Standing Firm as the Family of God

For our sermon this evening, we are going to begin at the end.

That is, at the end of 1 Peter.

So we're going to look at the very last few verses that come out of 1 Peter.

And what we're going to see here is we're going to be looking at the valediction,

the signing off here of 1 Peter.

Now as I was thinking about this idea of signing off,

that at the end of a letter we write our valediction some way,

of something kind of, to end the letter appropriately,

that still makes sense to the people.

So this is actually something I've kind of struggled with on an email.

Like, what is the exact right way to sign off on an email?

And I've got a few things that I go to.

But as I was thinking about this, like how do we sign off on an email?

I looked up and I came across some suggestions for us.

You are welcome to use any of these suggestions as you sign off on an email.

Or you may not want to use them.

You can decide.

One of my favorite ones that I noticed.

Confusion to your enemies.

Comma, Terran.

Later, Vader.

Here's one that we all might want to use,

but I'm not necessarily sure it's the right thing to use.

It's this.

In my humble but accurate opinion.

Comma, Terran.

You can send that one to your boss.

Next one.

This message will self-destruct.

And the last little suggestion.

You can use these if you want.

Once again, no compulsion there.

Viva la revolution.

All right.

Long live the revolution.

There we go.

As we look here at 1 Peter, we're going to find his closing remarks.

We're going to find that he did a far more effective job of closing out his letter

than I do in my emails.

And that some of these suggestions most certainly would do for it.

And what we're going to find is that Peter, in his farewell,

he brings in some subtle but punchy remarks.

And he also does here in this very last few verses,

is he does a reframing of the concept of grace.

So as we go through the sermon today,

what we're going to find is that there's three aspects that come out of this passage.

And we're going to follow a little H alliteration.

So there will be some H words that we're going to put together.

And then finally, we're going to look at the idea of true grace,

which is something that's mentioned here.

And the thing that I want you to get out of this,

at the end, as you're looking back and saying,

what did I get out of this message?

Here's the point that I want you to hear out of this message,

is that true grace is the lifeline for Christian exiles.

Once again, true grace is the lifeline for Christian exiles.

Now as we go through this, I'll be referencing other parts of the scriptures

and reading a few other verses that are not found in 1 Peter.

Usually I'd like to keep things kind of tight within the passage that we're looking at,

but just for the help of looking at this passage this evening,

I'm going to bring in a number of other verses.

So my suggestion to you is actually just keep your Bible right there at 1 Peter.

I'll read the verses.

If you're wondering about where those are located,

you're certainly welcome to check with me afterwards.

But I suggest just keep right there in 1 Peter looking at that.

And as I come across those verses, you can just hear them as I say them.

First thing I want to look at is the idea of help.

So the first thing we'll look at is help.

This is going to come out of the first part of verse 12.

So verse 12 starts,

By Silvanus, a faithful brother as I regard him, I have written briefly to you.

So the question we have for us is, who is Silvanus?

So Peter is saying that by Silvanus, he has written this letter.

So the question is for us, who is Silvanus?

And what we're going to find is that Silvanus is actually mentioned in a couple of other books.

He's mentioned in 2 Corinthians, both of the Thessalonians.

And Silvanus most likely is the same person as Silas.

Silas is in the Greek form, while Silvanus is in the Latin form of the word.

And so it's most likely the very same Silas that we found mentioned in Acts 15 through 17.

What would also seem to be the case with Silvanus is that he is known to the people who are receiving the letters.

So when Peter says, By Silvanus, they're like, Oh, Silvi, yeah, we know Silas, our friend.

So when we come to this idea, By Silvanus, I have written briefly to you,

there's kind of two possible meanings from this.

First, Silvanus maybe was the scribe.

Maybe he wrote the letter, Peter dictated it, and Silvanus was the one who wrote it.

Another possible idea is that Silvanus was the courier.

And so Peter writes the letter, gives it to Silvanus, and says,

Hey, why don't you carry this around to some people so that they can see it?

