Holy Virtues for the Household of Faith
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
When you think about being a Christian it is a hard thing sometimes to overcome all the effects of the fall and the way our inherited sin nature has impacted the way we live. We think about the way our sin, our upbringings, and the society in which we were raised has impacted each one of us.
We no we have been born again, we have repented of our sin, but we continue to battle our own propensity to sin and live in contrary to what Scripture has made plain to us. Sometime we can even think we are doing good checking off the commands in Scripture (falsely by the way), but when we look at the way we apply the indicatives and the imperatives in our own lives we fall woefully short.
In other words, I may believe in the Person and Work of Jesus Christ, but I don’t live it out near as perfectly as he does. I may believe in the Sanctification of the Spirit, but I am more interested in everyone else’s growth in holiness than I am my own. Many times the way this plays out is in the life of the local body, the way we respond to one another we are in covenant relationship in Christ.
Maybe we treat someone harshly because we don’t think they are living the way they should, maybe we place our own preferences at the same level we place the precepts of Scripture. Or we place way more importance on being truthful and honest than we do being sympathetic and tenderhearted. Not that I am saying truth telling is not essential in the life of the believer, but so is showing kindness, love, and mercy. Like I said before, criticism, sarcasm, and harshness are not fruits of the Spirit, but sometimes we are guilty of wielding them way more than we show humility, gentleness, and kindheartedness.
But Peter is about to help us out in our passage this morning....After his exhortation to submission he provides a summary for us a the Church.
Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind.
After finishing up his section on submission Peter continues his exhortation to Holy living. He is calling Christians to be what Christ has enabled them to be through the new birth, through faith in the Son of God, through His Resurrection from the dead, and through the sanctification of the Holy Spirit.
Following His call to humble submission in relationship to government, to masters, and to spouses, Peter exhorts believers to a have a holy character in relationship to one another.
He comes to verse 8 and begins to summarize chapter 3 writing Finally, not we know Peter isn’t closing His letter, because He has two more chapters, but He is just summarizing what the sanctified life of a sojourner and exile should exemplify.
Don’t miss his next all inclusive phrase, all of you, Peter is addressing every believer in these next few verses. He is not just addressing, citizens, or just slaves, or just wives and husbands, he is addressing every believer who is reading or listening to His letter.
Another consideration we must make is whether Peter is addressing whether these virtues are to be held and displayed toward believers or unbelievers alike? What do you think?
Who was Peter calling Christians to submit to in the previous three sections? A Pagan government, unbelieving masters, and lost husbands and wives. Therefore, we should have as much harmony, sympathy, bro
Peter is not just saying, Christian, if you are able, if you have the personality, if you are naturally this type of person, you should live this way. He is writing to every believer who has been born again by the mercies of God, who has been born again to a living hope, who has been born again through the living and abiding word, Finally, in summary, all of you, every one of you, have,
Verse 8 is made up of 5 adjectives that describe the life of a Christian the exhortation or imperative is “have” in the ESV. It is translated;
“all of you be” in the NASB
“be ye all” in the KJV
“all of you be” in the NKJ.
This should help us understand what Peter is calling us to as believers. He is calling the church to be, to live, or to have these Christ-like character traits that are given to the believer, by the Spirit when they are made a new creation! Living out these adjectives will promote unity in the Church and provide a powerful witness to the watching world around us!
Tom Schreiner and Pastor David not the chiastic structure to these adjectives in verse 8.
A) Unity of Mind/Harmony
B) Sympathy
C) Brotherly Love
B) Tender Hearts/Kindhearted
A) Humble Mind
Pastor David notes, “How the chiasm would work here would be that Harmony/Humility are in a parallel relationship to one another, Sympathy and Compassion are in a parallel relationship to one another, and Brotherly Love would serve as the central/primary element, which itself informs the other elements. This centers the list on brotherly love, the catalyst of the other elements’ success.”
