Hope
for Real Life
1 Peter 1:1-2
©Copyright by Rev. Bruce Goettsche September 4, 2011
SERIES: Hope for Real Life
This
morning we begin a new sermon series which is somewhat of an oddity around here.
Over the next several months we will endeavor to work our way through 1 and 2
Peter.
It is
fair to ask: “Why study these books at this time?” First, we affirm “all
scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, rebuking, correcting
and training in righteousness (or in the way of life that is pleasing to God)
so we want to hear what these books have to teach. Second, 1 Peter is addressed
to people who are under the stress of life. The book is addressed to those who
feel the press of a hostile society and the discomfort of the demands of life.
These believers were facing the very real threat of persecution. They were
people who had been exiled (forced to leave home) because of their faith.
Certainly these people were unsettled and perhaps confused. Does this place of
“unsettled confusion” not sound like an accurate description of our own lives?
Third, 1
and 2 Peter are like handbooks for Christian living. They contain practical
truth that, if followed, will produce hope for real life. The book of 1 Peter
is not “pie in the sky” sloganeering. It is solid teaching for real problems.
The theme throughout the book is hope. Sadly the idea of hope is often seen as
wishful thinking in spite of the facts (Like I hope the Cubs win the World
Series). The hope Peter talks about is solid, deep and anchored to the character
and promise of God.
Chuck
Swindoll tells us the value of hope,
In the
first two verses Peter gives us the foundation for hope. I hope to show you
this morning three principles that will serve as a foundation for our study.
Peter Speaks as an
Apostle . . . We Should Listen to Him
Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ
When
you get mail from the Post Office the first thing you do is look at return
addresses. If you are a person who relies on e-mail or even likes to read posts
on Facebook or Twitter or blog posts, one of the
first things you do (whether you realize it or not) is identify where the post
is coming from. There are some e-mails I never even open. These are ads or
political announcements or information in which I am not interested. I simply delete them. There are other e-mails
I might browse before I delete. However, if there is an e-mail post from a
family member, a church member, or a friend . . . I will open the note and read
it carefully and attentively.
This
letter is from Peter. He identifies himself as an Apostle. An apostle was
someone who had been with Jesus (with the notable exception of Paul). They were
given a special authority by Christ which was like the Prophets of old. God
used these men to transmit His Word to the world. In 2 Peter 1 the apostle tells
us,
16 We did not follow
cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our
Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 For
he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from
the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well
pleased.” 18 We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven
when we were with him on the sacred mountain.
He was
a witness to the work and ministry of Christ. He writes,
20 Above all, you must
understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own
interpretation. 21 For prophecy never had its origin in the will of
man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. [2
Peter 1:20-21]
Peter
was a normal guy. He worked as a fisherman before he followed Jesus. He had a
unique personality. He was impulsive and his eagerness sometimes got him in
trouble. If you were with us for our study of Luke you are well aware of many
of Peters’ failures. However, as an apostle, he speaks with the authority of
Jesus, by the power of the Holy Spirit, for the glory of God.
In
other words, this is not some kind of self-help book or a book written by
someone who wants to share his/her insights and passions. This is not like the
words of Dr. Phil or Dr. Oz. These people may provide helpful counsel but you
need to sort out the good from the bad. Peter speaks as one inspired (or led)
by God. Because of this we should listen
to and pay attention to his words with great seriousness. God is speaking
through Peter. We should pay close attention.
Christians are
Foreigners . . . Embrace It
scattered throughout Pontus,
Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia (1b)
The people
to whom Peter wrote were foreigners literally and figuratively. They may have
been Jewish or Gentile believers (there are arguments on both sides). They were
banished to outlying areas of the empire because of their faith in Christ.
When
someone comes from a different place they often stick out. We notice
· Their skin
· color
· The strangeness of
their language
· Their different style
of dress
· A physical
irregularity
· Their different
customs and practices
Foreigners
often are pushed aside by others. Sometimes we are afraid of them. Sometimes we
just simply don’t want to be around anyone who is “different”. We may actually feel
such people are “beneath us”. At times we may even think of them as being out
to get us and dangerous to the status quo.
Peter
understood that being a true follower of Christ will make you a foreigner in
this world. This is because when we become a follower of Christ we turn down a
different course than the rest of the world. We are, if you will, “swimming
against the current” of the world.
In 1
Peter 2:11 Peter calls us “aliens and strangers in the world”. In Hebrews 11, the great “faith chapter” in
the Bible, we are told the story of faithful people in the history of God’s
Kingdom. The author ends with these words,
All these people were
still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised;
they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that
they were aliens and strangers on earth. 14 People who say such
things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 15 If
they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had
opportunity to return. 16 Instead, they were longing for a better
country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God,
for he has prepared a city for them. [Hebrews 11:13-16]
Becoming
a Christian makes you an oddball, a foreigner in the world. This is because as
believers have
The
more faithfully you follow Christ, the more different you will be. Being
different will make you a target. Realize this and embrace it. If you will do
this you will not be surprised, offended, or even discouraged by the world’s
response to you. It is foolish to try to “fit in” with the world. You can’t
“fit in” and still be faithful.
Christians are
Chosen . . .Anchor your Hope to it
who have been chosen
according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work
of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood
Peter draws
a great contrast between what we are in Christ and the way we are seen in the
world. The world views us as oddballs. Yet in the first words of the letter he
calls us the “elect” and now he says we are “chosen according to the
foreknowledge of God the Father”.
The
word elect (or chosen) means to be “called out”. It is a picture of a family who
is looking through a list of orphans and from there chooses to adopt one of the
orphans. They have “elected” that child to be part of their family.