You know, at the end, what's really going to matter, what I really want us to see with Silvanus,

is that he's been helpful to Peter in providing this information to the people who need to hear it.

Whether Peter needed help in someone writing it,

or Peter needed help in someone delivering it,

Silvanus was someone who helped him.

And that's one of the things I want you to see from the beginning,

is that this idea of helping others within the Christian community.

And this idea of needing people to help,

and needing others to assist in things,

is certainly a pattern that we see through the course of scriptures,

is that people who are doing God's work,

people who are serving God,

often need help.

It's expected that we need help.

We're not expected to do things by ourselves,

we're expected to be part of a community.

A church is a community.

Within a community, we're going to help each other.

But just think of some of these biblical patterns of people who needed help.

From the very first guy God made,

Adam,

it came,

God's like,

Hey, Adam,

you need someone to help?

And Adam's like,

Yeah, I do.

Here's Eve.

Woo, that's good.

That's good.

Moses.

Moses needed a little help.

And Moses was someone who said,

Hey, God, I need a little help.

God got a little frustrated over it,

but said,

Hey, here's your brother Aaron.

He can help you with this.

You even look at Elijah,

a great prophet,

Elijah.

Elijah was feeling lonely,

kind of like he's the only one.

And Elijah gets a mentee,

Elisha,

who comes alongside Elijah and helps him.

And even we see Jesus on the cross who needs help.

He needs help for his mom.

And so that's where we find Jesus on the cross,

worrying about his mom and who's going to take care of his mom.

He's like,

I need someone to help me.

And so he turns to one of the disciples and he says,

Take care of her.

This is now your mom.

And mom,

he's now your son.

He's going to take care of you.

So even Jesus on the cross needed help.

As we think into our own context,

is that we're going to need to help each other a lot to make this church go forward.

So for the vision of this church to be fulfilled,

for people to be reached through this church,

it's going to require the help of lots of people.

And as I'm looking out at you now,

you know what I see?

I see lots of people helping.

Many of us in here have a role.

Many of us in here are helping in some ways.

And so it's great.

We have many people helping.

One of the things that I would come and say to you,

if you're one of those people who are helping here,

who are helping provide and make things move forward,

if you come to the point that you get overwhelmed,

and we've all been there,

if you volunteer for something,

if you ever took on the word volunteer in whatever organization,

at some point in time,

most likely in this volunteer role,

you're like,

I'm feeling a little overwhelmed.

And at that moment,

you're thinking,

I wish I had never volunteered for this.

And you're like,

what do I do?

What do I do?

So if you're in that point,

and you get,

and you feel overwhelmed,

let the right person know.

That's what we do in that community.

That's what we do in a church.

We're going to let the right person know.

And we're not going to let the wrong person know.

The wrong person,

we know who that is.

That's someone who's not going to help your situation.

The right person is someone who will help your situation.

So if you're in this point where you're helping here,

and you get overwhelmed,

let somebody know.

Let the right person to know.

One of the other things too,

as we think of helpers,

is that we have people in this church

who are not yet here,

who are going to serve important roles

in leading and helping this church.

And we don't know who those people are yet

because they're not here.

But we trust that God's going to send people in.

And these people that God sends us

are going to be people who can help.

People who can take up leadership roles.

People who can make ministries go forward.

And the temptation that can arise

for people who've been here a long time

is a bit of resentment towards these people.

So some of you, many of you,

have been here a lot longer than I've been here.

And so you're like,

whoa, we've been doing this for a long time.

And I'm like,

oh, I've been doing this for maybe a few weeks,

maybe a little bit more than that.

But we see the discrepancy that's there.

But even as we go and move forward

out of this place

and into a public launch,

we're going to be having new helpers come in.

We're going to have people who join the church.

We're going to be like,

this is going to be a good person.

That's good for us.

And what we all need to do is embrace that.

Even though they weren't there in the hard part,

they weren't there meeting in the apartment.

They weren't there where everyone had

not three roles, but ten roles

to make things move forward.

