Christian Lifestyle

Ad Hoc  •  Sermon  •  Submitted
0 ratings
· 36 views
Notes
Transcript
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
View more →

Our Purpose

To Glorify God by Enjoying Him Forever.

1 Corinthians 6:20 ESV
for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
1 Corinthians 10:31 ESV
So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

Enjoy God

Philippians 4:4 ESV
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.
Luke 2:10 ESV
And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.

Our God and Saviour is Supremely Beautiful and Valuable

When we speak of the supreme beauty and value of God, we are speaking of all that God is for us in Christ. When I say God, I do not mean the Allah of Islam or the God of Christ-rejecting Israel (). I mean the God you do not know and do not have if you do not have his Son, because he and his Son are One.

God is most glorified in you when you are most satisfied in him.

Which means that you never have to choose between your greatest joy and his greatest glory. And it means that you should always pursue your greatest joy-for the glory of God. Do not be distracted by petty passions.
Yet we run into challenges.
Romans 7:18 ESV
For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.
Romans 8:5 ESV
For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.
Galatians 5:16–18 ESV
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
Romans 7:18 ESV
For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.
If you have been born again for any amount of time, you know the truth of Paul’s confession here. Our sin nature, our flesh, will fight against our spirit nature until the day our mortal frames, or as Paul says, our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed.
Today we will look at how Peter encourages us to walk in this tension, this Christian Lifestyle. Our source text will be , particularly verse 1:13 through 2:3.
Learning this New Lifestyle
Through Obedience
With Purpose
Hoping fully on Grace in Christ
We will see three core instructions on how we are to go about learning this lifestyle, or in other words, maturing in Christ, or growing in holiness.
C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory, and Other Addresses

People of the Flesh - Infants in Christ

A new beginning.
“It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a vacation at the beach. We are far too easily pleased.” C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory, and Other Addresses
This is where the new believer begins. We know much about sin. Up to this point sin has not merely been the definition of who we are, it was our master.
Romans 6:6 ESV
We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.
Every one of us is a subject matter expert on the topic of sin, and no one had to teach it to us. We came out of the womb sinners and our parent, if they were good parents, began the long and arduous task of training us not to sin. The majority of parents seem to begin every other sentence with some form of the concept no and don’t. Typically in response to something the child is attempting do, and occasionally in anticipation of what the child may be tempted to try next. The majority of the child’s response is why?
This is because the child does not comprehend the instructions. They know that they passionately desire to, say, run and play in the highway. They simply can’t understand why their parents, who obviously lied when they said they loved them, would prevent them from enjoying what they passionately desire .. even after explaining that it would lead to their death.
ignorance - lack of information, knowledge, or awareness
foolishness - lack of good sense, judgement, or discretion
In the first instance, the child was ignorant of the consequences of playing in the highway. But after the consequences were explained, the child could no longer claim ignorance and the child’s actions became foolishness. The parents then create family laws, or rules, to protect the child.
Do not go near the highway.
An obedient child may be ignorant and/or foolish but as they exercise obedience we expect they eventually mature into a wisdom where the fully understand and no longer need to be told not to play in the highway because they would consider it futile to have ever desired to play in the highway.
A disobedient child will continue pursuing this foolish desire, and runs the risk of dying before they mature enough to comprehend what they are doing, or perhaps being injured in a very significant way.
So we see that both ignorance and foolishness can lead to death, but that laws can be laid down to help prevent that until the ignorance or foolishness is overcome. The goal of the law is to prevent the consequence before they are realized, such that the individual doesn’t have to experience the consequence to understand.
Everyone knows fire is hot after they get burned.
Experience is the one instructor we all universally respect.
This is all reasoned out with logic, it doesn’t take a wise man of God to comprehend this. Scripture assumes that you already know this as well.
1 Peter 1:14 ESV
As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance,
1 Peter 1:14–15 ESV
As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct,
You see, you and I were once ignorant of holiness, much like the child, and our passions were of the type that would lead us to death. What sort of passions? ; provides some examples.
1 Peter
sexual immorality
impurity
Colossians 3:5 ESV
Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.
evil desires
covetousness
idolatry
anger
wrath
malice
slander
obscene talk
lying
The mature child of God knows that these passions are futile and lead only to death. However, we do not begin as mature believers. We begin as people of the flesh, infants in Christ
1 Corinthians 3:1 ESV
But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ.
Colossians 3:8 ESV
But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.

