Born to live
Notes
Transcript
Have you ever contemplated what your purpose in life is? Like, why am I here? What am I suppose to be doing? What does God expect of me?
There are people who struggle their entire lives not knowing what their purpose in life is. You know them, they float from one relationship to the next, one job to the next, they never seem to put down roots or stay with anything very long. They are like lost souls.
I stumbled across a song from a few years back. It is not a very uplifting song. The final lines of the song have these words:
Choose your last words, this is the last time
'Cause you and I, we were born to die — Songwriters: Elizabeth Grant / Justin Parker
I tried to watch the music video but it is a depressing song. I wonder if there are people who go through life with that philosophy.
As a Christian, that is not our philosophy or outlook on life. We were not born to die, we were born to live.
Jesus is the only person who was born to die. He came on that rescue mission from God so that we might live.
Yes I know that we are to die to ourselves, but we are to live. Paul wrote:
20 20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. And the life that I now live in my body, I live by faith, indeed, by the faithfulness of God’s Son, who loved me and gave himself for me.
He says that he has been crucified and he no longer lives, but that Jesus lives in him and the life that he now lives, he lives by faith.
Jesus said in John 10:10
I came so that they could have life—indeed, so that they could live life to the fullest.
You and I were born to live.
The question that comes is what kind of life are we to live after we come to faith in Christ. How do we live that kind of life?
This passage of Scripture this morning builds on last weeks message about the living hope that is ours. God has given us a living hope through Jesus.
Peter now begins to tell us how to live this life of hope. He says in verse 13
13 Therefore, once you have your minds ready for action and you are thinking clearly, place your hope completely on the grace that will be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed.
The word “Therefore” is tying what he has just written to what he is about to write. There is some action happening here. He says that “once you have your minds ready for action and you are thinking clearly.” Two things are there. The first is to ready our minds. The King James says “gird up the loins of your mind.” This is preparation work.
It is like saying “roll up your sleeves.”
The second is to think clearly.
Peter uses that same phrase in
7 The end of everything has come. Therefore, be self-controlled and clearheaded so you can pray.
8 Be clearheaded. Keep alert. Your accuser, the devil, is on the prowl like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
Peter there in verse 13 comes back to that theme of hope when he writes: “place your hope completely on the grace that will be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed.”
There is coming a day when we will see Jesus face to face. He will come in power and glory and he will reign as King of kings and Lord of lords! The challenge for us is each day to live with that hope!
Peter is writing to Christians who are struggling, facing persecution and all sorts of problems. He is encouraging them to be filled with hope in spite of the circumstances. I don’t know who said it, but I came across this:
“Life with Christ is an endless hope, without Him a hopeless end.”
So how do we live this life of hope that Peter talks about? I found four things in this passage that Peter teaches us about how to live this life.
The first is to:
Live holy lives (v 15-16)
Live holy lives (v 15-16)
15 you must be holy in every aspect of your lives, just as the one who called you is holy. 16 It is written, You will be holy, because I am holy.
It is unfortunate that the first sentence of verse 15 is broken up. The sentence begins “But, as obedient children.” Obedience is at the very core of Christianity. Jesus spoke about obedience a number of times.
21 Whoever has my commandments and keeps them loves me. Whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.”
We prove our love for Christ by obeying him.
Notice that this being holy is all encompassing of our lives. Peter writes: “be holy in every aspect of your lives.” I wonder if he had the words of the first commandment on his mind when he wrote that, you remember it.
37 He replied, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your being, and with all your mind.
That is every aspect of our lives. We love God with everything that we got. We are to live holy lives with every aspect of our lives.
Peter quotes from
2 Say to the whole community of the Israelites: You must be holy, because I, the Lord your God, am holy.
Because we love God with our entire being, we will want to be holy in every aspect of our lives because God is holy. We demonstrate our love to God by living lives of holy obedience to Him.
That word “holy” means to be without sin, to be separated from sin, to be pure. We are scared and intimidated by that. How can we ever live that kind of life?
Edmund Clowney wrote about this and said:
The Message of 1 Peter a. The Holiness of Children of the Father (1:14–17)
It is the reality of sin in the heart of everyone that patterns the evil and oppression in the world. Holiness means that the pattern is broken, that the sinner is transformed.
Paul Cedar wrote:
The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Volume 34: James / 1 & 2 Peter / Jude Called to Be Holy
That is exactly what Peter is teaching. We are to be holy in all that we do. We are to become more and more like our Lord, and we are to live as He lives. His holiness should increasingly replace our natural character of lust and evil appetites. A spiritual transformation needs to take place which displaces our character of sin by His character of holiness. He longs to donate a new heart to us just as certainly as a physical heart may be donated in transplant surgery.
One last thing about living a holy life is from D.L. Moody who said:
The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Volume 34: James / 1 & 2 Peter / Jude Called to Be Holy
It is a great deal better to live a holy life than to talk about it. Lighthouses do not ring bells and fire cannons to call attention to their shining—they just shine.
The second aspect of living this life of hope is:
Live as strangers (v 17)
Live as strangers (v 17)
Peter says there in verse 17:
Common English Bible Chapter 1
you should conduct yourselves with reverence during the time of your dwelling in a strange land.
The NIV renders it:
The New International Version Chapter 1
live out your time as foreignersa here in reverent fear.
This world is not our true home. Peter says that we are to conduct ourselves. That talks about how we live our lives.