But when these people come,

we want to receive them well

and allow them to take roles

and leadership that would be needed

to help this church.

Second thing I want us to look at

is the idea of home.

So the first thing we looked at was health.

The second thing we're going to look at

is the idea of home.

And that's going to come out of verse 13.

Let me read that for you.

She who is at Babylon,

who is likewise chosen,

sends you greetings,

and so does Mark, my son.

So the phrasing she who is in Babylon

is a bit of an odd phrase.

So when you first hear that,

you may, hmm, what are they talking about?

What's Babylon got to do

with what Peter is mentioning here?

Well, let's just take a look at Babylon

and see what Babylon is.

First thing we need to know

is that Babylon is an Old Testament reference.

And in Babylon,

in the Old Testament story,

the nation of Israel

had been formed and established

for a long period of time.

And they felt like God

would never abandon them,

never leave them.

And God's been sending prophets of warning,

saying,

you need to do the right thing.

You need to turn and follow me.

And as we follow the people of Israel

in the Old Testament,

sometimes they follow God well.

Many times they do not.

And finally,

as a final form of judgment upon them,

God allows Babylon to come

and overtake Jerusalem,

the city they thought

would never fall to its enemies.

And the people are then sent

and forced out of Jerusalem,

out of their home,

and forced into a new home,

into exile,

into the land of Babylon.

And so,

this idea of exile

is a reminder of the people

who were forced out of Jerusalem

and now are being

forcefully relocated

into the land of Babylon.

One of the interesting things

that we have

is that Peter,

like those people in the Old Testament,

like those people in Jerusalem

who were forced to leave,

Peter also

was forced to leave Jerusalem.

We see in the story of Acts,

actually comes out of Acts 12,

is that

there was a great persecution

upon the church.

And Peter was sent

into prison

as part of this persecution.

And then he is

miraculously escapes

out of prison.

And he comes,

he lets the people know

there's people praying for him

and Peter's like,

your prayers have been answered.

And it's kind of a funny story

by the way.

If you're not familiar with it,

Acts 12,

read it.

It's a good,

interesting read.

It's a nice story.

So Peter is miraculously

freed from prison.

And we find that

there in Acts 12

it says that

Peter departed

and went to another place.

He had to leave.

He had to leave.

He had to go into Babylon.

He had to go into

his place of exile,

away from where

he wanted to be.

This idea of Babylon

and a place of exile,

the place from where

Peter writes down,

he's like,

Peter is saying to these people,

I am writing to you

from exile.

I am writing to you

from my Babylon.

But this idea is

similar to things

that we find

throughout the book of Peter.

In fact,

Peter 1.1,

the very first chapter

as Peter is greeting

his hearers

of this message,

the first thing Peter says

is,

to the elect exiles

of the dispersion.

To the elect exiles.

And so Peter is picking up

on this idea

that you have been sent out.

These people who are receiving

this letter

have been sent out.

You face persecution.

And now you have been

sent away.

You are now exiles as well.

And we have this idea

that Peter is saying,

you are exiles.

Just like Peter is saying,

I am an exile.

I am also in Babylon.

And why are they exiles?

Because of their faith.

Because they've chosen

to follow Jesus Christ.

And in following Jesus Christ,

they've been sent out.

They face persecution

and been sent out to waste

for their own safety.

This phrasing of exile,

referring to the people of exile,

actually occurs twice more

in 1 Peter.

And it's interesting

as we were to look

at the word exile

and how it's used

in the other parts

of the New Testament.

The only other times

it's referenced

is referenced

three other times

in the New Testament.

And all three of those times

that it's referenced

actually are reflecting

upon the Old Testament story.

So they're telling

the Old Testament story.

So the only time

that these Christians

who have been sent out

as a result of persecution

or referred to as exiles

come out of 1 Peter.

And so this is an idea

that's developed

here in this book.

And as we look

in Peter

in this passage

here in verse 13

says,

she who is

she who is at Babylon.

The she

that I was referring there

is most likely

a group of people.

So it's referencing

the church.