The contemporary world and the contemporary church
is "me-centered." We talk about being saved because WE walked
down an aisle, or WE chose Christ, or because WE were baptized. We make it sound like the key element of salvation
is what WE did. We are saying that we deserved
salvation because of our actions: we were wise enough to make the right choice,
or to do the right thing.
This is really what we want to believe. We
like the idea of being masters of our own fate.
We like to think that we are all-powerful while God sits back and waits
to find out what we are going to do in regard to Him.
The Biblical proclamation is different from
our popular understanding. The Bible tells us throughout the Bible (Old and New
Testaments) that our salvation is not based on how good WE are but how loving HE
is. This is called the doctrine of election. It declares that God has been
involved in every aspect of your life. He has been wooing you from the day of
your birth and before. God is committed to you! Your faith is no accident- it
didn't just happen; God brought it to pass, as a miraculous work in your heart.
It is
important that you not miss Peter’s point! He was writing to those who were
living as foreigners in the world. They felt alone, attacked, defeated and
tossed aside by the world. Peter encourages them to change their focus . . .
instead of drawing their sense of worth and identity from public opinion (or
even from what they see in their own mirrors) he encourages them to embrace what
God says about them. They are not cast-offs, they are chosen!
God
chose Israel not because of their power, might or their goodness. Instead we
read,
The Lord did not set
his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other
peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. 8 But it was
because the Lord loved you and kept the oath he swore to your forefathers that
he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of
slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. 9
Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God,
keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and
keep his commands. (Deut. 7:7-9)
God
chose us not because of who WE are but because of who HE is. I’m sure God has
His reasons for those He chooses; but it is not because we deserve it. The
Bible tells us that God, through the Holy Spirit, has placed in us a desire for
Him; a desire that leads us to choose Him. That’s how we are both chosen and
freely choose Him.
Some
object to this idea and say if God influences our choice we are no longer free.
Yet every choice we make is influenced. Our choices are influenced by genetics,
upbringing, culture, personality, experience, circumstance, education, the
influence of media, and by our friends. The Bible says we come to faith because
God influenced (or drew) us to Himself.
Peter
says we have
been chosen according to
the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the
Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood:
Notice
the three persons on the Trinity here. God the Father chooses us. God the Son
makes our salvation possible through the shedding of His blood. And God the
Holy Spirit works our new relationship with God out in our daily living (to be
sanctified is to be made holy).
This
has practical implications. Because we are the elect who are chosen by God,
·
Our
salvation is not based on our performance but on God’s work on our behalf. We
are not saved because we are “doing good”. We are
saved because He has chosen us for His own. Salvation is given, not earned.
Like the adopted child, we don’t have to wonder if we are loved. We know we are,
because we were chosen by God through Jesus Christ.
·
We
don’t have to keep looking over our shoulder. God is not watching to see if we
are going to “mess up” so He can send us to Hell. God is working in us and
through us. Even in the hard times of life we know that the Lord is “working
for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose.”
(Romans 8:28) God is on our side and is working to help us grow in Him.
·
We
serve and obey Him not out of fear but out of joyful gratitude for grace that
is undeserved. It is a bad analogy but think about the way a dog wants to
please its owner. A dog recognizes the person who takes care of them. They love
and respond to their owner because they love and trust their owner. We should
love God in much the same way.
How do
we know if God has chosen us? It may sound overly simplistic, but it is true:
if you come to real, vital, and life-changing faith in Christ, it shows that God
has chosen you.
Conclusions
So here
at the beginning of this letter Peter gives us three simple truths: 1) He is speaking
as an Apostle so we should listen to Him. 2) As believers we will be going against
the flow of the rest of the world; we will be different and we should accept that
fact. 3) We are chosen by God and we should anchor our hope to that fact.
These truths
lead us to some basic questions:
1.
Do
you think you can live a good enough life to earn eternal life? Can you earn
God’s favor? If this is what you believe, you don’t understand the depth of your
sin. The Bible tells us that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of
God”. We can never attain the holy
standard God has set by our own efforts.
2.
Are
you willing to entrust yourself to the Lord Jesus Christ? Will you run to Him
for forgiveness? Do you believe that His death was sufficient payment for your
sin? Will you trust His Holy Spirit to help you experience real change in your
life? Will you fully and completely trust His promise? If so, then you are
chosen by God to know grace, mercy, and new and eternal life.
3.
Are
you living your life trying to be popular? If so, then there is a good chance
that you are compromising the truth of the gospel. Christ-followers are not
antagonistic to the world, but we also are not to be like the world. We live by
different values and are pursuing different goals. If that is not true in your
life, then you may be a “believer” in name only. If you are living by the
values of Christ, then there are going to be some people who don’t like you.
Accept that fact and move on.
4.
Finally,
do you view the Bible as a book of wise sayings, or as the unchanging and
authoritative Word of God? Do you pick and choose from the Bible or do you
submit to its authority in your life? The Bible is not simply the inspiring thoughts
of men . . . it is the Word of God who is sharing His heart and plan with His
creation. We ought to read it that way.
The Christian
symbol for hope is an anchor. How well an anchor holds in a storm will depend on
where your anchor is placed. Hope is the same way. We can anchor our hope to our
commitment to the Lord. The problem is that we know we are fickle. One minute we
are fervent in commitment, the next we are negotiating our faith to get what we
want. That anchor is going to have trouble holding in the fierce storms of life.
The other option is to anchor our hope to God’s commitment and promise to us. It
is to rely on the fact that He loved us before we loved Him and that His commitment
to draw us to Himself is unwavering. If we place our anchor in Him that anchor will
hold no matter how fierce the storm.
©Copyright by Rev. Bruce Goettsche September 4, 2011 www.unionchurch.com