. 14 If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.
16 Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? 17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.
And
10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.
Ian stop! Are you going to go on? How can we bear to hear these words?
I suppose I needn’t go on for all that I am going to say has already been said. Though there are other passages that I could go to and may refer to.
We will all have to give an account
We will all have to give an account
This being so, we need to have a rightful fear and reverence for God.
How will you or I fair?
At the end of the giving of an account, Jesus Himself will judge us.
22 For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son,
First, we can deduce from all this is that at the Judgement Seat of Christ will not be judged as to whether we have eternal life and Heaven or not for these are gifts of God for those who accepted Jesus as their Lord and Saviour, who have believed and put their trust in the fact that Jesus died for our sin, was buried, and rose again.
So, what shall we be judged on? Our service and work for Christ. That is why Paul says that it is their aim, and therefore should be ours also, to be well pleasing to Him.
The second thing we can deduce about the Judgement Seat of Christ is that it is not for punishment. Let me say again – if we are fortunate enough to be standing before the judgment seat of Christ we will not be punished for anything: How come? Well, the penalty for sin has already been paid for in full at the cross of Christ with His precious blood. Our sin has been separated from us as far as the East is from the West. We do not need to fear any kind of punishment.
To reiterate this let me read two verses:
1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.
What is the Judgement Seat of Christ for?
What is the Judgement Seat of Christ for?
It is for rewards or loss of rewards. The Judgement Seat of Christ is like an athlete competing for the Olympics. If he or she loses, they are not punished – can you imagine that – being punished for losing?!
We try to comfort them with meaningless words like; “it was the taking part that counts” – but in the Olympics you are either a winner or a loser – a loser loses the medal that they could have earned, and all of their effort was expended for nothing – for who remembers the losers?
What we need to do is win for we can all be winners, though not all of us will be. Some will receive a reward and others will not. In the verses I read in 1 Corinthians, it is revealed that there are two types of Christian lives, both of which will be tested by fire to see what kind lasts:
The first type is one that builds upon the foundation of Jesus in their lives with gold, silver and precious stones.
Gold, silver, precious stones?
Gold, silver, precious stones?
This is the type that lasts, that is going to last for eternity and have eternal value. This is the kind that wins the race.
What does this look like?
Well, it means that such are walking in fellowship with Christ day by day,
walking in the Spirit and not the flesh,
maintaining a fruitful prayer life,
delighting in Christ’s Word,
loving Christ’s church,
being zealous in Christ’s work,
separating from the wicked things of the world and refusing to conform to its standards,
separating from false teaching,
being a godly husband or wife, raising children to serve the Lord, and winning souls to Christ.
All of these things are gold, silver, and precious stones before the Lord and will be richly rewarded for these are of eternal value.
The second type is one that builds upon the foundation of Jesus in their lives with
Wood, hay, stubble?
Wood, hay, stubble?
The second type of Christian life is wood, hay and stubble. When these things are tested with fire there is little but ashes left.
What kind of life is this?
Walking in sensuality and indulging in sinful pleasures instead of walking in the Spirit
Wasting time on insignificances and forgetting that life is short and that only that which is done for Christ will last,
It is in talking about nothing,
Wasting an inordinate amount of time on such things as professional sports and video games and romance novels,
Spending money foolishly and not according to God’s will,
Loving the world and patterning one’s life after it,
Remaining as Children in one’s Bible knowledge instead of growing strong in the Scripture and learning to rightly divide it,
Hoarding one’s spiritual gifts instead of using them,
Neglecting the house of God,
Teaching things that are contrary to the Word of God,
Neglecting one’s responsibilities as a husband or wife or father or mother among many other things.
Scripture has much to say about these aspects of life.
If we appear before the Judgement Seat of Christ with just these things then we will rightly be ashamed before Him. We will not win any medals but Paul says we shall escape the fire of hell by the skin of our teeth. We will suffer loss but still be saved.
The Apostle Peter puts it like this:
17 For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18 And “If the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?”
My experience teaches me that Christians have a mix of things that will last and things that will not. But we should definitely be moving towards those who are building with silver, gold and precious stones. Why would we want to appear before Jesus empty handed?
Many of the Old Testament saints were also a mixed bag within themselves and failed in big ways: Noah got drunk. Abraham doubted the promise of God at one point and laughed; he also lied about his wife. Sarah laughed at God's promise at one point. Jacob was a tricky man by nature, always trying to manipulate people and situations. Moses got angry and disobeyed God in smiting the rock and as a consequence could not go into the Promised Land. Gideon made an idol. Barak was too weak to lead the battle himself and had to follow a woman. Samson was immoral. Jephthah made a foolish vow and sacrificed his own daughter. David committed adultery and had a man killed in his attempt to hide his sin. Samuel did not raise his sons properly and they became corrupt judges.
Why did I mention these people? So we could be encouraged that even the big names in the Bible failed and therefore it gives us hope we can make it too – but more than that; I mentioned them because they are all in what we call the Hall of Fame in regards to Faith in Hebrews 11.
What do we find in that chapter? They are commended to us as people of faith. Do you know what is NOT mentioned there? Their failures. Not one is mentioned.
We all fail at one time or another – some big ones, some small ones – we may lose our reward in these things – but we do not lose our salvation. He will bring us home.
What will surprise us instead is what rewards we will gain for what seem to be the smallest things.
Jesus said in:
42 And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.”
24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. 25 Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.
11 I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown.
Who wears crowns? Royalty. A crown designates who are Kings – and He will makes us Kings to rule under Him. We will be given treasures.
19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
My favourite, though, is to hear the word of commendation from the lips of our Saviour:
21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’
I certainly do not want to see disappointment on the face of my Saviour and I hope you do not either.
5 Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God.
The Judgement Seat of Christ is a strong motivator to reconsider our lives and do what is right for it has to do with the fear and reverence of God. We are told in Proverbs that the fear of God is the beginning of knowledge and wisdom. When we consider that we will be judged what kind of lives should we be living?
Our stay here is short but eternity is a long time. Time is short and we are fast running out of it. Comparing the shortness of our stay in this life with the rewards or lack of them that we will receive in for all eternity, it is, therefore, really important that we build our treasure for Heaven rather than here on earth. Every moment matters, eternally. Every minute affects millions, even trillions of years into the future.
Instead, we are looking forward to that time when this life and its troubles pass away once and for all and a new world beckons us in. Presently we are exiles here waiting and yearning. But this new world is where we will truly be free from sin, free from trouble, free from crying, free from the past and truly holy. Let me end with these words in:
3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” 5 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” 6 And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. 7 The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.
Communion
Communion
Jesus has made all that has been said possible. He paid for our sin in full to give us eternal life. How often we forget what it cost which is why Jesus gave us this memorial.
So, I will ask....to give thanks for the bread and wine
23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 25 In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.
Now, I ask… to pray for the fellowship.
Benediction
Benediction
12 “Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”
24 Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, 25 to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.
Bibliography
Bibliography
Blum, E.A. (1981) “1 Peter,” in Gaebelein, F.E. (ed.) The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Hebrews through Revelation. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.
Helm, D.R. (2008) 1 & 2 Peter and Jude: sharing christ’s sufferings. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books (Preaching the Word).
Michaels, J.R. (1988) 1 Peter. Dallas: Word, Incorporated (Word Biblical Commentary).
Schmidt, K.L. and Schmidt, M.A. (1964–) “πάροικος, παροικία, παροικέω,” Theological dictionary of the New Testament. electronic ed. Edited by G. Kittel, G.W. Bromiley, and G. Friedrich. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.