We are to conduct our lives with reverence. We are not only called to live holy lives, but we are also be reverent. That means that we have a respectful fear, a deep appreciation of God and who He is.
We are to live as foreigners here. Right now we are exiled from Heaven. Now is not the time to settle down and live like everyone else. Paul talked about that when he wrote:
1 So, brothers and sisters, because of God’s mercies, I encourage you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice that is holy and pleasing to God. This is your appropriate priestly service. 2 Don’t be conformed to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds so that you can figure out what God’s will is—what is good and pleasing and mature.
Paul said “don’t be conformed to the patterns of this world.” That tells me that there is another world and our lives should be conformed to it.
This points back to verse 15 and the call to live holy lives. Christians are called to live lives that are different from non-Christians. Why? Peter says there in the first part of verse 17 “Since you call upon a Father who judges all people according to their actions without favoritism.”
He says since you “call upon a Father.” The language there means “to call upon” or “appeal.” It is in the present tense which indicates this calling upon a Father is something that is an ongoing habit. This for me reminds me of the importance of an ongoing prayer relationship with God.
Our time on this earth is short. We must make the best use of each moment that we have to live lives that reflect the image of Christ. Live as strangers so that others will see and ask about the hope that you have. Peter will write in chapter 3
15 Instead, regard Christ the Lord as holy in your hearts. Whenever anyone asks you to speak of your hope, be ready to defend it.
As we live holy lives as strangers here, people will see and they will ask about the hope that you have.
The third aspect of living this life of hope is:
Live as redeemed (v 18-20)
Live as redeemed (v 18-20)
I really like how the translators of the translation I use rendered the first part of verse 18 where it says “Live in this way.”
What way? What is Peter saying?
Live as strangers, live a holy life, live in hope. We are to live that way, not in the future, but here and now.
We have been given something greater than anything that we might hope to have in this current life. Peter uses the term of liberated. We have been set free. Jesus promised this freedom.
36 Therefore, if the Son makes you free, you really will be free.
We have been liberated, set free. It was not through some precious element like gold or silver. The liberation was from the empty lifestyle. It is empty because there is no hope apart from Christ. We may do everything right, go through all the correct rituals but that is all empty if we do not have a personal relationship with Jesus.
How do we have that personal relationship with Jesus?
Common English Bible Chapter 1
you were liberated by the precious blood of Christ
It is through the precious blood Christ. Robert Lowry got it right when he wrote the great hymn, What Can Wash Away My Sin?
What can wash away my sin?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
What can make me whole again?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
Oh! precious is the flow
That makes me white as snow;
No other fount I know,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
If you hear nothing else, hear this. If you are a Christian this morning, you have been liberated by the precious blood of Jesus.
When Peter and John were arrested and drug before the religous leaders, Peter under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit said to them:
12 Salvation can be found in no one else. Throughout the whole world, no other name has been given among humans through which we must be saved.”
Jesus did not die on the cross for us by some horrible mistake or accident at the hands of sinful people. Jesus died on the cross for us because that was God’s plan. Look there at verse 20
20 Christ was chosen before the creation of the world, but was only revealed at the end of time. This was done for you,
This was done for you. It reminds me of the words of Jesus who said:
16 God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him won’t perish but will have eternal life.
Edmund Clowney wrote
The Message of 1 Peter b. The Holiness of Redeemed Believers (1:18–21)
God’s redemption breaks not only the chain that binds us to future doom; it breaks also the chain of the dead past. We are redeemed from the meaninglessness of pagan life.
He breaks the chain that binds us to future doom and also from the dead past. He breaks those and gives us new life in Christ Jesus.
Live in this way Peters says, Live as redeemed.
The fourth aspect of living this life of hope is:
Live with faith and hope (v 21)
Live with faith and hope (v 21)
Common English Bible Chapter 1
So now, your faith and hope should rest in God.
Because we have been redeemed, we live as strangers, we live lives of holiness, because of all of that we live with faith and hope. It is not empty faith and hope, it is faith and hope that rests in God.
It is through Jesus that we come to believe in God. The promise of the Gospel message of John 3:16 has been fulfilled in our lives.
Peter among all the disciples understood the power of the resurrection.
He knew the hurt and anguish after he had denied Jesus.
He understood the joy of the resurrection as he along with John ran to the tomb and found it empty. He saw the resurrected Christ, he talked with him.
Peter’s broken relationship with Christ was healed after the resurrection and he once again enjoyed fellowship with Christ.
On the day of Pentecost when he was filled with the Holy Spirit. The power of the resurrected Christ flowed through Him and he was able to powerfully preach about Christ.
Paul wrote
11 If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, the one who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your human bodies also, through his Spirit that lives in you.
That is power, the power that raised Jesus from the dead is the same power that is at work in our lives. We are to live with faith and hope. One author put it this way:
1 & 2 Peter and Jude The Price of Your Redemption (1:18–21)
To have faith in this God is to have hope. The two cannot be separated. Faith that has no hope is not faith, nor is hope a real hope if it is not based on faith in the God who alone gives us true hope
We not only live by faith be we also live in hope. This hope comes to us through the resurrection of Jesus. We can live in hope because of the resurrection. We can live in this hope in a world that is overwhelmed with fear and anxiety.
We are called to live holy lives, to live as strangers, to live as redeemed people and to live with faith and hope.
Are you doing today with them?
Are you living in the power of the resurrection?
You were born to live for Christ, are you living for him?