"The God of All Grace" -- 1 Peter 5:1-14

The Twelfth and Final in a Series of Sermons on 1 Peter

What do you say to Christians who have been displaced from their homes by a cruel and cynical act of a pagan emperor?  How do you comfort a persecuted people who see no relief in sight from their troubles? What do you say to people who are reviled and cursed because they profess their faith in Jesus Christ as Creator, redeemer, and Lord, and refuse to worship Caesar or the pantheon of pagan gods?  How do you comfort a people who are mocked because they follow the teaching of Jesus, and therefore refuse to indulge every bodily urge simply because those urges exist?  If you are the Apostle Peter, you tell them the truth.  The reality is that fiery trials come with being a Christian in a pagan environment.  Yet, these trials are also the means through which God strengthens our faith.  Just as it was with Jesus–that the cross of Good Friday precedes the empty tomb of Easter–so too it is with Christians.  Suffering precedes the glory yet to be revealed.  Peter also tells them that despite their troubles, God has not cast them off.  Regardless of how they feel, those who believe in Jesus are his elect exiles, his spiritual temple, possessing a heavenly citizenship which guarantees all the blessings of eternal life and a heavenly inheritance.  Peter also tells them, that Christians must strive to humble themselves before God, and learn to cast all of their cares and worries upon the sovereign God who is also their loving father.  As they do so, Christians begin to live in the hope of the eternal glories yet to come.

With this sermon, we wrap-up our series on 1 Peter.  Last time, we devoted our attention to several of the points raised by Peter in the final section of this epistle (vv. 1-14 of chapter 5)–specifically Peter’s reference to the office of elder, which functions as a bulwark against the schemes of the devil, the adversary, who is looking for struggling Christians to devour.  This morning, we will cover the same ground, but focus upon two different themes in the text–humbling ourselves before God, while at the same time learning to cast all of our cares upon him.  This will bring our series on 1 Peter to an end.

Peter wraps up his lengthy series of exhortations (imperatives) to suffering Christians–the elect exiles of the Diaspora of Asia Minor–by directing his audience’s focus away from those external circumstances under which Christians are struggling, to internal and pastoral matters.  Before extending greetings to several individuals and concluding his letter, Peter addresses those things the churches and their leaders ought to be doing so as to persevere through difficult times.  As we saw last time, Peter begins with an exhortation to the elders of the churches receiving this letter.  In verses 1-2, he writes, “so I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you . . .”  Jesus is the chief shepherd of his church, and he calls church officers (“elders” and ministers) to shepherd his flock as “under-shepherds.”

The reference to Christ’s church as a “flock,” is a metaphor widely used throughout the Old Testament in reference to those instances where sinful individuals are likened to sheep because of the tendency of sheep to wander away from the flock and place themselves in peril.  A sheep which is separated from rest of the flock is completely helpless and likely to become an easy meal for any of the common predators in the area–wolves, jackals, coyotes, or even lions.  Apart from a shepherd, who leads and protects them, the sheep are lost, they know not where to go, nor what to do.

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"Like a Roaring Lion" -- 1 Peter 5:1-14

The Eleventh in a Series of Sermons on 1 Peter

There is one thing American Christians do not like–to submit to authority of the church officers.  In a recent survey, 90% of American Christians opined that the church has no authority to declare whether or not someone is a Christian.  Yet, all the Evangelical theologians asked to comment on the poll results found themselves numbered among the 10% who rightly noted that Jesus himself gave to the church the keys of kingdom, as well as explaining the precise steps for the church to take when someone’s doctrine and conduct do not match that required of those who name the name of Jesus.  There is also one thing about which American Christians are thoroughly confused–the power and tactics of the devil between the time Jesus defeated Satan while suffering upon the cross, and our Lord’s second advent at the end of the age.  Ironically, Peter discusses both the role of elders in governing Christ’s church, as well as Satan’s opposition to Christ’s rule through his appointed church officers, in our text, verses 1-14, of 1 Peter chapter 5.

