Fear and Hope
The Gospel for REAL Life - A Study of 1 Peter • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 29:45
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Studying through 1 Peter.
Read the book, not books about the book.
Background: Look in the book to see the following. (If you cannot find it in the book itself, use a study bible or Bible Dictionary)
Who did the Spirit use to write the book?
To whom were they writing?
When?
What were the circumstances?
Outline: Read it again, and make a general outline:
What are the major sections of the book?
What is the theme of those sections?
Key Words: Read the book and look for words that are used repeatedly. This will give the major theme of the book. Pay attention to nouns and verbs.
Read a section.
Ask questions while you read: who is doing what, to/for whom, where, why, how
Add details to your outline.
Nouns and Verbs will generally be main points
Connectors and Prepositions: in, to, for, in order, that, because, therefore; These will show support for the main points
Define important Words/Concepts
Are there cross-references?
Always be looking for application.
When studying God's Word, Context is everything. We need to read things in context, or we can get really wrong messages. Like the man who just opened his bible randomly to read,
So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.
He didn't really see much application there for himself, so he opened to another passage and read,
Context may be important...
So let's remember the context of where we are in our study of 1 Peter.
We read 1 Peter. We considered the historic context. Peter wrote this to believers who were scattered throughout what is modern day Turkey.
They were likely beginning to face persecution, but as you go through the book, we see the contexts of the trials they were facing...
Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul.
They were facing the trials of sin, wanting to do things, and being pressured to do things by their friends and neighbors that they knew God says are wrong.
Peter encouraged them to submit to rulers, and masters. He encouraged them to do what was right, and to show proper honor. Do we ever face the temptation to not show honor to governing officials? Do we ever face the temptation to not give proper honor and respect to those in authority over us at home, at school, or in the workplace?
Peter encouraged wives and husbands. Do we ever face trials in our marriages?
Peter then talks about not repaying evil for evil. Do we face temptations to do unto others as has been done unto us, instead of doing unto others as we would have done unto us?
And then in 1 Peter 4, Peter comes back to suffering as we give up our old lifestyle habits, our wicked desires: debauchery, lust, drunkeness, orgies, carousing and idolatry. Do we face trials with addictions, sexual sin, putting things before God?
Then, after all these things, Peter talks about suffering because of the name of Christ.
When Peter wrote to these Christians who were facing trials of many kinds, I hope you see that they were facing the same kinds of trials we face. Trials primarily within with sin, in how we respect authority, how we handle our marriages, how we handle conflict, how we handle our old sinful desires, and if we were to face trials for the name of Christ. This is REAL life. It is full of trials of many kinds; both then, and today.
Peter knew the trials they faced, and wanted to encourage them.
We face the same trials, and can find real encouragement for what we face, in this reminder that Peter wrote, which shows us the Gospel for REAL Life.
That is the book we are studying.
Peter let us know who this was for, and then opened with His best encouragement!
You were chosen! - 1 Peter 1:2
You were chosen! - 1 Peter 1:2
1 Peter 1:2. God knowing you fully before the creation of the world, chose you anyway. He worked in you to save you from your sin, all the bad things you desire and do, by the work of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is working in you to renew your mind that you will obey Jesus, and be forgiven and made clean daily by the sprinkling of His blood! God has done this.
You were given NEW Birth! - 1 Peter 1:3-12
You were given NEW Birth! - 1 Peter 1:3-12
God gave us a new spiritual birth. When we were dead in our sins, separated from God, He loved us and Jesus died for us!
This was not because we did anything to deserve it. It was because of His mercy!
The new birth gives us a living, growing hope, a confident expectation that God is working in us, and will give us that New Inheritance he promised us. Which He is keeping for us!
He does allow us to go through trials, but that is so that our faith will be shown to be real, genuine faith. And, so that He can give us praise and honor when Jesus takes us to be with Him.