So when we say

she who is in Babylon

we think of the church.

That it's the church

that has been sent

into exile.

Notice that

Peter as he writes

to the recipients

of this letter

he writes from

in essence

the same place

in which they are.

And that place

is not home.

Whatever their home is

they're not there.

And as a result

they are sojourners.

They are people

who don't have

that calmness

that comes

with a place

you call home.

Whatever their homeland is

they're not in it.

They have been forced

to live away

from their home

for the sake

of the gospel.

And as you were

to look through

the book of 1 Peter

if we were just

to walk through

and we've been

walking through this

as a sermon series

over the last few months

but if we were to look

just briefly back

through 1 Peter

we're going to find

that there's some

challenges

with being

an exile

for the gospel.

There are some

challenges

in being forced

to live

in Babylon.

We see

out of just

the first chapter

of 1 Peter

that they're told

that they're going

to be grieved

by trials

and tested

by fire.

And then they're

also encouraged

in the first chapter

to be holy

as God is holy.

It's a pretty

high standard, right?

Not only be holy

remember God's holy

be like God.

They're told

in chapter 2

to abstain

from the passions

of the flesh

and further

to be subject

to every human

institution.

Chapter 3

bless those

who are evil

towards you.

You want to be

an exile

for the gospel?

Peter says

you're going to need

to bless those

who are evil

towards you.

You're going to need

to suffer

in the flesh

to cease from sinning.

Suffer

in the flesh

in order to

cease from sinning.

chapter 4

they're told

to rejoice

in your fiery trial.

Chapter 5

people are instructed

to humble themselves.

The exile

will need to face

difficulty

and face challenges

but they're to

respond to these

with a Christ-like manner.

Whether it means

they need to

kill off

the sinning

that is within them

or whether they

need to humble

themselves

or they need

to rejoice

in fiery trials.

These people

need to respond

to these challenges

in the same way

that Jesus Christ

would.

As we come

and we think

about this

in our modern

context

we remind

that as Christians

as followers

of Christ

that we should

be exiles.

We should

be exiles.

In pursuing God

we should feel

different

from the people

around us.

this world

is a sinful

world

and if we

are pursuing

God in this

world

we shouldn't

feel at home

in it.

We should feel

like this isn't

my home

that my home

is a place

that God

has set aside

a place

without sin

a place

with righteousness

abounds.

We should

look upon

this world

that we're in

and have a

certain unsettled

feeling

that unsettled

feeling that you

have when you're

just not home

it's not your

place.

We are sojourners

through this world.

We are sojourners

because of our

commitment

to following

Jesus Christ.

So the question

I have for you

is that do you

feel like an exile?

Do you feel

like an exile

as a result

of the gospel's

effect upon

your life?

And are you

living a life

that sets you

apart from others?

So the question

would be

do the people

who know you

do the non-Christian

people who know you

would they look

upon you and say

there's something

different about you?

And perhaps

look upon you

and not quite

know exactly

what that is.

Not be able

to quite explain it.

But they look

upon you and say

there's something

different.

You're different

than the rest of us.

What about the

people you work

with?

Do they see

something different

in you?

What?

If you have

housemates

and neighbors

do they see

something different

in you?

What about the

people who follow

you on social

media?

When they look

at your posts

and your pictures

do they see

something different

about you?

We would hope

so.

We would hope

so.

Because that is

the lack to

which God

has called

us.

A life

which we

are minded.

This place

that we live

is not our

home.

Our home

is a place

without sin.

Our home

is a place

where righteousness

is known.

Our home

is a place

where Jesus

is king

and Jesus

is reigning.

That is our

home.

As we continue

looking at this

passage the

third thing

we're going to

look at is

the idea of

harmony.

So the third

thing will be

harmony.

And there

in verse

14 the

passage reads

greet one

another with

a kiss

of love.

Peace to

all of you

who are

in Christ.

So we are

told to greet

one another

with affection.

So what is

greeting one

another with

affection?

I was thinking

of the

contemporary

greeting that

shows your

affection.