We return to our series on 1 Peter, and we will spend our time in this sermon and the next wrapping up in the 5th and final chapter of this remarkable epistle, bringing our study of this epistle to an end.  Although the final chapter of 1 Peter contains only 14 verses, there is enough significant material here, I felt it best not to rush through this section and only touch briefly on the matters which Peter addresses.  In wrapping up this epistle, the Apostle Peter gives us wise counsel about the purpose of suffering, as well as introducing us to a proper understanding of church government (the importance of elders in ruling Christ’s church).  Yet, Peter does so in the context of the devil’s efforts to attack the people of God.  So, this week, we will discuss the office of elder, and how a proper understanding of the church and its officers is the bulwark against the schemes and attacks of the devil.  Next week, Lord willing, we will conclude our time in 1 Peter by addressing how we as Christians ought humble ourselves before God, while casting all of our cares upon him.

In light of the reality that the chapter on ecclesiology is the least read section in any good systematic theology (because people tend not to be interested in the doctrine of the church), I begin by pointing out that the doctrine of the church is a major theme throughout the New Testament.  Jesus called disciples and then commissioned them to take the gospel to the ends of the earth, in the process making disciples and establishing churches, which, in many ways, are modeled upon the synagogues of Israel.  These new churches are to be ruled by elders who ensure the gospel is preached, the sacraments are administered according to the word of God, and that all things are done decently and in good order.  

In order to understand the practical importance of a biblical ecclesiology, we only need look at the recent news regarding evangelical mega-star Mark Driscoll and the total collapse of his church brand, Mars Hill.  This is yet another sad case where the name of Christ is besmirched by Christians claiming to love Jesus, all the while inventing a church structure centered around a charismatic leader, and which exists essentially to promote that leader’s personal vision to those who share it–and this with little if any consideration of what the New Testament actually teaches about how a church is to organize and conduct its ministry.  Of course, it does not take long for people reading their Bibles to figure out how the church envisioned by its celebrity leader differs radically from the nature of the church of the New Testament, which does not allow for celebrity pastors to promote their own personal interests and gain fame and fortune for themselves.  Mars Hill and Mark Driscoll were frequently identified with the Young, Restless, and Reformed, those millennials who discovered the glories of Reformed theology.  Yet, in Driscoll’s case, Mars Hill managed to ignore the fact that any movement which is truly Reformed will also strive for a church governed by elders, not ruled by a celebrity tyrant who fires anyone who dares stand up to him, or who disagrees with his personal agenda.

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"A Faithful Creator" -- 1 Peter 4:12-19

The Tenth in a Series of Sermons on 1 Peter

Peter’s purpose in writing his first epistle is to comfort persecuted Christians in Asia Minor, many of whom who have been displaced from their homes because of a decree from the Roman emperor Claudius.  Peter has reminded them that despite their struggles, in God’s eyes, they are elect exiles, citizens of heaven, and when worshiping together they compose God’s spiritual house (the church)–And this even while they are sojourning upon the earth until the day of final judgment when God will dispense his covenant blessings and curses.  Through a lengthy series of imperatives (commands), Peter has told these struggling Christians how they are to differentiate themselves from the Greco-Roman pagans around them–through their profession of faith in the Triune God who sent his Son to die for his people’s sins, and through their honorable conduct before the Pagans.  Christians are to think and live as God’s people–they must live a life of self control, in contrast to their pagan neighbors who live to indulge every urge of the sinful flesh.  But even if Christians do all of the things Peter exhorts them to do, they should not be surprised if their struggles continue and the persecution they face remains intense.  As Peter has stated in verse 4 of  chapter 4, the pagans “are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you.”  Evil-doers want nothing more than for professing Christians to join them in their self-indulgence.  Having made this point in the first part of the chapter  Peter now describes their troubles as a fiery trial, and a time of judgment.  Yet, this is also a time in which God’s purposes will be realized, and through which these struggling Christians will grow in their faith.