The fact that God would do all of this for us, is a mystery. It was something God spoke of to the prophets, but they did not understand it fully, nor know the time God would finally work His plan out an send Jesus. But it was all being done for us! Wow!
God doesn't save angels who rebelled, but He loves and saves us. People. Descendants of Adam and Eve. Wow! What a mystery that He would love us so, that He would die for us!
III. Call to Obey as Children, 1 Peter 1:13-2:3
III. Call to Obey as Children, 1 Peter 1:13-2:3
After rejoicing in all God has done: choosing us before the creation of the world; Sending Jesus to die in our place; Raising Jesus from the dead; Sending the Holy Spirit to open our hearts to believe; Giving us who believe new, spiritual birth--Being made His children, Then Peter tells us that we should, as children, do certain things.
Last week we saw that Peter said,
A. Fix Your Hope
A. Fix Your Hope
Fix your hope, completely on Jesus, preparing our minds for action and keeping sober in spirit.
So in context, knowing that this is how the Good news of the Gospel is for REAL Life, this is the first command Peter gives. After looking at all God has done for us in Jesus, and what He has in store for us in Jesus, we need to fix our hope on His grace which is coming.
In this world, we can get so distracted, putting our hope in the government to care for us, our jobs, or wisdom, our hard work. Government, jobs, wisdom, and hard work are good things. However, we cannot put our hope and trust in them. REAL life will happen. When everything else WILL fail, Hope in Jesus, and what He is bringing will NEVER fail.
So, be aware. Be on guard. Keep your head in all situations, and fix your hope on Jesus.
The second command is:
B. Be Holy
B. Be Holy
Be Holy in all you do, as obedient children, being like 'Daddy'
Our old way of life, the world around us, our old desires fight against us and say be like everyone around us. But we need to be distinct. We need to be like our Father who loves us and has done so much for us, and has so much in store for us.
This follows very closely with the next command, which we are looking at more closely today.
We find it in 1 Peter 1:17-21, which though translated into 2 or 3 sentences to make it more acceptable English translations, was really just one sentence in the original Greek when written.
Let's read it together now. I will be reading from the NIV.
Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.
When studying a section, always ask questions pertaining to who is acting, what have they done, what will they do, what commands are given.
Being that our context is Peter telling us that the good news, the Gospel, of all God has done, and is doing for us call us to action, we have seen commands.
Keep your eyes fixed.
Be holy.
And now...
can anyone see the command in these verses? What is it we are to do?
C. Live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear.
C. Live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear.
Fear? Wait... Peter has just been trying to encourage the believers with all God had done for them...
Chosen, given New Birth, new inheritance, new hope...
They are now Children of God! He is their Father.
Now He tells them to FEAR God!?!
Why?
1. Since your Father is an impartial judge.
1. Since your Father is an impartial judge.
Impartial. That is hard for a parent to do. Not my Johnny! We don't tend to see, or want to see our child's part in the fray. It has to be the other children's fault. We are partial.
One way to get a husband and wife who are fighting each other together, is to criticize the other (apart from what their spouse's criticism is.) When it is perceived that you are unjustly attacking their spouse, everything changes! When one minute their spouse was good for nothing, now their spouse is the great innocent! How dare you attack them! Why does this happen? We are partial. We find it difficult to be impartial.
God is not like us. He is completely impartial, and He will judge us with justice.
But wait... I thought we were forgiven because Jesus died on the cross for our sins?
Will we be judged?
The Bible is clear that all will be judged.
Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment,
However, the Bible speaks of three different judgments.
One is the judgment Jesus spoke of in Matthew 25:31-46.
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
This judgment, called the Sheep and the Goat judgment in Matthew, is the same as Revelation 20. It is when Jesus comes, and sits on His throne here on Earth. Who is judged? Those remaining on the Earth after the Tribulation period. The judgment is either to live in the kingdom, or be sent to eternal punishment.