So if I

greet someone

in a professional

setting I don't

know them well

we might have

the handshake.

If I greet

a friend that

I know well

you get the

bro hug.

You get the

handshake and

then you get

the pull in

and a couple

of I don't

know if they're

pats or like

smacks on the

back a little

bit.

You know kind

of a little

bump of the

chest kind

of thing

going there.

So it's the

bro hug.

It's the

affectionate

greeting.

And what

Peter is saying

to these

people is

greet one

another affectionately.

What is that

going to look

like?

It's going

to look like

the bro hug.

Peter says

to greet

another one

with the

kiss of

love.

I'm not

sure if

that's

necessarily

maybe not

the literal

kind of

kiss.

You know

like we

don't

necessarily

need to

literally

greet another

one with

kiss.

If you

want to

that's

fine.

That works

for you.

That's okay.

Some people

might take it

wrong.

But think

bro hug.

Maybe you

get that.

That makes

a little

bit more

sense.

But do

what we

want to

see is

that when

he's

talking about

through

this church.

churches to

whom he

is writing.

He says

I want you

to greet

one another

affectionately.

I want you

to greet

one another

like your

family.

In reality

we are

family.

In fact

even if we

look at

this passage

we can

see the

nature of

family within

the church

as Peter

is writing.

As he

refers to

Silvanus

his brother

and Mark

his son.

It's

his brother

in Christ.

It's

his son

in Christ.

The church

is much

like a

family.

And the

reality is

that churches

and families

are much

better

when there

is harmony.

When there

is peace

within the

home,

when there

is peace

within the

household,

when there

is peace

within the

church

community,

when there

is harmony,

the message

of the

gospel can

go forward.

Something you

already know

is this,

that conflicts

do happen

in church.

just like

in your

family,

conflicts

will arise,

the church

is like a

family,

and guess

what?

Conflicts

will arise.

There will

be disagreements,

there will

be hurt

feelings,

and this is

part of

doing life

together.

A church

does life

together,

and conflict

is simply

a part

of that

life.

But as

these conflicts

arise,

we're given

a little bit

of a hint

of something

that we

can do,

and that's

to greet

one another.

So that's

what the

kiss of love

wants to give.

Think affection.

Greet one

another with

affection.

And what

so often

happens is

that amidst

conflict,

one of the

first steps

that we take

is to avoid

the other

person.

You've been

there,

maybe it's

just me,

maybe I know

it when you

study it,

but there's

some sort

of conflict

with a

person.

Maybe it's

in your

workplace,

maybe it's

with one

of your

neighbors,

maybe it's

with someone

in your

natural

family.

So what

happens when

this conflict

arrives?

You're like,

don't look

at them,

don't make

eye contact,

we don't

have to

communicate

if we don't

see each

other,

so you

avoid them.

And in a

church sometimes

it's easy

to avoid

people,

there's lots

of people

here,

you can say

I'm just

going to

pretend like

he's not

there.

This doesn't

solve the

problem,

this doesn't

bring about

harmony,

greet one

another.

Greet one

another with

affection.

Because that

will go about

creating harmony

within the

church.

And personally

here's what I've

experienced,

and maybe this

will be the

same for you,

is that at

times I've

felt frustrated

with people.

There's at

times,

no one here

by the way,

no one here,

but theoretical

people,

no,

no,

actually real

people,

but I don't

remember who

they are.

But at times I

know I felt

frustrated with

people,

but when I

looked them in

the face,

and I said

hello,

I'm thinking,

what was I

feel frustrated

about?

I don't

remember.

I think that

was being silly.

Because I

looked at them

and I was like,

you know,

whatever that

thing in my

mind that I

was thinking

they were doing

terribly or

wrong.

Now I've

looked at

their smiling

face,

and they're

looking nicely

at me,

like,

don't do

that,

right?

So greet

one another

with affection.

Even if

you're not

feeling so

happy with

them,

greet them

with affection.

And the

reason that

we do is

because we

want harmony

to be part

of our

church.

church.