We return this morning to our series on 1 Peter.  As we conclude our time in chapter 4, Peter acknowledges that his readers and hearers have been through very difficult times, so much so, in verse 12, Peter writes, “beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.”  Some commentators take Peter’s statement as a warning of an impending calamity, and that extending this warning is the reason why Peter sends this letter to Christians of the Diaspora in Asia Minor.  In other words for those hearing/reading Peter’s letter, things have been bad, but they are about to get a whole lot worse.  Peter is writing to warn them in advance so that his readers and hearers can prepare themselves for what is about to come.

But most commentators take the view–I think correctly–that verse 12 of chapter 4 begins a new section of the letter in which Peter is not warning of an impending trial, but is instead making the point that Christians must realize that professing faith in Christ, as they have been doing in the midst of a pagan culture, is itself a fiery trial.  In fact, Peter made this point clear back in chapter 1 vv. 6-8 when he wrote, “for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.  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.”  The Christians to whom Peter is writing are being put to the test.  They are undergoing a fiery trial–yet a trial with an important purpose.  The time of trial is difficult in itself, yet it is that much worse if there is no seeming purpose to it.  Peter’s point then is to remind the Christians of Asia Minor that the fiery trial they are currently experiencing has a purpose, and that keeping this in mind will help them endure their trying circumstances.

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"Arm Yourselves With the Same Way of Thinking -- 1 Peter 4:1-11

The Ninth in a Series of Sermons on 1 Peter

Although you might expect Peter to instruct Christians to fight back against their oppressors, instead Peter directs us to a different kind of war.  Christians must resolve to engage in a fierce battle with sin and not let it reign over us.  This war against sin should be evident in the way in which we relate to our brothers and sisters in Christ, as well as those outside the church.  Those in Christ cannot live as the first century Greeks and Romans do, seeking to satisfy every bodily urge with little regard to natural law, and with no regard to God’s revelation of his will in his word.  As we reject pagan ways of thinking and doing, and prepare ourselves to suffer for our faith in Christ, we are called to love our brothers and sisters in the church, to use our spiritual gifts to serve one another, and we are to learn to live in the light of God’s promises which will be fully realized on the day of judgment.

As we work our way through Peter’s first epistle we now come to chapter four.  Peter is writing to a group of Christians in Asia Minor who have been displaced forcibly from their homes by a decree from the Roman emperor Claudius.  These elect exiles were facing great uncertainty about their personal circumstances.  Since many of them are victims of persecution because of their faith in Jesus Christ, Peter is writing to remind these struggling saints of their dual citizenship–in addition to being citizens of Rome, these people also possess a heavenly citizenship with an inheritance far greater than human minds can comprehend.  As believers in Jesus Christ, they have been sanctified by God, sprinkled with the blood of Jesus, and called to live holy lives before the watching world.   

Peter concludes his lengthy series of imperatives found 2:11-3:17, with a wonderful indicative in chapter 3:18-22.  The humility and suffering of Jesus provides a once for all payment for sin which remits the guilt for all of those times when Christians fail to submit to those in authority over them, or who seek vengeance upon those who wrong them, or who return the curses and reviling of others, with curses and reviling of their own.  But Peter also reminds his readers/hearers that the suffering and death of Jesus is the way in which God conquered sin, death, and the grave, as well as all those authorities and powers which seek to oppress the people of God.  When God calls believers to positions in life where they may suffer, Christians should not see this as the retributive punishment of God, but as the path to glory–a pathway already taken by Jesus, the savior of, and the example to the Christians of Asia Minor.

As Peter has already stated, Christians are to identify themselves as citizens of heaven, not by a distinctive wardrobe, diet, or by withdrawing from non-Christians.  Instead, we identify ourselves through our profession of faith in the Triune God who sent his son to save us from our sins, and in our holy conduct, which Peter has said, is to be honorable among the Gentiles.  Christians are to be good citizens, wise and compassionate masters or submissive servants, and when married are to be the kind of husbands and wives who regard each other as equals in Christ.  In these ways, we demonstrate our heavenly citizenship to outsiders.