Dan Doriani explains, “At first glance, Peter seems to list five random virtues. On closer inspection, a pattern emerges. The first and last are mental or intellectual, the second and fourth are emotional, and brotherly love stands at the center. Further, all these traits have a social dimension. Together, they keep relationships healthy.”
Doriani, D. M. (2014). 1 Peter. (R. D. Phillips, P. G. Ryken, & D. M. Doriani, Eds.) (p. 126). Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing.
Let’s consider the first character trait of a member of Christ’s church, Christians are to have,
I. Unity and Humility of Mind
I. Unity and Humility of Mind
First, let’s look at being of one mind, being harmonious.
homophron; united in spirit, harmonious, like minded, with similar thoughts.
Paul begins his exhortation with the call to unity of mind, the call to harmonious, like mindedness. He is reminding the church that we are to be of the same mind, thought patter, and in agreement with one another.
Now, does this mean we have to think exactly the same thing about every topic?
Do we have to all desire to work in the same vocation?
Do we all have to desire to go to the same place on vacation?
Do we all have to like the same sports, teams, or associations? NO!
However, there are some things we should not waver on, There are certain doctrinal truths that we must have the same mind on, we must be in unity on if we want to live, and work together as the body of Christ. What are some of these truths?
1. Scripture - It’s inerrancy, infallibility, inspiration, and sufficiency.
2. God - who He is, what He has done, His Trinitarian nature.
3. Jesus - His person and work
4. The Holy Spirit - His Person, His work, and His role
5. The Gospel - God’s good news of salvation, By grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, for the glory of God alone.
6. The Church - who we are, the ekklessia, the assembly. The marks of the Church, expositional preaching, the ordinances, church discipline....
Others?
Do you see where if we are not unified in these doctrines, division will come?
Paul wrote to the Romans,
Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight.
May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus,
To the church at Ephesus Paul wrote,
with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Do you see how important unity is in the life of the local church. The question then we must ask is what are we to do or how can we maintain this unity?
Now, how are Unity of Mind and Humility of Mind connected?
Humble is translated from the Greek word,
tapeinorphrones; humble, that others are considered more important than oneself and that pride does not fill ones life.
Let me ask it this way,
Why is harmony among the body and unity almost always disrupted?
PRIDE, SELFISHNESS, SELF-CENTEREDNESS
We love us some us, or I love me some me. We often think we know more then every one else, we have a better understanding of the Bible than anyone else, we know what the church needs better than anyone else. Therefore, when we don’t get our way we exalt our own thoughts, ideas, and desires above everyone else’s. And many times above the Scriptures....
We can do this as individuals.
We can do this as a denomination.
We can do this as a local church.
We can do this as Pastors.
How can we over come this? How do we keep from becoming prideful pharisees, self-serving Sadducees, or Self-centered Scribes....
We submit ourselves to our Lord Jesus Christ, we submit ourselves to His Word. We,
Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Philippians 2:3
What are some practical ways we can grow in this humility and unity?
Spending time in prayer,
Spending time in the Scriptures,
Spending time with one another!
These disciplines will cause us to know Christ more, to come to an understanding of our sin, and ultimately create in us a deeper love for one another. All of this help us grow in Unity and Humility.
Robert Leighton provides some examples of what this unity is not;
It is not a careless indifference concerning spiritual things.
Peaceableness through universal unbelief and disaffection.
He goes on to explain what this unity should be.
That Christians ought to have a clear and unanimous belief of the mysteries of the faith.
They ought to be diligent in the research of the truth.
This one is a little longer, Perfect and universal consent in all, after all industry bestowed on it, for anything we know, is not here attainable, neither betwixt all churches, nor all persons in one and the same church to the fullest agreement that may be, yet they should beware lest they straining it too high in all things rather break it and an over- diligence in appointing uniformities remove them further from it.
In modern English or southern English, we must try as much as possible to maintain doctrinal unity especially in the essentials. However, in church members and even in Elders there are finer points of theology we may not be of the same mind on. However, they do not need to be divided over so we work, serve, and seek to proclaim the gospel and preach the Scriptures united together.