The reality

is this,

is that

churches

demise

because of

conflict

within.

Churches

implode.

That's how

churches stop

functioning and

stop doing

well and

stop growing

and people

stop coming

because of

problems

internally

within the

church.

And the

thing that we

have that we

want to always

protect is the

harmony, the

peace within

Trinity

Cambridge.

Because if we

have peace and

harmony within

the church, the

church can go

forward in its

mission.

If there is

disharmony within

the church, then

the church won't

be able to go

forward with

reaching people.

As this church

tries to reach

people, the

thing that we

rely upon is the

movement of the

Spirit.

We need God to

send people to

our church, and

there's obviously

things that we

can do to help

facilitate

that, but

ultimately we

look upon it

as a work of

the Spirit, that

God will send

people to this

church.

And most

certainly we

look upon it as

a work of the

Spirit, that

God will bring

people to the

salvation that

they need through

this church.

And we look and

we say, God, we

also want you to

send believers into

this church who

can grow in

their faith.

But why would

God use His

Spirit and send

people into an

unhealthy,

disharmonious,

anger in

filled church?

It's just

simply not going

to happen.

Because it

would not be

good for people

to be in

that.

So as we

come and look

at this idea

of harmony, it's

vital.

It's vital to

the success of

this church.

And we can

talk much more

about it.

But here at the

end of 1 Peter

we're given just

one little hint.

Greet one

another with

affection.

Greet one

another with

affection.

Finally we

will look at

the idea of

true grace.

True grace is

something that

comes out of

verse 12.

So the second

part of verse

12.

And the

passage reads,

This is the

true grace of

God.

Stand firm in

it.

So there in

verse 12 it

says this.

So what is

this?

Well this is

the entire of

the writing.

So this isn't

just the passage

that we're

talking about

this evening.

This is Peter

concluding his

message to the

people, his

letter to the

people.

And this is

everything I've

written you.

And he says

everything I've

written you

stand firm in

it.

So what he

means by

standing firm

is that this

is something

that I want

you to

maintain.

But also

understands the

reason that he's

telling us to

stand firm in

it is because at

some point it's

going to be

difficult to

maintain.

At some

point we're

going to

say I

don't want

this, all

that you're

giving me

Peter, I

want to get

rid of it.

But Peter

is saying no.

Stay with

it.

Stand firm

in it.

So what

exactly is

this?

Well this, as

it's explained

here in verse

12, this is

the true grace

of God.

true grace.

This idea, this

pairing of true

and grace to

create this term

true grace, it's

actually found

nowhere else in

scripture.

So the

phrasing true

grace is

something that

only comes in

this passage.

So this hair at

the end of

first period is

the only time

we'll see those

two words put

together to make

this notion of

true grace.

So what is

true grace?

That's something

we need to know.

So we're going

to begin with

our understanding

of grace.

So grace, what

is grace?

Grace is

unmerited favor.

So grace is

simply unmerited

favor.

And the result

is that God

has much grace

towards us.

God has much

unmerited favor

towards us.

And when we

think of God's

grace, we often

think of God's

grace as providing

good things,

things that we

want.

So we're told

in Titus chapter

Titus 2 · chapter mention

2 that grace

brings salvation.

That's a good

thing.

We're told

that it's

Titus 2.9,

the grace of

God appears

bringing salvation

to all people.

So grace is

that unmerited

favor that

brings a good

thing.

We also see

that grace

brings redemption

and forgiveness.

Ephesians 1

chapter 7

reads, we

have redemption

through his

blood, the

forgiveness of

our trespasses

according to

the riches of

his grace.

We see that

first Peter

brings in this

idea of

true grace.

So we've

seen grace as

this unmerited

favor, these

things that we

want, these

things that we

need, but Peter

comes and says,

I want you to

think about this

as the idea

of true grace.

And in this

idea of true

grace, it moves

grace from

simply the

unmerited favor

that we receive,

but it moves it

towards this

favor that we

show towards

others.

grace.