When Christians are called to suffer, or to face the reviling and cursing from non-Christians, or even when we are persecuted for our faith, our suffering is never the final word.  Just as Jesus conquered death and the principalities and powers through his humility and suffering, so will we.  Peter has made clear that at the end of time, there will be a final judgment when all wrongs are made right, and when the bad guys finally get theirs in the end.  On the day of judgment Christians will be vindicated and rewarded by the same God who has called us to suffer, as will God be vindicated when the world is silenced by the realization that God’s ways are altogether righteous and just.

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"Safely Through Water" -- 1 Peter 3:18-22

The Eighth in a Series of Sermons on 1 Peter

All of us have consciences which accuse us because we have all sinned against God and disobeyed his commandments.  And so whenever we suffer or are persecuted by those with power over us, there is a little voice within which says to us, “why, of course, you are suffering.”  “God is punishing you because you did this, or because you did that.”  To those first century Christians of the Diaspora undergoing difficult trials, and no doubt, wondering if God has abandoned them because of something they had done to displease him, Peter offers a wonderful word of encouragement, something which can silence the accusatory voice, as well as remind us of the promise that no matter what happens in this life, everything will turn out in the end just as God has promised.  God has given to us a suffering Savior, who has died for our sins.  And God has given us a tangible promise (the waters of baptism) that he will save his people–his elect exiles–on the day of judgment.

We are continuing our series on 1 Peter, and I am again reminded of the difficulties in not being able to preach through a book like 1 Peter in bigger chunks, or ideally, in one sermon.  Our text this time (vv. 18-22 of 1 Peter 3) is the conclusion to the preceding section (vv. 2:11-3:17).  The closing verses of chapter 3 are intended to remind those sufferers whom Peter has been addressing of the meaning of Christ’s suffering on behalf of his fellow sufferers.  Jesus’ perfect humility and suffering as the God-man took him to the cross.  His death saves us from our sins–even those sins we committed when we have responded to those who curse and revile us with curses and reviling of our own.  Our text speaks a word of pardon to all of us who have cursed and reviled our enemies, and who have sought to take vengeance into our own hands, and who have not properly submitted to those authorities mentioned by the Apostle.  In effect, Peter follows his series imperatives–“do this”–with a wonderful indicative–Jesus’ death covers our sins when we fail to comply with those imperatives which Peter has set forth.  And hearing the indicatives, in turn, gives us a desire to obey the imperatives.

In the previous section (vv. 8-17), Peter instructs Christians not curse and revile those who curse and revile us, but rather to return to them a word of blessing.  Christians are to do this because God hears the prayers of his oppressed people and promises that he will deliver us from those who have wronged his people.  Peter understands how difficult this is to do, which is why he offers a word of encouragement from Psalm 34, before reminding us that Jesus’ death removes the guilt of our sin and brings us to God.  In the section of Peter’s epistle we are covering (vv. 18-22), Peter describes the benefits we receive from Jesus’ humility and suffering.  Jesus dies for us and in our place, so that our sins are forgiven.  In imitating the humility of Jesus, Peter reminds us, Christians point their oppressors back to the sinless Savior in whom alone men and women may be saved, and so that Christians may receive better treatment from the hands of their oppressors.
 
In a letter such as this–one closely tied to specific historical circumstances–some background is important to enable us to understand why Peter addresses the issues he does, and so that we can draw proper application in our own circumstances.  Peter is writing to a group of persecuted Christians in Asia Minor.  Although they have been cast from their homes, and are now aliens in their own county, Peter reminds them that they are nevertheless elect exiles of God, a chosen race, and a royal priesthood.  The Apostle knows full-well that his readers are facing very difficult times.  Repeatedly, Peter exhorts these Christian sojourners to endure their trials patiently, and to wait for the Lord to deliver them.  Yet, Peter also reminds them that because they have been set apart by God (sanctified), and sprinkled with the blood of Jesus, they are heirs to a glorious heavenly inheritance which exceeds anything we can imagine.  Christians, Peter says, must keep this promise before our eyes, especially whenever God calls us to endure times of trial.  But this is the pattern of the Christian life.  The cross and the crown of thorns precedes the empty tomb and our glorious entrance into the presence of the Lord.