Learning a New Lifestyle

1 Peter 2:2 ESV
Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation—
No one likes to admit their own ignorance. It is a consequence of a prideful and arrogant heart. Most folks will pretend to know something that they don’t know in order to hide their ignorance and attempt to cause others to believe that they know more than they actually know. You have probably done this on more than one occasion yourself, I know that I have.
No one likes to admit their own ignorance. It is a consequence of a prideful and arrogant heart. Most folks will pretend to know something that they don’t know in order to hide their ignorance and attempt to cause others to believe that they know more than they actually know. You have probably done this on more than one occasion yourself, I know that I have.
It is dangerous.
He who knows not and knows not that he knows not is ignorant; enlighten him.
He who knows not and knows that he knows not is a student; teach him.
He who knows not and knows that he knows not is a student; teach him.He who knows and knows not that he knows is asleep; wake him.He who knows and knows that he knows is a wise man; follow him.
Isaiah 5:21 ESV
Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and shrewd in their own sight!
He who knows and knows not that he knows is asleep; wake him.
The immature believer is convinced they know everything, or at least everything they want to know.
Proverbs 3:5–7 ESV
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.
Proverbs 3:
He who knows and knows that he knows is a wise man; follow him.
Scripture doesn’t have anything good to say about that sort of behavior. As believers we need to understand that we were woefully ignorant prior to our conversion, and that in many ways we remain ignorant after our conversion. The mature believer knows that there is so much more to learn, and that we haven’t even begun to scratch the surface.
1 Corinthians 2:12–14 ESV
Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.
1 Corinthians 2:12

Through Obedience

I believe our text in 1 Peter demonstrates plainly that it is through obedience.
1 Peter 1:14 ESV
As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance,
Colossians 3:5 ESV
Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.
It is very interesting that this verse does not say “As mature parents”. The wisest, most mature christian is here commanded to be as an obedient child. Why?
Colossians 3:8 ESV
But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.
We have already demonstrated that a child who is ignorant and/or foolish can be protected from the consequence of their ignorance or foolishness if they are obedient to the laws laid down. Whoah!
This means I don’t have to be the wisest or most mature believer at the moment of my salvation, I merely need to be obedient!?

Obedience to What?

1 Peter 1:22 ESV
Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart,
1 Peter 1:22
Verse 22 further demonstrates that obedience plays a significant role in our lives and life. The purification of our souls seems pretty important. But what are we being obedient to? Here, we see that it is truth. We are obedient to truth.
But what truth?
1 Peter 1:23 ESV
since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God;
1 Peter 1
The living and abiding word of God! Where do we get the living and abiding word of God?
1 peter 1
1 Peter 1:24–25 ESV
for “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever.” And this word is the good news that was preached to you.
The good news!? The King James translates that as “the gospel”.

What happens if we do not obey the Gospel?

1 Peter 4:17 ESV
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?
Romans 10:16 ESV
But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?”
2 Thessalonians 1:7–8 ESV
and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
1 Peter 4:17 ESV
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?

Scripture, Revelation, Gospel, Faith, Obedience … Oh my!

Romans 16:25–27 ESV
Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith— to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.
Romans 16:
Between the opening declaration that God can strengthen our faith and closing acclamation that God is glorious, Paul unpacks the gospel as the very thing that God uses to strengthen our faith!
At the end of verse 26, the gospel is aiming at the obedience of faith. So the gospel strengthens us in faith so that we will live obedient lives. This is called “the obedience of faith.” The gospel is the means to obedience because it is the means to faith and obedience comes from faith.
So how does that play out?
I hear the gospel very simply preached.
God became man, lived and died perfectly to become a propitiation for sins, rose from the dead, and sits in heaven today. If I will turn away from (repent) sin as my lord and master, and submit to Jesus as my lord and master, he will save me from the consequences of having previously served sin.
This gospel leads me to believe and have faith in it.
Therefore I obey this gospel through faith. I repent of my sins and embrace Christ as my greatest treasure, my Lord and my Master.
When Christ becomes my Lord and Master, all of his commands, all scripture, is revealed as the gospel.
2 Timothy 3:16–17 ESV
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
As I live
Thus, the more scripture I learn, the more my faith is strengthened. The more my faith is strengthened, the greater my obedience becomes.
Simply put ....
Obedience to the truth strengthens us so that we will be obedient to the truth. The greater our obedience to truth, the greater our maturity in Christ.