What about outside the local church in associations how do we maintain this unity? We seek to partner together with churches who are like minded of the same faith and practice in order to be able reach the nations on a greater scale. Of course the more churches that come together the wider the disagreement in doctrines may become. We must then continually watch to ensure the doctrine of those we partner with does not come to a point where we believer they are in clear violation of the Scriptures and causing us to support the spread of heterodox or even worse heretical doctrine with our finances or even association.
Secondly this morning a Christian, a churchman or churchwoman, should display Christlike character by being,
II. Sympathetic and Tenderhearted
II. Sympathetic and Tenderhearted
These two characteristics are the emotional characteristics Peter call us to exhibit in this passage. Do you see the difference, how he referenced the previous two unity and humility of mind. These are patterns of thought and involve thinking, meditating, on how we exhibit these virtues.
Compare that to sympathy and being tenderhearted and do you see how there is more of an emotional aspect two these virtues. They involve the way we feel, the compassion we have toward one another.
What does it mean to be sympathetic?
sympatheis; caring deeply about the needs, joys, and sorrows of others (Schreiner pg. 163)
Before we go straight to seeking application of these Christlike character traits let’s consider the context. Again Peter is writing to persecuted, suffering believers and he is calling them to have sympathy towards one another. He wants them consider one another and what they are going through. There were many different ways in which these believer might have been experiencing this persecution.
First they may have been suffering under governmental persecution (2:13).
Secondly, vocational persecution (2:18).
Third, familial persecution (3:1).
Do you see how although the situational suffering may have been different, Peter calls these Christians to care deeply about the needs of each one! Each one of these sojourners and exiles were in a different season of suffering and were walking through a different level of suffering but as part of God’s family, being of one mind, being humble in mind we are to have sympathy for one another.
Now if we cross over to the church today do we agree these words are still applicable to us? If so......
What is it that hinders us from being sympathetic towards one another?
A lack of understanding?
A lack of care for one another?
A lack of grace towards one another?
A lack of mercy towards one another?
A lack of love for one another?
I believe all of these things can cause us to lack sympathy, can cause us to not care about the needs, joys, and sorrows of another brother or sister in Christ. As I think of my life I can see times when I have lacked in all of these areas. But I also know that there are times where wrong ordered priorities can hinder me showing sympathy towards a fellow believer.
There are times when I just don’t think about what someone is going to until a few days have passed when I could have shown sympathy to a suffering church member.
Again to keep Christ at the center of our SS lesson, he is our model of perfect sympathy.
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.
Hebrews
Therefore if you and I want to grow in sympathy look to Jesus, he is the one who sympathizes with our weaknesses, even though he was tempted as we are, he remained sinless.
Consider the next emotional characteristic that should be seen in the Church.
Christians are to have a tender heart.
Eusplanchnos; Wayne Grudem writes, A tender heart is a helpful translation of a word which means ‘caring, compassionate’, not only in actions but even more in one’s feelings or emotions.
Wayne Grudem writes, A tender heart is a helpful translation of a word which means ‘caring, compassionate’, not only in actions but even more in one’s feelings or emotions.
Peter explains that as we care for those who are suffering, showing sympathy to them, we should also have a tender heart toward these brothers and sisters.
The NASB translates this as kindhearted
The KJV reads having compassion one of another,
I want us to consider is there anything that pricks our heart more than seeing someone in our family suffering. It could be our children, our parents, our grandparents, or our spouse. When we see our family hurting our heart hurts, those tender, soft places in our hearts and emotions are revealed and we have a desire to help those who are hurting. We have a desire to do anything we can to stop the pain.
This is the same feeling we should have for our new family. Our adopted family should receive the same compassion as our birth family. Do you believe that? I bet you do, especially this group here. I have personally seen each one of you in this class show some sort of compassion, sympathy, and kindheartedness to not only members of this church but also members of my family!
What are some ways Christ showed compassionate care to people in the Scriptures?