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"If You Should Suffer for Righteousness Sake" -- 1 Peter 3:8-17

The Seventh in a Series of Sermons on 1 Peter

It is foolish to attempt to deny reality.  Christians are going to be misunderstood, mistrusted, and persecuted because we are believers in Jesus Christ.  Those unbelievers and secularists we encounter do not understand our faith in Christ, they see no need whatsoever to believe in Jesus, and when they do understand what we believe, they openly reject it–especially Christian teaching about salvation being found only in Jesus, as well as Christian teaching about sexual ethics.  Whenever this conflict between Christians and unbelievers occurs–and it will–how are we to respond?  In chapter 3 of his first epistle, Peter instructs us to seek to bring glory and honor to Jesus Christ in such situations, rather than focusing on personal insults directed our way.  Christians must learn how to deal with those who have power over us, without being afraid of our oppressors, and to do so in such a way that we continually point those who are contentious back to the suffering servant, Jesus.  Christians must be prepared for these encounters with both the right answers and the right attitude.

We are continuing our series on 1 Peter, and we have made our way into chapter three, where we are considering Peter’s instructions to Christians of the Diaspora.  As we mentioned throughout our series, Peter’s audience is a group of Christian exiles in Asia Minor, who have been displaced from their homes by a decree from Claudius, the previous Roman emperor.  Peter begins his letter of encouragement to these struggling sojourners by reminding them that God has caused them to be born again, they have been set apart (sanctified) by God and therefore sprinkled by the blood of Jesus–ensuring their sins are forgiven.  Also, Christians are to live holy lives before the Lord so as to silence those critical of our faith.  
Peter reminds his hearers that although they are facing difficult times from their pagan neighbors, in God’s sight, these people are elect exiles, a chosen race, and spiritual house, indwelt by the Spirit of the living God.  Although they are citizens of Rome, they simultaneously possess a heavenly citizenship and are heirs to all the things promised them by God.  But their heavenly citizenship will bring them into conflict with the unbelievers around them, and so the Apostle seeks to prepare his readers to deal with those reject Jesus, and who do not understand why Christians believe and do they things they do.

In 1 Peter 2:11-3:7, Peter addresses three of the main elements of the Greco-Roman household code–an unwritten code dating back perhaps to Aristotle, and which defines a number of the social relationships upon which Greco-Roman society was built.  These relationships include the authority of civil government, the relationship between slaves and masters, as well as the relationship between husbands and wives.  Christians too believe that these matters are important and God has addressed a number of them in his word.  Yet, in each one of these societal relationships, and under current circumstances, Christians have little power or control and were facing tremendous persecution from their pagan neighbors as the elect exiles of the Diaspora of Asia Minor.

Throughout section of his epistle, Peter exhorts Christians to submit to the Roman civil authorities, even those governors then persecuting Peter’s readers–except in those cases where civil authorities demand that Christians violate the will of God.  When this happens, Christians are to obey God rather than men.  Peter instructs Christian slaves and servants to submit to their masters, even if their masters are cruel.  Finally Peter exhorts Christian wives to submit to their husbands, even if their husbands are not Christians.  At the same time, Peter insists that Christian husbands not view their greater physical strength as a reason for believing their wives to be inferior–as the Greco-Roman household code held.  Rather, Christian husbands are to see their wives as weaker vessels who require “understanding” (the knowledge that wives are to be treated as taught in Scripture), and to treat them with honor–which means to be treated with the same respect to which all divine image bearers and co-heirs with Christ are entitled.

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"The Beauty of a Gentle and a Quiet Spirit" -- 1 Peter 3:1-7

The Sixth in a Series of Sermons on 1 Peter

Christians in American do not face the same kind of persecution which Christians among Peter’s first century audience were facing.  Many of those to whom Peter was writing were forcibly displaced from their homes and land by an edict from a previous Roman emperor Claudius, because they refused to worship pagan deities, and refused to consider the Roman emperor to be a “god.”  Peter speaks of these struggling Christians as elect exiles and describes them as a chosen race.  The Apostle is writing to remind them of their living hope and sanctification in Christ, which will help them cope with the very difficult circumstances which they were then facing.  Peter’s original audience experienced open hostility from their government and their pagan neighbors.  The opposition we face is much more subtle, but no less dangerous.  In the thoroughly secularized America in which we live, we are not persecuted so much as we are pressured to conform to non-Christian ways of thinking and doing.  Peter’s discussion of the relationship between husbands and wives will expose some of these non-Christian ways, and challenge us how to think of this foundational relationship within human society in the light of God’s word.