With Purpose

You will not accidentally be obedient, nor will you accidentally mature as a believer.
1 Peter 1:13 ESV
Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
1 Peter
Therefore … what is it there for? In this case, it refers back to the beginning of the chapter:
v1: since God has chosen you
v3: since God has caused you to be born again to a living hope
v4: since God is keeping an inheritance for you imperishable, undefiled, and unfading
v5: since God is protecting you through faith so that you won't lose that inheritance
v6–7: since God is refining your faith by fire so that it will receive praise and glory and honor
v8: since you have love and faith and joy in Christ
v10–12: since prophets and angels are on tiptoe to see all that God's grace is going to do in your life
Therefore .... hope fully in his grace.
1 Peter 1:8–12 ESV
Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.
We see here that we are to be “preparing our minds” and “being sober-minded”. These are proactive actions for us to take. We should be doing this right now.
You need to be intentional in preparing your mind for action. Which is another way of saying to be transformed by the renewing of your mind. You must also be intentional in being sober-minded, which isn’t merely the opposite of being intoxicated, but rather the opposite of being intoxicated-minded. I know plenty of people who are neither intoxicated nor sober-minded.
Romans 12:1–3 ESV
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.
() preparing your minds for action ...... (Romans 12)be transformed by the renewal of your mind.
() being sober-minded ..... ()think with sober judgement
() do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance .... ()do not be conformed to this world
Scripture is full of these positive commands. Positive commands are those that require you to do something, while negative commands are those that require you to not do something.
Simi
Love Your Brother vs. Do Not Lie
In verse 13 we see that we should be about the business of preparing our minds for action and being sober-minded for the purpose of setting our hope fully on the grace that will be brought to us.
It is interesting that the commands are ‘preparing’ and ‘being’ in that they are ongoing commands. You don’t prepare and be done with it. This is no point were you can just stop being sober-minded. From now until the fulness of grace is realized, the believer must be preparing their minds and being sober-minded amongst a host of other proactive commands.

What are the Other Proactive Commands?

I’m glad you asked. It turns out that scripture is just bursting with them, and as you go about the business of preparing and being, a significant portion of that preparation needs to be studying scripture, to discover, know, learn, and be transformed.
I don’t want to cheat you of the opportunity of studying yourself, so I will just give you the executive summary.
Luke 10:27 ESV
And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”
Love the lord your good
I’ve spent the majority of my Christian life struggling to just get that right.

Hoping Fully on Grace In Christ

The immature christian struggles with this. They remember old habits of hoping sin would deliver them. Surely you have met the young man and woman who are either shacking up together or just having sex together. They show up at church, raise their hands, say amen, pray, and profess to hope in Christ.
But we can see that something is clearly wrong. They must not fully hope in Christ. They must hope that something in their sinful relationship is going to be good for them, despite how foolish it seems. They probably have some hope in Christ … we pray that they do.
However, if they hoped fully on the grace of Christ then they would not be conformed to the passions of their former ignorance, but would be holy in their conduct, according to
1 Peter 1:14–15 ESV
As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct,
1 Peter 1:14-
This is each and every one who lives in sin. Notice that I said ‘lives in sin’ as opposed to simply everyone who sins. The best and most holy among us still get tripped up and sin, but they repent and move on. Those who live in sin are like the dog that returns to its own vomit. They might even be disgusted with themselves, but they are not being obedient.
1 Peter 1:17-
1 Peter 1:17–18 ESV
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, knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold,
I am not ashamed to tell you that my sin scares the daylights out of me. I couldn’t shack up with a woman I wasn’t married to because I am far too frightened of what that would reveal about my lack of respect for the one I call Father.
It would reveal how little I value the ransom paid to free me from my futile ways. Indeed, it would indicate that I don’t truly believe the ways inherited from my forefathers were futile at all.
1 Peter 1:19–21 ESV
but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.
:19-21
The very blood of Christ, the God-Man, ransomed me and I would value an orgasm with someone I am not married to over that very blood? I can’t even. Where are my ugg boots and Starbucks. I can’t even!!!!
One simply can not claim any sort of maturity in Christ if they do not hope fully on the Grace in Christ.

Closing

Summary

How can I grow in holiness? How can I mature in Christ?
Matthew 18:3 ESV
and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
1 Peter 2:
Obey like a child. You do not have to know why to obey. Understanding the why can come later, if at all.
Matthew 18:3 ESV
and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
Psalme 34:8
Obey, right away, the right way.
1 Peter 2:1–3 ESV
So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.
Why obey? Because you have tasted and know that the Lord is good. Because you have the gospel that strengthens your faith. Because salvation!
Perhaps you might say, well I don’t have that.
Psalm 34:8 ESV
Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!
You have the opportunity to change that today. Perhaps, when you came in here, you were ignorant. But you know longer have that excuse, now do you? Chose wisdom, chose hope in Christ, taste and see.
Learning this New Lifestyle
Through Obedience
With Purpose
Hoping fully on Grace in Christ
We will saw three core instructions on how we are to go about growing in holiness. The end goal is to become mature believers who are satisfied at the deepest possible level with God alone.

God is most glorified in you when you are most satisfied in him.

Which means that you never have to choose between your greatest joy and his greatest glory. And it means that you should always pursue your greatest joy-for the glory of God. Do not be distracted by petty passions.
Your greatest joy and Gods greatest glory fit together perfectly, like a glove. The simple Christian life is to simply be most satisfied with God.
Your
Sin lies to you, it claims that it will satisfy you. Perhaps, for a moment, you might believe you are satisfied, but then you discover that you aren’t. Sin will always leave your mouth dry and you thirsting for more.
Jesus satisfies, believe it.
Related Media
See more
Related Sermons
See more