He prayed for his people in
He fed the crowds, twice...
He saved from sin, forgave of sin, told the woman caught in adultery go and sin no more.
He preached the truth.
He healed the blind, lame, sick, raised the dead.
He wept for those he loved.
Jesus wept.
He wept because of His deep compassion he had for Lazarus and His family. He felt a deep sympathy for them as they experienced suffering in the time of loss and death.
How about the Church of Christ? Those who have been born again, bought by Christ’s blood for obedience to Him. How do we exhibit compassion, care, and kindheartedness to the saints?
Here are the ways I have seen compassionate care exhibited in Christ’s church.
Prayer, cards, calls, meals, visits, rides to Doc, what are some ways you have seen-experienced kindhearted compassion come from through the body of Christ?
Here is one, calls to repentance! Do you realize how much compassion is shown when we go to an erring brother or sister and plead with them to turn from their sin, to turn to Christ in repentance and faith. I have seen this work where believers are restored and brought back into the family of faith, we have also seen were the call to repentance has caused the sinning brother or sister to reject the truth and compassionate call. But we must not let that discourage us from compassionate church discipline.
We have seen Peter call for Christians to be unified and humble in mind, to have a Christlike thought life,
We see Peter calls for the Church to be caring and compassionate having a tender heart towards those who are in the family of faith,
All four of these adjectives that are to be used to describe Christians are to be centered around our...
II. Brotherly Love
II. Brotherly Love
Or as the KJV translates it our love as brethren.
Philadelpoia:
Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament based on Semantic Domains 25.35 φιλάδελφος, ον
pertaining to love or affection for fellow believers—‘one who loves fellow believers, loving one another as brothers
Now I want us to think about the love these men and women had for one another in Peter’s day. They had been and were being saved by the thousands, brought into the church from all different backgrounds, regions, and still serving in all different roles.
Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood: May grace and peace be multiplied to you.
These brothers and sisters were scattered all over the region, but they had a common salvation, a common profession, and were all suffering through a common persecution. Their suffering may have differed in the way it was applied, but it was all for the same reason. They were suffering for following Christ, they were suffering for turning from the ways of the world around them whether it was Jews turning form Judaism or Gentiles turning from Paganism.
John Calvin notes, Love as brethren, belongs peculiarly to the faithful; for where God is known as a Father, there only brotherhood really exists.
.
Calvin, J., & Owen, J. (2010). Commentaries on the Catholic Epistles (p. 102). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.
Peter says in,
Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart,
In other words you and I were saved for a sincere brother love. Not a superficial, shallow, or even showy love but a serious, steadfast, and sincere affection for one another.
He says in
Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.
Do you think Peter is serious about us loving one another?
He gives us clear exhortations, but consider the example of brotherly love we see in the book of Acts following Peter’s preaching at Pentecost.
And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
The early church’s love was displayed through;
Devotion to the apostle’s teaching
Devotion to the fellowship of believers;
Devotion to the ordinances;
Devotion to prayer;
Devotion to caring for one another through having all things in common!
Devotion in worship;
I know we are not in the early 30’s AD, our context is different than the early church in the book of Acts. But I will ask you, which one of these things should we not be devoted to out of our love for God and for one another?
We can look to the early church and see their example of love and devotion they had for one another, but we have more than that. The Scriptures over and over call us to love one another. I don’t know if there is a more clear command in all the Scriptures than for the community of faith to have a love and affection for Jesus and for one another. This love is way we are to show our care and compassion for one another, this love is the way we are to maintain unity and humility towards one another.
This love is the way we are to show the watching world that God has poured His love out in our hearts. How about if we believe we are made in the image of God and God is Love then shouldn’t we be known as a people of love who display the Imago Dei!
pert. to having tender feelings for someone, tenderhearted, compassionate
1 Peter: An Introduction and Commentary 1. Be Humble and United in Spirit (3:8)
A tender heart is a helpful translation of a word which means ‘caring, compassionate’, not only in actions but even more in one’s feelings or emotions