In a lengthy section of his first epistle (vv. 2:13-3:7), Peter is addressing specific societal relationships held in common by Christians and non-Christians–elements of the unwritten but widely accepted “household code” which defined many of the social relationships within Greco-Roman society.  These relationships include the authority of civil government, the relationship between slaves and masters, and the relationship between husbands and wives.  All of these fall under the heading of what we now call natural law.  Although Christians and non-Christians both value these social institutions, God has spoken about these same relationships in his word, and so Peter is writing to do two things: 1) To remind his hearers that Christians do indeed regard these relationships as the foundation of society just as do Greco-Roman pagans, and 2).  To correct whatever misconceptions his Christians readers/hearers may have regarding these relationships in light of God’s word.

When we study a letter such as 1 Peter which is filled with imperatives and commands, we must remind ourselves that these imperatives are given to Christian believers whom God has caused to be born again and who already have been set apart (sanctified) by God through the sprinkled blood of Jesus to live lives of holiness before the Lord.  The imperatives of 1 Peter are given to Christian believers so as to identify themselves as citizens of a heavenly kingdom who look forward to a heavenly inheritance even while they dwell in the civil (or common) kingdom.  Christians distinguish themselves from non-Christians through our doctrine (our profession of faith in the triune God who sent his son to save us from our sins) and in how we live our lives–we fix our hope upon Jesus, we live holy lives which reflect the holiness of our creator and redeemer, and we live in the fear of the Lord, because the one we invoke as our Father is also judge of all the earth.  

In the first half of chapter 2, Peter exhorts his readers to keep their conduct honorable before the Gentiles who are persecuting them, so that those who speak evil of God’s people will be silenced and forced to give glory to God on the day of judgment.  Christians must realize that the pagans who distrust them are watching how Christians conduct themselves.  Peter is concerned for church’s witness to the saving work of Jesus Christ, as well as with discrediting those false accusations pagans were making against Christians–i.e., that Christians reject all civil authority because they do not worship Caesar.

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"Live as People Who Are Free" -- 1 Peter 2:13-25

The Fifth in A Series of Sermons on 1 Peter

Those Christians receiving this letter from the Apostle Peter are aliens in their own land.  They have been displaced from their homes by a decree from the Roman emperor Claudius several years earlier.  As elect exiles, beloved by God, and members of Christ’s church, Christians of the diaspora in Asia Minor are to consider themselves as the New Israel.  In God’s sight, believers in Jesus compose a chosen race, a spiritual house, a royal priesthood, and holy nation dwelling within the midst of the civil kingdom.  In the first half of 1 Peter 2, Peter exhorts these Christians to keep their conduct honorable before the Gentiles persecuting them, so that those who speak evil of them will be forced to give glory to God.  In the last half of chapter 2 (vv. 13-17), Peter instructs these elect exiles how to view the civil magistrate which oppresses them.  Then, in vv. 18-25, Peter instructs those Christian who are slaves and servants, how to respond to their masters.  If Christians are to live honorable lives before the watching Gentiles, they must have a proper view  of the civil government.  As for those who were bound to their masters–the large caste of slaves in the Roman empire, many of who were Christians–they are to serve their masters and follow the example of Jesus, who, more than all men, suffered unspeakable injustice and humiliation.