Another judgment is the Great White Throne Judgment of Revelation 20:11-15.
Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.
This judgment is after the Sheep and the Goats Judgment, after the millennial reign and final rebellion as told in Revelation 20.
This judgment is the final judgment of all who died in their sin. They are all condemned to eternity in the Lake of Fire.
The third judgment is that of believers.
This is often call the Bema Judgment, because the Greek word for Judgment seat here is Bema. This is not a judgment of condemnation.
Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.
Christ intercedes because there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
When someone believes in Jesus--that is they believe who He is, the Christ--the Son of God (fully God, but distinct from the Father) who came in the flesh, and they believe in what He did in that He died on the cross in our place, taking the punishment for our sins, and rose again from the dead to apply the payment for our sins-- when someone believes in Jesus, believing He is their savior, God forgave their sins, and legally declares them to be righteous, no matter all they have done.
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
No condemnation. So, what is this judgment for? Refining and rewards.
their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames.
What's the point?
The point is, you will face a judgment! What you do in this life after receiving Christ IS important. You may be saved from the punishment of sin, but you will be judged.
This came home to a man named Charles Finney. He was sitting in lawyers office one morning as a part of his studies to become a lawyer.
“Finney, what are you going to do when you finish your course?”
“Put out a shingle and practice law.”
“Then what?” “Get rich.”
“Then what?” “Retire.”
“Then what?” “Die.”
“Then what?” And the words came tremblingly, “The judgment.”
Paul Lee Tan, Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations: Signs of the Times (Garland, TX: Bible Communications, Inc., 1996), 687.
Peter goes on to develop his argument for Holy living as obedient children. We are to conduct ourselves in fear of the Lord who judges impartially because we know something.
We know that we were bought out of our empty way of life handed down from our forefathers. We were slaves to sin, but He bought us out of that slavery. That empty way of life that leaves you with nothing to show for your work. He bought you out, so you could live a new, holy life.
What did He use to buy you out of this empty way of life?
Not gold or silver. To us, money is everything. Just try to live without it.
No, as precious as Gold and silver are, He used something far more precious. He used the blood of Jesus. Jesus, who was perfect. Jesus who was known before the creation of the world, came and died to buy us with His blood!
He died for you? What are you doing for Him? What is your conduct like? Does your conduct reflect His great, loving sacrifice for you?
Don't you realize you will be judged?
I could end there.
Fear of punishment. What a motivator.
But, that is not what this is...
Fear of punishment is gone.
This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
We love because he first loved us.
We conduct ourselves in fear. But not fear of punishment. Why?
2. For you know you were redeemed a. from your empty way of life
2. For you know you were redeemed a. from your empty way of life
Not fear of punishment, because we know we were redeemed. We were bought out of our old, empty, sinful way of life.
Not with perishable things like Gold or silver, but with the precious blood of Christ!
Remember what your forgiveness of sin, what your new birth cost Him!
So our fear of the Father is not for punishment, but rather fear of disappointing our Father who loves us, and who we love. Fear of disappointing the Father who sees all we do, and who loved us enough to do so much for us, choosing us, sending the son and spirit to work for our salvation, saving us, giving us new birth and giving us an inheritance. Fear of disappointing the one who sends trials to prove our faith so He can praise us.
We live in fear because of our hope in Him, which is where these verses end. Faith and Hope in the Father. We do not want to hurt the one who has given us living hope. This hope that springs from the Gospel, the good news of salvation. Because even though He loves us, He judges us impartially.
What a great reminder! This is the Gospel for REAL Life. The good news is not just about past forgiveness, and future glory. It is about present Holiness. Living for Him who loved us and gave Himself for us.
Let's remember that this week, and conduct ourselves in fear.
Remember the Sacrifice which saved you! Keep your eyes fixed on that HOPE. Be Holy. Conduct yourself in fear because of our Impartial Father who will judge us to reward us. He wants to reward you. Are you earning it?