And so the

idea of true

grace is not

only receiving

what God

offers, but

then bestowing

that towards

people around

us.

And when we

bestow what we

have received

from God, it

creates a loop.

It creates a

loop of increase.

And what that

means is that as

we receive grace

from God, and

then we turn and

bestow that grace

towards others, we

have an ability

to better receive

God's grace.

We have a deeper

understanding of

God's grace, which

we then bestow

grace out, which

then gives us an

even deeper

understanding of

grace, which gives

us a better ability

to bestow upon

others.

So as we receive

grace, bestow

grace, as we

continue through

that process, we're

actually going to

deepen the grace

and our understanding

of grace.

And this idea of

we must receive

something and then

give it, this

pattern, is

something that

occurs in the

Bible.

So it's not an

idea, here as we

look at this idea

of true grace, it's

one of the things I

think to see

important is that I'm

not telling you

there's some like

secret hidden idea

that's coming out of

1 Peter of this

idea of true grace.

This idea that we

receive grace and

then bestow it

towards others, that's

a pattern that we

would see marked

throughout the

scriptures.

And this idea that

God says, hey, I've

given you something

good, but I want you

to turn around and

give it to others, is

a pattern that we

also see in the

scriptures.

Even as we look at

the model prayer, as

Jesus, he teaches his

disciples to pray.

And one of the

things that Jesus

teaches us to say in

this model prayer, he

teaches us to pray, is

that we ask God for

forgiveness.

So we're to pray to

God, forgive us.

But it's a conditional

forgiveness.

Forgive us as we have

forgiven others.

It's that loop, it's

that pattern.

If we want to receive

God's true forgiveness,

we're going to need to

pass that forgiveness

on to others.

In the same way with

grace, we do receive

God's unmerited favor.

We absolutely can

receive it.

God says, now give it

away.

And that's what Peter's

plan for these people

here is to give that

grace away.

To bestow that grace

upon others.

True grace is something

that we receive and then

bestow.

And the reality is that

both can be an

obstacle.

Receiving that unmerited

favor from God, it's an

obstacle for people.

Bestowing that favor

towards the people

around us also can be

an obstacle.

As we look at this idea

of true grace, what I

want us to do is we're

going to work that idea

back through some of the

concepts that we've

talked about here in this

passage.

We're going to link this

idea of true grace

through and just to see

how it pertains into

some of these ideas.

So the first thing that

we looked at was the

idea of help.

Is that we need to help

one another.

So what we have with

the idea of help is that

we have received help

from God.

In the form of salvation

we have received it.

We're also going to need

to bestow it.

In 1 Peter chapter 2

1 Peter 2:9

verse 9 we see that we

have received help.

You are a chosen race,

a royal priesthood,

holy nation, a people

for his own possession.

So we have received

these things from God.

He says, I chose you.

And the passage

continues.

We're not going to need

to give something out.

And the passage

continues.

You have received

these things and now

the passage goes in

chapter 2 verse 9

that you will proclaim

the excellencies of him

who called you out of

the darkness into his

marvelous light.

You are a chosen race

that you may proclaim

his excellencies.

You've received the

grace of being chosen

and now you're going to

bestow that grace by

proclaiming the

excellencies of God.

True grace, we're going

to proclaim Christ.

We're not just going to

receive but we are

going to proclaim.

We also looked at the

idea of home.

That we are exiles.

We are in this world

and it doesn't quite fit

in.

It's not quite our home

because we stand out

because of our faith.

But as a result of the

grace that we have

received with God,

we're told in 1 Peter

1 Peter 2:16

chapter 2 verses 16 and

17, the first told that

we can live as people

who are free.

We have received that

from God.

The ability to live as

people who are free.

But now we have this

grace that we can bestow

towards others.

The passage continues.

Not using your freedom

as a cover up for evil

but living as servants

of God.

Honor everyone.

Love the brotherhood.

Fear God.

Honor the emperor.

Through grace we can

live as free.

God says now I want you

to bestow that towards

others.

And in true grace we are

called to submission to

earthly authorities.