As we continue our series on 1 Peter, we take up the second half of chapter 2.  At the end of chapter 1, Peter gives three imperatives to those believers whom God caused to be born again, who already have been sprinkled with the blood of Jesus, and who are set apart (sanctified) by God for obedience.  These imperatives are Peter’s exhortation to fix our hope upon Jesus (v. 13), to live holy lives which reflect the holiness of our creator and redeemer (vv. 14-16), and to live in the fear of the Lord, because the one we invoke as our Father is also judge of all the earth (vv. 17-19).  The practical implications of these commands are spelled out in the next section, vv. 1-12, of chapter 2, which we covered last time.

Peter implores his readers/hearers to set themselves apart from “all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander.”  To prepare themselves for action (as Peter exhorted his readers in verse 13 of the first chapter), Christians should see themselves as “newborn infants, [who] long for the pure spiritual milk,” of God’s word.  Christians are to realize that their struggles arise because of their identification with Jesus, who was the rejected foundation stone of Israel’s messianic kingdom, but who is the foundation of a spiritual temple composed of all those who have been delivered from their sins by the blood of Jesus, and who are identified as a New Israel by Peter using a number of images taken directly from the Old Testament.  Peter encourages his struggling readers to consider their identity as “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”

The way in which persecuted citizens of heaven demonstrate to the watching world around them that they are the people of God has nothing to do with distinctive clothing, diet, or in a withdrawal from society–typical of most world religions (and even some forms of Christianity).  It is the doctrine Christians profess–that we are believers in the Triune God who sent his son to save us from our sins–as well as the lives which we live before the unbelievers around us.  This life of holiness is to be lived by obeying the three imperatives Peter gives, and as he exhorts his readers in verses 11-12 of chapter 2, “beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.  Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.”  In our text, vv. 13-25 of 1 Peter 2, Peter will flesh out two of the ways in which elect exiles keep their conduct honorable:  Christians are to submit to the civil authorities (even those who persecute them), and  Christians of low social standing (slaves and servants), are also to submit to their masters. 

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"You Are a Chosen Race" -- 1 Peter 2:1-12

The Fourth in a Series of Sermons on 1 Peter

Many of the elect exiles to whom Peter is writing have been forcibly removed from their homes, often because of their faith in Jesus Christ and for refusing to worship pagan deities.  These exiles are undergoing a difficult time of trial and testing.  They possess a heavenly citizenship and a living hope which determines what they believe and what they do.  But how should these elect exiles think of themselves during their sojourn?  Merely as individual sojourners, marking time until they die?  What should their identity be as they struggle in this world, despised and rejected, and during times when their faith is put to the test?  Peter answers this question in our text, vv. 1-12 of the second chapter of Peter’s first epistle.

In verses 13-19 of I Peter 1, the Apostle issues three imperatives (commands).  These commands unfold against the background of the gospel promises made in the previous verses (vv. 3-12).  Peter’s readers/hearers already have been sanctified by the Holy Spirit (set apart for God), already have been sprinkled with the blood of Jesus, and have been set apart for obedience.  The commands which follow the gospel promises are given to the elect exiles (Christian believers) mentioned back in the opening verse of this epistle.  Obedience to these imperatives, then, is the means through which elect exiles identify themselves as citizens of heaven (believers in Jesus), while they dwell in the midst of the civil kingdom, where they now find themselves undergoing various trials which test their faith.  

The first imperative is that the Apostle instructs us to fix our hope upon Jesus (v. 13).  Jesus will keep all of the promises he makes to us in the gospel.  We live this life in light of the realization of God’s promise of a heavenly inheritance in the next.  Second, Peter exhorts us to live holy lives which reflect the holiness of our creator and redeemer (vv. 14-16).  We are to strive for holiness out of gratitude for all that God has done for us in Jesus Christ.  The third imperative is that we are to live in the fear of the Lord, because the one we invoke as our Father is also judge of all the earth (vv. 17-19).  The practical implications of these commands are spelled out in the next section of this epistle, vv. 1-12, of chapter 2.