We are called to submit to

society at large.

We are called to submit to

our governments.

We need to submit in our

workplaces.

In our classrooms.

We need to submit within

our church community.

We need to submit within

our roles within the family.

We have received grace.

We can live as free people.

But we are going to use

that freedom.

So that we can live in

submission to the people

around us.

Finally we looked at the

idea of harmony.

And the idea of maintaining

peace within our community.

And certainly we have

peace with God.

Despite our sinful nature

we have peace with God.

We are told in 1 Peter 3.18

For Christ suffered once for

sins.

The righteous for the

unrighteous.

That he might bring us to

God.

God has come.

Jesus has come.

And suffered for our sins.

So that we might be brought

to God.

That we might have peace with

God.

We would never have that

peace with God without the

work of Jesus coming and

suffering and dying for us.

That is the harmony that we

have received from God.

And now we are going to

take that harmony that we

have received and we are

going to bestow that

towards others.

1 Peter 4.8 we are told

Above all, keep loving one

another earnestly since love

covers a multitude of sin.

The passage continues and we are

told to show hospitality and

use our gifts to serve others.

In true harmony, we are going

to seek peace with other

people.

We are going to love, welcome,

and serve them.

We have been given harmony,

peace with Christ, peace

through Christ towards God.

And from that peace that we

have received, we are now going

to bestow that peace into our

community.

So as we have looked at this

idea of true grace, what I want

you to see is that true grace is

the lifeline for Christian

exiles.

Once again, true grace is the

lifeline for Christian exiles.

As we come and close out, I want

you to think of a few things.

A few questions I have for you.

Are you a Christian?

That is where we begin.

Are you a Christian?

Do you have peace with God?

And even as we just looked at

the passage, that Christ came

that we might have peace with

God.

Jesus suffered on our behalf to

bring us peace with God.

So that's not a decision that

you've pursued in your life.

I would put that before you.

Find peace with God.

There is only one way to find

peace with God, and that is

through Jesus Christ.

The whole question is, are you a

Christian?

Second question I have for you.

Is, are you in exile?

Do you fit into the world?

Does this world feel like home

to you?

If you're a follower of a

Christ, this world shouldn't

quite feel like home.

This world we shouldn't quite

fit in.

We shouldn't be quite like

everyone around us.

There should be something about

us.

We should have a bit of a

success.

I feel like a sojourner.

I feel like an exile.

Finally, a question for you.

Is, are you living in true

grace?

Are you bestowing what you

have received?

What you have received from

Jesus?

That unmerited favor that you

have received?

Are you now living that out

towards others?

And the many facets of your

life of what you are able to?

Are you living out that true

grace in proclaiming Christ?

Are you living out that true

grace in submission to

authorities?

Are you living out that true

grace by pursuing peace with

others?

Are you living in the true

grace?

As I started today, I said that

we were going to begin at the

end.

And now that we are going to, at

the end, we are going to end at

the beginning.

And the beginning is this.

Someone just gave me the look

like, you're just starting over.

No.

No.

Not that.

No.

We are going to begin at the

end.

So we are, as we, as we go out,

what is going to be different

about you?

So as you take this message,

and you, you have heard it and

you have received it, what, what

about it?

You say, that is something I can

use.

That is information I can use.

That is something about me that

can be different.

Because if the, if we take the

message and we just end it here,

it really doesn't do us much

good.

It doesn't change things.

But if we, if we take the

message and we say, I'm going to

begin something coming out of

this message.

What for you is that thing that

you want to begin?

What for you will be different?

What can you do different this

week that you didn't do last

week?

And as I say, that's why I say

as it comes, that we're going to

end at the beginning.

The beginning is, what will be

different for you in this coming

week than it was in the previous

week?

Let me close this in prayer.

God, we come before you recognizing

the great work that you have done

in our life.

The great love that you have for us.

And the great salvation that you

have provided through Jesus Christ.

God, we pray we would be people who

earnestly follow you in all aspects

of our life.

Amen.

Thank you.