Far too often the imperatives in I Peter (and similar passages) are read by American evangelicals in light of individual and personal sanctification–in other words Peter is talking to me (not a church or group of Christians) and these imperatives primarily refer to “my personal walk with the Lord.”  But the Apostle mentions the “love of our brothers [and sisters]” and commands us to love one another (v. 22) using language which comes from the Old Testament, and which applied to the people of Israel–a nation chosen by God, and set apart for his purposes.  Peter now applies to same language to Christians in the context of their membership in Christ’s church.  The command to love one another which is worked out in the opening verses of the second chapter (vv. 1-3), and which leads to a discussion of the church’s identity (in vv. 4-10), reminds us that sanctification and the striving for holiness take place within the community of sinful people who together believe in Jesus Christ, and this mirrors the nation of Israel in the Old Testament as a people “set apart” by God unto himself and for his purposes. 

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"This Word Is the Good News" -- 1 Peter 1:13-25

The Third in a Series of Sermons on 1 Peter

If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, then you are also a citizen of the heavenly kingdom.  Our heavenly citizenship also means that we are, in a sense, resident aliens in the land in which we live (in our case, the United States of America).  In light of our dual citizenship, the question raised by our text is what, if anything, distinguishes us from the non-Christians around us?  The answer to this question is to be found in the simple fact that Christianity is not a culture, but a system of doctrine.  Generally speaking, Christians do not identify themselves by wearing a unique Christian costume (clothing, hairstyle, etc.).  Or by eating or not eating certain foods.  Or by withdrawing from daily life and keeping to ourselves in Christian communities isolated from the non-Christians around us.  There are notable exceptions to be sure–but these are exceptions nonetheless.  The Amish wear distinctive clothing and avoid modern “worldly” contrivances, the Seventh Day Adventists follow certain dietary laws, and there are orders in the Roman church which cloister themselves so as to be fully devoted to a life of contemplation, or to support vows of celibacy, poverty, or silence.  But Peter mentions none of these things when writing his first letter to Christian exiles in Asia Minor.  The Apostle exhorts Christian aliens to identify ourselves as citizens of heaven by our doctrine (what we profess about the Triune God) and by our conduct, (we strive to be holy as the Lord is holy).  This is how we as Christians distinguish ourselves from the non-Christians around us–our doctrine and life.

As we continue our series on 1 Peter, we move further into the opening chapter where Peter describes how Christian aliens are to conduct themselves during their earthly sojourn.  Peter is writing to a group of struggling Christians scattered throughout Asia Minor (Turkey).  His readers/hearers had been displaced from their homes several years earlier as a result of a decree by the Roman emperor Claudius, who granted confiscated land to retired Roman soldiers in the regions mentioned by Peter.  There is a sense in which all Christians are similarly “elect exiles”–the term Peter uses when referring to Christians hearing and reading this letter.  What Peter says to those elect exiles uprooted by the Diaspora in the first century, also applies to us.  How do we conduct ourselves as resident aliens in the modern world in light of Peter’s exhortation to those in first century Asia Minor to live holy lives ?
 
In the opening section of 1 Peter, the Apostle points to the final outcome of God’s grace in Jesus Christ (the salvation of our souls) as the means of encouraging struggling exiles during difficult times.  Christians pilgrims should keep the big picture in mind (God will save us from our sins) during the time we must endure our earthly struggles.  If the previous section of Peter’s letter focused upon our eternal hope and heavenly inheritance (vv. 3-12), then in our text (vv. 13-25) Peter deals with how Christians are to conduct themselves in this life, before they realize their heavenly inheritance in the next.  Having the living hope which Peter described in verse 3–that God will preserve us through the same power manifest when he raised Jesus from the dead–how then ought we live in the here and now?  

As we turn to our text, we should take note of the obvious change in subjects between verse 12 and verse 13, evident in Peter’s use of the conjunction “therefore” (dio).  What follows (in vv. 13 ff) is an exhortation from the Apostle to take action based upon the previous unpacking of the gospel as the basis for the living hope which God’s people possess through faith in Jesus Christ.  There are three imperatives (commands) given us by Peter.  First, we are to fix our hope upon Jesus (v. 13).  Second, we are to live holy lives which reflect the holiness of our creator and redeemer (vv. 14-16).  Third, we are to live in the fear of the Lord, because the one we invoke as our Father is also judge of all the earth (v. 17-19).

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